Τετάρτη 16 Ιανουαρίου 2013

Dusted Reviews: Land Observations - Roman Roads IV-XI



Dusted Reviews

Back in the 1990s, James Brooks was guitarist for Appliance, a fine post-rock band that sadly never got as much attention as they deserved. Mining an updated Krautrock vibe better than most, the album Manual, in particular, was a personal favorite of the time. Following the band’s final release in 2003, Brooks spent his time as a successful visual artist until last year when he reappeared solo under the name Land Observations. Drawing on his interests in geography and architecture, he released the EP Roman Roads I-III, from which this similarly-titled album obviously continues its themes.

From Brooks’s British location, the Roman roads stretch all the way back to the center of the historical Empire, necessary for both conquest and the tenuous connections afterward, from what was a far-flung colony at the time. The album’s initial track, “Before the Kingsland Road,” plays like a brief prelude before we’re taken farther afield on the pastoral “Aurelian Way” and onward.

These instrumental guitar tracks are based on looped, repetitive motifs, establishing pulsing, metronomic rhythms over which the guitar chimes and rings. Simple, yet elegant, Brooks brings a sort of geometric shape to each piece — it’s not too difficult to imagine the construction of each song as a series of intersecting lines on paper, dotted with the ascending or descending notes applied atop the initial loops.

“From Nero’s Palace” rides a tick-tocking set of four notes, like a see-saw, as calmly plucked tones play out over it, while “Via Flaminia” percolates slowly, its rhythm a gentle low-string picking with spacious, reverb-coated notes ringing brightly at an up-and-down angle. The most motorik song, harking back most strongly to the likes of Neu!, is “Appian Way,” which feels like the album’s pivot point.

With only one piece longer than five minutes and none as long as six, Brooks is to be commended for brevity. The songs don’t stick around long enough to wear out their welcome, even though each is constructed on a fairly slim frame. They wouldn’t hold up over a much longer stay, which is perhaps ironic given the project’s theme. It feels like a backhanded compliment to say that the eight songs here are pleasant, but it’s the truth. They fade to the background all too easily, which is a bit of a shame considering the careful work put into the interlocking patterns. “Appian Way” is the only one that raises the energy level above a medium pulse, and it stands out for that reason.

It’s too easy to say that Roman Roads feels overly calculated, but there’s no doubt that a sense of polish hangs over the album, as if the rough edges have been carefully filed down. It would be nice to think that something unexpected might happen, that everything’s not quite in control after all, but that sense of mystery is lacking here. It’s a fine album, but after each listen I find myself wishing a little more had happened, that more of the human behind it all might shine through in unexpected ways.

By Mason Jones

Grant Lazlo - Cotton fields (summertime)

Κυριακή 6 Ιανουαρίου 2013

Grant Lazlo - Claps!!!

Portico Quartet - Portico Quartet

Portico QuartetPortico Quartet - Portico Quartet:
"The Mercury-nominated, young East Londoners' unique brand of hypnotic minimalism has expanded to embrace new sonic territory – drawing on electronica, ambient, classical, and dance music as they takes their strangely beautiful, cinematic future music to new vistas, where the inspiration of Burial, Mount Kimbie, and Flying Lotus rubs shoulders with the textures of Arve Kenriksen and Bon iver and echoes of Steve Reich and Max Richter.



This eponymous, self-produced third album – brilliantly engineered by Greg Freeman at the Fish Market studios and Real World – finds the band expanding their trademark sound of eerie hand, ethereal sax, earthy bass, and drums via a very organic use of electronics.



Bassist Milo continues to contribute a wide range of dynamics, from hugely propulsive bass lines to powerful bowed melodies, layered via a loop pedal to create a keening multi-layered one-man string section. The group have also revolutionized the resonant hang via its sequenced and sampled use. And they can turn it up loud, too – into a cavernous crossroads between haunting electronica and the inner psyche of an as-yet-un-filmed David Lynch movie." - Insound
Average rating: 8.0 - Genre: Jazz
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Chromatics - Night Drive (Deluxe Edition)

Night Drive (Deluxe Edition)"Deluxe expanded edition! The ever-popular Night Drive CD, now expanded to fifteen tracks. The Chromatics (not to be confused with the Seattle group or the Southern country rock ensemble of the same name) have released two singles featuring their brand of new wave disco-punk on the Troubleman Unlimited imprint: Healer/Witness and the limited- edition "Nite" 12" are back but this time on Troubleman's kid brother Italians Do It Better. The lost side of the album is dark and abstract. Opening with the almost funereal "Shining Violence." Where detuned analog synths collide & struggle to hang onto a fading melody. Followed by the sleeper hit, "Circled Sun," and the Vangelis inspired reflection of life's duality in "The Gemini." Looking into a broken mirror, Ruth is more vulnerable than ever with the bare bones bass & vocal of "Bell." "Night Drive" closes with an arpeggiated musical refrain from the beginning of Side One. "Acelerator" reinterprates elements of "Night Drive's" chord progression while leaning heavily on the gear shift. As painted lines in the road begin to strobe, Chromatics propels full speed ahead into an uncertain future. " - Insound
Average rating: 8.2 - Genre: Neo-Disco
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Σάββατο 5 Ιανουαρίου 2013

2012 Year-End Online Music Lists Update - January 5th

2012 Year-End Online Music Lists Update - January 5th:
As "best of 2012" year-end music lists appear online I will aggregate them as I have in past years, updating the master list daily.

If you post or see an online 2012 music list on a blog, newspaper, magazine, or other media site that isn't listed, please feel free to e-mail me the link or leave a comment.

The Master List of 2012 Year-End Online Music Lists

Daily updates to the master list


Revisit the lists for 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, 2000-2009 (best of the decade lists), and 2010, and 2011.



Today's updates to the 2012 Year-End Online Music Lists:

Analog's Anonymous (best albums)

Armchair Musician (top albums)

Blast Beats and Silver Screens (top albums)

Bob Dylan Wrote Propaganda Songs (top albums)

Charlie Griggs the Writer (top mainstream hip-hop albums)

Chill Music Every Day (top albums)

Cine-Mac (best albums)

Galactictides (favourite albums)

Heavy Planet (top albums)

I Witness (favorite albums)

I'm Dan F'n Vanderpool (favorite albums)

Keeping Score (favorite songs)

LSMedia (best albums)

Mostly Junk Food (top songs)

Nerdy Pop (best songs)

Oh No. It's Emily! (top albums)

Only the Tip (top rap albums)

Pullen My Blog (favorite albums)

Rocman Design (best album cover art)

Rox Fontaine (top indie albums)

Sloucher (best albums)

The Soundtrack of My Life (favorite albums)

themusicedition (favorite albums)

We All Want Someone To Shout For (best songs)

WXDU (best albums)



also at Largehearted Boy:

daily updates to the master list

2012 Year-End Online Music Lists

2011 Year-End Online Music Lists

2010 Year-End Online Music Lists

2009 Year-End Online Music Lists

2008 Year-End Online Music Lists

2007 Year-End Online Music Lists

2006 Year-End Online Music Lists

Best of the Decade (2000-2009) Music Lists

Online "Best Books of 2012" Lists

Online "Best Books of 2011" Lists

Online "Best Books of 2010" Lists

Online "Best Books of 2009" Lists

Online "Best Books of 2008" Lists

Best of the Decade (2000-2009) Online Book Lists

other lists at Largehearted Boy

100 Online Sources for Free and Legal Music Downloads

Daily Downloads (free & legal mp3 downloads)

Book Notes (authors create playlists for their book)

Note Books (musicians discuss literature)

musician/author interviews

Nu Jazz

The Internet - Full Performance (Live on KEXP)

The Internet - Full Performance (Live on KEXP):
The Internet performs live in the KEXP studio during Street Sounds. Recorded on November 18, 2012. Songs: They Say Partners in Crime Give It Time Web of Me Host: Larry Mizell Jr. Audio Engineer: Julian Martlew Cameras: Jim Beckmann & Jenna Pool Editing: Luke Knecht kexp.org http
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