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Friday, January 20, 2012

Week Of 1/10 - Modern Classical, Noise/Glitch

[Notes: Sorry for being late, I participated in the Blackout on Wednesday, and then had trouble accessing my blog yesterday.]

This week I loaded almost all of what's on my Unwoman USB flash drive discography. Only a little bit is left on it I haven't heard. Which will get loaded a little later in the month (next week, maybe the week after). This weeks new release is a short EP from Venetian Snares, a little glitchy noise to break up the cello.

New Releases:
Venetian Snares - Affectionate
Label: Self Released via Bandcamp
Released: 1/11 2011
Genre: noise, glitch
Noise tends towards all harmonics, rhythms tend to feel accidental, and rarely last for long. The beat is nearly nonexistent most of the time. Here we have a short 4-track EP from Venetian Snares that has all the glitchy bits I like from his stuff, highly experimental, and rhythmically erratic. The harmonics go high and low, though not often together. This release almost sees actual rhythm last through a song, but it's quickly broken up. A well paced set, all four tracks flow nicely from one to the next. Before I know it the EP is over and I find I have to hit repeat or find something else to listen to. If only this could carry it's feeling on a little longer, a good problem to have.

Adding To The Collection:
Unwoman - Blossoms
Label: Self Released via Bandcamp
Released: 2007
Genre: Modern Classical
The marked difference here from earlier releases is the loss of industrial undertones, and for the better I think. The cello comes fully to the front with her voice, the song writing is smoother too. Serene is a good word for the feel of this album. Honestly, I only pay a little attention to the lyrics, I like the music (which includes the melody of her voice) on this release. A few songs do stand out from the rest, Witch-Wife and Three Songs Of Shattering, have both made me stop what I'm doing to just listen. A good change of pace from her previous work, and it carries forward to other albums.

Unwoman - The Keys
Label: Self-Released on Bandcamp
Released: 2009
Genre: Modern Classical
Ok, not every album actually makes an impression on me either way. Sometimes, I find an album I consider very... middle. This is one of those. It's not bad, I don't want to turn it off nor am I just waiting for it to finish. But I probably won't listen to this again for a while, it'll simply occupy space in my library. There are three covers here - Running Up That Hill, House Of The Rising Sun, and Hurt. The first could have used a little more punch, more anger to it. The last is just (to be blunt, but not trying to be mean) boring. The House Of The Rising Sun, Unwoman managed to capture the song very nicely, it's an excellent cover, the gem of the album.


Unwoman - The City Single
Label:
Released: 2010
Genre: Modern Classical, Pop
A four track EP with a little more pop element to it that her albums have. at least on the title track. The third song, A Valentine, is the Lewis Carroll poem set to music, a nice touch. Poems and Songs are close enough cousins to make this work well. Past that, it's a four track single, good for completing a collection if you're a fan.

Unwoman - Casualties
Label: Self-Released on Bandcamp
Released: 2010
Genre: Modern Classical
I like this album well enough, nothing really stands out as spectacularly good. But nothing falls behind either, I don't skip tracks. Though I also couldn't pick out a song from this album, it all blends together a little bit in a good kind of way.


Unwoman - Casualties Instrumentals
Label: Self-Released on Bandcamp
Released: 2010
Genre: Modern Classical
This version of the album absolutely awesome, I love it. It's a completely different tone, feels darker and the atmosphere is gorgeous. Listen to this album with headphones on, good ones. The soundscape here feels a little more ominous at times. And it has nothing to do with her voice being good or bad, but without it her music feels more haunting, larger. All of it feels like one big song, like the version with lyrics nothing is a stand out and nothing gets left behind. I honestly sat with this one on repeat for a few hours while reading, perfect background atmosphere.


Next Week - Al Jorgensen goes country, some older dubstep, a Jpop collection, and House/Club music from Brazil.

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