21 Aug 2014 — Parker Bruce
Soft Vision aka Kelly Winchester and Bradley Barr, an Austin pair, know how to make quietly stately music. Case in point, their song "Feel It Coming On", which can be found on a debut 7" of the same name that will be out on August 26. The reserved, almost dirge of the tune calls to mind the songs by Computer Magic (i.e. "Victory Gin," "Grand Junction," and "Everyone Feels That Way Sometimes") as it marches and trudges with droning organs yet also a miraculous sense of airiness, brevity, and lightness as if we all had our heads in the clouds.
Get the two songs through Lexington, KY label Acoustic Division's burgeoning subset, Hi-Definition, come next week. Drone on.
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15 Aug 2014 — Johanne Swanson
My favorite hobby at seventeen was putting on my headphones and bombing stretches of Wisconsin county highway on my longboard. I remember relaying this to some scumbag I was dating and getting the reaction, “How are you the biggest stoner without any drugs?” I’ve since learned that it’s because, my friends, life is the craziest trip of them all.
Sit back and take a good hit of “In the Evergreens”, a music video we’re pleased to premiere off the debut Transient from Lake Daggers. It’s organic loopy psych drone and accompanying imagery is indicative of the Midwest, evident by labelmates, most notably longtime NFOP favorite Orchard Thief. Lake Daggers is Bloomington, Indiana, resident Wyatt Montgomery Worcel, and Transient, described by the label as “audio-snapshots”, is out now on Madison, Wisconsin’s Golden Cloud Tapes. It features subtle and lush textural layering, ideal for getting lost in the woods on a humid day. If you dare look up, here’s to hoping you don’t get lost in the maze that is the light shining through the leaves.
Transient is out now on Golden Cloud Tapes.
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13 Aug 2014 — Evelyn Malinowski
Erik Moline aka Recycle Culture described his creation as "chilled balearic," which is indeed fitting phrasing for this movement. Still, it isn't simply balearic, beachy fun. It encompasses some kind of deep emotions which aren't worth fighting against. In the beginning, it reminds me of Ulrich Schnauss, and then slides into some sounds that remind me of Brian & Chris, a project I've long forgotten about. There's also a touch of Subradial present throughout the piece. The guitar lines shimmer and resonate similarly as they would through either oceanside caverns, or photographs like the one that serves as the album art. I listened to it for the first time the other day over morning coffee, and it still feels like the gem of recent musical discoveries. His early releases that we've liked, such as Puzzle Logic, sound a bit like KC Accidental, which, as I sit here in Toronto in the middle of W Bloor and Spadina, is a perfect connection to draw up.
You can stream Drown Me Up among other releases here.
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04 Aug 2014 — Henning Lahmann
Take a look at the cover art. Do it again. Close your eyes. Look again. That bed, a fantasy seaside escape, and a rainbow for added authenticity, and an album name to top it off – that's basically all you need to know to aptly file the music of Vancouver's Evelyn Mason and Olivia Meek aka Evy Jane and Regular Fantasy aka Bobo Eyes. Though we should probably mention the handclaps, too: Fifty seconds into signature track "Do You Miss Me (Rainstick Mix)", the lascivious sounds are gently thrown into the mix, and everything suddenly falls into place. This is post-vaporwave for the lovers, velvety vocals and offensively inoffensive synth swirls (look under 'presets > sex'). Appropriate drinks strongly recommended for full listening experience.
"Do You Miss Me (Rainstick Mix)" is part of Midnight Pearl, which is out tomorrow, August 5 August 12 via 1080p. Get it now over here.
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31 Jul 2014 — Sam Clark
Slow Magic is an enigmatic producer who further contributes to his anonymity by performing in an over-sized, neon-striped animal mask. The ambiguity of just what animal the mask is supposed to embody is key, as it reflects how hard it has been to pinpoint Slow Magic to a sole trajectory of aesthetic. His 2012 debut album Triangle embodied the Bandcamp tag “glo-fi” perfectly, its reverb-swathed chillwave origins packing a bigger punch with more agitated drums and angular synths. Slow Magic spent the next two years relatively quiet, remixing the occasional Bon Iver and Gold Panda song while prepping his sophomore effort.
In late June, Slow Magic resurfaced in earnest with “Girls”. The song was touted as being the lead-off single from his as-yet-unnamed album with Downtown Records, and it hit hard. It hit hard not because it was a towering anthem but because it was somewhere on the opposite end of the spectrum; “Girls” relies on a murky vocal sample that fades in from the distance, is placed on a rotary speaker, and permeates the texture as synths and guitar lines weave their way in and out of the mix. While the track is still consistent with many of the tropes common in summertime electronic music, its decidedly minimalist nature stood out and pushed Slow Magic to new heights.
Slow Magic followed up “Girls” with a second single, “Hold Still”, towards the end of July. “Hold Still” is comparatively eerie, relying on a swelling, synth-driven chord progression that crescendos to a false apex, giving way to delicate pianos and a soft vocal melody. Misdirection is the name of the game, and Slow Magic follows through with a stuttering, bass-dropping coda that tantalizes listeners with its abrupt ending.
Both “Hold Still” and “Girls” are taken from Slow Magic’s upcoming album How To Run Away, out September 9 via Downtown Records. The album also features re-workings of one-off singles “Youth Group” and “On Yr Side,” and can be pre-ordered here.
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29 Jul 2014 — Henning Lahmann
Here's a thing I did not know: TWINS apparently stands for "That Which Is Not Said", for all of you with a special affinity witty acronyms. What is being said though, and what I did know already, is that TWINS is the most recent guise of Atlanta cultural mainstay Matt Weiner, probably known to most of our readers as the genius behind Featureless Ghost. Yet like to many other artists across the Atlantic, Weiner has started gravitating towards the 'floor, and thankfully none of EDM-related provenance. Instead, TWINS delivers strictly the most classic acidic grooves – House with a capital 'H' indeed. His upcoming Cold Gemini 12" contains four tracks of freakishly assertive bangers, with opener "Creepsick (Believe the Floor)" providing a standout moment with its motorik sample and heavily filtered lead. The accompanying video is aptly analogue and psychedelic; as if you had needed further incentive to drop a pill. Watch it exclusively below.
The Cold Gemini EP is out in mid-August via Clan Destine's beat friendly subdivision Traxx. Pre-order now over here.
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28 Jul 2014 — Henning Lahmann
Ah right, another group of individuals that by way of appellation suggest a quality they are not. Is that subversive? Clever? Shallow? Wrong? For the time being, we'll leave the question undecided, hanging there in the openness of this post. Because we assume that whatever the motives, young Dublin outfit Girl Band don't mean any harm. For what it's worth, they could call themselves anything really, as the band's forceful sonic revolt which finds its position somewhere between traditional post-punk and more contemporary U.S.-informed noise probably needs no names anyway. This is fresh anger, probably aimless, which renders all upright theorizing essentially futile. I mean seriously, this song is called "De Bom Bom". Further proof necessary? Listen below.
Girl Band are playing at Berlin Mitte's ACUD on September 6, presented by No Fear Of Pop. Check out the event details over here.
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25 Jul 2014 — Henning Lahmann
You may certainly make a point about overly obvious retromania here, but there has always been something about Vancouver outfit Shimmering Stars that really struck a chord with me. There's some barely suppressed yet indelible sadness lying within every single note that isn't really expressed by the overall melancholy of the band's music itself – instead it's deeper, at the same time more hidden and more urgent. This might be the reason why the work of the late Songs: Ohia mastermind Jason Molina has been such a significant influence for Shimmering Stars' main songwriter Rory McClure. After their disarmingly beautiful and intimate cover of "Hold On Magnolia" two years ago, Molina's spirit remains present on the haunting miniature "You Were There". We're glad to premiere the song below, which is taken from Shimmering Stars' upcoming full-length Bedrooms of the Nation.
Bedrooms of the Nation is out on August 13 via Almost Musique. You may order your copy of the LP now over here.
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