on Sunday 30 March 2008
I'm feeling a little less than inspired of late so your just gonna have to trust me on these, let the music do the talking so to speak, I guess that’s how it should be anyway...over the last few months I’ve stumbled over some of the most lovely instrumental music I’ve heard in sometime, delicately reassuring textures of warmth wrapped in electronic washes, peppered with simple yet piercing piano, an instrument I’m growing to love by the day, so much feeling in each note, I really want to learn how to play properly yet I don't have the will power to do it, one day I hope.
Need More Sources is the brainchild of Chris Stewart a delightful mix of pianos, stringed instruments and delicately treated electronics, falling between Motoro Faam, Colleen and Max Richter and a welcome addition to any weekend when your week has just been too much, an album to cherish.
At the other end of the spectrum sit, well maybe not sit, perhaps a more accurate picture would be of an agitated, impatience, and standing up and sitting down, standing up and pacing up and down, are And So I Watch You From Afar. Although I will always stick up for post rock when the critics shake their sticks so predictably at it for its ...erm, predictability, I do find myself occasionally getting tired of all the Explosions in the Sky wannabees out there and more often than not prefer those who go to the effort of making strings, violins and cellos particularly, a strong feature of their sound. And So I Watch You From Afar choose not to yet manage to throw in some great dynamics on a par or maybe even better than Russian Circles and Let Airplanes Circle Overhead..I like this alot...
And So I Watch You From Afar - I Capture Castles MP3
And So I Watch You From Afar - Holylands, 4am MP3
...I also like Not To Reason Why, again fitting undisputedly into the post rock scene but with enough about them to stand apart from the crowd, gentle piano riffs lull you in before they kick in without ever going to far into the obvious crashing, epic climaxes so often called upon. 1.21 Jiggawatts!? stands out...
Stream tracks here

Sources
Tapas n Tapas



on Monday 10 March 2008
Encephala -We are the Dreamers of Dreams (Earstroke)

In a week when we have been spoilt with new albums, new offerings from The Long Blondes, Blood Red Shoes, Isobel Campbell, Blood on the Wall & Portishead have all leaked into the hard drives of music lovers world over, and yet the albums that have captured my attention most this week have all been from net labels, extraspecially so the magical We are the Dreamers of Dreams by Nate Zuckermans' wonderfully original dream project Encephala.

Each track a dream experience retold set to dreamy soundscapes and often spiralling off far into the surreal. I have never heard anything quite like it, perhaps the closest comparison being Michael Andrews excellent soundtrack to the equally inspiring Miranda July film, Me & You & Everyone We Know. Gloriously dreamy and occasionaly spooky each track is captivating and addictive capturing the beauty of dream, the infinite possibilities of escaping every day life, the escape that us dreamers yearn for and get sucked into, reaching a heartaching pinnacle on I Just "i just wanted you to be alive" she repeats again and again "the driver tells me that i have to let you go" such conviction, such tragedy, you can almost hear the tears running down her face. Rarely is such tragic beauty captured this well.