Demob Happy

FIRST PUBLISHED AT THE LINE OF BEST FIT At some point over the last decade David Holmes’ brand of retro mishmashery seemed to fade from the zeitgeist despite the fact that the Northern Irish producer was reaching a wider audience (and no doubt keeping his bank manager happy) with soundtrack work. His turn to the [...]

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BRAND NEU ! – Various artists 8/10 BRAND NEU! is a tribute to the influential German band (aka Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother) that brings together a respectable selection of artists inspired by the Krautrock innovators. There are one note chugging guitars and hypnotic motorik grooves aplenty in this beguiling compilation, which doesn’t suffer too [...]

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FIRST PUBLISHED AT THE LINE OF BEST FIT Back to the future 6/10 ‘Your Ear Knows Future’ is the sophomore effort from Baikonour – aka Brighton’s French-born Jean-Emmanuel Kreiger – a veritable one-man band whose debut ‘For the Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos‘ was a heady blend of space rock and electronica. Where that first [...]

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Stereolab – a novice’s view 8/10 Stereolab are a long-time leftfield favourite that seem to have drifted in and out of critical favour during their prolific recording life. Somewhat derisively referred to as an “art-school” band at stages in their career, they mine a similar, but less abrasive, territory to Broadcast: psychedelic retro pop flavoured [...]

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MP3s that have caught my attention this month include Beach House’s ‘Gila’, taken from their new album ‘Devotion‘. Slowcore dream pop informed by The Velvet Underground and Nico, Gila is the highlight of an album of similarly melancholy and somnabulant tunes. Meanwhile, I am enjoying the obliquely titled ‘Recent Bedroom’ by Atlas Sound, from their [...]

Beach House - Gila [ 4:46 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Atlas Sound - Recent Bedroom [ 3:47 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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This month I’m enjoying several tracks from The Magnetic Fields’ new album ‘Distortion’, which appears to be an unashamed homage to Jesus & The Mary Chain. Luckily, they didn’t forget to write songs to match. ‘Old Fools’ has something of Nick Cave about the vocals, which resound strikingly over the layers of feedback and reverb, [...]

Magnetic Fields - Old Fools [ 3:00 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tacks, the Boy Disaster - Frozen Feet [ 4:03 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Magnetic Fields - Nun's Litany [ 2:57 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Melody days from the artist formerly known as Manitoba 8/10 It took me a long time to get over how mediocre Caribou’s last album ‘The Milk of Human Kindness‘ was. After the psychedelic onslaught of ‘Up in Flames‘ (recorded under previous moniker ‘Manitoba’), his sophomore record was an exercise in plodding 60s-infused futility. I tried [...]

Irene - Caribou [ 3:38 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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This month I’ve been beguiled by the latest side project by sometime DJ and Kings of Convenience member Erlend Oye. The Whitest Boy Alive hints at Oye’s interest in the hypnotic rhythmic concerns of house music but features the same Simon & Garfunkle-esque vocal style of KoC. Angular – but certainly not abrasive – guitars, [...]

Whitest Boy Alive - Burning [ 3:11 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Yeasayer - Many Waves [ 4:07 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Octopus Project - Bees Bein Strugglin [ 3:48 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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‘Top Ranking’ 9/10 Blonde Redhead’s breathtaking album ‘23‘ combines the sonic intensity of shoegaze pioneers My Bloody Valentine with the dream pop of Cocteau Twins and Lush. Despite the stylistic conceits, they overwhelm the listener with the strength of the songwriting and dazzling, dizzying soundscapes. Like contemporaries Asobi Seksu (check out their stunning single ‘Thursday‘), [...]

Standard Podcast [ 0:01 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Superconnected 7/10 Broken Social Scene are a very unusual band. A huge cast of musicians participate on this record in a democratic process that leaves the producers with a lot of work to do, trying to make sense of what can often sound like two or three songs playing at the same time. The result, [...]

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