Liam Finn – Champagne In Seashells (Transgressive)
For an example of the varied guises and stylistic diversity that Melbourne-born wunderkind Liam Finn is now capable of, one need only listen to the closing track on this excellent mini-album. Captain Cat Is Crying begins as a severe and spooked sound collage complete with a brassily-intoned narration (remnants [...]
Dieter Moebius – Kram (Klangbad)
Dieter Moebius, having been a part of Harmonia and collaborated with Brian Eno, here takes us on the kind of journey one would imagine taking with a slightly grizzled experimenter. There is gentle menace alongside the blueprints of some of his former works, but he is more than capable of creating [...]
Sleeping States – In The Gardens Of The North (Bella Union)
Markland Starkie has taken his time with this Bella Union debut, and it’s been absolutely worth the wait. Rarely are listeners likely to hear a writer who gives such balance to the realms of pop and folk music and the trappings therein. It is at [...]
Dave Cloud & The Gospel Of Power – Fever (Fire)
With intimations this fiery, unfocused and sickly, it’s easy to find ample entertainment in Dave Cloud’s reasonably barmy incantations. Questions about this veteran Nashville Arthur Brown-alike might include the following for the uninitiated: Is he singing in tongues? Why does he have two voices? Does he [...]
Hecuba - Paradise (Manimal Vinyl)
Hecuba are, if nothing else, utter experts at conjuring a menace that seeps. The boy/girl duo of a filmmaker and an actress are more than competent at maintaining that menace and mutating it gently into serious unease – the buzzing free-form ending of ‘Even So’ is a scintillating climax. Intense darkness surrounds [...]
Telekinesis – Telekinesis! (Morr Music)
The best summer records are more than just simple, jolly songs played on acoustics with a little bit of fuzz – you have to capture all elements of the season. The sitting down, the water, the sweat of activity, maybe some romance if you haven’t already cracked a bottle. This is [...]
Blindfold – Faking Dreams (Cinepop)
Four Icelandic friends set out to create an emotional brand of guitar expressiveness that resonates, above all, emotionally. They’re characterised by their slowly-progressing, rarely-digressing soundscapes and the high-register vocals of their front-man, Biggi. Remind you of anyone? DOES IT?
That’s not fair. Though there are a few too many similarities between Blindfold [...]
The Heavy – The House That Dirt Built (Counter)
With a Ronseal title like The House That Dirt Built, the listener would expect some serious scuzz, some dusty, taut rock ‘n’ roll, an erring on the side of well-greased punk. We get that, with bells on, we get that. But we also get a confusing amount [...]
OSKAR – LP:2 (Incarnation Recordings)
The loopy (literally) back-story to this recording is hilarious fun, and involves a load of previously near-mute Spanish mentalists in an asylum getting excited about music, which is obviously amazing. But have OSKAR (no need to shout) managed to distil the whimsy, the unexpected purity and infantile joy of such a [...]
Japandroids – Post-Nothing (Polyvinyl)
The sleeve of Post Nothing looks more than a little like the sleeve of Television’s Marquee Moon. Co-incidence or not, it’s interesting. What Japandroids share with Television is their extreme economy – both sound desperate to make the most impressive sound possible with the little physical attributes they have, resulting in some [...]
