“The Prodigal” by Alexander J. Allison

                Alexander Allison shows up in all the right places. Timing appears to be a certain knack of Alexander’s. Maybe it is an English thing the dedication to punctuality. I’m not sure. 2011 changed a lot in Mr. Allison’s life. Whatever ball started rolling regarding writing, editing, submitting poetry in 2010 gained traction this year. 

                For in 2011 everything changed for Mr. Allison. The Lemon Press continued to be diligently edited by him but new things appeared over the horizon. Suddenly he began to show up in more and more reputable online literary magazines. Or however repute is calculated online. All of these submissions were leading up to something truly amazing. I read this amazing thing.

                “The Prodigal” is Alexander Allison’s amazing thing. When I read it I felt strange. Martin (the main character) grew on me. Each character in the story got fleshed out. Instead of it being merely a story, I felt I was spying. Perhaps that was the omniscient narrator. You get to know everything. Honestly you end up knowing more about Martin than you’d really care to at times. The extremely voyeuristic nature appealed to me. Authors tend to edit out the more extreme details about a character leaving only the basic parts of the story. Extreme details are all over “The Prodigal”. You use these tidbits to form the portrait of Martin the main character. 

                 It is a full book. There are no gimmicks. Rather he manages to bring together multiple addictions and compulsions into a single character. Compulsive behaviors do not necessarily mean the person is ill. Usually it means there is a certain vacuum, emptiness within that person. Alexander leaks details throughout the book through Martin’s thoughts slowly describing what lead to this eventual attitude, position, event, etc. 

                Once it ended I felt a bit sad. This is a dark book. Humor shines through occasionally usually of the dark variety. Alexander makes the dark humor work in conjunction with the story. Every line relates to another line. In a world where I often read random cheap gags in literature and television it is refreshing to see a writer (particularly one so young) creating a story I can care about.

                Going through Alexander’s simply named blog “So It Goes” I see he’s been working on this type of writing for a while. Since 2009 he’s been updating his blog on a fairly regular basis. For the more recent posts I see the updates have grown smaller and smaller. Yet that focus away from the blog lead him towards more productive pursuits. Now he has more time to spend on poems and books.

                Personally, I have a lot of respect for what Alexander does. I hope he continues to write more books. “The Prodigal” is a strong start for this surprisingly attractive Englishman.

Chad Valley – Equatorial Ultravox 8.1

                I first heard of Chad Valley about a month or so ago. When I heard the fifth track on here “Fast Challenges” I felt pretty excited. Here was an artist going back to the proud tradition of trance pop from the early 90s. Unlike some others working in the same sound, he deftly avoided any trace of irony. No, his work sounded fairly genuine, heartfelt even. 

                “Reach Lines” is truly great. The sound is pristine. I’m a little blown away. I mean, here we have all these artists obsessing about creating a lo-fi sound to impress others. Listening to it I’m reminded of a sweet Washed Out track. Vocals come from far away. Just for those not convinced, they bring out the vocoder. Oh this makes me happy. 

                With the full album, I’m reminded a bit more of the nostalgic vibes everyone’s been surfing on lately. Chad Valley’s work succeeds with the sheer smoothness of delivery. All those vocals make up most of the sound, taking up huge amounts of space. Vocals are more of an instrument than mere backup. This isn’t a bad thing; countless artists (Cocteau Twins) have convinced me of the importance on focusing of the texture of the sound. Besides, this is in English unlike the Twins’ made-up language. 

                Actually, most of the album explores the 80s more than that teaser “Fast Challenges” hinted. I’m not bothered by this fact. You’ll probably politely hum along with most of this album. The warmth it contains makes it pretty hard to dislike. Even the melodies are infectious.

                Of course, there are a lot of bands using a similar sound. Immediately the group “Games” comes to mind. Like Games, it stays true to a pop format, with all seven of these songs staying within five minutes or less. Similar to Games, it explores the myriad percussion and synthesizer pads. But the main difference is the more human approach to pop. The experimental impulse of the sound is kept in check by the human vocals. It’s a great summer album. Shame he isn’t coming to the US.

SeaBuckThorn – In Nightfall 8.0

                SeaBuckThorn is dark. How dark? Well, let’s say Andy Cartwright must write this at night as there’s hardly any light allowed. Listening to this, I’d consider him a practitioner of John Fahey’s concept called “American Primitivism” despite his English roots. John Fahey’s idea behind this phrase was acoustic guitar music would meld together neo-classical with country blues fingerpicking. “In Nightfall” embodies his concept perfectly. 

                We begin with the tactile “Address the Night”. There’s no adornment on here. No other guitar. Other songs possess a little background with an electric guitar, violin, or piano. Most of the time it is a one man show, with Andy playing a lonely tune. “Carrier” is a favorite of mine. Around the one minute mark I’m reminded of Nick Drake’s playing style, sparse, simple, and effective. Hearing the small rhythm emerge makes me extremely happy. “The River Answered” sounds hypnotic. Little flourishes of sound in the background give me the sense of a giant space. 

                At times the sound is nearly silent. “Gone Estray, Being Circled” may be the quietest offering on here. Only occasionally does the volume increase to a near-audible amount. I like how well the name goes with it. An Estray is an animal found wandering or lost. Witnessing it being circled would be much like the effect I hear on this song: quiet, tense, and bleak.

                I liked this album quite a bit. For preparation I had to wait until I could find a quiet enough place. As this is a dark and soft-spoken album, it is best to listen to at night. This is a vivid, unusual album. Not too many artists are interested in this sound right now. Thankfully SeaBuckThorn managed call this niche his own.

Mark Fell – Manitutshu 8.7

                Mark Fell got into Acid Techno at an early age. You can hear it in some of his work. No matter how obtuse or difficult the material he puts out (and he’s well-known for putting out some challenging material) acid never seemed to be too far behind. Manitutshu is Mark Fell’s tribute to acid techno. 

                The album is the third one Mark’s released in the course of the past few months. Usually artists tend to space things out a bit more evenly. Considering the several year hiatus he took from SND and his own solo’s work previous small output, it is a bit of a maniac release schedule.

                Manitutshu is a bit maniac itself. Right from the beginning you’re treated to a hyper-active sonic landscape. The first track pings and splatters around the eardrums. All the glorious funkiness and processing you’ve associated with Mark’s previous efforts is here in full. Despite the supposed nature of the work (these were original samples for Native Instruments) they hold together quite well. It’s Native Instruments loss since they rejected these pristine sounds. 

                Actually, this may be Mark’s fastest work. Each piece blazes through its track length. For me the third track would probably be the most recognizable track. Others show a new path for Mark’s focus; particularly the fifth which evolves so startlingly fast. The ninth track even shows off a particularly aggressive approach unusual in Mark’s mellow world.

                Finally there’s the giant closer, a remix by Mat Steel. Some would consider this more “SND-like” in terms of its repetitive nature. I feel it may be more of a digital version of Zoviet France. The extremely slow and almost-industrial vibe the track gives off reminds me strongly of that seminal band.

                Overall, this may be one of my favorite things Mark has put out in some time. It is less abstract than “UL8” and more immediately graspable than “Multistability”. With Manitutshu, Mark shows us a little of where he may take his sound and SND project.

Chad Valley – Fast Challenges

             Cascine is a label specializing in “Experimental Pop”. That means smooth sounds, vocals, and an undeniable fondness for sweet melodies. I’ve been sort of following them for a while, wondering when I’ll get overwhelmed by one of the artists. Each artist is carefully chosen for sure. Whoever selects the sounds has good taste and some serious frequent flier miles (hanging out in Florence and Stockholm; being based out of London, New York and Los Angeles. I guess the term ‘jet set’ still has meaning.) But only today did I hear something that ‘blew me away’.

                Hugo Manuel (the man behind Chad Valley) is something grand. It is no surprise he’s from the UK. Electronic acts are just better across the sea, I’m not sure why. The Puritans who came here lacked the genetic makeup for serious club bangers and electronic pop music in general. We had boy bands, utter rubbish, the UK gets Chad Valley. Somehow I feel a tad cheated. 

                “Fast Challenges” is a teaser for the EP out in the beginning of the summer, June 20^th to be precise. A summer release makes sense, as the song itself positively shines. Yet again, I’m convinced trance pop will make a comeback before I turn too old to dance. The build on this is great; the vocals are pitch-perfect, and the sound. Well as a few commenters have already stated, it is lush. Early 90s lush, I enjoy the extreme attention to detail percussion and all.

                I’m happy he comes from Oxford. Oxford is quintessential England to me, with canals, crew teams and tea houses. Chad Valley represents to me the quintessential sweet trance pop song which I hope will become a tad more common. A teaser this good is a rare treat indeed.

VHS Head – Video Club 6.2

                 Alright, this was the beginning of what actually panned out to be a fully excellent project. Here you’re given glimpses of the interesting production techniques, and forms their songs would eventually take. Unfortunately, they were still in the process of solidifying a few things. You can hear it through each song as they continually refine their sound. 

                Since it is only 4 tracks long (a 15 second piece doesn’t count as a song) it is fairly easy to see which sort of paths they took or didn’t take. “Kinaid” gives hints of their eventual sound. Halfway in they stumble upon something approximating a groove of sorts. Still it is too hyperactive. The next two song suffer from being too unfocused and unenergetic.

                Out of the four, “Video Club” is the winner. Right from the beginning, they tease around with the groove a little bit, baiting you. When they decide to actually deliver on that promise, you’re given a pretty excellent groove. Then a perfect melody comes in the middle of things, and a transition worthy of their full-length comes in. This is the song that convinced me that perhaps their full length might be a thing of true beauty (which it of course ended up being).

                Generally speaking, only “Video Club” is the one worth seeking out. The rest of the tracks show a group working on getting its act together.

The High Llamas – Talahomi Way 7.2

                  Sean O’Hagan’s project is one of those things I always enjoy. There are a number of reasons for this, the clean execution, mellow vibe, or the extreme Anglophile nature of the project itself. When I hear them, I think of what Brian Wilson might have written about had he been British.

                “Talahomi Way” continues with the more acoustic nature they’ve started since “Beet Maize & Corn” and followed through on “Can Cladders”. Basically, this is the logical progression of both of those two albums. Songs on here are memorable while providing enough space to focus on some of the gorgeous melodies Sean so effortlessly creates.

                What makes Talahomi Way so enjoyable is how easy it feels. Each one of these songs is carefully crafted, the horns put in the right moment. Had Stereolab decided to follow up on an acoustic version of their sound it would probably sound like this album.

                From the opener “Berry Adams” it gives off the right mood of lounge and dreaminess. The vocals are positively sweet and the bass surprisingly playful. “Talahomi Way” goes over their favorite subject of travel. Most of their songs focus on the idea of going or being elsewhere and this album is no exception.

                Plenty of bands change their direction countless times, constantly redefining their focus. The High Llamas are not one of those bands. Instead, they constantly focus on honing out a very specific niche of sound. And they continuously do it well, this just happens to be one of their better albums.

Woebot – Chunks 8.2

              ‘Chunks’ feels apt for this release. While his previous release ‘Moanad’ felt a bit more scattered or fragmented, here he teases out grooves. The songs, though still packed to the brim with weird samples, feel better fleshed out. In case you were wondering, Matt Ingram has his off-sense of humor in full display on this album. 

                Woebot doesn’t sample pointless soloing. Rather, weird pieces of sound are brought together. They come together to form something new. I know this is the point for a lot of sample-based music, but usually they don’t succeed on creating something new. He does.

                “Blues” for me at least, shows off the method used on most of the album. Though the arrangement is still quirky, it is greater than the sum of its parts. Previously his other material had shown off of his good taste than an ability to create an effective song. Here, the taste is still in view, but they are now full songs.

                Some of these songs are even relatively long. “Trans-Love Energies” manages to somehow take bits from elevator music and make it into something silly, funny even. Curd Duca comes to mind specifically. I don’t know how he quite pulls this off, but it probably one of the better tracks on here. 

 

                Other songs show off origins from heavy rock (like “Rusticle”) or random bits (like “Sludgie”). You need to have a sense of humor to really enjoy this album. Also, being a total music snob helps as well, as there is a certain joy in picking out where these snippets might have originated.These songs might require a few listens as they definitely grow on you.

Omar De Col

                Omar De Col is some British poetry guy. When I look at his name, I think he could be a historical figure who was well known for collecting exotic insects. I don’t know why his name does this for me. Perhaps it’s the “De” which creates an unnecessary pause in my mind. Also, I want to call him Omar De LOL for when he does something funny.

                Most of what he does is genuinely funny. Even his Tumblr shows off his mix of honesty and humor. It gives off a feeling of sweetness and confidence in short concise sentences or phrases. Plus the name of it “Avant-Garde Bagpipe Solos” goes well with my fictitious genre “Polka Noise”. The explanation of his work is 

                “this a collection of thoughts/stories/poems inspired mostly by red bull, residual (post/pre-masturbation) horniness and boredom” 

                Most of Tumblr should have this as a warning. At least Omar had the good sense of stating the obvious. It’s this humor which makes his limited amount of work so enjoyable. Most of his poetry appears either on his Tumblr or on LetPeoplePoems, a sweet site which allows people to submit their poetry. His poem about a deaf pigeon was the first submission.

                “Re Frank Hinton” was based off of his internet affection for Frank Hinton. For those of you unaware of her work, Frank Hinton runs Metazen. I like her poetry. She lives in a cloud of smoke in a part of Canada which other Canadians consider really boring. Internet crushes are hard he tells us. Having a crush on an internet enigma like Frank Hinton is even harder. As an added addition, he had this one go viral on Steve Roggenbuck’s Facebook wall. While it went viral, various individuals mentioned new poetic ways of using social media. I told someone to get a Cherry Coke.

                Two of his other poems are even more absurd. “Right before I come” mentions 60s movies stars and why he can’t bring M&Ms to work. His Omar.com one on LetPeoplePoems is fantastic. Instead of it being pure text, he uses a screen-shot of his poem, similar to how Frank Hinton used in “unrequested livejasmin.com pop-up”. Unlike that one, he openly wanted to use the Omar.com site to branch out to every part of the Omar demographic. Plus, he’ll monetize it hard and bring about joy through social networking.

                Another one of his poems “so hawny” expresses his joy at being aroused sexually. Food items become objects of affection. The mention of marmalade helps me remember just how British he is because we don’t believe in that shit here in America. In America we fuck pies. By the end we get to the age old question of whether or not life is better having fucked a jar of peanut butter or simply leaving it alone. Personally, I feel it is better to have loved and lost than to not have loved at all. He expresses similar feelings in the poem "long distance relationships" where sex is had over Skype. Omar is a dreamer.

                I’ve only been exposed to a little more than this from his Tumblr. Most of his Tumblr is made up of ridiculous images with even more ridiculous captions. Out of all of them, I enjoyed the Buddha statue the most. Omar is just beginning, but I want him to continue. Continue with this train of thought Omar De Col, I want to continue using your sweet name. Holy crap he’s also on twitter as “Holiecrap”. 

                PS: Let me know if you prefer to be called Omar De LOL

The Internal Tulips – Mislead Into a Field by a Deformed Deer 8.3

                Brad Laner (of countless side projects) and Alex Graham (from Lexaunculpt, no idea why he’s been hiding) came together to make this delicate project. How does it play? Well, think of it as fragile pop sketches with Electro-Acoustic influences. The pop influences help keep the experimentation warm and give the music soul.

                Coming in at exactly 39 minutes, each piece nicely melts into the other. A unifying theme brings all these quiet pieces together. Brad shows off a shockingly sweet voice, anchoring some of the more experimental impulses of Alex. Alex isn’t a stranger to affecting arrangements, as he did work on Lexaunculpt for many years before falling off the face of the Earth.

                Planet Mu does a lot more accessible music now. Having them offer up an album as inventive as this, with songs like “Mr. Baby” is a real treat. On that song you’re treated to Alex’s love of string arrangements, along with piano and guitar. A fractured beat keeps it all together. Using an unconventional structure allows them to show off a bit more emotion than either is accustomed to. 

                Interesting, they end the album with the only fully produced song, “We Breathe” to perhaps offer a taste of what they might explore on their next album. It feels fully formed, but still has enough quirkiness to be considered a true pop song.

                Sadly, this received very little attention. Had this come out a few years earlier, I think people might have been more receptive to it. But at this point, this kind of pop-structure experimentation, involving glitches, skipping, and so on have fallen out of fashion. That is a pity since this is such a strong release.

Woebot - Moanad 6.6

               Oh, woe is bot. Though Matthew Ingram has some good ideas here, he doesn’t quite put them together into a satisfying way the same way “The Focus Groups” does. Nonetheless, it doesn’t mean the album (or EP, since it is only 20 minutes) lacks any sort of interesting detail. Matthew’s focus is heavy enough to sort of make up for this shortfall.

                For one, he uses precious few elements. All of the samples are purely British in origin. His guitar is reconfigured around these samples. I personally am a bit of an Anglophile, so the samples win me over a bit. Though I know he works in a fragmented framework, I feel the fragments feel a bit too jagged. Other ‘hauntology’ or whatever you want to call them groups work since they blur the lines. His transitions are too abrupt a lot of the time. “The Hook” sort of is a prime example of this problem.

                What he really succeeds at are the longer, more fully-formed songs. Fragments escape him, but a song with a complete melody and chorus work best for him. Towards the end of this very short collection of songs, I’m shown some of his true capabilities. “Goat’s Wool” sounds transported from some early Smiths’ demo. In other words, it is great.

                This is sort of a hit-and-miss EP. Personally, I am interested. The parts that work intrigue me and I hope he continues this project. Maybe a later release will come along that will convert me a bit more.

Luke Vibert – We Hear You 6.7

                Luke Vibert has created an immerse discography, the kind of thing which can overwhelm you. Here’s his some of his more recent material, as he’s started to cool down the pace of releases over the past few years. Though it is enjoyable, a few times it sounds like he’s stuck in a rut of some sort. Sure, all the humor you’ve grown to expect from him is in abundance, but it sounds more like a project on Auto-Pilot, failing to chart any new course.

                Planet Mu brought this out. Maybe they listened to the first-half of the album. That part sounds much more interesting that what happens in the latter part. “Belief File” has a giant bass alongside general happy vibes. It is a good song, and goes nicely with “We Hear You”. After those two, the other winner might be “Batting for England” which uses the samples to greatest effect.

                Most of the album resides in enjoyable acid techno territory. He can write most of these songs in his sleep. Sure, he’s talented, but only on those few songs does it appear as if he tries to aim for something besides well-done, rote techno. Hopefully this is just a slight fluke in an otherwise pristine record. Either that or he’s growing old.

Second Hand – Death May Be Your Santa Claus 9.0

There are more than enough of awe-inspiring moments to make searching this out ultimately worth it. Named after an obscure controversial film about nihilism it has nothing to do with the film’s subject material. Apparently the studio owner (Vic Keary) saw the film, told the young band about it, and they named themselves after it.

As soon as you put it on, you notice the two best parts of the album: the drums and the organ. Ken Elliot is on organ with Kieran O’Connor on drums. The organ melodies are beautiful and the drumming is extremely energetic, somewhat jazzy.  Joining them is a surprisingly strong singer for an Englishman. Rob Elliot goes from sounding normal to sounding like Mrs. Bighead (Baby R U Anudda Monster). 

Pop and progressive rock has never been intertwined so perfectly. “Hangin’ on an Eyelid’ oozes confidence. Right from the get-go, you’re treated to the sweetest sounds. It only gets better from there, as the lyrics are sweet as honey. The xylophone, before acknowledged as a stupid instrument, proves its mettle here. “Death May Be Your Santa Claus” and “Death May Be Your Santa Claus (Reprise)” show off both of their talents with the first one showing off their knack for pop hits. Meanwhile, the second almost closes off the disc with some elegant organ and bass work. “Funeral” officially closes it out with so much delicious riffs and bombast.

Sadly, this is near impossible to find. That really is a shame, since this neatly embodies a lot of excellent musicianship and talent that arose from the late sixties. Worth getting!

Swell Maps – Jane from Occupied Europe 8.8

                  Punk generally doesn’t occupy a space in my heart. Whenever I listen to it, I think of un-challenging music played for people who politely subvert the system. My idea is that an anti-capitalist band plays its music for other anti-capitalists and in the process not offending anyone but playing so much to its base that it is silly. This gives me the impression that a lot more punk has this smug, distant attitude, though occasionally some bands rise above this problem. 

                Some punk manages to be weird enough to attract my attention. Swell Maps is one of those rare bands. Blending together a blatant disregard for coherence matched with drunken, shouted vocals and stumbling more often than not on genius, it is a great thrill to behold. I’m aware that the classification for these guys always veers between punk and post-punk, but what do those “posts” even mean? 

                They begin the record off in weird fashion, with a sustained organ sound. Random noises pop in, like they are fixing a bike. A beat starts up, like the drummer just got told that the song began halfway in. “Border Country” and “Cake Shop” come closest to actual, fully fledged songs. I don’t know why, but the delivery really wins me over. Both of these have great, huggable melodies and display how they could make a normal-ish song when they wanted to.

                “Helicopter Spies” defines them best as a band. Sort of dragging along with lots of discordant noise, it has a lot of energy. The vocals are too low in the mix yet you can tell they are trying their best to raise above all the noise surrounding them, and failing. “Collision with a Frogman…” shows off how they could write a decent instrumental complete with dark undertones.  After this comes, the groove gets deconstructed by the next song, as they blast it apart into a million little pieces.

                Towards the end of the album, we get “Secret Island” which has vocals which resemble the zombie Beach Boys. At the very end you get “Blenheim Shots” which seems so loud that they felt the need to record this from far away, like if the microphone got too close it would be destroyed. 

                If you’re lucky enough to get the bonus tracks, you’re treated to the loudest single “Let’s Build a Car” and the meandering weirdness of “The Stairs are like an avalanche”. 

                I kind of wish these guys came out with more than two albums. They clearly enjoyed writing this stuff. Shining through each song is their ability to take the ethos of “Do-It Yourself” and apply it to literally whatever they could. Compared to “Trip to Marineville” this feels a little more coherent, with some of the more sprawling tendencies toned down.  Whenever I hear this, I wish more punk bands had taken this more experimental and enjoyable approach. 

PS: I had a dream about these guys playing in my hostel in London.

Nick Drake – Pink Moon 10.0

When I entered my first relationship, the other person happened to be a folk fanatic. Not the good kind, mind you, but the lame beat poetry can’t play a guitar kind. The kind that can deliver lines like “My soul was black like my coffee” and singing in atrocious free verse.

Nick Drake ended up being the thing that we could agree on. Even now, I adore how this, his sparest album, will never age. Since there’s no period embellishments (like with Five Leaves Left or  Bryter Layter, though I love those as well) you get pretty much the rawest version of Nick’s mind. There’s nothing to hide the fact that this is perhaps one of the most depressing albums you’ll ever hear. He’s singing with nothing else but a guitar, and his voice has this intimate, in the room with you quality.

Unlike a lot of his contemporaries, he seemed interested in having his songs having a more ‘live’ recording. Perhaps it had to do with his aversion to performing live, or his generally distant manner. For even his friends and relatives stated how no one really understood what went on inside his mind, since he was so close-lipped.

“Pink Moon” the title track might be familiar to you as “his VW ad song”. While many discussed how Nick would have handled it, Nick had financial concerns as well so he probably would have been happy with it. Towards the end of his life, he became more interested in becoming popular and felt frustrated about how his talent didn’t translate into actual money or fame. Not that one can imagine Nick becoming a celebrity, but his lack of success definitely ate into him.

Really, the whole album reeks of sadness. If autumn needed a soundtrack, this would be it. Autumn, resigned to death. Each song shows off Nick’s detached personality, how he had a hard time relating to other people. It is like he could only communicate through song, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to maintain the distance he sought between him and others. 

“Things Behind the Sun” ranks as one of my favorite folk songs of all time. Here the guitar and lyrics melt together like little else I’ve heard. Even the attempt for Nick to try and sound cheerful makes it more depressing. He’s trying to be uplifting and cheerful, trying to show that he can be happy. But it arouses not pity, but just more nervousness. “Free Ride” follows a similar theme, of trying to be happy, and seeming like a doomed romantic. 

Only at the end of the album do we get a song that rises above this sadness “From the Morning”. Light appears briefly in its two and a half minutes. Then it’s over. 

Having been to England before, I kick myself for not visiting his part of the countryside. I’m saddened that he left so early, before he could see the positive effect his music has had. For music so universal it brings so many together is a rare thing indeed.

Teams vs. Star Slinger – Teams vs. Star Slinger 7.2

                You know, sometimes it is the simple things in life. Here we have full evidence of the simple things: some well-chosen samples, sparse but effective rhythm, and a few little complimentary melodies thrown in for good measure.

                US based Teams (Knoxville specifically) and Star Slinger (UK, whatever I’m not British) prove chillwave is still alive and kicking. Any kind of synonym with chillwave is used to describe this, strut-wave, glo-fi, take your pick. The beginning of this tiny EP could definitely be considered strut-wave as “Close to me” is pure glamour. Even at less than 2 minutes it is so magnificently juicy.

                When those samples are subdued is the best.  “Say Please” is greatly enjoyable as it emerges from the sonic ether. The 80s is obviously a point of reference in “Life Partner” and the closer “The Yes Strut”.

                I know about the proliferation of chillwave in the summer of 2010. These guys took part in that celebration of all things retro and nostalgic. Instead of overburdening their music with a ton of references, they kept it simple, easy and clear-minded. Focus does this little EP wonders.

Mojave 3 – Ask Me Tomorrow 8.1

Oh yes, the mellow relaxation of Mojave 3. After Slowdive took a plunge into the non-existence, some of the members decided to move towards a new kind of sound, based more off of song craft than pure mood. Having said that, don’t expect up-tempo pop music. Rather, it continues in the vein of Slowdive, with blissful slow moving songs.

Probably the biggest shocker is the move towards country on here. The twangs beginning “Love Songs on the Radio” set the pace for what the rest of the album will bring up: quiet guitars, hushed percussion, and singing from far away. Others elements are used sparingly like piano, cello, and tasteful classical adornments. “Mercy” is the loudest song on here, ending the 42 minutes or so of near-narcoleptic music (I mean this as a compliment).  

4AD did a good thing signing them. They don’t release much (5 albums in about a decade) but the quality seems to be kept pretty high. Here’s probably their high point, but most of their discography is fairly solid.

Swayzak – Dirty Dancing 6.4

I think this album solidifies my credentials as someone who hung out with too much Eurotrash. Yet, despite its humble origins of wanting to be trashy dance music, it actually works on another, darker level. This is music to listen to before you do your dirty deeds. Hell, it is virtually the soundtrack of bad behavior. 

                “Make Up Your Mind” doesn’t give you an idea of the album at all. It is a misleading opening track; a better introduction would’ve been “Buffalo Seven”. No worries, none of these songs will make you think. That’s not their intention. Rather, they want to capture what happens when someone’s in a bit of a foul mood and has had one too many to drink.

                Yeah, the lyrics are definitely the low point of the album. Avoid absorbing their general cheesiness. The construction of each track is the real draw, how the layers are so well done, so smooth. Pace is the trick, the timing is right. Songs like “Celcius” avoid the awful lyrics. 

                “I dance alone” is the highlight. Here, you get decent enough lyrics (they don’t make you shudder) and the buildup is excellent. A groove forms and the beat is such Eurotrash yet oddly likable.

                By no means is this essential. It isn’t ambitious at all. As a guilty pleasure, you could do far worse. Just please try your best to tune out those dreadful lyrics.

Gescom – Gescom EP 7.5

For me, Gescom appealed to me as the place where I got to hear Autechre cut loose. Usually they concerned themselves with making another extremely relevant and critically acclaimed album in their day job. Gescom allowed them to explore more of their impulses, so you could get a better idea of what they’d do if nobody was watching.

This particular release ends up being probably one of my more beloved Gescom releases. Containing some excellent melodies and that beautiful smell of early 90s IDM, before IDM became extremely stuffy, it works. Only four tracks long, it manages to keep out all filler, leaving only the ‘best of’.

“Dan One” sounds a lot like “Djarum” from their Anti EP of the same year. No worries, it is fine to have two different variations on the same theme. This take has a bit more on it compared to the sparser Autechre version.  “Five” has one of those builds on it. You know, one of those fantastic layers upon layer. Each little segments snaps so perfectly into place, with the slight melodies being embellished more and more as the song grows. 

Finally, the latter half is a bit more ambient in scope. It isn’t the boring type of ambient, it remains teeming with life. Honestly, the latter songs could be placed into an early Future Sound of London album and I don’t think anyone would notice.

I’m thankful that throughout the years they’ve kept up this little side project. By hearing them with some of their defenses down, it shows just how talented they really are in such a crowded field.

The Legendary Pink Dots - malachai shadow weaver part two 9.4

The Legendary Pink Dots are one of those sacred bands to me. I got into them over a decade ago and never looked back. Whenever I play them for people, usually the standard reaction tends to be “Have you ever done acid before?” I don’t think this is really fair, they are weird for sure, but there’s a certain level of thought behind most of their work. Rather than being an indulgent druggy band, they sort of slog through with their bleak take on modern psychedelica. 

 For whatever reason, I particularly enjoy this album of theirs. Maybe it is how well I’ve been able to return to it without sort of shuddering. Some of their output can be a bit trying. When you’re dealing with a group that is this prolific (putting out something like over 35 albums) there’s bound to be some dullards. Looking back on younger me, I wonder what was I thinking. 

It starts up innocently enough. The flute works well on “Joey the Canary” probably one of those few times a flute has been included in a rock song without it sounding gimmicky. Hearing the bizarre guitar solo at the end, it gives you only a hint of what will be in store for you, dear listener. 

“Kingdom of Flies” is a nice acoustic song from a period when the Legendary Pink Dots made many of these. But it’s the disturbing ending which prepares you for the more industrial aspects of the album, which begin with “Encore une Fois”. What this does is basically makes up an industrial dub song. It is chaotic, insane, and the song only becomes more unstable as the track progress. Van Hoornblower adds to it with random horn blasts.

Despite the chaos shown in songs like “Window on the World” and the pure full-on weirdness of “We bring the day” there’s a mellower song waiting to balance things out. “Pavane” and the gorgeous closer “Paris 4AM” work well as instrumental interludes and as full-bodied songs. 

Part of the reason for this album’s many moods is due to a collaborator, Stephen Stapleton of Nurse with Wound fame. Yes, he’s worked with them in the past but it seems as if he really helped them form these songs. Besides that, Ed and the gang were in good form with this. Every musician listened to the other, and, as a result, they go through folk, industrial, dub, funk, ambient, and rock without any real difficultly or faltering. 

If you wanted to introduce someone to this huge band, here would be a good place to start.