среда, 13 мая 2015 г.

Presentando La Banda. Fifteen Years Old

Meet Solange Jacobs, the architect.
Under Fifteen Years Old alias this Lima, Peru native/Barcelona inhabitant creates the fragile soundscapes accompanied by the lyrics referring to controversy, self-sacrifice, sex, and politics.

Fifteen Years Old "The Image Lovers" (p)2011
Fifteen Years Old "Abecedario" (p)2015



I'm here to propose the following triangulation to understand what it's like: 1) thin as ice vocal vibrations of Julie Cruise 2) the quieter moments of the provocative tales of Jenny Hval  (or the most adventurous anti-pop excerpts in Bjork's career); 3) 'I-wear-my-heart-on-the-sleeve' artistic approach and short spoken-word excercises of Miranda July.

The first short album "The Image Lovers" is sung in English, and I'd call it more accessible for the 'untrained' ear. The tracks here really are the songs: though they are hardly about the classic 'verse-chorus-verse' template, they have the clear and distinct melodies you can easily be nodding to.

"Abecedario" is far more based on intuition, far more about impromptu feel, and far more minimalist and uncalculated. It feels like these crawling, nervous, fractured hymns of vulnerability, possession and sacrifice sung by Sol's childish vocals draw the pieces of transition from 'girl' to 'woman'. Sol here abandons the cyclic structure of composition completely, leaving the things flow freely from point 'A' to point 'Somewhere not here'. As a part of audiovisual performance act this album would work the best, but even being separated from the visual component it may give you the right impression. There's a certain complaint of the reviewer used when the album is way too long to feel comfortable with: "This could be the greater EP". For "Abecedario" I should declare the opposite: "This could be the greater full lenght" because the music of this kind needs time to embrace you, and now when you are just feeling embraced - all of a sudden, the music stops.

"Performance Poetry, Political Pop, Experimental Pop, Moon Music, and Autobiographical" - these tags Sol uses to describe her own path in music. I consider "moon music" the key one because her music is as trembling and dizzy as the moon shadows are.

Fifteen Years Old on Tumblr
Fifteen Years Old on BANDCAMP
Fifteen Years old on Facebook

Muchas gracias a Sol Jacobs por contactarme y invitarme al mundo de Fifteen Years Old

четверг, 7 мая 2015 г.

Diego Hdez "Autotrophic Music"

Diego Hdez "Autotrophic Music" (p)2015 Foehn
The new album of Canarian-born singer/songwriter Diego Hernandez (the participant of folk band Keiko as well as the dub orchestra Pachumba) follows the steps of his first solo record "Small Songs For New Beginnings" (p)2012 also on Foehn. It's a free-form 'stream of consciousness' psycho folk - sometimes dreamy, sometimes noisy, sometimes trippy. Being seemingly unstructured for an unprepared ear, these songs are constructed of tiny sounds (hisses, clicks and cracks, etc) placed here and there using athmosphere as glue. But though the parts are glued by such the fragile (read: unreliable) substance, the music never stands on the verge of falling apart.
There's nothing about 'introversion as amusement'. It's not about amusement at all. It's about thinking, it's about looking inward, it's about pulling together the things that you'd never thought to be pulled together.

The best tracks: Come The Summer, 9 to 5, The Map, Heisenberg

вторник, 28 апреля 2015 г.

Pedro Parque "Pedro Parque EP"

Pedro Parque "Pedro Parque EP" (p)2014 La Gramola Netlabel
I came across this short album by occasion a couple of months ago when I was searching through the releases of La Gramola Netlabel. I've downloaded it and returned to it only the last week. There are only four tracks - and that's the worst thing that can be said about "Pedro Parque" because it's undeniably great. Really, it's not worth trying to find the convenient words or any. It's totally. Fucking. Great. The best post-hardcore I've heard since The Jealous Sound's "A Gentle Reminder".


Copiloto "Los Puentes Hundidos"

Copiloto "Los Puentes Hundidos" (p)2015 Grabaciones En El Mar
The fourth full lenght of Zaragozan singer/songwriter Javier Almazan who hides himself under Copiloto moniker is set to release 4 years since his previous effort "El Inicio, El Desencanto Y El Circulo De Confianza" was out. Such the long hiatus usually means a lot of time to think it all over, so there wouldnt't be any surprise if "Los Puentes Hundidos" sounded opposite to his past achievements. Fortunately, if Javier had an intention to start the new life in music with this new record, then apparently he had no plans to erase all his previous career out.
The rocker tracks such as "Crecer Es Matar A Un Nino?" easily resemble the Copiloto's first effort "Defensa Del Artista Que No Existe". In its calmer moments ("Fulminado","No Me Reconozco") the new album sounds comparable to more pop-oriented "El Inicio...". The ghost of Deluxe (mostly of "If Things Were To Go Wrong" era) is floating in the air somewhere behind the right shoulder. The quiet acoustic "Ella Dice" is followed by the stormy "Uno Vs. Mundo Formal" (possibly the loudest track ever recorded by Copiloto - in this moment the ghost of Deluxe takes a step behind being replaced by the vision of the Canadian indie glam superstar Hawksley Workman). The tempo changes like in this particular pair of songs could make you feel like you're on the boat trip rocking on the waves until the synth-based slowburner "El Miedo (II)" marks the end of the journey.
Generally speaking, the sound of "Los Puentes Hundidos" is seemingly less polished, more edgy and psychedelic than on the previous albums - and it's good cos it sounds sincere, and the overall quality of songwriting makes me regret about four-year long absense of any material from this talented and creatively free musician.

The best tracks: Los Puentes Hundidos, Crecer Es Matar A Un Nino?, Uno Vs. El Mundo Formal, Ella Dice

четверг, 23 апреля 2015 г.

Combray "Ullapool"

Combray "Ullapool" (p)2015 Foehn
Another classic Foehn release. Being as intelligent as intimate and as delicate as warm, the new album of Combray may sound like the wordless twin brother of I Am Dive but it works fine without any comparisons. Built upon the ethereal sound effects over the twinkling guitar arpeggios these six tracks of thoughtful instrumental music will lead you wherever you want (not only mentally but geographically as well, as 'Combray' and 'Ullapool' both are the real European locations), and it's hard not to follow.

The best tracks: Boira, Ullapool


четверг, 16 апреля 2015 г.

Destino Pluton "La Importancia Del Contacto Virtual"

Destino Pluton "La Importancia Del Contacto Virtual" (p)2015
This album covers several ages of electronic music - from Depeche Mode's "Construction Time Again" through the melodic trance/techno experiments of Sven Vath along with the post-triphop pop of 2Raumwohnung and finally to the perfectly crafted synth-driven lo-fi electro rock we got here. By all means a pleasurable listening, this album is cooked for us by Sevillan trio Destino Pluton whose members know how to construct the good melody and memorable song from the vintage sounds, synthetized voiceovers and the upbeat rhythm patterns.
One of the most memorable tracks from the album is apparently dedicated to DM songsmith Martin Gore.
The video for "La Importancia Del Contacto Virtual" includes the cameos of [at least] Clara Plath and Roberto Lopez from the Clara Plath band amongst other people whom I hadn't identified yet.

The best tracks: Mr. Gore, Burbuja De Vacio, Obsolescencia Programada


Destino Pluton en Bandcamp


вторник, 14 апреля 2015 г.

Los Rusos Hijos De Puta "La Rabia Que Sentimos Es El Amor Que Nos Quitan"

Los Rusos Hijos De Puta "La Rabia Que Sentimos Es El Amor Que Nos Quitan" (p)2015
How could I miss the band with such the significant name as "The Russian Sons Of A Bitch"? No way!
First I catched them two years ago - just when they released their "Hola" EP supported by the video for the album's most spastic track "Tu Mami" where the frontwoman Luludot Viento convulsed in the sands with her tits naked. The passed years made the positive impact on the band's abilities, and "La Rabia Que Sentimos Es El Amor Que Nos Quitan" is here not only to distress you. If "Hola" was just an invitation then "La Rabia..." is full-fledged tour into the convoluted world of the band. "Going the bad way towards something good" is their motto. It's strange, but somehow it describes correctly all that happens within these 30 minutes of spazz-punk coloured with the bursts of digital noise and occasional male vocals. Like on the previous release, Luludot roars, screams and shrieks like hell but now it seems like everything here has sense. Oddly attractive, this album is not going to be your guilty pleasure but the kind of madness you'd want more.