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Music

JUNKHEART – Typhoon

JUNKHEART is – in their own words – “a mixed-race romantic, making gloomy-pop tunes for comic-book nerds and nostalgic rollerbladers”. God I miss rollerblading. Also, Typhoon is apparently for “fans of thinking about stuff too much”, so it’s bascially made for me. It’s just so good: a gloomy pop banger with both hope and heartbreak enough to spare. It’s an incredibly impressive debut, and Typhoon is the first of six track to be released over the coming months, leading up to the EP in summer, so I’m excited to hear where they take us next.

https://soundcloud.com/thejunkheart

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Interviews Music

One Track Mind: Elori Saxl

The US musician and filmmaker writes about the delicate balance between improvisation and composition in big dog little dog’s Panorama

The premise of One Track Mind is pretty simple: I ask artists to pick one track that means a lot to them – either something they’ve discovered recently, something that’s been with them for years, or one that reminds them of a specific time in their life or career – and tell me what makes it so special to them. I get to talk to the artists I love, and they get to talk about the artists they love. Love all round!

Today we welcome US musician and filmmaker Elori Saxl to the blog, whose album The Blue of the Distance has just been released. Combining digitally-processed recordings of wind and water with analog synthesizers and chamber orchestra, The Blue of Distance is an enchanting blend of ambient and neo-classical pieces, with the album taking its title from a phrase coined by Rebecca Solnit in A Field Guide to Getting Lost, referring to the phenomenon of faraway mountains appearing blue due to light particles getting lost over distance.

For her One Track Mind feature, Elori has written about big dog little dog’s Panorama with an eloquence and level of detail that makes me want to massively up my game. Over to her…

Continue reading “One Track Mind: Elori Saxl”
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Music

Rhye – Come In Closer

Rhye’s debut album Woman seemed to come out of nowhere in 2013, with a sound so distinctive and fully-formed it was hard to believe the group – led by Mike Milosh – hadn’t been around for years, if not decades. That album was produced by Robin Hannibal, who was notably absent from the next two albums, both of which were fine, but lacked the delicacy and intimacy he brought to the table. Released today, Rhye’s new album Home feels like the spiritual successor to Woman, returning to themes and textures Milosh hasn’t quite managed to nail until now. Nowhere is this more in evidence than the incredible Come In Closer, which is vintage Rhye: yearning, heartbreaking, fragile, hopeful and addictive AF.

https://www.rhyemusic.com/

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Music

a new line (related) – love in a unitary authority part 1

Recording under his a new line (related) moniker, Andy Johnson has just released a rather lovely electronic album, love in a unitary authority part 1-7. Party ambient, part deep house, part dub, it’s a really engaging listen from start to finish and this is the epic 10 minute opener, which starts as life with what sounds like indistinct, looped field recordings before developing a delicate, patiently evolving 4/4 structure.

https://anewlinerelated.bandcamp.com

Categories
Music

Automatic Tasty – Rising Sun

The most amazing thing about Rising Sun is just how optimistic it makes me feel, given the current state of everything. So in that spirt… it’s not mid January, it’s not lockdown central, we aren’t staring down the barrel of some of the bleakest months of our short and ever-diminishing lives. Instead it’s actually mid summer, the sun’s just creeping up past the horizon, and you’ve just had one of the best night’s out of your entire life with some of your favourite people. One day, perhaps even this year, this will have happened to you. Until then, we have music like this to keep us going.

https://soundcloud.com/automatictastys

Categories
Music

Sofi Gev – You’re The Star

This is the latest single from Sofi Gev, the solo project of American singer-songwriter and indie pop artist Hannah Lovelady. Blending elements of folk, indie, electronica and pop, You’re The Star features some wonderfully subtle and evocative vocal manipulations reminiscent of Oklou’s recent album. But while Oklou’s music feels sparse and at times detached, You’re The Star is warm and richly populated with a variety of instruments and textures: an intimate, glimpse into both the strength and fragility of desire.

https://sofigev.com/

Categories
Music

SOPHIE – BIPP (Autechre Mx)

I’ve been avoiding this for a few days now because a) I didn’t love SOPHIE’s album – or any of her work – as much as every single music site told me I should if I had any kind of taste at all and b) I don’t actually know as much about just how important Autechre are to electronic music in general. Consider this my public apology. Anyway, this is predictably amazing, opening with some of the punchiest drums I’ve ever heard and I guess this now means I should listen to everything Autechre have ever produced. Bet they haven’t made many albums though, so expect I’ll be up to speed before the end of the day.

https://autechre.warp.net

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Music

Quinton Barnes – As A Motherfucker

This isn’t the first time I’ve said this, but Quinton Barnes is a truly remarkable artist. Writing, singing, producing, mixing, mastering: he does everything, and at a quite incredible rate. As A Motherfucker is his second album in less than 10 months and it sounds as slick and polished as anything else you’re likely to hear this year. Packed full of big hooks, intricate melodies and propelled by his relentlessly wonderful voice, it’s everything I need from an r&b album. I HEART QUINTON!

https://quintonbarnes.bandcamp.com/album/as-a-motherfucker

Categories
Music

Casper Clausen – Snow White

Sitting around the midpoint of Casper Clausen’s debut solo album Better Way, Snow White demands special attention, standing out even amidst the rest of this intriguing LP. Yes, Clausen often resembles Bono vocally (a comparison that Stereogum deemed vital enough to spend the majority of their album review hashing out), but this is far weirder, dreamier, warmer and more interesting than anything U2 ever recorded, so let’s say no more about it. Snow White doesn’t so much start as slowly materialise in front of you, something that’s always been there but that you’ve only just noticed, and proceeds to drift effortlessly along on a haze of spectral synths and drums that sound like their buried under a ton of smoking dust.

https://casperclausen.bandcamp.com/album/better-way

Categories
Music

Nation of Language – Deliver Me From Wondering Why

Two of my favourite artists releasing singles on consecutive days is making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Pretty sure they didn’t do it specifically for me (although, maybe?), but following Gia Margaret’s surprise drop yesterday, here come Nation of Language marching in with another melancholy banger that builds to a crescendo of snaking, shimmering synth lines and crystalline drums.

https://www.nationoflanguage.com/