Record Review: Caribou

Caribou
Swim
[2010, Merge]
3/4

This one took a little while to grow on me. I instantly loved lead single "Odessa," but for a long time I thought "Sun" was irritating (it's since become a favorite from the record). Caribou (the project of Dan Snaith) largely eschews the traditional guitars/drums/keyboards setup featured predominantly on Andorra in favor of experimental house that's heavily influenced by Arthur Russell's Calling Out of Context. I had a lot of trouble finding something to talk about with this album, but after weeks of delays (sorry), I finally had a solid angle to work with. Read the whole thing (it's not that long) over at In Review Online.

Buy it

Record Review: Beach House

Beach House
Teen Dream
[2010, Sub Pop]

This will most certainly be making my best of 2010 list. A wider breadth of emotions is prevalent, but Victoria Legrand's sadness is still palpable in her plaintive strains. Alex Scally's guitar work offers a greater stylistic range as well, including some nice lightly distorted tones that work well in their given situation. Read the full review over at In Review Online.

Best of the decade: 2000-2009

Joanna Newsom
Ys
[Drag City, 2006]

This is likely my final piece of writing for Tiny Mixtapes, so I think it's important that the featured writing is on one of my favorite albums of not only the past decade, but of all time. If you want read me rhapsodizing about Joanna Newsom (and you do, right?!), Go Here. I guess I'm a fanboy.

If you don't own this record, at the very least in mp3 form, please go listen to it.

Year-End Festivities: The best electronic-ish releases of 2009

Yeah... I'm really late. I developed some kind of aversion to blogging for a short while, so I postponed posting here until now. More 2009 highlights to come, as well as new content. Thanks for sticking with me.

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Tim Hecker: An Imaginary Country

This was a bit of a disappointment when compared to the masterpiece that is Harmony in Ultraviolet, but an excellent experimental ambient album no less. Hecker paints from a familiar palette of static-laced field recordings, overdriven organs, aqueous rumblings, etc., but the feel here is pretty far removed from past albums. "Borderlands" alone makes this album worth checking out, sounding unlike anything the artist has written thus far. Frigid piano chords shiver over Hecker's frozen tundra using some excellent DSP techniques, and hollow bell-like tones sound in the distance. Evocative as all Tim Hecker albums are, An Imaginary Country is an excellent journey through a truly fantastic world.

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Bibio: Ambivalence Avenue

I debated writing this in a different post, but enough of it is purely electronic to qualify it for this list. Stephen Wilkinson completely reinvented himself on this record, and I'd say it's for the better. He retains elements of past recordings, but incorporates many stylistic elements from his new labelmates at Warp. The songwriter included a few folky tunes, some excellent pop numbers, and several instrumental hip hop cuts that would jibe well alongside Flying Lotus or J Dilla on a mix. Here's what I've written about this album in the past.

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Kreng: L'Autopsie Phénoménale De Dieu

If the foreboding title and cover art alone didn't inform you, this is without a doubt one of 2009's most unsettling albums. A bizarre combination of musique concréte, jazz and aria samples, found sounds, prepared (and traditional) piano, and minimal string arrangements that recall Ligeti and Arvo Pärt. Though the pieces were conceived for avant-garde theatre and dance troupes, L'Autopsie Phénoménale De Dieu is a work that holds up when decontextualized (I've not seen the pieces which the album accompanies). The TMT message board was constantly buzzing about this guy, but I never got around to listening until about a month ago. The Chopin prelude that "Meijse en Auto" (the song that initially grabbed my attention) is based upon is beautiful and sorrowful enough as is, but when combined with what sounds like a woman crying over a telephone and a languorous, funereal snaredrum and ride cymbal pattern, it's one of the most despairing things I've ever heard. Not for the faint of heart, but highly rewarding and very innovative.

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The xx: xx

Upon initial listens, "Crystalised" was very underwhelming. I dismissed the group (as many have) as yet another UK buzz band who've gotten too much press too quickly. While they may have garnered an unbearable amount of exposure before having time to adjust (one of the original four members quit after an exhausting festival circuit), they show remarkable maturity and restraint on their debut album. Smart, sexy, and surprisingly honest, xx is one of 2009's most surprising releases. These eleven songs delve deeply into the minds of twenty-somethings, admittedly not very fertile ground for truly profound material, but the simple candidness in both lyrical content and delivery is often disarming (though entirely welcome). Musically, xx shows a nascent band who've already crafted and almost perfected their own aesthetic, an austere blend of stark MPC beats, clean guitar and bass lines, and soft, sultry vocal interplay. Yield to the hype.

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John Wiese: Circle Snare [EP]

Prolific LA based noise auteur John Wiese shows a remarkable amount of restraint on this effort. Not nearly as great as Soft Punk, but a solid and intriguing EP no less. Here's what I wrote for Tiny Mixtapes' Year-End Fest:
Circle Snare stood in stark contrast to John Wiese’s watershed release, Soft Punk. Although there was empty space between sounds, Circle Snare was insular and claustrophobic, delivering profound psychoacoustic effects when listened to on headphones. There were certainly passages of chaos and emotional catharsis, but they felt well-deserved after the long segments of silence punctuated by abrupt, small sounds. While noise is overtly harsh and often considered impersonal to the uninitiated, Wiese’s expressions on this album were very human — almost uncomfortably so. His chopped-up, sampled breathing sounded absolutely malicious as it skittered between channels, and when he unleashed waves of pummeling noise, it was with brute physicality. The three-part title suite unfurled steadily, initially hinting at the inclusion of traditional tonality. This notion was quickly dispelled as the drone was shattered into thousands of indiscernible fragments, pitch-shifted drum machines moaned, and mangled tape loops screeched and yowled like feral cats. Possibly the most noticeable aspect of the release was the absence of the sadism found so frequently in the genre. Wiese allowed his listener some respite quite often (by way of near-silence), making Circle Snare one of the most patient, restrained sets of noise music released in 2009.

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Jon Hopkins: Insides

This British composer/producer certainly has an ear for texture. Massive bass assaults yield to placid, elegiac piano miniatures, only to be succeeded by glitchy IDM workouts. The melding of organic strings with rich synthetic pads and drums works very well for Hopkins. It's a shame that his contributions to Coldplay's Viva La Vida are conflated with and overshadowed by those of Brian Eno (both men produced, and though I'm a huge Eno fanboy, I'd venture to say that Hopkins' synth contributions were much more essential than Eno's). Insides almost feels a bit too long at times, but the incredible highlights alone are worth your time.

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In Review Online's best of 2009

Hey, look -- I contributed a blurb about Mount Eerie's excellent Wind's Poem to InRO's end-of-2009 coverage. I've been pretty bad about posting as usual, but I imagine you expect that by now. Launching a tumblr soon. Not really sure why, or whether it'll subsume this blog here. Details forthcoming. For now, check out the staff's picks.

Record Review: Baroness

Baroness
Blue Record
[2009, Relapse]
3.5/4

First thing's first: this is one of the best albums I heard in 2009, metal or otherwise. And yes, I listened to more than just "hipster metal" this year (the station had Dying Fetus, Eagle Twin and Gorgoroth in rotation, and, well, you've seen my love for that Converge record). Anyway, I'll point you in the direction of In Review Online for the full review. I try to avoid simply rhapsodizing about a record in reviews, but it was difficult to contain here... Blue Record is phenomenal.

Year End Festivities: Best Hard Rock Releases of 2009

The unfortunate overlook of great "loud rock" (be it hardcore, metal, or otherwise) in "indie rock" circles continued this year; I can't claim to have kept up much myself, but I'm very glad to have discovered what I'm spotlighting here.

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Converge: Axe to Fall
I found out about this album from Pitchfork's hyperbolic, 8.5/10 review, but was shocked that Axe to Fall was denied "Best New Music" status. Sure, the band is signed to Epitaph records, but metal bands have formerly been given the distinction... I'm pretty certain (and disappointed) that Schreiber and crew were too worried about credibility to acknowledge such a great album. The reviewer even went so far as to name Converge "This generation's Black Flag," so I wouldn't be surprised if the review wasn't initially a few points higher.

Axe to Fall opens with the brilliant hat-trick of "Dark Horse", "Reap What You Sow" and the title track, tearing through vintage Metallica thrash and hardcore blast beats while the guitarist furiously unfurls searing pull-off runs. Far removed from the more grind-oriented sound defining their earlier landmark album Jane Doe, the mid section delves into slower, sludge, post-rock and doom-inspired territory. They display immense technical ability throughout, shifting through time signatures with ease while performing with dexterity, but nothing about the album feels showy. Instead, it's raw, violent and passionate. Some momentum is lost on the Earth/Tom Waits homage "Cruel Bloom" and slow-building closer "Wretched World," but they offer a needed come-down after such a blistering album. If You haven't checked this one out yet, and consider yourself a fan of harder rock music, please listen.

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Zu: Carboniferous
Zu rival Sunn O))) in heaviness on a lot of these tracks. Unlike Sunn O))), however, Zu is hardly about stasis or fixation on held tones. This prolific Italian experimental jazz trio teams up with The Melvins' King Buzzo and Ipecac label-head (and venerable experimental musician in his own right) Mike Patton for a lengthy, disorienting set of ten tracks. Carboniferous introduced me to the group, so I can't say how it compares to their past efforts (and they have a pretty exhaustive back catalogue, with fourteen albums that include collaborations with Fred Lonberg Holm, Nobukazu Takemura, Ken Vandermark, and others). Comprised of tight yet powerful, polyrhythmic drumming, distorted, layered saxophone and scuzzy electric bass, Carboniferous is the most simultaneously brutal, noisy and technically demanding piece of work I heard this year, but it's also very rewarding.

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Pissed Jeans: King of Jeans
Maybe it was the band's name, or my initial reaction to hearing "Ice Cream" from 2007's Hope for Men (I was pretty close-minded to a lot of rock music offshoots at the time), but I likely wouldn't have checked out King of Jeans had it not entered heavy rotation at V89, where I was forced to play it during several shifts (only the first time was forced... I gladly returned to it -- and even hoped for it in my rotation -- during subsequent shifts). There's improved clarity in the mix, but the group fortunately retains their dirty sound. Singer Matt Korvette channels The Jesus Lizard's David Yow quite often, and it works well for him. Though he details pretty mundane topics (going to the gym, parties, and R-rated movies), Korvette manages to explore insecurities (body image, social interaction, sexuality, etc) that most can easily relate to.

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Sunn O))): Monoliths and Dimensions
Sunn O))) as an idea had always fascinated me, but it wasn't until Monoliths and Dimensions that I'd truly loved one of their records. Probably one of the most appropriate album titles of 2009, Sunn O)))'s power is physically and emotionally draining. The core duo of Stephen O'Malley and Greg Anderson enlisted a slew of collaborators, including Australian experimental guitarist Oren Ambarchi, Hungarian vocalist Attila Csihar, Earth's Dylan Carlson, a Viennese women's choir, a string section, and countless others. Genuinely terrifying at times, the duo summons immense drones from their own guitars, but the most transcendent moment of the album comes with closing track "Alice." Dissonant guitar tones (presumably from Dylan Carlson) ring out and languish over a barren desert landscape, and as each brief guitar pattern decays, the horns and strings provide tense crescendos. Just over halfway through the song, though, the darkness begins to disperse with a major key tonal shift, ultimately yielding to three blissful minutes of harp, strings, Ambarchi's processed guitar, and orchestral flourishes. Without a doubt one of the best songs of the year, this is Sunn O))) at their best and most innovative, displaying immense patience (which they've always had) and compositional prowess.

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Baroness: Blue Record
Last but certainly not least, Baroness' Blue Record was my fifth favorite album of 2009. I wrote about 600 words on it, but the review has yet to be published. Check back later this week for my (mostly) complete thoughts on it.

Year-End Festivities 2009: an introduction

Well, here I am again, attempting to share what mattered most to me in the past year. And again, I'm struggling to recall those things. I alternately love and hate our current musical climate. I'm very glad that music is so readily accessible, but the availability has led to inundation. Now, we hear artists' music long before it was intended (I understand that a lot of this is determined by record companies intentionally staggering release dates), before we have adequate time to process what came before. It's difficult to turn down the latest album leak -- I'm prone to leap at the chance to hear an album before the release date, certainly. However, I feel that it's been immensely detrimental to how I value music, and how I absorb music. Writing about music has physically and emotionally drained me this past year. It's something that I've loved for a long time, but I'm not sure how long I can continue (please stick with me... if i ever "retire" this blog, I'll post a formal missive of some sort).
Enough of this sentimental nonsense... on to some year-end business. I don't really feel like writing about each of the 25 releases in my list, so I'll highlight a few favorites in the days to come.

News: Steve Reich

I love Steve Reich. Not only is he one of the most venerable (deservedly so) living composers, but he just seems so unassuming. I don't know him, but his demeanor and dress belie his intellect and musical brilliance. Aside from the perfectly detailed lyrics of Matt Berninger, the instrumental contributions of the National are some of the most compelling in rock music today. Delicate, intricate guitar work, polyrhythmic experimentation, unique chord progressions...I can't wait to hear this piece.

On Repeat: Lia Ices

Immediately after hearing "Cymbal, Trumpet and Bell" on the Esopus #13: Nostradamus comp, the versatile alto of Lia Ices (she refuses to disclose her birth name) became one of my favorite contemporary female voices. Her debut, 2008's Necima, features piano-led arrangements augmented with strings, clarinet, and occasional guitar supplementing an alternately frail and supple voice. Some immediate reference points are the Jon Brion-produced version of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine, the smoky, sultry feel of latter-day Cat Power, and the frigid (pun not intended), confident vocal timbre of My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden.

While those three are all known for histrionics in their own right, Ices' formal theatre training is evident in her choice of arrangements, familiar (but altogether welcome) chord progressions, and unforgettable vocal melodies. My only real complaint with the album is her over-reliance on a few said progressions, but Necima is a solid record no less. The subtle inflectional details of the gorgeous closer "You Will" recall Joanna Newsom's unique delivery (compare the way both articulate "to", "skin", and "ground") applied to an old jazz standard (the way she sings "Waiting for you..." gives me chills every time) -- it might sound like a completely incongruous combination, but it's one that definitely works. The simple, understated video fits the song's mood perfectly, as well. Hopefully we'll hear more from her in the future.

Record Review: Eno, Moebius & Roedelius

Eno, Moebius & Roedelius
After the Heat
[Sky, 1978; Bureau B, 2009]
3/5

The second collaboration between Brian Eno and Cluster (here credited as constituents Hans Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius) arrived only a year after the trio’s first collaboration, Cluster & Eno. By the time of their first meeting, Eno had released his first proper ambient album, Discreet Music, as well as a handful of pioneering pop records. Cluster had steadily moved away from the free-form ambient style marking their debut, Cluster ’71, to the slowly shifting, pulsating krautrock on landmark releases Zuckerzeit and Musik Von Harmonia (with Neu!’s Michael Rother). After hearing these releases, Brian Eno was eager to collaborate with Moebius and Roedelius.
Continue reading at Tiny Mixtapes.

Buy it

On Repeat: People Under the Stairs

LA hip-hop duo People Under the Stairs make fun music, plain and simple. Fun DMC is an homage to lazy Saturday afternoons, a collection of songs that celebrate idyllic times with friends. Listening to standout song "Gamin' on ya" never fails to put me in a good mood (perhaps it's due to my own long-lost affinity for video games). For me, video games were more often than not a solitary activity -- I would spend hours on end playing Zelda games on my N64. However, I did spend some quality time with my sister and close friends playing Goldeneye and Super Smash Brothers .
Anyway...
The rhymes are tight (consisting almost entirely of old-school video game references), but the production on this track is what always makes me come back for another listen. Built around a Galaga sample (that's honestly the only one I recognize) and a simple but propulsive and effective beat, not only does the track reflect the song's subject manner, but it also accentuates the communal feel and playfully competitive spirit of emcees Double K and Thes One. Listen, have a good time, and share your own video game reminiscences and/or sample identifications in the comments!

On Repeat: Bedhead

I'm not sure how the search began, but I discovered Bedhead after spending a bit of time in the Tiny Mixtapes review archive. The now defunct slowcore act lives on today in the form of The New Year, but Bedhead's tragically under-recognized Transaction de Novo is an album definitely worth revisiting, or getting acquainted with if you're unfamiliar. Anyway, though there are many great songs on the record, "Lepidoptera" stands out as the clear highlight.



As much as I love "Lepidoptera," it's been bothering me quite a bit lately. The typical hallmarks of a Bedhead song are here -- contrapuntal guitar and bass lines, an andante tempo, and Matt Kadane's mumbled, reticent vocals. The drums metronomically count out the 3/4 time signature as soft guitars chime two-note intervals in the background. Kadane quietly details a still room at night, lit only by "what [little] moonlight there is." At about a minute in, though, the drums disappear completely, a moth flutters through the open window with its delicate "blown-glass wings" and lights on a darkened lightbulb. The sumptuous, clean guitar strums hang in the air gracefully. We hear the sound of wings pushing against the constraints of a chrysalis in the beginning, the first hesitant wing-beats relishing freedom, but then hear the narrator reveal that he can't move or speak. Whether this is from awe of the beauty or some sort of literal paralysis is uncertain. The subtle dissonances in the final measures suggest the latter, but the revelation that "[his] guardian angel has finally arrived," paired with the major resolution, lend the entire song hope and positivity, as if seeing this graceful moth reminds him of what life was (or would be) like free of confinement.

The delicate guitar interplay against Kadane's soft, hesitant vocals is so arresting that I typically play the track about three or four times in a row. "Lepidoptera"'s chord voicings are very atypical and advanced by indie-rock standards -- simply put, this is a refreshing, exciting song. The very brief track time is appropriate given the ephemeral nature of an insect's life, and maybe it's even a comment on human mortality (or maybe I'm looking into this far too much), but I really wish that it lasted at least a minute longer, as the chord progression that starts to unfold in the final measures hints at a continuation of the breathtaking beauty that preceded it. Please listen to this song, and let me know what you think! Then go buy this album. I'm glad I did.

Revisited: Why?

Not enough time has elapsed to say that I truly "revisited" Alopecia, since I haven't really stopped listening to the album since first hearing it a little over a year ago. However, the good folks over at In Review Online decided to publish a Discographer feature on the Berkeley-by-way-of-Cincinnati band to coincide with the release of their latest, Eskimo Snow, and asked me to contribute my thoughts on my favorite Why? album. As Alopecia was one of my favorites from 2008, I was happy to oblige. Check out the rest of the feature Here.

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Lifting lyrics from cLOUDDEAD’s “3 Twenty,” “The Vowels pt. 2” opens Alopecia with one last look to the past. The album marks the last Why? album containing any vestige of hip hop, and sees the band progressing further into pop territory, prescient of the complete submersion that would mark the subsequent Eskimo Snow. The album’s titular disease reflects the dark humor in Why?’s music; it’s nothing more than a fairly common problem of hair loss, but to lead singer/songwriter Yoni Wolf, the gradual depletion of his follicles is a looming reminder of his mortality.

With its carefully balanced amalgam of hip-hop, folk and pop music, Alopecia is the definitive statement of Yoni Wolf’s career thus far. Keyboards range from the guttural piano rumble opening the record to the staccato organ marking “These Few Presidents.” Josiah Wolf’s percussive prowess finally makes its way to the foreground, with rapid xylophone parts and the most intricate drumming yet to be heard on a Why? record. Rather than jarring juxtaposition, Why?’s blend of hip-hop influenced vocal and rhythms with an indie-rock band setup proves to be the most musically interesting incarnation of the group.

Of course, words are the most important part of any Why? record, and Alopecia finds Wolf’s lyricism at its most direct and exposed. His confessions are unflinchingly candid, sincere, and uncompromisingly honest. He never gives the impression that his uncomfortably intimate details are intended for shock value, but rather for a necessary catharsis. While his cadence often incorporates hip-hop delivery, it’s his clever wordplay that reflects his past in “art rap” and evinces his history with Anticon.

Further, Wolf’s fixation on mortality has never been displayed with this much eloquence, wit or confidence. Unease from a constant fear of death leads him to ruminate on religion for the majority of the album. He’s best when most subversive, and utilizes liturgical imagery and tradition to expose his doubt in the sovereignty and/or existence of a higher power (“Torpedo or Crone’s” and “The Fall of Mr. Fifths” betray a more-than-superficial familiarity with American Protestant tradition, surprising given the considerable references to a Jewish upbringing in his work). When he intones, “Devoid of all hope,” on the despairing “Good Friday,” you believe it.

Add to that the fact that “A Sky for Shoeing Horses Under” is referenced on this year’s Eskimo Snow, and this all might come to indicate that Wolf won’t ever fully close the doors on his past. If that’s the case, it’s unfortunate for his mental health, but great for listeners craving honest, innovative and consistently rewarding songwriting. It’s Wolf’s writing, after all, that makes Alopecia not only Why?’s best record, but one of 2008’s best and most intriguing listens.

Capsule Review: The XX

The XX
XX
[2009, Young Turks/XL]
4/5 (Heavy Rotation)

The four members of The XX met at London’s Elliot School, the same university that counts Burial, Kieran Hebden (Four Tet) and members of Hot Chip as alumni. The unique vocal dynamic of Oliver Sim and Romy Madley-Croft combines the disaffected quality of brooding 80s guitar pop bands with the sensuality of American pop R&B divas. It’s an unusual formula, but a surprisingly effective one. XX, their debut for Young Turks/XL Recordings is sparse yet incredibly immersive and spacious. A dark, atmospheric, and oddly sexy album of pop songs, XX is a very well crafted debut from these four promising twenty year-olds. I initially avoided this due to the massive amount of hype surrounding it (and the awful album cover), but I'm glad I finally checked it out after a friend recommended it.

Listen
Buy it

Capsule review: Why?

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Why?
Eskimo Snow
[2009, Anticon.]
3.5/5 (Heavy Rotation)

Alopecia was one of my favorite albums from 2008, but Eskimo Snow is musically superior. A marked change from past efforts, the album finds the band playing straightforward indie-pop, having completely eschewed their hip-hop inclinations they once featured so prominently. While the musical quality on Alopecia ranged from adequate to interesting, Eskimo Snow is lush, layered, and often flat-out gorgeous. Lambchop's Mark Nevers' spacious production accentuates the nuances in the vibraphone/piano/guitar arrangement of "Berkeley By Hearseback" and the sweeping piano string strums of "Even the Good Wood Gone." While I don't think frontman Yoni Wolf's lyricism is quite as clever or focused on this effort, his ruminations on sex, spirituality and mortality are far more acute than most singer/songwriters in the "indie" world (whatever that is). If you haven't listened to Why? before, I think this would be a good starting point. Well, maybe a good follow-up to Alopecia, anyway.

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Listen
Buy it

Capsule review: David Bazan

As previously noted, I began writing brief reviews to accompany in-rotation-music at V89. I'll post these comparatively colloquial reviews as "capsule reviews" in (hopefully) consistent posts:

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David Bazan
Curse Your Branches
[2009, Barsuk]
3.5/5 (Medium Rotation)

Curse Your Branches is David Bazan's first solo LP since the dissolution of Pedro the Lion. Lyrically, he covers familiar territory (invectives against God and Christianity, struggles with alcohol and family), but he admits that this is his first truly autobiographical record, and he seems more vulnerable than ever before. His relationship with God has always been tumultuous, but rarely has he challenged Him so directly or boldly. The struggles he details are heartbreaking, and unsettlingly juxtaposed by the often uptempo, cheery arrangements. And the arrangements are what kept me from giving this a higher score; Bazan has never been stronger or more assured as a writer, but too often the musical accompaniment here seems like generic, expendable indie-folk. There are certainly some exceptions (the album's bookending tracks, "Lost My Shape", the title track), though. Overall, a very solid release from a great songwriter, full of honest search and struggle.

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Listen
Buy it

Record Review: Black Mold

Black Mold
Snow Blindness is Crystal Antz
[2009, Flemish Eye]
2.5/5

Read the full review at Tiny Mixtapes. Chad VanGaalen has certainly kept busy over the past few years. In addition to releasing several great albums, he’s produced music for Calgary’s Women, designed album art, and remained closely involved with the Flemish Eye label. The musician hinted at an affinity for warped electronic sounds on albums credited to his given name, but this interest always seemed one of exploratory curiosity than of studied proficiency, as he incorporated electronics into only a song or two on each album. VanGaalen subverts this notion under the Black Mold moniker, releasing a 19-song album complete with “100+ bonus minutes of glitchy oddities” on an included download card...

Listen
Buy it

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In brief, there's some good material on Crystal Antz, but the Black Mold project doesn't even come close to VanGaalen's output under his given name. If you haven't heard him before, I highly recommend his last album, Soft Airplane. Or maybe you don't want to spend money/steal it from the internet? Well, here's a free and legal collection of Soft Airplane B-sides.

Record Review: Es

Es
Kesämaan Lapset
[2009, Fonal]
3.5/5

Read the full review at Tiny Mixtapes. There’s something magical and transcendent about the relatively nascent ‘New Weird Finland’ movement (or ‘Finnish freak-folk,’ or whatever other inane designation you prefer). Es, the recording name of Fonal Records head Sami Sänpäkkilä, continues to demonstrate this strange mysticism on Kesämaan Lapset. Translated as “Children of the Summerland,” Es’ latest pays homage to Finnish artist Pekka Streng’s album Kesämaa (“Summerland”), capturing the essence of summer through the innocent eyes of a child.

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I've been consistently impressed with the Fonal Records catalog. If you're unfamiliar with the label, though, I would recommend starting with Eleanoora Rosenholm or Paavoharju, two of my favorites.

Listen
Buy it

Fan mail!/Updates

This is not a post about the album of the same name from defunt 90s pop r&b queens TLC. Now that that's established, let us begin. I love receiving feedback for my reviews/commentary/etc. I Received a forwarded email from TMT's editor with something completely unexpected: a reaction to my review for Wino's anthology, A Bottle of Pills With a Bullet Chaser. The review was published in January, so I was pretty surprised to see a response letter so after-the-fact. It's certainly far from my best writing, but I am pretty proud of the line about the singer's lyrics, "about as profound as the brooding couplets scrawled into an angst-ridden high school student’s notebook cover." But enough self-congratulating, here's the letter I received:

Your so cool!

I know that's your opinion. The only thing you know of the band is this
cd.

From- WINO.

Glaring grammatical errors aside, I'd like to point out that A Bottle of Pills... is all that anybody (aside from those "lucky" enough to have witnessed the band's live show before their dissolution) could know about this band... it's their entire recorded output. So thank you, dear fan, for assuming the role of band spokesperson and taking the whole of fifteen seconds to share your feelings/embarrass the band you love. Or, if you're actually a former member of the band, you should consider editing yourself.

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I recently began working for the music department at WVFS. I will be writing brief reviews for albums entering rotation, so expect some capsule-style reviews here very soon. Currently reviewing BLK JKS's After Robots, David Bazan's Curse Your Branches, and Why?'s Eskimo Snow.

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Finally, I have a few reviews that I really want to finish, but haven't found time to, yet. A full review of Zoos of Berlin's great new album Taxis is coming soon(ish), but for now, check out this very elaborate track review for "Electrical Way" (not one of my favorite tracks, but a good one no less) and enjoy the song.