The modern DAW is an incredible tool. We have capabilities now that producers in the ’60s and ’70s couldn't even fathom. One of the most prominent DAW’s is Ableton Live. For Rob Massar aka Public Prism who just got started as a producer and with only a-year-and-a-half under his belt released From Above, Below, And All Around.
I spent some time with this album.The tracks are very short and felt more like vignettes rather then fully realized songs. He experiments with dissonance but there aren't any hooks or catchy melodies. I’m perfectly fine not having those things but your skills in the synthesis and production better be up to par. Up first is “Ignite” which sounds at first like it could be the beginning of a Four Tet song or even a burial song. I was anxiously waiting for it to get going but it literally sounds like it fizzles out and doesn't get much farther from where it started. The beginning of an idea that could have gone into really interesting spaces but for whatever reason didn’t. Up next is “The Lion Is Out.” Similar to the first song it fizzles out in a way and almost starts over again around a minute in. The template of tones and textures starts to form a pattern with “Release.” I liked the beat but again can't say the vocals did much for me. There is a more prominent pattern on “In The Mail” while “Behind The Bend Of Night” has some fleeting yet inspired moments. There isn’t much emotional resonance with these songs and I was trying but lacking to find the elements that would create such a connection. To his credit he is in the embryonic stage of his development and I think he has some good ideas that need to be expanded upon. There are a couple of artists I encourage him to check out if he hasn’t who are doing something similar. I think he might be able to get inspired from Black Sea by Fennesz, Immunity by Jon Hopkins and Reassemblage by Visible Cloaks. I think that would be a good starting point that displays some of the most inventive synthesis and sound design in the last ten years. I personally starting songwriting over twenty years ago and producing music for myself and others around eighteen years ago. It takes a long time to get a handle on things and the fact that this artist has such little time under his belt is impressive. I hope this is just the beginning and wish him look in his evolution.
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I’m not exactly sure why I like the album named Broken Hearts & Drunken Feet by The Dround Hounds so much but I do. Either way Broken Hearts & Drunken Feet is the debut album from The Dround Hounds. The group is comprised of husband and wife duo Ryan Slice (guitar/vocals) and Lindsay Slice (drums). Comparisons to The White Stripes are inevitable not only because of the structure but because of the music as well. That being said I would say they play into a different strain of rock. I would argue The Dround Hounds play into a nostalgic Americana vibe not too far off from artists like John Mellencamp and Tom Petty.
The songs on this album aren’t exactly reinventing the wheel but they are enjoyable. In fact the songs are simple revolving around mostly 4/4 time and major and minor chords and play into the tropes of rock. There are hooks, catchy melodies and ultimately the type of songs that you might catch yourself singing in the shower. Up first is “Can’t let you go” which is an easy to appreciate song which sounds about as American as apple pie. Suffice it to say if you enjoyed the first song you will appreciate the whole album. They continue to have success with “Broke my soul,” the more nostalgic “Pour the whiskey” and “Kiss me.” “Cut me loose” is just a harder ZZtop style rock song while “Lately “ is a slight deviation if only for the fact that there is an acoustic guitar. Another standout was “Goodbye” which really pays into Americana style lyrics. I enjoyed the songs and album and perhaps my only critique is that they hit the classic Americana genre so much on the nose they lose a little bit of their individuality and can easily be batched up with like minded Americana bands. What you hear is what you get with this album. Fans of the aforementioned bands and styles should take a listen.
Kristy Ferguson is an artist from the UK who recently released Scatter The Ashes. This EP isn’t easy to classify other than pop because almost every song feels like a different style. I will say Ferguson has a great voice.
The EP opens with “Just Stop Pretending” which sounds like an ’80s inspired club thumper. It’s a pretty straightforward song with a 4/4 beat, multiple synths and vocal harmonies. The production was solid and there were a couple multiple catchy hooks throughout. Lyrically, the song is really straightforward about young romantic love. “Nobody Wins in this Lovers Game” is another song that would work on a dance floor. The digital piano didn’t rub me the right way but similar to the first song the vocals whether they are the harmonies or the lead are the most appealing aspect. Up next is “Uptight” which is a distinct departure that feeds into a bluesy hard rock feel that reminded me of Shania Twain. The title track was my favorite but even more of a departure from the hard hitting club tunes she started with. It’s a soft reflective ballad where her voice really shines. She closes with a stripped back piano ballad entitled “How Long Should I Wait?” I’ve said this countless times before but creating a cohesive foundation on an EP or an album is vital to creating a signature sound as an artist. This is especially important for artists who are just starting off. As great as a singer as she is the songs are so different from each other I had a hard time finding connecting elements in the songs. Ferguson is an artist that I could imagine really benefiting from the right producer/engineer. She has the talent and skill but I think a producer could help her establish a foundation and bring about the vision she has as well. I give her credit for doing this all on her own but pose this idea as food for thought as she becomes more serious about her music career. Ferguson has a boatload of potential and I hope this is just the beginning for her. I look forward to her future work.
Manny Schembari (guitar/bass) and Mitch Csanadi (drums) are Dark Parm. The band apparently really love food and that was in fact the inspiration behind Food Borne Illness. They describe it as a slow ride down a long buffet line, some parts dark and some parts up-lifting. It’s also a rehearsal session where they tossed up a couple sm-57’s and jammed. They play more or less hard rock and it gets a little bit squirrelly after that. It’s more or less a jam session.
They start with the title track which sounds like nothing else on the album. The sound is ambient, atmospheric and effectively haunting and even beautiful. I have to admit I was disappointed they don’t attempt this style again or try to meld it with the heavier rock they play. The next song is heavier rock along the lines of grunge or metal. They are in the pocket and can play. The main issue I had was the same one I had on all the songs. There is a lot of repetition and no real focal point. I was waiting for some type of lead. The next song “Barstool” Schembari does play lead but the song is more or less a pretty standard blues jam. The technical ability is evident but fairly familiar sounding distorted blues rock. “Hamburger Hill / Meatball Overture” is all over the place in a good way. It’s a mix of ’70s inspired metal riffs and that’s really about it. As the album progresses there is another blues jam with “Mofongo Blues” and “Mofongo Upskirt” which felt like an intro that never breaks. “Breathe Out” is arguably the highlight on the EP. Food Borne Illness is about what I expected for something that was recorded in one take without practice. There is some talent here and I would like to hear a release where they practiced, wrote songs and even went into a studio. The band falls into a case of wait and see. I think these young men have it in them to take it to the next level and I hope to hear that.
The latest album from The Airlings has every right to be called California, because if anything sounds decidedly like a California album, this is it and I dig it. The group initially assembled in 2013 in the central valley of California, but apparently fate had other plans and the group went on hiatus. Luckily they are back and making great music. The Airlings bring a quirky, spacey version of indie rock that tickled my curiosity. The album is only five tracks long. It's a got a black and white picture of palms and the sun blaring on the cover. I could see people brushing this album off as "been done," but I will happily sit in front of the Internet's new favorite folding table and change anyone's mind. This is a successful realization of a signature SoCal sound that I loved listening to and was quick to invest in.
At the core of the album is a surfy, trippy indie rock sound. It's got a low-fi feel. I can feel the sand under my feet as I listen to it, and let me tell you, when it's March in Chicago, I welcome that sensation. However I didn't stay on the beach in this album, it managed to transport. You get beyond the atmosphere and then it will drop you back down into a more urban setting. With just five tracks they really are quite efficient and changing scenery and taking the listener for a ride. The vocals of Levi Minson are classically indie as are the lyrics which are packed with short stories that the listener seems to walk into the middle of. The added quirks that keep the music mysterious and intriguing come in the form of added sampled elements that create a vastness, like you might find in space. Sometimes these elements can even make things sound more organic and fertile. Either way, the album is far from sterile and comes packed with a lively flavor that put me in a great mood, no easy feat by the way. Again it's March in Chicago and I typically hate everything around this time of year. As always, I am continually impressed with how today's artists can stand on their two feet and record and mix their own music. This album is yet another example of a long stream of fabulous DIY albums that I have had the pleasure of reviewing here at Divide and Conquer. This particular album was recorded in living rooms and garages in California and then mastered by Lucky Lew of Wave Parade Studios. The songs all sound great. There is a fuzziness that I can almost certainly guarantee is intentional and didn't deter my enjoyment. If you're a fan of the SoCal indie rock sound, you'll have found a high quality match with The Airlings and this album. I love that the album is crafted by the band, both the music and the recording process. It's a little slice of elsewhere that I thoroughly enjoyed.
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When I hear bands like Salem Oregon’s No Me Gusta (drummer Justin Baker, bassist Tyler Weld and guitarist and vocalist Hayden Freshour), it reminds me that there are bands out there that are consciously, unconsciously still working in the art of spastic basement rock that exists not simply to be noise, but to be purposeful noise. The purpose of no Me Gusta’s noise seems to be to get you to dance and to get you to pay attention to the moody changes of rock in all its glory whilst you’re slamming into one another and whipping your head around like some drugged out derelict calf just learning to stand.
There is plenty of this nuanced rock on their debut EP Grocery Store Erotica, a record that combines hard and fast rock with periods of microscopic changes that beg for a listeners attention between bangs of the head. These five songs all have at their core a hard rock and slightly punk driven intensity, but they also have, each of them, periods of melodic breakdowns gradations that keep them from sounding like another run of the mill basement band. No Me Gusta open Grocery Store Erotica with the high energy grunge soaked hit-machine “Shanghai'd.” It is somewhat like Fugazi and Nirvana being thrown into a meat-grinder with a few dashes of Iggy and the Stooges to give it a little spice. Next on “Grocery Store Erotica” Freshour changes up his vocals taking on at times a bit of a southern preacher falsetto as his bandmates keep the music fresh slowing down tempos and speeding them up and even taking the song into a sub-psychedelic breakdown. It is here that one realizes that No Me Gusta isn’t fucking around trying to be another spastic art rock band, but rather experimenting as to where they can take the rock genre and bend it to their will. Further claims to this bending of will comes on “Vitamins” which begins as a high energy rock song in the vein of the Damned and then quiets down for an experimental breakdown before rising back to the surface and rocking out even harder than before. It’s thrash rock at its finest. Then “Spanish Fly” takes the opposite approach by starting with less than an ordinary opening and then snakes its way into a miasma of rock and weirdness. Grocery Store Erotica is an exploration into the further reaches of rock. Its songs are not catchy with hooks but rather catchy with feeling and emotion, quite like an abstract painting. There is a lot going on on this little EP and I hope that there is a lot more to come. The world needs more music like the kind No Me Gusta makes.
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When things age, the result is usually favorable. Aged cheese, aged wine and even aged whiskey all have a more refined taste. When an idea can age more layers can be added to it to create the ultimate final product. This is what happened with Pollen Mentor. The Conscious Evolution may be the first release from Pollen Mentor, but the inaugural release is not the first time Pollen Mentor has created music. Simply from Earth, Sydney, Pollen Mentor has something to say to the citizens of Earth.
The opening track “Pollen” uses synthesizers to create an eerie atmospheric sound with a steady moderate paced drum beat that carries through the rest of the album. An echoey spoken sample adds to the eeriness of the song as it progresses and introduces the listener to the strange zoned-out world that is The Conscious Evolution. There is a short pause between tracks before a woman’s voice calls, “Let me be you wish / At your fingers (tips)” More layers and samples build on the drum beat, as well as the sounds of thunder. The calming tone of the Je Sa’s voice is juxtaposed against the thunder. Are you supposed to feel safe or spooked? There is not much time to think about the question as you are dragged from your thoughts by a wavy guitar. “Lies” is the third track on the eight-song album. Naïve Prophet is featured on the track with a precise flow that comes off as calculated as opposed to the robotic bars that can be heard from other trip-hop artists. As the story of the lyrics carries you farther into the album, the ride is fueled by the guitar and the drums. A simple synth line adds another layer to the track that brings the track to a head. The slow, but meaningful pace is kept all the way through the album, allowing features from Herbal Horus, Steady Strange, Jebadosef and Dr. Choppenstein to contribute different perspectives on the work. The final track is “Speaking Tongues.” The song features samples of religious chants, as well as the synthesizers and drum loops that have been central to the sound of the album. The video for the song provides more insight to the track. A ritual is taking place between the leader of a cult and the followers. The followers collapse as the leader begins to have visions and the tempo of the song increases dramatically. It is an insight into connectivity between the physical human and the energy that surrounds and runs through us all. Being connected is the overall theme of the album. The pace of the album allows time to consider the theme and is sure to delight fans of laid-back beats and introspective lyrics. Those unfamiliar with the style will find it an accessible album. With enough going on to paint a picture, but not so much happening that it causes distraction. Pollen Mentor has been thinking about this release for a while. After listening, the listener will be sure to think about the album just as much.
Gudjohr aka Kips Golden is comprised of one writer and performer out of Brighton (United Kingdom). On his self-made, independent record label entitled The Clutterclan. he released In Between the Blinks. Golden is a member of the bands Saint Elmo and The Best of British Suicide all while writing and recording for his solo act as well. Golden describes this album as a “culmination of all my previous releases.” This is the last album Golden plans to record on his 2009 MacBook, which is impressive considering the sound quality is excellent. Golden cites his influences as Yeasayer, Animal Collective, and The Knife and When Saints Go Machine, which are both Scandinavian bands.
In Between Blinks starts off with “Daddy’s Home” a deeply reverberating electro-experimental track. With trance-like vocals, “Daddy’s Home” is an interesting piece of house music. There is a lot going on but it only keeps the listener attentive and on-edge, which makes it even more intriguing. “Heel/Face,” while trippy and slightly tempestuous, is significantly calmer than “Daddy’s Home.” The winding, vocal-focused track is encapsulating. The softer instrumentals still maintain the edginess that comes with experimental electro-pop, but the track centralizes more on ambiance and calming tones. “Stop and Smell the Roses” comes with a more hyper-active feel with higher pitched electric sounds, forceful vocals and distorted prominent guitar licks. “Stop and Smell the Roses” is a stimulating, lyrically intriguing track. The fourth track entitled “Redtangle” starts with a beguiling, xylophone-like series of sounds. This high-energy yet low-key track is a winding, stimulating experience. “Start acting sweeter / He will be home for dinner / Start acting sweeter / He will bring home for winner / Start acting sweeter / He will.” The lyrics evoke thoughts of a troublesome relationship, which makes the song even more interesting as the potentially dark content matter doesn’t match the upbeat-ness of the track. “Just Another Hour” is a slower track, where the conglomerate of interest comes mainly out of the vocals in the beginning track, as opposed to the instrumentals like on the tracks heard previously. At the middle and towards the end of “Just Another Hour” we get back to the entrancing computerized sounds we’ve come to appreciate and almost study while listening to what we’ve been hearing from Gudjohr. “In Tandem” is an ambient-opening number, moving onto groovy and harder electric tones with clearer, more unadulterated vocals. The track ends with heavily distorted guitar riffs that fade out then sharply cut off, moving on to the next track. “The Joy,” is probably the closest we get to acoustic (at least less electro) on In Between the Blinks. With a groovy ‘70s-esque downbeat and a deep guitar line, “The Joy” strays away from the overall theme of the album, yet somehow flows incredibly nicely with Gudjohr’s work. “Sarah,” is a face-paced track, and almost full of disdain lyrically. It’s nearly a call-out track to whoever this “Sarah” is, but as we saw in “Redtangle,” while the subject matter is near antipathy, the energy of the song is upbeat and electrically positive. The final track “Born Again” is a five-minute, slow, stirring ride. With pop-ish tones and layered vocals, “Born Again” is yet another intriguing track of many on this album. The track is even interesting lyrically - almost confusing, but still interesting. “Who stole America? / You stole America / Please don’t let me go.” In Between the Blinks most definitely cannot be summed up in just one word, but if I were forced to pick one it would be intriguing. There is so much going on instrumentally and lyrically yet the album manages to follow the same theme coherently and masterfully. Recommended.
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What started in 2017 as a writing project for drummer/songwriter Stuart Gallant has turned into an alt-indie quartet called Dt Surgeon. Hailing from Kippens Newfoundland, Canada, Gallant has been writing and recording music for the past 15 years. The release Small Town was recorded, mixed and mastered in Gallant’s home.
Other members included on the recording are Andru Smith on guitar and bass), Kevin Carey on guitar and Denis Dumont on bass. The album is guitar heavy with ‘90s alt-rock and emo styles mixed and “focuses on the pitfalls of seclusion and isolation that exist in rural life – with “themes of depression, drug addiction, love, and death.” Sounds like serious stuff. “Small Town” is open and live, as if it was recorded live. As Gallant belts out “small town gets the worst of me” he sounds like a young Thom Yorke or that guy from Dinosaur, Jr. – Magus or Magnus? – but way less whiney (I never like that band for some reason). I imagine this song is about being young in a small town; it just has that feel about it. “Old Cool Kids” features Carey on guitar and Dumont on bass again; the catchy riffs and melodious solo sound great side-by-side. The song captures the feeling of young, restless youth just hanging out, messing around and having fun. “Beaches” is faster paced. Andru Smith is on guitar and bass on this one. It has a radio-friendly, indie-pop familiar sound. I sense that it’s a song about true love and how it feels right inside when it hits you. On “205” Gallant expresses his voice in a lower tone and Smith is on guitar and bass here again. The song feels like some larger questions are being asked. It has this push-pull narrative that feels melancholic, too. But I’m not sure if 205 is a reference to an apartment number? Anybody’s guess. “Dollar Stores” has a lighter pop flavor and I would guess it’s a song about hanging out at, what else? – a dollar store. An anthem-like number that sound like salvation. Kevin Carey is on the guitar here. In “The Take” the lyrics are deep and powerful and they fit so well with the melody of the song. After another listen, the way this song was done reminds me of something from Billy Bragg’s Don’t Try This at Home, or a lesser-known R.E.M. album like Around the Sun. A tender, sad tune that feels like a letting go of something; a long last look before moving on to that next phase in life. If you like music with a little ‘90s alt-rock and emo nostalgia, give Dt Surgeon’s Small Town a test drive.
Future Coda released their ambient rock EP Signs to Prepare in mid-January of this year, after recording the EP at ‘Loom Studios’ Yorkshire with Grant Henderson. The EP took two months to record, and being that the group is a duo, they pride themselves on playing all the instruments that other groups need more members in order to accomplish. Paul is the vocalist and bassist for Future Coda, and Brett is the guitarist and drummer.
The group cites some of their inspirations to be Mogwai, Minus the Bear, Anathema, and Oceansize, and the group does an excellent job of approaching their own work keeping the work of these groups in the foreground of their minds. Brett and Paul write structured demos that they work on individually as their creative process, then come together to practice and form their work into what we hear today. Signs to Prepare was mixed by Tony Dixon out of London. Signs to Prepare starts off with “Junipero,” a crashing, groovy track that carries a thunderous sound, yet is soothing and mellow at the same time. The light, consistent guitar riffs and crooning vocals somehow manage to stand out against powerful drum beat bursting with the metallic energy of the cymbals. “Vanalinn,” matching the mood of “Junipero,” is another softly sung, enveloping track. The bass line on “Vanalinn” is prominent in the songs intro, eventually making way for heavily distorted guitar paired with, again, the light twinkling guitar riffs in the background. The four-minute track is a textural experience, bringing back the crashing drumming from “Junipero.” While the almost choral like vocals are consistent in their airiness, the instrumentals are frequently mixed moving from smooth and light to heavy and puncturing. “Altered State” and “Rush Home,” are both atmospheric, ambient tracks. “Altered State” being an undulant instrumental, arouses visions of crashing ocean waves. “Rush Home” is a bit punchier in its sound, however it still maintains that cool, brisk and winding vibe. The vocals on “Rush Home” are a bit more defined than they have been on the earlier tracks. The ending of “Rush Home” is almost trippy, with metallic-like guitar and soft intoning, it is definitely the most ambient sounds heard on Signs to Prepare. The end of “Rush Home” connects smoothly into the fifth and final track, given the same name of the EP itself “Signs to Prepare.” Being the longest track on the album, the first minute is the same ambient sounds we heard at the end of “Rush Home,” leading again into another slow jam with softly articulated vocals. The star of the track is certainly the mild guitar solo, that is expertly played and stands out against the similar guitar riffs we have heard across the entirety of the EP. Signs to Prepare is a masterfully put together EP. Each track flows beautifully into the next, especially “Rush Home” and “Signs to Prepare.” The metallic and ambient album is highly enjoyable and calming to listen to. Recommended. |
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