It’s amazing to think that this EP is the latest (and hopefully not last) artifact released by former Strawberry Switchblade front-woman Rose McDowell. She had been active singing with groups like Current 93 and her own project, Sorrow, for many years, and this EP continues on that dark and eerie road. I get the feeling of hearing a very dark series of folk songs sung in the creepiest of Presbyterian churches. Brilliant.
Xmal Deutschland was one of the treasures of the German gothic rock scene. From their Bandcamp page: “Punk’s independence from the stiff grip of tradition allowed the band to find solace in anti-establishment art and music, far from the conventions of the past.With their peacocked hair and thick kohl-lined eyes, Xmal Deutschland’s music retained both a restlessness and delicacy, transcending any confines of the “Neue Deutsche Welle” movement (much like their colleagues and friends DAF and Einstürzende Neubauten) with the release of the “Incubus Succubus”single in 1982. It instantly became a post-punk classic. The guitar’s buzz ransacks through the melody…
I have no info on either Masian Love or Frequency, two bands out of South Korea, but they do a fine take on the quintessentially Japanese City Pop genre.
We are sad to report that German indie record label Engram Recordings has ceased operating. They have, thankfully, decided to leave their catalog online as long as Bandcamp exists. This sampler is a great way to get to know about their quirky releases.
Kassyus Clay come to us from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and sound nothing like samba or bossa nova. Instead, they bring a brutal instrumental sound that crosses post-rock with Sonic Youth.
We haven’t featured a band from Thailand in quite a few months, so it’s time to rectify this. Death of Heather are from Bangkok and offer a really well-done take on dreampop.
Our friend, the erstwhile lad known throughout Beijing and parts of Western Europe as The Drone Pilots, presents a fine podcast as we begin the wrapup process for 2024. As he so eloquently describes: “Ghazals are a poetic form consisting of rhyming couplets and a repeating refrain word or phrase, originating in 7th century Persia; though starting as poems, ghazals were adapted in Indian classical music to become a unique genre of semi-classical song, with lyrical couplets with musical accompaniment and rhythm. Trainspotters will relish the multiple samples of Peter Gabriel as a tribute to his Real World efforts to…
There is such a gentle lilt to the voice of Nata Boundriver of Ясный-Svetly that I can imagine this being what Kate Bush or Hope Sandoval sounding like if either had fronted post-rock era Mark Hollis or some band specializing in ethereal, ghostly music. A sublime listen.
Dead Can Dance singer Brendan Perry released this masterpiece of an album for 4AD Records in 1999. 23 years later, the label is offering the album as a download, CD and LP with bonus tracks from a performance recorded during 4AD’s infamous 13 Year Itch residency at the storied London venue in 1993
One of the benefits of being in Beijing at a high-grade academy is that I run into some rather brilliant young minds who are turning me on to great local music, case in point being Mimik Banka, who listeners would compare their music favorably to acts like dream pop and pop-psych bands like Dream Academy during their less somber moments and Khruangbin in places, and something radically their own in other spots. Perhaps my new favorite Chinese indie band at the moment.