Week Of 6/19 - Trip Hop, Downtempo, EBM, Industrial, , Brazilian trad.

A mostly mellow week this time around, lots of lighter fair with just a dash of harder dance sounds thrown in to keep it lively...

New And Recent Releases:

Army Of The Universe
Kill The F* DJ
Label: Dim Mak Records
Released: 6/19 2012
Genre: Industrial, Electro

A digital only release from this Italian powerhouses, AOU has once more produced some seriously awesome music. The title track is a nearly harsh electro rhythm with EBM beats pounding away. The album remixes are still hard, though one of them gives a nearly classic rave-style treatment to the song which smacks a little or irony. The two other tracks on here are a good progression for AOU and their sound - a little more electro than their debut. And it's all good, I really hope a new full album comes out of these guys in the next year or so, their sound really is in that sweet zone of dance-club and rock-out.

Ayria
Hunger
Label: Alfa Matrix
Released: 6/19 2012
Genre: Darkwave, EBM

One track single from Ayria for her upcoming new release. A dancefloor ready number, nice and bouncy. Still with some dark undertones keeps it out of the pop- genre and prevents it from sinking into mediocrity. Definitely makes me look forward to the full album.

Adding To The Collection:

Alpha
The Impossible Thrill
Label: Astralwerks
Released: 2001
Genre: Trip-Hop

An old trip hop group, this album coming out as the genre was leaving dance-floor popularity behind. It's rather mediocre overall honestly. I do like that it switches between male and female vocals instead of sticking to just female trip-hop. Something Alpha was known for. But, they never really put the production team together to go the extra step. This album, in particular, actually starts to put me to sleep. Good for relaxing afternoon, but not much else. I think this is very out of print as well.

Kruder & Dorfmeister
The K&D Sessions™
Label: g-stoned
Released: 1998
Genre: Downtempo, DJ Mix

An old school DJ Mix, unlike a lot of mixes from the late 90s, this one falls on the downtempo side, delving into some trip hop and touches of dub. It's good, not as sleep inducing as Alpha is, but still mellow. This is the kind of thing that would play in the side-room (or chill-room) at a rave. You can still dance to it, but it's much slower, mellower. It's also a 2-CD mix, so this is a good one to put on and just let play out for a few hours of relaxtion. Not out of print, still moderately easy to find or order.

Think Global
Acoustic Brazil
Label: World Music Network
Released: 2008
Genre: Traditional Brazilian, Latin

The Think Global series are similar to the Rough Guides, though they tend to focus on larger regions, or have less focus musically. Acoustic Brazil pulls in from all kinds of sources. It's upbeat, but not loud, the don't just play lip service to the 'acoustic' part, most (or all I think) is unplugged. Some of them recorded just for this production. Lot's of different kinds of Latin styles mixed into this, with some more traditional styles specific to Brazil like Caipira (a 'country' style). Very good, not as chill as the trip-hop and downtempo entries, this stuff still moves around a bit. As a note, the Think Global series donates money to Oxfam International.

Hidden Tracks:
Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra
Trout Hear Replica and Want It Back
Label: self-released
These are two more digital single tracks from Amanda Palmer and her new album given out to Kickstarter backers. While not yet available to the public, I wanted to give my thoughts on the upcoming album: it's going to be good. Not a rehash of her Dresden Dolls days, the sound has moved forward by borrowing from the past. Lots of 80s tints the songs here, each in a different way, without trying to Be 80s. I'll post links when her album becomes available for order, and naturally review the whole thing when I get it in my hands.

Next Week:
A Rough Guide to Morocco, an Adam Ant best of, several singles crossed my path (Art Brut, Sinsect, and Clutch), and a compilation from Metropolis Records. Listen Hard!

Week Of 4/3 - Bassa Nova, Industrial, EBM, Modern Classical, Gothic Rock, A Cappella

Tried to get in a decent mix this week, finding some off the path stuff...

New Releases:
Céu
Caravana Sereia Bloom
Label: Six Degrees Records
Released: 4/3 2012
Genre: Bassa Nova, Pop

Céu does has a nice, smooth, and quiet voice, very jazz in style, and nicely un-american in sensibility. The Bassanova rhythms with a pop-music overlay is a nice combination. The album itself is, as I found out, really good on a warm spring morning, driving around, or walking. Relaxing, soft without being too slow or quiet. The native Brazilian music is not, to my happiness, not even remotely tinged with any kind of standard US overproduction, I hope she stays on the Six Degrees label and keeps her music decidedly Brazilian. The Bossa Nova sound does have some minor pop-style undercurrents, but are closer to a Latin-Jazz sound than a pop-music sound overall. Overall, good, relaxing music to sit back and enjoy.

 Recently Released:

Everything Goes Cold
The Tyrant Sun
Label: Metropolis Records
Released: March 2012
Genre: Industrial, EBM

A mostly-remix EP from EGC, it's full of the kind of hard club-styled industrial that I enjoy. Aggressive, loud, and thumpy. At least one of the remixes is all dubstepped out with wobbly bass, but not so much that it loses the industrial style behind it. Their first release on Metropolis is an appropriately loud piece of work - definitely worth tracking down and forcing your favorite record store to order for you.

Unwoman
Infinitesimal
Label: Self-Released (www.unwoman.com)
Released: March 2012
Genre: Modern Classical, Ambient

This is a collection of very old work from around 1999, finally seeing the light of day - limited to 50 hard copies, it's primarily a digital release. The liner notes request to take the work seriously, as it was recorded with that intent. There's also an apology for the quality of some of the production, due to limited experience and equipment at the time. Honestly, there isn't that much to overlook and excuse, it has decent production quality - better than some music with more resources. Overall, it's a nice collection for fans to have of early work - the only song I actively don't like is Lament For Peter Pan which is an almost 13-minute epic piece of work that, quite honestly, horrible.But, against the backdrop of the rest of the works, it just quietly slips under the water and drowns in some really nice music. Best for fans or anyone whose interested in the journey a musician takes from early steps to a more practiced refinement.

Adding To The Collection:

Hydrogen Skyline
Index_Zero
Label: Self-Released (www.hydrogenskyline.com)
Released: 2011
Genre: Gothic Rock

So, I picked this up at Anomaly-Con, a local Steampunk convention here in Denver. It's only a 2-track single (I have the full album release that I'll be reviewing in the near future), so a good introduction to the band. Both tracks are on the less-rock, lighter side, of the gothic-rock coin - though I'm not sure the band fully intends to land in that genre. Still, it's good. They remind me a great deal of Sky Cries Mary, without being derivative, more a feeling of the same audio-space, which I enjoy. Slow rhythms, no one instrument - not even the vocals - really takes the front, all of it mixed together in an smooth ethereal sound.

Morlocks
The Outlaw Of Fives
Label: Non Aligned Media
Released: 2011
Genre: Industrial, Gothic Rock

This... well, this is this weeks gem. I'm actually having a hard time accurately describing the whole endeavor. Take elements of Gothic-rock, industrial, symphonic metal, synth-pop, and punk, then mix liberally in a blender, serve over ice. They like multiple change-ups during a song, and it manages to fit and work. It's all a little ridiculous too, and still it works. While I like them best on the really fast, energetic, tracks, the slower ones are interesting, making heavy use of harmony vocals and string elements. The album is a kind of epic on a scale you don't see very often, and manages to carry itself through with it all the way to the end. Absolutely worth tracking down and getting (the digital version is available on Amazon and iTunes, the CD copy is available easily through the KMFDM online store).

Pandora Celtica
F'n Sharp!
Label: Self-Released (www.pandoraceltica.com)
Released: 2010
Genre: A Cappella

Another band I picked up at Anomaly-Con - an a cappella group that, on this album, mostly sings chanties, though a few other songs mix in. They certainly sing well together, and harmonize nicely, nothing sounds out of place nor does one voice constantly rise above the rest. This is their second album and you can hear that the group here (this isn't the current line-up) works really well together. The one thing about many A Cappella groups I pick up is that there's always something that prevents me from just putting an album on all the way through - which I didn't find here. A good interesting find outside the norm of the general music collective.

Next Week:
The latest Bassnectar thumps my speakers. More industrial (isn't there always...). I discover a musical genre completely new to me - Fado, a native Portuguese style. And some ethereal gothic-rock stuff from a former KMFDM band member. Listen Hard!

Week Of 2/21 - Synthpop, Psychobilly, Blues, Dubstep, Industrial, & music of the Congo

This weeks new music was a blind buy, picked it up without any knowledge of the artist at all, I knew the label usually put out music I liked, so I took a shot. And won. I also dove into my digital collection that has been gathering pixel-dust on my Hard Drive and loaded up several EPs. Plus some of the CDs sitting on my shelf waiting for attention. All together a good amount of music this week.

New Releases:
Grimes - Visions
Label: 4AD Records
Released: 2/21 2012
Genre: Synthpop, Experimental
Discogs - Visions US Release
Grimes is the project of Canadian artist Claire Boucher.Visions is full of pop melodies, her voice is in the same range as a lot of pop music. But, it stops just short of actually being pop, the rhythms aren't quite right, the songs ditch the hook, liberal bits of glitch and other exerimental ideas seep through constantly. Which is the best part of the album, it's very easy to listen to, very smooth, but it's not lost in banal commonality. It's different without being jarring. As a whole the album creates an environment, it's the kind of music you can listen to with headphones, or letting permeate the room as a whole. Loud or soft, it's just really nice to listen to. Visions is absolutely and album to go out and get, and Grimes is the kind of artist that should get mainstream exposure without needing to become a media spectacle. It does remind me a lot of Broken Bells in that it's at once very familiar and completely different from other music out there.

Recently Released:
KDrew - Free EP Vol. 4
Label: Dubstep.Net (Self Released)
Released: 2/1 2012
Genre: Dubstep
Dubstep.Net - KDrew Free EP
Dubstep.Net tossed out this 4-track EP at the start of the month, which is unfortunate since if you go to KDrew's Soundcloud it's a full 6-track EP. What we have in these 4 tracks are three-vocal dubstep tunes, and one instrumental. The first is a hard hitter, with fast lyrics from a traditional Hip-hop MC. After that the next two tracks are pop-vocals with dubstep backing. And the last one is a very chill piece, good for dancing, but not so frantic as to wear you out. Good stuff, really. I don't really have a lot to say about a 4-track banger, but it's solid dubstep, hard and soft alike. And it's free, so you can get into the genre without much effort.

Adding To The Collection:
Marc Broude - Cruel Society
Label: Sirona Records
Released: 2011
Genre: Industrial, Experimental
Sirona Records - Cruel Society
This is a two-track EP sent to me. The first song is a pretty standard, not very interesting industrial-rock song. The second one, one the other hand, is glitchy and different, a dark instrumental soundscape that reminds me of some older industrial styled tracks that work with sounds in different ways beyond trying to build a dance club hit. It's two tracks, and not available in the US.

Little Axe - Champagne & Grits
Label: Realworld Records
Released: 2004
Genre: Blues, Electric Blues
Discogs - Little Axe US Release
Little Axe is some very excellent modern electric blues. From a traditional blues of him singing and a guitar, to the slightly 'techno' infused electric blues this album spans a wide range of ideas and interprettions of 12-bar. A supremely excellent guitarist, his style is classic in every sense while his thinking is very forward. There realy isn't a lot to say here beyond Go Get This Album, honestly. it's excellent and proves that the blues never fades.

Nekromantix - What Happens In Hell, Stays In Hell!
Label: Hellcat Records
Released: August 2011
Genre: Psychobilly
Discogs - What Happens In Hell US Release
This excellent three-piece band puts the gas pedal down on their hot-rod herse and doesn't let up until after the crash. Full of off kilter horror and songs about girls (or ghouls in the case of I Kissed A Ghoul), the whole thing is a little disturbing, but the bass just keeps on humming. The entire album is a standard set of rockabilly rhythms you can dance to, with the classic psychobilly left-of-center attitude. You just bop right along to the entire album, even if the song topics are less than cheerful the musci really is. Nekromantix really have got the 50s era Rockabilly sound nailed down, and have easily infused it with a modern punk attitude and styling.

Rough Guide To Congo Gold
Label: World Music Network
Released: 2008
Genre: Congo Traditional, Rumba
Discogs - Congo Gold
The Congo, like a good bit of Central and South Africa, embracing Rumba music when it came over in the 60s and 70s. They even infused it into their local traditional musics, came up with new genres, and played straight Rumba like it never left it's home. And you can hear that all over this compilation, at least half the tracks are pure Rumba, some even sung in Spanish. The traditional music to the Congo is pretty good, very rhythmic. As a whole, this is a pretty average Rough Guide - good to get into a region, but nothing really amazing is going on here, you get the feeling the Congo music scene is moderately homogenous, though.

Bonus Track:
Whitenoise - Bang Bang! Remix
Label: Soundcloud Self Release
Released: 2011
Genre: Dubstep
I found this last year and fell in love with it, and then it got lost on a Hard Drive. And I refound it after organizing things. It takes Nancy Sinatra's Bang Bang and remixes it into a hard, dirty, lovely, dubstep pounder. It's just, well, it's great. Availalbe to listen on Soundcloud, go dance.

Next Week:
Industrial Rock, and plenty of it, some old school synthpop-electro, electroswing, a big dubstep mix, and a compilation of EBM/Industrial stuff.... very exciting, the whole week should just bop along.

Week Of 9/13 - Thrash Metal, Industrial, Latin, Hip-Hop

After eight years the new Anthrax album hit the streets. I have to admit, the last half decade as an Anthrax fan has been frustrating. We've Com For You All seemed like the break they needed to push forward, and then apparently ditched to do a reunion tour with Joey and John on board. John left the band, and Joey left after the reunion bit. They got a new singer, that immediately upon recording music was gone again, and Joey came back and re-recorded everything. It's been a mess. While I'm a huge fan of the John Bush years, I have to say that Joey sounds awesome on this album. It's everything you want from Anthrax. The rest of my musical selections this week - while good - aren't quite top notch.

New Releases:
Anthrax - Worship Music
Label: Megaforce
Released: 9/13 2011
Genre: Thrash Metal
This is all the best of the early stuff with Joey and the heavy stuff with John rolled into one massive crushing work of pure thrash-metal awesome. Not quite as fast as some of the very early stuff, the group is still in top form and still crushes it out of the park. Joey lost some of the super-high pitched wailing from the 80s, but can still belt it out. This bit of work has launched itself into my top-album tier, nothing on here really misses the mark at all. Though the first couple tracks are a bit of a slow opener compared to the pure monsters on the back end. The Giant and Judas Priest make an awesome pair of songs, In The End I stuck on repeat for a little while, and the first single Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't is a pure thrash powerhouse. They definitely stand back up and demonstrate why Anthrax is one of the Big 4. I'm off to mosh some more.

Adding To the Collection:
16 Volt - American Porn Songs
Label: Metropolis
Released: 2009
Genre: Industrial (Industrial Rock)
I like 16 Volt, they make good music. Especially their early stuff. But this, honestly, is a giant album of filler material. It's not bad, but nothing stands out, another CD to put on the stack of Industrial just in case you need to play a whole bunch for a long time. The only piece that caught my attention was Somebody To Hate, probably because it parodies the classic Somebody To Love song. Other than that, they all sound pretty similar, guitar heavy industrial beats. If you're a 16 Volt fan, pick this up, if you're just a general Industrial fan there's other, better material out there.
 
MC 900 Ft Jesus (w/ DJ Zero) - Hell With The Lid Off
Label: Nettwerk / I.R.S. Records
Released: 1989
Genre: Hip-Hop MC 900 Ft. Jesus generally puts out heavily jazz-influenced eletronica, here his team up with DJ Zero puts out something much more hip-hop ariented. More beats that hit a little harder, lyrics that flow more instead of his normal story-style. It's good work, and different from a lot of the offerings out there. It's good, it's fun, it's not entirely catchy. This album managed to sadly show its age, and not well. It's not particularly complex, nor clever. It just is.  

The Rough Guide To Brazilian Cafe w/ Bonus Disc (Vicor Ramil & Marcos Suzano)
Label: World Music Network
Released: 2011
Genre: Latin
Ah, latin music. Fun stuff, this whole collection is light, and airy. It is, as the title implies, perfect for sitting around a cafe and drinking coffee (or tea) to, with friends. It just sits happily in the background keeping the good feelings flowing. I really enjoyed this one, more than I normally like the exploration of the Rough Guides series. The guitar work is excellent, the selection fits well together - more so than others in the series where the selection is more about breadth than a continuous listening experience. The bonus CD of Vitor & Marcos is also excellent. like most bonus discs it's a previously released or soon-to-be released album from the hi-lighted group, in this one the guitar of Vitor's playing stands out. It's just excellent. Of all the Rough Guides I've gotten and reviewed so far, this is one of my favorites.

That's the week in music. Coming up is Tori Amos' new album, some gothic-rock, more idustrial and African Guitar. After that I go on vacation so I may be taking a hiatus, or load up lots of new music and have an extra-large post early in October. Or write from the road... who knows! Listen Hard!