Antiquarian book dealer, illustrator, singer, taxidermist.
READ MOREYour worst fears about ‘Nothing’ are probably right. The late-year, post-album extended-play sounds like the runoff of a few constructions that didn’t make the cut for ‘Dedication’.
It’s hard to fathom that British Sea Power now have five albums under their belts.
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Menomena
Mines
[City Slang]7/10
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After a three-year release gap, the Portland indie madmen are back, and they remain on form. As was the case with the Grammy-nominated ‘Friend And Foe’, the tracks have been built up, layer by layer, packed with loops and piled high with an array of instruments, from eerily tinkling chimes to the blast of a bass sax. Opening track ‘Queen Black Acid’ starts in a deceptively stark vein but eventually tumbles into euphoric choruses about falling down a rabbit hole. The band’s psychedelic pop base, washed by waves of piano and strings, and bombarded by crashing drums, can feel claustrophobic and it’s tempting to gasp for oxygen between each immersion of dense, complicated – though beautiful – sound, but the artfully placed sonic ebbs always swoop in, just before your senses drown. But only just. It’s an exhausting listen, but well worth it.
By Polly Rappaport
Your worst fears about ‘Nothing’ are probably right. The late-year, post-album extended-play sounds like the runoff of a few constructions that didn’t make the cut for ‘Dedication’.
Milagres are a Brooklyn-based quintet fronted by a certain Kyle Wilson, whose soaring vocal style sits somewhere between Thom Yorke and Chris Keating of Yeasayer.
On first encounter, ‘Bad Dream Hotline’ is your standard emo-goth release – black on black cover art, tracks called things like ‘A Handsome Stranger Called Death’ and ‘Dance & Weep’.
‘Out of Sight, Out of Town’ is an album that concerns itself, in the main, with casual sex.
When LA Vampires first released ‘So Unreal’ on a limited vinyl run in 2010 it sold out in a flash, perhaps because of its superbly kitsch artwork by Spencer Longo.
Dan Mangan is a husky-voiced, melancholic Canadian singer-songwriter who does all the things you expect husky-voiced, melancholic Canadian singer-songwriters to do.
Favourite Sons is the most recent project of Ken Griffin, formerly of nineties outfits Rollerskate Skinny and Kid Silver.
Synth enthusiasts must have been veritably jumping with joy of late (would a synth enthusiast do that sort of thing?).
A long lasting member of the American garage rock scene since the late Eighties, Mark Sultan has cooked up a hotpot of a new album.
Some very big noises are being made in the mainstream press over this Swedish duo, and their calculated pop sensibilities go a long way to explaining that.
This week we’ve been listening to new music from The Proper Ornaments, The Weeknd, Electricity In Our Homes, Sunless ’97 and Ceremony [pictured].
LISTEN HEREDropping his iPhone was the best thing that ever happened to Reef Younis.
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