Rimar - Higher Ground (2011)

This is lush chill-out music. It will give you a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. It doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel, but it is enjoyable. The tracks are short, most of them in the 2-3 minute range. Park Talk is event shorter at 1:28, but it might be the most emotionally powerful, with a kind of spacey insinuating vibe. The rest of the tracks are playful and danceable, drawing inspiration from dubstep, chill-wave and even R&B.

Rimar's music sounds very effortless produced, you might say to yourself "I can do this too" when listening to some of these tracks. You can view this as a quality, makes it intimate, instead of inaccessible and alienating. A little amateurish and derivative to rival the likes of How To Dress Well or Tim Hacker, of which I wrote enthusiastically on this blog, but an album worth listening to.

You can download it for free from here.

YALL - Drink From Between Our Hair EP (2011)

Rating:8/10

Guitar and drums, that's all you need. I'm really starting to get into instrumental music lately, I love the raw simplicity of it. The act I'm writing about now is YALL, based out of Austin/Denton, TX. Their EP is called Drink From Between Our Hair, and it's thrilling. Fast-paced and uncompromising, I guess YALL also attempts to sound angry, but I feel their sound to be more comforting than aggressive. You never feel abandoned while listening to this EP, even when you don't really get the melody, you get the noise, which is enough. Bang, bang, bang...the drums are relentless, this EP follows the progressive rock formula to the letter, with sounds on top of each other, fantasy ideas, and a disregard for the classic verse-chorus-based song structure.

Everything is abstract, like a lot of the music I write about on my blog. Off-course the name of the songs have now meaning than to make you wonder. It's all about two guys named Travis and Andy who enjoy and feel passionate about what their doing, and we feel it with them. Also, they have no problem in giving their music for free, and we salute them for that.

You can download the EP for free from here.

Radiohead - The King of Limbs (2011)

Rating:8/10

It's dense and full of ideas, like any Radiohead record. The only problem is that there isn't anything new here. Kid A was so surprising and spectacular it divided their fans and made them the talk of the music industry. Instead, The King of Limbs is mostly great, but predictable. The best part is at the middle, with tracks 4, 5 and 6 acting as perfect examples of the post-Kid A Radiohead sound - eerie, insidious, a music of the primal feeling.

The record is short and to the point, the band has tremendous chemistry and plays very natural, as expected after all these years. This is intense and effortless music, Yorke's apocalyptic surrealism feels soft and delicate, and at times a little restrained. Like Kid A or Amnesiac, The King of Limbs is a record designed to trouble and fascinate, and it does just that. It's just that the standards set by Radiohead are so high, some of us are only content with stratospheric music from them.

Lotus Flower has a very cool video, who knew Thom Yorke is such a great dancer. Probably the best track from the record.





You can buy the album from here.

Non Dolet - Inner (2011)

Rating:8/10

A rich album, with politics, nature, pianos, trains and real melancholic poetry. It manages to keep you interest for its entire duration, which is very important for any record. I really took my time with Non Dolet, I received this message from Alisa from Russia on March 2, 2011: „Hello. Your blog is interesting! I am a musician. Could you listen my music and publish at your blog, if you like?”. And I like.

I read on her page on Last.fm that Alisa studies at the music conservatory, specialising in sound directing. And come to think of it, this does sound like a soundtrack to something. Inner is eerie for most of its duration, creepy and even scary sometimes, but there is also a lot of warmth and sensibility. The record doesn't just play with the same ideas, there is a lot of diversity on it, with themes as varied as George's Bush speeches, or church organ solos. My favourite moments are those when a sort of screechy train sounding effect comes into action, accompanied lovely by a guitar like on Bushido. And then there are those piano solos, so simple apparently, but very effective.

You can download the album for free from here.

Nash Smith & Ganges - Nash Smith & Ganges EP (2011)

Rating:9/10

I don't know what it reminds me of, or if it reminds me of anything. But I think I can safely say this is the EP/album I enjoyed the most from the ones sent directly to my e-mail by unassigned acts. It's serious, full of drama, with noises reminiscent of Sonic Youth maybe, only more spacey and dreamy. Nash Smith & Ganges EP starts off will a track called Hunters, moody, sentimental and laid-back. Only you can already tell from the instrumentation of the song, this act is not as straight-forward as it might appear. It gets really eerie afterwards, the sound striking a balance between psychedelic noise, hazy pop and synthpop. All the tracks sound like successful projects; this act is made out of 3 individuals, and you get the feeling they each took their turn in displaying their ideas and preferences. And they did a great job of it.

I had a short revelation just now, the second track Black Cadillac has a Joy Division spin to it. Seriously people, this is special music, at times sounding incredible, and you can download for free from here.

P.S. I'm listening to Kill the Lights as I write this. I really want to meet Melissa Smith. :)

Zak Smith - Haunted Feet (2011)

Rating:8/10

This is very well written and executed. The first track doesn't really do it for me, but the rest of them are colourful, nostalgic, and have real soul. Zak Smith remainds me of an act I really love, the Hold Steady. It has the same approach to alternative music, the same motives, and sharp comments about love and lost. Haunted Feet tries to be anthemic and grand, and it succeeds, but it's also a lot of fun. It tells of heartbreaks, but in a lively and excited manner, rather than in desperation.

The Ones That Got Away Will Bury Me is my favourite track I guess, but I also like the last one, Faith But Waiting. It's not really fashionable, actually the opposite of it, but the bar-room rock atmospherics are very enjoyable; a simple formula but very effective. The female vocals are also strong and convincing on this track; lovely duet.

You can download the EP for free from here.

James Blake - James Blake (2011)

Rating:10/10

I took my time with this record. It kinda troubled me, I had mixed feeling about it. James Blake it an avant-gardist, this is not typical music; many say it's dubstep, but there really is no form in it, instead something completely spontaneous, from the heart, emotions whispered out loud. The record is perplexing, there are no screams in it, but there is a quiet dynamism, suggesting someone is still in control. The productions are minimal; James Blake is unshakable, his music is totally naked, disarming. Even the moments of silence are perfectly weighted.

Not since Anthony and the Johnson did I encounter something so fragile and powerful at the same time. The soundscapes are austere, but also gentle and touching. To think the album was recorded by Blake in his bedroom...I guess it's easy to create a world of your own, to follow a unique path, when having so much talent and sensibility. James Blake's selftitled is record of 2011 so far.

To Care (Like You) has a confessional tone, it's like a dialogue with someone who seems far away emotionally. A track that like the rest of the album proves powerful statements are best whispered and suggested quietly, rather than screamed. Here's a remix of the song.





You can buy the album from here.