ISSUE 20
2070
BIG BLUE
Danger Collective Records 8/10
Big Blue is a pure musical jamboree. A wildly eclectic mix of lo-fi, indie, post punk and quasi electronica. What could be interpreted as a scatter gun approach of throwing styles, sub genres and varied instrumentation at the wall and seeing what sticks, the converse is true. Deep intuition between the band, a tight dynamism, and supreme orchestration.
The understanding the four-piece have of one another and their creative strengths is apparent in all that they put their hand to. One doesn’t have to look further than ‘Cauldron’ with its rich complexity, ‘Love Witch’ and the jangly hypnotism it employs, or the dark discotheque on ‘Transucer, Motional’.
Unsurprising given it is their third studio album and a sonic detour they have been longing for, having explored the guitar-driven and pedal work of their previous albums to the fullest. This sonic adventure is full to the brim.
ANNABELLE CHAIRLEGS
WAKING UP
Todo 8/10
With irresistible guitar licks on ‘Waking Up’, galloping basslines on ‘Concrete Trees’ and the arcade delight of ‘Ice Cream On The Beach’, the ongoing alter ego of Lindsey Mackin continues to deliver infectious indie rock gems.
Her quintessential stylings are all tongue and no cheek, the sarcasm often so thick you could paint the walls with it. Clever lyricism, boundless energy and unmistakable effervescence. Just as the rollicking ‘Shoo Fly’ attests with Mackin’s exhausted vocals and the use of horns in the mimicry of beating wings.
Yet if there is one track to hang her hat on, it must be ‘Patty Get Your Gun’ as the swagger on this one is off the charts. Her gravely questioning throughout the song and the able accompaniment of some damn fine percussion is next-level sass.
Like all great albums, it is the back-to-back sequence of amazing tracks, each a little bit different to the last, that makes it a listening pleasure. An enviable skill Mackin has in spades.
BIBI CLUB
AMARO
Secret City Records 6/10
From the instant high of the debut album, Le soleil et la mer, through the darker textures of Feu de garde and now onto their third record, the Quebec duo haven’t lightened their tone, but we wouldn’t want them to.
Amaro continues the dark wave, bleakotheque style that the pair produce, but with a layering and skilful intricacies that should be beyond what four hands are able to create. Not that they don’t share the company of some quality contributors, including saxophonist and activist Dimitri Milbrun (George Sand) and singer-songwriter Helena Deland, but their deft touch toward composition is magnifique.
The ever-present drum machine propels the album constantly forward. A driving force that shifts gears according to its supplementary accompaniments. Be it the clamour of ‘Amaro’, narratives of ‘A Different Light’, haunting horns on ‘Le château’ or the disintegrating discord of ‘Les vagues’. The fluency of French that runs throughout the record all adds a sophisticated lubricant that allows each track to glide from one to the next. Effortlessly and beautifully.
BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT
NOT HERE NOT GONE
Suicide Squeeze 7/10
The L.A based trio deliver a brooding and intoxicating record. Melding doom and shoegaze, the three piece borrow from both sides of the spectrum and does so triumphantly. To start proceedings, the sluggish ‘How Will You Feel’ with its light-filled synth is a sunny place for shady people. The regretful lament questions life after departure and is saturated with doubt.
That same sadness carries forward into ‘Involuntary Haze’, yet there is a defiance that pokes its head above the gloom and oppressive weight. ‘Heavy, Why?’ with its sludgy bass and heavy reverb, weaves ethereal synth into its dark underpinnings, yet ‘Spades’ shows the other side of Blackwater Holylight’s face with overwhelming percussion and kick pedals beaten to within an inch of their life.
‘Fade’ realigns the pendulum swing that the Not Here Not Gone constantly oscillates between. Returning to its shoegaze tendencies, it retains the heavy guitar and haunting use of keys to a place of comfort, whilst losing none of its rough edges.
BRIGITTE CALLS ME BABY
IRREVERSIBLE
ATO Records 8/10
The L.A based trio deliver a brooding and intoxicating record. Melding doom and shoegaze, the three piece borrow from both sides of the spectrum and does so triumphantly. To start proceedings, the sluggish ‘How Will You Feel’ with its light-filled synth is a sunny place for shady people. The regretful lament questions life after departure and is saturated with doubt.
That same sadness carries forward into ‘Involuntary Haze’, yet there is a defiance that pokes its head above the gloom and oppressive weight. ‘Heavy, Why?’ with its sludgy bass and heavy reverb, weaves ethereal synth into its dark underpinnings, yet ‘Spades’ shows the other side of Blackwater Holylight’s face with overwhelming percussion and kick pedals beaten to within an inch of their life.
‘Fade’ realigns the pendulum swing that the Not Here Not Gone constantly oscillates between. Returning to its shoegaze tendencies, it retains the heavy guitar and haunting use of keys to a place of comfort, whilst losing none of its rough edges.
LALA LALA
HEAVEN 2
Sub Pop 8/10
The discombobulating and erratic keys of ‘Car Anymore’ belie the insanity of the world Lillie West lives in and represents the desire she feels to be free from its mad grip. So much of the album is about reflection and ponderance, something that ‘Even Mountains Erode’ addresses openly and clearly as one processes past moments, looking for the avenue in which they should forever live and their relation to the present.
Regularly dipping her toes into pop and stepping out of the experimental pools West often lives in, ‘Arrow’ is a pulsating piece of pop and along with it comes a message of joy and hope. A sentiment further explored on ‘Scammer’ as West implores “Not to give up to the last drop” as she sings from under a deluge of digital beats.
Tinged with hardship, the record oscillates between the highs and lows. This is embodied in the album’s title track in every sense and gives the best indication of where West truly resides. Bitter-sweet in all its miserable glory.
MAHLER SYMPHONY NO.5
GRAND TETON MUSIC FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA
Reference Recordings 8/10
There is a commanding grandeur about ‘Trauermarsch. In gemessenem Schritt. Streng. Wie ein Kondukt’ which translates to funeral march at a measured pace. A suitably morbid piece as its procession (in every sense of the word) gradually quickens as if to comprehend the maddening futility of finality.
The rise and fall of ‘Stürmisch bewegt. Mit grösster Vehemenz’ as it laments and lambasts in equal measure. Its lofty strings meet the downward pull of the kettledrum as the ceaseless battle rages on with only the sage stability of the brass sections to calm the chaos perpetually brooding within. Conversely, the optimism and positivity radiates from ‘Scherzo. Kräftig, nicht zu schnell’ from the onset. The light filled piece abounds with an irrepressible hope and joy that emanates from deep within.
The relative brevity of ‘Adagietto. Sehr langsam’ is a lakeside pause, a period of reflection and time of contemplation. Unfettered strings create a sense of openness, free from doubtful shackles and consuming trivialities.
A classic body of work exquisitely conducted by Sir Donald Runnicles who showcases Gustav Mahler’s timeless beauty.
MARIA BC
MARATHON
Sacred Bones 7/10
Sometimes an album is worth owning for a solitary song. That’s not to say Marathon isn’t complete with a number of great tracks, including the folktronica of ‘Rare’ and the interlocking instrumental puzzle of ‘Port Authority’, and cosmic dreamscape of ‘June’, but the standout tune is the opener ‘Marathon’. The crippling feedback and distorted discord it delivers is truly flooring.
Of cinematic quality, its devastatingly emotive disintegration is beautiful agony. Wholly incredible in its own right, the crushing weight it heaps on the listener’s shoulders is not something to be disturbed by, but rather embraced, as the effect is truly overwhelming. The arch of its decay is mesmerising and totally befitting of the album name.
The themes of resistance, environmental ruin, personal disruptions and destruction run throughout the record and are reflected in the lyricism, which was a prime focus when looking at the way they wanted to move forward from their previous release Spike Field and channel the poetic magic required to capture such heavy sentiments.
RUSTY SANTOS
PSYCHO HORSES
Self Release 6/10
The wobbly vocal treatment, which almost every track features, is a tone that sets the feel for the entire record. A disconnected, existential expression that spread across ten tracks carves out a signature sound which ties the assorted musings together. From ‘Overlaps’ to ‘Floating At Sea’ and ‘Are You A Portal’, they all typify Santos’ approach.
His dreamlike world conjures many tales, both fictional and autobiographical, and it is with his gentle ease that one is guided so effortlessly into his world. Yet there are a number of excursions and sonic deviations from Santos semi-predictable path. ‘Summer Will Be Here Soon’ with its soft acoustic, folk charms, ‘Dark Vistas’ and the off-kilter harmonies which feature throughout, and the classic slice of indie pop of ‘Party With Ben all show his more experimental sides.
An album that is rather narrow in its scope, it still explores the width and breadth of the lo-fi style to the maximum.
THE FAKE FRIENDS
LET'S NOT OVERTHINK THIS
Stomp Records 8/10
The bombastic and boundless Montréal band returns with another full-tilt record. A bass-heavy record, the post-punk piss takers deliver an energetic and entertaining album. With sarcasm set to eleven and social observations laser-focused on searching out and destroying idiocy wherever frontman Matthew Savage and cohorts find it, the explosive record tears through the land, leaving the weak in its wake.
The pre-loading ‘Ministry of Peace’ gets the party started whilst ‘Sucker Born Every Minute’ and ‘The Way She Goes’ drag whoever was not already on the beer-soaked dancefloor, directly to the front of the stage, begging and pleading to be hosed down by the patron saving security forces manning a delirious crowd.
Yet there is a tender side to all the bluff and bluster as the mature ‘Control’ poetically addresses concepts of domination and inequality. The balance of sensibility and outrageousness is what makes Let’s Not Overthink This such a moreish album. There is always a right time and right place in which to crank it and throw caution to the wind.
THE FAKE FRIENDS
MY HEART IS A ROOM WITH NO CAMERAS IN IT
Good English 8/10
Wearing his metaphorical heart on his physical sleeve, ‘Here I Stand’ is the vulnerable opener that exposes Julian McCamman’s mischief and misfortune. A tormented record that lays bare the angst and anxiety of youthful modernity. Laden with relationship misgivings and musical frustrations that aim to explain those exploding emotions.
The cacophony of ‘I Got God’ goes to show how the myriad of voices in McCamman’s mind each receive their own musical expression. Exquisite layering and intersecting parts show how his detailed use of studio work intermingles with the lo-fi bedroom bangers that he crafts so well.
Filled with the peaks of ‘ You Were Solved’ and troughs of ‘Beach Death’, the antagonised album leans on the ropes of the boxing ring it finds itself in, ducking and diving to avoid its own stinging blows. We are spectators to McCamman’s troubled times.