Matt Bartram - Arundel

I didn’t even realize it until I sat down to type this, but this will be the second time I’ve written about a solo artist from a notable shoegaze band in just barely over a week. This time we get an album from Air Formation singer/guitarist Matt Bartram titled Arundel, which was released this past May on the Drifting Falling label.

For Bartram, and many others that take on a solo record, it’s a chance to expand and freely experiment with a certain sound. In Bartram’s case, the Flying Saucer Attack influence that was occasionally hinted upon within his work in Air Formation is let loose here on Arundel. This is a much more ambient and hazier affair for sure, taking on some psychier elements in the area of Spacemen 3 or Medicine but not to the same extremes of either. Like FSA, Bartram’s work here on Arundel often functions heavily with a pulsating rhythm underneath multiple layers of feedback and fuzz that inevitably sucks the listener into its warm and cozy wrappings. That it has such an effect says plenty about Arundel as a whole. Helped along by Bartram’s soothing vocals, which are surprisingly not completely buried in the mix of things, is a nice touch and a wise choice for someone that generally has such a quality to their voice. Fans of Air Formation should find this release intriguing and anyone interested in a lulling more ambient focused shoegaze sound should definitely check out Arundel.

Matt Bartram – Leave by Nine [MP3]

For those looking up to pick up Arundel, it can be had over at Tonevendor. Definitely pick it up if you’re digging the tune above, much more where that came from. It’s a solid album.

Thisquietarmy - Unconquered

Just recently released at the end of this past March was the debut from Thisquietarmy titled Unconquered out on Foreshadow Records. Some may already be familiar with Thisquietarmy and that the man behind the moniker, Eric Quach, is also a guitarist for the fantastic post-rock/shoegaze group Destroyalldreamers. Taking his love for fuzz and ambiance further (which is already hinted at in the space defiant band names), Quach has turned to his solo project for an outlet and the results of it certainly speak for itself.

Unconquered is a record that takes on a few different shapes and sounds as it progresses through the eight tracks that make up the album. The opener “Immobilization” is a fantastic joint effort between Quach and guest collaborator Aidan Baker. To little surprise it resembles Baker’s work on his past textural/ambient albums and it’s obvious that the two teamed together create a fairly captivating creative force. However, one of the things that makes Unconquered such a strong debut is that Quach doesn’t try to mimic these results for the rest of the album and the structure and mood shifts considerably after the first track. It follows up on the next couple tracks with a semi-abrasive wash of rising and falling distortion. “Battlefield Arkestrah” is a notable punishing piece of work, which is featured further below. One of my favorite tracks off the album is easily “The Great Escapist”, which features vocals from female singer Meryem Yildiz. The implementation of vocals is a fantastic addition and although it may be one of the more structured tracks on the album, it still fits right along with the rest of the album.

While Unconquered may not be something completely new to drone/ambient fans, it’s surely something that should and likely will be enjoyed by fans of the genre. Quach’s execution and unique approach to the genre is certainly worth checking out.

Thisquietarmy – Battlefield Arkestrah [MP3]

For those looking to pick up Unconquered, it is currently available through Tonevendor. Fans of this sort of music should definitely give it a chance. Also, for anyone that is looking for some more sampling of Thisquietarmy’s music, then definitely download the internet only single that features the excellent non-album track “Dronewars”. In order to do that, just head on over here. Enjoy!

Soundpool - Dichotomies & Dreamland

Back in 2006 NYC’s Soundpool completely came out of nowhere with their excellent debut On High, which was some sort of masterfully executed danceable shoegaze…at least that’s what I suppose it could be called. Wasting hardly any time the band have returned here in ’08 with their follow up Dichotomies & Dreamland released this past March through Aloft Records here in the US and through Quince in Japan.

While it’s hard to determine whether Dichotomies & Dreamland will change the minds of anyone that disliked the first record, I can say that fans of it will notice a few favorable changes here. The songs have been scaled back a bit from the full bore bouncy pop rhythms that were fluent throughout On High. Instead here we receive a much more ambient and mood driven version of Soundpool, loaded with textures, guitar effects, and a number of songs that are dictated by slow burning crumbles of feedback. Jumping between variations of the two easily works in their favor. The electronic side of the band has also taken on a greater importance, giving them a sound that resembles at times a sped up Bowery Electric or a fuzzier Boards of Canada or Broadcast.

Fans may not fully embrace Dichotomies & Dreamland at first, as it’s not as instantly catchy as their previous effort. However, it’s definitely a further advanced and accomplished album in that it doesn’t lean too heavily on one aspect of the groups sound. With multiple listens it easily proves to be the clear winner between the two in the end.

Soundpool – Do What You Love [MP3]
Soundpool – Lush (What Becomes You) [MP3]

For those looking to pick up Dichotomies & Dreamland then head on over to Tonevendor and pick up this fine addition to the expanding list of fine 2008 releases. Soundpool are one of the bright spots amongst the rapidly growing shoegaze resurgence.

Closedown - Nearfield

Closedown were an early American shoegaze band that released the album pictured to left called Nearfield in 1994 though the ambient/electronic dominated label Silent Records. That could possibly be a small reason as to why this album isn’t better known than it is among shoegaze fans or just music fans in general. There is a fair amount of chill electronic/ambient material throughout the album, but in a few ways Nearfield reminds me of the brilliant album Quique by Seefeel that managed to be successful in being sort of a crossover success among the underground. Nearfield isn’t that type of album, but it shares a few similarities between it that I think is neat. The album takes on the same approach using waves of light distortion off and on throughout it, slowly and meticulously introducing layer upon layer. One of my favorite tracks off the album, “Red Oval” even comes close to matching the same type of powerful pulsing monotonous beat that eventually lulls you into a trance like state after awhile and then seven minutes have just flown by. Pretty solid stuff if you ask me. Nearfield is sort of an album of halves though, partly made up of slowly rising mood driven ambient pieces and then the glisten and sparkle of something similar to that of Slowdive, which they do very well I might add. I definitely recommend this to fans of that dreamier type of sound check this out.

Closedown – Red Oval [MP3]
Closedown – Sunangel Summer [MP3]

Anyone interested in obtaining this fine album can do so by heading over to Amazon. There are still a few albums floating around on their marketplace, and I imagine there are number of other places online that still have copies of this too. Anyway, definitely check it out if you’re a fan of shoegaze and/or dream-pop.

Have a Nice Life - Deathconsciousness

Deathconsciousness by the Middletown, CT duo Have a Nice Life already seems to be generating a bit of buzz across the internet and it’s only been out for a few days now. On top of that it’s self-released by the band on their own label Enemieslist, so it’s a bit surprising to see it getting such wide amount reaction so quickly. When I first caught wind of this record I really didn’t know what to expect from it. I saw that it was a double disc lo-fi affair that listed big time names like Swans, Sunn O))), Joy Division, and My Bloody Valentine. That left me a bit worried, more so the two disc part. You never know what possibly lies ahead when taking on something like that. However, Have a Nice Life have completely risen to the occasion and produced a double album that should gather steam as the year moves forward as the positive responses continue to roll in. I assume they will, because it’s pretty good.

The aforementioned comparisons, influences, or whatever they are supposed to serve as are a pretty rough indicator as to what this sounds like. I’ll go ahead and say it completely took me by surprise when listening to Deathconsciousness the first time through. Each song is almost of a different style than the other while still maintaining the cold detached ambiance the whole record basically soaks itself in. When entering the Enemieslist website there is a note saying that the band has proclaimed it the “most depressing record in the history of music”. I’m generally not too big on that sort of thing, but it definitely is one dark and bleak sounding record. Plus, they did include a full 80 page book with the record to back it up and explain the full meaning behind it. I have to commend them for that. The music though is for the most part excellent. As I mentioned every song is something a bit different, although the drum machine programming can be a bit repetitive at times. Ranging from full on drones laced with sparse textures to fuzz filled beauty, it’s a full listening experience that must be heard from start to finish. There are portions that remind me at times of some of the earlier 4AD stuff as well.

Deathconsciousness comes as a wonderful surprise for me in 2008, and I am thinking it will be the same for some others out there. Definitely take a listen to a couple cuts from the record below.

Have a Nice Life – Bloodhail [MP3]
Have a Nice Life – I Don’t Love [MP3]

For those looking to pick up Deathconsciousness head on over to Enemieslist and drop them an e-mail and they’ll be able to fix you up. Enjoy!

Aidan Baker - Scalpel

I’ve written about Aidan Baker on here before but it was more so focusing on his collaboration/side project with Leah Buckareff called Nadja. So it’s nice to finally get to say a few things about one of Baker’s latest solo discs out now on The Kora Records entitled Scalpel. Baker has tried his hand in many different areas of music and it’s always amazing to here the outcome, as more often than not the results are excellent. There have been records that dabble more in psych, kraut, ambient, drone, and so on. However here on Scalpel, Baker has combined a familiar ambiance within his body of work with folk music for something that is loosely being dubbed as his “folk/drone” album. I really didn’t know what to make of that at first. I suppose a description like that shouldn’t be too hard to really figure out, but still it was intriguing.

The album opens with the track “K” and greets the listener with the simple plucking of an acoustic guitar that as the song moves forward begins to merge into a dreamy backdrop of sound. Everything seems so incredibly delicate, which is only enhanced by the overall sparseness throughout the recording. One of the many things that I really enjoy about Scalpel however is the increased focus on Baker’s vocals, which have gradually become a part of Baker’s sound but not so much to the amount of attention that they receive here. Granted, his vocals are still very subdued, and like the music are softly spoken amongst the strumming of his guitar. The last three tracks on the album are where it really begins to take shape however, in the form of otherworldly drones, strings, and shimmering backdrops that gradually consume Baker’s vocals and guitar into many layers of beautiful sounds. And while drifting and sparse as it may be, there is still a certain feeling of warmth within it all that for me is what makes Scalpel worth many repeated listens. It couldn’t come at a better time either as winter begins to settle itself in here in the Midwest.

Aidan Baker – K [MP3]

I am pretty sure Scalpel is limited to 500 copies, so for those out there that are interested be sure and to hit up The Kora Records before they run out. This is definitely up there as one of Aidan Baker’s best releases. Enjoy!

Destroyalldreamers - Wish I Was All Flames

2004 seems so long ago when Montreal instrumental shoegazers Destroyalldreamers released their debut album À Cœur Léger Sommeil Sanglant. Upon its release the album received quite a bit of positive words written about it as well as Tonevendor eventually declaring it the best shoegaze album of ’04. All of it was deservedly so as À Cœur Léger Sommeil Sanglant was indeed a very fine album of lush atmospherics and shimmering guitar work. As one could imagine with an album as good as that one, the wait for the next would feel excruciatingly long. Although there were tracks on compilations released in between and a vinyl only EP on Claire’s Echo titled Glare/Halo, it just wasn’t enough to weaken that sort of pain. Once you’ve had a taste of something that good you simply cannot wait very long to have it again. So here we are in October of 2007 and the wait has finally come to an end as Destroyalldreamers have just released their follow up Wish I Was All Flames on Where Are My Records.

To put it quite simply, for those that enjoyed the last album I cannot possibly imagine any them being disappointed with their latest effort. It’s every bit as magnificent as their debut. During the period in between albums it was noted that the band focused some on learning how to produce, which definitely shows. While their debut was every bit as pristine with its ambient textures, on Wish I Was All Flames the crispness of the guitar swirls and overall layering effects are executed in an almost flawless fashion. It’s pretty evident after listening to this record a couple times that this trio has spent countless hours honing in their craft. Where À Cœur Léger Sommeil Sanglant tended to drift just a little bit, Wish I Was All Flames seems to have tightened things up completely not letting the songs wear out their welcome or possibly risk losing the interest of the listener. Those are things that I imagine one learns playing in a completely instrumental band though and for a band that has only put out two albums, there are hardly any flaws to their music that can be found. Destroyalldreamers continue to show why they are easily one of the best groups currently active out of the new crop of shoegaze acts.

Definitely give this band a listen, especially if ethereal shoegaze/dream pop is your thing. It won’t disappoint.

Destroyalldreamers – Wish I Was All Flames [MP3]
Destroyalldreamers – A Summer Without You [MP3]

Wish I Was All Flames can currently be purchased directly from the band on their website.

Nadja - Guilted by the Sun

When I heard the debut full-length Truth Becomes Death from Nadja in 2005, it was near the end of the year and I was already starting to compile my top 20 list. Before I could ever finish the list I found myself enjoying Nadja’s own brand of blown out ethereal drone more and more. At the time I hadn’t heard much like it, or really anything for that matter. Jesu’s debut album came out the same year, but even that didn’t match the wall of noise that Nadja had to offer. This was a different kind of monster that combined melodicism and beauty with slow shifting walls of metallic distortion. Needless to say my first exposure to Aidan Baker’s prolific side project ultimately forced me to alter my year end list for ’05, which is quite a testament to the power of their music.

Now here we are in 2007 and Nadja has gone on to release a number of other great releases on various different labels. With a few releases already under their belt for ‘07, Nadja is set to release their latest excursion into droning bliss territory titled Guilted by the Sun, which will be released on August 7th through Elevation Records. Those who pick this up will be greeted with a bit of a different side to Nadja. Those expecting the trademark slow moving ambient pieces that have come to define the duo will be surprised to hear a heavier side. Still drowning in electronic fuzz, Guilted by the Sun strays away slightly from the usual slow burning guitar sound and instead experiments with a chunkier/sludgy approach. It provides an interesting and different look into Nadja’s seemingly endless and expansive sound. It also furthers the idea that Baker can take on just about anything and probably do it with such high quality results as this. He hasn’t let me down yet. Although the approach is a bit unusual for what fans of Nadja have come to expect over the years, there is still plenty here that they will like…including lots of feedback.

Nadja – By [MP3]

For those interested in picking this one up, I suggest doing it rather quickly as this EP is limited to just 2,000 copies and will NOT be reprinted once it’s gone. So head on over to Insound and pre-order a copy of Guilted by the Sun. It’s well worth it.

The Angelic Process - Weighing Souls With Sand

There is just no easy way to describe The Angelic Process, which is quite the compliment really. In their case it’s the problem that there is just so many things to list that the band weaves into one large cacophonous but beautiful sound. Descriptive words like “drone” or “ambient” could very easily be thrown in here somewhere and that would be that, but it would only be discrediting what The Angelic Process has done on their latest release Weighing Souls with Sand or really any of their past albums. Weighing Souls with Sand happens to be the duos third album and debut for Profound Lore and while it follows a similar path to their past material, it’s definitely their strongest yet.

With more metal influenced groups are starting to work in elements of the hazy dissonance of shoegaze like feedback into their music, The Angelic Process have been perfecting this craft for a bit longer than most would assume. While it hasn’t been ages, the duo has been putting out chunks of melodic feedback with a metallic twist since around 2001. Taking the more blissful and harsher aspects of shoegaze and mixing in the industrial downtrodden and oppressive brutality similar to that of the Swans or Godflesh. The result has always been something to marvel at whenever I throw it on my stereo and Weighing Souls with Sand is no different. On the album they manage to weave in and out of blasts of feedback and simple moody ambience without a single hitch. Even more so on this album the duo has made it work more as a whole rather than track by track. When listening to it, it becomes apparent that the track listing and number of tracks are merely just a guideline or map to where the listener is at as the music itself seams together magnificently. It only takes a few minutes to get completely lost within the albums thick droning beauty.

The Angelic Process – Million Year Summer [MP3]
The Angelic Process – Weighing Souls with Sand [MP3]

For those interested in picking this up can do so over at Profound Lore. It’s one of my favorite albums of the year so far, so it definitely comes with a high recommendation.

Zelienople - His/Hers

I honestly forget who told me to listen to Zelienople a few years ago, but whoever it was I owe them. Although I initially got into the band because of their dreamy ambient sounds, it’s been interesting to hear them grow into a much more psych-folk/drone sound, which they’ve done very well I might add. After releasing albums on various labels such as Root Strata and Last Visible Dog, the band has found themselves a part of the Type roster for the release of their latest effort His/Hers.

It only took me until the second song “Moss Man” to think that this might be some of my favorite material that they’ve released. As soon as His/Hers completed I was pretty much positive. The album is a slightly different one for Zelienople in the fact that it shows a bit more of an abrasive side to the band as in the past. Granted, past albums haven’t been completely void of this attribute, but I can’t recall where the band has displayed as much unrest as on this album. Obviously they have left the dreamlike vibe way in the past and aren’t looking back, as this is far from sounding like any dream that a person would ever want to have. With each track pushing the ten minute mark, there is still plenty of room for the bands psych folk noodling which is showcased most notably on “Parts Are Lost”. Regardless of what the band is dwelling in, Matt Christensen’s vocals are as hauntingly distant as I’ve ever heard them and it really couldn’t accompany what the members of the band are churning out behind them any better. The end result is forty five minutes of hazy drugged out murkiness that absolutely echoes with sadness and desperation throughout, a perfect record for a complete freefall.

Zelienople – Moss Man [MP3]

For anyone that is interested, His/Hers can be picked up over at Type Records. I strongly recommend it.

Seefeel - Quique [Redux]

I am back from my one night stay in the tourist pit that is Branson, Missouri. The drive down and back went pretty flawlessly, although on the way back I about saw a diesel smash head on with an oncoming truck on a two lane highway. The idiot behind the wheel was trying to make a quick pass around a school bus and couldn’t have picked a worse spot to do it going down a hill and with a curve you couldn’t see around at the end. Needless to say it was a very close call when the other truck came around that corner. I’m just glad I didn’t have to witness what would have been a very very nasty wreck. And with that, on to today’s update which happens to be of the reissue type.

It’s really good to see an album like Quique get the reissue treatment this year from Too Pure. Seefeel's original masterpiece has been remastered and been tacked on with a second disc of rare material. There is some really cool stuff to be heard on that. But anyway, Seefeel was an experimental/ambient group in the early 90’s that some may not be real familiar with due to their fairly short time together and maybe the reissuing of what could be considered a breakthrough album for its time might gain it some well deserved new appreciation. Quique, for many, is an album that helped pave the way for similar bliss sounding IDM artists that are becoming increasingly popular at the present time. However, for Quique it was 1993 and at that time an album like this was pretty mind blowing. Originally Seefeel had originally dabbled within the fuzzy layering and washes of distortion, which sort of led them to the shoegaze tag. However wanting to break out of the restraints of traditional songwriting the group moved toward more of an electronic experimentation in their music, which they hit the mark with completely on Quique. The sounds they achieved on the album were something that felt as if it were out of this world if you just sat and listened to it with your eyes closed. Throughout each song it gains loops and layers which are then sprinkled here and there with a touch of distortion to wash over it. At times it’s complemented beautifully by the vocals from Sarah Peacock which contain a very similar dreamlike vibe that Seefeel’s base sound already operates on. Unlike many electronic/ambient acts operating at that same time, Seefeel made a lot of their dreamy and droning sounds by using their guitars instead of synthesizers and other electronic instrumentation. However, electronics still played a very big roll in their sound, thus making the album what it is obviously.

Seefeel – Industrious [MP3]
Seefeel – Charlotte’s Mouth [MP3]

For those that enjoy ambient/electronic music with a bit of a blissful/shoegazy touch, then I can’t recommend picking this reissue up enough. If you like what you hear, then head on over to Tonevendor and pick this up for pretty cheap. The packaging is almost worth the price alone. Definitely my favorite reissue of the year thus far. Good job Too Pure.

The Angelic Process...

Since their formation in 2001, The Angelic Process of have been releasing nice healthy doses of ambient drone-metal. However, for the most part the band has flown under the radar until this last year which saw the reissuing of a couple of their albums, Coma Waering and …And Your Blood is Full of Honey. It’s great to have all of this material readily available now, as some of it had been practically out of print since its original release. For any of those that are not familiar with the Athens Georgia duo, they create some incredibly loud and distorted shoegaze influenced noise. A lot of times when describing the whole shoegazing thing, it’s pretty common that the phrase “wall of noise” will turn up at some point. It’s hard not to because it really is a great description of what it sometimes resembles. As true as that may be, the phrase couldn’t be any better suited being used here with The Angelic Process. Their music is literally a gigantic wall of distorted blissful noise, although much darker and quite moody. For someone like me who is completely addicted to “fuzz”, it’s hard to not fall in love with this especially when it’s intertwined with a lethal amount of rumbling bass and pounding drums. This is shoegaze taken to a completely whole new level.

Coma Waering:
The Angelic Process – The Sun in Braids [MP3]

…And Your Blood is Full of Honey:
The Angelic Process - …And Your Blood is Full of Honey [MP3]

As I mentioned before, a couple of their items have been recently reissued, I would highly recommend checking out Coma Waering which can be had over at Paradigms. Also, for many of their other releases check out Decaying Sun Records. Keep on the look out for a new album from the duo in ’07.

Boris w/ Michio Kurihara - Rainbow

I am admittedly a sucker for anything that Boris puts out, so I try not to write about them to often since they release stuff pretty frequently. Rather it is an actual album or collaboration, the group seemingly always has something ready to come out, and I am usually more than willing to listen to it. Continuing their list of collaboration releases, their latest which just came out on the Japanese label Pedal is called Rainbow and is with mega talented Japanese guitarist Michio Kurihara. For those not familiar with Kurihara, he can also be found in Ghost, White Heaven, and The Stars.

The reason I am taking the time to talk about this particular release is because I honestly do feel it’s a bit different than most of their back catalog. While almost every Boris release brings something new to the table, this one seemingly does so more than many of the others. On Rainbow, the addition of Kurihara helps push the Boris sound into more of a psych/kraut-rock friendly area. Definitely an interesting expansion to the groups sound. While it does contain at times bits and pieces of the more drone related side of Boris, it’s the interesting and talented guitar work of Wata and Kurihara that truly make this album worth listening to. Some fans might be a bit disappointed with this albums overall sound, but I think it contains a very cool and laid back feel to it. More like a jam session between the involved minds.

Boris w/ Michio Kurihara - Starship Narrator [MP3]
Boris w/ Michio Kurihara – Sweet No. 1 [MP3]

While this is only currently available as an import, for those that must absolutely have it…the album can be found here. However, those who can hang on until May 15th Drag City will be bringing the album to the US for release and it is said to contain a completely new track no found on the current version. So that is some added incentive I suppose. Regardless, for whenever May rolls around, I do suggest picking this up. Fans of a more spacey and psychedelic Boris will surely be pleased.

Flying Saucer Attack - Futher...

While sitting at my desk last night basically wasting my time on the Internet I found myself listening to the Flying Saucer Attack album, Further. Sometimes I just flat out don’t listen to some albums enough, and this would be one of them. It’s terrible too because this is quite honestly of the most beautiful albums ever made and I consistently neglect to put it in my CD player.

Further when compared to the majority of the Flying Saucer Attack’s other output is the middle ground of sorts. The distortion isn’t over whelming while absolutely laying waste to your ears and it isn’t minimal to the point of losing interest. On Further, David Pearce managed to take his ambient experiment and find the perfect balance between all of that. The resulting effect is beautiful melodies that are eventually melted down with white noise that seemingly creeps out of nowhere. Combine that with the subtle hints of acoustic guitars, distant tribal drumming, rain falling, and soft male/female vocals and it becomes something completely trance inducing and mind altering. Wherever this takes or puts you, it will in all likelihood be good.

Whether it be dawn, dusk, raining, or snowing this album pretty much fits it all. Pearce may or may not have known it at the time, but when making Further he definitely hit on something that is practically perfection and hasn’t been touched upon in quite sometime by a lot of different artists or groups that have undoubtedly tried.

Flying Saucer Attack – For Silence [MP3]
Flying Saucer Attack – Here Am I [MP3]

For anyone that might be interested you can pick this up over at Insound or basically anywhere else that you like to buy music online or even maybe offline. Either way, pick this up if possible.