Black Moth Super Rainbow - “Forever Heavy”
Dandelion Gum
I wrote off BMSR long before this album came out, finding much of their output only partially accomplishing what it sets out to. Looks like they got their ducks in a row, because this excellent opener is a truly glorious combination of wah-wah synth, UFO noise, and the guy’s distorted voice. If a robot did mushrooms, this is what it would hum. (insound)
He had the appearance of a caryatid on vacation; he was supporting nothing but his reverie.
Transparent brain (Nature)
What is this, Alcibiades? Are we to have neither conversation nor singing over our cups; but simply to drink as if we were thirsty?
Hildur Guðnadóttir - “Leyfðu Ljósinu (prelude)”
Leyfðu Ljósinu
This astonishing piece is the work of one Icelandic woman, performed live and without any post-production. Its delicate beginning only hints at the tonal richness of the rest, in which her cello and voice (looped and layered) intermingle in otherworldly, spine-chilling fashion and gradually build to a near-frantic conclusion. The best modern chamber music I have heard in years. Listen to the whole thing here.
galloon: a decorative piece of braid or trimming for clothes or furniture, often silver or gold
ob-, re-, in-, sub-sequent: types of streams, determined by surrounding erosion patterns
inselberg: a hill that rises abruptly from an otherwise flat plain (German: island-hill)
auricule: the exterior portion of the ear, or a certain flower resembling a bear’s ear
cryptogamous: of or relating to a now-obsolete taxonomy of seedless organisms
weirdsma: made-up word indicating interesting geological formations
antinomy: laws or philosophical positions apparently in contradiction
orogeny: mountain formation, often by folding or thrust faulting
interfluve: the raised land separating two adjacent river valleys
rutilence: a glow or glitter, usually reddish, warm, or golden
rebec: a lute-shaped but violin-like string instrument
westering: moving or tending towards the west
apologue: an allegory or moral tale
vug: a crystal-lined cavity in rock
Phantogram - “Make a Fist”
Nightlife
Somehow combines the mystical, rhythmic insight of Gang Gang Dance with the best aspects of today’s electropop. Every buzz, echo, tomtom, and break in this song is placed with extreme care and precision, manifesting in unremitting urgency and variation. (insound)
//museum9 (mindbending)
//two trillion year gear
//the printed internet
//tango metropolis
//ant comic
//i n f r a
A Sunny Day in Glasgow - “100/0 (Snowdays forever)”
Autumn, again
The last track on this album epitomizes it well, and is perhaps also the best one, assembling a truly broad assemblage of tones and instruments into something cohesive and powerful whole. The bass is great, the keyboards sharp, the random synths, echoes, and breaks well-placed. They also successfully make a minor key upbeat and ebullient. Still, their “klangy” noise-pop isn’t for everyone. (insound)
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