Toro y Moi - My Touch (2009)

Tracklisting:
1. Such Bad Handling
2. My Touch
3. Bend Your Body
4. Deep Routes
5. Existance Music
6. Lesson 223
7. Take This
8. Movements
9. Master Of None

Review: Toro y Moi has been an obsession here (the poster which came with the LP now adorns the wall of my sparse crappy apartment room). I speak for myself but I think it's shared between all of us. So any relevant TYM material makes me happy. This CD is only available if you goto one of the shows. Otherwise, yer outta luck! Sorry! You won't be able to hear the wonderful aural pleasures of brilliant electronic, disco-dance tinged tunes on "Such Bad Handling", "My Touch", "Existance Music", "Lesson 223" and the 'even-better-than-original' cover of Beach House's "Master Of None". Nope. Apologies kiddo, you are so unfortunate. Don't bother clicking the album art, cause it'll only lead to a black hole. Yes. And FYI, current science is uncertain of yer prospects if you do.



Previously:
Toro y Moi - Causers Of This

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mr. Gnome - Heave Yer Skeleton (2009)

Tracklisting:
1. Spain
2. Hills, Valleys, and Valium
3. Slow Side
4. Plastic Shadow
5. Sit Up & Hum
6. Titor
7. Vampires
8. Cleveland Polka
9. Pixie Dust
10. Today Brings a Bomb
11. Searider Falcon
12. Heave Yer Skeleton

Review: "The music of mr. Gnome has been described as utilizing elements of AltRock, Metal, Post Punk, and Prog, but land in a realm of their own making, crafting a compelling sonic-psychedelic melange of indie rock. Since their conception in 2005, the Cleveland duo has released two EPs, receiving wide-ranging and honorable comparisons to Massive Attack, PJ Harvey, Tool, Portishead, Cat Power, Pelican, Death From Above 1979, Bjork and Blonde Redhead. While comparisons vary, one thing is for certain - the duo’s unique sound explores unpredictable shades of violence and intensity, while meshing the sludgy, reverberating monsoon of hardcore with the feminine. Their debut full-length CD, Deliver This Creature, hits stores this spring, 2008 on El Marko Records." (last.fm)

Ranging from a variety of styles, Heave Yer Skeleton takes you through a variety of moods, ups and downs, cute and melancholy - all wrapped in excellent production and orchestration. Not bad for a duo (who seem to throw a pretty convincing live performance too). Nicole Barille's voice kind of eliminates one of those "what-ifs?" questions; more precisely, what if Beth Gibbons (Portishead) did Rock? I think I might recommend this solely because they were one of the few whom stuck out from the number of albums I've been listening to.


"Sit Up & Hum"


"Vampires"

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Auteur Jazz - Aphorisms (2009)

Tracklisting:
1. Congo Square 05:43
2. Kill You Alive Feat. Sara Sayed 04:13
3. Who Struck John 04:29
4. Marbles 03:30
5. Tomorrow Knows Feat. Sara Sayed 05:30
6. Two Jaguars in Warsaw 03:53
7. Gris-Gris 04:28
8. Uruguayo 05:27
9. Najgo 04:12

Review: "Joyously romping grooves from Auteur Jazz -- a combo who take the modal style of the 60s European scene, and infuse it with a few contemporary touches of their own! The group are a bit more open-ended than some of the other club jazz combos on the Ricky Tick label -- willing to stretch out in some occasional exploratory modes or mellower moments, then step back with a hard-hitting groove to round things in place -- often getting a surprisingly rich sound from their relatively small lineup, which is mostly based around reeds and piano from Antti Hynninen, but also features occasional other saxes, strings, keyboards, and percussion. Sara Sayaed sings on the tracks "Kill You Alive" and "Tomorrow Knows" -- and other instrumental tracks include "Two Jaguars In Warsaw", "Marbles", "Who Struck John", "Gris Gris", "Uruguayo", and "Najgo" (dustygroove)

I don't know why I've dismissed contemporary Jazz. This is phenomenal stuff. Highly recommended.



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Dum Dum Girls - Dum Dum Girls (2008)

Tracklisting:
1. Ship Of Love
2. Longhair
3. D.A.L (Dream Away life)
4. Catholicked
5. Hey Sis

Review: I know, this whole lo-fi rock shit is getting a bit annoying. Normally I'd just dish this off as another band on the wagon, but Dee Dee - or Kristen Gundred - changed my mind. Here's a singer with a wonderful voice (remember Grand Ole Party?) doing something people who cannot sing opt for (I'm thinking this, even if it may not fully be the same). On a whole, this EP is good. "D.A.L (Dream Away life)" is just wonderful. Sure, the melodies are pretty predictable but I'll be damned if it isn't a bit rocking fun. At least the songs sound like they could be pop gems underneath a lot of noise and inept recording equipment instead of another shit band abusing a musical "trend" to hide their crap songs. It'll be interesting to see where Dee Dee goes, with a full length coming out March on Sub Pop.



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Julian Lynch - Orange You Glad (2009)

Tracklisting:
1. Venom
2. Winterer One
3. Andaza
4. Rancher
5. Mercury
6. The Flood
7. Winterer Two
8. Seed

Review: "Orange You Glad is the debut full-length LP from Julian Lynch, following a string of self-released CD-r's and a recent split 7" with his childhood friend and frequent collaborator Matt Mondanile of Ducktails on the Underwater Peoples label. A talented multi-instrumentalist, Julian has had a busy summer playing countless shows both solo and as a member of Predator Vision, Ducktails, and Real Estate offshoot Alex Bleeker and the Freaks. This album is comprised of 4-track home recordings made in his hometown of Ridgewood, New Jersey and also in Madison, Wisconsin where he is a graduate student in ethnomusicology. His interest in Indian and South Asian music blossomed several years ago when he was living in Washington, D.C. and working for Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. This exposure to their vast library of world music has informed his output, and he blends instruments such as harmonium and tabla with guitar-rock instrumentation. Also of note is his use of circular breathing techniques on the clarinet - often a focal point during his meditative live shows." (insound)

After the wonderful opening track "Venom", the rest of the album's lo-fi folk on serious anti-depressants is decent at best, going from "kinda neat idea" to mediocre quick. By the end of the album I could no longer differentiate between tracks since everything sounded the same - long drawn out tracks spiral into repetitive madness (listen:"Rancher" and "The Flood"). I don't know if giving this album more time will have it grow on me, but I am willing to bet that giving Lynch more time to develop his ideas would result in better records in the future.



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