M. Women: “Tense Hands Talk”.

05 Oct 2011 — Henning Lahmann

Superb vibes coming directly from the beauties of the Rainy City, and indeed everything here is deeply entrenched in the Pacific Northwest's rich rock music tradition. M. Women is an incredible three-piece emerging out of Seattle's still thriving underground scene, definitely one of the most interesting shameless shredders of late. I'm particularly stoked on "Tense Hands Talk", the opening track of M. Women's debut LP Faithful, a relentless wall of noise that's hiding an immensely catchy pop song, something that will stay with you all day long. Pretty early 90s-dripping yet in no way retro, simply a fresh, perfect banger. Highly recommended. Faithful is out October 15 on Seattle's Couple Skate Records. Pre-order now over here. M. Women - Tense Hands Talk Read more → Superb vibes coming directly from the beauties of the Rainy City, and indeed everything here is deeply entrenched in the Pacific Northwest's rich rock music tradition. M. Women is an incredible three-piece emerging out of Seattle's still thriving underground scene, definitely one of the most interesting shameless shredders of late. I'm particularly stoked on "Tense Hands Talk", the opening track of M. Women's debut LP Faithful, a relentless wall of noise that's hiding an immensely catchy pop song, something that will stay with you all day long. Pretty early 90s-dripping yet in no way retro, simply a fresh, perfect banger. Highly recommended. Faithful is out October 15 on Seattle's Couple Skate Records. Pre-order now over here. M. Women - Tense Hands Talk

Exclusive: Sweat Lodge Guru’s October releases.

05 Oct 2011 — Henning Lahmann

Mitch Putnam of our much adored Sioux City, Iowa-based label Sweat Lodge Guru hit us up with a whole bunch of exciting news, no less than three incredible tapes coming up from the imprint's ever-expanding roster today. First, it's finally time for As Loud As The Sun, the long-anticipated debut cassette by Colorado outfit Moon Tides, a wonderfully twee-infused excursion into summery guitar pop, with the group's distinctive male/female vocalization and beautiful melodies all along. Take an exclusive listen to the dreamy "No Time" below, once again splendidly visualized by Moduli TV's Frank Ouellette. Moon Tides - No Time St. Petersburg, Russia's enigmatic Nocow has been haunting the blogosphere for a good while now and we're more than happy that someone has finally stepped up to put out his dark and eerie electronics on a physical medium. As regards Ruins' standout "Moonlight Flit", as pointed out by more or less everyone else, some Burial comparisons are indeed appropriate considering the vocal manipulations and the slow-burning, drawn-out beat, and the fact that we're not at all annoyed by the obvious resemblance speaks in Nocow's favor, we'd say. And because that guy seems to be on fire at the moment, Frank Ouellette has contributed a pitch-perfect, aptly anguishing video collage for this one, too. Nocow - Moonlight Flit Back in February, San Diego's Range Rover surprised us all with the wonderfully lush psych-pop anthem "There's Nothing For Me Here", one of this year's best tracks. However, the psychedelic thing seems to be worn-out already, as their self-titled four-track cassette for SLG takes a heavy turn towards, well, something between ambient and minimal techno. Quite odd and definitely unexpected, the tunes are nonetheless an intriguing listen, though it may take a few spins to sink in eventually. Range Rover - All Is Bliss All cassettes can now be ordered via Sweat Lodge Guru's website. Read more → Mitch Putnam of our much adored Sioux City, Iowa-based label Sweat Lodge Guru hit us up with a whole bunch of exciting news, no less than three incredible tapes coming up from the imprint's ever-expanding roster today. First, it's finally time for As Loud As The Sun, the long-anticipated debut cassette by Colorado outfit Moon Tides, a wonderfully twee-infused excursion into summery guitar pop, with the group's distinctive male/female vocalization and beautiful melodies all along. Take an exclusive listen to the dreamy "No Time" below, once again splendidly visualized by Moduli TV's Frank Ouellette. Moon Tides - No Time St. Petersburg, Russia's enigmatic Nocow has been haunting the blogosphere for a good while now and we're more than happy that someone has finally stepped up to put out his dark and eerie electronics on a physical medium. As regards Ruins' standout "Moonlight Flit", as pointed out by more or less everyone else, some Burial comparisons are indeed appropriate considering the vocal manipulations and the slow-burning, drawn-out beat, and the fact that we're not at all annoyed by the obvious resemblance speaks in Nocow's favor, we'd say. And because that guy seems to be on fire at the moment, Frank Ouellette has contributed a pitch-perfect, aptly anguishing video collage for this one, too. Nocow - Moonlight Flit Back in February, San Diego's Range Rover surprised us all with the wonderfully lush psych-pop anthem "There's Nothing For Me Here", one of this year's best tracks. However, the psychedelic thing seems to be worn-out already, as their self-titled four-track cassette for SLG takes a heavy turn towards, well, something between ambient and minimal techno. Quite odd and definitely unexpected, the tunes are nonetheless an intriguing listen, though it may take a few spins to sink in eventually. Range Rover - All Is Bliss All cassettes can now be ordered via Sweat Lodge Guru's website.

Compilation: Visage Musique Vol. 1.

04 Oct 2011 — Henning Lahmann

Ever since listening to the first seconds of Bernardino Femminielli's amazing tape Carte Blanche Aux Désirs we were guessing that Canada's second city must have a thriving minimal wave scene. Turns out we were correct: Montréal's own boutique imprint Visage Musique just released their initial roundup compilation Volume 1, a compelling introduction into the city's hidden places of cold wave, italo disco, and related strands of early 80s-informed synth music. The ten-track collection features new songs by Femminielli and the recently loved Brusque Twins alongside other exclusive contributions by the excellent Gold Zebra, Police Des Moeurs, and Tony Cops. All very promising stuff indeed. Listen to two standout tracks below, "Hotel Suite" and "What Else Is There to Say?", but make sure you treat yourself with the splendid whole that's up for free over here. Femminielli - Hotel Suite Brusque Twins - What Else Is There to Say? Read more → Ever since listening to the first seconds of Bernardino Femminielli's amazing tape Carte Blanche Aux Désirs we were guessing that Canada's second city must have a thriving minimal wave scene. Turns out we were correct: Montréal's own boutique imprint Visage Musique just released their initial roundup compilation Volume 1, a compelling introduction into the city's hidden places of cold wave, italo disco, and related strands of early 80s-informed synth music. The ten-track collection features new songs by Femminielli and the recently loved Brusque Twins alongside other exclusive contributions by the excellent Gold Zebra, Police Des Moeurs, and Tony Cops. All very promising stuff indeed. Listen to two standout tracks below, "Hotel Suite" and "What Else Is There to Say?", but make sure you treat yourself with the splendid whole that's up for free over here. Femminielli - Hotel Suite Brusque Twins - What Else Is There to Say?

Jonas Reinhardt: “Historic Loam”.

04 Oct 2011 — Henning Lahmann

Here's another new track arisen from Jonas Reinhardt's extremely prolific collaboration with Norwegian dance producer Thomas Moen Hermansen aka Prins Thomas, uploaded to the outfit's Soundcloud a couple of days ago. "Historic Loam" features more irresistibly meandering synth layers that indeed seem to be suitable for moving your feet along, though we admit that we haven't tried it ourselves. Jonas Reinhardt - Historic Loam (prod. w/ Prins Thomas) Read more → Here's another new track arisen from Jonas Reinhardt's extremely prolific collaboration with Norwegian dance producer Thomas Moen Hermansen aka Prins Thomas, uploaded to the outfit's Soundcloud a couple of days ago. "Historic Loam" features more irresistibly meandering synth layers that indeed seem to be suitable for moving your feet along, though we admit that we haven't tried it ourselves. Jonas Reinhardt - Historic Loam (prod. w/ Prins Thomas)

Video Premiere: Silver Dapple - “(Pauses)”.

04 Oct 2011 — Henning Lahmann

After their excellent single "Slip Stich" that we'd featured back in April, Montréal four-piece Silver Dapple finally return with another foretaste from their forthcoming debut LP English Girlfriend (that's the cover art above), originally set for September already but now due November 25 as the first-ever release by the brand new, also Montréal-based imprint Forchristsake. The video for "(Pauses)", just another brilliant, early 90s-dripping fuzz-pop gem with propulsive chord progressions behind a huge wall of noise, was done by one of our favorite visual artists, Frank Ouellette of Moduli TV. A terrific and absolutely appropriate trip back to good old VHS times (and in fact a little creepy, too). Read more → After their excellent single "Slip Stich" that we'd featured back in April, Montréal four-piece Silver Dapple finally return with another foretaste from their forthcoming debut LP English Girlfriend (that's the cover art above), originally set for September already but now due November 25 as the first-ever release by the brand new, also Montréal-based imprint Forchristsake. The video for "(Pauses)", just another brilliant, early 90s-dripping fuzz-pop gem with propulsive chord progressions behind a huge wall of noise, was done by one of our favorite visual artists, Frank Ouellette of Moduli TV. A terrific and absolutely appropriate trip back to good old VHS times (and in fact a little creepy, too).

Video: Circuit Des Yeux - “Twenty & Dry”.

04 Oct 2011 — Henning Lahmann

I've been lying spellbound by the eerie incredibility of Haley Fohr aka Circuit Des Yeux's video for "Twenty & Dry" for quite a few days now, but tonight I think I've finally found enough words to write about this flawless masterpiece that so perfectly accompanies Fohr's raw and blunt, folk-informed chamber pop. It's been a while since I've last seen such constant alteration between slow-motion and fast-forward sequences, and again it's been implemented marvelously to depict the anxieties and fears that our modern times evoke. A disturbing, engrossing piece of art. The whole album by Circuit Des Yeux, Portrait - already released by De Stijl Records - is a deep, enchanting, brilliant and also quite radical affair, a highly recommended record of slow-burning, emotive yet stripped contemporary folk experimentalism. Order the LP over here. Read more → I've been lying spellbound by the eerie incredibility of Haley Fohr aka Circuit Des Yeux's video for "Twenty & Dry" for quite a few days now, but tonight I think I've finally found enough words to write about this flawless masterpiece that so perfectly accompanies Fohr's raw and blunt, folk-informed chamber pop. It's been a while since I've last seen such constant alteration between slow-motion and fast-forward sequences, and again it's been implemented marvelously to depict the anxieties and fears that our modern times evoke. A disturbing, engrossing piece of art. The whole album by Circuit Des Yeux, Portrait - already released by De Stijl Records - is a deep, enchanting, brilliant and also quite radical affair, a highly recommended record of slow-burning, emotive yet stripped contemporary folk experimentalism. Order the LP over here.

Claes Strängberg: “Archipelago”.

02 Oct 2011 — Tonje Thilesen

Read more →