Add my voice to those praising the Soft Verge EP on Output. A nicely
varied (but not all over the place) range of complexity and ambience,
with a particularly solid track on side B, I think, that pulses along
quite smoothly in a minimal dubby way. After an hour or so at the local
DJ record store previewing a stack of sides a foot high, this was the
only thing I was really impressed with.
Also playing:
* The RealAudio samples from the new Mira Calix album "One on One"
(
http://www.miracalix.com), especially the track "schmyk," a lushly
beautiful song with its somber, repeated piano phrase, and subtle beats
kicking in near the end. Wow. I will be definitely picking this up
this evening at the store (or ordering it).
* "The Golden Band," by The American Analog Set. Warm droney hypnotic
indie folk retro with a touch of live jazzy breakbeat rhythms and moog
moodiness, with dreamy melodies and hooks. Addicting.
* The Necks, "Sex." A 56-minute long jam that magically transcends its
length and sheer repetition. An amazing accomplishment from this
Australian jazz trio. Also, their album "Aquatic" on Carpet Bomb, which
I think is a reissue. Incredible and hypnotic.
* The new Pan American, "360 business 360 bypass." Extremely subtle
dub-soaked instrumentals from Labradford guitarist Mark Nelson, with a
stunning song featuring shimmering, submerged vocals from Alan and Mimi
from Low. Impeccable production and arrangments (if a bit repetitive
and staid at times). Spacerock meets a streamlined Pole/Kit Clayton
with a bit of Microstoria/Snd/Oval leaking in around the edges.
* Pulse Programming. Thanks to everyone for plugging this. The best
ambient music I've heard in ages. Sophisticated in its minimalism, a
bit short in song length for me, however. But I guess that's the point,
making brief minimal statements rather than long epic scapes.
* "And then nothing turned itself inside out," by Yo La Tengo, and
"Silur" from Tarwater. I guess that no matter how deeply I explore
electronic music as a DJ and listener, I'll never give up my need for
real instruments and lyrics and melodies and hooks. Even with the
electronic experimentation influencing these two albums, its good to
hear inspired music come from the "rock" end of the spectrum.
* The Baby Namboos, "Ancoats2Zambia." I'm very skeptical of the whole
trip hop genre, and I've dismissed the entire slew of post Massive
Attack/Portishead groups (Lamb, Esthero, etc.). But this album really
surprised me, with the refreshingly idiosyncratic female vocals and
thoughtful production. I think the presence of Tricky's
straightforward, soulful hip hop delivery helps out, as do the solid
remixes by Geoff Barrow and Dillinja.
* "Succor" and "Starethrough" EP by Seefeel on Warp. Just picked these
up the other week, which opened up a whole new aspect of their work for
me.
What a great time this is for new music (new as in just released, and
new as in just discovering it for the first time)! Heavy sigh . . . so
much music, so little time.
G.
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