Stars of the Lid

Stars of the Lid, the divine post-ambient pairing of Adam Wiltzie and Brian McBride, are readying their latest long player, Stars of the Lid and Their Refinement of the Decline, a typically monumental 3LP/double CD release through Kranky and scheduled to appear on April 2.

Following up on their last slab of drone/ambient released nearly 6 years ago, The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid, they are refining the sound of tectonic plates moving. Apreludes (In C Sharp Minor) is a typically dense miasma of drones dripping in beautiful melancholy and is a teaser for the album to come.

While most albums of this length would be considered a marathon at best, SOTL are one of the few contemporary groups who can create such a consistently enthralling series of sonambulant resonances ... the soundtrack to a film yet to me made.

Apreludes (In C Sharp Minor) on Kranky

Bacanal Intruder

Bacanal Intruder is a Spanish gentleman by the name of Luis. He plays all of his own musical instruments - piano, melodica, harmonica, spanish guitar, double bass, anything lying around - and records the results into his computer and mashes the results up.

So much electronica released on the net is either repetitive, derivative house or a million and one ambient soundscapes, so it's refreshing and invigorating to hear such lively, imaginative, melodic music, all glitched up into a cocktail of rhythms and harmonies.

Modem is the title track from his release on Zymogen Records, and is an excellent example of his work.

You can download the following EPs:
Modem on Zymogen
Room-A-Tronic on So Soft
Herramientas Para Abrir Un Libro on Test Tube

FJ McMahon

There’s nothing new anymore.

Everything has been done to death, but when a piece of music starts to play and makes your spine tingle with delight, you tend to forget about originality and just go with the flow of the tune.

FJ McMahon’s ultra-rare folk LP "Spirit of the Golden Juice" is one of those albums.

Originally released in 1969 on the Tigereye Music label and reissued on vinyl in the late 90’s, this is a glorious folk album, very much in the style of Tim Hardin and my ears can hear a huge nod to the acoustic side of Stephen Stills.

Most of the tunes on the record are drawn from his experiences in Vietnam as a member of the US Air Force and were recorded after his return to Santa Barbara, California.

'Sister, Brother' is the opening song from the album and draws you in with its simplistic beauty.

Enjoy.

Dr Frankenstein

Dr Frankenstein are a Portuguese three-piece surf rock band, based around the flamboyant guitar work of André Joaquim. They take their cues from the likes of The Ventures, Link Wray and The Phantom Surfers.

Cat's Eyes is the first track from their album The Cursed Tapes released free on the intertubes, on the netlabel Stealing Orchestra. Whilst the playing is good, the whole production feels just a little too clean and studio bound - perhaps because the drums were re-recorded a couple of years after the guitar and bass. Despite that, this music makes you want to grab some shades and bermuda shorts and impress bikini-clad girls!

Hang nine, dude! Or something...

Click here to download the entire album.

Tim and Sam's Tim and the Sam Band with Tim and Sam

TaSTatSBwTaS are a guy called Tim and his band, of which there are usually six, none of which are called Sam. When they play live, half the members wear T-Shirts with 'Tim' written on them, no one wears a T-Shirt with 'Sam' written on it. Only one member, Tim, is called Tim. They make instrumental music with acoustic guitars, clarinets, cellos, glockenspeils and ahhhhs. The sound is organic, melodious and, well, cute; kinda like a forest saying goodnight to all the little woodland creatures. In my experience, it's rare to find a band that attempts to channel youthful awkwardness into something so graceful and unashamedly uncool--I think it's great.

I bought this EP from Tim's mum, as she was sat behind a table at the gig. It came with a free teabag. But if you don't live in Manchester, you can grab Tim's self-released three track EP from the myspace. Here's the magnificent title track; enjoy:

Tim and Sam's Tim and the Sam Band with Tim and Sam - Stepping Stones

The Consolations

From Stockport (it's so near Manchester - it actually touches) - there was quite a flutter on teh interweb regarding this outfit. Suggesting that they might sound like a lo-fi Beta Band or something. So we popped over to their masspiss webpage to see whether there was any meat to this broth.

Well, well. What a total disservice to both outfits. The Consolations have entirely their own style, calling on influences (I would guess) as diverse as The Fall, Beck and undoubtably Master Waits himself. This track is taken from the current EP, The Borrowed Time EP, which is out on Upset Zombie Records. It's my favourite of what I've heard so far.

• The Consolations - A little bit more of you mp3 (From The Borrowed Time EP)
  

STHIL

STHIL - Beyond the reach of the satellite feeds


Sthil, I've just worked out is not in tribute to the powertool manufacturer as I read on another blog somewhere, but is instead is short for "Search the heavens if lost" - which makes them sound a little bit like an emo band (planes mistaken for stars and so on) - but they're not. They are Jenn Leathers and Joel Willard from Austin Texas and they describe themselves electronic indie pop. I've listened to the album over the holiday period a few times and it's great. Like a happy Boards of Canada meets a tuneful Books over at Keiran Hebdan's house on a rainy saturday afternoon and decide to write a pop record whilst stoned. I've chosen this track as the most representative of the album, beyond the reach of the satellite feeds. Perfect for those long days of laudanum-enduced soporific ennui.

• STHIL - this could be forever MP3 (self-released 2006)
  

Buy and /or stream the rest of the album here