Teeel - Amulet (V0)

I don't like synthpop at all, it's probably one of my least favorite genres but thankfully someone made a synthpop album for me, one that doesn't seem like it was stenciled out of the 80's.

Listen to Masterplan
Download Amulet
Support Teeel

Com Truise - Cyanide Sisters EP (320)

I've been on a huge IDM kick in the past couple weeks, and I've pretty much submerged my head in this music in a way that is unusual for me. When I go through phases, usually it's like a few bands that I think are "neat" and I just obsess for a while, after which I just return to my generic taste.

But in the past couple weeks I want to say I've downloaded about two gigagbytes of new music, supplied by a healthy list of awesome blogs (RIP shoegazeralive), and I am loving it.

So.

Com Truise. Not really sure what I can compare this to. I would put them in the same boat as the band I posted a week or two ago, Houses. Mellow electronic music, affluent in danceable rhythms, funky beats and lovely synths and pads. "BASF Ace" makes me feel like I should be walking down the street completely naked, not giving a fuck.

I am/was not so familiar with the recent fad of 'chillwave' that many astute bloggers seem to have noticed. I'm not one to get caught in social trends for the wrong reasons when it comes to music, (a la Wavves/Best Coast/Girls) so I think I can say this music adequately stands out against the electronic music you'll find elsewhere. A good jumping off point if you're fresh off the Boards of Canada boat. Plant your feet on this EP, entitled Cyanide Sisters, you won't regret it.

This EP is also a reissue, as it was Com Truise's (aka Seth Haley) first release. It was released for free and I believe is still available as a free download from a number of places. (officially, of course).

Listen to the standout track "Slow Peels" here via youtube.

Download here, or pay literally 99 cents for the reissue here.

And listen to it! The King of Limbs can wait.

UPDATE: I just realized that the song "BASF Ace" is incorrectly tagged on this particular upload. It is tagged as "Basf Base," wheras it should be "BASF Ace." My apologies.

Baths - Cerulean (V0)

Being a person who, in the last 6 months, has come to truly love and appreciate the artists on the record label anticon., I began having a real thirst for acquiring albums by the members of the indie-famous Collective. Even though my computer was not enabled to download, and my wallet was not enabled to buy, I really could not shake the feeling of wanting to hear more.

My quest began with the chill wave-y, acoustic/electronic sounds of Baths, but let me tell you: trying to appreciate an album while listening to it via YouTube is bad news bears. Even so, I still came to love Cerulean, in all of its organic flow and glory. If the word softness could be represented by a sound, this album would be the perfect choice. Cerulean is most definitely on my list for best of 2010, and Baths has earned a well-deserved spot on my radar.

Favorite songs: Lovely Bloodflow, Maximalist, Aminals, Hall, You're My Excuse to Travel

My Rating: 9.8/10

Get yourself some here.

Big Spider's Back - Turns (320)

Big Spider's Back released his third EP this year back in August, for free from his website. It features two completely new songs and three remixes of tracks off of his 2009 EP, Warped. The two tracks that are new are definitely more pop/dance than his previously releases, which were clearly more influenced by bands like Blind Man's Colour and Washed Out. His remixes, two of which are for Perfect Machine, skate around the old melodies and psychedelia of the original versions to create songs less about chilling out and more about getting on your feet and dancing a little.

Download.
Website.