Deer Legs - 2012 - Demo '12

Instrumental Math Rock

[FOR FREE]

http://deerlegs.bandcamp.com/

• 4 songs to download
• You name the price (min 0,-)
• You get the link if you register your email address
• Listening recommendations: Tristram

Impressions

When I started writing for wasfuersohr, I had a sound in mind that I hoped bandcamp would provide a treasure trove of. Deer Legs's Demo '12 is so far the closest any EP or LP has come to matching that sound that I've come across, and it's oh so sweet to my ears. Call me picky or finicky about my musical tastes (guilty on all counts your honour!), but I likes my math rock a certain way, and Deer Legs provides me with a hit of the good stuff. There's just enough pop sensibility to the song structure and the meticulous guitar work to keep an upbeat tone to things (“Warm Beer” has a party vibe despite it's name). The production is crisp, with everything sounding clean and polished, the guitars have a really warm, inviting quality to them, and the bass has a fullness to it that projects but doesn't overwhelm everyone else. The drums don't get away unscathed either, as they're being strategically pummelled to great affect across all four tracks. All these things combined just keeps drawing me back to this EP for multiple listens and for a demo, these are very complete songs that I don't feel need to be changed at all should they see release on a full length in the future. By this I mean 'have lyrics added to them' for no good reason, these songs work just fine sans voice. The noodling interlude on 'Tristam' for instance would probably be gone. But that isn't the case with these slick demos and Deer Legs have my full attention in 2013.

Records of the Year 2012 - Editorial Picks

This marks the end of the first year, in which we actually managed to provide music throughout the whole year! Running this website takes a bit of time and I am glad that we managed to increase the size of our team with Moses to keep up the volume of posts. We still got hit a bit by the end of the year business where a million other things creep up, but we hope you still enjoyed our recommendations in 2012 as well and will stay with us for a mighty interesting (and legally free) 2013! (Click the album picture for the link)

Marco's Top 3

I just noticed that my recommendations this year are  quite ... Indie/Pop heavy, but nonetheless, these are the recommendations I want EVERYONE to hear. In my opinion they are classics that shouldnt be forgotten, and so I list them once more to give them the attention they deserve.

Calm Hands - Somewhere June: Indie Pop/Electronica

I want to shout about the awesomeness that is this record from the rooftops of every building. Its enchanting, catchy and incredibly satisfying Electronica Pop that deserves a space in everyones music library.
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Rospoem - Carried by Crows EP: Alternative Pop

An incredible voice that will stay with me for a long time to come. Highly impressive and emotionally touching, this is an EP that one wont easily forget. I sincerely hope this was not the last thing we heard of him.

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Gulls - Down the Hatch: Indie/Surf Pop

A sideproject by one of the Magic Man geniusses. Less Electronica, more Surf Pop, this record came out to be an incredibly upbeat and easy listen for all kinds of summer moments. Pretty sure I'll dig this out next summer again.
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Matthew's Top 4

This year my musical tastes were dominated by two major influences, hard rock (mostly off the blog), and a very much metric tonne of synth music - from the trippiest synth-pop to the darkest, dankest dwellings of dark wave, it has been a feast. The records are:

Plaisance - Regatta: Synthpop

A great chilled out vibe of being out on the open ocean, like a sailing a yacht through your ears straight out the 1980's.
 
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Paralelo - Fig 1: Post Punk

Paralelo's Fig 1 (and it's two excellent follow ups) were definitely the most enjoyable come down[s] of the year, cathartic post-punk with no equal for me this year.
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MINH [MAY] - Hunt Your Own...: New Wave/Rock

Hunt Your Own swings closer to a lot of the music I listened to outside the blog, with it's harder edge guitar rock, and political leanings bared for all to hear.

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Kali Ma - SIDDHARTHA EP: Synthpop

I went in somewhat skeptical into this synthpop concept album about Buddhism. I ended up taking the best psychedelic trip of the year with Kali Ma's EP, and I didn't have to leave my chair.
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Moses's Top 3

The sheer number of outstanding releases this year didn’t make my job narrowing down my favorites to just three any easier, but I suppose it did make my job much, much more fun. If I had room, there’s at least five more releases I could have gushed about. You’ll have to live with these three, though.

Bit Bit Orunge – Orbit: Cosmic electronic

Bit Bit Orunge wrote Orbit in six days, but it’s surprisingly rich with detail: he has a mastery of songwriting that carries over well into these understated but gorgeous epics. Soft electronic blips and piano lullabies play side-by-side, sometimes wandering in lonely nothings for a while, sometimes fading into the distance—and sometimes exploding into brilliant sparks of light, and if only for those precious but rare moments of reaffirmation, I can wait out these chilly times.
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Shnabubula - Free Play: Improvisational Piano

Chiptune musician/jazz pianist Samuel Ascher-Weiss is an absolute chameleon. In just one short year, he’s released four albums, all of them different but spectacular in their own way. Of the four, the wide-eyed, free-spirited Free Play remains my favorite. Though the diverse array of instruments layered on top of Ascher-Weiss’s piano improvisations here was only added in production, every piece fits so well that you would hardly notice—and even when it seems like he’s boxed himself into a corner, he has a knack for melody that proves resilient. If you’re convinced that musical inspiration doesn’t exist anymore, this is a much-needed antidote.

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sun cellar - Abstraction: Experimental/Math Rock
This album will go down as the most immediate experience I recall in my time reviewing for wasfuersohr. Usually, you have to listen for around a minute or so before you get an idea of what an artist is trying to do, but with Abstraction, I was thrown headfirst into one of the most intense, cathartic, and catchy jam sessions in recent memory. That’s all I can say, to be honest: you’ll just have to hit play on this one to find out what I’m talking about.

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Franch - 2012 - Orsini

Electronica

[FOR FREE]

http://franch.bandcamp.com/

• 4 songs to download
• For free
• Direct Download
• Listening recommendations: Ravachol

Impressions

If you wanted experimental electronica, this is the album you were waiting for. Taking excellent beats and riffs and then repeating them ad nauseum is usually not a good idea for an interesting or enjoyable listen, let alone one in a genre that relies on them so handily. And yet Orsini never got boring or annoying in its repetition. This is sounding a lot more strangely negative than I had envisioned, because believe me, Orsini is an EP I really enjoyed. It's just that the song structures Franch employs seem so counter intuitive – take an ambient keyboard loop, repeat the fuck out of it for an obscene amount of time, do the same with [an admittedly intense, if funky] drum and bass, adding only the occasional extra element from time to time to make sure the audience is still actively with you (the bridge on “Dieu et l'Etat” for instance; where the low end drops out completely and is replaced with synthetic-sounding horns/wind instruments of some kind (sax maybe?)). Maybe I'm full of shit and there are entire subgenres of music built around this idea that Brian Eno created at some point in the 70's or 80's I'm just not familiar with (likely). To me, this record is greater than the sum of its parts, as cliche as that might sound. Franch have made exceptional use of their bag of tricks, even if on paper it might not seem like it should work. There may even be a story of 14/15^th century Italian aristocracy tucked away in here. Yeah, Orsini's rabbit hole is a lot more complex than it seems. And you'd be remiss to turn it away.

Sun Cellar - 2012 - Abstraction

Experimental/math rock

[FOR FREE]

http://suncellar.bandcamp.com/

• 5 songs to download
• You name the price (min 0,-)
• You get the link if you register your email address
• Listening recommendations: Light Leaks, Jacket

Impressions

Structure is an absolutely essential in any great piece of music: even experimentation, in a sense, is just a transgression of what's already been established. Take Abstraction, one of the finest EPs this reviewer has ever heard. The ingredients here should be recognizable to any fan of music, but there isn’t a band that puts them together in the intricate yet immediately striking way that Sun Cellar manages to.
It all begins with "Light Leaks", an impeccably crafted slow burner that finds all sorts of ways to transcend its tried-and-true blend of earnest vocals, rock-hard guitar lines, and relentless but nimble drum rhythms. "Jacket" brims with surprises, charging out of the gate with a guitar-driven interlude (boasting a bit of a progressive rock flavor) before the tension relieves, letting the chords soar a bit—and just as abruptly as it booms to life, the guitar drops out in the chorus and the blisteringly raw vocals take over, less bombastic but just as captivating in their own way. Whether quiet and melancholy or LOUD and MENACING, the music never fails to surprise.
The really surprising thing about Abstraction, though, is how easy it is to get punch-drunk off of this cocktail: there isn't a single song on here without the potential to rush up the alt-rock charts right now. Even the odder diversions, like a weird foray into waltz music on "Card Sharp", are played with bravado and that sense of undeniable force hanging over all of Sun Cellar’s music. This is a captivating listen throughout from a band unapologetic about battering their way into your heart before settling there for the long run.

Shnabubula - 2012 - Fading Light

Improvisational Piano

   [FOR FREE]

http://shnabubula.bandcamp.com/album/fading-light

• 10 songs to download
• You name the price (min 0,-)
• You get the link if you register your email address
• Listening recommendations: Turning Point, Sunny Days Again, Kittens And The Moon, Looking For Answers

English

Jazz-influenced pianist and chiptune musician Samuel Ascher-Weiss, better known as Shnabubula, has always done excellent work with layers. Free Play, the first of four (yeah, four) albums he released in 2012, took energetic, dramatic piano improvisations and built meticulously crafted ensemble pieces on top of them, effortlessly bridging his raw, personal playing with explosive dynamic power. Fans of that album will likely be taken aback by first by Fading Light, his first purely acoustic work: the only instrument to be found here is the piano. Considering the quality of this work, however, they certainly won’t be disappointed.
In the words of Ascher-Weiss, this album represents a difficult period of his life in which he handled the pressure by recording improvisational pieces. The emotional power, as a result, is the most intense he has ever been, the sparseness of the instrumentation allowing the veteran pianist to be as passionate as he wants without fear of incorporating other layers. The mood of the album swings wildly from euphoria to despair and everything in between: the solemn “Drifting Gently” is followed immediately by the innocent, bright “Time For A Picnic”. Standout piece “Turning Point” encapsulates the entire emotional spectrum of this work perfectly; the glassy, fragile melodies that carry the first half of the track are soon injected with a jolt of energy that lifts them into a lighter key and allows them to soar over the second half…and before things get too light, we get that melody from the beginning again, the one that sounds like it’s one bump away from shattering, and the notes gradually get softer and softer. As much as the listener might like to escape, Ascher-Weiss realizes that that awakening and catharsis are always but temporary, and this truth characterizes the direction of his wayward playing—and the emotional subtext they carry.
Sometimes the album’s volatile shifts border on capricious, but they lend the entire work an electric unpredictability that speaks both volumes about Ascher-Weiss’s struggles and his ability to channel that pain into beauty. He certainly has quite a bit of fun, too; “The Bewildered Swordsman” stabs and swoops as dramatically as any cut on Free Play, while “Kittens and the Moon” plays with the listener’s expectations, bleeding pathos and melodies of loneliness before shifting from andante to allegro, casting aside its weighty melodies for more hopeful ones as it swoops upwards into the night sky.
Some musicians spend years perfecting a work, fine-tuning it, thinking about its significance, what they want to say. Others are more prolific, but what they have to say seldom transcends the cheapness of novelty. Samuel Ascher-Weiss falls into neither camp: for him, music is just life itself, constantly evolving and never finished; enlightenment never able to be grasped but only to be glimpsed for a fraction of a moment. And if all of his therapy sessions sound this good, we should definitely stick around and listen.

Wilf - 2004 - The Horror

Ska

[FOR FREE]

http://wilfmusic.bandcamp.com/

• 11 songs to download
• For free
• Direct Download
• Listening recommendations: Casket Party, Yellow Eyed Princess 2, Cadaver Girl

Impressions

This all kinda started more as a little gift for my roommate than it was for myself. She loves ska, anything even tangentially related, she adores it. My appreciation for Wilf's The Horror grew from this, starting out as a “yeah she'd like this” growing into “This record is really catchy, where has ska been all my life?” A bit shallow perhaps, but the point here is to bring you guys good music, and Wilf have got themselves some fine musical flavour for you all to enjoy.

With a knowing wink, The Horror is ska up to it's eyeballs in schlocky, pulpy B horror (the cover artwork is a dead give away), from the song titles to the Corman-esque stories they're telling, Wilf are having a righteous old time here, and that enthusiasm is palpable. The bass boogies along at a shoulder rocking, head wagging tempo, the driving force behind everything. The tenor sax adds some space to the harmonies, wailing above the cacophony, so everything sounds just a bit bigger than it really is. (the sax and bass make an excellent duo – 'Cadaver Girl' deserves a gold star). The guitars are here to add texture and occasionally a bit of punk attitude, as on opener 'Here Comes The Dead'. They aren't the focus, understandably, but they provide when called upon ('Casket Party' for instance). The vocals, oh the vocals match perfectly. Deep enough to give the lyrics weight, with just enough lounge lizard intonation to keep the goings on light, sleazy, and playful. Given the lyrical content Wilf is bringing to the table, that goes a long way to making things enjoyable without being too kitschy. To me, the The Horror is the kind of music Only-era Misfits have been attempting for a while but fail to do so. Definitely one for Emily, and one for your discerning ears as well.

Jake Carmichael - 2012 - Piano I

Instrumental piano

   [FOR FREE]

http://jakecarmichael.bandcamp.com/

• 5 songs to download
• You name the price (min 0,-)
• You get the link if you register your email address
• Listening recommendations: Inspiration At A Freakshow, Self Destruction Heroin And Heaven, Crystal Cave

English

The piano remains popular among aspiring musicians for a reason: even on its own, it can convey a world of emotions and scenes. If you don’t believe me, just see how much Jake Carmichael does with it in Piano I, which runs less than fifteen minutes in total but crams an impressive amount of substance into that short time. Most of the pieces here are one-offs, short conceptual pieces that play like sketches: “Inspiration at a Freakshow” charms with its impish unpredictability and compelling atmosphere, while “Self Destruction, Heroin, and Heaven” runs at a more contemplative tempo and focuses on layered chord progressions rather than artsy flourishes. Funnily enough, though, the best track here is also the least gimmicky: “Crystal Cave”, which alone takes up over a third of the total running time, finds endless ways to reconstruct its one motif throughout, as the pace shifts from rushed to hushed and the production drifts from cloudy nostalgia to stark lucidity. The result evokes some of ambient artist Eluvium’s finest work—a piece that hides surprising depth in its simplicity and proof of Carmichael’s smart composing skills and expressive, evocative playing. Both are put to good use in this surprisingly sprawling, emotional, and immersive work.

ilovecolour - 2012 - The Wolf

Alternative Rock

[FOR FREE]

http://ilovecolour.bandcamp.com/

• 4 songs to download
• You name the price (min 0,-)
• You get the link if you register your email address
• Listening recommendations: Canaan

Impressions

It says a lot about a record if I can't decide on a song to recommend. Usually that happens either when all songs are outright forgettable or, as in this case, when they all are pretty stellar. Sure, there are only 3 proper tracks on this EP after the intro, but damn am I enjoying those songs. Creative without being incoherent and staying true to one sound throughout the record without being boring. The intro track pushes the listener softly into this den filled with densely packed emotions and palpable tension. What follows could very well be the most enjoyable, cohesive and gripping track sequence I've heard all year. They manage to keep the tracks interesting in themselves as well, for example with well timed intrumentational breaks, the inclusion of a wind instrument sound that surprisingly fits very well or the use of hauntingly striking drumming sequences that reminds you of your foreignness to this world.Even though there are many details to like here, I found the screaming voice parts a bit jarring at first, need to admit that that ilovecolour do a pretty nice job of integrating those into the sound and overall theme of the record, though. You might feel uneasy at first stepping into a seemingly creepy den filled with secrets, but in the end it will win you over with its its extraordinary and irresistable charm, leaving you to howl with the wolves. Hard not to recommend.

The Miracals - 2011 - Give Me A Chance

Surf pop

   [FOR FREE]

http://thesmiles.bandcamp.com/album/give-me-a-chance

• 5 songs to download
• For free
• Direct Download
• Listening recommendations: Give Me A Chance, Pretend

English

It might be just my own issues speaking (and if so, I blame the onslaught of boy bands), but any musician that refers to a girl as “girl” is beginning to sound extremely suspect to me. In real life, people who use that term without irony are usually the same people who get arrested for loitering in front of the McDonalds next to the local juvenile detention facility. What I’m saying is that in order to stay in my good graces after using that word which shall not be sung, you have a damn high bar to clear. You basically have to be about as good as The Miracals: yes, the person whom these guys are asking for their titular chance is never specified as anything other than “girl”, but their sentiments are irresistible due to their beautiful harmonies, twinkling guitar tones, and relaxed sincerity. The target of their affections is a universal, rather than a sexual, construct. Alas, that’s the nagging (if minor) downside of Give Me A Chance: it may be adorable, but its focus gets tiring. When the members of The Miracals suggest that we could “pretend that we’re in love” on the groovy, upbeat “Pretend”, it’s an understated, sweet moment (especially with that gorgeously executed key change at the end), but then they hammer the theme of young love throughout four more songs; by the time they implore, “My girlfriend, love me so / My girlfriend, please don’t go,” on the closer “Girlfriend”, complete with acapella harmonies, cynical minds may sustain eye injuries from rolling theirs too far back. To their credit, though, the sugar is tempered with melancholy, moody production, which goes far in alleviating the risk of musical diabetes. And in any case, the bar has been cleared with room to spare. Give these guys their chance and make sure to brush your teeth after the prom.

PrismViews - 2012 - Feel the Drip

Techno

[FOR FREE]

http://prismviews.bandcamp.com

• 14 songs to download
• You name the price (min 0,-)
• You get the link if you register your email address
• Listening recommendations: People Of The Night

Impressions

I'm sitting here, two days before Halloween, and PrismViews Feel The Drip is coming out of my speakers after attending a “zombie disco” party on the weekend. This LP would have been perfect for it. It's Detroit techno by way of disembodied disco, 13 tracks of distorted singing over ice-cold beats (that drum machine must have ice breaking off it with every clack). Some of these vocals sound like desperate cries in the night, the kind you'd hear coming from the darkness of an alley late at night or you imagine come from a graveyard on a full moon (“Fearlust” especially). The band uses 'witchhouse' as a descriptive, and I was ready to write them off as crazy. The lyrics might be a bit creepy/cheesy, but where's the deep bass and in your face synth? It's there, but not in the same ham-fisted combo most witch house blasts across every song. As the soundtrack to a visual installation these tracks make a lot of sense, at least to me. I can picture all kinds of crazy video and performance pieces being engulfed by Feel the Drip. On their own they though, the songs do lack some punch that a performance would provide. The middle third or so of the album (“Memory Loss – Wizard”, “Levitation”) definitely sounds like a chunk of the music has been excised so as to not overwhelm some unseen and unheard party to the proceedings. “Synthetic” and “Gold Velvet” have 'video collage' written all over them. If one doesn't mind the shift in sound those songs take, and admittedly they're a decent respite from constant bass throb, Feel the Drip might just be your techno disco treat. Halloween and performance art not required.

Aaron Larson - 2012 - hepburns, part I

Folk/ Pop

[FOR FREE]

http://aaronlarson.bandcamp.com/

• 5 songs to download
• For free
• Direct Download
• Listening recommendations: Spring Girls, Worst Of Friends

Impressions

This right here, gets my vote for the most misleading album cover this year. After all, who would expect a Dinosaur to star a serene pop folk record talking about the trivial things in life. The topics touched on hepburns, part I are anything but the metaphorical dinosaur on the street. While the whole world talks about that dinosaur strolling around leasurely through the neighbourhood, Aaron Larson tells you about the connection to dear family members, unreachable beauty or special friendship relations. His lyrics are quite poetic really and the image of someone finding the "means to wink and tip his hat as a spring girl walks on down the street" will stay with me long after the record stopped repeating for this review. The style of music isn't all that unusual and listeners won't find anything overly surprising here, even though I'd argue that Worst of Friends is an endearingly enchanting track that was definitely worth finding this album for. Unfortunately, the record isn't quite holding up to that until the end and loses its spell during the last 2 songs which feel a bit too repetitive and dont have the same emotional impact the first 3 tracks have. Overall, its still a very endearing record that fans of slower pop and folk music should give a listen to.

Sonic Spank - 2011 - Setlists & Sextapes, vol​.​1: Live in Athens, GA

Electronic Jazz

[FOR FREE]

http://sonicspank.bandcamp.com/album/setlists-sextapes-vol-1-live-in-athens-ga
http://sonicspank.bandcamp.com/album/drama

• 9 songs to download
• You name the price (min 0,-)
• You get the link if you register your email address
• Listening recommendations: Nutbuster, She Fades Away, Butterflies

Impressions

This record is obviously an evolution of the Daft Punk sound (centered around a Something about us remix), which they are largely successful with. What you'll be familiar with are the Daft Punk-like electronic solos that replace vocals, while the monumental song length is a unique touch to the sound. Fortunately, they manage to keep the songs still interesting with constant catchy and diverse tunes that give every track a new feel to it. I get the impression that they might have been better off with a bit less eclectic mixtures in some of the songs, which drags those songs down that otherwise might have the potential to be true classics of the genre. To be more precise some vocals seem a bit out of place and the pop vocals in other songs are definitely an interesting experiment but might seem a bit jarring at times. However, despite some minor flaws this is a damn fine record that I'll recommend for the variation and catchy tunes. On top of that: being successful in creating their own sound from the Daft Punk blueprint without outright copying it is a pretty great feat in itself.
I was sitting quite a long time on this record and they released the new LP Drama in the meantime, which you definitely should take a look at as well. They moved away from the DP tribute record style and even reimagined some of their best songs from the previous EP (She Fades Away is an amazing track on both records). The newest record is a more rock than electronica, but stands pretty well on its own merits and is more than worth a listen. Check out Maybe this is what I need too. Both records have some minor issues that are more a matter of taste than a real problem with the music, but both are records that I thoroughly enjoy and recommend giving a listen to. Oh and guys, I love your cover artist!

The Moaning Dead - 2012 - Dead End

Garage Rock

[FOR FREE]

http://themoaningdead.bandcamp.com

• 6 songs to download
• You name the price (min 0,-)
• You get the link if you register your email address
• Listening recommendations: Sympathy, Romero Juliette

Impressions

If only the recently deceased sounded like this, tombs and crypts would be much more happenin' joints. Any, and I stress this without reserve, any album that contains sound bites from George Romero's Dead trilogy automatically gets elevated to a whole other level in my eyes (Left 4 Dead is pretty wicked source material as well – Mike Patton if you want to be specific). I think this may be the first concept album I've ever heard designed around the zombie apocalypse and it's a damn fine garage rock/post-punk album to boot. These Dead bring a hell of a swagger to the proceedings, one doesn't have to go far to hear fuzzed out sludge - “Sympathy” is too damn cool for its damn self. “Run MotherFucker” continues the swagger step garage-punk but speeds the tempo up just enough to create tension, appropriate given the title I think. Every song has rather short clock time, so even if “Ed Wood” soundbites aren't your cup of undead tea (“Beware!” indeed), you'll quickly be ushered into the next track before it can cause you disquiet. In this regard, “Zombie Lesson” could go either way

Things are kept pretty stripped down instrumentally, bass, guitar, drums are what Moaning Dead are working with. Now either I'm hearing things I want to hear and the guitar is tuned really low and the bass is doing a lot of rhythm lines, or the bass is actually doing most of the heavy lifting and the guitar is left in the background. I feel it's the prior over the latter, given the punk nature of the music, almost to the detriment of the songs, but I obviously still really enjoyed the music regardless of the how buried the bass may or may not be. It will certainly make for good Halloween tunes, so shake what your mortician gave ya and grab The Moaning Dead's 'Dead End'. When there's no more room in Hell, The Moaning Dead will rock the Earth!

El Tano y los Mancuso - 2012 - Una patada en las bolas al establishment

Argentinian Pop/Rock

[FOR FREE]

http://eltanoylosmancuso.bandcamp.com/

• 10 songs to download
• For free
• Direct Download
• Listening recommendations: Barrio Vip, Rayito De Sol, Las Heras

Impressions

This is an incredibly talented group of musicians that apparently couldnt really recide for whom they want to make their music. They seem to jump between classic instrumental guitar/piano background for easy listening to full rock instrumentation in the next song and then jump to songs that seem to be highly influenced by rather pushy vibes that I'd categorize as Electronica and back to a song that wouldnt be out of place on a Balkan Pop party. Versatility can be a great asset, and these guys really need to be careful about how to structure their records, so as not to make them feel almost completely random. However, the individual parts, the songs taken on their own merits, are quite astoundingly fun to listen to and I think its hard to argue against the quite obvious catchyness these songs emit. Regarding, the variety on here: I have a personal preference, but I wouldnt necessarily say that they are particularly bad in any of the genres they tap into here, it simply feels... unusual, and I'd go as far as to say that I'd love them to explore what all of these genres have to offer individually. This record definitely feels rather random at times, but El Tano y los Mancuso still manage to reward the listener with an unusual, yet equally worthwhile and playful trip through various genres. Pick the ones you like, shorten it to an EP and enjoy the sounds from a few guys experimenting with something they quite obviously love.

Les Guenilles - 2009 - Les Guenilles

Punk Rock

[FOR FREE]

http://lesguenilles.bandcamp.com/album/les-guenilles-ep

• 5 songs to download
• You name the price (min 0,-)
• You get the link if you register your email address
• Listening recommendations: Perspective

Impressions

It's time to throw down, here and now! Les Guenilles (The Rags, for English speakers speakers) have brought the rock, and from the sounds of it, possibly a chair, baseball bats, and chains. This self-titled EP feels raw, dirty, and hopped up on enough cough medicine to take on the whole bar, just give 'em the wrong look and it's on! This one is for fans of that raw, dirty, decaying rock that will force you to take a shower in order to get the sludge off when you're done listening. The only thing that can be described as having a clean sound are the cymbal crashes, even that would be a stretch. “Perspective” widens the spectrum of sonic influences that Les Guenilles bring to the table from more than simply noisy punk and stoner rock that “Combination Perdante” starts the whole affair off with and “Icitte ca sent l'mort” ends things with. Yes, “Perspective”, and to a degree “Interzone” have just the right amount of rock-a-billy bleeding into the guitar interplay that you're never quite sure what to expect. Will come next... well aside from the vitriol of course. I mean, that tipsy feeling you hear in rockabilly doesn't usually go hand in hand with such angry punk rock, but it fits these songs like a glove, and these Rags score points for that alone. Les Guenilles don't really reinvent the thrash rock wheel of course, but they play uniformly well (and dirty), so while it may not stick out to aficionados of harder rock so much, if you're missing a Quebecois entry in your collection, this group of guys are certainly worth earmarking for that. I know I'll be using this EP as a spring board to their other works.

Plaisance - 2012 - Regatta

Synthpop

[FOR FREE]

http://plaisance.bandcamp.com

• 10 songs to download
• For free
• Direct Download
• Listening recommendations: Tailwind, Spindrifts Of Victory

Impressions

Hey remember when I reviewed Kali Ma and mentioned modern synth music being in love with 80's new wave and electronic music in general with the implication that was a bad thing? Yeah, that was like a week ago, because up pops Plaisance with their LP 'Regatta' with a sound that couldn't be more 80's synthpop if Michael Mann used it as a soundtrack to one of his films. It's also spectacularly excellent, did I forget to open with that? In what appears to be a concept album about yatch racing, 'Regatta' is filled with an electricity right from the get go, with the alarm clock on “Wake up it's race day!” providing you with the much needed jolt to get moving. You might get terribly silly mental images of a time when you or older sibling had huge hair, and/or leg warmers weren't just a thing, they were a way of life, and you know what, go with it! Plaisance don't mind. This is a synthpop album that knowingly wades into the waters of nostalgia to bring the world of yacht racing to life, no pretensions about it. None of these tracks overstay their welcome, always coming under in five minutes, so the keyboards and drum pads never grate the nerves. Of course it's not all keyboards and drumming, “Tailwinds” and “Sprintdrifts of victory” let the lead out with some well placed guitar riffs that will get lighters waving and bodies moving. “Mer d'huile”, as its name would suggest, brings things home with a smooth, light jazz flavour and (as acoustic as you're going to get here) guitar plucking. “Sunset”, like it's early morning counterpart is a nice ambient/field recording to wrap the whole thing up. I've never been yachting, but I will sail with Plaisance any time they want, anywhere they want. On this cold, grey September afternoon, the sun is shining and the water is fine, and we have Plaisance's 'Regatta' to thank for that.

JINBO - 2012 - KRNB

Electrosoul/Pop Remix

   [FOR FREE]

http://jinbothesuperfreak.bandcamp.com/

• 12 songs to download
• You name the price (min 0,-)
• You get the link if you register your email address
• Listening recommendations: Damn, I'm Happy When I'm With You, Best Friend

English

As a Korean, sometimes I wonder what it is about our pop music that has recently captured so many people’s attention worldwide. My more cynical comrades paint a picture of immature fanboys fawning over the admittedly gorgeous legs of Girls Generation’s goddesses to justify their antipathy towards shallow drivel like “Gee”. But as Korean R&B artist Jinbo shows, there must be something about the music too: his moody, trippy interpretations of Korean pop classics reveal surprisingly vulnerable characters that come off as immediately relatable despite their transfer to another medium.
The first track, a remix of Kim Gun-mo’s “Red Umbrella”, almost sounds like music for a wedding in 2028: soaring synths twirl and soar across a beat that wouldn’t be out of place on the playgrounds of jumproping elementary schoolgirls, a rhythm that makes JINBO’s puppy-dog pleas for romance even more winning. JINBO proves an adept vocalist throughout, a chameleon who can adapt his voice to fit any mode, be it wide-eyed awe or hazy seduction. He’s assisted throughout by an entire storehouse’s worth of instruments, from the lounge piano and faux orchestra that ground the soulful “I Knew” to the futuristic, chopped beat machine that drives the pounding, Daft Punk-esque “Best Friend”.
For those uninitiated to the backlog of Korean pop, the album is a legitimately thrilling affair, and those wary of the quality of the source material need not be worried; even when JINBO adapts populist hits like Girls Generation’s “Gee” and BoA’s “Love Game”, he fills in the personal details of these pop stars, those wounded heroes and heroines we all secretly look up to. That KRNB is a novel approach to old material rather than a novelty is the highest compliment I can pay it—and the pained, honest voice that brought it to life.

Chase Castor - 2012 - The Dawn EP

Folk surf

   [FOR FREE]

http://chasecastor.bandcamp.com/

• 4 songs to download
• For free
• Direct Download
• Listening recommendations: Dawn, Dull

English

We all have people or things we never realize how much we love until they disappear. The thing is, sometimes we just move forward too fast to be able to look around and see where we are. Nobody has an answer for that problem that’s going to apply 100% to everybody, but folk artist Chase Castor at least seems to be on the same page as me. “Wake up my heart / You’ve been sleeping too long,” he croons as he opens “Dawn”, the epynomous opener of this EP, and it truly feel likes an awakening. While this low-key effort doesn’t have much flourish, it is brimming with pathos, empathy, and heart, all ingredients that make it a valuable listen for all. Where Castor always delivers is with his lyrics: within the space of this work, he expertly navigates feelings of apathy, fear, and loneliness. The backdrop that brings his words to life is simple but surprisingly grand: Castor makes expert use of just the basics, as evidenced by the swelling climax the drums bring on “Dawn”, the vulnerability of the simple vocal harmonies on the moving ballad “Dull”, and the charming percussion of closer “Terrible Fear” (I should leave this as a surprise, really).
What Chase Castor explores in this work may just be personal to him, but how he voices it makes it universal. Above all, it’s a humbling reminder of the value of looking back: reflecting on the shadows of your past as they light the path towards your future.

Kx- - 2012 - the most dangerous of all sharks

Drum and Bass

[FOR FREE]

http://kayexminus.bandcamp.com/album/the-most-dangerous-of-all-sharks

• 5 songs to download
• For free
• Direct Download
• Listening recommendations: 3000 Tons Of Lead

Impressions

It's not often I get to hear the mash-up of breakbeat, drum and bass, and a few prog rock style guitar licks, so it's nice of Kx- to provide my ears with this opportunity. In what might also be the shortest EP I've reviewed since joining wasfuersohr, Kx- (pronounced “kayexminus”) provide listeners with a brief jolt of energy with the absolutely lead-footed thud of the drum loops, and the cacophony of electronics bounding about, as well as a bit of fancy guitar work as well (See “Milla Jovovich REMIX” for chipmunks-vocalized rapid fire beats over a movie sample). That high pitched squeal may get on your nerves with repeated listens (sorry Milla), but at just over two and a half minutes you'll forget about it by the time “Scrape machine part crevices for edibles” contorts and gyrates into your ear canals. In the end, 'The most dangerous of all sharks' is rather like junk food, easy to access and over quickly, but as easily forgotten and as a listen you're able to move on from it without much thought. I was originally going to review another Kx- EP ('EP1 - Like A Good Horse with a Bad Habit') that had three other original tracks (and “Milla Jovavich” to round it out), but that has since been removed from their bandcamp in favour of this. As a time waster or something to listen to while you brush your teeth in the morning, 'the most dangerous of all sharks' works just fine, but with only one non-remix tracks to recommend, and that track only being 25 seconds long, I'd say try and find EP1 which is a better showcase of Kx-'s talents than this one'. As it stands, 'sharks' is an interesting electronic album, that's easy to burn through and go on about your day, it just needs more tracks of original music to truly shine and showcase what Kx- can do. “3000 tons of lead” is great and I would love to hear more of that in the future.  

Kali Ma - 2012 - Siddhartha EP

Synthpop

[FOR FREE]

http://kalimaofficial.bandcamp.com/album/siddhartha-ep

• 6 songs to download
• You name the price (min 0,-)
• You get the link if you register your email address
• Listening recommendations: Kamaswami The Merchant

Impressions

Kali Ma have done something I had yet to hear in my time reviewing for wasfuersohr, and that's make an electronic synthpop album that doesn't have its head up New Waves' ass with retro nostalgia for the music of the 1980's. That throw back sound isn't something inherently bad, just somewhat boring to hear on most of that type of album (The Sounds or Yeah Yeah Yeahs, for instance do a good job of incorporating and morphing their sound to complement that keyboard heavy output). Everything, even the drums have this bright, cheery feel to them, like everyone involved (Cody Miller) was probably tapping their toes as much making this as you do listening. The keyboard's and synths are the musical voice of Buddha here, taking the place of any lyrics. It's apparently a concept album, and as I know nothing of Buddhist culture, and I'm judging only on the music, I have assume it conveys some kind of message, but I haven't the slightest idea what and I don't know if the music does a good job of conveying that, so I guess a bit of exploring around might help there. If that message is somewhat psychedelic in nature, then mission accomplished Miller, I reached technonirvana by the time the bird-like chirps/wipes start fluttering about on “Kamaswami the Merchant”. While I said earlier that New Wave may not have been the inspiration, 8 and 16bit video game soundtracks almost certainly were. Listen to “Gotama the Illustrious” or “Kamala the Courtesan” for proof of that sweet sounding midi-based influence (especially in the drumming and the use of 'blips' in “Kamala”. I would have preferred more live instrumentation (unsure if that's a real tambourine on “Vasudeva the Ferryman”, and the bass in “Govinda”  adds a deeper sound to the song) as there are hints, but those are the exception, not the rule. Still, a small complaint for an excellent synthpop album that I think deserves your ear's time.

Sol Naas - 2012 - Звук

Trip Hop

[FOR FREE]

http://solnaas.bandcamp.com/

• 8 songs to download
• You name the price (min 0,-)
• You get the link if you register your email address
• Listening recommendations: Декорация (Music By Lubea)t, Мы (Music By Azeriff 2)

Impressions

And now for another installment of “Gabbo doesn't speak the same language as the music he's recommending.” This time around, 'Звук' ('Sound'), an excellent trip-hop EP by Azerbaijani musician Sol Naas. If you've read any of the other reviews for records that showcase my linguistic skills, you can see I'm often be a disadvantage when reviewing non-English speaking music, but like those review, I'll be damned if I'll let a language barrier prevent me from enjoying Naas' EP let alone recommending it to others. Naas and her varied producers (of which there are 5 across the 8 tracks here) use downtempo beats as a foundation upon which to build from using live instruments and a smattering of synthesizers to create seductive songs over which she croons effortlessly. All of the tracks sound as if they begin and/or end with recorded conversations between a man and a women, or sound bites from television (“Intro” is made up completely of this it seems), which adds a vaguely voyeuristic element to the tracks, and also ties them all nicely together. I would say it's probably thematic, but that might be pushing it too far. Musically, this doesn't push the boundaries of trip-hop too far, drums are the main instrumental ingredient on nearly all the tracks, and the bass tends to be the main accompaniment, and both aim for a casual pace. When the keyboards and other instruments do get a bit more time in the sun as on “Особый случай” (“A Special Case”), the time signatures can change a bit, and so does the tempo (“Особый случай” sounding a bit like slow jazz instead of hip hop beats.), just enough to stay fresh and interesting across the 8 tracks here. “Декорация” (“Decoration”) 's sparse uses a simple guitar riff to great effect being another example. That being the case, the combination of the music with Sol's voice creates a whole that is greater than the sum of it's parts. It may not blow down your door with originality, but it's still decent trip-hop, and I think fans of the genre will enjoy it, and it's something new and different for those who aren't, whether they speak the same language or not.