New Releases 8/21 - The Darkness

The Darkness

Hot Cakes

Label: Wind-Up Records
Released: 8/21
Genre: Glam Rock, Hard Rock

The Darkness broke up in 2006 when Justin Hawkins left the band, after only 6 years. They reformed in 2011 with all the original members. This album is pure glam rock. It could have been written and recorded in the late 1970s, that's how authentically Glam this is. The only thing marking it as recent is the production quality, which is definitely modern (though they are not participating in the loudness wars).

From the opening track (which is fantastically rock'n'roll) all the to the end there's nothing but very silly, but very seriously done, cuts. Aside from their fantastic execution of the sound, the songs aren't very stand out. The best track here is a cover of Radiohead's Street Spirit (Fade Out). Which is a fantastically awesome cover that sounds like it came off an Iron Maiden album from the mid-80s.

While nothing here is going to win a Grammy as a single, the whole album feels right. Nothing dips below in quality, even if nothing rises above I like that fact. It's also a short album, 11 songs coming in at 40 minutes, making all of them solid pop-rock length, good for big stadium anthems and radio play alike - they don't get stuck in their own playing.

Definitely an album worth adding if you like glam-rock.

West 4th New Music Collective

Cellophilia

Label: none (http://www.w4newmusic.com/)
Released: August 2012
Genre: Modern Classical

This isn't actually a new release - it's not even available to the public. But, I wanted to hi-light the music collective. I participated in a Kickstarter to get this concert off the ground, a download of the concert recording was a bonus. From their website: West 4th promotes the work of emerging composers and performers in New York City.

So, if you're in, or around, NYC, you can attend their concerts. I'm not, I'm all the way out here in November so I've limited ability to support them. The music from the Cellophilia concert ranged from outright amazing to the kind of screeching only a stringed instrument can create (that I hate a little bit). It's definitely a group willing to experiment with sound, composition, and songs. Which I do like a lot. They have several concerts coming up at the end of September and beginning of October.

So, hopefully, with enough encouragement, we'll see more public recordings from this group that anyone get their hands on. Either way, if you're so inclined check out their website and see what they're all about.

New Releases 8/14 - Dead Can Dance, Unwoman

Dead Can Dance

Anastasis

Label: PIAS America
Released: 8/14 2012
Genre: Ambient, Modern Classical

Dead Can Dance have been around a very long time making wonderfully ambient works taking from styles all over the world. Technically, they disbanded in 1998, briefly reformed in 2005, and haven't released an album of new music since 1996. This is their first work of completely new music in over fifteen years. And it holds up.

Ambient style works rarely need to keep up with anything, there's very little updating to be made in the genre, but a lot of execution refinement to work on. Dead Can Dance have always been masters of execution, and Anastasis is no exception. The music flows evenly, softly, and nearly peacefully through the air. It's interesting the booklet presents the lyrics of the songs in reverse order they play, reading them you get a picture of someone letting go of their past and embracing an more open future. Listened to, it's not the opposite, but it conveys a different kind of hope, someone looking out after a long life and seeing others embracing their own futures.

I have to say, the first run through the lyrics sounded a little out of place, the male vocals aren't quite as soft as the music, but not really hard either. A sort of murky middle quality that almost doesn't fit, a clear, unaltered, singing. After a few more listens it comes to fit the music rather nicely, standing out without over powering. A good album if you want to add to the ambient, or quieter side, of your collection.

Unwoman

The Fires I Started

Label: self-released (unwoman.bandcamp.com)
Released: 8/16 2012
Genre: Modern Classical

I've only been a fan of Unwoman for a fews years now, finding her through an industrial act no less. I picked up her back-catalog and liked what I heard, even if I wasn't completely enthralled. Most of her music had a kind of unfinished, rough, quality to it. Not so here. This is an intense, powerful, and altogether more refined sound. It's not just production quality (which has gotten better with time), but the album seems to come from a deeper place.

The music here feels hard won, the content is wide ranging from uplifting to, not angry, but certainly not all roses. And it's a long piece of work, sixteen songs taking seventy minutes. Like a good movie, you don't feel the passage of time, it paces nicely, each song flowing into the next without needing a connecting theme. Several songs do stand out as above the cut, The Future, The Boot - invoking Orwell's 1984 without sounding contrived (and that's no small feat these days). A Poison Tree - which feels very spiritual, again without feeling forced about it.

I love this album, a lot. This will stay in the top rotation for a long time, and I highly recommend everyone go out and buy it right now (yes, she has hardcopy available through the Bandcamp site).

Bonus Track:

Amanda Palmer And The Grand Theft Orchestra

The Killing Type (digital single)

Label: self-released (http://www.amandapalmer.net/shop/)
Genre: Rock, Punk
A surprise pre-release single from her upcoming album tossed out to Kickstarter backers, you can order the album. If you're a fan, even a small one, of a kind of rock that invokes all the good parts of 1980s radio-friendly music then you'll want to order this. This is not an extension of Dresden Dolls, or even of her solo work. This is something wholly different, it's old-school and so very new, it's where Rock should go next, half a step backwards in style.

Week Of 7/24 - Synthpop, Modern Classical, Punk, Metal, Vietnamese Music

This week I add a glaring omission from my library (well, finally update from faded cassette), find some newish Snythpop and preview some cool upcoming music.

New Releases:
Passion Pit
Gossamer
Label: Columbia Records / Frenchkiss Records
Released: 7/24 2012
Genre: Synthpop

I picked this up after hearing a few tracks in the records store, after not really finding anything else I wanted this week. It's a very 'now' take on the cross between pop music and "indie rock". Which doesn't mean it's bad, it's not actually, but it's also a record full of very interchangeable songs. Nothing really pops out at me as a Stand Out, a few tracks could be singles (indeed one is - see Bonus Tracks below). But there's nothing more to it than that. A very non confrontational release, nice rhythms, poppy tunes, a little more synth than rock in it. I like it, I'm sure I'll come around to it with some regularity when I want some relatively harmless background music with little variation or surprises in it.

Adding To The Backcatalog:

Biohazard
Mata Leão
Label: Warner Bros.
Released: 1996
Genre: Punk, Hardcore, Metal

 Another Biohazard release, I followed them briefly in the early 1990s (until now I only ever actually bought their second album Urban Discipline). So filling in some holes in a band I didn't dislike but at the time I had little budget for music and picked releases with extreme care (or simply, whatever was cheapest). Going back and finding this, a later release from after I really stopped following the band, was a great addition to my hardcore-metal area. Biohazard are a great band, not quite Heavy Metal (especially in the late 90s when Nu-Metal was taking over), not quite punk, with a dash of rap-style vocals for good measure (an early lead into the rap-metal genre). This album is great thrash, seriously picking up a punk social influence, a very hardcore sound with heavy everything. If you want some metal that isn't the same old same old find some Biohazard.

Mortal Kombat Original Soundtrack
Label: TVT Records
Released: 1995
Genre: Metal, Industrial, House, Ambient

I think I picked this up the instant it came out, I wore out the tape, and by the time I got around to updating my library fully to CD it was way out of print. I kept an eye out for it, hoping to find it without too great an expense, which I finally did. TVT Records was not a typical label to choose for a soundtrack, and it shows on the choices - because no actual "record executive" attached to a movie would think of adding any of these guys: KMFDM, Type O Negative, Gravity Kills, Napalm Death, Fear Factory, Sister Machine Gun, Bile, GZR, Utah Saints, Orbital... - especially not all together. It ranges from death metal to ambient, a couple of tracks from the movie score round it out. Truly more soundtracks need to be put in the hands of small labels. Possibly one of the best soundtracks ever released.

The Rough Guide To The Music Of Vietnam
Label: World Music Network
Released: 2007
Genre: Vietnamese Traditional

The Rough Guide that introduces us to contemporary Vietnamese artists, doing both modern and classical Vietnamese folk music. It's really excellent, the whole album flows like most Rough Guides don't. I think a little more care was put into track order than is normal for these compilations. I have yet to really get into music from Vietnam, the artists are a little harder to find in the US (unlike modern J-Pop and K-Pop). But This is a good start, gives me some names and albums to look for, and I think I may try to see if I can acquire more in the future. One thing that immediately catches my attention is it's very similar to some Chinese music I've picked up in style and rhythm. But it's a little more stripped down, brought to the essentials of the sounds and harmonies, not less complex but certainly less busy, the focus is more on the instrument and individual artist, a little more melodic in execution. Just all around excellent music to have on hand.

Bonus Tracks:

Passion Pit
Take A Walk
Label: Columbia
Released: 7/24 2012
Genre: Synthpop

A 2-Track promotional 7" Single, given away as a promo item when you purchased Gossamer. The title track is also the first track off the Gossamer album released with it. The B-Side is Almost There, a non-album track that isn't bad, but you can tell it's leftover material that didn't make the cut to the full album. If you're a die-hard fan you could probably easily track this record down. Otherwise, there's not much to miss.

Unwoman
The Fires I Started - Album Pre-Order Preview
Label: self released (unwoman.bandcamp.com)
Released: July 2012
Genre: Modern Classical

If you contributed to the Kickstarter, or go Pre-Order the album now you can pick up a nice 5-track Preview of the upcoming new release. And this album, if these five tracks are even a small indication, will kick some serious ass. Unwoman has grown, advanced, and learned over the past ten or so years and this will be her best effort to date. Truly a movement forward in sound and composition, her voice is stronger here, the music more powerful, the whole thing comes together nicely. And that's just five tracks... definitely an album worth getting (either now and get a test to tide you over or upon full release - doesn't matter but definitely one worth adding). And if you're ordering the Digital Album she's practically throwing it at you free if you only pay the minimum asking price ( but you should pay more...)


Next Week:
The first of many Overkill albums as I fill in the holes in my collection (mostly very early stuff that's been hard to find on CD), the new Testament & new Sinsect, some downtempo stuff from the mid 00s, and a collection of Celtic Lullabies, 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 1/31 - Synthpop, Trip-Hop, House, Modern Classical, Pop

This week in new releases I explore Danish pop music, find a strange little compilation from the 90s that should have been left there, finally finish my Unwoman backcatalogue, and more...

New Releases:
The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - Out Of Frequency
Label: self released (Distributed through BMG Entertainment)
Released: 1/31 2012
Genre: Synthpop, Pop
Remember Rover from The Prisoner TV Series? The bouncing balls that captured runaways and returned them to the Village? Imagine that mutated into a giant Disco Ball, chasing you down, trying to return you to a night club past its Coolness Expiration Date. That touches on the pop-banality that is embodied in this album. A dash of synthpop sensibility saves it from complete annihilation, but in all honesty... the beats are boring. The lead singers voice hovers somewhere between "she's twelve, right?" and a husky R&B smoothness. Two songs stand out as worth pulling onto a nights worth of dance-pop-music fun, Heart Attack and Ghost In My Head, with the first being actually good. Otherwise, the album manages to not sound completely uninteresting. In ten years I'll probably wonder why I bought this in the first place. Final analysis? Some harsh electro would save this, otherwise it sinks under it's own weight of recycled dance rhythms. Despite that I like it a little bit.

Adding To The Collection:
Poe - Hello
Label: Atlantic
Released: 1995
Genre: Trip-Hop, Pop
Speaking of pop... Poe entered in the 1990s, as Trip-Hop started to evolve itself, and it's those trip-hop beats that save Poe from the previously mentioned pop-banality. Her voice is smooth, unmarred with any kind of over reaching desire to actually sound pop-music influenced. The music moves back and forth between soft-rock and trip-hop beats, from one song to the next. The whole thing feels completely radio friendly, but not actually radio-boring. A few tracks did find themselves endlessly repeated on stations in the US just discovering "techno" and female lead vocals that weren't Madonna pop-music clones or Lita Ford wannabe screamers. This album is good, catchy, and ultimately the kind of thing that saved us from an endless wave of complete shit. How this took so long to end up in my collection - who knows, it was always one of those "Hey, I should buy that..." albums that, well, I never got around to. At this point, you should revisit Poe (and the newer stuff is amazing, also on the To Get List...), and purchase this. Give it a listen, it's quiet, loud, amusing, sad, and all together extremely well produced. Hello has aged well as an album, even if it seems a little antiquated, it's not an ageless album, but you can still pull it out and genuinely enjoy it, with or without nostalgia.

Unwoman - Trouble EP
Label: none (available on Bandcamp)
Released: 2008
Genre: Pop, Synthpop, Modern Classical
This 6 song EP starts out with a kind of light neo-classical kind of sound, like most of her work. After that, it gets more electronic production than modern classical. The cello is still there, but the synth-pop kind of beats tend to take a more center stage appearance in some of the music. This isn't a bad colllection, but it doesn't really leave an impression either. It's just there, good music but it feels like there's nothing there making me want to pause and Listen. Throw it on in the background and let it fill the room, like chamber music, you welcome its presence, but mostly because you'd rather not have silence. Not to disparage ovbviously good music, but this is a lot like a watered down Danielle Dax.

Unwoman - Unremembered
Label: none (available on Bandcamp)
Released: 2010
Genre: Modern Classical
There's something in here I really like, it reminds me a lot of the synth-driven darkwave and ambience from bands like Daughter Darling, Bed Of Roses, or even Switchblade Sumphony. Coupled with a kind of smart pop-sensibility that gives you the catchy grooves and hooks without numbing the mind. I put this one on and kind of absentmindedly nod my ahead along to it, half listening and half simply absorbing it. Gone are a lot of the staggered rhythms or interrupted beats from earlier albums. The whole thing flows and works together quite nicely. Layer on more percussion and these songs could easily slip into a club-scene danse set, as they sit it's a quieter space that actually does fill the room with a lively sound that every once in a while you stop and listen for a moment, before continuing on. It's the kind of album I'd put on if I needed something upbeat to get some work done to, without it being so intrusive it interferes with the work. Definitely an album to go pick up.


Baz Luhrmann Presents: Something For Everybody
Label: Capital Records
Released: 1999
Genre: House, Pop, etc
Moving right back into - WTF?! there's this. Absolutely proof that not just any asshole with a sequencer who can cleverly put together a single hit should actually be given a full record to work on. Remember that song "Wear sunscreen..." and this older sounding guy going on about a bunch of advice like "Live in New York once, but leave before it makes you hard..." and so on? Yeah, someone told Baz he could make a whole album. And it's a bunch of remixes and covers, only a moderately decent cover of When Doves Cry even comes close to not being total crap. This is pretty much everything wrong with 1990s style House/Electronica. It's just a horrible compilation. I literally ran across the CD by accident, I don't even have the full case and liner notes (Discogs helped with all of that), obviously the previous owner felt the same way I do now. This is pretty much what happens when the 'music industry' thinks it knows what's going on, this came out of the US about the same time the UK was developing what would be come dubstep, France was starting to experiment with electro-swing, and the rest of the House Music world was diversifying, this takes all the music DJs and Producers made and distills down into a pop-music death spiral. The song was right, Wear Sunscreen, the rest, leave behind. This should have been titled "Nothing For Anybody."
Next Week:
I explore South African hip-hop, find some modern Hard Rock that doesn't suck, a little Soft Rock to balance it out, check out Zimbabwe, and drag myself through yet another Industrial/EBM compilation. . .

Week Of 1/24 - Modern Classical/Pop, Metal, Bollywood, Blues-Rock, Darkwave

A bunch of new releases came out this week, and I couldn't even try and get them all. The music year finally seems to be getting underway....

New Releases:
Ingrid Michaelson - Human Again
Label: Cabin 24 Records
Released: 1/24 2012
Genre: pop-rock, modern classical
After hearing just the one track from her Ghost single, and it being my first exposure to Ingrid, I was hoping for a lot more of what I got on that album. I didn't really get all that, so it didn't meet those expectations, there's a little more pop- in this album than I expected. But it's executed without irony or overused hooks, it's a solid, not quite completely classical style, album. Fun, quiet at times, Ingrid doesn't suddenly punch out with a loud song. It's not subdued though, call it middle of the road music. I found listening to the album to be relaxing, after a sense. Doesn't mean the album was emotionally dull, there's plenty of emotion here, positive and negative, coming out in the notes. It's good, solid, and will likely be in regular rotation for a while, her voice is close to hypnotic.

Lacuna Coil - Dark Adrenaline
Label: Century Media
Released: 1/24 2012
Genre: Heavy Metal
On first listen my only thought was 'wait, did I put on the wrong album?' - because it strikes me as sounding exactly like the only other Lacuna Coil album I own "Comalies." Now, it's not a bad thing to have a very consistent sound (AC/DC has been putting out pretty much the same album since 1976), but there is always something about it that makes it stand out a little (I never mistake Who Made Who for Razor's Edge, going back to AC/DC). On subsequent listenings I finally pulled it out from the other album, gave it a good listen, and I have to say it's very middle of the road. It's not the kind of big epic sound I sort of expected, nor is it truly a hard metal sound. It hits all the right rock notes, just not entirely enthusiastically. The dual male/female lead vocals is certainly better than the usual one or the other I normally pick up. I have to admit, my metal leanings are very much towards old school thrash-metal, so anything with a metal tag deviating from that isn't my bag. The travesty here, though, is the fucking awful cover of Losing My Religion. It lacks all of the impact of the original song, and just sounds like a bored b-side banged out because the studio needed something for a single. I quite like the second to last song Fire, I wish the rest of the album sounded more like it. I imagine if you're a Lacuna Coil fan you will love the hell out of this album, for me it may be another 6 years before I come back around to them again.


I:Scintilla - Swimmers Remixed
Label: none (self-released)
Released: 1/24 2012
Genre: Darkwave, Industrial
This little 3-track digital EP was made available to members of the mailing list only, making it a rarity. It's three remixes of Swimmers Can Drown, a nice little bonus for hard core fans. Of which, I might be one. The remixes are pretty good actually, and I wonder what happened that didn't get them onto a released EP or the 2-CD edition of the album 'Dying & Falling.' They aren't just dance-floor friendly iterations of the song, but decent reconstructions - though no one does anything really bizarre, keeping the industrial-rock edge the song has. It's little tidbits like this that I sign up for band mailing lists - a good band doesn't mail you often, and when they do they make it count.

Adding To The Collection:
Joe Bonamassa - A New Day Yesterday
Label: J + R Adventures
Released: 2004
Genre: Blues, Blues Rock
Blues-Rock, pure and simple. Opens with a strong guitar riff, and keeps on going. Joe has a 'classic' blues voice, a little rough in parts, a bit deeper than normal, talks as much as sings, and yet still smooth and clear. His guitar provides most of the lead here. This is an early effort of his, as such it sounds a lot like other blues albums out there, but you can hear something distcint coming through. A lot more rock than strict blues, the tempo is a bit faster than blues standards tend to be. Really, a great album, this is his debut solo album and he really goes out of his way to show his stuff with solid guitar solos. It also contains half a dozen cover songs (including the opening track), which Joe really makes his own, which isn't always the easiest to do on a cover song. If you want solid blues rock go track this one down and add it to your collection.

Anti- Fall Music Sampler
Label: Anti-
Released: 2011
Genre: Rock, Pop, Blues, Coutnry, Folk, ah labels....
Label compilations are often the weirdest kind to pick up - the bonus is they're almost always free which gives one a chance to get a whole bunch of bands in one place and check out a song. Unless the label is a very focused label you tend to get a grab-bag of styles. Anti- is home to a whole bunch of people who are some variation on Rock Music. The first track is the undeniably awesome Tom Waits (I already bought that album, let's move on). Joe Henry is next, a folkrock number, decent enough song. Tinariwen, a desert-blues group from Mali, never would have expected to see them show up here (they're on a Rough Guide To Mali I own as well), an almost out of place song and good to see a US label pick them up. DeVotchKa, native to my own Denver I'm a little over exposed to them already, not bad music, I just don't own any of it. A new Kate Bush song shows up, turns out I'm still not all that interested in her music, though I can't actually say it's bad, it's kind of good. Booker T. Jones, soul music, he's still making it, it still sounds good. Man Man, never actually heard of them, and for some reason they remind me of Bob Dorough, only not as fun, the song here doesn't catch me enough to look further. Jolie Holland, this is a country song, though I understand she does blues and jazz too, also paydirt, I like her voice and I'll be going out and finding her albums. William Elliot Whitmore, more folk rock, good song, but not great. Marketa Irglova, whom I've never hard of but I quite like her voice, though the music is a bit soft. Wilco, fuck wilco. And that's the end of that compilation, one artist I'll be finding, one I'll consider, not bad for the standard hodgepodge of artists labels throw together on these things. It was free at my local indie-store, as these things should be, ask yours if there are any label promos to check out, even finding one new artist is a win for the effort.

The Rough Guide To Bollywood Gold
Label: World Music Network
Released: 2007
Genre: Bollywood
Bollywood! Not quite traditional Indian, not quite modern music either. It's a quirky combination of the two that sounds, well, like it came from a movie scene. Because that's what it did. Taking the songs out of context is sometimes weird - as a few of them include a snippet of opening dialogue or movie sound effect. A few sound like very traditional Indian music, and a few are not even close, like the one track on here that is totally surf-rock set to indian beats and vocals. Epic really does describe some of the music here, and the only regret is that it's only audio and you can't see the obviously extravegant dance routines that go into these movies. Fun mix to toss into a playlist with other Indian music, because these songs are not dull, at all, ever.

Next Week - pop music from Denmark, the last of the Unwoman discography I have left, some trip-hop from the mid 90s, and a collection of, er, showtunes of a sort.

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.

Week Of 1/3 - Modern Classical, House, Downtempo, Traditional India

Tried to mix it up a little this week. The New Release is a 7" Single from Ingrid Michaelson. The A-Side was released as a digital single last year, but the 7" Record is a new release with a B-Side Demo. Her new album comes out at the end of January. Adding to the collection I found two albums that "everyone owned" from the mid 1990s that somehow never made it into my own collection...

New Releases:
Ingrid Michaelson - Ghost
Label: Cabin 24 Records
Released: 1/3 2011
Genre: Modern Classical, Rock
It's hard to really judge an artist on a 2-track single. This one includes both the album-version and a demo of the song Ghost. It's a good song, has some pop-radio legs to it, and could easily earn itself some decent airplay if give the chance. The full album will be released later in January, and hopefully this song will be an indication of what to expect. If you want the demo version of the song you'll have to go track down the 7" record at your local indie-store. Otherwise the album-version of the track is available digitally. The song is primarly Ingrid and her piano, but strings and percussion accompany it lightly in the background to create a fuller sound. A bit light rock, modern classical style.


Adding To The Collection:
Tori Amos - Under The Pink
Label: Atlantic Records
Released: 1994
Genre: Modern Classical
I think this is one of those albums everyone is supposed to own, or claims to own. A few of the songs got some heavy radio play, contributing to her stardom. In all honesty, the first two thirds of this album are boring to listen to. They're not bad songs, just kind of bland. It's the last five tracks, starting with Cornflake Girl, where things pick up, a little color enters, some depth appears. The songs become more than displays of Tori's singing and piano. These last few tracks feel like full songs, where before they felt more like half-formed ideas. The albums she produced after this one improve greatly, you can tell this album is early in her career and her sound is still finding itself. A good album, but there are better from her.

Fatboy Slim - You've Come A Long Way Baby
Label: Astralwerks / Skint Records
Released: 1998
Genre: House
This is another album that everyone owned, or was supposed to own. It is classic mid/late-1990s house music, how it never ended up in my collection is anyone's guess. Probably because half of the tracks on it were so hard to avoid I never got around to buying it. The sound is firmyl big-beat, though the really big bass sound isn't quite in it. From the samples to the beats to the flow of the record the whole thing really does sound like the accumulated collective sound of popular house music from the early to mid 1990s. There's a lot of tracks that aged well, and bounce right along.

Ustad Sultan Khan - Rare Elements (Remixes)
Label: 5 Points Records
Released: 2004
Genre: Downtempo, Trip-Hop
I had never heard of this artist before this album ended up in my collection, but with remixes by Thievery Corporation and Radar One it was worth checking out (the wife is the one who found this gem one night of crate digging). It's all very downtempo style trip-hop and house. I don't know how to compare it to the original recordings, so I don't know if the remixes took great liberties or if they were very close to the originals. I do know this is a great mellow album without being too quiet. Ustad was a sarangi player, and a member of Tabla Beat Science (reviewed recently on 12/27), from India. From that I can imagine that his normal recordings are very traditional Indian with modern aesthetics mixed in. Making these remixes probably just a little more modern, but not a lot. I highly recommend seeking out this, or other, recordings of his if you're a fan of Indian music.


The Rough Guide To The Music Of India & Debshish Battacharya
Label: World Music Network
Released: 2010
Genre: Traditional, Indian
Sticking with an Indian theme, this rough guide pulls in from all over the musically diverse Indian continent. It's extremely diverse, with a lot of different styles and genres to pull from, it does a pretty good job of covering them all. Tabla, Sitar, Sarangi, water bowls, and vocals. This is definitely an introduction to styles and music of India, like many Rough Guides stands best either to find new artists in a particular styles, or in a larger mix of music from similar regions. With this album comes a live performance of Debshish Battacharya, on a custom designed slide guitar. It's a live recording, with only two other musicians to accompany him. As you listen you get the usual rhythms you associate with India, but towards the end of the performance the song slips into nearly a blues rhythm. So much so I almost wondered if he hadn't pulled out a bottle-neck to complete the concert, showing that many rhythms are nearly universal. For this second bonus album alone it has become one of my favorite Rough Guides to pull up and listen to.

Next week is an Unwoman marathon, I had a flash-drive of hers sitting around with a complete discography that I had yet to really crack into, so I loaded several of the albums from it all at once to listen to. The drive contains a lot of music, but I wanted to really get her main discography into my collection. Listen Hard!

Week Of 12/28 - Jazz, Modern Classical, Ambient, Scottish Folk, Modern Arabian

The last week of December 2011 saw... well, absolutely nothing new worth getting. Not even digitally. I did find a hardcopy of Burial's 2011 release, so that was a bonus "new release" - a last hurrah of 2011. A few compilations this week as well.

New Releases:
Burial - Untrue
Label: Hyperdub Records / Cargo Records
Released: Spring 2011
Genre: Ambient
This piece of dark ambiance, with just the slightest hint of dubstep under it (Burial is usually known as a dubstep producer), is really interesting. It reminds me a lot of early to mid 90s era Future Sound Of London, not in a derivative way. But in that nostalgic kind of way that nearly makes you think you haven't quite left that time period yet. The albums rolls forward smoothly, the ambiance is not in light in nature. It's deep rolling bass, kind of like an impending twilight, not afraid to create dance style rhythms, without ever quite reaching that club-level sound. All mood and background. Easily one of the best albums of the year, and to my shame I didn't seek out a copy earlier. The cover is a grey-scale piece, which perfectly sets the mood for this - things are dim, but not bleak, deep without being heavy thumpers. Absolutely go find a copy (digitally or otherwise) and add it to your collection.


Adding To The Collection:
Pizzicato Five - Unzipped EP
Label: Matador Records / Atalantic
Released: 1995
Genre: Modern Jazz, Pop
Another EP off of Pizzicato Five's brief dalliance with American exposure. They didn't become huge, but they had enough clout to toss out several singles off their one major US record. This EP comes from their addition to a soundtrack for the movie 'Unzipped' - hence the EP title. It contains four tracks, Happy Sad (from the movie), and a remix of it, If I Were A Groupie, and a remix of CDJ. Overall, it's decent, light, happy sounding, and just a four track EP. Unless you run across it as a cheap album like I did, nothing particularly great is here. That said, nothing particularly bad is here either. Like I said, light and happy sounding, poppy jazz rhythms and beats.

Unwoman - Wildness & Artifice (2CD Edition)
Label: self-released
Released: 2005
Genre: Modern Classical, Dark Ambient
This is the second full release from Unwoman, it's full of dark ambient rhythms from sythns and drums, and her cello, piano and voice. Most of it is of a modern classical bent, with some overtures towards downtempo styles and beats. It's far from dark itself, at least in total. Unwoman's voice is smooth, halfway between rock and trip-hop a lot of the time. The 2CD Edition (technically I have the digital version) comes with a 7 track 'acoustic' disc. Honestly, I don't particularly like the acoustic versions. It's just her voice and one or two instruments for each version. They lack the depth and even clarity of the non-acoustic versions with the percussion and beats behind them. A good early album, you can hear Unwoman's sound shaping up, gaining confidence in being a solo artist here. Worth picking up if you're an Unwoman fan.

Rough Guide To Scottish Folk - 2CD Edition with Maggie MacInnes
Label: World Music Network
Released: 2010
Genre: Folk, Scottish Traditional
Rough Guides are, as I've pointed out, great ways to get into a particular genre or region. It's easy to get Irish and Celtic music, Scottish contributions aren't as readily available. This compilation is full of folk music from the upper portion of the British Isles. It really sounds lovely, not overwhelming with bagpipes (as that's what usually pops into mind when you here "Scottish Music" - I'd actually wager bagpipes feature in less than half these tracks. Plenty of fiddle, guitar, soaring vocals, and dance numbers. Though, it's very full of arias and ballads. Less jigs and reels than I would have liked, but not so few that they're missed. Also, like many Rough Guides, it's a little haphazard in composition. Good to put on with other music in the genre (or near it) and hitting random, not as cohesive if you just hit play and listen. And, many tracks are sung in Scottish accents (as expected), which makes them a wee bit hard to understand to this American. Not a bad thing, just makes it difficult to sing along if that's your thing.

The bonus album is the album Bhon Chridhe from Maggie MacInnes, definitely a good deal to get two albums in one. Her voice is soft, her music is light, cheerful. It's not loud, it's not all fiddle and reels. A good album, though nothing stands out as magnificent, still worth the price either by itself (also on World Music Network) or with the Rough Guide. Another stack of songs to put on a random rotation when you need something Scottish in the background.

Between the two, I actually recommend finding a disc of two of Irish Folk and liberally mixing the two up, the sounds are similar enough they compliment and different enough to keep it moving.

Arabian Travels
Label: Sex Degrees
Released: 2001
Genre: Modern Arabic
Six Degrees compilations are just as good as World Music for gathering together a very diverse group of artists from a region or style in one place. It makes the album as a whole a bit non-cohesive, but that's hardly a problem. It's less a genre-compilation and more a region-compilation where the more diversity the better. This one goes to the Arabian peninsula, and bleeds into Persia and India as well, to find some of the best modern artists from that region. This one covers the gambit from exactly what you think modernized traditional Arabic music should sound like to Banghra House beats. It's almost a little too all over the place. Also, it's really a lot of English DJs and Producers who are of various Indian and Arabic decent that bring traditional music heavily into the future. It could due with a little more artists from the region and a little less modern house elements. Still, definitely a good album to put on at a party you want to keep things upbeat without actually having a dance floor spontaneously form in your living room.

Onto 2012:
No bonuses or surprises this week. The future holds more of the same next week (Indian, House, more Modern Classical and some Rock). But Sundays will, starting this coming Sunday, focus on The Blues. I picked up a massive 52-CD blues compilation that spans literally the entire history of the genre and touches on every major aspect (from Delta to Chicago, R&B to Rock N Roll influences) and about a hundred different artists. I'll be going through it, two discs at a time, for the first half of this year. Vinyl Files will get snuck into weekly updates occasionally, and pick up again over the summer on Sundays unless I find any more giant box sets between then and now.

Listen Hard!

Week Of 11/29 - Reggae, Rock, Modern Classical, House, Electro, Industrial

This week is light and heavy, not much rolling down the middle. Intros are boring, onto the music.

New Releases:
Jimmy Cliff - Sacred Fire EP
Label: Collective Sounds
Released: 11/29 2011
Genre: Reggae
Jimmy Cliff is a reggae legend, with about four decades of music behind him. This little EP is five tracks of mostly covers (the Black Friday Record Store 12" is 6 tracks on Vinyl). He covers The Clash with two versions of Guns Of Brixton, opening and closing the EP. The first one is a nearly straight up Reggae protest song, you'd almost never guess it was a Punk Rock song, but given Reggae's close association with early Punk music in the UK this is unsurprising. The second version has much more bassline to it, more drums, it's a little deeper, both versions are excellent. Jimmy has one original song on here, which is a nice little ballad. And he also covers a Bob Dylan song - I've always held that Dylan is not great as a performer but is one hell of a song writer, and I think this proves it, A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall is great as a reggae song. But my favorite track (the second track on the CD version of the EP) is Jimmy's cover of Ruby Soho (originally by Rancid). It turns a moderately sad broken-heart punk song into a full on classic, it's just beautiful (and again outlines just how close Punk and Reggae really are to each other). This is an awesome CD, even at only five tracks.

Dave Clarke - Fabric 60 DJ mix
Label: Fabric
Released: November 2011
Genre: House, Electro
Fabric is a nightclub in London, every month it puts out either a DJ Mix or a Live Mix. This month was a DJ Mix from Dave Clarke. It's heavy, bassy, with electro undercurrents, and absolutely not a standard House mix. Dave eschews standard dance-house rhythms and club-cuts in favor of a more driving style. The opening tracks lay down a deep, heavy, bass line than doesn't really let up until about a third of the way into the mix, where more electro, and even a few goth-rock elements take over and carry it through to the end. Overall, a good mix, better than most, and a different from just about anything else. If you want a less thumpy and more rhythmic house mix this is a good choice.

Adding To The Collection:
Chris Isaak - Baja Sessions
Label: Reprise
Released: 1996
Genre: Rock, Light Rock, Rockabilly
I am not a particularly big Chris Isaak fan, my wife is which is how this ended up in the collection. On the other hand I don't find him outright bad, he's very easy to listen to, has a good voice, and is generally good for a slow day. This album is very mellow, a little surf rock sneaks in, a lot of 1950s and 60s seems to sneak in too. This also has a cover of Only The Lonely - and I'm a huge Roy Orbison fan. For a moment when I first put this album on I almost thought Roy was singing the track, it took me a few seconds to realize that Chris has not only some good range, but can really do the song justice. I'd pick up this album for that cover song alone.

Sarah Brightman - Harem
Label: Angel
Released: 2003
Genre: Modern Classical, Rock
Sarah Brightman has a gorgeous voice, with amazing soaring ability to it (without getting into the ear splitting too high level). The music behind this album is fairly generic Arabian beats, nothing too clever was done on that front, the classical pieces behind it are likewise very good but also just background music. Sarah really is the primary instrument on this one, and I'm not actually sure I could pick out individual songs, but when I put it on to listen to the whole thing is just a delight. It's about an hour of audio enjoyment. The special edition version I have here has one bonus track and a DVD with some video footage - not actually adding a lot to the album honestly. It's near for collectors though.

Unwoman - Knowledge Scars
Label: self-released
Released: 2002
Genre: Industrial, Dark Ambient
This is Unwoman's first official full release from the early 2000s. It's very raw, not overly produced, and does not have a lot of clutter. The sound ranges from an industrial tone to what was a signature Goth/Darkwave sound from the late 1990s and early 2000s. The whole thing is structured nicely, and you can see that she has a lot of room to grow into. Her cello doesn't feature overly much on this one, it's just as much that as it is standard industrial/darkwave synths and drum machines. Overall, not a bad album to have on hand. The one track I'm on the fence about is Freedom From Religion - it's an early track to be sampling George Bush, but after nearly a decade of the industrial scene sampling his speeches and quotes it sounds dated, and a little tired. The song structures are light, not overly done, and feels a lot like a one-woman production from top to bottom.

Bonus Track:
Dire Disorder - Let's Get Naughty (Dire Disorder Remix)
Label: self-released (soundcloud)
Released: 2011
Genre: Moombahton
Dire Disorder takes Jessie And The Toy Boy's club track "Let's Get Naughty" and turns it into a full on slow heavy Moombahton track. This is all low bass, slow groove, kind of dancefloor hit. Pure fun, and extremely danceable. I love the low basslines and slower rhythms of Moombahton and this track delivers it excellently. Nice little cut from the clubs made even better.

Next Week - a Psychobilly Christmas Album, a 2-Disc Dubstep compilation with some really weird cover productions, and the new albums from Korn (mixing Dubstep and Metal) and The Black Keys (pure blues-rock awesomeness).

Listen Hard!