Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category

DataBass – Talking To My Dreams

Posted: 6 January 2024 in Reviews, Singles and EPs
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15 December 2023

Christopher Nosnibor

Few artists can state that they’ve been developing their skills from the age of six, but Katie Arndt is very much a rare breed, and her bio lists her as a ‘prolific producer, vocalist, pianist, and composer.’

All of this is in evidence on her latest offering under the DataBass moniker – as project she’s operating while also, again according to her bio, ‘pursuing studies in classical and commercial voice, with a major in Music Media Production at Ball State University’.

But more impressive than any of this is the quality of her material. ‘Talking To My Dreams’ is a truly captivating composition, and if it stands as rather a departure from most of the releases I cover here, it’s for two reasons: the first being that a bit of a breather is essential. Sure, I like heavy, I like really heavy, and I like really fucking bone-crushing heavy. But I also like tunes, and to drift in moments of tranquillity.

‘Talking To My Dreams’ is both a tune and a moment of tranquillity, as Arndt’s clear voice skips over a delicate piano. Her skills as a producer are in evidence with the inclusion of subtle incidentals, subtle layers of synth and so on, before the vocals are doubled, with backings and harmonies drifting in with the greatest of naturalness.

That the song is barely two and a half minutes long is noteworthy, too, as it seems to reflect something of a trend toward shorter songs, as we had back in the ‘50s and ‘60s. The reasons for such succinct singles may be different now, but it does mean that we’re hearing songs which aren’t stretched out or padded, and simply say what they have to say. ‘Talking To My Dreams’ is a work of great economy, and its brevity adds to its gentle impact.

ØrsØ – Terms and Conditions EP

Posted: 5 January 2024 in Reviews, Singles and EPs
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Lake of Confidence – 15th December 2023

Christopher Nosnibor

Having worked for far too many years in financial services in order to pay the bills, ‘terms and conditions’ is a term that weighs heavily on my soul and my psyche. All that small print… the devil is in the details, and there’s a good reason customers often feel swindled by the inclusion of impenetrable clauses written in language which only someone with an advanced degree in legalese could even begin to decipher. The title, then, brings fitting connotations to a complex and detailed work, although, mercifully, it’s more rewarding than frustrating and doesn’t leave you feeling bamboozled and shafted over.

Label Lake of Confidence – which sounds like it’s on the moon – informs us that ØrsØ’s debut EP ‘is a reflection on our civilization, offering a gripping critique of consumable culture and post-social network alienation.’ They also describe his style as a fusion of ‘experimental music, indietronica, dark wave and English-speaking pop’, and ‘English-speaking’ is right: ‘Unreal Moment’ has the nagging industrial-strength electro pulse of DAF paired with the electro pop layering of early Pet Shop Boys, topped with a vocal delivery that alludes to the monotone nonchalance of The Flying Lizards.

ØrsØ’s brilliance lies in his ability to amalgamate such a range of elements while still keeping the compositions relatively simple, structurally and in terms of things happening at any given time. These songs – and they very much are songs, even if conventional hooks and choruses aren’t dominant features – are clever and carefully constructed. ‘Dancing Girl’ has something of a recent Sparks vibe about it, while he channels shades of Bowie in the vocals, and this is accentuated on ‘To Yourself’, which could be an outtake from Outside.

The EP’s five tracks showcase the work of an artist who possesses a high level of musical articulacy, matched by a high level of experimental curiosity. There isn’t a weak track here, and significantly, no two tracks are particularly alike: the last of the five, ‘Follow the Wind’ brings a more overtly dance feel, with a pumping bass beat and rippling, trancey synths, but at the same time, there are hints of The Human League and Visage in the mix.

In an ocean – not a lake – of retro-tinged, vaguely dark-hued synthy pop, ØrsØ’s ‘Terms and Conditions’ stands out as being more detailed, more nuanced, and more inventive in its assimilation of wide-ranging elements – and the results are accomplished.

The Würmen – Vas Deferens EP

Posted: 4 January 2024 in Reviews, Singles and EPs
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15th December 2023

Christopher Nosnibor

Among their tags, garage / punk / alternative rock band The Würmen have included ‘super-edgy’. Fair enough: they are German, right? Wrong! They’re from West Yorkshire – Leeds to be precise – and this, their debut EP, which features two previous singles, offers a set of four songs, all with medical / related titles and puns. ‘Vas deferens’ was the punchline to a joke I’ve completely forgotten after being told some twenty-five years ago. This is a recollection which helps no-one, but simply adds a layer off intertext to the experience of hearing this primitive punky racket. The songs are raucous, shouty, not too mention a tad zany, equal parts Pixies and Leeds legends Bilge Pump, the choppy, skewed guitar slaloming all over a dominant bass sound.

‘Ceiling Funny’ – the EP’s only track to run beyond three minutes – feels like their stab at a song that might get some traction, if not necessarily airplay, with the angularity yielding to a hooky chorus that’s not quite Foo Fighters, but clearly aspires to a more ramshackle reimagining of Biffy Clyro.

‘Cognitive Dissonance’ is quirky noise rock that’s quintessential Leeds, channelling the roaring grunge of Pulled Apart by Horses and the nagging mathiness of Wintermute and This Et Al. ‘Remediation Policy’ is a hell-for-leather riotous race to the end, wrapping up a snappy release that’s exploding with energy, urgency, and raw power, and which is great fun.

AA

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Empty Machines – Velvet Sky

Posted: 3 January 2024 in Reviews, Singles and EPs
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15th December 2023

Christopher Nosnibor

Glasgow Duo Empty Machines promise a blend of post punk, shoegaze, and indie synth rock, and ‘Velvet Sky’ is an expansive, atmospheric tune, layers of vocals floating in a swirl of textures synths and guitars submerged in effects. Reflective, contemplative, there are some bold dynamics here as they take things down to allow level before surging back. The blurry, saturated, shadowy but dazzlingly bright video perfectly encapsulates the mood here – one which is centred around a range of conflicting sensations and uncertain emotions. You feel a certain sense of bewilderment, as if being transported by invisible forces, both physically and psychologically.

It’s the vocals which carry the melody through a tidal wave of dense instrumentation, and with the drums low in the mix in comparison to this cinematic instrumental maelstrom, there’s a sense of volume, of sonic force to this dreamy but powerful single, as soft and smooth as velvet, but as dense as diamond.

AA

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T.N. – Siddung

Posted: 2 January 2024 in Reviews, Singles and EPs
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15th December 2023

Christopher Nosnibor

This is an odd one which will likely baffle and bewilder many of those who encounter it – which will likely be far fewer than it deserves. It’s rare for a track that isn’t thrash or grindcore to run to less than a minute and a half, for a start. I know absolutely nothing about T.N. beyond that they’re from Spain, but T.N.’s ‘Siddung’ is a sliver of minimalist hip-hop that sends a shiver down the spine.

If commercial hip-hop has come to be synonymous with bragging and banging, flashing cash and blades, it’s worth remembering that its roots were a different kind of ‘street’, and with acts like Last Poets emerged from spoken word, the jazz and beat scene of the late 50s, giving a voice to black culture and the civil rights movement.

This track is something of a hybrid – it’s ‘street’ but it’s introspective and uncomfortable, and after an atmospheric introduction, halts just as it seems to be finding its groove. It’s difficult to unravel the track’s meaning or intent: ‘siddung’ is patois for ‘sit down’ – as the cover art relays in a literal sense – but beyond that…?

It feels more like a sketch than a complete song, but one could imagine an album containing maybe twenty or so of these vignettes would add up to paint a quite compelling picture.

ALTR∞ – Infinite

Posted: 1 January 2024 in Reviews, Singles and EPs
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12th December 2023

Christopher Nosnibor

German electro duo ALTR∞ seem like a pretty chipper pair, pronouncing the arrival of their second EP with the theatrical, Shakespeare-referencing proclamation ‘The world is not a stage, it’s a dancefloor: welcome to the Cosmic dancefloor of Eternity!’

They go on to explain how the ‘INFINITE’ EP is a celebration of the complexity and the beauty of life and the connection that binds us all! The broad spectrum of music influences, woven into the EP’s music tapestry, symbolises the infinite flow of ideas and references that shape and drive the Collective Consciousness. We hope that these songs will make you feel free: dancing and releasing all worries and troubles! We wanted to try new things, while exploring a more dancefloor-oriented sound, while still sticking to our own style. The energy was there and the rest just happened as usual – immersing in the magic of the studio and channelling our feelings!’

The EP’s four tracks span just over eighteen minutes, and while they are certainly very rhythmically-orientated, in terms of commercial dance, they’re not what anyone would call bangin’ dance choonz – not even your dad or your grandad. Sonically, Infinite sits somewhere in the middle ground between the minimal techno favoured by Gilles Peterson on his 6 Music show, and the kind of stuff I find modular synth fanatics noodling out at the Electronic Music Open Mic nights we have around the country.

‘I Saw the Future’ is, ironically, a squelchy analogue workout that’s decidedly retro, and the sparse vocals are more 90s dance track dub remix than avant-garde futurism. The vocal snippets add layers or mystique and esotericism, ‘Hurricane’ brings more urgent beats, clattering hand drums rattling over a thudding bass drum and pulsating groove, with weaving synths conjuring an expansive and trace-like atmosphere. The last track, ‘Infinite Mind’ pulses away in an inwardly-focused way.

This isn’t music that will send you wild or dance yourself into a frenzy, but will instead likely catapult you into inner space, and inspect your own psychological circuitry – in a most pleasant way. It kinda sounds like the cover looks.

AA

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Angry Old Man – Quatram

Posted: 31 December 2023 in Reviews, Singles and EPs
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10th December 2023

Christopher Nosnibor

It’s widely discussed how recent years have witnessed attention-spans ever shortening, as the effects of life in postmodern society impact our day-to-day lives. Bombarded constantly by a million media sources, adverts popping up all over everything all the time, using multiple devices and apps simultaneously, we’re all expected to be everywhere and doing everything all at once. It’s no wonder that streaming services record a skip rate of over 50%, and in the region of 25% of songs are skipped within the first five seconds. In my line of work, I have to decide pretty swiftly if a release is worth my time and the expenditure of energy on devoting words to it, but five seconds? That said, any track that starts with a howl of feedback is always going to grab my attention, so Angry Old Man are onto a winner here with ‘Quatram’. The question is, can they capitalise on it?

The answer is yes. The feedback gives way to a classic hard rock riff, soon followed by crashing drums. With real swing and swagger, it’s a riff you can really bang your head along to. The vocals, though, are grunge all the way, a gritty drawl. The guitars step up a notch and drive home, thick with distortion to a solid riff-centric ending. And clocking in at under two-and-a-half minutes, it’s just right for the attention-deficient. There’s no pissing about here, slamming in hard and leaving the job done before you know what’s hit you.

AA

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Scarlett Woolfe – Poor Suzy

Posted: 30 December 2023 in Reviews, Singles and EPs
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14th December 2023

Christopher Nosnibor

Scarlett Woolfe has been honing her sound and style and building a fan base in London throughout 2023, taking her solo singer-songwriter project to the stage with a full band. Her debut single, ‘Poor Suzy,’ it seems, has been quite a while coming, but there’s no doubt that it was worth the wait.

Her own choice of tags include ‘alternative rock’, ‘dark wave’, ‘post-punk’, ‘dark-pop’ and ‘gothic’, and these very much serve to give a sense of what to expect: it’s spiky, edgy, and oozes attitude. There are hints of early Garbage in the instrumentation, with the poppy elements balanced by just the right amount of grit and bite.

The lyrics ‘Poor Suzy / lying in the snow / Poor Suzy / nowhere to go’ are hardly Sylvia Plath, but it’s all in the delivery. I doubt I’m first do draw the obvious comparison, and certainly won’t be the last when I proffer that the Scarlett’s voice – and her delivery, which swoops and dives, and shifts effortlessly from breathy to full from-the-centre of-the chest strong – is strongly reminiscent of Siouxsie Sioux, It’s pretty punky, and pretty punchy to boot. Building to a climactic close, it all stacks up to make for a powerful single.

The artwork, too, captures the stark style of the post-punk era, and this feels something that’s been carefully thought out as a complete package by way of an introduction to the world of Scarlett Woolfe.

AA

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Velour Fog – Dopehead

Posted: 29 December 2023 in Reviews, Singles and EPs
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23rd October 2023

Christopher Nosnibor

I’m not quite sure what this is. There are a fair few fags being smoked, but there was some wide-brimmed hats being worn, too. What to make of it? The style says mid-80s goth, but there are some heavy stoner vibes… and then it slams in full metal. Long hair trailing and waving, heads banging in slow-mo, and rapped vocals over some sinewy guitars and a chunky bass.

It’s a bit RATM, it’s a bit Alice in Chains. It’s a bit OTT. It’s a bit retro. It’s crackers, but it’s good.

AA

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Erotic Secrets of Pompeii – The Wheel, the Spade, the Stars in Motion

Posted: 29 December 2023 in Reviews, Singles and EPs
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6th December 2023

Christopher Nosnibor

I hadn’t been looking for something that straddled Bauhaus’ more experimental cuts and David Devant and his Spirit Wife… But that’s how it goes. You don’t know what you want – or need – until you find it, and stuff lands on your lap when you least expect it. This is theatrical, crazy, over the top. It’s the sound of a band flipping out, melting down in every direction – more of a document of an electrical shock to the brain than the frazzled fizz of the frothing seafront.

‘The Wheel, the Spade, the Stars in Motion’ is no instant grab post-industrial froth: instead, it’s a frenetic electronic mania, all the froth and panic. The panic… the panic is real. It’s the soundtrack to waking up disorientated and wondering where the hell you are and what on earth is going on, and the video only adds to the bewilderment, the wackiness as surreal as the most inexplicable dream.

Strolling bass and wonky guitars are only half of a story which throws into the melting pot the sharp, sinewy guitar pop of Franz Ferdinand and the over the top agitated dramatics of The Associates.

The lyrics are utterly barking, but shouldn’t be dismissed as mere quirky nonsense: there’s a genuine poeticism and flair for language on display here.

The maid was in the garden

Disfigured by a bird

That reactionary raptor

Left her undeterred

The specksioneer made it clear

harpoon held aloft

Declaring that his love for her

could melt the permafrost

Playing with the tropes of the Elizabethan sonnet, but at the same time spinning circles of Surrealist imagery, Erotic Secrets of Pompeii are a unique proposition, and for all the warped oddness, which shouldn’t work but does, ‘The Wheel, the Spade, the Stars in Motion’ is a cracking single if you can step back from the craziness for long enough to reflect and absorb.

AA

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