29.04.2023-POLICA United Crushers (Mom+Pop,2016)

 

SYNTHPOP

     Poliça’s first two albums of electronic soul updated trip-hop for a post-Weeknd world, endearing the group to Jay Z and Bon Iver, who labelled them “the best band I’ve ever heard”. The Minneapolis quintet’s third set is their most straightforward yet, chiefly because, in contrast to its predecessors, Channy Leaneagh’s vocals aren’t bathed in effects. As a result, Poliça have lost some of their mystique, perfectly listenable though most of the songs are.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/razx6j

27.04.2023-FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS Bruises (Goremount,2015)

 

ALTERNATIVE ROCK

     On Bruises, Fearless Vampire Killers abandon their fantastical proclivities to examine life’s secrets and darkness. Playing down their previous polarizing pomp, FVK deliver an honest, captivating collection that will speak to a broader audience while satisfying their faithful. Depressive realism looms heavy where the band once depicted the gruesome with a wink and smile. 

https://www.sendspace.com/file/n2wbg9

26.04.2023-SHANNON WRIGHT In Film Sound (Vicious Circle,2013)

 

ALTERNATIVE ROCK

     Her voice is thin, the arrangements may seem spartan even for a short time, but she always changes the mood. Out of nowhere their songs suddenly become rough. The peace is gone. The guitars become rough, harsh and powerful, almost aggressive. The rhythm is challenging. Her singing seems irritable. In this role of the combative young woman Shannon Wright convinces. Of course this is Independent or even Emocore, almost Noiserock. She has already spent thirteen years as a musician and seven albums. So experience enough to develop and maintain a feel for the right melody and groove.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/cl891m

25.04.2023-ELECTRIC GUEST Kin (Atlantic,2019)

 

INDIE POP

     Taccone and Compton especially needed affirmation around KIN, because it's a dramatic shift from their previous records. KIN is the product of the band evolving into what they've always wanted to be: unapologetically pop.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/5hewbd

23.04.2023-SUBMERSE Are You Anywhere (Project Mooncircle,2017)

 

DOWNTEMPO

     On Are You Anywhere, his second LP for the reliably excellent Berlin imprint Project Mooncircle, the Tokyo based producer blends hazy hip hop, electronica and more with aplomb. 

https://www.sendspace.com/file/qd9bda

22,04.2023-AMANDA MAIR Amanda Mair (Labrador,2012)

 

INDIE POP

     It’s a pure pop record, bearing all the hallmarks of a Labrador release: pristine production, big hooks, melodies galore and above all, plenty of quality.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/hg3cgg

17.04.2023-RACHAEL YAMAGATA Happenstance (RCA,2004)

 

ALTERNATIVE ROCK

   Happenstance is so well executed, so comprehensive and so clean it seems too good to be totally authentic. You virtually yearn for a moment of Chan Marshall vocal paranoia, an off-kilter Neko Case yodel, PJ Harvey’s limited range, Kristen Hersh’s warble—anything remotely flawed and human. It may seem unfair to tar Yamagata—and, believe me, it’s a light-but-telling coat—for being quite good at what she does. But these (and plenty more) gritty female singers made their mark as an honest reaction to the hermetically sealed studio perfection of records like Happenstance.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/r9jn94

16.04.2024-JULIA HOLTER Tragedy (Night School,2011)

 

AVANT-POP

   Conceptually rooted around an atmospheric “interpretation”of Euripides’ Hippolytus with an introduction, interlude and finale, Tragedy utilises voice, synths, drum machines, piano, cello, saxophone, samples, vocoders, ensemble musicians [CalArts New Century Players] and a chorus. Most lyrics are lifted directly from sections of the play (listed in narrative order) but “positioned by an aural logic rather than in the chronological order”. Holter has studied Electronic music at CalArts, worked with Human Ear (occasional home to Ariel Pink and John Maus) and has been collaborating of late with Linda Perhacs (of which more later) as well as juggling a variety of cassette-based projects with at least one more unreleased album in the can. But it’s this album that has drawn so much recent attention and the reason for this is simple –you’ll have rarely heard anything like it.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/h05v88

14.04.2023-TAFFY Deep Dark Creep Love (Club AC30,2019)

 

INDIE POP

     Japanese noise-pop band Taffy never let fans down on their fifth album, Deep Dark Creep Love.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/k66f4d

13.04.2023-JESSIE BAYLIN Firesight (Verve Forecast,2008)

 

FOLK

   Her honey-soaked voice and melancholic inflections impart maturity beyond her years, underscoring why her album, Firesight, resonates with such warmth. On this, the New Jersey native’s major-label debut, the music yields a mélange of styles to include elements of folk, soul, and, at its best, jazz.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/qmpa7l

12.04.2023-THE RODEO Therianthropie Paradis (Modulor Music,2018)

 

INDIE POP

   The Rodeo is the anagram of Dorothée, a sassy Parisian musician and singer. She discovered music at the age of 15, when she found an acoustic guitar in her uncle’s attic. This magical key opened the door to the most beautiful journeys, both real and imaginary. After making a name for herself with her first two albums (Music Maelström and La Musica Del Diavolo), recorded all over the world, she returned with a third album, Thérianthropie Paradis, a radical metamorphosis, entirely sung in French and influenced by the highly orchestrated European pop of the 60s and 70s.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/rdbk6j

11.04.2023-HOORAY FOR EARTH Racy (Dovecote,2014)

 

INDIE ROCK

   Brooklyn synth outfit Hooray For Earth are the type of band that no longer has any pretense of being “indie rock” in anything but a nominal sense. Accordingly, their LP Racy is big, bold, and reveals them as a pop band by context rather than nature.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/xsxbov

10.04.2023-TWINS NATALIA The Destiny Room (Anna Logue,2014)

 

SYNTHPOP

     TWINS NATALIA songs are unique products of creative minds working together in order to write some beautiful, catchy and substantial electropop songs combining an early 80’s musical approach (analogue drum machine sounds, way of sequencing, etc.) with up-to-date recording techniques.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/pv8dz6

09.04.2023-FIRST AID KIT The Big Black & The Blue (Wichita,2010)

 

FOLK

     Swedish duo Klara and Johanna gift us with their gentle, lulling notes on this full length debut. Their alt.folk stylings are ideal for unwinding to at the end of a long day as it calms and soothes the senses. ‘The Big Black And The Blue’ works as a whole and obviously making outstanding music isn’t second nature to these girls but first. The lyrics remain to stand out behind the relaxing tempo and give edge to their songs whilst having a feminine charm informing them. Both the lyrics and manner in which they are sung recall lullabies sung when younger, taking you back to a simpler time which makes the whole experience magical.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/zkpga9

08.04.2023-EMILY WELLS In The Hot (Thesis & Instinct,2017)

 

ALTERNATIVE/EXPERIMENTAL

   The singing is altogether far too distracting and is forced into strange places in the mix, while the electronics  — the best-done portion of the record — are left to wander with strange strings that never do anything particularly interesting. Hopefully, Wells can find her musical identity soon, before she is lost altogether.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/rijfnp

05.04.2023-OBERHOFER Time Capsules II (Glassnote,2012)

 

INDIE POP

   ‘Time Capsules II’ is not perfect. At times, Oberhofer’s ambition gets the better of him; songs like ‘Away Frm U’ and ‘Gold’ feel so overloaded with melody they’re in danger of capsizing. He’ll probably make better records in the future. But if a mark of a fine debut is the way it sketches out all manner of possibilities, this fits the bill. It gleams like a skate-park erected in the clouds, and this is your invitation to strap on shin-pads, get up there and carve up some cumulonimbus.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/fwkj6k

04.04.2023-ASOBI SEKSU Hush (Polyvinyl,2009)

 

DREAM POP

   Now a duo of Yuki Chikudate and James Hanna, Asobi Seksu return with a third album that takes the dreamy shoegaze palette of 2006's Citrus into a quieter and and more reserved place.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/xiovq4

     

03.04.2023-PAMELA HUTE Highline (My Dear,2017)

 

INDIE ROCK

     Paris based singer-songwriter Pamela Hute not only writes, plays and produces her own music giving her latest album, “Highline,” a personal edge, but Hute also operates her own independent label My Dear Recordings.

     The combination of emotion, talent and brilliance Hute released with “Highline” provide a great album start to finish.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/6jgq94

01.04.2023-SUSANNE SUNDFOR Susanne Sundfor (Your Favourite Music,2007)

 

FOLK POP

     The music on the 21-year-old Norwegian's debut CD feels warm and inviting, like a Scandinavian combination of Carole King and Rufus Wainwright. Sundfor's voice is as elastic as it is fervent, mixing an R&B belter's passion with a '70s folkie's sense of melody. (Think Vanessa Carlton with less nasal congestion and a lot more range.)

https://www.sendspace.com/file/hzk17b