This is a record drenched in the seventies, literally dripping with honeyed, soulful, in-your-face, grinning disco lurve. I mean, look at the cover. Quinn Luke is a man who lives his creative convictions (or knows exactly how to give his audience the impression that he does). These songs are full of that wonderful fusion of the sexual and the spiritual that defined the best of the disco era.
April 27, 2011
The difference between the electro-industrial and powernoize genres can sometimes be no more than the degree of distortion involved. Much of this album’s beats and song structures could have sat quite happily on Matt Fanales previous Caustic release ...And You Will Know Me By The Trail Of Vomit…
April 27, 2011
Naplew Productions, 2010, DD album, 29m 8s, £name your price (all proceeds donated to the charity Women’s Aid) http://m-s-b.bandcamp.com/album/orange-peel-and-paper I’ve been lucky enough a few times recently to find myself reviewing music that’s motivated by a creative generosity. This is not to say that it involves any expectation of gratitude, but simply that it is… [Read more…]
April 27, 2011
This bold, confidently gestural and slightly glitchy visual design seems to represent in a very appropriate way the sounds it promotes: even the title perfectly evokes the assembly of phrases that the album contains, and with it’s echo of ‘truisms’, its creative intentions, if I read them right.
April 25, 2011
I was lucky enough to spend three days of late April representing the fantastic DIY musicians’ resource Live Unsigned at the MusicConnexconference in central London. This was an event targeted primarily towards musical artists seeking to develop their careers through the use of digital resources
April 23, 2011
self released, 2010, DD tracks, free http://www.facebook.com/echorainofficial http://www.liveunsigned.com/Echo_Rain/ Echo Rain picked two tracks to send me, although there are several more on their Facebook page: one of the two reviewed here, ‘Hold On’, has a download button. The first thing I’ll say is that this is beautifully recorded and mixed, with some really juicy instrumental… [Read more…]
April 23, 2011
Sometimes possessed of the dramatic bombast of its prog roots, and drawing its stylistic features from all over, this music mainly takes the textural approach characteristic of post-rock. It most resembles the traditional sounds of progressive rock on ‘Oceans Away’, the third movement of this three part composition, particularly in the lead keyboard parts.
April 23, 2011
‘Avant pop’ is a term that has been bandied about at various times, in various contexts, and it is one that Diane Marie Kloba has applied to her own work… It may take some listeners a while to hear past the somewhat challenging surface of this music. Once they do they will find a probing, enquiring creativity that is intellectually and emotionally stimulating, but also sweet natured, and motivated by a generosity of spirit.
April 23, 2011
Original songs in the style of folksong aren’t ‘folk’ in the sense of ‘traditional music’, and nor in fact do they actually sound like any traditional music ever did… this is a collection of finely crafted songs in a style that draws heavily on that tradition, with some rock elements, in the form of some bass and percussion, and some very tasteful, and sonically imaginative electric guitar.
April 20, 2011
Studio Dog Records, 2010, CD album, 34m 38s, £7 http://www.myspace.com/raisingmaisie http://www.liveunsigned.com/Raising_Maisie/ Raising Maisie are not badass, intimidating or scary in any way. Neither are most hardcore, extreme metal or gangsta rap artists, but Raising Maisie aren’t pretending. Pretension is no part of their uncomplicated, well crafted, concise and extremely entertaining pop-rock. Regular readers of my… [Read more…]
April 20, 2011
Dusty Curtain Face Records DCF-001, 2011, CD album, 73m 8s, £? http://www.hobopope.com/fr_otherbands.cfm Dusty Curtain Face Records are about as DIY and low key as a label can be, based on their founder/ producer/ engineer Paul Rhodes’ realisation that he could use some cheap, semi-functional equipment in bands’ rehearsal spaces to make better recordings than often… [Read more…]
April 18, 2011
It’s definitely an exciting time to be active in music, for a host of reasons. The industry is in flux, and it’s fascinating to watch its convulsions as the market works out what sort of distribution mechanisms it’s going to support. There are new technologies for musicians springing up on a daily basis that are useful, accessible and easy, in both production and marketing/ distribution. The channels of communication are open: artists are now at liberty to make their pitch on their own terms, and millions of people are listening.
April 16, 2011
self released SCOOBS001, 2009, CD album, 49m £5 http://www.thescoobs.co.uk/ It’s only a few weeks since I reviewed a Scoobs gig, and what they do live is very similar to what’s on this recording. I get the impression that all or most of these tunes have been honed and developed through many years of live performance.… [Read more…]
April 16, 2011
self released, 2011, DD album, 68m 8s £name your price http://artificialsunproject.bandcamp.com/album/62204-2 http://www.facebook.com/pages/Artificial-Sun-Project/224311699231 ‘Ambient’ is a term that has carried many meanings in music. As originally coined by Brian Eno it referred to an approach which placed intentional sound in the habitable environment without necessarily making it the focus of attention: this sense drew on… [Read more…]
I'm a writer, and this is my muffin.
April 30, 2011
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