The new song by Top Girls aka North Carolina's Evan Adams, "Divide And", which is the first track to be unveiled from his forthcoming EP Pretty Tears, has a ripple-effect pooling (pools of pretty tears, I imagine) and panning, magnified welling and magnified swelling, of vocals and sound and pain, intimations of universes expanding even though the lyrics go, 'we can wipe it all away.' It is the sound of slowly settling. Top Girls is the thoughtful boyfriend, making us feel looked after when he asks, 'how do you feel?' – and isn't that what we all want?
Pretty Tears will be available on April 9. Stream and download "Divide And" below.
Montréal-based Each Other, who left an impression with the Heavily Spaced EP late last year, will appear on the House Rules Recordings Vol. 2 cassette with their latest, "Certain Happenings." The psych-rock song features hypnotic phrasing and a three-part structure that successfully escapes typical pop form without being unapproachable. Listen for the simple marching rhythm that becomes more dynamic as it floats between subdued drums, vocals, guitar and tambourine.
Sometimes heavy things come in delightfully infectious packages. "Weight", off of Mikal Cronin's forthcoming LP MCII, is a guitar-driven confession of fear of committing to a path in life. Post-college it's time to take the reins, but as the lyrics repeat 'I'm not ready,' most can relate to the resistance of taking control, accepting culpability, and possibly failing down the road. The pop piano and guitar melodies erupt at the chorus, mimicking the surge of energy you get when considering all of the possibilities ahead. But the song resolves in a quiet repetition of the opening lines. Our protagonist remains unready for 'the weight of seeing through.'
As a little Easter treat for you, we're delighted to present you the exclusive download of UNKWON's superb remix of CTM's "Elsa Palma" right here and now, and you don't even need to go looking for it in the garden. We already mentioneda few times how fabulous we think the Choir Of Young Believers member Cæcilie Trier's first solo offering Variations is. Fellow Copenhagen 'bedroom rave' producer UNKWON aka Anders Dixen turns the EP's opening song into a slowly but massively unfolding deconstructed dance jam, with a wholly different but absolutely compelling outcome.
Variations is out on Tambourhinoceros. Stream the UNKWON rework of "Elsa Palma" below and download the track for free over here.
Replete is the project by Irish producer and Cork School of Music student Peter Lawlor, whose penchant for layers of dusky, opaque synth pads and midtempo beats that provide the foundation for extensive vocal manipulations might not land very far from a lot of other current electronic musicians, but new track "Be Nobody", premiered below, shows a confidence in both his knowledge and skills that prevent him from simply repeating the well-worn tricks of his contemporaries. In fact, despite all ostensible resemblances, the seven-minute track creates an atmosphere that is hard to evade.
"Be Nobody" is part of Replete's forthcoming self-titled EP, release date to be announced. Head over to Earmilk to listen to another cut, "Easy Love".
Experimental mastermind James Ferraro has released his latest genre-bending opus with his new mixtape, Cold. It’s a fitting title for a tape that continues in the relatively pared-back vein of his recent work. Prior to his 2012 LP, Sushi, Ferraro’s music had an almost maximalist layering of appropriated sonic textures, whether of 80s after school specials (Night Dolls With Hairspray) or 90s computer-muzak (Far Side Virtual), that could border on parody. But on Sushi, Ferraro adopted a toned-down aesthetic, exploring dance beats and pop music in a far more ambiguous manner than some of his earlier work.
On Cold, the traces of irony and humor are nearly completely wiped away. Here, Ferraro’s genres-of-choice are smooth R&B and hip-hop, and the 50-minute tape mainly uses simplistic drum beats, icy synths, and Ferraro’s own moody wordless-wails to create a hauntingly atmospheric work. Above it all, Ferraro often adds his most straightforward vocals yet, his singing at once passionless and tragic. Interestingly, his vocals can sometimes be reminiscent of Hippos In Tanks label mate Triad God. For instance, there’s the matter-of-fact and emotionless way Ferraro sings about desire on album centerpiece and standout, "Slave For Rain": 'Gonna make you love me/ Gonna make you love me/ I need your love.' It’s not too far off from Triad God’s similar pleas on "I Want to Hold You".
By turning away from the excesses of his past work, Ferraro has crafted an enticing mixtape that may just be his most compelling deconstruction of pop music and the world that surrounds it. Taken individually, Ferraro’s songs may at first feel lacking, oddly repetitive and slightly meandering. But as a whole, Cold is a moving piece of music, turning hip-hop into a soundtrack for modern ennui. The mixtape ultimately succeeds in the same way that all of Ferraro’s great albums do: it reflects our own culture with a cracked sensibility, transporting us to a world where the unnoticed, day-to-day elements of our lives have been stretched and exaggerated into something uncanny and unsettling.
Demdike Stare have returned with the start of a new series titled Testpressing, serving as an output for the duo's more 'unusual releases'. With a penchant for noise and jungle, Testpressing#001 is a hellish ride of clamour and destructive dischord. A-side "Collision" begins with a penetrating, screeching wail from a wall of distorted frequencies, whilst in the background a series of irregular beats and clanks are slowly accumulated and reordered until they resemble a full on jungle interpretation. The b-side's focal point is a rattling boisterous rhythm that flies out at a pulsating pace with the sounds of industrial turmoil and hurtling metal.
Like anything Demdike Stare-associated, there is something completely compelling and addictive about their releases. Even if the path ahead is full of anguish, we skip along it gleefully.
Testpressing#001 will be released on Modern Love this month, and it has to be said, with the artwork by Alex Solman, the end product looks spectacular. Get the 12" here.
NFOP mainstay Klaus Von Barrel aka The KVB, the thrilling coldwave project that has now been expanded to a duo together with Von Barrel's girlfriend Kat Day, released the fabulous Immaterial Visions LP in February via Minimal Wave sublabel Cititrax. While the record itself contained just about everything we so admire about Brighton's finest music export, i.e. flawless excellence, it's the recently announced remix EP that really fills us with enthusiasm. Featuring reworks by gritty luminaries such as Regis, Silent Servant, Shifted, In Aeternam Vale, and Worn, the 12" promises to further darken our spirits, which sounds just about right for now. Listen to Regis' version of "Dayzed" below.
The Immaterial Visions Remixes EP is out next month via Cititrax/Minimal Wave.
