House For You is the beautiful atmospheric new track from LOYAL, who first appeared with their debut Blue & The Green back in December. The track is mainly made up of space and the cautious use of vocals and elements of electronic influenced instrumentation. LOYAL come on the Good Years label, who previously brought us Banks and Lil Silva amongst others.
Following on from last year's Lingua Franca by Len Leise, International Feel are back with the second release in their mini-album series, this time featuring CFCF.
Real name Michael Silver, Montreal-native music producer has created a timeless slice of cool ambience in the form of album On Vacation. In it's attempts to capture places and travels the album has the whiff of a concept album.
Les Fleurs Laissés Dans Un Taxi may act in a tribute to Paris and Lighthouse On Chatham Sound depicts late afternoon by the Canadian sea, but in reality everything hear would sound at home on beaches in the Mediterranean. There is a nod to Parisian cool of Les Fleurs Laissés and Sate Padang (named after a a type of satay from Pedang) has elements of Indonesian music running through it, yet it would be as easy to enjoy On Vacation without paying attention to any of this. As a piece of left field experimental music it hangs together to create a wonderfully atmospheric experience.
This being a mini album there are just eight tracks, but each feels like a discrete experience in a broader narrative. Pleasure Centre basks in sunny 80s groove, funky guitar licks and a cool piano melody creating the feel of a gorgeous sunset at the end of a wonderful day. The aforementioned Lighthouse On Chatham Sound is full of jazzy keys and elastic bass notes, creating a constantly shifting sense of calm and relaxation.
Overall On Vacation is a short but perfectly formed trip - subtle but beautiful.
On Vacation is out on International Feel on Friday. Listen an album preview consisting of snippets below:
Atella's Mechanical Sparrow is the latest release from Eskimo, and with warm synths and a soft vocal delivery from O. Martin they have created a gorgeous electronic record.
Hailing from Bergen, Sparrow smacks of Norwegian cool - perfectly understated production that pushes all the right buttons to give off an effortlessly refined sound. Summer-sounding jazzy keys and gorgeously muted guitars call to mind Röyksopp at their best. The whole record gently opens up much like the wings of the mechanical sparrow it depicts - purposeful, electronic and perfectly weightless.
In addition to the gorgeous original, a slightly toughened up club mix is included in the release, adding an elastic bassline to a funked up version of those same keys. It's a perfectly pitched reimagining of the original, just as good but a little different. Finally the Man Power remix strips the track back to the bones, focusing all the attention on the instrumental sophistication. Mechanical Sparrow is a track that benefits from the scrutiny, making all three mixes pretty much essential.
Listen to the original version of Mechanical Sparrow below. The full EP is available online now.
Neon Grey is the latest album from L.A. Girlfriend, who first came to my attention back in 2014 when she released her EP Varsity. Inspired by the 80s sounds of New Order and Iron Maiden that she grew up with, L.A. Girlfriend is the musical project of L.A. based artist Sydney Banta.
Whilst previous album VIVA was concerned with externalities - reactions to people, places and time - Neon Grey is a more inwardly focused. In Banta's own words, "[Neon Grey] is VIVA‘s introspective counterpart; a story of consequences, documenting an aftermath of emotions".
That album title perfectly encapsulates the L.A. Girlfriend sound, a pit of gravel topped off with a bucket of candy. Banta's vocals and lo-fi delivery create the sort of no fi anti-folk sound more akin to Courtney Barnett or Kimya Dawson, but she marries those to fuzzy, shoe-gaze aesthetic that at times boarders on abrasive.
Little Do I Know pounds with mechanically precise harsh drum beats and raw synth sounds. XIV accelerates through a wall of scratchy guitars, seemingly unable to slow down. Closely Subliminal Fantastic is dream-like, the half-remembered snatches of a night long since past. Banta's music captures a sentiment and a sense of an emotion before she has even uttered a word.
Neon Grey is out now and can be streamed in full on Soundcloud below:
Paperwhite first came to my attention back in 2014 when they unveiled Pieces and their subsequent debut EP Magic... Both were packed with infectious hooks and earned them the title of "Most Blogged Artist" twice.
I've been looking forward to hearing what brother and sister duo Katie and Ben Marshall come up with next and Unstoppable is the second track to come out on the run-up to their second EP Escape. This is Paperwhite at their best - doused in neon optimism. In the band's own words Unstoppable is "a reminder to find strength in the chaos and beauty in the unknown."