Martyrs of Sound specialise in meditative music. Clean, simple, warm and full of the essence of music, Radhe’s Dream is simply a heavenly joy to close your eyes to.
Opening with “Song of the Universe” the music is dominated by the warmth of a slowly plucked 12 String Guitar with minimal keyboard swirls in the background and the occasional other acoustic instrument echoing in the background. Seamlessly flowing into “Soul’s Awakening” which adds in piano to the original track and slowly some soft vocal hums and some lovely rain stick work too. “Soul’s Emergence” continues to grow on the four chords that have been gradually weaved upon with some tuned percussion and some stereo electronica work before “Song of the Beloved” adds in some wonderful electric-acoustic guitar work over the top. The whole album carries a certain cyclic feel throughout and is absolutely hypnotic even by track four. Even though it is effectively a four chord repetition and doesn’t feel like it.
“Radhe’s Dream” starts a new phase of the album where the same chords are kept but not with the same pitch as the guitar softens and is taken up an octave before “Radhe’s Dream” itself kicks in and finally we have our first vocal lead with soft harmonised and doubled up vocal patterns. It’s about as close to a single as you can get on the album and is easy to enter into as a standalone track although the album works best played as a whole entity. The guitar work throughout is beautiful.
“Govinda’s Dream” enters a third phase of the cycle as we enter a shimmering sparkling world and the four chord pattern becomes a single droning Raj. Guitar freeflows over the top while an electric percussive beat pans beautifully from ear to ear. “Om Shanti” takes things further with a more complex arrangement merging the Asian with the blues. It’s the blues that wins out in time for “Soul’s Tantra” which starts to repeat a riff that has been present over the last few tracks but in a more subtle way while the vocals take more prominence here and in “Song of Jai”.
By this point you should be utterly relaxed as the Raj gives way to “Soul Awakening Reprise” which soon returns to the beautiful four chord structure and “Radhe’s Dream Reprise” shows that actually, the Raj and four chord structures were together all along and we just hadn’t felt them both in our presence at the same time. As if then being pulled out of the circle and being cleansed “Beautiful” then appears to close the album with all the elements that we’ve had throughout the album brought together in one beautifully heart-wrenching and ethereal track.
Martyrs of Sound have achieved a wonderful album. This is ultimate relaxation music. Enhanced with a warm bath, candles, maybe even drifting off with a loved one – I whole heartedly recommend this to anyone into acoustic relaxation music with heart and substance – not the tepid and soulless meditation music that’s all about a single phasing keyboard note. This takes you literally to a Higher Plain of Music.
Relevant Discord are a band from Oregon, USA and have released two singles to date to introduce themselves to the world – and they do so with aplomb.
“The Refrain” takes all the best things from power chord rock we grew to love in the early 2000′s, all the best parts of grunge rock vocals and then adds a background symphony of keyboards and strings and places it in the melting pot. The results are a track that’s instantly catchy, heavy, dramatic and one that also has a certain something that separates it from the usual emo-esque riff rock.
“The Days of Deferment” takes things a step further to the symphonic side while the mosh heavy main riff plays out over an audio wash of strings. It’s fantastic how the production fills every single piece of the speaker and bursts into life without it becoming overcrowded.
With their first two singles out, we are now eager to get our mits on a full length album! Relevant Discord have quickly become our power rock symphony of choice and we encourage everyone to join in on the drama.
Ian Narcisi – whose going to quickly become the man that plays every instrument in the world, is a new singer/songwriter whose songs just take off into some ad-lib freefall of progressive rock. Here’s a video of Ian making his new EP.
Peter Bjargo has a new album coming soon. I wonder if this new song shown in 2010 The Cage is on it. Sounds promising (despite what sounds like a sound problem with the vocals here)!
St Vincent’s third full length album came smashing in at the end of 2011 and made a huge impact for me. Perfectly mistimed, mistuned, ugly and boisterous yet full of quirks and beauty within. It’s one of the best audio messes I’ve heard in age.
Opening with “Chloe in the Afternoon” we’re given heavy production, awkward drum beats, wavy guitars and shuffling melodies that are both catchy and eerie at the same time. St Vincent’s vocals are sublime too. Like much of the album, there’s an overlying arc and melody that hits on the opening listen and then you find several other melodies hidden away on further investigation and it’s what makes Strange Mercy as a whole, such a compelling album. Single “Cruel” (with a great music video) is about a straight as they come with a simple hook for a chorus line but the verses and codas are just free-falling angelic flourishes. It’s big, brash, overdriven and great.
“Cheerleader” is a lethargic grind in the best possible way. Lazy faded guitars and held back vocal delivery serves well for the big bursts of bleeding pyrotechnics for a chorus. The beat is almost like a stomping a foot to protest exactly that St Vincent doesn’t want to cheer lead anymore! “Surgeon” is more relaxed with a lot of 70/80′s synth work with some extra funky electric piano swirls. There’s a noise of a vocal/keyboard combination that sounds slightly like a choir that runs throughout the album but here it is used a lot to great effect.
“Northern Lights” is a great rock out track with some fantastic lyrics that I can really relate to. This is the freak out song of the album with crazy solo’s and frantic vocals. The title track “Strange Mercy” is the first quiet track on the album with a clunky drum beat and some lonely spacey keyboard works floating over airy guitars. St Vincent uses her light voice to great effect with precision too. “Neutered Fruit” has some excellent guitar flexing throughout and a real funky track. Not the most catchiest but it holds a different space to the rest with its more minimal approach for the vast majority of the song before it’s a huge finale.
“Champagne Year” is a spacey track that is held by ethereal ambience, humming bass and a kick beat for the first half before other instruments join. It’s very floaty and dreamy. “Dilettante” has a production where all the fuzz and echo is taken away, almost like the life has been sucked out the music and sounds completely different to everything else on the record. The rest of the album has a certain sustain on it but not here. “Hysterical Strength” reminds me of the TV show Knight Rider! There’s a certain 80′s cheese to the main theme of it – in a good way! It’s the chugging bass line and processed drums that do it. It is a fun and frantic track which tidies everything up nicely for the closer “Year of the Tiger” which is a classic St Vincent track and perfectly sums up the album with strange production, chords that don’t usually get placed together and time structures that aren’t the norm.
“Strange Mercy” takes three or four listens before you fully appreciate it. A lot of people say why doesn’t she strip down her albums like some of her acoustic performances. I say keep her pushing the boundaries of sonic sounds on record and let her tour acoustically and that way we get both sides of this fantastic artist.
Always fun and complete with a cap, Derek Bishop’s latest video is for “Why Hold On”, a bluesy honky tonk tumble through the leaves from his album Resistance is Beautiful.
Sneaking in as #10 in my top albums for 2010 – Zola Jesus was an entirely new singer/songwriter to me late on last year. Conatus was her release that pushed her into spotlight.
The atmospheric “Swords” slides you into her industrial clinic electronic before “Avalanche” introduces you to Zola’s sumptuous voice that cuts like a knife but also it holds a certain depth. Matched with the darkness of the ambient electronic swirling around you it feels like a much darker Cocteau Twin vibe, or should you say Lisa Gerrard is an Angel, Zola would be the devil. The Cocteau vibe hits hardest with “Vessel” where the song flickers and merges on vocal loops over itself into a blurred frenzy in a fantastic stand out single.
“Hikikomori” is a builder track where the keyboards and vocals slowly build over the same few chords and patterns to its triumphant finale before “Ixode”‘s pumping kick beat turns the dark dampness of the depths of Zola’s soul into a mild dance track. You don’t necessarily understand what is being sung but it’s like emotion is being transposed into a vocal sound. It feels strangely enlightening. ”Seekir” takes this one step further with a more straightforward dance-esque track full of lifeless instrumentation and Zola’s flowing voice soaring over the top.
“In Your Nature” for some unknown reason reminds me of a 90′s M-People track Zola style! It’s has a hook that’s actually quite joyous and harmonious and is the first really uplifting song with its strident beat and chords. “Like The Palm of the Burning Handshake” is a very broken and disjointed track which does work well but takes a couple of listens to appreciate it’s very stilted approach to piano playing and keyboard synths. The ending section is very anthemic though and makes up for it if you’re not a fan of that style of song. “Shivers” is a wonderfully constructed track of mini percussive elements of clicks and scrapes before an insanely catchy chorus takes over. A personal highlight.
“Skin” is a very minimal piano / vocal / cymbal shimmering track that is delicate, eerie and beautiful before the album closes with “Collapse” which is like a buzzing healing energy that washes over the rest of the album to try and cleanse all the hurt that you’ve travelled through to get there.
“Conatus” is in many ways a simple album. The songs have a similar sound, structure and poise. It’s the overall feeling and setting of everything though that makes the album far more than the sum of its parts. It’s uplifting, its dank, its a bloodied scream of pain that calls you in like a siren. That is Zola Jesus.
Nier, the PS3 RPG has one of the best soundtracks I’ve heard all generation. Now there’s been a tribute album released so I can’t be the only one thinking the same thing!
“Repose” opens remixed by Sexy-Synthesizer which is weaves the beautiful angelic vocal samples and acoustic guitar samples of a shimmering mirage of technical wizardry. It’s like the keyboard just showers all kinds of arpeggios of greatness upon your ears – it’s really beautifully put together. Matryoshka’s version of “Kaine / Salvation ~ Kaines Escape” is a hushed version of the vocal theme with lots of static noise purring through the arrangement. It reminds me very much of the original Shadow Hearts vocal theme.
“Temples of Drifting Sands” but millstones is a real drum n bass affair moulding the original vocals that are heavily processed around a quickly paced beat. There’s plenty of bright piano added in to keep you amused too. “Emil / Sacrifice” from Ametsub starts off like a fluffy Cocteau Twins track and spins itself into a whirlwind of clicks and real moogy keyboard samples. It’s nothing like the original and the track really flips its character over the five minutes it runs. Superbly diverse and genre hopping, it’s a great display of technical talent.
“Suite of Nier” from arranger Go-qualia however is a tour de force. Taking four tracks and fusing them together in a Gothic beauty. Complete with sharp, buzzing complex drum structures, industrialised keyboard synths and disquieting vocal performances – the whole thing works an absolute treat. “Shadowlord’s Castle / Roar” from Rafven is a great little polka number. Accordion, brass and whimsy guitar make it great fun and when it suddenly kicks into the full speed version, you won’t be able to keep still!
Nobu44 turns to a new genre with “The Incomplete Stone” which is neo-jazz with its slinky organs and low fi chords being lazily played underneath. Then give the monk style vocal some vocoder and you have another surprisingly awesome track on your hands. sasakure.UK’s version of “Song of the Ancients / Devola / Popula” is a hi energy affair with a rocking beat and some hugely complex noise riffs rolling constantly around the speakers. Add in some fantastic piano and string work over the vocals and you have a great mix.
KanouKaoru’s “The Wretched Automatons” is a sublime echo filled dreamscape of underwater currents, string arrangements and soft percussion. It’s a hard one to classify because its soft and dreamy but actually very densely produced. It works very well though, making a soft song have underlying tension. “Grandma” from Schroeder-Headz is an interesting take on the song which starts off very similar to the original and then grows into something more orchestral and grand. No-No2′s track “The Lost Forest” is a typical remake using woodwind, plenty of piano and soft tuned percussive elements giving a warm if mystical rendition. The closer is “Snow in Summer – The Dark Colossus Destroys All” from World’s End Girlfriend is a song that decides to throw in every type of tempo change effect possible, even making me think my speakers had gone wrong. It’s very much of the nature of Nier, Shadow Hearts, End of Eternity etc in its style and its a great dramatic end to a fantastic album.
As a tribute album, Echo is at the top of its game – so much so I’d recommend it as a must have accompaniment to the original soundtrack the expansions soundtrack. Gothic, haunting, slightly nuts but eerily beautiful from start to finish – I have not enough thumbs to up to Echo!
Derek Bishop’s music can best be described as an entire wardrobe of Sunday morning regrets dressed up in Saturday nights best. An entire hodge podge of instruments that somehow fit seamlessly together, this is a singer/songwriter that isn’t afraid of merging all kinds of genres and feelings.
Opener “Counterfeit” is showy and poppy with plenty of funky piano and organs and even Vegas brass blasting you through the speakers. Yet the subject matter is something you wouldn’t want to be waving costume feathers at. What is on display here is some absolutely fantastic piano chops. There’s a great solo and Derek’s vocals flex around it in all the right places. After the fanfare intro “The Last Word” is no less playful but veers more towards electro-pop with fast paced vocals and some fun interplay between the piano-rock and the dance floor genres. It’s a prime example of how you can take an entire world tour in a single song. I’m not aware of many other songwriters who can so competently and confidently flick the switch between four bars of electropop to four bars of lounge jazz to four bars of 70′s keyboard cheese-fest and all sound perfectly plausible. Derek doesn’t sit still!
“Harvey” wheels out the honky-tonk for the most conventional song on the album so far which sounds like a warm hug at the bar for a final song before hometime. Even when singing about sad subjects, the songs still burst with a flowery skip in their step be it through the uplifting and catchy choruses or the happy brass backings. “Take Him Away” reminds me of Shirley Bassey! The low rumblings of the pianos and the oohing back vocals accompanied with cheeky organ flourishes make it the sultry kiss in the dark track – it’s hard not to shuffle your hips to it. “Pass Me By” features lush vocal arrangements and showcases Derek’s vocals that haven’t had the chance to shine because you’re so taken aback by the kitchen sink production of the songs so far. It’s a very sweet song and its relatively simple production compared to the rest of the album makes it a calmer addition to the album. “What It Takes” then follows with a slower ballad which places Bishop’s vocals so far to the foreground the rest of the music doesn’t fit the song until the second half when it all comes together beautifully.
“Set You Free” opens with a fantastic line “I wish you the worst… which is the best for me!” This has some fantastic playing from various instruments and is possibly my favourite track on the album for switching gears constantly in tempo and instrumentation. “Find Him Again” continues the slightly darker edge with less of a fanfare and more of a bass guitar and electric keyboard rumble building the tension. There is clearly a 70′s elevator influence hidden within Derek with all the funky electric piano used throughout the album. “Why Hold On” has a wonderfully rich honky-tonk piano leading the way in what is a purposefully clumsy cabaret track. It’s warm and fun.
“Fold” is a straightforward track which lets the songwriting shine through with intricate verses and choruses before “Thinking About You” gives us the sole piano / vocal track on the album. Surprisingly it’s not a quiet track and reminds me specifically of Elton John. The closer “Jackpot” is a short and chirpy track using plenty of 8-bit sounds and plenty of percussion. It’s a real tour-de-force to fit in as many instruments and styles in 150 seconds as possible. It’s typical of Derek, typical of the album and so unique to him.
“Resistance Is Beautiful” almost seems too big for the speakers, like it’s so jam-packed of sound and wonder it can’t fit itself into just one sonic sound to push itself out. Unabashedly joyous in places and precision perfect mastery of instrumentation throughout, Derek Bishop has added himself to what I call the kitchen-sink genre, where no stone is left unturned for some of the finest music available. Quite possibly my favourite new male artist of 2011.
My Brightest Diamond returned with her third full album “All Things Will Unwind” and after beautiful orchestration and minimalist taut rock, this time we find a pure fusion of her previous works.
Opener “We Added It Up” is a beautiful acoustic led ditty with the vogue instrument of the moment bass Clarinet tooting along in the background. There’s also some wonderful vocal montages in the second half of the song. It’s a light opener which paves the way for “Reaching Through to the Other Side” which has some great flute and string work. Reminding me of some of the more sweeping work Shara has done before, her higher vocal register makes for some achingly pure moments. It’s interesting how one vocal note held over lots of other instruments can stir up so much emotion. “In the Beginning” again showcases the session musicians with some cute woodwind flurries. This is one of the less direct tracks on the album, taking the approach of a sweeping story in four minutes instead. It has several transitions and all of them are endearing and softly rounded. It’s an acoustic psychedelic jamboree.
“Escape Routes” shows us a new side to Shara’s music – a cheeky one! The cute guitar strums are high-pitched and playful and the string and wind arrangements, as they are to some extent throughout the whole album, are intricate but joyful. By extension, the cute transforms to the dramatic with the single “Be Brave” but unlike the sweeping soundscapes of her previous string work, this highlights the more bursting harshness of the arrangements on the album. It’s far more tightly woven even when the choruses burst into full life.
“She Does Not Brave The War” is a lullaby of sorts with enchanting plucks, shimmering prepared pianos and wallowing clarinets. It feels like you’re being tempted out to sea by a siren. In contrast “Ding Dang” is a short song full of clattering tuned percussive beats being scored over. It’s cute and pretty especially when the marimba is used. It breaks into a finale as the song builds up and is unique as it is fun to listen to. “There’s a Rat” has the best lyrics I’ve heard in a while. “There’s a rat in my kitchen and its eating my cheese!” There’s a slight tongue in cheek approach to the hill billy country with the execution of the song and Shara is trying to Kate Bush her vocals which don’t quite pull off at the same level but it’s still a fun and interesting track nonetheless. “High Low Middle” continues with the fast patter of cheeky uptempo numbers with electric organs and folksy drums. This diversion into the country Disney genre infects the whole album but nowhere is its jazzy hands momentum most apparent than here. “Everything is in Line” is another interesting track that’s a duet with DM Stith and they interplay perfectly together as the marimba and thumb piano play off each other in unison. It’s one of the more immediate tracks to get into. The album closes “I Have Never Loved Someone” which is based around a pump organ complete with a squeak cutely playing in the background throughout. It’s warm and glowing and a whimsy end to what is an album that straddles emotions throughout.
Reviewing any “My Brightest Diamond” work is tough because what I have thought of her work initially is always a lot less than what I feel about it say a year later. I find myself struggling with its tone. Some of it is too cute for its own good and it doesn’t sit well with the vocal delivery. When things are more subdued or dramatic it suddenly all clicks into place. I guess this is another album I’ll end up enjoying more and more over time, like her previous two. “A Thousand Sharks Teeth” failed to capture me on first listen yet now I regard it as one of my all time favs. I don’t think this rivals that albums status but I’m sure it will grow over time.
We do love Bjork here at HPM and her latest album “Biophilia” is another stunning, almost career spanning album taking bits and pieces from other albums and meshing them altogether.
Opener “Moon” see’s the return of Zeena Perkins’ harp for a beautifully layered track that starts off with a very simple melody and then extra layers of Verspertine-like muted percussion is added on with mergers of Medulla vocal collages. It’s a truly emotive piece but one that doesn’t set the tone for the rest of the album. That’s left more for “Thunder Bolt” with thick organs and pulsating Tesla coils. Biophilia is very much about atmosphere and depth. Avoiding any kind of hook whatsoever, the Tesla coil spits out arpeggios while Bjork becomes her own choir over the top. Utterly unique.
“Crystalline” see’s the invent of another beautiful instrument, the Gameleste. It’s jingling xylophonic bells are the beauty to the electronic harsh percussive beast of the beat. The two melt together perfectly as the only song with a specific verse / chorus structure. The final minute see’s the song breakout into a frenzy of breakbeat showdowns and this is the most energetic the album gets. “Cosmogony” takes the brass elements from Volta and Selma Songs and goes spacial with a wonderfully warm and cosy number full of hushed tones and heartbeats. It’s ethereal and mostly a calming piece as all the harshness of the brass is taken out and almost sounds like a thousand people humming. “Dark Matter” returns to the organ that almost sounds like a humming space probe. Bjork’s vocals are manipulated into a twisted mess and it’s really quite eerie. Think the organ version of “Cover Me” and you’re part way there. “Hollow” goes one step further with one of the most atmospherically disturbing tracks she’s created. A stabbing organ, reversed backing vocals and little regard for a melody at all, this is all about scaring ten barrels of juice out of you. After these two tracks, I now would like to start a petition to get Bjork to score a horror film.
“Virus” is possibly my favourite track on the album. Using the Gameleste and warm keyboards / steel drums the track weaves a heart wrenching and beautiful track. It’s full of quirky tuned percussive instruments but they all sounds sumptuous together. Again, although this track has a melody, its more about the arching emotion and atmosphere. “Sacrifice” makes this clear with an awesome futuristic sounding synth noise that also sounds medieval. It’s the sole instrument along with the vocals but it’s all that’s needed in what is a great song full of vocal layers and duelling melodies. “Mutual Core” is the other big hitter with drums and bass on the album. Based on the albums most prominent instrument, the organ, we are treated to some Homogenic-esque bass beats which soon break into their own grizzly euphoria as the backing vocals rise and rise and Bjork lets rip. The normal edition of the album closes with “Solstice” which after lots of digital trickery returns to a more acoustic root. In many ways it’s the typical minimal closer that Bjork likes to place at the end of her albums and this one feels almost freeform in its minimal nature. I felt like I needed a campfire while listening to it.
On the deluxe edition you are also treated to an extended version of Hollow, an equally eerie Dark Matter with a choir added on and the extra track “Nattura” which is a fantastic track I urge people to seek. It’s a massive drum solo with random squiggle riffs and Bjork ad-libbing over the top. There’s nothing like it on the album, nor has she made anything like it elsewhere – it’s more like her Sugarcubes days!
Biophilia is almost devoid of classification. I hate it when people just say the music is bonkers and mad. There is true genius here. Those going after melodies may be disappointed however as Biophilia is all about the overarching feeling. It’s strength lies in the fact that when the albums finished you feel you’ve been somewhere, felt something and want to feel it again. If that isn’t a work of art, I don’t want to go to the gallery.
French Cassettes are a fun San Fransisco based band that mix French pop and psychedelic rock. As such its happy, jangley and just a little bit naughty – a bit like their video which is perfectly described as “The Blair Witch Project meets The Little Mermaid”. All will be revealed with their single “Radley” below.
Featured as a new band a few weeks ago UK based rockers Down the Machine return with a new single “Know Your Place”. A perfect blend of adult rock and infectious chords that roll and roll, it’s an excellent introduction to a band that’s certainly on the rise!
Dirtblonde are a UK rock duo that hammer their sound right up to the speakers and chug away like the 90′s grunge and 80′s overkill guitar we all love. Their new EP “Token Rose” is a great introduction to the band.
Opener “Token Rose” showcases them at their best with a real blasting with power chords blasting through the speakers and ethereal wavering vocals. It reminds me slightly of a more coherent Cocteau Twins that’s more focused on power than melody. “Broken Glass” goes more for the melody with an acoustic/vocal number that sounds like it’s been recorded purposefully away from the microphones as it has an airy mystical quality to it. “In Furs” however is dirty and seedy with its almost organ like guitar picking over the main three chord riff. What Dirtblonde show in all the five songs is their effortless ability to weave just a couple of chords into something that is much more than the sum of its parts. The vocals are so sad and lethargic and juxtaposed against the harsh guitars and stomping drums, it’s nailed a certain whimsical given-up feeling. “Lonesome Girl” is an overdriven guitar fest with a tambourine attached for good measure. Dank and dirty from beginning to end, I felt like I needed a bath afterwards. The EP closes with “Machine” which is the most produced track with a nifty bass riff and eerie guitar feedback bleeding from ear to ear as the vocal echo on repeat. It creates a great atmosphere.
This is a great EP from a new band that I’m now very much excited over. Dirtblonde show diversity and a knack of making a space of their own. HPM would like a full album please!
Derek Bishop is a new singer/songwriter that has blooped onto my radar of late. Reminding of the absolutely fantastic Keyth Lawrence and the Purple Circle, Derek weaves a lot of keyboard and piano work through insanely catchy pop/rock tracks with big choruses that while they are immediate, have a lot of depth underneath. What I like most about the songs are that they never sit still – the instrumentation swaps, chops and changes from verse to chorus to bridge to interlude and back again. It keeps everything fresh and interesting from the first to the last note.
We hope to featuring more of Derek later on but for now here’s his debut single “The Last Word”.
