Lost Tribe Sound delivers the goods again. This album comes to us from the band Arrowounds out of Athens, Ohio, and it sounds like something emanating from the most brutal part of the Rust Belt. It is fine listening for it, as the droning noise feels almost cinematic in scope.
Sonologyst – Electrons (New Edition)
Our friend Sonologyst (Raffaele Pezzalla) has released his first project of 2023, and it’s a deep listen, taking the existence of electrons as its subject matter. From his Bandcamp site:
“As the theory of the atom, quantum mechanics is perhaps the most successful theory in the history of science. It enables physicists, chemists, and technicians to calculate and predict the outcome of a vast number of experiments and to create new and advanced technology based on the insight into the behaviour of atomic objects. But it is also a theory that challenges our imagination. It seems to violate some fundamental principles of classical physics, principles that eventually have become a part of western common sense since the rise of the modern worldview in the Renaissance…”
You can read more at the site by clicking the link above.
Heiner Goebbels – A House of Call, My Imaginary Notebook
As a fan of Heiner Goebbels‘ work as far back as the Recommended / RèR Records days, it’s been a joy to hear his music become more full, more dense, and on occasion, more foreboding. ECM seems to be the perfect home for his works, and the Ensemble Modern do absolute justice to his compositions.
High Res Audio posted an interview on their site regarding this latest release, which you can view below:
O Branco e o Índio – Plantas Renováveis
O Branco e o Índio (The White and the Indian) are a neo-Krautrock band out of Brazil whose sound also touches upon art-rock, psych and experimental rock. Intensive listening, but very interesting.
Dalai Cellai – Harem’s Conspiracy – An Oriental Elegy
Greek-Mongolian Berlin-based cellist Dalai Cellai offers a simply gorgeous track with blends a modern take on classical music with elements of hard rock, progressive rock, waltz and tango. I’m hoping to hear what she can do in with a full album. Stunning.
Laurita Peleniūtė & Auļi – Sveteliai / Ciemiņi
Today’s title is a single track, combining Lithuanian chanteuse Laurita Peleniūtė and the Latvian ethno-folk group Auļi performing a folkloric track which blends both Baltic cultures’ best features together seamlessly.
The Chills – Scatterbrain / Scatterbrain-Storms: Outtakes
We have two releases today to share with you. Both come from New Zealand’s greatest indie rock band, The Chills, and at least to my ears, should be seen as one cohesive session. The first, Scatterbrain, came out in September of 2021 is a rather lush affair, quite different from the early, stripped-down lo-fi albums. Great production, choruses, an almost proggy feel to some tracks dot the album, yet the songs still have that hallmark Kiwi indie sound. Scatterbrain-Storms: Outtakes is quite different, however. Three tracks, more stripped down and raw (well, they’re outtakes for a reason, right?), and I have to say this sounds like the Chills of the early 1980s and 1990s. Still, both releases have their charms, and are worth exploring.
Yukihiro Takahashi – Drip Dry Eyes (R.I.P.)
The eyes in this house aren’t very dry at the moment. We lost yet another legend today. This time, it was the shocking, though not unexpected, passing of drummer and composer Yuki Takahashi, who made his fame as drummer and singer of the Yellow Magic Orchestra. He first gained fame with the Sadistic Mika Band, which would evolve into The Sadistics before moving on to making solo albums, then YMO, and collaborations with British artists Bill Nelson and Steve Jansen. He leaves a massive body of work, most of which still needs an assessment outside of Japan.
Sieben – Ten Hymns for Modern Times
I had the pleasure of meeting Matt Howden, the mighty Sieben himself, while tour-managing for Sol Invictus in 2000. His violin playing added an otherworldly element to the music, and he was embarking on his solo career at that point. After scores of albums under Sieben and his own name, everything culminates in this album. It’s not so much a neofolk album as much as a combination of psychedelic rock and goth/post-punk, as raw as anything that came out 40 or 50 years ago (how time flies), but modern enough to break ground in any of these genres. Solid.
Raïna Raï (راينا راي) – Hagda (هكدا)
A new name for me to enjoy! Raïna Raï are (were?) a band from Sidi Bel Abbès, Algeria who gained a massive following with this album, released in 1982. On the 40th anniversary of its release, the album, lovingly curated by Elmir Records, highlights one of the best raï records of the 1980s.