CTD Press Update 12/13/2011
Now Available Exclusively/Semi-Exclusively from CTD:
FEATURED:
Jacaszek
“Glimmer”
Ghostly International: gi147
NPR FIRST LISTEN:
“The music of Jacaszek drifts along the fringes of classical, electro-ambient music and experimental jazz — and ultimately transcends them all. There's nothing quite like it r.”
http://www.npr.org/2011/11/27/142705348/first-listen-jacaszek-glimmer?ps=mh_fl
FOXY DIGITALIS - 9/10:
“As astounding as Treny was, Glimmer is equally as brilliant. Jacaszek has truly created another masterpiece.”
http://www.foxydigitalis.com/foxyd/?p=22196#more-22196
IMPOSE:
“...if the track "Dare-gale" is any indication, Glimmer could make a good companion to Hecker's Ravedeath, 1972 that came out earlier this year.”
http://www.imposemagazine.com/bytes/week-in-pop-cormans-crystal-stilts-jacaszek
DUSTED:
“... a largely successful effort...Jacaszek’s wedding of disparate styles pays off in Glimmer‘s evocation of certain moods and expert shifts from mode to mode.”
http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/6834
TINY MIX TAPES:
“Certainly, one of the most blatant and appealing characteristics of Treny was how outwardly emotional it was and how inspired it felt. Therefore, it can only be a positive that Jacaszek appears to have taken a similar approach with Glimmer.”
http://www.tinymixtapes.com/news/jacaszek-release-ominous-new-album-glimmer-naturally-signs-label-ghost-its-name
EXCLAIM:
“Part ambient, part avant-garde, part baroque, this is some intriguing stuff.”
http://exclaim.ca/News/jacaszek_to_glimmer_on_new_lp
RCRD LBL premier of “Dare-Gale”:
“Jacaszek is back and coldly serious as ever on ‘Dare Gale.’ The Polish composer treats airy, abandoned noise with classical hands to make dark ambient music that could easily soundtrack the next time you get trapped in a cave.”
http://rcrdlbl.com/2011/10/17/download_jacaszek_dare_gale
RESIDENT ADVISOR:
“Like much of his past work, including last year's RA Podcast, the LP blends classical music with modern ambient production.”
http://www.residentadvisor.net/news.aspx?id=14989
THE NEEDLE DROP:
“'Dare-gale,' armed with loads of classical timbres, drones ominously in waves of sound that progressively get louder. The concept seems like a simple and uninteresting no-brainer, but the layers and detail here make this track absolutely gorgeous!”
http://theneedledrop.com/2011/10/jacaszek-dare-gale/
CULTURE ADDICT:
“Jacaszek’s latest album, Glimmer, is marked by a noticeable battle between melancholy and beauty, like it’s hovering in some gaseous grey area between both.”
http://cultureaddicts.com/tag/ghostly-international/
BOOKMAT:
“...his most satisfying transmission yet...one of the most satisfying, accomplished examples of its genre...Astonishingly beautiful.”
http://boomkat.com/cds/469043-jacaszek-glimmer
GOOGLE MUSIC - STAFF PICKS:
“The tone of it, wordless from beginning to end, is at once uplifting and downcast—music suited for those looking either to dive in or drift off.”
https://market.android.com/details?id=music_featured
IBIZA VOICE - INTERVIEW WITH JACASZEK:
“Clearly, the album marks music’s evolution in the first decade of the 21st century.The Polish musician joins the ranks of artists such as Francesco Tristano, Brandt Bauer Frick Ensemble and Arandel who have crossed from conservatories filled with wood wind, strings and percussion to computer programmes and machines presents new album.”
http://www.ibiza-voice.com/story/news/3629
ALARM MAGAZINE:
“The album's inconspicuous complexity and professional performances make it a gem among ambient releases.”
http://alarmpress.com/40842/blog/columns/morrow-vs-hajduch-jacaszeks-glimmer/
EXCLAIM!:
“...without a doubt some of his best work and one of the most beautiful albums of the year....”
http://exclaim.ca/Reviews/DanceAndElectronic/jacaszek-glimmer
BBC:
“Glimmer is an immediately immersive work.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/fj8r
FLUID RADIO:
“…masterpiece…Jacaszek and those composers who are refurbishing modern classical for the new century have stumbled upon the sprung rhythms around us, and an entirely undiscovered art form is coming into view.”
http://www.fluid-radio.co.uk/2011/12/jacaszek-glimmer/
IMPOSE - WEEK IN POP:
“…Jacaszek too creates music for the spaces we can not describe through the delicate teasing of classical instrumentation and the mystic aura from the sound of running air.”
http://www.imposemagazine.com/bytes/week-in-pop-the-bago-bleached-illls
SILENT BALLET - ARTIST OF THE WEEK & 8/10:
“...a work of stellar flow and haunting resonance...Glimmer is the ore that the prospector overlooked, the book that the librarian misshelved, the dying sentence spoken after the family had left the room: a modern artifact, encased in clay and left to deteriorate in a way that only adds to its glamour.”
http://www.thesilentballet.com/dnn/Home/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/384/ItemID/4538/Default.aspx
UPCOMING SOON:
V/A
"We Are The Works In Progress"
Asa Wa Kuru: awk001
PITCHFORK:
“Blonde Redhead have put together the compilation We are the Works in Progress to benefit Japan in the country's ongoing recovery from the March tsunami and its aftermath. The release is curated by frontwoman Kazu Makino, who was born in Kyoto, Japan, and is out January 10. It's the premiere release on the band's new imprint Asa Wa Kuru, which is Japanese for 'Morning Will Come.' The comp includes exclusive tracks from Deerhunter, Karin Andersson of the Knife/Fever Ray, Four Tet, John Maus, Pantha du Prince, and more. It also includes contributions from Interpol, Broadcast, Terry Riley, Liars, David Sylvian/Ryuichi Sakamoto, and more.”
http://www.pitchfork.com/news/44771-deerhunter-fever-ray-interpol-four-tet-on-blonde-redhead-japan-benefit-comp/
Whistle Peak
"Half Asleep Upon Echo Falls"
Karate Body: kbr017
WE LISTEN FOR YOU:
“Louisville's Whistle Peak have a crafted a song in 'Wings Won't Behave' that I like to image would be the music Tears For Fears could be making today if they were still around. The song opens with a cheery melody filled with strummed strings and wandering percussion that floats around throughout the track.”
http://welistenforyou.blogspot.com/2011/12/track-of-day-whistle-peak-wings-wont.html
Mux Mool
"Planet High School"
Ghostly International: gi149
PITCHFORK Forkcast of "Palace Chalice":
“In February of 2012, Ghostly will release Planet High School, the new album from playful beatmaker Mux Mool. The record is Mool's proper follow-up to 2010's solid Skulltaste.”
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/12618-palace-chalice/
XLR8R premier of "Palace Chalice":
“Brooklyn producer Mux Mool (a.k.a. Brian Lindgren) is offering a free download, the first real sampling of his upcoming album, Planet High School, which is slated for release on February 7, 2012 via Midwestern stalwart Ghostly. ‘Palace Chalice’ is a glimmering cut of electro-tinged instrumental hip-hop that pairs a relaxed, old-school vibe with lurching bass tones and summery synth melodies.”
http://www.xlr8r.com/mp3/2011/10/palace-chalice
RESIDENT ADVISOR premier of "Palace Chalice":
“The Minneapolis-based artist has been putting out records for the past few years, pushing a sound that's equal parts hip-hop and IDM. Based on the first single, ‘Palace Chalace’ (which you can stream over at Pitchfork), his new album seems to follow suit, though this time it's partly inspired by Mux Mool's response to the economic situation, a theme that's loosely reflected in the title.”
http://www.residentadvisor.net/news.aspx?id=15097
YES YES YALL:
“He explains the concept behind his new album, Planet High School, this way: 'Today, young Americans have very little to look forward to except endless war, endless debt, no Social Security, and [the fact that] none of us can live without the constant fear of poverty. We don’t need to have big houses and cars and a nest egg to get along. There’s nothing that says you can’t rent an apartment your whole life and not be happy.’”
http://yesyesyall.org/blog/mux_mool_palace_chalice/
NOISE VERSE NOISE premier of "Palace Chalice":
“I know that I am a couple weeks on this track, but holy cow its good. Mux Mool's 'Palace Chalice' is the sort of bass-beat tune that I love. Its got hip-hop, its got dustty groove, and its got a great break down in the middle. This is the sort of thing that I wish Flying Lotus would make more of again.”
http://noiseversenoise.blogspot.com/2011/10/mux-mool.html
PHUTURE LABS premier of "Palace Chalice":
“The US broken beat hip hop and electronica producer has always been generous with his tracks thanks to his relationship with Ghostly. The chat is that the track 'Palace Chalice' is a precursor to his new album due out in February 2012. Get that in the diary.”
http://www.phuturelabs.com/word/chatter/saturday-snacks-29/
POTHOLES IN MY BLOG:
“Mux Mool’s debut album Skulltaste came out just about a year ago, and I don’t think it quite got the exposure or acclaim that it deserved. The Brooklyn beat conductor pulled together a wide range of influences and somehow packaged it into a cohesive head-nodding album. With a few songs here and there over the past few months, plus joining Star Slinger at the start of his first US tour, it’s time to prepare for the release of his new album Planet High School. The first single 'Palace Chalice' is that hip-hop/electronic vibes that we’re used to from Mux Mool, and it’s got my interest piqued for the album’s release in early 2012.”
http://potholesinmyblog.com/mux-mool-palace-chalice/
SOME KIND OF AWESOME! premier of "Palace Chalice":
“Mux Mool’s debut album Skulltaste came out just about a year ago, and I don’t think it quite got the exposure or acclaim that it deserved. The Brooklyn beat conductor pulled together a wide range of influences and somehow packaged it into a cohesive head-nodding album. With a few songs here and there over the past few months, plus joining Star Slinger at the start of his first US tour, it’s time to prepare for the release of his new album Planet High School. The first single 'Palace Chalice' is that hip-hop/electronic vibes that we’re used to from Mux Mool, and it’s got my interest piqued for the album’s release in early 2012.”
http://www.somekindofawesome.com/journal/2011/10/18/download-mux-mool-palace-chalice.html
AUDIOPLEASURES premier of "Palace Chalice":
“First taste from Mux Mool upcoming album Planet High School on Ghostly International, Minneapolis Brian Lindgren warm bass lines and abstract beats are always welcome since last year's debut Skulltaste that landed of my favorite electronic albums in 2010 and for sure will please any Fly Lo fans.”
http://audiopleasures.blogspot.com/2011/11/mux-mool-palace-chalice.html
EXCLAIM:
“The new record is called Planet High School, and while the name suggests a Ramones-in-space vibe, a press release explains that the album is still a collection of instrumental hip-hop. Still, "it certainly sounds different than Skulltaste...it's funkier, more confident, and more comfortable. It sounds less like someone trying to prove a point by arguing and more like someone trying to prove a point by just being who they are. It's leading by example, sonically speaking.”
http://exclaim.ca/News/mux_mool_returns_with_new_album
DEATH & TAXES premier of "Palace Chalice":
“The track locks into a groove with deep, rumbling bass. It almost has a West Coast, stoned sound combined with electro flourishes.”
http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/152015/download-mux-mool-palace-chalice/
Lindstrøm
"Six Cups Of Rebel"
Smalltown Supersound: sts221
ALT SOUNDS:
“He may worship at the temple of godlike European DJs from the 80s like Daniele Baldelli and Beppe Loda, but the relentless, occasionally monumental scale of Six Cups Of Rebel has the power to move mountains all by itself.”
http://hangout.altsounds.com/news/139108-lindstorm-announces-release-cups-rebel.html
PITCHFORK Best New Track “De Javu”:
“The whole thing has a pop audaciousness that recalls ZTT Records in their 1980s prime, and as ‘De Javu’ is brought to an abrupt halt after so much building up and coming down, you’re left wanting to hear what follows all this ecstasy on the album proper. That’s the great thing about this guy: whatever he’s doing, you never want it to end.”
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/reviews/tracks/12743-de-javu/
STEREOGUM premier of “De Javu”:
“The album marks the first time Lindstrøm has added his own vocals to his mix. Below, download an album track called 'De Javu,' a skittery seven-minute funk workout with some breathless and incomprehensible singing from the man.”
http://stereogum.com/872632/lindstrøm-de-javu/mp3s/
XLR8R premier of "De Javu":
“‘De Javu’ is the first offering to shake loose from the record, and it's an especially funky selection, one that combines a thick disco groove with a decidedly '80s funk-pop fen.”
http://www.xlr8r.com/mp3/2011/11/de-javu
BETTER PROPAGANDA premier of "De Javu":
“Norwegian dance producer Lindstrøm, is set to unveil a new solo album. Six Cups Of Rebel is the first full length to come out under his own name in three years.”
http://betterpropaganda.com/content.aspx?id=1781
FILTER premier of "De Javu":
“‘De Javu’ showcases what the Norwegian artist does best, creating dance jams that cause a ruckus.”
http://filtermagazine.com/index.php/media/entry/mp3_lindstrm_suffers_de_javu/
RESIDENT ADVISOR:
“...it seems to show him trading the spaced out cosmic disco vibe for something a bit more dirty and raucous. It's also his first record to feature his own vocals.”
http://www.residentadvisor.net/news.aspx?id=15208
STEREOGUM premier of “De Javu”:
“The album marks the first time Lindstrøm has added his own vocals to his mix. Below, download an album track called 'De Javu,' a skittery seven-minute funk workout with some breathless and incomprehensible singing from the man.”
http://stereogum.com/872632/lindstrøm-de-javu/mp3s/
STILL FRESH & OUT NOW!
Baird, Meg
"Seasons On Earth"
Drag City: dc470
NO DEPRESSION 2011 ARTIST OF THE YEAR:
“Seasons on Earth was released last September and I believe that Meg is in the UK now touring and promoting it. I know it's received incredible reviews and is popping up on other end of the year lists besides mine. The instrumentation is beautifully done, with her amazing finger-picking augmented by harp, pedal steel and tastes of electric guitar. It's the type of album that can defy typecasting...folk but not quite, alt. country but not really...and one that might easily get lost in the endless release stream of indie artists these days. Which would be a tragedy.”
http://www.nodepression.com/profiles/blogs/the-thing-about-meg-baird
Touch People
"Show Me Your Dimensions / Sound Expression"
Illegal Art: ill126, ill127
POP MATTERS:
“...impossibly fascinating and genius in its ability to blend the fragile frigidity of the digital world with the warmth and wit of the human body and the human mind. These two records are two music-have releases that will no doubt take their rightful places as classic recordings from an artist who is wise, unpredictable, and always inventive.”
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/151546-touch-people-show-me-your-dimensions-and-sound-expression/
Stone Breath / Mike Reed with Language of Light
"The Aetheric Lamp"
Hand Eye: h/e049, h/e050
PTOLEMAIC TERRASCOPE:
“Over two sides, this release oozes quality, creating a damn near perfect slab of vinyl, highly recommended..”
http://www.terrascope.co.uk/Reviews/Reviews_December_11.htm#StoneBseed
PSYCHEDELIC FOLK:
“The music very much is like a devotional chant for a world, which is in an apocalypse-like state of degrading, while concentrating on spiritual levels during the lamenting of its decay. Of course we have again the instruments with beautiful droning strings (comparable to a sitar), mixed with the already mentioned guitar pickings or banjo hypnotic repetitions occasionally with Timothy’s low voice accompanied by a second female voice. There are also present those sad flute improvisations to the music, some harmonium droning, and slow conga percussion. A very enjoyable release suited for repeated listening.”
http://www.psychedelicfolk.com/StoneBreath.html#anchor_175
AFRICAN PAPER:
“The long ‘The Sky's Red Tongue’ builds on the previous piece, is highly dramatic, and as a listener you feel in one of John Martin's paintings offset: break it on big days of anger, longing to which the ‘wings lots after wings and the winged after wind...’”.
http://africanpaper.com/2011/12/03/stone-breathmike-seed-with-the-language-of-light-the-aetheric-lamp/
VITAL WEEKLY:
“A trio here of Brooke Elizabeth on vocals, Don Belch on 6 and 12 string guitars and drones and one timeMotheye on banjo, moon guitar, whistles, wood flute, dumbek, stick dulcimer. A deep voice, tinkling of guitars, a bit folk like, but also a bit ethnic - maybe I am also reminded of some of the work by Dead Can Dance, come to think of it, but never too clean and with a certain wicked edge. One very short and two quite long pieces - epic I guess, in a sort of Mediaeval sense…Mike Seed's voice sounds tormented and the pieces almost like murder ballads. Much more radical, less musical, free form etc this side leaves a mighty impression on me.”
http://www.vitalweekly.net/806.html
the Jesus Lizard
“Club”
Chunklet: chklp008
CHUNKLET:
“Chunklet will release the soundtrack to The Jesus Lizard: Club, a DVD document of their first U.S. show in over 10 years, which took place in 2009 show at the Exit/In in Nashville.”
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/news/43871-scratch-acid-announces-reunion-tour-the-jesus-lizard-announces-live-lp/
CHUNKLET:
“'It may have been the only reunion show I've ever seen where I forgot almost immediately that the band hadn't played together in more than a decade' - Sasha Frere-Jones, The New Yorker.”
http://www.chunklet.com/index.cfm?section=blogs&ID=704&mode=comments#comments
Part Chimp/Torche
“Split Tour EP”
Chunklet: chklp009
CHUNKLET:
“Part Chimp turn in two scorchers, ‘Dr. Horse’ and ‘The Watcher’ while Torche send a love letter to the boys from Dayton and cover three Guided By Voices songs (‘Exit Flagger’, ‘Unleashed! The Large Hearted Boy’ and ‘Postal Blowfish’).”
http://www.chunklet.com/
Howling Hex
“Wilson Semiconductors”
Drag City: dc501
THE AGIT READER:
“This is a headphone album, one that needs to develop over time and will definitely keep revealing hidden gems of advice for ages.”
http://agitreader.com/reviews/album_reviews-12.06.11.html#the_howling_hex-wilson_semiconductors
Dwarr
“Starting Over”
Drag City: dc496
THE AGIT READER interview with Duane Warr:
“Though they were inspired by black-lit ’70s dinosaurs like Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, the homespun fidelity and maniacal attention to infusing prog and theatrical excess give the sense that Dwarr was searching far and wide for something that hadn’t been done yet. Dwarr pre-dates the sludgy ooze of the Melvins, the rebirth of operatic doom, and has even been dubbed hypnagogic metal as its lumbering cretin-psych brings about an extremely warped dirt-weed high of nostalgia.”
http://agitreader.com/features/dwarr-11.14.html
Tycho
“Dive”
Ghostly International: gi145
PITCHFORK 7.0!!:
“His attention to detail goes beyond highlighting individual instruments. It's there in the way Hansen simply builds a song, merging all the synth wooshes and percussive ripples to find a natural arc. ‘Daydream’, for example, starts out fairly simple with twinkly guitars and a sturdy, knocking beat, but the song's pulse quickens as it progresses, and by the end you've got something heady enough to live up to its title. Because Hansen clearly wants this to be a deep headphone experience, those subtle shifts go a long way in holding your interest.”
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16071-dive/
WIRED Feature on Tycho:
“When making his latest album, Dive, which came out last week on Ghostly International, Hansen fell in love with the Minimoog and ended up using it to create many of the sounds on the record. He also used string synths to get the ambient, atmospheric vibes he was looking for.”
http://www.wired.com/underwire/2011/11/tycho-synthesizers/
PREFIX MAGAZINE Album Stream:
“You can find the work San Francisco-based artist Scott Hansen under two different names, ISO50 and Tycho. Here, he's embracing the latter on Dive, his excellent, shimmering sophomore album under the guise of Tycho.”
http://www.prefixmag.com/news/stream-new-albums-from-david-lynch-beach-boys-dece/58040/
XLR8R Interview with Tycho:
“From the propulsive drift of dreamy lead single ‘Hours,’ to the seaside-conjuring atmospheres of ‘Coastal Brake,’ to "Adrift’’s six minutes of understated melodic anthems and woozy bounce, Dive is an immersive record right down to the psychedelic album artwork.”
http://www.xlr8r.com/features/2011/10/tycho-scott-hansen-takes-his-aud
SPIN: Dive Album Stream:
“Tycho is Scott Hansen, a San Francisco producer who's gearing up to release Dive, his excellent new full-length under that pseudonym, on November 16 via Ghostly International. It's an elliptical, sun-shot slab of electro-pop that came to be during a break from Hansen's other gig as well-known designer and blogger, ISO50. Note how many of the bright tones that permeate his visual work are also at play here.”
http://www.spin.com/articles/first-spin-hear-tychos-effervescent-dive-lp
SPIN 6/10:
“Peaking with its eight-minute title track, Dive is a pretty and sturdily crafted collection of techno maybe-memories -- hypnagogic pop for a very discerning Ikea shopper.”
http://www.spin.com/reviews/tycho-dive-ghostly-international
PITCHFORK review of "Hours":
“While his world-of-tomorrow arrangements justify the boast, there's still something familiarly melancholic in those synths that could evoke someone's past, as the shimmer and echoes invite listeners to attach their own memories to the song's self-contained universe.”
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/12279-hours/
ONE THIRTY BPM:
“There’s a warmth and vibrance to Dive that is unrivaled, but more importantly, and why this is album is undeniably important, is its ability to tell a story without words. Say what you will about Tycho, maybe you’re not a fan or maybe you’ve never even heard of him, but Dive is one of those transcendental records that should appeal to anybody with a rooting interest in independent music.”
http://onethirtybpm.com/reviews/album-review-tycho-dive/
DAILY TEXAN:
“Dive, his latest album, is by far his best, both in terms of quality and reception. The ambient electronica instrumentals manipulated by a guitar give the listener the closest feeling they will ever have to lounging around on an intergalactic space beach.”
http://www.dailytexanonline.com/node/8250
ALL THINGS GO premier of "Hours":
“The song immediately brings me to the beach just in time to watch the sun fall below the horizon. While the track could be categorized as ambient, the up-tempo beat gives it a steady dance groove perfect for some late-night head-nodding. 'Hours' comes from Hansen’s new LP, Dive, set to drop November 15 on Ghostly International, and if it’s any indication of what’s to come, this is a can’t-miss release.”
http://allthingsgomusic.com/tycho-hours
DEATH AND TAXES:
“Tycho achieves something totally new in his aesthetic—something that could have been extended…Perhaps he’ll expand on that flickering moment on future singles and the next LP, but he certainly deserves to be proud of Dive.”
http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/156675/review-tycho-dive/
ALL MUSIC POP LIST:
“The relaxed tempos, achingly pretty synthscapes, and sweet as punch melodies conjure up fuzzy, sun-saturated images of hazy summer days and cool neon evenings. Put him firmly in the Boards of Canada and Plone school of electronics, in other words.”
http://blog.allmusic.com/2011/11/03/the-poplist-with-tycho/
MAGNETIC:
“Says Tycho 'I always have visuals, but it was a crutch…The goal is to have moments when you get lost in the visuals and then bounce back and forth to the people playing instruments'.”
http://magneticmag.com/2011/10/tycho—a-balancing-act-between-sound-and-vision/
HUFFINGTON POST:
“San Francisco's Tycho makes rich sonic soundscapes that always calm me down when I'm stuck in bumper to bumper on the 405 at 5pm on a Friday and all I want to do is get home to my kung pao chicken leftovers from the night before. Quite a feat.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/30/los-angeles-live-music-za_n_941965.html#s344367&title=Tuesday_August_30
CHINASHOP MAGAZINE: End of Summer MixTape featuring "Quiet Place":
“This song seems to be about transition; something is leaving us and on the horizon is the unknown, but we can only sit in acceptance and ponder the space between. The lyric, ‘A quiet place and nature’s way, A season comes and whispers life’ is about as fitting as you’ll find, and while I prefer the warmth of summer to the grey of winter, there is a beauty in the quiet place that separates them.”
http://www.chinashopmag.com/2011/09/the-chinashop-end-of-summer-mixtape/
THE INDEPENDENT:
“Electronic artist Tycho just shared the first track, 'Hours,' from his upcoming LP, Dive, set to drop internationally November 14/15. The new track features a cascade of delightfully lazy, modulated melody and halcyon textures that have come to define Scott Hansen's aural project.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/most-blogged-artists-swedish-pop-duo-air-france-releases-new-track-2333911.html
WHOA MAGAZINE:
“As seamless as his two creative outlets have been, nearly a decade passed before the release of Hansen’s first proper Tycho LP, Sunrise Projector (originally released in 2004 on Gammaphone Records, later expanded and reissued under the title Past Is Prologue on Merck Records, and ultimately reissued again by Ghostly). And while three striking singles have emerged since then, the sum of all those sepia-toned parts is nowhere near the double-exposed soundscapes of his new, forthcoming album Dive.”
http://whoamagazineonline.com/2011/08/08/tycho-announces-dive-lp-out-1115-on-ghostly-international-2/
UNDER THE RADAR:
“The track puts out a nice analog warmth that recalls Boards of Canada's soundscapes.”
http://www.undertheradarmag.com/media/hours_mp3/
EAST BAY EXPRESS:
“Producer Scott Hansen — aka Tycho — could almost fit into the ‘glo-fi’ microtrend, since he has all the required attributes: warm, bubbly, laptop melodies; dinky programmed drumbeats; songs that loop on and on. By contemporary standards, though, he's sophisticated.”
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/ebx/local-licks/Content?oid=3012907
XLR8R premier of “Hours”:
“The song is just plain pretty, yet smartly avoids twee territory with its thick bassline and organic drum sounds. More like this one please.”
http://www.xlr8r.com/mp3/2011/08/hours
ALT SOUNDS:
“Dive pays tribute to Tycho’s prismatic past, but spends most of its time pointing to the project’s not-so-distant future. That can mean any number of things, really, from the halcyon hooks and hopeful horizons of ‘A Walk’ to the expansive, wildly expressive tone poetry of the title track, an eight-minute epic that unfolds like a compressed concept album.”
http://hangout.altsounds.com/news/136050-tycho-announces-fall-tour-dragon-dive-11-a.html
PREFIX MAGAZINE:
“Hansen says he tries to make music that's an artifact from a ‘retro-future, like what people in the '70s thought 2020 was going to look like.’ That cinematic and highly visual style comes through on Tycho's first full-length record for the Ghostly International label, Dive, which will be released in November.”
http://www.prefixmag.com/features/tycho/tycho-on-music-and-design-nostalgia-and-building-c/56797/
THE STRANGER:
“his beats will put you straight into one of those indescribable music moods—alert-yet-spacey, awake-but-dreamy, reaching a higher plane of existence.”
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/the-strangers-2011-bumbershoot-guide/Content?oid=9744076
EXCLAIM:
“With Tycho's upcoming new album Dive set to drop on November 15 via Ghostly International, we have high hopes for Scott Hansen's electronic project this year. Along with the new release, he's now got us all excited about a tour as well.”
http://exclaim.ca/News/tycho_to_take_dive_on_north_american_tour
SSG MUSIC DECIBEL 2011 FEST PREVIEW:
“Tycho mesmerizes listeners with warm, nostalgic synths, engaging beats, and occasional guitar riffs. Appropriately, Tycho performed for Decibel’s Optical series last year as well. This time, he’ll be previewing songs from his upcoming LP, Dive, along with beautiful visual projections.”
http://www.ssgmusic.com/decibel-2011-preview-tycho-simon-scott-and-mountains/
PERFECT MIDNIGHT WORLD premier of "Costal Brake":
“'Coastal Brake' is a great jam to kick off the weekend. The track has been floating around blogs for a while, but it’s featured on the new Tycho album coming out in November on Ghostly International. It’s a gorgeous, glimmering dream of a track that feels like the sun going down as you blast north on the PCH.”
http://perfectmidnightworld.tumblr.com/post/10861022635/coastal-brake-by-tycho-dive-2011-coastal
NITE VERSIONS premier of "Hours":
“Tycho returns with another great single, and even better – a new album. 'Hours' is the second track (out of 10) listed on his upcoming Dive LP, expected on November 15.”
http://niteversions.com/audio/tycho-hours/
SACRAMENTO NEWS & REVIEW:
“...his new single, “Hours,” a nearly six-minute, surfer-wax bumper that doesn’t belie Tycho’s trademark synths-and-keys atmospherics and penchant for more modestly uptempo and tripper-friendly jams.”
http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/bum-rush/content?oid=3172683
INDIE SHUFFLE premier of "Hours":
“Ahh, Tycho. You’ve done it again. You’ve created a dreamy soundscape of soothing, ambient beats that lull the listener into a surreal alternate reality, where everything sounds softer and more subdued.”
http://www.indieshuffle.com/tycho-hours/
ELEMENTAL THEORY:
“Dive establishes its position as the most diverse musical statement of Hansen’s multi-medium career; the point where his skills as a performer finally catch up with his vaporized vision of a world that doesn’t belong to any particular time or place.”
https://elementaltheory.wordpress.com/2011/08/03/tycho-hours/
BOWLEGS:
“If ever a 400ft high Casio RZ-1 were to rise out of the waters off the coast of San Francisco, like an electronic kraken intent on spewing synthetic beats from its innards to sooth the people of the city at sunset, then Scott Hansen would be the man to soundtrack that moment. Otherwise known as Tycho, Hansen produces dreamy, electro beat, chillers.”
http://www.bowlegsmusic.com/2011/08/tycho-track/
KEXP BLOG:
“Ghostly International’s Tycho turned out to be one of my favorites of the festival. His music was warm, upbeat, more structured than the previous artists on the bill and involved visual themes of surfing, knee-boarding and winter landscapes. For me, it was a set full of nostalgia for sun-drenched beaches, reminiscent of Delorean or a warmer Boards of Canada, warm flashed of yellow and read synchronized with the downbeat. It set the stage perfectly for a night of harder electronic music that followed.”
http://blog.kexp.org/blog/2011/10/07/decibel-festival-2011-optical-showcases-nordstrom-recital-hall/
PORTLAND MERCURY:
“...the beautiful single ‘Hours’ invokes a vague and endless shoreline on a timeless beach somewhere in a contented recollection of the most meaningful September of your life. Each and every track on Dive carries a similar emotional weight.”
http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/tycho/Event?oid=4601316
THE STRAIGHT:
“We’re praying for another hot day before August is done. Partly so we can crank this hazy slice of heat-shimmer electro in an appropriate climate, but mostly because we fucking refuse to believe that summer is over so soon.”
http://www.straight.com/article-420076/vancouver/instant-playlist-august-11-2011
200 Years
“S/T”
Drag City: dc467
PITCHFORK 7.7:
“The most impressive aspect of 200 Years, especially considering it as the debut of a new collaboration, is its overall aura of cool confidence. Chasny and Ambrogio are clearly two talented musicians with a wide variety of tools at their disposal, yet to their credit they don't feel the need to try and show every trick at once. Instead they show an innate sense of trust in one another and in this resonant collection of songs, secure in the knowledge that this should be plenty.”
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16018-200-years-200-years/
SSG MUSIC: 8/10:
“200 Years is meditative, yet cunning. The album’s ten tracks fall like dominoes, each rolling into the next with quick strikes. Before you notice, the ride is over just as it was beginning. It sticks under your thumb, gnawing away at your flesh until the next listen. And there will be many, many listens—either out of shock to Ambrogio’s ‘soft’ side or simply because 200 Years is that affecting.”
http://www.ssgmusic.com/november-in-review/
Kieran Hebden/Steve Reid/Mats Gustafsson
“Live At The South Bank”
Smalltown Superjazzz: stsj211
HOUR COMMUNITY:
“File this one under a meeting of the masters. Together in this live setting, the trio breathe fire into Hebden and Reid’s sci-fi funk and punk experiments – a wash of gear manipulations and processed sounds, tidal waves of grooves and percussions and hell-bent reed madness.”
http://hour.ca/2011/12/01/kieran-hebdensteve-reidmats-gustafsson-live-at-the-south-bank/
AMERICAN MAG:
“Another album worth its weight in replay value is the astonishing live recording from Four Tet's Kieran Hebden, Swedish saxophone veteran Mats Gustafsson, and long-time drummer Steve Reid on Live at the South Bank (Smalltown Supersound). This is the best thing they've ever released.”
http://www.theamericanmag.com/article.php?article=3040
JAZZ AND BLUES:
“This is a truly inspired performance, with the band performing six long improvisations, featuring Hebden’s bubbling and zooming electronics and sampling and Reid’s ever changing rhythms, which shift like dunes of sand in the desert wind.”
http://jazzandblues.blogspot.com/2011/11/steve-reid-kieran-hebden-and-mats.html
ALT SOUNDS:
“This is so far beyond jazz that the term becomes useless: instead, it’s a liberating, occasionally anarchic group sound that evolves as organically as a frank, spirited conversation.”
http://hangout.altsounds.com/news/139426-kieran-hebden-steve-reid-mats-gustafssons-live.html
BBC:
“The trio are adept at maintaining their building-and-building motion, sustaining a climax over the distance.”
http://www.smalltownsupersound.com/2011/11/20/kieran-hebdensteve-reidmats-gustafsson-bbc-review/
GUARDIAN:
“This is crossover free-jazz of a rare power.'”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/nov/24/hebden-reid-gustafsson-cd-review
PITCHFORK 8.0!!:
“On South Bank -- the most vital and essential document of Reid and Hebden's five-year partnership-- it feels clear that, at least onstage, they were finally able to go the distance. The invocation ‘Morning Prayer’ opens slowly, circling in space with a meditative calm. For 17 minutes, the pair traces lines around the other's rhythm, Hebden's electronics and keys shaping a cradle for Reid's busy tom-and-cymbal patter, and vice versa.”
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16063-live-at-the-south-bank/
SOUND COLOUR VIBRATION:
“The order at which they chose to perform these tunes shows a deep mastery of conveying a message through the constraints of abstract instrumental music. From start to finish, this album plays like a day of life, from 'Morning Prayer' to 'The Sun Never Sets'. The message is timeless: in the eternal present, one is always alive - there is no death among the living.”
http://soundcolourvibration.com/2011/11/03/reid-hebden-and-gustafsson-live-at-south-bank/
PITCHFORK Forkcast of "Lyman Park":
“On June 20, 2009, Kieran Hebden (aka Four Tet), late jazz drummer Steve Reid, and Swedish saxophonist Mats Gustafsson performed in the foyer of the Queen Elizabeth Hall at London's Southbank Centre as part of that year's Ornette Coleman-curated Meltdown Festival. That performance was recorded, and on November 15 Smalltown Superjazz will release a recording of the performance, Live at the South Bank. "Lyman Place" is taken from that release.”
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/12727-lyman-park/
ALL MUSIC:
“Given that this is likely the final entry in Reid's catalog, it is a very fitting one: it showcases his astonishing skills as soloist and ensemble player; it also delightfully illustrates deeper and wider aspects in both Hebden's and Gustafsson's musical personas.”
http://www.allmusic.com/album/live-at-the-south-bank-r2303854/review
RESIDENT ADVISOR:
“'Steve (Reid) is the greatest musician I have ever encountered,' Hebden once said. 'Not only was he the best player I've worked with but he was into music like no one else I know... Knowing someone be that into it was truly inspiring.'”
http://www.residentadvisor.net/news.aspx?id=15117
EXCLAIM:
“After playing with the likes of Miles Davis, Fela Kuti and Ornette Coleman, jazz drummer Steve Reid linked up with Kieran Hebden (aka Four Tet) for a number of projects before passing away last year. Now a new live disc believed to be the final authorized recording of Reid is primed to demonstrate the bond between the pair.”
http://exclaim.ca/News/kieran_hebden_steve_reids_final_concert_issued_as_life_at_south_bank
XLR8R:
“Recorded in 2009 and evocative of the four LPs the pair recorded before Reid's death last year, the set approaches a kind of electronic free jazz, with Reid's complex live percussion providing the bedrock for Hebden's electronic experimentations and Gustaffson's powerful sax work.”
http://www.xlr8r.com/news/2011/09/smalltown-superjazz-release-live
STEREOPHILE:
“Live at the South Bank is a double CD documenting a performance held on June 20th, 2009, in the foyer of Queen Elizabeth Hall at London’s Southbank Centre, part of the Meltdown Festival curated by Ornette Coleman. Kieren Hebden on laptops and electronics; Steve Reid on drums and percussion; Mats Gustaffson on saxophone. I’ll have to have this record, too. Why should I deny myself such beautiful pleasures?.”
http://www.stereophile.com/content/looking-forward-kieran-hebden-steve-reid-and-mats-gustaffson’s-ilive-south-banki
TINY MIX TAPES:
“It would be fair, then, to consider this fifth and final recording between the two to be a tribute to Reid, and what ended up being a providential confluence of two innovative musical figures.”
http://www.tinymixtapes.com/news/kieran-hebden-and-steve-reids-final-concert-gets-november-release-give-thanks
FACT:
“What’s happening here is a special relationship, like Miles and Coltrane, or Dizzy and Bird,” said the jazz drummer and percussionist of his work with Hebden (aka Four Tet)….”
http://www.factmag.com/2011/09/09/kieran-hebden-and-steve-reids-final-concert-receives-release/
PITCHFORK New Release Announcement with video:
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/news/43942-new-release-kieran-hebden-steve-reid-mats-gustafsson-live-at-the-south-bank/
Silver Tongues
“Black Kite”
Karate Body: kbr016
WAKING UP TO:
“this debut from Silver Tongues shows skyward ambition, opening with a prayerful exhortation and closing with an angelic vision.”
http://wakingupto.wordpress.com/2011/10/28/372-silver-tongues-ketchup/
THE 405:
“Incorporating some of the soulful melancholy that originates from their Kentucky home, Black Kite glides opaquely from beginning to end.”
http://thefourohfive.com/news/article/cloud-corner-19th-november-2011
DUSTED:
“Cronin’s voice is, by the way, one of the main draws here. Cool and unruffled, without much vibrato, it carries easily, the kind that seems to dominate without much strain. You never hear a real break in it, even at the highest registers. And yet there’s an untouchability to it, perhaps coming from the way Cronin surrounds his sound with echo. Even the earthiest songs, blues-vamping ‘Wet Dog’ for instance, have a remote quality, their warmth seeming to come from a long way away.”
http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/6731
SLOUCHER:
“It’s a spiritual encounter of more than 30 minutes, offering vocals with trails of prayers, nostalgia, gospel structures and a smooth integration of music elements. Music that gives wings to your soul, that’s how Silver Tongues sounds to me.”
http://sloucher.org/2011/10/26/silver-tongues-black-kite/
Paredes, Carlos
“Guitarra Portuguesa” & “Movimento Perpétuo”
Drag City: dc492/dc493
POP MATTERS:
“Guitarra and Movimento are distinctly enraptured. Whether enraptured in newfound freedom, sadness in the recent past, or persistent romantic and sexual longing…well, that’s up to us. But 'enraptured' is surely the word.”
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/150812-carlos-paredes-guitarra-portuguesa-movimento-perpetuo
The Olivia Tremor Control
“Music From The Unrealized Film Script: Dusk At Cubist Castle”
“Black Foliage: Animation Music Volume One”
Chunklet: chklp006, chklp007
PITCHFORK BEST NEW REISSUE 9.1 Dusk At Cubist Castle / 9.4 Black Foliage:
“The music on these two impossibly strange, eclectic psych-pop records-- 1996's Music From the Unrealized Film Script, Dusk at Cubist Castle and 1999's Black Foliage: Animation Music Volume One -- are worlds unto themselves, the finest realizations of whatever sonic utopia Olivia Tremor Control spent much of the 1990s etching into a canvas a million cassettes wide. Veering wildly between elegant sunshine-pop and sloppy ambient noise, catchy hooks and conversations with the godhead, they're both driven by an impossibly expansive vision....it's the records themselves -- insistent, wise, daringly imperfect-- that are really the thing here. They remain the sound of a few old friends, a few more new acquaintances, and a thousand wasted sunny days spent carving out a couple mind-bendingly complex masterpieces.”
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16047-otc/
PITCHFORK:
“On November 15, Chunklet Industries will release expanded vinyl reissues of two out-of-print double LPs from Elephant 6 psych-poppers the Olivia Tremor Control: 1996's Music From the Unrealized Film Script: Dusk at Cubist Castle and 1999's Black Foliage: Animation Music Volume One. Both reissues will include tons of bonus material on download cards containing hours of rare and unreleased music.”
http://pitchfork.com/news/43428-olivia-tremor-control-announce-reissues-tour/
AQUARIUS (Dusk At Cubist Castle):
“If one had to pick THEE most iconic and essential indie rock records of the nineties, you'd no doubt have Pavement's Slanted And Enchanted, some Stereolab, some Yo La Tengo, both the Neutral Milk Hotel records, and without a doubt, this, the debut from Olivia Tremor Control, a practically perfect slab of experimental psychedelic pop, that sounds as good today as it did nearly 15 years ago when it was first released.”
http://www.aquariusrecords.org/
AQUARIUS (Black Foliage):
“...while the band focused more on the 'pop' on their classic debut Dusk, relegating the trippy weirdness mostly to intros and brief interludes, we had previously mentioned (in our original review way back when) that on Black Foliage, the ‘ambient’ weirdness came closer to overindulgence, but again, with fresh ears, and a little time since our last listen, that overindulgence doesn't really sound all that overindulgent anymore, in fact, it positions Black Foliage, as rife with Beach Boys vocal harmonies, Sgt. Pepper's baroque excess, and mid-'70s Eno-esque surreal pop as it's predecessor, as way better than we remember it, that weirdness almost making it a more interesting, and certainly more tripped out, record, a seriously crafty concoction of psychedelia - the Olivias able to create near perfect pop songs and then dose 'em with lysergic clusters of experimental tinkering.”
http://www.aquariusrecords.org/
Kerretta
“Saansilo”
Midium Records: mid018
ULTIMATE EARS premier of “A Ways To Uprise”:
“When you march your barbarian horde through the streets of a fallen city, atop a fifteen hands high silver wildebeest (using their horns as handles), laser beams sparkling and shimmering over the smoking battlefields, a thousand million pearlescent snakes coiling slowly through the dead city streets, tiny unicorns cowering in their cages, ‘A Ways to Uprise’, the first single from Kerretta’s sophomore album Saansilo, will be your soundtrack.”
http://consequenceofsound.net/2011/06/check-out-kerretta-a-ways-to-uprise-cos-premiere/
CONSEQUENCE OF SOUND premier of “A Ways To Uprise”:
“'A Ways To Uprise' kicks off the album with a sludgy trudge through the trenches of something like The Melvins or the sharper edge of post rock.”
http://consequenceofsound.net/2011/06/check-out-kerretta-a-ways-to-uprise-cos-premiere/
GUITAR WORLD:
“On their sophomore album, Saansilo, New Zealand–based instru-metallers Kerretta unleash as much mythic riffing as a Peter Jackson–led Lord of the Rings script meeting. The group covers a lot of ground on the CD’s seven tracks, which abound with snaking guitar lines and delicious hypnotic effects.”
http://www.guitarworld.com/hear-it-now-kerretta-ways-uprise
THE AQUARIAN:
“The New Zeland trio’s latest release, though merciless and fierce, is heaven in disc form. Saansilo is nothing shy of stunning and quite possibly one of my favorite releases of the year.”
http://www.theaquarian.com/2011/10/07/kerretta-saansilo/
Royal Trux
"Singles, Live, Unreleased"
Drag City: dc93
PITCHFORK 8.2:
“As a 3xLP collection of the band's early-90s ephemera, Singles, Live, Unreleased may not seem like the most logical entry point into the Trux's phantasmagoric universe. But for newcomers, it's the stand-alone release that provides the best big-picture perspective of Royal Trux's see-saw relationship with rock music and the avant-garde.”
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16012-royal-trux/
Pigeons
“They Sweetheartstammers”
Soft Abuse: sab053
ALTERED ZONES Artist Profile:
“They Sweetheartstammers, out next week on Soft Abuse, is packed with hypnotic psychedelia, Francophilia, cobweb-laden sonic spaces, and shadowy retrofuturism, balancing moods of wonder and foreboding with an artisan's acumen.”
http://alteredzones.com/posts/2035/artist-profile-pigeons/
BROOKLYN VEGAN video for "Tournoi”:
“Speaking of Pigeons, who play the Chouette/De Stijl/FatCat/Soft Abuse day party at Bruar Falls, their LP They Sweetheartstammers will be released November 8 via Soft Abuse..”
http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2011/10/amen_dunes_play.html
ALTERED ZONES:
“Their forthcoming They Sweetheartstammers LP exudes the same sense of mystery, sedation, and austere melodicism as last year's Liasons, but with an added sonic density and an expanded lineup (roping in members of No Neck Blues Band and Black Twig Pickers).”
http://alteredzones.com/posts/1811/pigeons-dead-echo/
ALTERED ZONES video for "Tournoi”:
“The result is a fuller-sounding Pigeons that still maintains their brooding beauty, but with pronounced hints of Hope Sandoval and brighter guitars that meander densely.”
http://alteredzones.com/posts/1933/pigeons-tournoi/
Hauschildt, Steve
“Tragedy & Geometry”
Kranky: krank160
ONE THIRTY BPM:
“Tragedy & Geometry proves that Steve Hauschildt is unafraid to paint in clear and vivid hues. Some might lament the lack of tension in this album, but when the music’s this beautiful, who needs it?”
http://onethirtybpm.com/reviews/album-review-steve-hauschildt-tragedy-geometry/
PLASMODIUM:
“As many of Hauschildt’s synth driven contemporaries bury their compositions in post production trickery and useless sonic adornment, Tragedy & Geometry almost seems bare. It is that spareness that ultimately allows the songwriting, lush analog warmth and arpeggiated chord progressions to shine through.”
http://www.plasmodium.net/music/steve-hauschildt-tragedy-geometry/
SSG MUSIC: 8.5/10:
“At the heart of Tragedy & Geometry is the truth that Emeralds fans (and fans of the members’ solo works) have long been on a collision course with discovering: these guys know pop. Tragedy & Geometry doesn’t betray the outer-spaced sounds of Hauschildt’s more adventurous work, it just re-imagines it for an audience of potential new ears as it is aimed to excited longtime listeners.”
http://www.ssgmusic.com/november-in-review/
EXCLAIM:
“...Hauschildt's cosmic ambience comes with a very European touch, sounding much more elegant and urbane when compared to the work of his peers in the American electronic underground.”
http://exclaim.ca/Reviews/DanceAndElectronic/steve_hauschildt-tragedy_geometry
XLR8R:
“...the artist transforms what might otherwise be formless clouds of plinking melodies and deep synth chords into illuminating explorations of the subconscious, a feat that is achieved merely with the use of swirling, polyrhythmic arpeggiators and subtle drum machine sounds. The propulsive backbone that those elements provide immensely helps in setting Tragedy & Geometry apart from its peers and creating a much more satisfying listen, as it feels like you're actually in the midst of a long sonic journey with every rise and fall of the eclectic tracklist.”
http://www.xlr8r.com/reviews/steve-hauschildt/tragedy-geometry
ALTERED ZONES premier of "Batteries May Drain":
“In ‘Batteries May Drain,’ there's a sense of liberation from the endless chatter of myriad devices as they silence themselves; there's a brief and sweet respite in its modern take on classic kosmische sounds.”
http://alteredzones.com/posts/2073/steve-hauschildt-batteries-may-drain/
FADER premier of "Already Replaced":
“Some of you might recognize Steve Hauschildt as the dude from Emeralds, while others might just be looking to end their Monday with gorgeous, spaced out twinkles of synth. Whatever the case, this song will calm you down. Like, if you are midway through a heart attack you can put this on, and you will magically be healed.”
http://www.thefader.com/2011/11/14/steve-hauschildt-already-replaced-mp3/
SPIN 7/10:
“It's a visceral display of synth prowess that makes exhilarating use of contrasting textures and subtle dynamics.”
http://www.spin.com/reviews/steve-hauschildt-tragedy-geometry-kranky
FLUID RADIO:
“‘Batteries May Drain’ boasts much of the same drifting analog synth melodies and indelible warmth that we loved on Emeralds' Does It Look Like I'm Here? record, but without the guitar noodling and with some driving, krauty rhythms carrying it all into spacey oblivion.”
http://www.fluid-radio.co.uk/2011/11/steve-hauschildt-tragedy-geometry/
XLR8R premier of “Batteries May Drain”:
“... for those listeners already converted, Hauschildt has presented you with an hour’s worth of unscented analog bliss. And for those others hoping for a primer, look no further.”
http://www.xlr8r.com/mp3/2011/10/batteries-may-drain
BOWLEGS:
“The purposeful usage of analog technology means the record has a strong personality. The music is ambient in its delivery and the album as a whole is a fine offshoot from the Emerald family.”
http://www.bowlegsmusic.com/2011/11/steve-hauschildt-–-tragedy-geometry/
RAVEN SINGS THE BLUES:
“The two beacons of the album's namesake hover over every note of Tragedy and Geometry and becomes a precision delivery of the former as refracted through the technological prism of the latter. Here, Hauschildt has taken his step out from the fold of Emeralds and truly created something that stands alone; a pulsing, bittersweet sweep through the kosmiche wires of the heart.”
http://ravensingstheblues.blogspot.com/2011/10/steve-hauschildt.html
TREBEL ZINE:
“Using his own chosen forms of technology, Hauschildt has done something massive and emotionally gripping in inexplicable ways. I can't often explain why or how his music affects me, but I can most certainly feel it.”
http://treblezine.com/reviews/3943-Steve_Hauschildt_Tragedy___Geometry.html
NIGHTLIFE CA:
“Steve Hauschildt has crafted one of the finest albums of its genre this year.”
http://www.nightlife.ca/musique/cleveland-musician-steve-hauschildt-crafts-one-finest-electronic-albums-year l
Cave
“Neverendless”
Drag City: dc472
PITCHFORK 7.9:
“With hit after hit of urgent-sounding synths and drums, CAVE never let up or get faster, either. That's what they do best on Neverendless -- they just keep going.”
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15921-cave-neverendless/
NEW YORK TIMES:
“On Neverendless (Drag City), it comes up with a tour de force: the 14-minute 'This Is the Best,' virtually a one-chord wonder that morphs from quiet hum to crashing rock, from power riffs to Morse-code keyboard phase patterns, from duple to triple meter and back, merging drive and disorientation. The album’s other tracks set up their own repetitive systems and evolutionary whims; some even change chords. But with 'This Is the Best,' more is more.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/arts/music/music-by-crooked-fingers-cave-kathryn-calder-and-janes-addiction.html?_r=1
WBEZ PUBLIC RADIO:
“...on its third album, Neverendless, the Chicago quartet Cave gets everything right and then some, adding unexpected twists and turns during a metronomic rush into the darkness that befits the groundbreaking spirit of the band's more obvious influence.”
http://www.wbez.org/blog/jim-derogatis/2011-08-22/album-review-cave-‘neverendless’-drag-city-90425
Mannequin Men
“Mannequin Men”
Addenda: nda006
SPIN preview of "Hobby Girl":
“The gloriously ramshackle Lose Your Illusion, Too by Chicago's Mannequin Men was one of 2009's highlights, so pardon our excitement over the follow-up (self-titled so as to avoid the problem of having to top that gag). The first track from the band's fourth record, out Nov. 8, is the midtempo cruiser ‘Hobby Girl’....”
http://www.spin.com/articles/editors-pick-new-track-mannequin-men
A.V. CLUB preview of "Hobby Girl":
“'Hobby Girl' marks a more mature age for the Mannequin Men. Replacing the band’s formerly rowdy sound with pop briskness, the track begs a lover to get her life together instead of wasting space on the couch”
http://www.avclub.com/chicago/articles/mannequin-men-and-jc-brooks-and-the-uptown-sound-d,62950/
CHICAGOIST preview of "Hobby Girl":
“Last fall, rough-around-the-edges Chicago garage rockers Mannequin Men debuted two new tracks from an then-upcoming Hozac Records single. One of those songs, 'Hobby Girl,' has re-emerged as the first single from their upcoming self-titled third record, which sees release in November on Addenda Records..”
ttp://chicagoist.com/2011/10/06/download_mannequin_men.php
LOUDLOOP:
“Whether Mannequin Men meant to or not, this so called ‘mature record’ of theirs is probably their best, and that’s a hurdle that many bands who start young simply fall flat on their face trying to jump.”
http://loudlooppress.com/reviews/mannequin-men-mannequin-men/
I ROCK CLEVELAND BLOG:
“This track is so smooth, the hooks are so clean, it’s as if they’ve been a power pop band all along.”
http://blog.irockcleveland.com/2011/10/10/a-fistful-of-jams-feat-mannequin-men-wussy-sex-church-and-eddy-current-suppression-ring/
THE OWL:
“With tracks like 'Hobby Girl,' Chicago-based Mannequin Men are proving that bands can be influenced by Van Morrison and not suck”
http://www.theowlmag.com/tag/mannequin-men/
Nig-Heist
“S/T”
Drag City: dc30
VICE interview with Mugger of Nig-Heist:
“In August, Drag City reissued the Nig-Heist discography. It’s a vinyl LP and comes with a compact disc with live sets provided by none other than Henry Rollins. It’s the kind of record that ought to be hidden from parents and jettisoned before marriage. It’s hormone-driven, pussy-obsessed, wild rock. The sort of sound and attitude that lesser shock-punk acts have attempted, though they require a certain type of West Coast dude who really knows how to stir the honey pot.”
http://www.vice.com/read/mugger-nig-heist
Mungolian Jetset
“Schlungs”
Smalltown Supersound: sts209
RESIDENT ADVISOR:
“The whole thing is reeled off with such intention and gusto that to call it trite would be like criticizing a steamroller for being big. While it would be sad to see them go too far down this road, Schlungs does nothing to diminish Mungolian Jet Set's reputation as one of the most genuinely entertaining acts around.”
http://www.residentadvisor.net/review-view.aspx?id=9923
FOXY DIGITALIS:
“This Norwegian techno duo of Pal Nyhus and Knut Saevuk serve up a giddy mix of club-friendly disco combined with delightfully cheesy EM effects and intricately layered counterpoint.”
http://www.foxydigitalis.com/foxyd/?p=18759
Christina Vantzou
“No. 1”
Kranky: krank159
BEARDED MAGAZINE:
“This is music of small changes – but fans of ambient classicism and drone won't feel short changed.”
http://www.beardedmagazine.com/albums/article/christina-vantzou-no.-1-kranky
FUTURE SEQUENCE:
“If ever there was an album to soundtrack Autumn, this is it.”
http://www.futuresequence.com/article/christina-vantzou-no-1/
GOOGLE MUSIC MAGNIFIER:
“This is the rare number that should bring together both electronic chill fans and listeners who enjoy classical music.”
http://magnifier.blogspot.com/2011/11/christina-vantzou.html
DUSTED:
“No. 1 calls to mind massive vast spaces and forms that have loomed for millennia. It’s a tautly constructed, tightly played work, and a fine re-introduction to a talented composer.”
http://dustedmagazine.com/reviews/6785
THE SLOUCHER:
“A concept growing in our minds, sounds that need to escape our dreams somehow, so they will stop haunting our feelings like words we are certain we have never ever listened or spoke before. This kind of music reminds me of that feeling.”
http://sloucher.org/2011/11/08/christina-vantzou-no-1/
TEXTURA Spotlight Series Christina Vantzou interview:
“Our third chapter in the Spotlight series presents a diverse quartet of artists, namely the orchestral mini-symphonies of Christina Vantzou's No. 1, which amply rewards one's attention.”
http://www.textura.org/reviews/spotlight_iii.htm
THE SKINNY:
“...her solo debut is filled with the kind of lush symphonies and gentle rushes of ambience that make the average Stars of the Lid performance seem like an exercise in exuberance. It’s beautifully controlled and quite, quite mesmerizing.”
http://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/reviews/albums/300231-christina_vantzou_no_1
AMBIENTBLOG:
“No.1 will definitely be enjoyed by all those that love the sound of the Stars of the Lid and, more recently, A Winged Victory for the Sullen. Like the latter, the compositions are somewhat more 'down to earth' than those of the Stars of the Lid. They are carefully balanced, introspective but never too sweet. Sometimes somewhat melancholic, maybe - which perfectly fits this autumn time of year.”
http://www.vancooten.com/blog/?e=421ß
ALTERED ZONES premier of “Homemade Mountains” video:
“Vantzou has a knack for delicate contrasts. Here, her juxtaposition of absence in darkness and existence with color enhances the track's natural, whimsical ambiance.”
http://www.alteredzones.com/posts/2034/christina-vantzou-homemade-mountains/
THE PLAYGROUND:
“The album, made with synthesizer, vocals and samples - reinforced with strings, brass, clarinet and flute, thanks to the collaboration of Minna Choi from the Magik*Magik Orchestra - holds ten songs between weightless ambient and neo-classical, melancholic instrumentals. Fans of Max Richter, Stars Of The Lid and A Winged Victory For The Sullen won't be disappointed.”
http://www.playgroundmag.net/noticias/25485-christina-vantzou
Hecker, Tim
“Dropped Pianos”
Kranky: krank161
HEADPHONE COMMUTE:
“Some might say that Dropped Pianos, with all of its gorgeous washes of double and triple tracked piano, is one of the more accessible oeuvres in Hecker’s vast catalog. And although that may well be true, neglecting the warnings of the label’s press release, Dropped Pianos stands on its own as a significant piece of music.”
http://reviews.headphonecommute.com/2011/12/07/tim-hecker-dropped-pianos-kranky/
PITCHFORK 7.8:
“It’s rare that two sides of one’s personality can co-exist in the same orbit but Dropped Pianos proves that Hecker’s inclinations will always lead to a state of bliss. Music this beautiful and unpretentious is a rare commodity. There is no fuss or no filler; Tim Hecker is a man that will always deliver the unexpected through the expected.”
http://blog.kexp.org/blog/2011/11/18/agitated-atmosphere-tim-hecker-dropped-pianos/
PITCHFORK 7.8:
“They're compelling mostly because they sound intimate. Where Ravedeath, 1972 had a widescreen flavor, these sketches feel personal and individual. You can imagine Hecker sitting alone at a piano spinning simple yarns, rather than at a huge organ generating worlds of sound.”
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15906-dropped-pianos/
ONE THIRTY BPM:
“At the heart of those works are the piano and delay experimentation of the sketches present on Dropped Pianos. Though we’re given that glance it doesn’t diminish either work. When you see demo collections you’re often given a glance at the progression of a song from idea to fully formed song. The difference here is that even Hecker’s sketches came out fully formed and ready to be consumed on their own merit.”
http://onethirtybpm.com/reviews/album-review-tim-hecker-dropped-pianos/
PITCHFORK FORKCAST of “Sketch 5”:
“Ambient noise deconstructionist Tim Hecker already released an album this year, Ravedeath, 1972; on October 10, Kranky will release Dropped Pianos, an album of sketches recorded by Hecker last year while preparing to record Ravedeath, 1972.”
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/12482-sketch-5/
ALTERED ZONES preview of “Sketch 5”
“Kranky just announced a follow-up to the release by the name of Dropped Pianos, though its contents-- a series of preparatory sketches for Ravedeath, 1972 -- suggest a wry reversal of narrative causality. ‘Sketch 5’ showcases some delicate alchemical reactions between piano and delay pedal that, in addition to providing a glimpse into his working process, are pretty bewitching in themselves.”
http://alteredzones.com/posts/1975/tim-hecker-sketch-5/
Charalambides
“Exile”
Kranky: krank158
PITCHFORK:
“The album's patient songs stop time in its tracks, freezing moments of thought and emotion so they can be viewed from all angles.”
http://pitchfork.com/features/the-out-door/8670-history-in-the-remaking/2/
SPECTRUM CULTURE:
“This is a record for the somber and focused. Yet more than anything, Exile is defined by a skeletal atmosphere that threads through every track despite the varied density of the instruments and voices droning along, stark in the way more friendly folk music often avoids.”
http://spectrumculture.com/2011/10/charalambides-exile.html
SELF-TITLED:
“...a series of spellbound songs that shimmer and shake for as long as 14 minutes at a time. Getting caught in a K-hole just got its free-folk counterpart.”
http://www.self-titledmag.com/home/2011/09/29/coming-soon-charalambides-exile/
DUSTED:
“...the struggles they recount are individual ones, and the tongues they speak in now are their own. This is a heavy record, and yet, a reassuring one.”
http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/6723
DUSTED:
“Tom and Christina have returned to concentrating on their duo work in more recent years, fusing introspective, open-ended, and often spacious song structures with blasts of feedback and explosive sound often startling to fans familiar only with the band’s deceptively low-key reputation.”
http://www.fluid-radio.co.uk/2011/09/charalambides-exile/
STILL AVAILABLE
Bonnie “Prince” Billy
“Wolfroy Goes To Town”
Drag City: dc502
PITCHFORK INTERVIEW:
“His new one, Wolfroy Goes to Town, came out last week. It's friendly, slow, and spare. Like all of his work over the past five or six years, it feels like a half-turn away from what came before it-- a new stage with a familiar scene, or vice versa.”
http://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/8684-will-oldham/
FACT:
“Already this year, the singer-songwriter has dropped a series of singles and an audiobook, and on October 4th, he’ll return with a new full-length record. Titled Wolfroy Goes to Town, the 10-track effort features a supporting cast of Ben Boye, Van Campbell, Shahzad Ismaily, Emmett Kelly, Danny Kiely, and Angel Olsen.”
http://consequenceofsound.net/2011/09/bonnie-prince-billy-announces-new-album-wolfroy-goes-to-town/
PITCHFORK:
Bonnie Prince Billy announces new album:
http://pitchfork.com/news/43892-bonnie-prince-billy-announces-new-album/
LaFarge, Pokey
“Belt 7" Series: The White Belt”
Karate Body: kbr009
TIME OUT CHICAGO:
“The St. Louis showman giddily strums and plucks old-timey rags, western swing and proto-blues. The 27-year-old clearly aches for the age of paddle steamers, and his tunes, largely original, recall a time when songwriting was entertainment, not self expression.”
http://timeoutchicago.com/music-nightlife/music/15045539/pokey-lafarge-at-schubas-concert-preview
ISTHMUS interview with Pokey LaFarge:
“Fedora-clad troubadour Pokey LaFarge reaches deep into the American roots tradition to build tunes fit for toe tapping, swing dancing and kazoo riffing. With a list of heroes that includes Bill Monroe and Jimmie Rodgers, his taste skews retro, but he's a thoroughly modern heartbreaker with a penchant for hitchhiking.”
http://www.isthmus.com/isthmus/article.php?article=35414
Arborea
“Red Planet”
Strange Attractors Audio House: saah067
TEXTURA TOP ALBUMS OF 2011: #03 Red Planet:
“Arborea's fourth album, Red Planet, captures the group—multi-instrumentalists Shanti and Buck Curran as always, with cellist Helena Espvall (of Espers) guesting—in perfect form. The Maine-based group's sound has matured and reached a stage of refinement without becoming overly polished, and there's still a raw quality to the material but a rawness that feels natural and honest.”
http://www.textura.org/reviews/2011top10s.htm
Belong
“Common Era”
Kranky: krank155
DUSTED TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2011: #4 Common Era:
“It’s remarkable how coherent this assemblage of sounds and references ends up being. Jones and Dietrich are simply two great producers.”
http://dustedmagazine.com/features/1013
HEADPHONE COMMUTE:
“The songs themselves are akin to radio transmissions received from another time and place, just as likely to be the future as the past, or even from a contemporary alternate universe. They are both passionate and dispassionate, grey yet technicolor, ghostly and palpable, distant yet immediate, grainy and focused.”
http://reviews.headphonecommute.com/2011/12/09/belong-common-era-kranky/
Cronin, Mikal
“S/T”
Trouble in Mind: tim031
UNCUT TOP ALBUMS OF 2011: #45 S/T:
http://stereogum.com/891311/uncuts-top-50-albums-of-2011/list/
NPR Song of The Day “Apathy”:
“Mikal Cronin's self-titled debut came as a pleasant surprise: a bracing, 30-minute blast of unpolished but smartly arranged garage-punk. Musically, Cronin sticks with bare-bones production and standard classic-rock tropes, but his ear for inventive arrangements sets him apart from the pack. Cronin even finds a way to fit a free-jazz sax solo into ‘Apathy’ without breaking a sweat or compromising its punky dishabille. Although Cronin likely hasn't yet figured it out himself, it'll be exciting to see where he heads next.”
http://www.npr.org/2011/11/02/141909161/mikal-cronin-making-sense-of-it-all
LEICESTER BANGS:
“This is music for folks who want to freak out, and not worry about the consequences. It’s possible you may hear some California sunshine in here, and a bit of Glasgow downpour, too, but you’ll certainly wake up somewhere else, and I can’t guarantee what the weather will be. Not that that actually matters, as it’s going to be throbbingly marvelous wherever you wash up.”
http://leicesterbangs.blogspot.com/2011/10/review-mikal-cronin.html
BOWLEGS interview with Mikal Cronin:
“We’ve been hooked on Mikal Cronin’s self-titled album ever since it was released. Its garage pop sound has been intravenously dripped into our ears on a daily basis, feeding our new music gland a treat.”
http://www.bowlegsmusic.com/2011/11/mikal-cronin-call-back/
FIXIN THE CHARTS:
“Mikal Cronin, who's self-titled debut is a fully formed swaggering confident garage rock masterpiece....A joyous surprise.”
http://fixinthecharts.blogspot.com/2011/10/mikal-cronin-mikal-cronin.html
PITCHFORK 8.1!!:
“On his eponymous debut, Mikal Cronin proves he can hold his own. It's an album of wistful, psychedelic pop that pits lush and layered arrangements against needle-pinning power chords.”
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15844-mikal-cronin/
CT:
“...sonically, it’s a powerpop fan’s dream, a stew of falsetto harmony vocals, heavy acoustic strumming, fuzzy powerchords, psychedelic guitar leads, surf stomping, doo-wop reverie and garagey bashing. Cronin is a punk at heart, but with the mind of a classic pop sophisticate, and he has the smarts to stitch together his broad ambitions seamlessly.”
http://www.ct.com/entertainment/music/cd-of-the-week/wtxx-cd-of-the-week-mikal-cronin--20110928,0,4760533.story
L MAGAZINE:
“...we’d like to again draw your attention to one of his longtime collaborators in the San Francisco scene, whose self-titled solo debut, Mikal Cronin, provides answers to such questions as, ‘Would it sound ok if this flute solo were to sit atop the crunchiest of guitars? How about if someone started whistling out of nowhere? Can another hook be squeezed in here somehow?’ The answers, in the hands of Cronin, would seem to be yes.”
http://www.ct.com/entertainment/music/cd-of-the-week/wtxx-cd-of-the-week-mikal-cronin--20110928,0,4760533.story
NME:
“...his new solo album is all kinds of aceness and he's always been in the shadows until now. Out on Trouble In Mind, the album starts with 30 seconds of harmonies nicked straight out of Brian Wilson's back pocket, before turning into a mid-90s Evan Dando demo and then going haywire when a load of REALLY FUCKING LOUD drums kick in.”
http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=15&title=radar_tip_of_the_day_75_mikal_cronin&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
BROOKLYN VEGAN:
“Mikal's self-titled LP on Trouble in Mind (produced by Ty) is far and away the best thing he's ever done, is one of my albums of the year, and I like it more than Segall's Goodbye Bread to be honest. The album has great song after great song, killer hooks and harmonies -- SoCal garagey surf-pop at it's finest.”
http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2011/09/anika_ddmmyyyy.html
OWL MAG:
“like many of California’s rock revivalists, Cronin’s debut is incredibly loose and feels fresh and innovative on repeated listens.”
www.theowlmag.com/album-reviews/mikal-cronin-by-mikal-cronin
BLACK & WHITE:
“Mikal Cronin is more believable as a garage outcast. The surf-rocking punker opens his self-titled debut with lots of bashing and blurry greatness. Even the acoustic moments maintain a Beatlesque pop fury.”
http://www.bwcitypaper.com/Articles-i-2011-09-15-243508.113121-The-Set-List.html
ALLMUSIC GUIDE:
“Mikal Cronin knows all sorts of examples of what can be described as classic pop/rock is obvious from the first notes of ‘Is It Alright’ -- harmonies out of the Beach Boys, a building burst of melody that the Raspberries could have loved, and an echo-swathed verse that's both Phil Spector and the Jesus and Mary Chain. But by the time the keyboard drone pop of ‘Slow Down’ arrives, it's clear that Cronin's debut release, however tied together by his singing, seeks to not simply be yet another power pop showcase above all else, whether served up clean or with layers of scuzz.”
http://www.allmusic.com/album/mikal-cronin-r2250625/review
UNCUT:
“(Ty) Segall moves fast, though, and the very latest recordings that he’s been involved with - both involving a new name to me, Mikal Cronin - are pretty fantastic…Cronin’s S/T is no less exciting, but draws from a much wider range: the very first seconds are filled with a capella harmonies indebted to The Beach Boys’ ‘Our Prayer’.”
http://www.uncut.co.uk/blog/index.php?blog=6&title=mikal_cronin_mikal_cronin&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
CLLCT:
“A rare pearl of gritty yet melodious garage fun tucked away amidst the usual bevy of electronic offerings. This is spot on execution of great songwriting and the venerable melody hook with lots of grease on the collar to boot by one Mikal Cronin.”
http://cllct.com/feed/burromusic/quicklynowgetalongbymikalcronin
EVERYBODY TASTE:
“as heavy and guitar-dominated as the mix is on tracks like "Get Along" and "Apathy," it's Cronin's vocal melodies and delivery that really shine and sink their hooks into the listener as they cut their way through walls of fuzz. Two listens deep and I promise you'll be singing along.”
http://www.everybodytaste.com/2011/08/mikal-cronin-get-along-apathy.html
DEATH AND TAXES:
“Judging from ‘Get Along’ and ‘Apathy,’ the upcoming LP sounds pretty promising. The two tracks build on the lo-fi fuzz of Mikal’s many West Coast affiliations but noticeably follow a more pop route with cleaner vocals, plenty of harmonies and nods to ’60s psych. It all creates a heavily infectious blend of garage rock.”
http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/123711/listen-mikal-cronins-apathy-and-get-along-produced-by-ty-segall/
CONSEQUENCE OF SOUND Top 10 MP3s of the week - “Apathy”:
“This song is all kinds of amazing, from the machine-gun snare fills to the catchy-as-shit chorus where Cronin implores that he “don’t want apathy”, and you’ve no choice but to believe him. It’s a perfect mix of pop and fuzz to draw ears of all kind. Put it on, and put it on loud, why don’t ya?.”
http://consequenceofsound.net/2011/07/top-10-mp3s-of-the-week-729/
SF WEEKLY:
“‘Apathy’ sounds like a forgotten MTV Buzz Bin hit from about 1994, with its soft acoustic intro and relentlessly catchy chorus. The song then rises into a noisy climax complete with what sound like off-kilter saxophones. It's pretty rad.”
http://blogs.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2011/07/hear_apathy_by_mikal_cronin_ty.php
KATIE DARBY RECOMMENDS:
“As soon as the first few lines of ‘Apathy’ flew out of my stereo, I was sold on Cronin– not just as a musician, but as a composer. The way this song fits together reminds me of the way I felt when I was listening to early Beck records; this isn’t a completely new venture, but it feels new and fresh. I love the way the instruments in the song jump in and out; I love the controlled chaos. If ‘Apathy’ is any indication, this guy is fantastic.”
http://www.katiedarbyrecommends.com/2011/07/27/keep-listening-for-mikal-cronin/
CITIZEN DICK.com:
“Just like his work with Segall, Cronin's LP promises a collection of gritty and attitude-laden garage rock. I've professed my undying adoration for Segall's Goodbye Bread too many times to count on this here blog. I'm already considering this album a perfect counterpart for the second half.”
http://citizendick.org/2011/07/25/mikal-cronin-apathy-mp3/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CitizenDick+%28Citizen+Dick%29&utm_content=Twitter
ALTERED ZONES:
“Opening itself up wider with each play, this is a good record in the truest sense of the word.”
http://alteredzones.com/posts/1682/mikal-cronin-apathy/
RAVEN SINGS THE BLUES.com:
“Cleaner than we've heard him in a long time, the record packs a huge whollop in its three-minute garage-pop punches. Scraping its way through fuzz, jangle, slow burn motions and even a few psychedelic breakdowns, the record is nothing if not infectious; opening itself up wider with each play.”
http://ravensingstheblues.blogspot.com/2011/07/mikal-cronin.html
AUSTIN TOWN HALL.com:
“If you toss in a little more melody on Segall’s formula for psych-rock, perhaps remove a bit of hazy tones, and this is pretty much what you’re going to get. I know, right! Sounds pretty awesome, so jump on the wagon now…”
http://networkedblogs.com/kIX8n
IMPOSE MAGAZINE.com:
“Much like Segall's excellent Goodbye Bread, Cronin is maturing beyond the grimy scuzz with little hint of growing pains.”
http://www.imposemagazine.com/bytes/mikal-cronin-bros-down-with-ty-segall-again
THE BAY BRIDGED.com:
http://www.thebaybridged.com/2011/07/27/mikal-cronin-get-alongapathy/
CONSEQUENCE OF SOUND: TOP 10 MP3s OF THE WEEK:
http://consequenceofsound.net/2011/07/top-10-mp3s-of-the-week-729/
CONSEQUENCE OF SOUND LIVE REVIEW:
“Cronin’s band of six people were an excellent show opener, busting in with ‘Is It Alright’, flute solo and all (apparently Cronin’s first time playing live with a flautist). It’s a record that deserves the proper live treatment, and it was well done, to say the least.”
http://consequenceofsound.net/2011/10/live-review-ty-segall-mikal-cronin-at-chicago%E2%80%99s-empty-bottle-101/
TIME OUT CHICAGO:
“Mikal Cronin started the evening off with selections from his recent solo debut, a record that Segall turned in production for. After playing a selection of psych-pop odes delivered with a lighter touch than most of his contemporaries, Cronin ended his set with a cover of the Flamin' Groovies' ‘Shake Some Action’ with vocal assistance from Trouble In Mind's Bill Roe.”
http://timeoutchicago.com/music-nightlife/music/14967535/ty-segall-human-eye-mikal-cronin-at-empty-bottle-live-review-photo-ga
WHITE BOARD PROJECT:
“The eponymous album from Mikal Cronin is a lo-fi mixed bag with moments that reflect on grunge, surf-pop, and psychedelia. It’s a youthful, daring debut that will delight those who like their music to be full of unexpected twists.”
http://thewhiteboardproject.tumblr.com/post/10928564334/the-albums-round-up
BOW LEGS:
“It is hard, in fact, to fault a album so likeable, so full of energy and so effortlessly able to drop moments of melancholy into the shadows that are cast by the record’s love for the Californian sun (and a passing love for jamming in the garage).”
http://www.bowlegsmusic.com/2011/10/mikal-cronin-mikal-cronin/
CHICAGO READER:
“It's a crime that Ty Segall isn't ten times more popular than he already is, and the fact that Mikal Cronin isn't even as popular as Ty Segall suggests even more strongly that something's out of whack with the universe. Cronin has earned what small popularity he has by making a collaborative album with Segall and fronting Charlie & the Moonhearts, so his recent self-titled solo debut for local label Trouble in Mind - his best work to date - ought to raise his profile at least a bit. The influences that seem to have gone into the album (Smile-era Beach Boys, maybe a little of Thee Oh Sees, the Beatles' DayGlo period filtered through Apples in Stereo) aren't terribly surprising, but the quality of Cronin's execution—particularly on ‘Get Along,’ which ought to be a smash - very much is.”
http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/ty-segall-human-eye-mikal-cronin/Event?oid=4148555
JEFFREY MORGAN:
“Jing-janglin’ pop-infused guitar ditties lacquered with a charming patina of primitivism that’ll have you hunkered down and hankering for a hanky, they’re that heartfelt.”
http://www.jeffreymorgan.info/2011.10.09_arch.html#1318174782679
AQUARIUS RECORDS RECORD OF THE WEEK:
“This week's list is chock full of contenders for pop record of the year, but if any of the other ones are gonna come out on top, this is gonna be the one to beat.”
http://www.aquariusrecords.org/
LET'S GET BENT:
“Everyone’s favorite Moonheart is touring up and down the West Coast this December with several other fine artists. Anyway, with a pretty killer solo LP now under his belt, it’s safe to say Mikal Cronin has gotten down a smooth combination of sweet ‘n’ noisy. If you haven’t picked that one up yet, get yourself over to Trouble in Mind. What was I saying? Oh yeah, this whole touring thing. Go see him! Do it for those of us who are stranded in the snow! Basically, since there are a shitload of California dates, all Californians have no excuse to miss their home state hero when he rolls into town.”
http://letsgetbent.tumblr.com/post/13595592749/mikal-cronin-tours-invades-the-west-coast
EARBUDDY:
“Cronin lets fly with a sonically diverse, but nevertheless ripping, cache of tunes on his self titled debut for Trouble in Mind, right out of the gate.”
http://www.earbuddy.net/2011/11/mikal-cronin-mikal-cronin-review.html
WEEKLY VOLCANO:
“The first few moments of 'Is It Alright,' the opening song on Mikal Cronin's debut LP, are filled with gentle, isolated vocal harmonies that immediately fill the listener with anticipation for Brian Wilson-esque pop reverie. Suddenly, in come crashing guitars, and the rest of the song begins to feel like a tug-of-war between Cronin's thrashing garage rock ways and his beatific pop aspirations. Luckily, Cronin seems equally capable of attaining either of these sounds, even arriving at some truly unexpected places in the process (when those Jethro Tull flutes pop up, it's a legitimately surprising turn that puts you on your heels). Cronin seems unencumbered by restrictions placed on the garage revivalist population, free to explore pathways that have been left for dead by those wanting to repurpose music's past.”
http://www.weeklyvolcano.com/events/werecommend/2011/11/Mikal-Cronin-seems-unencumbered-by-restrictions-placed-on-garage-revivalist-population/
Crock
“Grok”
Jackpot Records: jpr019
BROOKLYN ROCKS
“Seim is credited with the spazzy, sputtering drum work so I assume that Commes handled all of the other instrumentation and vocals. Most of Commes' melodic vocals are low in the mix so the listener can hear his melodic harmonies but his lyrics are mostly unintelligible. Coomes delivers his vocals with the punk fervor of Nation of Ulysses' Ian Svenonius but when the vocals are on top of the mix.”
http://brooklynrocks.blogspot.com/2011/09/crock-grok-cd-review-jackpot-records.html
AQUARIUS RECORDS RECORD OF THE WEEK:
“...it's a pretty irresistible combo, one that definitely straddles the line between indie rock and full on noise rock, in fact we'd probably qualify this as noise rock if it weren't so warm and melodic and dreamily fuzzy. But it IS noisy, and loud, and kaleidoscopic, and weird as fuck, but somehow still crazy catchy. The perfect mad scientist fuzz pop concoction, and quickly becoming one of our new favorite records.”
http://www.aquariusrecords.org/
YOUTUBE video for “Eat Your Hat Out”:
“‘Eat Your Hat Out’ by Crock featuring Sam Coomes of Quasi and Spencer Seim of Hella.”
http://www.jackpotrecords.com/products/view/4633/7
BROOKLYN ROCKS:
“The band's sound is built off the fuzzed-out / freaked-out urban electonica of bands like Suicide to which the band add elements of space rock, Zappa / Pavement style free-form deconstruction, dark stoner riffs and pounding industrial squiggles and rhythms.”
http://brooklynrocks.blogspot.com/2011/09/crock-grok-cd-review-jackpot-records.html
PORTLAND MERCURY:
“This collaboration really does appear to be equal parts Hella and Quasi...”
http://endhits.portlandmercury.com/endhits/archives/2011/08/03/crock-no-more-dumb-fun
Newbury, Mickey
“An American Trilogy”
Drag City: dc485
NEW YORK TIMES:
“They’re quietly intense records by an isolated soul; they ask you to listen deeply for the duration. Each one is built around his husky voice, with strange pockets of plumminess and flintiness, and his nylon-string acoustic guitar; around them float tiny applications of organ, piano, steel guitar, background singers and very little percussion, except echoing taps or soft wind chimes. (The sound of rain appears between many tracks.)”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/25/arts/music/times-pop-music-critics-recommend-boxed-sets.html?pagewanted=5&ref=music
Lynch, Julian
“Music For How The Mata Hari Lost Her Head and Found Her Body”
Soft Abuse: sab049
ALTERED ZONES:
“Mata Hari's extraordinary escapades as a Dutch woman posing as a Japanese princess sets the scene for some pretty arresting hallucinations of the colonial "orient," and provides an interesting parallel with Lynch's knack for weaving a miscellany of pan-world cues into a psychedelic sound all his own.”
http://alteredzones.com/posts/1916/julian-lynch/
Phantom Family Halo
“Monoliths & These Flowers Never Die”
Karate Body: kbr005
PASTE MAGAZINE #5 of TOP 10 BANDS AT CMJ 2011:
“This next-gen psychedelic rock band effortlessly combines acid-inspired progressions with gummy hooks that will bounce around in your head for hours. Their music is like eating candy-flavored mushrooms.”
http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2011/10/10-great-bands-from-cmj-2011.html?p=2
A Winged Victory For The Sullen
“S/T”
Kranky: krank157
TEXTURA TOP ALBUMS OF 2011: #12 S/T
“Like the music of Stars of the Lid, A Winged Victory For The Sullen is music of quiet grandeur that's all the more powerful for being delivered with such understatement.”
http://www.textura.org/reviews/2011top10s.htm
NPR SONG OF THE DAY: "Steep Hills of Vicodin Tears"
“‘Steep Hills of Vicodin Tears,’ from the band's self-titled debut, sounds just like a combination of classical and electronic ambient music should: incredibly delicate, meditative and soaring all at once. But it's also filled with stunning, unexpected moments that induce intense clarity felt somewhere between the mind, heart and soul.”
http://www.npr.org/2011/12/05/143077187/a-winged-victory-for-the-sullen-intense-clarity?ft=3&f=4703895&sc=nl&cc=sod-20111205
SLOUCHER:
“Not a dry eye in the house. Take a bow, A Winged Victory for the Sullen, you’ve made a beautiful piece of art.”
http://sloucher.org/2011/12/02/a-winged-victory-for-the-sullen-a-winged-victory-for-the-sullen/
TINY MIX TAPES:
“On A Winged Victory For The Sullen, Adam Wiltzie provides the blissful seas of sound he perfected with Stars of the Lid, while Dustin O’Halloran’s piano work, mixed with evocative string arrangements, pushes out from that sea of sound to create a sonic landscape that both experiments with classical progressions and shows a mastery of emotional resonance.”
http://www.tinymixtapes.com/features/winged-victory-sullen
PITCHFORK 7.3!!
“What's interesting about the sound they've hit on isn't so much what the two musicians bring to each other's styles, as it is what each sacrifices from his own.” http://www.pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15809-a-winged-victory-for-the-sullen/
DUSTED:
“In the end, Wiltzie and O’Halloran’s collaboration stands as an impressive album on its own merits and one of the strongest efforts in the world of Stars of the Lid offshoots. No small achievement.”
http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/6675
EVERYTHING IS CHEMICAL 8.5/10:
“Music like this only comes along so often, its even better when it comes out during the proper season. What you would expect from these two artists has indeed unfolded in a grand manor that will hopefully be replicated on a new album sometime in the near future. If this (see track 5. 'Steep Hills..') is only the beginning of this bands career ..I don't know how much more emotion my ears can handle, but I'm willing to risk it. More please?”
http://everythingischemical.com/
EVERYTHING IS CHEMICAL 8.5/10:
“Wiltzie shapes patient drifts of sound while O'Halloran contributes melancholy, minimal piano melodies, and the components feel organically linked—the ethereal orchestrations are like rays of light emerging from each one of the piano's hammer strikes as they float, refract, and decay.”
http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/a-winged-victory-for-the-sullen-with-the-acme-string-ensemble-benoit-pioulard-ken-camden/Event?oid=4489995
MAGNET:
“Don’t sleep on this record; it’s probably the best collection of ambient music you’ll hear all year.”
http://www.magnetmagazine.com/2011/08/16/mp3-at-3pm-a-winged-victory-for-the-sullen/
TEXTURA:
“The material breathes with a natural grace, and the occasional ambient trace of the recording context that sneaks in only makes the recording feel more alive. Listeners familiar with the work of the participants won't be surprised by the music's stately and oft-reverent character, with the album's seven exquisite settings filled with longing. Like the music of Stars of the Lid, A Winged Victory For The Sullen's is music of quiet grandeur that's all the more powerful for being delivered with such understatement.”
http://www.textura.org/reviews/wingedvictory.htm
Crisis of Conformity
"Fist Fight"
Drag City: dc490
PAPER MAG Fred Armisen/Crisis of Conformity Interview:
“The idea behind it was to write a love letter to my teenage years, to all the bands that I grew up listening to. It's a tribute to Black Flag and Hüsker Dü. In the sketch I put all kinds of details that referred to people from different bands. On the opening card, it says ‘The Cadena-Norton Wedding.’ And that's a reference to Dez Cadena of Black Flag and Greg Norton of Hüsker Dü. And I remember very specifically from that time that bands would name politicians, like Ronald Reagan. But now looking back, it's like, ‘Who were they talking about? Who's Alexander Haig?’ I just love it. It's just a love letter. It's a thank you to all the bands who inspired me.”
http://www.papermag.com/2011/11/fred_armisen_crisis_of_conformity.php
Sollee, Ben
“Learning To Bend”
Karate Body: kbr003
NOLA Live Blog:
“Sollee expressed his gratitude and excitement to be playing in such a historic room almost any chance he got, while playing at a tempo and volume that was in keeping with the general, unspoken sonic policies for the venue – just loud enough to hear every scratch on the cello, key change, box tap and vocal adjustment clear as a bell.”
http://nola.livemusicblog.com/2011/10/28/photos-ben-sollee-preservation-hall-102711/
California Guitar Trio
“Andromeda”
Karate Body: kbr013
THE LAMRON:
“...CGT was much more classical, technical and precise. This was most evident in ‘Toccata and Fugue,’ a piece originally composed by Johann Sebastian Bach on the organ. Amazingly, CGT was able to replicate the sound of an organ in their performance with three acoustic guitars.”
http://www.thelamron.com/a-e/guitar-trios-fuse-styles-in-skillful-show-1.2704292#.TsrGEM1DGhe
SALT LAKE CITY TRIBUNE:
“they’ve toured internationally, playing their virtuosic blending of pieces ranging from Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ to Bach’s Toccata and Fugue. In their concerts, one minute they will play a pop piece; the next, a classical suite. For this trio, no music is too esoteric or off-limits.”
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/entertainment/52788193-81/california-richards-bird-free.html.csp
SLC CITY WEEKLY:
“...what I did see was exactly as advertised: virtuoso performances by three amazingly talented players…The group's current tour is a celebration of two decades together, and they worked from a set list careful to touch on all aspects of their lengthy career.”
http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/blog-3455-6562-music-blog-concert-review-california-guitar-trio-at-the-state-room.html
Ume
“Sunshower EP”
Karate Body: kbr006
DRUM! MAGAZINE:
“Rachel Fuhrer is a tuff Texan drummer who inspires just by the sweat, go-for-brok approach behind her stripped down kit. Go and view the Austin Weekly showcase of her new band, Ume, and if see if you don't become a fan of her deceptively subtle cave-woman bashing….”
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/392239_10150592903489899_47221309898_11746673_317169787_n.jpg
AUSTIN CHRONICLE:
“This is the essence of Ume, whose lyrically raw songs expose emotional uncertainty and wanting buffeted by the countering forcefulness of a power trio.”
http://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2011-11-18/like-a-hurricane/
RIVERFRONT TIMES interview with Lauren Larson:
“Ultimately, I just want them to connect with the music. I try to be passionate on stage and I hope that can translate to people. I want people to realize that there's no pretension in what we're doing, but there's an honesty and a genuineness about it and I hope that resonates with them.”
http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/rftmusic/2011/10/
Segall, Ty
“Goodbye Bread”
Drag City: dc479
PITCHFORK TOP TRACKS OF 2011: #46 "Goodbye Bread":
“Peeling back the distortion is always a risky move for anyone who made his name at full throttle, but ‘Goodbye Bread’ confirms that Segall cleans up nicely, with a surprisingly capable upper register and a melodic gift that remains intact even under the unforgiving glare of naked production.”
http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/8726-the-top-100-tracks-of-2011/6/
Callahan, Bill
“Apocalypse”
Drag City: dc450
PITCHFORK TOP VIDEOS OF 2011 - "America!" [Directors: Okay Mountain]:
http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/8731-the-top-music-videos-of-2011/
PITCHFORK TOP TRACKS OF 2011: #22 "Riding For the Feeling":
“In his third decade of recording, Bill Callahan is in the prime of his career-- unless, as he's done for years, he just keeps getting better. For now, though, ‘Riding For the Feeling’ establishes a new outline of why Callahan's best songs touch deeper and deeper nerves.”
http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/8726-the-top-100-tracks-of-2011/8/
UNCUT TOP ALBUMS OF 2011: #25 Apocalypse:
http://stereogum.com/891311/uncuts-top-50-albums-of-2011/list/
Hecker, Tim
“Ravedeath, 1972”
Kranky: krank154
SPIN TOP ALBUMS OF 2011: #28 Ravedeath 1972
“Montreal fuzzmaster Tim Hecker sought more primeval drama: rippling one-note dive-bombs, delicate piano motifs clawing through prismatic feed-back, and witched-out bass rumbles dropping like 808s. But throughout the bleary blare and blown-out miasma, his human core was always present.”
http://www.spin.com/articles/spins-50-best-albums-2011?page=0%2C4
DUSTED TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2011: #1 Ravedeath, 1972
“Ravedeath is an extraordinarily accomplished piece of music with redeeming traits ad infinitum, unique and paradoxical in its demand/ease. In this music there is: violence, resolve, restraint, focus, caprice, widescreen gaze, grayscale, color, death, life, loss and ultimately rebirth. His attack on music, figuratively and literally, rages on via a signature sound that is unmistakable. Ravedeath is probably his best work to date.”
http://dustedmagazine.com/features/1013
NPR TOP ALBUMS OF 2011: Ravedeath, 1972:
“Hecker's finished product could be described simply as the digital manipulation of 'organic' sounds. But it's more than that: Ravedeath,1972 is an extreme close-up on a conversation between the two forces, which at any moment on this beautiful album seem to push the music toward both tension and resolution.”
http://www.npr.org/2011/12/05/142908947/50-favorites-from-s-w
QUIETUS TOP ALBUMS OF 2011: #3 Ravedeath, 1972:
“All too often it's easy to overlook non-musical influences when listening to an album. Given that a great deal of music (and music writing) takes quite a singular approach, avoiding multidisciplinary thought in favour of placing sounds within an established canon, it's wonderful to occasionally come across a record that's intensely evocative of the world beyond its self-contained universe.”
http://thequietus.com/articles/07520-quietus-albums-of-the-year-2011
ALTERED ZONES TOP ALBUMS OF 2011:
“It's twelve elegiac pieces shifted from moments of action to periods of stasis. Passages of ambient purity tussled with lurching movements of hazy noise; synthesisers from the studio dialogue with organ sub-bass recorded in an Icelandic church. It was a journey that slowed down time to the point of stopping it altogether.”
http://alteredzones.com/posts/2163/2011-albums/
UNCUT TOP ALBUMS OF 2011: #30 Ravedeath, 1972:
http://stereogum.com/891311/uncuts-top-50-albums-of-2011/list/
ON TOUR NOW
(UPDATED DECEMBER 13, 2011):
Action Beat
12/16 - Derby, UK @ Old Bell Hotel
Atlas Sound
12/17 - Brooklyn, NY @ Bell House
12/18 - NYC @ Bowery Ballroom
02/19 - Tokyo, Japan @ Ebisu Garden Hall
A Winged Victory For The Sullen
01/10 - Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso
01/11 - Rotterdam, Netherlands @ Worm
01/12 - Antwerp, Belgium @ De Roma
01/14 - Manchester, UK @ Academy 3
01/15 - Glasgow, UK @ Oran Mor
01/16 - London, UK @ Cecil Sharpe House
01/17 - Reading, UK @ South Street
01/18 - Cork, Ireland @ Half Moon
01/19 - Dublin, Ireland @ Sugar Club
Benoit & Sergio
12/16 - Washington, DC @ U Street Music Hall
12/17 - Toronto, Ontario @ Footwork
Andrew Bird
12/21 - Chicago, IL @ Museum of Contemporary Art
12/22 - Chicago, IL @ Museum of Contemporary Art
01/12 - Honolulu, HI @ Hawaii Theatre
03/05 - London, UK @ Barbican Cantre
03/06 - Paris, France @ La Cigale
03/08 - Brussels, Belgium @ Cirque Royal
03/09 - Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso
03/15 - Dallas, TX @ Majestic Theatre
03/16 - New Orleans, LA @ The Howlin’ Wolf
03/17 - Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
03/19 - Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
03/20 - Columbus, OH @ Southern Theatre
03/22 - St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
03/23 - Kansas City, MO @ The Uptown Theatre
03/24 - Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theatre
04/09 - Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
04/10 - Vancouver, BC @ The Vogue
04/11 - Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
04/13 - Oakland, CA @ Fox Theatre
04/18 - Mesa, AZ @ Ikeda Theatre at Mesa Arts Center
04/19 - Santa Fe, NM @ Lensic Performing Arts Center
04/20 - Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theatre
05/03 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
05/04 - NYC @ Beacon Theatre
05/05 - NYC @ Beacon Theatre
05/06 - Boston, MA @ House of Blues
05/08 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
05/09 - Baltimore, MD @ Ram’s Head Live
05/10 - Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore Detroit
05/12 - Chicago, IL @ Auditorium Theatre
Bodycode
12/17 - Berlin, Germany @ Horst
12/23 - Sapporo, Japan @ Precious Hall
12/24 - Tokyo, Japan @ Eleven
01/01 - Berlin, Germany @ About Blanc
01/14 - Cologne, Germany @ Pulsar
01/28 - Provence, France @ Second Nature
02/03 - Capetown, South Africa @ Fiction
02/24 - Frankfurt, Germany @ Robert Johnson
Bonnie “Prince” Billy
01/23 - Utrecht, Netherlands @ Tivoli
01/24 - Gent, Belgium @ Vooruit
01/25 - London, UK @ Hackney Empire
01/29 - Glasgow, UK @ Old Fruitmarket
Peter Brötzmann/Paal Nilssen-Love/Fred Lonberg-Holm
02/19 - London, UK @ Cafe OTO
02/20 - London, UK @ Cafe OTO
02/25 - London, UK @ Cafe OTO
Califone
01/19 - NYC @ Kaufmann Concert Hall (New York Guitar Festival 2012)
California Guitar Trio
01/24 - Osaka, Japan @ Billboard Live
01/25 - Tokyo, Japan @ Billboard Live
02/24 - St. Louis, MO @ The Old Rock House
02/25 - Indianapolis, IN @ Radio Radio
02/26 - Lexington, KY @ Natasha’s Bistro
02/27 - Frankfort, KY @ Kentucky Coffeetree Cafe
02/29 - Athens, GA @ Melting Point
03/01 - Charlotte, NC @ The Evening Muse
03/02 - Asheville, NC @ The Altamont
03/03 - Atlanta, GA @ The 5 Spot
03/04 - Chattanooga, TN @ Rhythym & Brews
03/05 - Birmingham, AL @ Workplay Theatre
03/09 - Houston, TX @ Mucky Duck
03/22 - Okoboji, IA @ Pearson Lakes Art Center
03/23 - Cedar Rapids, IA @ CSPS
03/24 - Hartford, WI @ Knoll Theatre
03/25 - Evanston, IL @ Evanston Space
03/29 - Grand Rapids, MI @ Grand Rapids Community College Center
03/30 - Rockford, IL @ The Sullivan Center
04/01 - Ann Arbor, MI @ The Ark
04/05 - NYC @ The Blue Note
04/07 - Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse Music Hall
04/12 - Terrebone, Quebec @ Theatre du Vieux Terrebonne
04/13 - St. Hyacinthe, Quebec @ Espace Rona du Centre des Arts
04/14 - Quebec City, Quebec @ Palais Montcalm
04/17 - Burlington, Ontario @ Main Theatre Burlington PAC
04/21 - San Louis Obispo, CA @ Spanos Theatre
04/22 - Saratoga, CA @ Carriage House
04/25 - Napa, CA @ Mondavi Theatre
04/27 - Bend, OR @ Tower Theatre
04/28 - Forest Grove, OR @ McReady Recital Hall
05/12 - Pomeroy, OH @ Fur Peace Ranch
Bill Callahan
02/08 - NYC @ Lincoln Center/Allen Room (American Songbook Series)
Cave
01/20 - Chicago, IL @ The Hideout
Com Truise
01/11 - Chicago, IL @ Tomorrow Never Knows Festival 2012
James T. Cotton
12/15 - Berlin, Germany @ Chez Jacki
12/16 - Berlin, Germany @ Suicide Circus
12/17 - Hamburg, Germany @ Silber Club
Matthew Dear
01/20 - Perth, Australia @ Likes Of You (DJ Set)
01/21 - Brisbane, Australia @ Bar Soma (DJ Set)
01/22 - Wellington, New Zealand @ Sandwiches (DJ Set)
01/25 - Melbourne, Australia @ Novel (DJ Set)
01/26 - Sydney, Australia @ AGWA Yacht Club (DJ Set)
Disappears
12/31 - Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
02/18 - Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret
02/19 - Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey
02/20 - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir
02/23 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
02/24 - Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy & Harriet’s
02/25 - San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
Diskjokke
01/30 - 02/05 - Berlin, Germany @ CTM Festival 2012
The Ex
03/16 - Strasbourg, France @ La Laiterie Club
03/23 - Rouen, France @ Le 106
Faun Fables
01/11 - Oakland, CA @ The Crucible
01/12 - Oakland, CA @ The Crucible
01/13 - Oakland, CA @ The Crucible
01/14 - Oakland, CA @ The Crucible
01/18 - Oakland, CA @ The Crucible
01/20 - Oakland, CA @ The Crucible
01/21 - Oakland, CA @ The Crucible
Laura Gibson
01/28 - Norfolk, VA @ Attucks Theatre
01/30 - NYC @ Mercury Lounge
02/04 - Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern
Girl Talk
12/31 - Dallas, TX @ Lights All Night
Glorytellers
04/09 - Rochester, NY @ Boudler Coffee Company
04/10 - Rochester, NY @ Boudler Coffee Company
05/09 - Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place
05/10 - Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place
Rachel Grimes
01/04 - Madrid, Spain @ La Casa Encendida
David Grubbs
12/14 - Brooklyn, NY @ Zebulon
12/30 - Louisville, KY @ The Bard’s Town
04/20 - Berlin, Germany @ Hebbel Am Ufer HAU1
David Grubbs & Susan Howe
03/06 - NYC @ The New School
04/05 - New Haven, CT @ Yale University
Half Japanese
03/09 - 12 Minehead, UK @ All Tomorrow’s Parties 2012
Neil Hamburger
02/10 - Miami, FL @ Bruise Cruise Festival
Tim Hecker
01/30 - 02/05 - Berlin, Germany @ CTM Festival 2012
Sophia Knapp (of Cliffie Swan)
12/14 - NYC @ Sway
Pokey LaFarge
12/13 - Iowa City, IA @ The Mill
12/14 - Rock Island, IL @ Rozz Tox
12/15 - St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway (7pm show)
12/15 - St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway (9:30pm show)
12/16 - Lawrence, KS @ Liberty Hall
12/17 - Columbia, MO @ Mojo’s
Low
12/17 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
04/02 - Birmingham, UK @ Glee Club
04/03 - London, UK @ Royal Festival Hall
Man...Or Astro-Man?
12/15 - Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald’s
12/16 - Austin, TX @ Emo’s
12/17 - Dallas, TX @ Sons of Herman Hall
Michna
12/25 - Erlangen, Germany @ E-Werk
Mux Mool
12/28 - Los Angeles, CA @ Low End Theory
12/29 - Tahoe, CA @ Snowball Festival
12/30 - San Francisco, CA @ 1015 Folsom
12/31 - Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
Joanna Newsom
03/09 - Minehead, UK @ All Tomorrow’s Parties
Scout Niblett
01/10 - Hamburg, Germany @ Hafenklang
01/11 - Darmstadt, Germany @ Oetinger Villa
01/12 - Lucerne, Switzerland @ Schuur
01/13 - Erfurt, Germany @ Franz Mehlhose
01/14 - Cologne, Germany @ King Georg
Nisennenmondai
12/09 -11 - Minehead, UK @ All Tomorrow’s Parties
Olivia Tremor Control
01/07 - Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
03/07 - London, UK @ Cargo
03/09-12 - Minehead, UK @ All Tomorrow’s Parties
05/30 - 06/01 - Barcelona, Spain @ Primavera Sound Festival 2012
Part Chimp
12/17 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
Alasdair Roberts
12/14 - Leeds, UK @ Westwood Studios (Invite Only!)
12/15 - Sheffield, UK @ The Greystones
12/17 - Oxford, UK @ Modern Art Oxford
12/21 - London, UK @ The Wilmington Arms
03/08 - Leeds, UK @ Howard Assembly Room
Laetitia Sadier
1/19 - Porto, Portugal @ Casa da Musica (Clubbing Optimus Festival)
Ty Segall
01/14 - Morgantown, WV @ 123 Pleasant Street
02/02 - Middletown, CT @ Wesleyan University
02/03 - Hanover, NH @ Dartmouth University
03/02 - San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
03/03 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Troubadour
03/04 - San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
Shigeto
12/14 - Brooklyn, NY @ Glasslands
Ben Sollee
12/29 - Louisville, KY @ Brown Theatre
Subhumans
12/15 - Bristol, UK @ The Fleece
12/16 - Coventry, UK @ Kasbah
12/17 - Sheffield, UK @ Corporation
12/18 - London, UK @ Borderline
01/09 - Milton Keynes, UK @ The Pitz
Tycho
01/13 - Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
01/13 - Pontiac, MI @ Crofoot Ballroom
01/14 - Toronto, ON @ Wrong Bar
01/16 - Montreal, QC @ Il Motore
01/18 - Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place
01/19 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Shadow Lounge
01/20 - Charlottesville, VA @ The Southern
01/21 - Wilmington, NC @ The Soapbox
01/23 - Saint Augustine, FL @ The Original Cafe 11
01/24 - Gainesville, FL @ Double Down Live
01/26 - Orlando, FL @ The Social
01/27 - Tampa, FL @ Crowbar
01/28 - Miami, FL @ Bardot Miami
01/30 - Athens, GA @ Georgia Theatre
01/31 - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
02/01 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
02/02 - Washington, DC @ Rock And Roll Hotel
02/03 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Rotunda
Ume
12/31 - Austin, TX @ Emo’s East
02/12 - Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
02/14 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
02/15 - Boise, ID @ Neurolux
02/17 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos
02/18 - Vancouver, BC @ The Media Club
02/19 - Portland, OR @ Bunk Bar
02/22 - San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall (Noise Pop Festival)
02/24 - Hollywood, CA @ Troubadour
02/25 - Pamona, CA @ The Glass House
02/26 - San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
02/27 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom
02/28 - Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
03/02 - Kansas City, MO @ Record Bar
03/03 - Omaha, NE @ Slowdown
Unsane
05/24 - 27 Baltimore, MD @ Maryland Deathfest 2012
Wussy
12/17 - Cleveland, OH @ Beachland
12/18 - Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups
01/20 - Cincinnati, OH @ Motr Pub
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