Final, Reading All the Right Signals Wrong

England, 2009

Final is a project by Justin K. Broadrick, frontman of Jesu and Godflesh, ongoing since his formative years.
Reading All the Right Signals Wrong is very well conceived – and, in many aspects, an obvious product of personal growth – and expands itself into a texture-weaving driven kind of sound that will at times be cinematic and at others heavy and pounding turbulent.


Playlist:

1. Right Signal
2. Wrong Signal
3. Stop At Red
4. Green

Link.

more...

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Acme Plus

U.S.A., 2003

Yesterday at my favourite bar I heard this album playing. Their blend of many things that obviously include blues, alternative rock (with remnants of punk) and music genres based mainly on the pentatonic scale, left me simply amazed. Not having yet been confronted with JSBX earlier, my ignorance was blatant; These outtakes from the original Acme from 1998 are nothing short of world-rocking.


Playlist:

1. Wait a Minute
2. Get Down Lover
3. Confused
4. Magical Colors (31 Flavors)
5. Not Yet
6. Get Old
7. Bacon
8. Blue Green Olgs [Remix]
9. Heavy [Remix]
10. Lap Dance
11. Right Place, Wrong Time
12. Leave Me Alone So I Can Rock Again
13. Soul Trance
14. Electricity
15. New Year
16. Chowder
17. T.A.T.B. [For The Saints and Sinners Remix]
18. Hell
19. I Wanna Make It All Right (Zebra Ranch)
20. Radio Advert for Acme [Bonus]

Link.

more...

Clann Zú, Rua

Australia, 2003.

Rua is the first full length album by Irish-Australian band Clann Zú. The album contains themes of resistance and desperation. The songs are sung mainly in English, though there is some use of Irish Gaelic. The production gives the songs a heavily layered sound, with prominent use of violin tracks and Declan de Barra's emotive voice.

Playlist:

1. Words For Snow
2. Five Thousand More
3. Hope This Day
4. All That You've Ever Known
5. Everyday
6. All the People Now
7. Rí Rá
8. Lights Below
9. Crashing to the Floor
10. You're Listening to a Dead Man Speak

Link.

more...

Nachtmystium, Addicts: Black Meddle Part II

US, 2010.

Nachtmystium is a psychedelic metal band from Illinois, formed in 1999, that has featured members from other american black metal acts such as Weltmacht, Krieg, and Judas Iscariot. This is their latest album.

Playlist:

1. Addicts
2. Blood Trance Fusion
3. Cry For Help
4. The End Is Eternal
5. Every Last Drop
6. High On Hate
7. Nightfall
8. No Funeral
9. Ruined Life Continuum
10. Then Fires

Link.

more...

Grouper, Hold.Sick

US, 2010

Grouper is the solo project of Liz Harris. Throught the years, Liz released 3 full-lenght and a vast number of splits, ep´s, 7" and 12" under the moniker of Grouper.

"Hold.Sick" is her latest 7" and it continues and expands the usual Grouper sound, ambient wrapped within thick layers of gently strummed guitar reverb, hush vocals and a deeply profound and dreamy atmosphere that is constantly on the verge of falling into a nightmare.

OH, the guitar tone on the track "Hold" is simply beautiful *.* .

Playlist:

1. Hold

2. Sick

Link.

more...

Fredrik, Trilogi

Sweden, 2010.

Fredrik, a songwriter/sound artist duo from southern part of Sweden, embodies some of the finest Scandinavian experimental pop aesthetics: captivating melodies, rich layered arrangements and complicated charming instrumentation evoking the sound of Sigur Rós and Efterklang. Without overloading the compositions, Fredrik builds layer upon layer of atmospheric, melodically overpowering and somewhat mystical soundscapes.

Playlist:

1. Vinterbarn
2. Milo
3. Holm
4. Densistafabriken
5. Vanmyren
6. Ava
7. Flax
8. Under Vattenverket
9. Ner
10. Tretusenvioler
11. Viskra
12. Locked In The Basement
13. Omberg

Link.

more...

Boris & Ian Astbury, BXI

Japan/US, 2010

An unlikely collaboration between a band that needs no introduction, the Japanese mavericks Boris, and a vocalist that also needs no welcoming card, Ian Astbury the crooner of the band The Cult.
BXI is a 4 track ep, with three original songs and a cover of The Cult´s song "Rain" sang by Boris guitarist Wata, showcasing Boris and Astbury on their most rocking mode, providing a work that is a must listen for fans of either projects.


Playlist:

1. Teeth And Claws
2. We Are Witches
3. Rain
4. Magickal Child

Link.

more...

Es, Kesämaan Lapset

Finland, 2009.

Es (Sami Sänpäkkilä) is the founder of the Finnish underground record label, Fonal Records. His music explains pretty much what most of Fonal Records’ music is about: experimenting with sounds, bound together by free-folk ambient and occasional huge drones.

Playlist:

1. Ennen oli huonommin
2. Kesä ja hymyilevät huulet
3. Säteet sun sielusta
4. Kesämaan lapset
5. Haamut sun sydämestä

Link.

more...

A Forest Of Stars, Opportunistic Thieves Of Spring

UK, 2010

A Forest Of Stars are a British 5 piece (live they metamorphose into a 8 piece!) that play avant-garde black metal. This is their sophomore album, successor of the brilliant 2008 album "The Corpse Of Rebirth". Like their first release, "Opportunistic Thieves Of Spring" is a conceptual album, basically telling the story of the first "attempted communion with incorporeal beings" which ended up in disaster.
With this simple premise A Forest Of Stars crafted one of the most, if not the most, unique black-metal albums I´ve ever heard, tapping into a million different genres (neo-classical, progressive, ambient, thrash, black-metal, folk) and using a vast array of instruments (beside your standard instruments, hurdy-gurdy´s, synths, piano, violin, trumpet, flute and others can be heard on the album) to create a truly cohesive and, as i said before, unique whole that stands out as, in my opinion, the best album of the year. A true masterpiece.


Playlist:
1. Chapter One: Sorrow´s Impetus
2. Chapter Two: Raven´s Eye View
3. Chapter Three: Summertide´s Approach
4. Chapter Four: Thunder´s Cannonade
5. Chapter Five: Stafire´s Memory
6. Chapter Six: Delay´s Progression

Link.

more...

Empyrium, Where At Night The Wood Grouse Plays

Germany, 1999.

Empyrium were a german Doom/Neofolk collective that spaned the years of 1994 through 2003. This is their third album, a fully acoustic and minimalist approach to the doom genre, played only through nylon guitars, vocals and a sporadic use of flute and some martial-like drums. Fans of Ulver´s "Kveldssanger" will eat this up.


Playlist:

1. Where At Night The Wood Grouse Plays
2. Dying Brokenhearted
3. The Shepherd And The Maiden Ghost
4. The Sad Song Of The Wind
5. Wehmut
6. A Pastoral Theme
7. Abendrot
8. Many Moons Ago.....
9. When Shadows Grow Longer

Link.

more...

Misuse, Self-titled

Greece, 2008.

Before you completely dismiss this album as yet another generic post-rock band, you should know that this is actually quite impressive stuff.

Playlist:

1. Desecid
2. Made: Genesis
3. Made: Flat Line Evolution
4. Made: Loss in Action
5. Progyria
6. Amanzi
7. While it Lasts
8. Way to the Seashore

Link.

more...

Álfheimr, These Songs We Sing Will Fade to Silence

US, 2009.

Álfheimr is the one-person post-rock project formed in Portland, Oregon in 2008 by Madison Asche. Álfheimr’s first release was “These Songs We Sing Will Fade to Silence".

Playlist:

1. Wasted Time, Part One- The Moon Says ‘I Love You’
2. Each Day We Pass is Borrowed Time
3. It Shouldn’t Have Mattered
4. The Remnants of Our Shattered Lives Collide Like Glass on Glass
5. Hypnos & Thanatos (Breathing In, Breathing Out)
6. The Slow Approach to Midnight
7. Asleep and Falling There; Dead and Dying
8. Wasted Time, Part Two- You Will Look Back On Every Second You Have Wasted. You Will Never Be Prepared to Face This

Link.

more...