rescuing musical virtue in distress.
Most music that you receive as a music reviewer is just that, music. That isn't a problem, after all, that is the nature of the job. But writing about music that comes accompanied by a video is a much more immersive affair, sort of the difference between watching a standard 2D film on TV at... Continue Reading →
If music is all about conveying messages, ideas and feelings then it is worth remembering that there are different ways of doing this and what works for one style of music isn't always right for another. At one end of the spectrum you have the no-holds-barred, bombastic nature of the punk and rock aproach. Usually,... Continue Reading →
This latest dark and gorgeous "art attack" from the multi-disciplined Ammo doesn't so much feel like a song in the conventional sense but is more akin to a lingering strangeness that you experience when waking from an unsettling dream. It is less a song and more a sensation. It seems to drift and linger rather... Continue Reading →
There are certain instruments that, if I see them listed on an album, my interest is piqued. Banjo is one, I have a weird fondness for the strange twang that only comes with a banjo. Another is the cello, there is something brooding and rich about the tonal qualities of the cello, it sits rather... Continue Reading →
To say that Lone Cabin Crow is a strange album is both an understatement and the utmost compliment. It is strange in that it seeks new pathways through recognisable genres or blends of genres and taking sonic roads less travelled that at least skirtclose to the familiar. And I do mean strange as a compliment.... Continue Reading →
When Carameladora states that her music “exists between the boundaries of genres,” she is exactly right and Traces is the perfect showcase of exactly that. Rising out of a gorgeously hypnotic classical-esque, acoustic riff, it quickly gathers around it gentle clubland beats, washes of electronica, cinematic guitar lines, chiming electronica, sweeping strings and angelic and otherworldly drones. And if... Continue Reading →
At a place where post-rock meets ambient cinematics, where folktronica meets avant-garde pop, where adventurousness and experimentation are the order of the day, where sweetness and light trump more earnest and overegged musicianship, that's where you find this eponymous album from Star Rover. Although previous releases have already indicated the path that the band were... Continue Reading →
I'm not quite sure where you would place this in the scheme of things but I know that I love it. And that is all that matters, right? Right! Relativity is built around a series of pulsing, slow, melodic synth soundscapes that occasionally act as a vehicle for beguiling, sparse and hypnotic lyrical drifts, which... Continue Reading →
Timberline might make music that is essentially a voice and a guitar, but it is what he (they?) does (do?) within that framework that makes Florescence stand out from the usual gap-year troubadours with their wide-brimmed hats, black stretch jeans and working knowledge of A minor. There is something in the delivery and production of... Continue Reading →
I spend a lot of my time writing about music in a very specific way. A band or artist releases a record, pushing a certain, established signature sound, it is part of a linear musical canon, generally speaking, and the music is backed up by supporting videos to help underline the message. With collectives, for... Continue Reading →
If you decided to boil hip-hop down to its basic essence, just its vibe, and underlying groove, you would eventually end up with something so understated and refined that it would probably be better labeled ambient soul. Just before you get to the point, you will pass through a sound that is typified by It's... Continue Reading →
Whilst this debut album from YYY might be genre-hopping, musical gene-splicing, sonic scatter gun of sounds and ideas, the more you play it the more you are drawn not so much to the obvious and slightly mad eclecticism and increasingly to its more subtle and supple elements. Less to the building blocks and more to... Continue Reading →
A moody mix of orchestral compositions and contrasting man made and found sounds. TV and film soundtracks are hinted at throughout. You can make up your own plots, visualise your own cinematography and write your own scripts but all of your stories will be heavily laden with an over-arching darkness. The recording is clearly a... Continue Reading →
Books and covers eh? Maybe it is just me but the name Kid Kin conjures images of down-with-the-kids, rappy, cooler than thou, music, a fad which blew in on this week's zeitgeist shortly to be replaced as another fashion is ushered in. But that's the problem with pre-conceptions and jumping to conclusions. We all do... Continue Reading →
Just reading the titles of the tracks found on this gorgeous e.p. suggests that you are about to experience something a bit out of the ordinary, being that they all seem to be themed around ancient Egypt. But as the first song, Nile, opens up, its full understated majesty…if such a thing is possible…is revealed.... Continue Reading →
I've never really known where the sonic demarcations in dance music lie, where Downtempo merges into Ambient, where Deep House gets so blissed out it becomes Chill-wave, but then, I suspect not many people have, certainly not those who make the music. To such creatives, it is just music, and the sounds, styles and samples... Continue Reading →
The quirky and cooly odd (or perhaps oddly cool) cover might hint at some sort of alt-pop explosion or indie-infused anthemics treating your ears but what lies within is something altogether more original and satisfying. Ambient, filmic, cinematic, experimental, understated and deft are all words that sum up what is happening here but even those... Continue Reading →
It's fairly easy to write a song that has a lot going on. Pop and rock music is littered with over-egged, more is more slices of it. Writing a song that is built out of the bare minimum, out of only what really matters, however, is a different art altogether. Those who are successful at... Continue Reading →
After charming us for just over a minute with a delicate wash of shimmering, ambient indie vibes, Neon then pulls the rug away from the listener's expectations and turns into an upbeat and texturally rich, pop song. And no matter at which end of the song's sonic journey you find yourself, you are cocooned in... Continue Reading →
Having waxed lyrical about Ruth Blake's tasteful and gorgeous Brave Ships not so long ago, it is great to see her as part of this latest single from Damien Mahoney's musical collaboration Caulbearers. Like Blake herself, Caulbearers make ultra-modern folk music, music which takes perhaps only the vital essence of the folk spirit and etches... Continue Reading →
Ahead of a new album planned for later in the year, Nick Nicely presents us with a lovely single to act as a sonic scouting party. But like all great art, On The Beach is a double-edged sword, a wonderful contradiction and although it outwardly shimmers with gorgeous fragility and paints some deft and delicate... Continue Reading →
Not every band seems to come with full working knowledge of musical dynamics. Many are just happy to throw all their ideas, sonic kitchen sink and all, at the listener and hope that style rather than substance wins the day. Of course, sometimes it works but usually only temporarily before the next fashion or fad... Continue Reading →
Music is a broad church. It takes as many forms as there are artists making it, and it serves as many purposes as there are those consuming it. It can be big and bombastic, still and delicate. It can carry global messages as easily as it can intimate conversations. It can be poignant and powerful,... Continue Reading →
When I saw the title, State Line, I was expecting to be met by some sort of hootin' and a-hollerin' road warrior, cowboy country music. Not that there is anything wrong with that. I'd be wearing my Joe Ely t-shirt with pride if I could still fit into it. But no, what greets you here... Continue Reading →
This is the second time that Mark Z. Danielewski's much talked about novel, House of Leaves has cropped up in conversation in as many weeks, Firstly, via a trusted literary friend waxing lyrical about it and now as the partial inspiration for this wonderful, musical side project. this is not for you is the debut solo album... Continue Reading →
Ask me to name the things that I love about Forest Robots and it is difficult to know where to start. Perhaps start with the names of the tracks. Take, In The Climb, Not The Summit, Lies The Most Wisdom, for instance, it sounds like a piece of ancient teching rather than a song title... Continue Reading →
Never rely on genres. They always let you down. I should imagine that ten different journalists writing about Arhkota's strange and beguiling new single would label it with ten completely different generic soundbites. And even then, none of those would accurately capture the broken, classical grace, the oriental vibe, the blending of ambience with abrasion,... Continue Reading →
Having woven his way through some very innovative and interesting musical landscapes over the years, on stage, in the studio and behind the scenes, any new music from Sebastian Reynolds makes a loud ping on the radar of any interested in experimental, forward-thinking music. Nihilism Is Pointless, following very quickly (certainly by modern standards) on... Continue Reading →
So many people listen to music quite wrongly. That might sound like a bit of an elitist thing to say but we seem to have become so invested in the throwaway, six-word, repetitive pop chorus that we miss the deftness and smarts of the music which it uses as a musical vehicle. It's why I... Continue Reading →
I’m not saying that he makes a conscious effort to do so but Simon McCorry’s music does raise the question of where the border lies between music and what lies beyond. Of course, there is no real answer to that and Nature in Nature is as musical and relevant…perhaps even more so, than the pop... Continue Reading →
