No Eyed Bird

The Scarecrow Frequency is the project of Seattle musicians John Argetsinger and Erica Sherman, combining placid melodies and vocal media appropriated from various classic sources. Claiming to be shoegaze, the music takes austerely powerful, yet mellow soundscapes and combines them with beautiful pop elements, in a way quite similar to Jesu or Eluvium (but bridging the gap between the heaviness and softness, respectively). The opening track Transponder Parallels gives a small taste of the CD with a sample of a Richard Nixon Vietnam War speech. Interspersed throughout the release are various quotes about America, with a bittersweet and nervous look backwards. The tone of the music fits in with this theme of nostalgic remorse, wrapped up in commentary about the nation. And yet through some of the brighter melodies, a sense of determination may be felt.

A formidable release of American shoegaze/avant-pop, this CD will feel at home with fans of shoegaze in general.

The Scarecrow Frequency - Ivory Skeletons Of Dark Horses

Bitcrush is a solo project of Mike Cadoo, focusing upon rock-based musical elements. Shimmer And Fade is a remastered reissue of the 2005 digital release of the same name (this time out on CD, limited to 1000 copies) and it includes 4 bonus tracks. The art references the original, but it is slightly different, being a bit cleaner.

Moving on to the music, the CD begins with dissonant, droney guitars layered over each other, signaling the album’s mood, austere and introspective, and set over sludgy, spacey rhythms. Distant and melodic, Cadoo’s music slowly explores harmonies and textures without making the music too experimental and unforgiving. Reminiscent of rock/metal-based shoegaze projects such as Jesu, Cadoo favors instrumentals over vocals, and makes sure that guitars don’t overpower the sound, using them only as a way to layer smooth, complex polyphonies over each other. The tracks also incorporate Cadoo’s previously honed skills and know-how of breakbeat rhythms and glitchy production. While most of the tracks are Warp-worthy, the real gems are (surprisingly) the tracks that sound a lot more rock than electronic. Warm and optimistic, they are listenable and easy to follow. For example, track 3 “No Bridge No Water” is a five-minute exposition of brightly melodic synths and strong alternative rock guitar riffs. More pop-structured than the other tracks, the song unabashedly skirts the line between accessibility and sophistication. Track 10 “When Swallowing Becomes Difficult” sounds like something off Ghostly International, being cute yet introspective, with a touch of bittersweet euphoria. These two tracks stand out from the others and bring to the album a bit of avant-pop energy from within a much more downtempo sound.

Bitcrush - When Swallowing Becomes Difficult (30s clip)

Lucibel Crater is a New York 3-piece band, cranking out bits of funk and jazz elements along with some indie shoegaze. The Family Album is a 10-track exploration of eclectic elements coupled with lush instrumentals and Leah Coloff’s singing/spoken word. Oftentimes moody and mysterious, the music definitely does not drag. For example, track 6 (”Blue Stationwagon”) is a long jazzy instrumental piece, sounding like semi-improvised explorations of sound set on top of brilliantly frenetic drumming. If The Doors had known shoegaze, they might have made something like this, bringing a harder edge to “Riders On The Storm.” Track 9 “Swimmers” broods on for the first 3 minutes of the track; the guitar theme then mixes with the drums at the 3-minute mark, congealing into a catharsis of dissonantly beautiful melodies, before abruptly ending at around 5:30, shaking the listener out of its kaleidoscope of manic action. The best piece on the CD is arguably track 7, “Where You Are,” showing off Coloff’s excellent vocal talents and enveloping the listener with a haunting, repetitive melody. Perhaps not as focused as it could be, The Family Album nonetheless showcases the project’s excellent musical ideas.

Sweetbleeders‘ album Bzzzz. is an excellent collection of 10 songs that meander about, painting a beautiful kaleidescope of chord progressions and catchy vocal melodies, as sung by a melancholy-sounding Robin Vining. This collection of talented musicians and composers draws from influences of all sorts of genres and the members combine forces to create a musical masterpiece. Track 2 “Safety” pegs in at more than 10 minutes, evoking pleasant connections to early Radiohead with its amazing melodies and its transitions between hard and soft. Track 4 “Never Be The Same” is a nice acoustic rock song with such bittersweet feelings, painting an old human experience in a new musical way. Track 5 “If In Trouble” brings the worthy flavors of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” to the release with its amazing collection of instruments along with spastic transitions into movements, lined up one after another. Track 8 “Lu Nan Jen” is by far my favorite song on the release, with the music flowing in between the dreary verses and the glossily epic choruses that bring such a catharsis near the end of the album. Track 10 “Run Away” closes the album on the melancholy note that it presented early on, urging listeners to “keep on running away.” Sweetbleeders sure ran away with this album, pouring heart and soul into the composition, the instrumentation, and the varying dynamics; they bring out such bittersweet feelings by gradually shading in and out the subtle melodies.

At first glance from the CD art, I thought the music contained inside would be terrible. This is clearly an instance of “don’t judge an album by its cover,” because the tracks were loaded with some of the best tracks I have heard in a while. Filled to the brim with an eclectic mix of shoegaze and soul, peace and power, rhythm and restlessness, Marshall Star’s Cosmos is a winner. From the first track “Goodbye Truly,” I was presented with a taste of vocalist Mandy Bright’s powerful breath competing with the complex, noisy layers of post-punk sound, and I knew that there were going to be some gems on the recording. Track 4 “The Pleasure Seekers” eerily reminds me with its desolate lyrics and its heavy synth-pop beat of Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of These).” Track 12, unlisted on the recording (but elsewhere as “Take Me”) is a frantically-paced mixed of dissonance and heavy drums along with Mandy’s sweet voice. The best track on the album, of course, is track 2 “Hopes And Aspirations,” which sounds a bit like Cocteau Twins, but without Elizabeth Frazer’s dull vocal performance. Instead, with the bright and layered wall of noisy melodies, we are given a chance to witness the tour de force of Mandy’s vocals coupled with a powerful marching beat. The aggressive lyrics “got my hopes and aspirations driving me insane” reflects perfectly the maddening movement of such a beautiful track. All I can hope for is for listeners to look past the artwork, and to fully immerse into this album, especially into the more manic tracks.

Drawing on influences from Throbbing Gristle and Joy Division, this LA based old timer band has been around since the good old ’81 and the no wave scene. Savage Republic came from the mind of Bruce Lichter, owner of IPR and also leader of the AZ band Scenic. The band has a three of its original members: Thom Fuhrmann, Greg Grunke and Ethan Port along with 3 new dudes. The band is still alive and kicking and touring too (currently touring Europe). I like how their Myspace says they sound like Godspeed and Mogwai. While some songs like ‘Song for Rikki’ have their Mogwai moments, I don’t think they are as effective at staying inside one genre, not to mention that their recording style and vocals are still rooted in Joy Division’s pot. 1938 is one of those albums that isn’t very good until it is over. The final tracks are very long instrumental sound maps of places you want to go to and will make you spin the disc again. If you like older indie-rock sound, slightly out of key guitars, the New Zealand sound and reverb ridden surf beats, then you’ll like the album.