Up Mine, SunshineLocus Amoenusself-released (2010) Genre: ElectronicRating: C- Has your life been lacking the electronic nostalgia of Nintendo Entertainment System scores and themes? Do you also crave female vocal stylings that aim for beauty, but often miss the mark? Are you wanting more effect-laden keyboard and beat sounds that have been used to death in this day and age? Well, then look no further than Up Mine, Sunshine’s Locus Amoenus. Matthew and Ashley Beck are the married couple that make up this amalgamation of cutsey talent that runs like a Mini Cooper shot to shit with a 12 gauge. “Pander Eyes” opens this lump blaring something like a theremin with an extra chromosome and a love for the Mega Man franchise. The NES-inspired synth tones don’t stop there; “The Exploding Plastic Avoidable” could have been lifted right out of Zelda before it was spliced with a broken Fischer Price piano. “Cherimoya” has a Pac-Man or even Super Mario Bros sound to it, but with enough fuzz to alert a garage rock lover or two. Now there’s nothing wrong with paying homage to video games with samples and 8-bit melodies, but that alone can’t hold up Locus Amoenus. Ashley’s singing only sits well when tuned in with the actual music (”The Serpent And The Dove”), so as to hide her lack of immediate appeal. And it seems Matthew’s compositions can rarely get a toe to tap or slide a mellow feeling into the room. These unfortunate combinations leave an album that’s only truly interesting aspect is its title. -Sean McCoy Listen:“Keep A Right Glow” Listen to and Download Locus Amoenus For Free

Up Mine, Sunshine
Locus Amoenus
self-released (2010)

Genre: Electronic
Rating: C-

Has your life been lacking the electronic nostalgia of Nintendo Entertainment System scores and themes? Do you also crave female vocal stylings that aim for beauty, but often miss the mark? Are you wanting more effect-laden keyboard and beat sounds that have been used to death in this day and age? Well, then look no further than Up Mine, Sunshine’s Locus Amoenus.

Matthew and Ashley Beck are the married couple that make up this amalgamation of cutsey talent that runs like a Mini Cooper shot to shit with a 12 gauge. “Pander Eyes” opens this lump blaring something like a theremin with an extra chromosome and a love for the Mega Man franchise. The NES-inspired synth tones don’t stop there; “The Exploding Plastic Avoidable” could have been lifted right out of Zelda before it was spliced with a broken Fischer Price piano. “Cherimoya” has a Pac-Man or even Super Mario Bros sound to it, but with enough fuzz to alert a garage rock lover or two. Now there’s nothing wrong with paying homage to video games with samples and 8-bit melodies, but that alone can’t hold up Locus Amoenus.

Ashley’s singing only sits well when tuned in with the actual music (”The Serpent And The Dove”), so as to hide her lack of immediate appeal. And it seems Matthew’s compositions can rarely get a toe to tap or slide a mellow feeling into the room. These unfortunate combinations leave an album that’s only truly interesting aspect is its title.

-Sean McCoy

Listen:
“Keep A Right Glow”

Listen to and Download Locus Amoenus For Free

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To-Do List: Future Islands @ El Rio

We’ve been hearing a lot of great things about this band lately, and are pretty darn excited to have them playing here in San Francisco. Future Islands is a Baltimore three-piece band that play an emotionally intense and visceral style of, for lack of a better term, synth-pop. But you see, it’s not synth-pop; there are lots of synths and you can sing along with the low-register howl of Samuel T. Herring’s words, but the usual buoyancy that accompanies the average “synth-pop” group is no where to be found. Instead, Future Islands deliver cryptic lyrics atop barren electronics that sound pilfered from a lost Factory Records album.

We don’t have a flier for the band’s show Monday, May 24 at El Rio, but head to the venue’s website for the details. In the meantime, check out the single from Future Islands’ latest album, In Evening Air, below.

Listen:
“Tin Man”

Download as MP3

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SolventSubject to ShiftGhostly International (2010) Genre: ElectronicRating: B- From the initial ping-pong drum machine, soda-pop synthesizer, and vocoder-splashed vocals on “Loss For Words” and its preceding intro, it’s clear that Subject to Shift is a synth-pop album through and through. Solvent has definitely calmed down from his less radio-friendly roots of his earlier work, and now six years after his last proper full-length, Jason Amm’s analog electronic productions finds good company with dance-snob blacklisters like Pet Shop Boys and Soft Cell. One of the best songs to be found on Shift is surprisingly also the most club-friendly; the chugging, effusive, dancefloor-banger “A Product of the Process” has all the trappings of an electro-tinged pop hit, except for lack of vocals. Solvent lets his army of satellite-synths take the track into deep outer space, and that’s all he needs. Though, when singing is present, it hard sometimes to not find the retro-futuristic vocal filters a little cheesy. Sure, it worked on Daft Punk’s “One More Time,” but when Amm squeezes his voice through a narrow, robotic hallway on the “Tainted Love”-esque “Don’t Forget to Phone,” it just doesn’t fit in the way. As far as dance-friendly electronic music goes, you could do a lot worse than Subject to Shift, even if it is hard to pinpoint exactly what niche it’s aiming for. It’s too subdued for the hyperactive club-kids, it’s too weird for the layman electro-enthusiast still raving to Guns Don’t Kill People… Lazers Do, and it’s too traditional for the refined music major classicalists over at, say, Resident Advisor. Still, “A Product of the Process” slams, and that almost renders any other arguments mute. -Luke Winkie Listen:“Loss for Words” Solvent on Last.fm

Solvent
Subject to Shift
Ghostly International (2010)

Genre: Electronic
Rating: B-

From the initial ping-pong drum machine, soda-pop synthesizer, and vocoder-splashed vocals on “Loss For Words” and its preceding intro, it’s clear that Subject to Shift is a synth-pop album through and through. Solvent has definitely calmed down from his less radio-friendly roots of his earlier work, and now six years after his last proper full-length, Jason Amm’s analog electronic productions finds good company with dance-snob blacklisters like Pet Shop Boys and Soft Cell.

One of the best songs to be found on Shift is surprisingly also the most club-friendly; the chugging, effusive, dancefloor-banger “A Product of the Process” has all the trappings of an electro-tinged pop hit, except for lack of vocals. Solvent lets his army of satellite-synths take the track into deep outer space, and that’s all he needs. Though, when singing is present, it hard sometimes to not find the retro-futuristic vocal filters a little cheesy. Sure, it worked on Daft Punk’s “One More Time,” but when Amm squeezes his voice through a narrow, robotic hallway on the “Tainted Love”-esque “Don’t Forget to Phone,” it just doesn’t fit in the way.

As far as dance-friendly electronic music goes, you could do a lot worse than Subject to Shift, even if it is hard to pinpoint exactly what niche it’s aiming for. It’s too subdued for the hyperactive club-kids, it’s too weird for the layman electro-enthusiast still raving to Guns Don’t Kill People… Lazers Do, and it’s too traditional for the refined music major classicalists over at, say, Resident Advisor. Still, “A Product of the Process” slams, and that almost renders any other arguments mute.

-Luke Winkie

Listen:
“Loss for Words”

Solvent on Last.fm

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Watch: FM Belfast - “Underwear”

Here’s a pretty funny and unusually awesome looking music video for the song “Underwear” from Iceland’s FM Belfast. The song itself—which is a relatively average bit of electro-pop we couldn’t exactly recommend—is actually overshadowed by some well-executed visual work directed by Daniel Scheinert & Dan Kwan, collectively known as DANIELS.

The two video makers turned a somewhat dull concept, boys and girls dancing alone in their respective rooms, and made it look amazing. Employing a few visual effects and some insanely high-quality footage, DANIELS made the embarrassing movements of awkward tweens into stellar looking visual art.

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The Golden FilterVoluspaBrille Records (2010)Genre: ElectronicRating: B- I’ve confirmed two things via Wikipedia: Völuspá is an Icelandic poem describing the beginning and ending of the world according to Norse mythology, and Voluspa is the newest release from New York’s moody electro-pop duo The Golden Filter. Besides the familiarity in nomenclature, what one has to do with the other is iffy. For example, there is a disturbing lack of reference to dwarves, Odin, and apocalyptic destruction in The Golden Filter’s album, and I don’t feel the monk-scholar who composed Völuspá had discovered black lights and eyeliner by the time that poem was put to parchment in the tenth century. Though some Nordic name dropping occurs on the album (see the confusingly upbeat tale of haunting on “Frejya’s Ghost”), it seems rather likely that the word “Voluspa” just sounded good to the pair as an album title (and a straight-up concept album could be an epic disaster). And this feels right when discussing the quality of the album itself: it just sounds good. The incredible attention paid to every floor tom hit, synthesizer arpeggiation, and string section is commendable, but also lends to a feeling of sterility; like a house that is almost artificially too clean, the album doesn’t quite feel lived in. Echoing the likes of Glass Candy, Goldfrapp, and even vintage Broadcast, singer Penelope Trappes’ voice is virtually monochromatic, staying within the range of a few notes and a few adjectives: anonymous yet seductive, whispered but distant—even alien. Which brings me to point two: Voluspa just sounds good. Stephen Hindman’s production is as pristinely constructed as a snowflake, it is as ephemeral, and in the end, it is as disposable. The album as a whole feels like a series of disembodied gestures in front of a blank screen. The interlude “Kiss Her Goodbye” is an unnecessary minute-plus milieu of studio trickery that serves no purpose outside of taking up tracklist space. Maybe it is the lack of midrange to be found on the album, but Voluspa feels a little hollow and a little surreal. And I’ll venture to guess that is what The Golden Filter had set out to do.-August James O’Mahoney Listen:“Hide Me” The Golden Filter on Last.fm

The Golden Filter
Voluspa
Brille Records (2010)

Genre: Electronic
Rating: B-

I’ve confirmed two things via Wikipedia: Völuspá is an Icelandic poem describing the beginning and ending of the world according to Norse mythology, and Voluspa is the newest release from New York’s moody electro-pop duo The Golden Filter. Besides the familiarity in nomenclature, what one has to do with the other is iffy. For example, there is a disturbing lack of reference to dwarves, Odin, and apocalyptic destruction in The Golden Filter’s album, and I don’t feel the monk-scholar who composed Völuspá had discovered black lights and eyeliner by the time that poem was put to parchment in the tenth century.

Though some Nordic name dropping occurs on the album (see the confusingly upbeat tale of haunting on “Frejya’s Ghost”), it seems rather likely that the word “Voluspa” just sounded good to the pair as an album title (and a straight-up concept album could be an epic disaster). And this feels right when discussing the quality of the album itself: it just sounds good. The incredible attention paid to every floor tom hit, synthesizer arpeggiation, and string section is commendable, but also lends to a feeling of sterility; like a house that is almost artificially too clean, the album doesn’t quite feel lived in. Echoing the likes of Glass Candy, Goldfrapp, and even vintage Broadcast, singer Penelope Trappes’ voice is virtually monochromatic, staying within the range of a few notes and a few adjectives: anonymous yet seductive, whispered but distant—even alien.

Which brings me to point two: Voluspa just sounds good. Stephen Hindman’s production is as pristinely constructed as a snowflake, it is as ephemeral, and in the end, it is as disposable. The album as a whole feels like a series of disembodied gestures in front of a blank screen. The interlude “Kiss Her Goodbye” is an unnecessary minute-plus milieu of studio trickery that serves no purpose outside of taking up tracklist space. Maybe it is the lack of midrange to be found on the album, but Voluspa feels a little hollow and a little surreal. And I’ll venture to guess that is what The Golden Filter had set out to do.

-August James O’Mahoney

Listen:
“Hide Me”

The Golden Filter on Last.fm

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New Music From Toro Y Moi, Menomena, and Shlohmo

Today has been a particularly busy day for premieres. Throughout many of the internet’s various music outlets, relatively disparate artists Toro Y Moi, Menomena, and Shlohmo have unleashed never before heard songs on the unsuspecting masses. We couldn’t pick which was our favorite of the bunch, so we opted to share three of the tracks with you in one post.

Toro Y Moi’s new single “Leave Everywhere,” Menomena’s “FIVE LITTLE ROOMS” from the band’s forthcoming new LP, Mines, and Shlohmo’s cut from the upcoming Camping EP “Birthday Beat” are all included for you as stream, download, and other digital what-not, below.

Toro Y Moi - “Leave Everywhere”

Download as MP3

Birthday Beat - Shlohmo - Camping EP by FoFMusic

pictured Menomena

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The NationalHigh Violet4AD (2010) Genre: IndieRating: B  Most people either love The National’s ability to write a song that subtly—though somewhat predictably—swells from a quiet, minimal place to a louder, busier still mostly minimal place punctuated by brass and slick drum fills or are completely bored by the sometimes lackluster crescendos, Matt Berninger’s monotone voice, and his overly melodramatic lyrics. You could belong to one of those camps, or like me, you could reside near the fence, comfortably and a bit shamefully in the middle. There is something to be said for not conforming after being widely chastised by some with the “generally boring” criticism. The band is making the music that they want to make, whether we all love it or not. High Violet is the latest example of The National putting naysayers in a box, forgetting about them, and continuing to do what it does best. It’s a record that’s full of beautiful progressions and skillfully executed instrumentation, even if most of the songs do follow a pattern of beginning simply and building up to endings heavy with layers, textures and little bits of muted chaos. High Violet is also a record of completely depressing lyrics that are, at times, almost moaned into the microphone by Berninger. Such is the case on “Sorrow,” as he repeats in his most sorrowful tone, “I don’t want to get over you/I don’t want to get over you.” This is also no different from The National that we have known in the past, and those who love the band might say that they knew what was coming all along and that they’re into it. Maybe they love getting totally bummed out, which is fine, but others might say that this dude needs to get out in the sun for a while and lighten up. Both sides might be on to something. In the end, I can see where the haters are coming from, and I tend to agree with them on a lot of points, but I can’t help but like this band and this record in spite of it all. Whether it’s stronger than 2007’s Boxer—it might be. High Violet features a band that is more confident than it has ever been, which is shown in the album’s consistent and polished sound. The National is definitely getting better and better at what they do, even if what they do isn’t for everybody. -Todd Miller Listen:“Bloodbuzz Ohio” The National on Last.fm

The National
High Violet
4AD (2010)

Genre: Indie
Rating: B 

Most people either love The National’s ability to write a song that subtly—though somewhat predictably—swells from a quiet, minimal place to a louder, busier still mostly minimal place punctuated by brass and slick drum fills or are completely bored by the sometimes lackluster crescendos, Matt Berninger’s monotone voice, and his overly melodramatic lyrics. You could belong to one of those camps, or like me, you could reside near the fence, comfortably and a bit shamefully in the middle.

There is something to be said for not conforming after being widely chastised by some with the “generally boring” criticism. The band is making the music that they want to make, whether we all love it or not. High Violet is the latest example of The National putting naysayers in a box, forgetting about them, and continuing to do what it does best. It’s a record that’s full of beautiful progressions and skillfully executed instrumentation, even if most of the songs do follow a pattern of beginning simply and building up to endings heavy with layers, textures and little bits of muted chaos.

High Violet is also a record of completely depressing lyrics that are, at times, almost moaned into the microphone by Berninger. Such is the case on “Sorrow,” as he repeats in his most sorrowful tone, “I don’t want to get over you/I don’t want to get over you.” This is also no different from The National that we have known in the past, and those who love the band might say that they knew what was coming all along and that they’re into it. Maybe they love getting totally bummed out, which is fine, but others might say that this dude needs to get out in the sun for a while and lighten up. Both sides might be on to something.

In the end, I can see where the haters are coming from, and I tend to agree with them on a lot of points, but I can’t help but like this band and this record in spite of it all. Whether it’s stronger than 2007’s Boxer—it might be. High Violet features a band that is more confident than it has ever been, which is shown in the album’s consistent and polished sound. The National is definitely getting better and better at what they do, even if what they do isn’t for everybody.

-Todd Miller

Listen:
“Bloodbuzz Ohio”

The National on Last.fm

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Watch: Flying Lotus and ∞ Live @ The Echoplex

If you’re at all like us, you spent last weekend wishing you lived just a bit closer to Southern California (if only for two days). On May 14 and 15 at The Echoplex in Los Angeles, Steven Ellison celebrated the released of his (inter)stellar new album as Flying Lotus, keyCMND favorite Cosmogramma. We would’ve given up just about anything to catch the premiere of his new audio/visual show, and we probably shouldn’t tell you what we were willing to do see him play with a live band, dubbed ∞.

Thankfully, no drastic measures were taken, because the great people at Glenjamn captured the magic for us and threw it up on Youtube. Now we can watch Ellison and his band of merry music makers flesh out jazzy renditions of his tunes without promising to hand over our first born. Check out some live footage above, with more FlyLo video goodness here.

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Crystal CastlesCrystal CastlesFiction Records / Last Gang Records (2010) Genre: ElectronicIndie: B+ It is no surprise that the tinkering beat maker Ethan Kath and his screaming, singing, noise making counterpart Alice Glass created every indie kid’s favorite electronic project. With the duo’s 2007 self-titled debut, Crystal Castles seemingly got the alchemy just right to produce a record that electronic music naysayers could stomach, even enjoy dancing to. Kath and Glass’ sound was too rough to be aligned with the dance-pop front, yet too cohesive to be thrown in with the somewhat alienating noisy electro set. What was left was a rocker’s own Daft Punk: unabashedly catchy and infectious, yes, but in the most erratic sense. Toss in an infamously turbulent live performance taken to the far corners of the globe, not to mention legendarily insane SXSW shows, and you’ve got some high expectations for Crystal Castles’ follow-up LP. The Toronto pair’s sophomore album—which is, once again, self-titled—tends to polarize the two competing forces of CC’s electronic sound: calculated chaos and mellow placidity. The noise-driven tracks are more abrasive—“Fainting Spells” kicks things off with a sonic “fuck you” to anyone expecting a remotely club ready first cut, and “Doe Deer” is basically adding injury and insult to that sentiment—and the subdued, airy tracks reach levels of melancholy unseen on the first album—“Celestica” brings a Ladytron feel to the record’s first single with ambient pulsations and dreamy vocals. The remainder of Crystal Castles can weigh in on either one side or the other; apparently, the band has found its formula, and it’s sticking to it. Overall, the feel of the second album by Crystal Castles is congruent with the outfit’s previous ethos, yet it yields a tighter, more self-aware package. Is a dressed up, slight perversion of the previous album all to be seen from the potential saving grace of indie dance music? We will have to wait for the remixes. -Dave Peterson Listen:“Celestica” Crystal Castles on Last.fm

Crystal Castles
Crystal Castles
Fiction Records / Last Gang Records (2010)

Genre: Electronic
Indie: B+

It is no surprise that the tinkering beat maker Ethan Kath and his screaming, singing, noise making counterpart Alice Glass created every indie kid’s favorite electronic project. With the duo’s 2007 self-titled debut, Crystal Castles seemingly got the alchemy just right to produce a record that electronic music naysayers could stomach, even enjoy dancing to. Kath and Glass’ sound was too rough to be aligned with the dance-pop front, yet too cohesive to be thrown in with the somewhat alienating noisy electro set. What was left was a rocker’s own Daft Punk: unabashedly catchy and infectious, yes, but in the most erratic sense. Toss in an infamously turbulent live performance taken to the far corners of the globe, not to mention legendarily insane SXSW shows, and you’ve got some high expectations for Crystal Castles’ follow-up LP.

The Toronto pair’s sophomore album—which is, once again, self-titled—tends to polarize the two competing forces of CC’s electronic sound: calculated chaos and mellow placidity. The noise-driven tracks are more abrasive—“Fainting Spells” kicks things off with a sonic “fuck you” to anyone expecting a remotely club ready first cut, and “Doe Deer” is basically adding injury and insult to that sentiment—and the subdued, airy tracks reach levels of melancholy unseen on the first album—“Celestica” brings a Ladytron feel to the record’s first single with ambient pulsations and dreamy vocals. The remainder of Crystal Castles can weigh in on either one side or the other; apparently, the band has found its formula, and it’s sticking to it.

Overall, the feel of the second album by Crystal Castles is congruent with the outfit’s previous ethos, yet it yields a tighter, more self-aware package. Is a dressed up, slight perversion of the previous album all to be seen from the potential saving grace of indie dance music? We will have to wait for the remixes.

-Dave Peterson

Listen:
“Celestica”

Crystal Castles on Last.fm

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Listen to the New School of Seven Bells Single

We’ll be the first to admit that “dream-pop” is sure to become the most overused genre title this year (maybe next to “chillwave,” now that we think of it), and the new album coming from NY’s shoegazey trio School of Seven Bells is sure to help make that educated guess an assured reality. But who’s to say that’s a bad thing? Dreams and pop music are some of the most enjoyable things out there.

After announcing its forthcoming second album for Ghostly International and Vagrant Records, Disconnect From Desire, School of Seven Bells premiered its first single today on Pitchfork. “Windstorm” is a beautiful song with an ethereal vocal performance from Alejandra Deheza, and lush guitar and synth work filling in the track’s soft corners. The single gets an official release June 1, along with b-side “Crescent Gold” and a remix of “Windstorm” by A Place to Bury Strangers. Stream the track and check out upcoming tour dates here.

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DeloreanSubizaTrue Panther Sounds (2010) Genre: ElectronicRating: A Delorean’s 2009 EP Ayrton Senna was eminent for a lot of reasons, but I think it stood out mostly for the sheer range of spectacle it involved. Arriving alongside the indoors-y likes of Neon Indian and the gauzed-out, downer-dopey sounds of Washed Out, the Spanish synthpop quartet delivered on four tracks that were undeniably breathtaking. They rolled up all the positive things about summer (school breaks, beach parties, bonfires, etc) into a whimsical dance music adventure. Naturally, we were all enthralled. The band has returned in 2010 with a full-length: the euphoric, ethereal Subzia. It isn’t much different from the preceding EP, though that’s definitely not a bad thing. These sounds still sound powerfully new and pumped with so much joy it could seduce even the most cynical listener. Everything on Subzia pulses with rapture; Delorean knows how to make elated, vaguely narcotized dance music better than anyone. The record blends together into a sustained 45-minute experiment of sublimity, cut-up vocals, and some of the most organic synth tones you’re likely to hear. There isn’t one obvious standout song like last year’s showstopping “Seasun,” but it doesn’t matter. The tracks are so well-sequenced, and the album itself rolls with so much momentum, you hardly notice there are gaps between songs. Yeah, Subzia is pretty good. It’s pretty great, in fact, to the point where I’d say it’s one of the best electronically leaning albums I’ve heard all year, or last year for that matter. Delorean is simply different from any of the vast sub-classifications that clutter the dance scene, and it’s amazing that nobody found these brilliant sounds until just now. -Luke Winkie Listen:“Stay Close” Delorean on Last.fm

Delorean
Subiza
True Panther Sounds (2010)

Genre: Electronic
Rating: A

Delorean’s 2009 EP Ayrton Senna was eminent for a lot of reasons, but I think it stood out mostly for the sheer range of spectacle it involved. Arriving alongside the indoors-y likes of Neon Indian and the gauzed-out, downer-dopey sounds of Washed Out, the Spanish synthpop quartet delivered on four tracks that were undeniably breathtaking. They rolled up all the positive things about summer (school breaks, beach parties, bonfires, etc) into a whimsical dance music adventure. Naturally, we were all enthralled. The band has returned in 2010 with a full-length: the euphoric, ethereal Subzia. It isn’t much different from the preceding EP, though that’s definitely not a bad thing. These sounds still sound powerfully new and pumped with so much joy it could seduce even the most cynical listener.

Everything on Subzia pulses with rapture; Delorean knows how to make elated, vaguely narcotized dance music better than anyone. The record blends together into a sustained 45-minute experiment of sublimity, cut-up vocals, and some of the most organic synth tones you’re likely to hear. There isn’t one obvious standout song like last year’s showstopping “Seasun,” but it doesn’t matter. The tracks are so well-sequenced, and the album itself rolls with so much momentum, you hardly notice there are gaps between songs.

Yeah, Subzia is pretty good. It’s pretty great, in fact, to the point where I’d say it’s one of the best electronically leaning albums I’ve heard all year, or last year for that matter. Delorean is simply different from any of the vast sub-classifications that clutter the dance scene, and it’s amazing that nobody found these brilliant sounds until just now.

-Luke Winkie

Listen:
“Stay Close”

Delorean on Last.fm

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Watch: Rainbow Arabia - “Holiday in Congo”

Now here’s a video that fun to listen to and fun to watch. LA husband and wife duo Rainbow Arabia filmed their music video for “Holiday in Congo” while touring through Brazil. They made some pit stops in order to employ a few friends, don that classic black & white outfit the world is so familiar with, and do their best Jacko moves through São Paulo. It’s hilarious, weird, and totally awesome, quite like Rainbow Arabia itself.  And if you’re super into this song, head over to Stereogum (who premiered the video) and get your hands on some free downloads of the original track and a remix by Myd.

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White HinterlandKairosDead Oceans (2010) Genre: IndieRating: B Popular culture has always found it easy to process, label, box, and shelve the chanteuse. Softly cooed vocals backed by sexy, if benign, instrumentation provides an exemplary context for a corporate entity to stuff something you don’t need down your throat. Or at least that is the version of the chanteuse we usually get. The most recent incarnation of this phenomena—the fey, affected, “indie” girl—currently dominates the scene; try turning on your TV and counting how many lilting, ukulele-backed songs are being used to sell everything from tampons to tires. Which is why Kairos is so brilliant. The latest from Casey Dienel (a.k.a. White Hinterland) verges just enough on this side of weird (and we like the weird, see Luke Winkie’s review of Gonjasufi’s A Sufi and a Killer for keyCMND) to keep it out of a Target commercial without sacrificing any of the hooks, or ‘pop’, or sexiness. And strangely enough, the album pulls this off in its own minimal, haunting way. Lead track “Icarus” brings together many of these ideas, but the album really takes off with the follow-up “Moon Jam” (which might be my favorite song title so far this year). A fuzzy, unassuming beat supports Dienel’s melodic voice acrobatics to make some serious magic happen. “Begin Again” and “Cataract” employ a similar formula: an easy, stumbling beat gets picked up by an arcing chorus, and then repeats. What keeps any of this from becoming repetitive is the astute combination of bells, blips, and Dienel’s otherworldly croon. While there are not many standout tracks on Kairos, it feels right because it seems as if no track is trying to edge out another one. Rather everything feels very at ease with one another. That is, the album feels comfortable with itself. Kairos manages to be satisfactorily experimental while sounding utterly natural—even warm. And I do hope it makes White Hinterland a household name, but I would just hate to see it on TV. -August James O’Mahoney Listen:“Icarus” White Hinterland on Last.fm

White Hinterland
Kairos
Dead Oceans (2010)

Genre: Indie
Rating: B

Popular culture has always found it easy to process, label, box, and shelve the chanteuse. Softly cooed vocals backed by sexy, if benign, instrumentation provides an exemplary context for a corporate entity to stuff something you don’t need down your throat. Or at least that is the version of the chanteuse we usually get. The most recent incarnation of this phenomena—the fey, affected, “indie” girl—currently dominates the scene; try turning on your TV and counting how many lilting, ukulele-backed songs are being used to sell everything from tampons to tires.

Which is why Kairos is so brilliant. The latest from Casey Dienel (a.k.a. White Hinterland) verges just enough on this side of weird (and we like the weird, see Luke Winkie’s review of Gonjasufi’s A Sufi and a Killer for keyCMND) to keep it out of a Target commercial without sacrificing any of the hooks, or ‘pop’, or sexiness. And strangely enough, the album pulls this off in its own minimal, haunting way. Lead track “Icarus” brings together many of these ideas, but the album really takes off with the follow-up “Moon Jam” (which might be my favorite song title so far this year). A fuzzy, unassuming beat supports Dienel’s melodic voice acrobatics to make some serious magic happen. “Begin Again” and “Cataract” employ a similar formula: an easy, stumbling beat gets picked up by an arcing chorus, and then repeats. What keeps any of this from becoming repetitive is the astute combination of bells, blips, and Dienel’s otherworldly croon.

While there are not many standout tracks on Kairos, it feels right because it seems as if no track is trying to edge out another one. Rather everything feels very at ease with one another. That is, the album feels comfortable with itself. Kairos manages to be satisfactorily experimental while sounding utterly natural—even warm. And I do hope it makes White Hinterland a household name, but I would just hate to see it on TV.

-August James O’Mahoney

Listen:
“Icarus”

White Hinterland on Last.fm

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Listen: Extra Life - “Head Shrinker (Tyondai Braxton Remix)”

It’s been quite a while since we’ve heard anything from Battles frontman and future-classicalist Tyondai Braxton, so despite us not having much background on the Brooklyn band Extra Life, we went ahead and posted this remix of the outfit’s track “Head Shrinker” anyway.

Braxton’s treatment of “Head Shrinker” is far more on the experimental, noisy side of his music rather than the orchestral endeavors he followed on last year’s Central Market, but somehow melody still finds its way into the mix. Truthfully, we’re not sure what exactly this version has to do with the original song, but we’ll take it in lieu of that new Battles album we remain waiting patiently for.

Listen:
“Head Shrinker (Tyondai Braxton Remix)”

Download as MP3

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Flying LotusCosmogrammaWarp Records (2010) Genre: ElectronicRating: A+ Flying Lotus mastermind Steven Ellison is a total weirdo. He drops massive discombobulated beats, he obsessively divides up his albums into a number of sundry tracks, completely eliminating any hope for potential singles, and he’s unthinkably—almost irresponsibly—brilliant. 2008’s Los Angeles—completely diverse and bludgeoning in its uniqueness—proved a hard act to follow, but the 17-track, near hour-long Cosmogramma is all that and more. FlyLo’s productions are more complex, more surprising, and, of course, much weirder. Here, Flying Lotus incorporates more influences into his music than ever before: jazz instrumentation, symphonic orchestration, and even a little downtempo elevator music. It’s all kept within the realms of the beat-heavy styles apparent on Los Angeles, but there are times when you ask yourself what exactly you’re dancing to. The franticly elastic bass solo on “Pickled!” or the chugging, hollow drum fill and film noir-esque brass perks on “Arkestry” don’t necessarily scream “club music,” just as a guest spot from Thom Yorke isn’t a “futuristic hip-hop” trademark, and yet there they are. Even Cosmogramma’s more acoustic pieces—like the groovy, AM radio interlude “German Haircut” or the lush orchestral movements in “Intro: A Cosmic Drama”—all sound surprisingly natural next to woofer cookers like “Zodiac Shit” and “Computer Face // Pure Being,” which employ some of Flying Lotus’ patented psychedelic, brain-driven hip-hop. Everything is in its right place. Throughout his album, Ellison manages to piece together each of his influences in a way that somehow lacks any stitch. It takes an honest effort to find apparent sonic turns in theme, even with the erratic starts and stops, and that’s something very few artists can achieve. It seems Ellison has gone about his career constantly asking himself how far he could go with his productions while still making danceable music. He’s tampered plenty with sample-based hip-hop. He’s boiled down electronic music to its core, and reassembled the elements holding only his own blueprints. His latest experiment is a wildly creative array of diverse elements far from the recipes of anything resembling today’s club music; Cosmogramma is proof that Flying Lotus’ musical hypotheses are cutting edge sonic science—weird science. -Luke Winkie Listen:“Computer Face // Pure Being” Flying Lotus on Last.fm

Flying Lotus
Cosmogramma
Warp Records (2010)

Genre: Electronic
Rating: A+

Flying Lotus mastermind Steven Ellison is a total weirdo. He drops massive discombobulated beats, he obsessively divides up his albums into a number of sundry tracks, completely eliminating any hope for potential singles, and he’s unthinkably—almost irresponsibly—brilliant. 2008’s Los Angeles—completely diverse and bludgeoning in its uniqueness—proved a hard act to follow, but the 17-track, near hour-long Cosmogramma is all that and more. FlyLo’s productions are more complex, more surprising, and, of course, much weirder.

Here, Flying Lotus incorporates more influences into his music than ever before: jazz instrumentation, symphonic orchestration, and even a little downtempo elevator music. It’s all kept within the realms of the beat-heavy styles apparent on Los Angeles, but there are times when you ask yourself what exactly you’re dancing to. The franticly elastic bass solo on “Pickled!” or the chugging, hollow drum fill and film noir-esque brass perks on “Arkestry” don’t necessarily scream “club music,” just as a guest spot from Thom Yorke isn’t a “futuristic hip-hop” trademark, and yet there they are.

Even Cosmogramma’s more acoustic pieces—like the groovy, AM radio interlude “German Haircut” or the lush orchestral movements in “Intro: A Cosmic Drama”—all sound surprisingly natural next to woofer cookers like “Zodiac Shit” and “Computer Face // Pure Being,” which employ some of Flying Lotus’ patented psychedelic, brain-driven hip-hop. Everything is in its right place. Throughout his album, Ellison manages to piece together each of his influences in a way that somehow lacks any stitch. It takes an honest effort to find apparent sonic turns in theme, even with the erratic starts and stops, and that’s something very few artists can achieve.

It seems Ellison has gone about his career constantly asking himself how far he could go with his productions while still making danceable music. He’s tampered plenty with sample-based hip-hop. He’s boiled down electronic music to its core, and reassembled the elements holding only his own blueprints. His latest experiment is a wildly creative array of diverse elements far from the recipes of anything resembling today’s club music; Cosmogramma is proof that Flying Lotus’ musical hypotheses are cutting edge sonic science—weird science.

-Luke Winkie

Listen:
“Computer Face // Pure Being”

Flying Lotus on Last.fm

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To-Do List: Future Islands @ El Rio
Watch: FM Belfast - “Underwear”
New Music From Toro Y Moi, Menomena, and Shlohmo
Watch: Flying Lotus and ∞ Live @ The Echoplex
Listen to the New School of Seven Bells Single
Watch: Rainbow Arabia - “Holiday in Congo”
Listen: Extra Life - “Head Shrinker (Tyondai Braxton Remix)”

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