United Nations - United Nations (V0)

Can't say I remember when was the last time I posted, or what was the last thing I posted. I remember posting though.

During a consistently hectic two months I find myself here now, for the first time in my life with an actual direction in life and actually putting my potential to use; and all I want to do now is listen to experimental and hectic music, one following the footsteps of Karl Marx's conflict theory where harmony can only come from conflict between... well, everything. No, opposites do not attract; but they create something beautiful in the process of repelling each other.

Out of these messes of days came into my hands this, an album I only picked up due to its cover art. At the time, I looked at it and saw it as a short story that mirrored exactly what I felt, The Beatles walking in across Abbey Road one way, where they created a beautiful piece of pop music, and then leaving it on fire, finished. No, I didn't create a beautiful piece of pop music, but I had something nice and it was over and left me burned.

But this isn't an album about anything beautiful, or anything pop, or anything related to anything. It's an album of experimental grindcore, power-violence, and post-hardcore that isn't meant to make you forget about problems, or fight about them, but to make you yell incoherently at whatever you'd like, and make you want to punch someone, and maybe you will punch someone; I'd like to punch someone myself.

So take this home with you (Sample)
and tell everyone to go fuck themselves. (Download)

Also, take a look at the bands website; it's hilarious.
http://www.unitedfuckingnations.com/faq.html

Gregor Samsa - 55:12 (V0)

Sometime last week I posted Rest, an album by Virginian post-rock band Gregor Samsa. Well, I have to be honest. While Rest is certainly a fantastic album, it's not the one I would liked to have posted. I didn't come into this digital copy until last night, and so I thought I would share it with you all. Some of you might be familiar with Gregor Samsa's fusion of vocals and post-rock. If you aren't, then what this album is... it's second wave post-rock along the lines of Sigur Ros's now famous Ágætis Byrjun. While the other albums they released were slightly more subdued, this one is not lacking in its ability to captivate the listener. It has a higher energy than their other albums (especially Rest), so if you are completely wary of any sorts of crescendos or "walls of sound" then you might be more inclined to check out their other albums.

It's clear, as you listen to this, that Gregor Samsa sweats the details. The album was self-produced, as well as mixed by the legendary Brian Paulson, who has also worked with Wilco, Beck, and Slint. It's teeming with ambience, soaring sounds and breathy vocals, and it all seems to fit together like one of those little puzzles that you try to take apart and put back together.

The moral of the story is that if you ever wake up and find yourself transformed into a hideous bug-like monster that you should immediately start up this record and wait for your father.

Download here, buy it here.

Find Rest here and find 27:36 here.

California Wives - Affair EP (320)

Well. I wasn't expecting this.

I initially heard this band because I saw that they were opening for The Helio Sequence at a show I'm going to in January. Needless to say, my love for The Helio Sequence impelled me to check out the opening bands, and what I found was pretty awesome.

California Wives are a band that is still in the process of publicizing their music, and I thought it would be nice to contribute to that. Their music is what could best be described as shoegaze done by a pop band. They don't have the thin and foggy sound that similar bands like Wild Nothing have, but they seem to have absolutely no apprehensions about cranking their phase shifters to 11. The melodies that their multiple vocalists spin over the hazy guitars are catchy but leave a sizable distance between themselves and the listeners. The Affair EP, which is the most representative selection of their songs available, is really worth the short 21 minutes it will take to listen to it.

You can acquire it here and purchase it here.

They Might Be Giants - Here Comes Science (V0)

The most recent children's album from They Might Be Giants, Here Comes Science, is only a children's album in the sense that it celebrates the curiosity and thirst for knowledge that children have before bickering, cynical adults take it away from them. Don't expect complexity; this album is joyously simple, infectious and heartfelt.

Come on, come on and meet the elements,
You and I are complicated but we're made of elements!

Pomegranates - Everybody Come Outside! (V2)

If you ask Wikipedia what pop music is, you'll get this.

Pop music (a term that originally derives from an abbreviation of "popular") is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented towards a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short and simple love songs and utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.

I think that, however articulate this definition may be, 'pop' has come to mean a whole new thing in relation to modern music. And yes, genres are something that people love to hate. Hell, I posted an album review a couple of days ago while using the term slowcore. What the hell is slowcore? (Click here to find out.)

Well, the fact is, these things exist as a way for us to communicate the sounds of a particular piece of music or art to other people. Genres, as silly as they seem, serve those of us who can't describe the way something 'sounds' accurately. I don't think that Seurat said to himself one day, "And now I will create Pointillism." It was Seurat being Seurat. Don't quote me though.

So. That said, Pomegranates are indie pop. They are basically soft rock with catchy lines and plenty of hooks thrown in. Isn't that what people usually say? Hooks, lines, riffs, themes, melodies?

2009's Everybody Come Outside! is a sonically rich album, full of swelling guitars, textural melodies and the poignant croon of frontman Joey Cook's falsetto. The album, their second LP released on Afternoon Records, will take you places that pop doesn't always take people, places that seem emotionally relevant, places that seem awkward, places that seem hopeful, and places that seem like they are just happier than they should be. These guys are rising in popularity, due to some really lucky breaks, and more importantly, a cohesive artistic direction that is heading towards something great.

Download here, buy it here.

The high school swimming pool never seemed so far away.

Cerberus Shoal - The Land We All Believe In (V0)

Probably the most apt display of Cerberus Shoal's transition between their long form, eclectic and somewhat improvisational early albums and the newer, more accessible and folksy Fire on Fire releases. The Land We All Believe In is essentially a precursor to The Orchard. It reminds me of Eugene Hütz, particularly his work on movie soundtracks and his band Gogol Bordello.

Download.

Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma (FLAC)

Over the last few years, the boys over at Warp Records have been continuously putting out high-quality music. This year, Cosmogramma joins other landmark releases from Warp as a shining example of what a good electronic music producer is capable of doing. Flying Lotus has created an expansive, attention grabbing work eerily similar in its aspirations to 2007's Untrue. Although certainly less isolationist and perhaps more spiritual, Cosmogramma and Untrue serve fundamentally to answer the same contemplative existentialist questions.

It has been mentioned before that probably the first sign of quality in this album is that Steven Ellison put so much effort into the introduction to his album, which spans across four of the album's incredible seventeen tracks. Within the first ten seconds of the introduction, Ellison demonstrates his orchestral mastery with a fluttering introduction of the bassline, alluding perhaps to the latent themes of metamorphosis, as with a butterfly, or eternity, as with the continually expanding and contracting universe.

Thom Yorke makes an excellent guest appearance, quelling the dangerously unfocused tendency of Ellison's themes towards the astronomical with his own brand of meditation and isolationism. This same delicate attention to balance between intro- and extroversion is paid throughout Cosmogramma, notably between Laura Darlington's cameo in Table Tennis and Galaxy in Janaki, a song which, for all of its allusions to the womb of the Goddess Sita and the spiritual womb of the universe, comes across as Ellison's greatest exposition into the eternal and encompassing nature of the seemingly biological, pulsating universe.

Cosmogramma commands attention. A work of such depth should be listened to with the same attitude that went into producing it, but if you're looking for something less engaging, Cosmogramma can accomplish that task just as well.

Get it in FLAC.

The Knife - Silent Shout (FLAC)

The Knife's Silent Shout is one of the most innovative albums I've ever heard. Ranging from very atmospheric, almost ambient songs like "The Captain," to synthpop songs with a focus on vocals such as "Marble House," this album is all over the electronica map. It's dark, it's pop, it's dance, everything. Karin Dreijer Andersson is probably the best vocalist in the electronic scene right now. That voice will be in your head for days to come. Although her and the other half of The Knife - Olof Dreijer - are both Swedish, this album is sung entirely in English. Even so, I can't quite tell you what all this album is about. I've heard that the album is based off of the Black Hole comics by Charles Burns. The extent of what I know is that it has to do with a fictional STD that causes it's victims to become mutated... quite strange, I know. The album definitely portrays that strangeness, no doubt, in a whole new light.

To summarize, if you're at all interested in the electronic music scene, I highly recommend this album. It will hold your attention for most - if not the whole 11 track ride, and the constant change of sound should keep you guessing as to what's coming next.

Highlights: Silent Shout, Marble House, Forest Families

Music, tonight. I just want your music tonight.

Download in V2.

The Microphones - The Glow Pt. 2 (FLAC)

It was Saturday, October 30th to be exact, and it must of been around 3:40 am as I stood out on the corner of some barely alive street with a few other people waiting for the same bus as me to take us to Washington D.C. for what would end up being a hugely disappointing John Stewart/Steven Colbert rally. I got on the bus that was already full and found the only open window seat and sat down, my friend sat next to me and I promptly told him:

"As soon as the bus gets out of the streets and onto the highway, I'm turning on music and completely losing my connection to reality."

The bus reached the highway around 4:40 am at which point I was still completely awake. I turned on The Glow Pt. 2 and was ready to give an album that I had been interested in for over 2 years its first listen. By the end of it I was confused and had no fucking clue whether I liked it or not, so I turned it on again. After that second listen, I was certain.

This was my new favorite album ever. For 5 years In Utero stood as the greatest album I had ever heard, but finally, I found something better. Folk incorporating noise rock, experimenting with song structure, using enough crunchy distortion (some of it sounding unintentional, which made it seem even better) to make me think I was chewing a never-ending amount of Dorito's (possibly Cool Ranch, but ever since they changed the packaging cool ranch tastes like shit).

It's been 7 days now since I first heard this album, and it's only 30 plays away from being my most listened album on my last.fm.

If you haven't heard it, prepare to be amazed.
v0 here

Gregor Samsa - Rest (V0)

Hello, folks. Chances are you've realized there has been a lack of posting in the past two or three weeks, which is something that was probably due to the overwhelming period of time that is finals week. I hope everyone did alright, both high schoolers and college-goers know the pain that is finals. You can expect more frequent posts starting about now, because the ugly three-headed beast of a week is finally over for most kids.

So yeah. Gregor Samsa. Man. I've been on a Sigur Rós kick recently, and I have been lucky enough to find a similar band with a few more reservations about their sound. Gregor Samsa is a Virginian post-rock band who utilize dual vocalists to make a very mellow but powerful combination of slowcore and post-rock. Rest is a truly remarkable album full of intertwining melodies and sounds that will make your ears beg for more, and if you have the chance, look into their other albums, they are equally amazing. This isn't your typical crescendo-core, so if you're fresh off the Explosions in the Sky boat then this might be a good opportunity to branch off a bit.

Perfect music for the winter, hope all is well in your land, wherever that is.

Get this album here, and buy it here.

Also, I just realized that my fellow blogmate fauna posted another album by these guys sometime during the last month, so if you're intrigued please check that post out here.

Dimlite - Runbox Weathers (V0)

"A while before he was exposed to music from his present genre colleagues Prefuse 73, Dabrye or Forss, Dimlite already created and looped clicks, cuts as well as odd samples and during this process developed his own technique to express his harmonious destiny. It would be more than unfair to reduce this album to dope hip-hop beats that make your head nod because Runbox Weathers has surely more to offer. The music of this self-made man is deep and personal but at the same time very accessible and not too head driven arty. His environment and his musical background are well reflected and transformed into touching little stories that all blend together as one. His DJ sets also mirror this narrative ability when he cleverly switches from down- to uptempo and from past to present and future.

Dimlite's pendatic affection for analogue sound bites results in a warm and organic atmosphere that builds the foundation for his compositions. Whether it is a traditional Swiss choir he plays the Rhodes to ("Lueget"), him distorting his own voice to such an extend that you think Darth Vader is singing his ballad of loneliness into outer space ("Back To The Universe Pt. 1") or a fragile intonation moving in the background to come right up front in order to pull you away into the stream ("Aurora, Stay Close") – Dimlite's symphonies follow different directions but are always plausible. While it is not recommended to quickly skip through the individual tracks we assure that you will be rewarded when taking the time to fully dig in."

Full review.
Download here.

Keaver & Brause - The Middle Way (320)

Keaver & Brause, known for being half of the magical duo known as Kona Triangle, is a fresh new face in the glitch scene, and one that is warmly welcomed. If you're at all familiar with an artist called Lone (the other half of KT), you will see a great amount of similarities between his early work and this album.

The Middle Way is quite remarkable for being a debut album, full of catchy and enjoyable songs from beginning 'til end. Another one of those albums that are hard to describe, so take my word for it and enjoy.

Download here.

Mimas - The Worries (V0)

Mimas are are a dark independent band from Denmark. Their sound is something like if you took the post-rock progression and intensity found in Godspeed You! Black Emperor and mixed it in a broken blender with 90's emo and a horrifying male post-surgery Tegan and Sara. I've heard people say they also sound like Sigur Rós's take on Built to Spill. They call themselves "death indie," which normally is grounds for being presumed annoying but it's okay because I heard their music before I read the description on their last.fm page.

Seriously though, these guys fuse vocals with post-rock in a way I wasn't really sure was possible before hearing them. It's almost like post-rock pop, and it's delicious.

And they don't skimp on the brass. <3. Download here, buy it here.

Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Heart In Your Heartbreak (320)

For anyone who is a fan of Pains of Being Pure at Heart or related projects, here's a new single out from their upcoming album Belong. It's going to be released in 2011, hopefully early in the year.

No matter what you take, you're never gonna forget.