Posted in Indie Rock on Mar 28th, 2009 No Comments »
There’s a poignant ease to these melodies, a sense of grace that taps straight into the moldy heritage of this thing we call modern indie rock; that, pretty much, legitimizes its startling onus through the strange and welcoming precepts we often catch in its sound. Chad Vaangalen has tightened his sound to the extent that it’s easy to overlook just how resourceful and morosely inventive this material can get. Music to him is not so much repository as a big five-fingered reference point, and the real joy is in hearing him cadge sound-off styles into something visionary and remarkably coherent.
cokemachineglow
Molten Light [2:51]
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Posted in Psychedelic on Mar 22nd, 2009 No Comments »
Like a supernova, Roger “Syd” Barrett burned briefly and brightly, leaving an indelible mark upon psychedelic and progressive rock as the founder and original singer, songwriter, and lead guitarist of Pink Floyd. Barrett was responsible for most of their brilliant first album, 1967’s The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, but left and/or was fired from the band in early 1968 after his erratic behavior had made him too difficult to deal with. Pink Floyd never recaptured the playful humor and mad energy of their work with Barrett.
Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
Octopus [3:47]
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Steven Wilson has been leading cult favourites Porcupine Tree since their inception back in 1987, but despite a ferocious work rate in recent years this is his first official solo album. The album confirms what fans of Porcupine Tree have been banging on about for years: that Wilson is one of the UK’s most adventurous and underrated songwriters.
Nic Oliver, Music OMH
Significant Other [4:31]
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Posted in Pop-Rock on Mar 20th, 2009 No Comments »
Manel builds songs that speak to women, foreign grand parents of long whiskers, white teachers with tie knots, or of pottery shops where your life may change forever, without getting limits on the palette of instruments, which includes a section on how to wind a string quartet, to Ukuleles, electronic basis, banjos and whistles.
En la que el Bernat se’t troba [4:19]
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Posted in Americana on Mar 17th, 2009 No Comments »
The songs on The Jayhawks Town Hall amble easily down the path already cut by kindred spirits like Neil Young and the Burrito Brothers before them. But when Louris’s and Olson’s voices rise together, the resulting magic somehow seems like nothing you’ve heard before.
Chris Mundy, Rolling Stone
Take Me With You (When You Go) [4:51]
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Posted in Psychedelic on Mar 14th, 2009 No Comments »
Having performed their raw, high-energy show on stages shared with acts such as Howlin’ Rain, Earth, Dead Meadow, and Citay, Sleepy Sun are quickly establishing themselves as a very tough act to follow. With their throbbing rhythm section, swirling sea of guitars, and dreamy, haunting duet vocals, the word dynamic is a severe understatement.
New Age [7:25]
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“John Maus is a maniac on a bloody crusade - a tortured evangelist on a mercenary quest to rid our world of villainous defilers of The Gospel of True Love. By turns shockingly infectious and disarmingly unpredictable, his music conflates a perplexing marriage of Moroder’s ‘Never Ending Story’ and classical 12-tone renegades of 20th century past, harking the new path which resurrects romance from its post-modern shackles, and reignites the promise of a better world.”
Ariel Pink
Pure Rockets [3:21]
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