Thanks for that tip, BT...I thought I had all the Mal bargains there were! I was also thinking of this Larry Coryell Bolero.
Meanwhile, AMZ has one of the 99 Classical Essential Hit Fo-Shizzle Masterpiece Collections for $1.99 today...so many of those bonus credits will go for something they're practically giving away anyway.
Spells by The Laureates--strong garage rock--a little samey by the end, but nonetheless inspired. It's a $4.90 download at eMordac, but free here (I suspect it was picked up by a label after being self-released.)
On their second full-length, Chicagos The Laureates stick to their strengths rough-and-tumble garage rock with a power pop sheen. The songs on Spells are energetic and wild, but the band never lets things get too out of hand and know when to pull back. The result is crunchy guitars and punchy rhythms in quite an accessible format.
As the saying goes, if it aint broke dont fix it. The last time The Laureates released original material was in the form on the snaggy 2010 EP No Kontrol. Its raw production worked for the most part, but occasionally would get in the way of the bands more melodic moments.
On Spells, everything is a lot more even keel. Chad Preston and Adam Penlys guitars are still upfront but dont bleed through your speakers. Instead, they fiercely jangle while drummer Pete Gray keeps things steady with his tight pocket playing and bassist Crawfie Wards weaving grooves give the low end some real bounce.
Theres toothed brit-pop (Robbers), swinging, whiskey swelling numbers (All Eyes Open) and even earnest, soulful folk-punk takes (Changes, Etc.). But perhaps the most intriguing songs are the ones where you can pinpoint influences in a familiar yet oddly satisfying way.
Dont Lose Your Cool opens with a Spoon-like guitar waltz thats as recognizable as it is catchy. Monitor Me features revved-up mid-60?s riffage, and Spells concludes with a psychedelic nod to House Of The Rising Sun with Moon Bitch.
Maybe most importantly, The Laureates brim with confidence on the record, which aids the songs in sounding organically created rather than forced. And it pays off as Spells is a very solid and focused set of garage-pop tunes.
Acoustic lazy Dolls by Tlon. Released on Autoplate a few years back; free at the archive. Nice mellow ambient/microsound release, with sinuous waves, occasional lazy rhythms, and crackly undergrowth. Really quite nice.
-one turntable. one needle. one audio object.running aimlessly the needle on the record in movement, a random collection of melodic particle will become the original sound source of a full reinterpretation. Here, the audio object is Jon Hassel and Brian Eno releasePossible Musics. the exclusive utilization of the melodic structures of this unique sound source guarantees the homogeneity of the new pieces. the sound object is reborn in a new context."
Some of these are too anthemic for my taste. The one review that's up now uses these adjectives:
Hard, high energy, busy, strong, high speed. It's not all urgent wailing, there are some slower numbers as well.
Well, one thing led to another and I found myself browsing the lower reaches of the emusic free albums list. This is NOT a rec, but I did end up quite amused by the cover art on the "Metalhit free download series". I don't blame them for having a low budget; I'm just wondering if the pictures are meant to match the themes, and what the model was told. "Ok, look doomy now....good....now kind of thrashy....now, folk songs, that would be an axe, right?"
Found via Ambient Music Blog. Shifting ambient sounds with a kind of a faint clattering backdrop. Really rather nice. NYOP on Bandcamp with a note that monies go to the artist, but the page also has a link to the same album at the archive, so there is explicit invitation to free download too. Cross-posting this one to bandcamp thread.
That Rosado album got me to exploring the Feedbackloop label, a Portuguese netlabel. There's some other stuff on there worth a listen, and their stuff can be streamed or downloaded from the label or at the archive.
For now I'll add mention of this one - if you like slightly darker, cavernous ambient it is quite delicious. Gorgeous in fact.
The album by Savaran on this label is worth a listen also. Average quality of the albums I'm listening too is good. Either that or I'm in one of those states when everything sounds good. Love that Benjamin Dauer though.
@Germanprof: I've seen those Metalhit records on Amazon. For a second I thought they might be some kind of joke, then I remembered: It's impossible to make a parody of Metal.
Released in July 2011, Ghostfunk pairs one of my favorite hip-hop artists, Wu-Tang member Ghostface Killah, with vintage African funk, high-life, and psychedelic rock music.
There's another early Double Handsome Dragons release for free here. Confusingly enough it is self-titled but is not the same release as this year's self-titled release from them.
This is a compilation that was put together and sold on bandcamp in aid of relief efforts in Japan. The label has now wrapped up their fundraising and is offering it for free download. Includes tracks by loscil, Eluder, He Can Jog, Benjamin Dauer, Implex Grace, Specta Ciera...
Jacob's music particularly draws influence from the balance of analog versus digital and this latest EP is no exception. It is produced mostly using piano and bass, with digital and analog synthesizers used minimally.
It was the artist's intention that the eventual sounds heard within this EP continue along a similar line of his previous work - to be contemplative, relaxing and to inspire slow thinking.
One of several recent Audio Gourmet releases that all sound good (a good string of EPs after a few that I had been less keen on):
Evan Sornstein's great appreciation for the unfettered humanity of E.E. Cummings is celebrated on this suite of twenty-two poems, read by twenty-two different people evenly spaced around the world. Set against an evocative, electronic backdrop of detailed soundscape, Nowever explores life and meaning, searching for Cummings' "truths" through his own works, interpreted by the voices of glad and young, aged and ageless busy monsters all from Taipei to Glasgow, Sardinia to California.
Free download. I really like e.e. cummings - this takes snatches of his poetry read by electronically treated voices (sometimes barely followable as text) and puts it to a competent enough glitchy electronic background. Quite interesting. Listed as "free for the month of May" - not sure if that means you should grab it quick before someone remembers it's now July.
(Just finished a month of teaching faculty seminars - free time at last and every justification to spend it roaming randomly; result: downloading faster than I can listen :-))
Comments
Meanwhile, AMZ has one of the 99 Classical Essential Hit Fo-Shizzle Masterpiece Collections for $1.99 today...so many of those bonus credits will go for something they're practically giving away anyway.
Kill Rock Stars 20 Year Anniversary Sampler
Amazon Sampler 2011
Mexican Summer Vol. 2
Merge Records 2011 Sampler
Bloodshot Indie-Pendants Sampler
A Touch and Go Records Digital Sampler
Vagrant Summer Sampler 2011
Dangerbird Summer Sampler 2011 [Explicit]
Spells by The Laureates--strong garage rock--a little samey by the end, but nonetheless inspired. It's a $4.90 download at eMordac, but free here (I suspect it was picked up by a label after being self-released.)
http://loudlooppress.com/reviews/the-laureates-spells/ :
Acoustic lazy Dolls by Tlon. Released on Autoplate a few years back; free at the archive. Nice mellow ambient/microsound release, with sinuous waves, occasional lazy rhythms, and crackly undergrowth. Really quite nice.
Dead Oceans Summer Sampler 2011 (Amazon)
edited to add:
Frenchkiss Records Amazon MP3 Sampler (Amazon)
This one almost slipped by me.
Barsuk Records Summer 2011 Amazon MP3 Sampler
edit: Zooks! More in under the radar.
Luaka Bop Presents Xingu (Amazon)
David Byrne's World Music label. Samples sound interesting.
Your Mom is a Sportman's Paradise (Amazon) (Park the Van label)
I like the samples.
Hopeless Amazon Summer Sampler
Some of these are too anthemic for my taste. The one review that's up now uses these adjectives:
Hard, high energy, busy, strong, high speed. It's not all urgent wailing, there are some slower numbers as well.
Yeah. Thought so.
Free Amazon UK sampler at http://www.amazon.co.uk/EMI-Virgin-Classics-Sampler-2011/dp/B0058U18Y4/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1310045509&sr=1-5 for those ableto access it
Against A Backdrop Of Blue Hills, They Were As Beautiful As A Lullaby by Jannick Schou
Tape drone experiments. Strictly for drone fans, I think, but some nice moments. Same artist has other free albums posted @ bandcamp.
Opaque Glitter by Leonardo Rosado
Found via Ambient Music Blog. Shifting ambient sounds with a kind of a faint clattering backdrop. Really rather nice. NYOP on Bandcamp with a note that monies go to the artist, but the page also has a link to the same album at the archive, so there is explicit invitation to free download too. Cross-posting this one to bandcamp thread.
For now I'll add mention of this one - if you like slightly darker, cavernous ambient it is quite delicious. Gorgeous in fact.
Saturation Event by Benjamin Dauer
Brighternow, I see you posted another album from this label involving the same artist.
The album by Savaran on this label is worth a listen also. Average quality of the albums I'm listening too is good. Either that or I'm in one of those states when everything sounds good. Love that Benjamin Dauer though.
- thanks for the Dauer rec.
I can't remember if I've posted this one on Distance Recordings:
- Really excellent !
http://www.benjamindauer.net/index.php
This cover's my favorite:
The Weeds in My Garden Don't Stand a Chance - A Metalhit Sampler
Secretly Canadian Summer Sampler 2011
I'm pretty sure this wasn't there on the 28th. Maybe it got added after I looked.
More subdued than the recent release.
edit: they posted a bad link on Twitter, corrected above.
Posted for free on Soundcloud.
Cross-posted, as it's what I'm listening to now.
This is a compilation that was put together and sold on bandcamp in aid of relief efforts in Japan. The label has now wrapped up their fundraising and is offering it for free download. Includes tracks by loscil, Eluder, He Can Jog, Benjamin Dauer, Implex Grace, Specta Ciera...
One of several recent Audio Gourmet releases that all sound good (a good string of EPs after a few that I had been less keen on):
Track A/Track B by Quinn Walker and Danny Clay (burbly ambient)
Kirill Platonkin - Trails (described as "dark ambient" but not really very dark; drone)
69º54´S-135º12´E by Lauki (classical string sounds with computer glitch noises)
Free download. I really like e.e. cummings - this takes snatches of his poetry read by electronically treated voices (sometimes barely followable as text) and puts it to a competent enough glitchy electronic background. Quite interesting. Listed as "free for the month of May" - not sure if that means you should grab it quick before someone remembers it's now July.
(Just finished a month of teaching faculty seminars - free time at last and every justification to spend it roaming randomly; result: downloading faster than I can listen :-))