In preparation for my review of Embryonic, I went on a retroactive odyssey through the Lips entire back catalogue, starting with 1986’s Hear it Is and ending with 2009’s Embryonic, 23 years of a band finding their sound. From their humble beginnings as the acid taking punk rockers sounding like the Replacements covering Captain Beefheart …
A glorious slice of left-field pop, the hypnagogic “Daffodil” ponders the flower bulb hibernating until its early bloom. The Irish artist channels some of the woozy, inward-looking ambient pop of artists like Panda Bear, Washed Out and Here We Go Magic. Ogenblik rinses this track through hazy vocal drones, a lurching BPM and broken electronics …
There is something graceful in the way that the thirteen minutes of “col (mokki mix)” eases by. Layering subtle piano chords underneath glistening overtones and field recordings of a thunderstorm in Finland, the song never quite rises above a whisper. But submerged in its depths – accessed by really nice headphones we hear mirco-tonal shifts …
A beautiful and intimate lullaby that immerses you to the point that it sounds like you are in the room where it is being recorded. The creak of the bench, the mechanical movement of hammer hitting string – all of these underscore the beautiful melody at the center of the composition: a hushed but intense …
Gorgeous finger-picked, open tuned acoustic guitar from the Brazilian artist currently residing in Germany. “Up” recalls the airy openness of artists like Jack Rose, Daniel Bachman and Sarah Louise – tinged with just enough melancholy and weary sadness. Lead melodies are swept into flurries of ringing overtones and sweeping mechanical gestures. Beautiful work.
My headphones suck. I had a pretty nice pair of Shure ear buds for a while there (still under warranty… I hope…), but of course – what with planned obsolescence in our consumeristic society and all – they wore out leaving me with a two dollar set of black plastic junkers my girlfriend bought for …
It’s been some time since we’ve heard new work from 1/2 of the French electronic duo Air. On his new video for “The Border” we are treated to beautifully apocalyptic imagery of destruction and rebirth. Godin’s chillout atmospheric synths, vocoder-heavy voice and punchy bass line is a perfect backdrop for stunning visual video by Alden …
The Columbus, OH duo create dance music that exists in its own cinematic universe. Building from delicate piano lines that rely heavy on the mechanical precision of a house beat unleashed from the grid, “I Stay” swerves into multiple percussion lines intersecting with one another and a giant wash of synths sanded from all hard …
By The Throat is why I want to spend the rest of my life writing about music. There is an incredible feeling that comes along when you hear an album that you don’t want to put into words, not because it is some euphoric, beautiful or joyful experience but because it literally pins you down …
As I walked outside the Urban Lounge on 10.21.09 following the Place To Bury Strangers/All The Saints show, I was hit square in the face by something huge and oppressive. Silence. It was louder than any of APTBS guitar freak outs or minimal three chord ear lobe destryoers. APTBS played so loud that silence hurt my ears. …
A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS – “EXPLODING HEAD” (MUTE, 2009) Read More »