Hotly tipped new artist Rachel Sermanni is starting to make waves with her new EP “Black Currents” which as any good EP should, opens windows to Rachel’s musical world.
“Breath Easy” is a delicate acoustic guitar song with washes of piano and strings that breeze in and out throughout. Rachel’s vocals are a mixture of the simple purity of Emiliana Torrini and the husky undertones of Sarah Blasko with music matching a mixture of the two as well. “The Fog” is a darker, more immediate track that has a surging power in the choruses and an eerie pulsation of the guitar in the verses. The pizzicato string arrangement is kooky and willow wisp ooh’s evoke a dream state gone wrong. It’s a fantastic track. Title track “Black Currents” mixes the previous two tracks to provide a mature sound for someone so young that ebbs and flows and waltz along effortlessly before “Song to a Fox” utilises some minimal ambience and keyboard effects to perfectly emphasis the emptiness and space between us all in a sombre closer.
Rachel Sermanni falls perfectly into the acoustic rock female movement that is already crowded – but there’s always room for more. Each song is has tenderness and a bite to it and also a layer of depth. Hopefully Rachel’s talent will shine through to plenty of new listeners and we have witnessed the birth of a great musician taking flight.
Stereo Alchemy is the product of twice Grammy winning composer Christopher Tin and Grammy nominated percussionist Kametron. God of Love is their début album together and showcases a broad spectrum of electro excellence.
“A Rapture” is a classic case in point. Starting out with ambient murmurings before breaking out into a stadium stomping wash of electronics and plush keyboard exploding seascapes. Equal parts isolating and warming, it blasts into epic chorus moments and shows real scope. “Unbound” is more gritty and crunchy guitar lead track and the pounding percussive nature of the guitar chugs really gets your pulse racing.
“God of Love” is the title track and where the concept of the album really fleshes out before your ears. Each song relates to a poem about Love or Death and they very much become characters during the album itself. The title track is simply mesmerizing. It’s a track that seems to spread far beyond the depths of the speakers the music blasts from and the drums and the vocals play together beautifully.
“She Walks in Beauty” is one of the more straight-laced tracks with some insanely catchy electronic work and sublime vocal work from a soulful male lead. It feels retrotastic in many ways yet it’s got a new pair of sneakers and is enjoying the ride. “Is It Possible” reminds me of Savage Garden – some of the best pop of the late 90′s – with extra funk! The percussion and beats in this track are unreal Kametron is definitely pressing hundreds of buttons a minute here and the ending minute is euphoria in a riff.
“Monster of the Sky” veers right across the edgy darkness that inhabited underground electronica in the 90s and reminds me of a crystal clean version of the band Curve. The chorus is rip-roaring and the guitar / bass lines added to reverbing vocals and nutty drum loops make everything tingle and explode like lit touch-paper.
“To Eternity” is a great hybrid of absolutely everything the album does wrapped up in one track. Starting out as a beautifully angelic number it slowly evolves into a riff rock disco track. In one way it’s got all the excellence that was the over produced 80′s way of musical life but the difference is Tin has managed to work everything into having its own space. Outstanding. ”My Hearts Fit to Break” is a more melodic track with lots of shimmering grit and glitz over fragile vocal delivery. The vocal performances of Melissa R Kaplan, Mozez and Lia Rose are spot on throughout and should be commended.
“Young Lovers” is so 1990 it is impossible to not smile and dance away to. Infectiously happy, delirious with its power chords and pumping beats – perfect for a sunny drive with the top down. “Love is Love” closes the album with a minimalistic chord swirl ballad that is both enlightening and understated in its beauty. The lyrics shine here, as they do throughout.
Stereo Alchemy have blown me away. The sheer complexity of some of the tracks is mind-boggling from the percussion to the little nuances and frequency changes in all the instruments as they go. It’s these things that elevate a good album to a truly great one. Quite frankly, God of Love is one long eargasm from start to finish and is firmly the first contender for album of the year on this site.
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)!
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.
Justin Levinson & The Valcours is a rather fantastic ensemble album from singer/songwriter Justin Levinson and a full crew of musicians backing him up. It’s a step up from his previous efforts as he moves into a Wainwright territory for the future.
Opener “Water Wears the Rock” is a big statement track. Huge rip-roaring choruses, loud drums, piano solos with guitar overtures and a distinct energy that flows from start to finish. “You Became A Ghost” feels like a cinematic pop rock anthem. There’s enough pauses, drum rolls and elating guitar solos to rival a Queen track. It’s fun and approachable and a good starting point to delve into Levinson. “Love You Goodbye” features Gregory Douglass although they are sparsely used. The song itself feels a little clunky as if its been autotracked a bit too tightly for its own good but the melody itself is pleasant enough.
“Let You Go” features Will Dailey and is a sweet rock ballad with some lovely celtic flairs to it which make it quite whimsy while the cabaret brass added to “Bar Scene” is playful while Justin lazily pub sings his way through the song. There’s an annoying bar chat sample that overbears some of the great brass work however. This is why “I’ll Be Ok” works better as it brings all the rough edges together into a playful, wonderful, joyous explosion of music. It’s just one of those infectious songs it’s hard to offended by or dislike.
A wonderful waltzing duet “I Was So Wrong” features Liz Longley gets its country on. Liz’s vocals remind me of Tanya Donelly and the guitar twangs and harmonicas add to create a distinctly different song from the rest of the album. “Million Tears” is a very traditional rock ballad in the Beatles style and showcases Justin’s vocals at its best with various octaves, styles and ranges. “Say What Your Gonna Say” is very 70′s in many ways with its clean guitars, sultry brass and light choruses that slightly shimmer. The album closes with “If You’re Happier” which is another classic Beatles style ballad.
This Side of Me, This Side of You has excellent production values. Everything feels full and explosive. Justin’s vocals sometimes sound a bit like the weakest part of the package as they get swamped by the big songs and I’ve never been a fan of talky singing which some tracks slip into. However looking passed my own preferences I can see this being a very popular album and one that should elevate Levinson up the ranks as a well rounded and catchy album that doesn’t sell its core values.
Kara McGraw is a lovely singer / songwriter from Berlin, Vermont, USA and she has penned and released a beautiful track for the farmers recovering from Hurricane Irene. The song is available to download and keep on bandcamp’s wonderful name your price and that money will then go towards their recovery.
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!
We here at HPM do like an indie band and Mushu fit that bill nicely. Recording and releasing their new single “Traps” is a step away from their previous efforts with a more grandeur approach. From the echoing spacious beginning the track gradually adds layers of vocals and instruments to a beautiful climax that feels really fluid and very psychedelic / hippy styled. Like if Ladytron dropped all electrics and went on a pure 4 piece venture.
Here’s to hoping Mushu get their first full release out soon.
Sometimes ad’s on facebook do work! I came across Atra Aeterna by clicking on something that told me it was right up my musical alley and by Jove they were right! “November” is not Atra Aeterna’s most recent piece but it the first I’d like to review because as a whole piece of music its utter beautiful.
Each of the nine tracks on the album are named their numbers in order and each is piano based. A thick, syrupy piano that is heavy in a subtle but thick haze that gives a feel of morning fog or a new dusk. Each track starts off with a simple piano riff that is then build upon with an underscoring of keyboard synths. Those synths stay very ethereal throughout and veer towards mimicking string arrangements. Sometimes they sound like water string arrangements for real, but others are more plucky and rely on ambient decay to swirl around you.
As for the tunes themselves, they are all melodic yet not entirely something you’d call a hook. Instead they become a hypnotic texture palette that swirls and dips colours of echoing piano shrills or soothing keyboard samples. Placed over melodies that are dark, full of minor notes and an underlying tension in the beauty and you have something artistic yet wholesome.
That’s as far as I’ll take you as I don’t want to spoil the rest. It reminds me of a Frou Frou lyric: “beauty in the breakdown”. The piano melodies are downtrodden but wise beyond their years. Dilapidated but with clear grandeur about them. It’s a work of art and has immediately become one of my favourite discoveries of 2011.
The most rocking husband and wife duo known to man, Clatter have recently been making new noise about their upcoming album. Here’s a live sample of “Downstream”.
Imogen Heap and Vishal-Shekhar collaborate for the fantastic track “Minds Without Fear” – a fantastic song for what will hopefully end up on the third album. A whole programme has been made about the process of making the track and is the first in a series that follows artists around the world making music together. It’s a really interesting concept and programme. Watch and see!
In anticipation of my attendance to see her live in concert tomorrow – here’s a unique (and possibly one time only) version of Seven Sisters followed by Pretty Good Year.
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.
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.
Kate Bush returns with the fantastic single “Wild Man” from the upcoming album “50 Words for Snow” and despite being a Christmas album of sorts, there’s only some sleigh bells for about three seconds. Instead with have a sultry Kate’s hushed tones purring over a flickering guitar string and a joyously loose chorus full of vocal delights. A real surprise in the best way. 2011 sure has had some fantastic new music! The single is out today.
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!
