Keepin' up in '06...
As always, I return from my weekend off and am back to working for a stretch. Always fun. I need to use my vacation soon. However, now I will be back in the act of posting.
I can't really tell if this year has started off better than '05 or not in terms of music. I can't say I have been excited for to much that has come out so far, but the list of future releases has me pretty hopeful for this year being pretty great. However, despite the somewhat slow start, I have found myself enjoying a handful of albums, some of which I have already mentioned on here. It's time now though to catch up on a couple more, and coincidentally they happen to fall into the shoegaze label. So you have been warned...
This first album comes from Astrobrite, which is essentially Scott Cortez and whoever else he has play the backing instruments. It took me awhile to warm up to Astrobrite initially, but after hearing a track off a small shoegaze sampler, for which I forget the name of, I was sold on it. It's still not something that I oooh and ahhh over, but the sound Cortez can produce through a run of the mill 4-track is pretty incredible really. Think of it as a sort of lo-fi take on shoegaze. Anyway, this new album, titled Pinkshinyultrablast, is the labor of 10 years of Cortez recording in a bedroom on, yes, a 4-track. The material was then mastered by Narasaki of Coaltar of the Deepers fame, which I find to pretty nifty, being a big fan of that band as well. The result is fairly impressive. It's an achievement in its own right really, because it teeters on the fine line of either white noise or fuzzed out melodic bliss. Casual listeners may find it still to be a bit abrasive, but in the end it seems as if Cortez has really pushed the delicate combination of noise and melody to a whole new level. There is beauty to be found in this chaos of sorts. As of right now, unfortunately, the album is available as a Japanese import only with no set US date announced. However, if you're still interested, you can find it over at Tonevendor.
Astrobrite - Lollipop [MP3]
Astrobrite - Violet Eyeliner [MP3]
This is the debut album, titled Snow Noise Assemblage, from Tokyo based Cosmicdust, which is yet another one man shoegaze project. After listening to this, it becomes quite apparent that this is definitely a product of Japan. The songs occasionally incorporate their instantly recognizable brand of bubble gum pop that is becoming much more widespread these days, for good reason too. There are many more things to be found on Snow Noise Assemblage though, all the way from the small electronic nuances here and there to the sometimes harsh abrasive tones similar to those of MBV or even Medicine. A solid debut from an artist who obviously has something to give to the genre. Purchase the CD directly from Cosmicdust. You can also check out the MySpace page for the project.
Cosmicdust - Meditation [MP3]
I can't really tell if this year has started off better than '05 or not in terms of music. I can't say I have been excited for to much that has come out so far, but the list of future releases has me pretty hopeful for this year being pretty great. However, despite the somewhat slow start, I have found myself enjoying a handful of albums, some of which I have already mentioned on here. It's time now though to catch up on a couple more, and coincidentally they happen to fall into the shoegaze label. So you have been warned...
This first album comes from Astrobrite, which is essentially Scott Cortez and whoever else he has play the backing instruments. It took me awhile to warm up to Astrobrite initially, but after hearing a track off a small shoegaze sampler, for which I forget the name of, I was sold on it. It's still not something that I oooh and ahhh over, but the sound Cortez can produce through a run of the mill 4-track is pretty incredible really. Think of it as a sort of lo-fi take on shoegaze. Anyway, this new album, titled Pinkshinyultrablast, is the labor of 10 years of Cortez recording in a bedroom on, yes, a 4-track. The material was then mastered by Narasaki of Coaltar of the Deepers fame, which I find to pretty nifty, being a big fan of that band as well. The result is fairly impressive. It's an achievement in its own right really, because it teeters on the fine line of either white noise or fuzzed out melodic bliss. Casual listeners may find it still to be a bit abrasive, but in the end it seems as if Cortez has really pushed the delicate combination of noise and melody to a whole new level. There is beauty to be found in this chaos of sorts. As of right now, unfortunately, the album is available as a Japanese import only with no set US date announced. However, if you're still interested, you can find it over at Tonevendor. This is the debut album, titled Snow Noise Assemblage, from Tokyo based Cosmicdust, which is yet another one man shoegaze project. After listening to this, it becomes quite apparent that this is definitely a product of Japan. The songs occasionally incorporate their instantly recognizable brand of bubble gum pop that is becoming much more widespread these days, for good reason too. There are many more things to be found on Snow Noise Assemblage though, all the way from the small electronic nuances here and there to the sometimes harsh abrasive tones similar to those of MBV or even Medicine. A solid debut from an artist who obviously has something to give to the genre. Purchase the CD directly from Cosmicdust. You can also check out the MySpace page for the project.Labels: shoegaze
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