Hello there Routenote readers, I hope your week is treating you well. I feel a bit of a cheat this week as I’ve been on holiday for the past few days. As a result this weeks music suggestions have been thrown together in a matter of minutes. That’s not to suggest for a moment that the artists beneath are worth anything other than your undivided attention, only that you may already be aware of them, and it is for this reason you find me apologising.
If you would like to have your music featured in future blog posts then please get in touch; luke@routenote.com or on twitter @monkeyhotel
The first artist to catch my eye this week is the rather excellent female producer and songwriter Dena From The Block. Her music is extremely clever produced and stays firmly on the credible side of pop whilst being fun, catchy and addictive. The two songs below are perfect examples of her songwriting, both building from a minimal musical base that is texturally interesting enough to never become boring.
And keeping with the theme of European Electro-Pop may I introduce you to the first known demos of the Berlin based outfit Mousefolk? Recently picked out by SoundCloud as their artists of the day, the song below and a few other bits on their SoundCloud page have given me enough reason to believe that this is a band to keep a close eye on.
Hello there, how is your week going? Boring you say? How typically self centered of you to be so bored. I suppose some new music might go someway to resolving this boredom? Well, here are three bits of free music for you to sink your disgusting, selfish talons into. I hope you’re satisfied.
If you would like your music to be featured in this blog then please get in touch; luke@routenote.com or on twitter @monkeyhotel
That Darwin Deez has kicked up a bit of a stink in 2010, wouldn’t you say? If you’ve not yet heard this year’s magnificent album Constellations then slap yourself in the face for being such a blinkered fool and buy it from iTunes. If you are already a fan, then please enjoy these remixes of the album’s title track – ‘Constellations‘
The Barefoot Smile are exactly the sort of band that might be right up your street. A modern take on Roots music but in a way that isn’t completely awful, the track below had a sparse and tasteful arrangement that was enough to get me interested.
And finally, how about some Electro-pop to lift that dejected little spirit of yours? Alicia Wolfe isn’t exactly the sort of thing I would usually be found listening to, but somehow I managed to waste 2 hours on their MySpace page last week. The music is shamelessly fun, which is something becoming increasingly rare in a world full of Electro-artists that feel the need to make misguided and juvenile ‘statements’ through their clothes and music.Well worth a try.
This week I will be reviewing an album that can only be described as “Nu Gaze.” If you go to the wikipedia entry on “Nu Gaze”, you will find this sentence at the end of the first paragraph; “Some people consider the term “Nu Gaze” derogatory and dismissive.” I am such a person.
When I say the words “Nu” and “Gaze” together, the image that appears in my head is a group of moody idiots in their late twenties who probably think of themselves as being deep, introspective types that no one really understands. They probably think that everyone else thinks the same of them too, “who is that troubled soul? I wonder what he’s thinking. God I’d love to hear about his emotions/views on politics/stories of a troubled childhood”, whilst in reality everyone knows they are little more than a moron who needs to GET A SODDING GRIP AND HAVE SOME SEX FOR ONCE. OK, that’s out of my system now.
This is where my bitterness stops. Bottle Of Evil are an utterly superb electronic “Nu Gaze” outfit, who don’t seem to be capable of doing anything wrong on their debut, self titled album.
Everywhere I have looked the track listening is different, which has annoyed me slightly. For this reason I can’t give a proper album review, but I can pull out some highlights, of which there are happily plenty.
I strongly suggest tracking down the songs “Station” – a song with an unspeakably wonderful riff that no matter how many times you hear it never gets boring, “Same Old Story” – a brilliantly subtle number that has one of the most catchy and uplifting acoustic guitar riffs you’re ever likely to hear , “Holding Up The Bar” – which is by some distance the best song on the album and manages to balance some seriously dense textures with the utmost taste and “Seize The Day”, which you can hear at the bottom of this post.
My only minor criticism of the album is the rather excessive use of reverb on the voice and to be honest, most of the instruments. This is however, more than made up for by actually being musically solid – unlike a lot of music in this style. Clever chord progressions, tunes and phrasing; musically speaking they really have got the balance spot on.
You can hear a fairly substantial portion of the album by visiting their MySpace page and can buy the album by clicking here.
If you would like to be reviewed on this blog then please get in touch; luke@routenote.com or on twitter @monkeyhotel
Huge, gritty basslines, new wave and electro guitars and songwriting join up with buzzing guitar hooks in a grungey Nirvana style to back up a weird, caterwauling vocal. An album both spiky and approachable, this has got more depth to it than is at first obvious, especially in terms of production. Look forward to a second album, hopefully before too long. I bet whoever played guitar and keyboard is a wonderful person, and is an asset to his company, wherever he works, and deserves a raise.
Jangly, jarring tunes over uncomfortable electronic backgrounds somehow come together as a coherent and listenable whole, and then give way to slow, gentle guitars and violins and spoken samples. Something like Modest Mouse making an album with Boards Of Canada when they were feeling nice and relaxed one weekend round at Lemon Jelly’s house. Despite the awkward bits in this album, I somehow get the feeling that someone nearby was making a blackberry and apple crumble they were all going to enjoy once the recording session was over. Especially on this track:
Dense, dark electronica, reminiscent of Apollo 440 in their dancier days, but also with a more modern, chiptunesque vibe running through the album. Their single (not from the album) ‘The New Majority’ features quotes from President Elect Obama’s campaign trail speeches, cut up to the same grungey, trancey beats as you’ll find on this record. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear this in a Berlin basement club. But I might be surprised to find myself there…
Hello there Routenote readers, I hope your week is treating you well. I feel a bit of a cheat this week as I’ve been on holiday for the past few days. As a result this weeks music suggestions have been thrown together in a matter of minutes. That’s not to suggest for a moment that the artists beneath are worth anything other than your undivided attention, only that you may already be aware of them, and it is for this reason you find me apologising.
<– Buy it on iTunes
<– Buy it on iTunes
