CD review - Valleys, Stoner (2010)

Band EPs often show a range of styles. The three songs on the Stoner EP by Valleys are each an amalgam of genres, but together they set a consistent tone. Despite some elements of post punk and indie rock, the main sound is a heady psycho-progressive rock. The clearest comparison would be And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, but that misses the contrasting calm moments that set up the catharsis.

The Cold Cold Skinny starts sparsely, with wind and deadened chimes. The verse comes in as a distant sort of post punk with ethereal vocals, a choppy rhythm drive, and some vague guitar fills. At the chorus, the music turns more progressive with fuzzed guitar riffing. The bridge builds on this prog sound, offering a faster, driving guitar riff and a thoughtful organ mixed underneath. All of this makes the first half of the song. From here, the song blooms into long melodic notes from a heavily compressed guitar and some glitchy underpinnings. It's a sudden relief of the first half's tension. With headphones and a darkened room, the whole effect is quite trippy.

Ordinary Dream (courtesy Pitchfork) sets up an indie pop groove: looped percussion and a pair of guitars with one playing a faster figure while a second entwines at about half the tempo. The vocals are dreamy and sweet. This makes the abrupt descent into overwhelming noise laden prog rock hit like a seizure. This section sounds strongly like Trail of Dead. The moment passes; the song effortlessly slips back into the original indie vibe. Despite the strange juxtaposition, that Tourette's tic of chaotic noise feels integral to the song.

Stoner wraps up with Ten Thousand Hours, which is the most overtly psychedelic of the three songs. Tentative noodling in the beginning backed by modulating swells of sound evoke a distracted, skewed mindset. The song gets underway with a progressive drive and a clear direction, but the quavering swells underneath imply that things aren't quite so simple. That sets up the next section with primal scream vocals and mellow accompaniment. It's sort of a Trail of Dead meets Pink Floyd. The music presents a mix of low fi and clean sounds. Feedbacking guitars are layered in with a clean full band sound (keys, guitar, bass, and drums). The noise grows in the mix. If the Ordinary Dream had a seizure, Ten Thousand Hours has a full breakdown.

Valleys' songs show a rich complexity. I like how they string together a collection of sounds and feels, creating a single mood shifting song. Ground yourself with a couple of shots of espresso and jump on board...

CD review - Kraddy, Labyrinth (2010)

"Led Zeppelin 3000". That's the inspiration that electronic wizard Kraddy used as he put together his new concept EP, Labyrinth. Appropriately, the sound is massive with intense bass. It stands in stark contrast to the milder electronic music I've reviewed in the last couple of weeks.

Kraddy, a founding member of the Glitch Mob, has been a driving force for a classic drum and bass sound. On Labyrinth, the music moves between a straight D&B, picking up an occasional dubstep feel. You can listen on ear buds, but the sub-bass grinds and booming kick drums are best heard out loud, where your body can feel the visceral punch of the sound.

The conceit behind Labyrinth is the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. Kraddy intends each of the songs to fit into this myth. At the same time, he's said that he's using the theme of the labyrinth as a metaphor for personal growth and overcoming fear. The first single, No Comply, seems to map to Theseus deciding to stop the tribute of sacrificing youth to the Minotaur. It's an intense song, starting with a monster drum and bass and heavily distorted vocals. The grinding electronic lines also fuzz out along the edges. It moves beyond the initial plodding rhythm to take on a glitchy pseudo funk groove that's similar his old band's work. There's a nice dubstep drop out in the middle of the song that hangs for a moment before the weight of the groove settles back.

Let Go features a hip hop/toasting vocal along with the electronic groove. It serves as a good anchor point leading into my favorite track. Into the Labyrinth begins quietly, with a feel of impending doom. The tension and the music build with a tip of the hat to Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells. There's a dubstep pause, then the grind begins. The bass is ponderous. The accompanying music takes the earlier threat and turns it into determination. After another pause, the music moves from determination to the stalking of the minotaur. But the threat still lingers in the background.

Labyrinth is a wonderfully trippy, intense bit of electronic groove. Is it Led Zeppelin 3000? Well, it's certainly heavy, whether metal or otherwise. Mikkeller's Beer Geek Breakfast, an imperial stout can handle the beat. Can you?

CD review - Warm Ghost, Claws Overhead (2010)

Take a dreamy, low fi trip to the undersea world of Warm Ghost. The Brooklyn based duo is perfectly named -- the music on the Claws Overhead EP is dreamy, detached, and hard to focus on. It's dream pop with a synth pop spine.

Other electronic bands might create layers of sound, allowing complexity to arise from the interactions. In contrast, Warm Ghost defocuses a world of sonic elements into a fuzzy smear of sound. It's slow motion, underwater music that slips past the rational mind to touch the emotional. Their path is unique: more song focused than Brian Eno, less frantic than Pere Ubu, and not making a statement like U2. Still, the ambient quality, experimentalism, and lush sound evoke each of those acts.

The title cut sets the mood with a skewed take on synth pop. Heavily detuned notes and a looming bass synth work with the stead beat to build tension. The sound is thick and echoed. The vocal is detached. The music feels like the moments just before sleep comes: everything is distant, the edges are going dark, and a vague sense of paralysis.

Resignation Rights starts out like a cross between Julee Cruise (Floating from Twin Peaks) and Tears for Fears. The heavily processed vocals contribute to the thick smear of sound. So much is going on, but it's all jumbled together in a dreamy mix, like a grab bag of subconscious images. A low fi rasp grows throughout the course of the song. Then it continues into the next song, Open the Wormhole in Your Heart. Here, the lead vocal is a bit like Bono, but the wavery distorted notes are worlds away from U2.

Claws Overhead wraps up with the psychedelic So Sick of the Sun. It's a hazy shimmer, a billowing fog. The echoes refuse to decay, creating a Frippertronic wall of sound that is wispy thin as it enfolds the song. An acoustic guitar provides a basic rhythm that emphasizes the hypnotic clouds of echo. A good strong golden ale from Belgium is the right partner for this music.

CD review - Tahiti 80, Solitary Bizness (2010)

French band Tahiti 80 comes from the fuzzy borderlands of electro pop. They have all the standard electronic sounds, but their aesthetic emphasizes a retro pop flavor. The 5 tracks on the Solitary Bizness EP shows off some of their pop explorations. Throughout the album, though, the vocals are clean and breezy and the beats are light and steady.

The title cut lays a sing-song indie pop vocal over an electronic bass line. There's some layering, but nothing extreme. Instead, the focus is on the clear vocals and light touch harmonies. The basic electro pop groove takes on some boop/beep synthesizer sounds, especially in the dreamy instrumental end section.

Crack Up is poppy and bouncy. The heavily syncopated beat is driven with percussion sounds, giving this a cheerful feel, albeit full of nervous energy. It's a bit reminiscent of Devo, but much less ironic. This contrasts with A Night in the City, which has a stripped down verse and shimmery disco pop chorus. The verse features a Leonard Cohen style delivery, setting up a loosely structured story. Eventually the verse and chorus come together in an overlapped ending.

Keys to the City is back to Tahiti 80's core sound. It's got a retro feeling pop vocal that dates back to Bob Welch and backing synthesizers. It's simple, light, and poppy. The ending slides into a stronger synth pop groove.

Finally, Cool Down surprises with an acoustic guitar groove. The simple arrangement of the guitar and bass sets a mood, but it starts unraveling, with glitchy elements and other sounds creeping in. Eventually, it falls into an electronic dub groove. This and the title track were my two favorite cuts on the EP.

Solitary Bizness is a nice little diversion. It's a prelude for Tahiti 80's upcoming album, The Past, the Present & the Possible (due out in February 2011). For now, accent some ginger ale with some fresh ginger and listen along.