31 March 2011 - 0 Comments

BIBIO – MIND BOKEH– CD 

Mind Bokeh is an album of quality and indistinction. On the album's opener “Excuses”, for example, a competing haze of layered sounds and clip-clop percussion give way as suddenly the song is hoist upright, with Bibio's bright vocals percolating through a cluster of rhythmical spikes. Its effects are achieved in part through Bibio's use of the old, Surrealist technique of automatic writing – a partial switching off of the conscious mind in order to explore and liberate deeper, repressed truths.

This is music that will strike thousands upon thousands of chords, which accounts for the high commercial demand for Bibio's work – he's tapped into a mass hankering, heightened in this relentlessly over-digitalised era, for a new way of hearing and listening that's more nuanced, grainier, more profoundly informed by the past than cheap kitsch or retro.

For Fans of: Caribou, Mum, Prefuse 73

SPOKES – EVERYONE I EVER MET – CD

It shouldn’t matter that you don’t know much about Spokes, you get those bands that come out of nowhere, aside from an EP in 2006, and bring an album to the table with all the qualities that this album has.

More than anything else, what strikes you listening to Spokes is their complete sincerity, their lack of any sideways glance at what their contemporaries are doing.

They make beautiful, sad, celebratory, delirious, worshipful music because that’s how they feel and, in doing so, that’s how they make you feel, too.

Euphoric, heartfelt and utterly beautiful, Spokes present “Everyone I Ever Met,” their first album for Counter Records. Effortlessly blending together elements of rock and folk and much more into something unique, its bittersweet joyfulness will purge your system of cynicism for weeks.

For Fans of: Arcade Fire, The Walkman

TREEFIGHT FOR SUNLIGHT – TREEFIGHT FOR SUNLIGHT – CD

Treefight For Sunlight’s self-titled debut album bottles their epic sunshine pop into ten mini-symphonies and shows Bella Union are embracing the new year with the same eclectic enthusiasm as ever…

The band, who have known each other since childhood, hail from Denmark; clearly a breeding ground for mavericks judging by the likes of Mew, The Raveonettes, Oh No Ono and Treefight’s fellow Bella Union voyagers The Kissaway Trail. Bands that unstitch rock/pop’s rich tapestry and weave in their own unique and challenging DNA.

In Treefight For Sunlight’s case, it’s the legacy of California’s west coast pop art, from its origins in the epic harmonies of The Association and The Turtles, which had a knock-on effect in the 70s with Sparks and the 80s with LA’s Paisley Underground scene. Fans of the Flaming Lips, MGMT and Panda Bear will surely also appreciate Treefight For Sunlight’s layered, twisting, caramelised energy and absorbing imagery.

For Fans of: Panda Bear, MGMT, Flaming Lips

DEVOTCHKA – 100 LOVERS – CD

Denver based group DeVotchKa's bring the new, and 5^th album, 100 Lovers. For this record, the band again headed to the vastness of the Arizona desert with producer Craig Schumacher (Calexico, Neko Case). The resulting work is as epic as the landscape in which it was recorded, the 15 new songs offering an emotionally charged sonic expansiveness while retaining all the heartfelt romance and celebratory energy for which the group is known. The record features guest percussions from Mauro Refosco of Thom Yorke’s band Atoms For Peace, and members of Calexico.

As much as the touring, it has also been DeVotchKa – and front man Nick Urata’s, cinematic work which has informed their new album. Beginning with a Grammy nominated soundtrack for Little Miss Sunshine, Urata, who The Hollywood Reporter named one of the top 10 up-and-coming film composers, has created evocative soundscapes for a growing list of films including I Love You Phillip Morris starring Jim Carrey, The Joneses starring Demi Moore and David Duchovny, and many more.

For Fans of: Gogol Bordello, Beirut, The Decemberists

DENIZ TEK – CITADEL YEARS – CD

Citadel Records release "Deniz Tek - The Citadel Years".

This anthology comprises the best of various hard to find albums and group projects Deniz recorded during the years 1996-2003. Also included are a few rare live recordings, as well as a previously unreleased song called "Photo Album" recorded during Radio Birdman demo sessions at Electric Avenue Studios.

The players on this anthology include many luminaries including Radio Birdman members, Wayne Kramer, and many others. The set will include detailed liner notes and striking photos.

For Fans of: MC5, Stooges, Radio Birdman

Thanks to www.border.co.nz for this story.

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