ouragan - 2011 - ouragan EP

French Electronic Pop

   [FOR FREE]

http://ouragan.bandcamp.com/album/ouragan-ep

• 5 songs to download
• For free
• Direct Download
• Listening recommendations: Tuer La France, Je Suis Un Perdant

English

More songs in which I have no idea about what the guy is singing about! However, language barriers can't hinder my enjoyment for music I like and hereby I present you the second French record for this blog (The first one being Deux Gars quite a while ago). While I already take a liking to traditional French Pop, the present attempt to mix modern Indie and Electronica elements into the French Pop genre is a rather successful one. The album opener Tuer La France especially is a lighthearted song with lots of charme that makes it impossible to dislike it. He switches to a more oppressing and hectical sound variety with his second song Je Suis Un Perdant (translated to "I am a loser"), expanding on the French Pop genre barriers until he completely breaks loose in Barium with a pure Electronica track. Despite the very obvious Electronica influences and the French Pop origin, Ouragan can't be bothered to restrain himself to specific genre boundaries, which allows him to bring a lot different musical experiments to fruition. Due to that, it is not surprising that he wasn't quite able to keep the quality on a consistently high level and it is rather noticeable that the record loses a bit of momentum towards the end of the record. Despite all that, Ouragan isn't a "perdant" at all, and I eagerly anticipate any future genre bending songs and catchy tunes he comes up with.

Eighter - Something Weird

Doom Drum and Bass

   [FOR FREE]

http://eighter.bandcamp.com/

• 6 songs to download
• For free
• Direct Download
• Listening recommendations: Track Four, Track Six
  

Disclaimer: We have several reviewers on the blog, and after checking back with the initial reviewer I take the liberty to change initial ratings a bit to adjust them on the out-of-5 scale in comparison to all the other records we featured so far.

Original Review rating: 3/5

English

Eighter's “Something Weird” is six tracks of fuzzed as fuck drum and bass. It's certainly the most apt record title I've seen in a while. Who would have thought mixing doom [metal] and drum and bass would work? The band themselves have called it “doom drum and bass”, and I feel that's a rather accurate description that I'm going to crib from liberally for this review. If the phrase 'doom' in a music review pops a giant question mark up over your head: take the blues aspects of early metal, make it slow as molasses, less reliant on sheer volume and more on technical prowess, make it sound as low as possible and cook. In this case, there are no slabs of guitar to get in the way and lyrics also completely absent, which only adds to the really heavy, dirty hip-hop vibe that simmers under all of this. That the mixing sounds extremely raw and rough around the edges adds to whole package really. There is nothing shiny or slick about this record. Aaron Todd's bass sounds like it's playing for the end of the world from a cave somewhere and he's got all day to wait for it to arrive. It fills up any and all space available to it, but doesn't overwhelm or become abrasive even with all the noise and feedback. The drumming is minimalist, not a lot flourishes here. Mike Cooper keeps the beat with a lot of snare drum, the kind that turntablists DJ's make entire albums out of. Again, both instruments are technically impressive to hear, but they aren't flashy about it. It would rattle your core before it blew you away. And yet, there are moments ('Track 3' and 'Track 5' specifically, they don't have discreet names) where things get almost bouncy, jazzy as the rhythm speeds up. The music takes on a blues rock cum hip hop mixture that works out a lot better than it might seem (the bass takes on a lot more of a guitar quality in these moments, and one may even join the fray on 'Track 5'). For 6 tracks of apparent improvisational origin, this could be a Black Sabbath fans introduction to the world of drum and bass. It could be yours too.

Marumeth - 2011 - The Sun Smiles

Electronic

   [FOR FREE]

http://marumeth.bandcamp.com/

• 6 songs to download
• For free
• Direct Download
• Listening recommendations: So Happy, Take Flight

English

Mmm relaxing music at last. “The Sun Smiles” is chilled to perfection, the same kind of electronic pop music that made people crave Postal Service like it was candy nine years ago. This is even more laid back than that, like Postal Service sitting on a white sandy beach somewhere just letting it all hang out. There are almost no vocals on these four songs (yes I do tend to enjoy music without lyrics, okay :P), and when there are, they're ethereal and distant and a bit filtered, so they don't quite sound human. Imagine hooking up a motivational tape to an intercom. That's how I'd best describe the vocals on 'So Happy', motivational verbal yoga. The low end is sturdy and thudding in a drum and bass kind of way, but not nearly as abrasive or intense and the keys are poppy and bursting with energy. It really would feel like a sun beating down on you ('Feel the Sun's Rays'). At times the songs do have a melancholy melody to them. It's strangely at odds with the overall feel of the music, but not necessarily out of left field if one looks at the song titles as ironic. I wouldn't be at all surprised if that was the case. The songs are so relaxing and entrancing that you won't even realize that the EP's four track length has actually just eaten up twenty+ minutes of blissful time. It's such an easy listen it's rather hard to describe in words. This is one record that is more of an experience and you'll get more out of it over multiple listens than sitting intently and listening to it one time. So 'take flight' and give yourself over to Marumeth.

Mugison - 2009 - Ítrekun/Reminder (live)

Blues Rock

   [FOR FREE]

http://mugison.bandcamp.com/album/trekun-reminder
http://mugison.bandcamp.com/album/mugiboogie
http://mugison.bandcamp.com/album/live-session-with-bj-rgvin-g-slasson

• 9 songs to download
• You name the price (min 0,-)
• You get the link if you register your email address
• Listening recommendations: The Pathetic Anthem Live, Murr Murr 2
• If you like: The Black Keys, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

English

Mugison is a name that should be associated with great and greatly fun rock music. Music that goes through your bones, making your feet dance, your hands pound, your heart race and your mind free from the exasperating daily tasks at hand. These guys seem to be one of the more well known bands featured on this blog so far, but I assume they won't complain too much if we manage to bring them a few more listeners. I had a bit of a hard time to put them into a certain genre because I'd consider the 3 most recent records all different variations of rock, but what one hell of a ride it was to listen through what I decided to categorize as Blues Rock. There were a few outings before, but those most recent 3 are sort of different sides of a three sided coin (read as: My metaphor skills are severely lacking) and  Mugiboogie was the first of these 3 to see the light of day. Compared to the other 2, its the more typical studio album, rather polished, less emotional, but still an interesting listen with quite a lot of variety. Ítrekun/Reminder is the live album, where previously quiet songs like "The Pathetic Anthem" stop sounding semi-pathetic and grow up to be full-blown celebratory rock hymns, which is also the reason I liked this version the most. The sheer emotional power these songs convey by having very dominant instruments and a persuasive lead voice backing them is explosive. The live session with Björgvin Gíslasson is another beast entirely and takes a step back to indulge into a room filled with benevolent listeners and improvised guitar sounds, like a Jazz session caressing the senses of the discerning listener, showing its not all about emotional impact that gets your heart pounding but manages to build up some sort of bond with the live listener that is hard to replicate virtually. I would love to see this music performed live, may it be for an all out dancing session or listening relaxed to the Jazz version, waiting for the next improvisational subtlety to reach my ears. Regarding the records you have here: How often do you have the chance to listen to a great song in 3 different variations and choose your favorite? Very recommended.

 

Franco & The Dreadnought - 2011 - Last Man Standing EP

Pop Folk

[FOR FREE]

http://francodreadnought.bandcamp.com/

• 7 songs to download
• For free
• Direct Download
• Listening recommendations: Last Man Standing, Catch Of The Pride 

English

There’s hardly been a dearth of indie singer-songwriters in the post-YouTube age, but Franco & The Dreadnought may be one of the most hidden treasures of the lot, though completely overlooked. This EP is proof of that—these seven songs are stripped-back, earnest, and absolutely gorgeous. The titular “Last Man Standing” showcases a lot of what makes Franco stand out: a strong, emotive voice, beautiful harmonies, simple, strong songwriting, and a wonderfully atmospheric production that immerses everything with a slightly moody tint, as if it were daybreak in some dive in an alley with no name, and you were the only one bearing witness to the magic happening onstage. The whole enterprise, in fact, is wonderfully personal: penned by Franco (real name: John Blaylock), the lyrics read like stream-of-conciousness confessions to loves and friends and they’re all the more painful and poignant for their refusal to strip their inexplicable feelings down to easily digested soundbytes.
Of course, none of that honesty would be valuable (or even listenable) without a solid soundtrack, but this EP delivers on the musical front as well. Franco’s sound isn’t couched in swarms of instruments and grandness, but in its own little way it’s equally magnificent: prominent use is made of well-crafted vocal harmonies, soaked piano chords and gentle guitar lullabies. This moderate approach makes detours—such as a bongo rhythm on the sing-along “Muskateers” and a crowd of voices on “Catch Of The Pride”—even more pleasurable when these productions blow up to full size.
I want you to stop reading right now and ask yourself right now why you are here, in this place at this time. I assume that, like me, you’ve come here because music has awakened something in you, and you’re hungry for more. If that’s the case, then I’m telling you right now, person to person, that Franco & The Dreadnought is absolutely not to be missed.

Almeeva - 2011 - EP#1

Ambient Rock

[FOR FREE]

http://almeeva.bandcamp.com

• 5 songs to download
• For free
• Direct Download
• Listening recommendations: Tunnel, Egypt

English

I promise I'll review an album with lyrics next, okay? In the mean time, Almeeva released an excellent instrumental rock EP (“EP#1) last year that is definitely worth checking out. I would describe this EP as anthemic ambient rock. If you're not dead, the pace of every song on this EP should get you pumped. The drums control the proceedings and they hit hard, and I do mean hard. The drummer is really laying into those skins (that the drummer plays every other instrument on the record is a feat unto itself). They keep everything at a brisk, but even-keeled pace. There is quite a bit of noodling around with the guitars – especially when the drums drop out. The guitars explore every nook and cranny of space they can find, and they are given some really airy backdrops to explore. I can't even count the number of actual guitar tracks that make up some of these songs. The bass can be downright menacing at times, really pushing the deep end against the guitars ('Egypt' and 'Canyon'), and that only creates a bigger sound to these songs. The guitars are exploring outer space, and the bass is occasionally digging for hell. That isn't to to imply this album is hard rock. Almeeva is swimming in the seas of ambiance, one listen to the opening guitars on 'Echoes' and you'd know this is not going to need devil horns to enjoy, but glow sticks wouldn't be out of the question entirely. I would say Almeeva's music incorporates elements of U2 (minus Bono), Explosions in the Sky and the one band I almost mistook them for upon first listen – Maserati. That Greg Hoepffner (aka Almeeva) listed them as a tag on bandcamp means he knows this too. This man has good taste in music, and thankfully is a damn talented musician himself.

Raveena Aurora - 2011 - Fools (Demo)

Indie Folk Pop 

   [FOR FREE]

http://raveenadawnaurora.bandcamp.com/

• 4 songs to download
• For free
• Direct Download
• Listening recommendations: Young And Invincible, Fools

English

Here we got another example of why its so damn necessary to look at these bands barely anyone knows. Musicians like Raveena Aurora are simply fantastically talented artists and deserve to be recognized, shared and loved, so that they continue making music on an even higher level. The seemingly innocent lyrics and vocals are something rather precious, but delicate, like the purity of a child or the frail structure of a vase which needs to be carefully preserved. Her exceptional voice and the dreamy instrumental composition consisting of guitar, violin and piano sounds make it pretty hard not to fall for the sweet charm these songs give off. Only considering her vocal talents, this record shows off one of the most compelling demo tapes that I got to hear so far. This stands in contrast to the biggest flaw on this EP - a certain lack of musical variety, which, more often than not, is an accompanying feature of lower budget records like these. However, this is a problem artists usually rectify on future outings with more experience and more ressources to experiment with. If this 4 song demo is a sign of things to come by Raveena Aurora, then I am definitely looking forward to any future record benefitting from some experience she gained from her first outing, considering that these first 4 tracks are already considerably well made pop songs.
 

RETROSONIC - 2011 - Ties, Cardigans & Other Cool Stuff

Indie Rock

[FOR FREE]

http://retrosonic.bandcamp.com/

• 5 songs to download
• For free
• Direct Download
• Listening recommendations: Until The End, Rock'n'Roll Riff

English

These Italian guys aren't bringing terribly much new to the Indie Rock table, but they sure know how to play driving rhythm. Add a charismatic and remarkable lead singer voice to that and you got the basic ingredients to make some good music. Until the End in particular is a song that might occupy your ear for quite a while if you are able to let yourself fall back right into this pool of seemingly never-ending energetic power this song gives off. And while these guys aren't bad at all, they seem to lack a little something to lift them out of the masses in a rather overcrowded genre. This EP in particular starts off pretty well with the driving aforementioned Until the End but then unfortunately continuously loses steam, and despite the quite respectable effort in The Hipster Song, they weren't really able to fix that leak even until the very end. Its good to try different variations of the sound you are playing, but those guys seem to be best if its as energetic as they can make it to be. Considering all that, this leaves us with an EP that is interesting, even good at best, but leaves wanting for more and better. I hope that the band is able to use the gained experience since the release of their EP to create more songs with the punch of Until the End on their next record. Additionally, check their myspace video page to see one of their live performances in 2011, if you want to hear the "raw" versions of these songs.

The Freak Fandango Orchestra - 2011 - Tales of a Dead Fish

Gypsy Punk

[FOR FREE]

http://freakfandango.bandcamp.com/

• 6 songs to download
• You name the price (min 0,-)
• You get the link if you register your email address
• Listening recommendations: Late-as-usual, No-means-no, Hitmans-lovesong-feat-paola-graziano

English

Have you ever heard of gypsy punk? You're about to.

The Freak Fandango Orchestra will not be everyone's cup of tea, the genres at work here are so seemingly at odds most of the time it can confound and confuse. Others will grab a a draft and dance around a tavern with their lass. Gypsy punk, from what I've come to understand over time, is a mix of punk music and the traditional music of the Roma ('gypsies' – I do dislike this loaded term, personally). To break it down, you've got what sounds like polka, folk, rock, swing, and punk all coming together to form one sound that is really unlike any other (even a bit of jazz in here). Thankfully this is sung mostly in English (good luck deciphering Gogol Bordello if you dare).“Tales of a Dead Fish” is lively and cheery, good for a stroll through town or a bar brawl. Tongue is firmly in cheek lyrically here, but you're not missing out on any joke, these are the sounds of people having a lot fun making kind of weird music. This might be a concept album about a touchy-feely hitman, but I'm not 100% sure. Fun all around really. I mean come on, 'No Means No' has got to be the swinging-est song about sexual harassment in human history. All of the instruments are uniformly excellent, nary a rough edge or distortion to be found here. There are just too many to go into details, suffice to say The FFO make fiddles and accordions cool again. The vocals are also great, with a Spanish accent added to the traditional folk delivery (it's a nice touch for me, as a native English speaker anyway). “Tales of a Dead” has the songs for a night of non-stop drinking and revelry during a game of Dungeons and Dragons. I can see your head has exploded. This really must be heard to be believed.

Rubén Lozano - 2012 - The Astronaut

Classic/Instrumental

[FOR FREE]

http://rubenlozano.bandcamp.com/album/the-astronaut

• 10 songs to download
• For free
• Direct Download
• Listening recommendations: Nebulosa, Pulsar, Shuttle
• Wallpaper version of the Album Cover: http://i.imgur.com/wIvf3.jpg

English

This is the second classic instrumental record of the spanish musician Rubén Lozano, and the gained experience between the records shows. While his first effort Banda Sonora, released only 6 months ago, was very well received by us, he manages to take his art a step further on the second try. Banda Sonora was more or less a collection of loosely connected, but playful songs that shared a similar production style. The tracks on The Astronaut however, are on a completely different compositional level, which becomes obvious very soon when you listened to it and begin to understand the artists musical vision of the "epic space" theme. Actually, "epic" isn't a word that musicians should throw around lightly. However, it is quite difficult to think of better adjectives to describe the songs on The Astronaut, also considering it serves as a genre descriptor. "Grand" or "grandiose" may be other words that come to mind for songs that are hard to be seen as singular 3 minute pieces, but need to be considered as a whole. Together, these musical pieces create an image of life larger than the one we know, transcending terrestrial imaginary concepts to paint a picture of something more elevated. The cosmos and the thought of an infinite amount of matter are concepts hard to conceive with our feeble human brains. How fascinating is it that there are people able to make music that describes the feeling of these concepts in a language we all understand instead of alienating our brains with complicated facts? Records like Ruben Lozano's The Astronaut are the closest many of us will ever get to understanding the universe, and if that doesn't deserve the word "epic", then I don't know what does.

Les Rivals - 2010 - EP 2010

Garage Rock

[FOR FREE]

http://lesrivals.bandcamp.com

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

English

Hey Maroon 5, you guys ain't got shit on these Jagger-like moves I'll tell you that, for damn sure. Les Rivals “EP 2010” is a little bit of that garage rock that radio stations would tell you has seen its heyday pass into the white striped sky, but if this is anything to go by, it's still alive and breathing, and sounding more like The Rolling Stones than ever (take that Hives!). The 5 tracks are all about getting up and shaking your money maker for all its worth, with the organ keys adding just the right amount of psychedelic flavour to allow for lime green outfits and lava lamps to seem like they never went out of style. For Les Rivals, the 1960's are still going strong - expanding your mind and laying everything in sight are actively accepted goals. And hell, with these tracks and the right group of people you might just get your monies worth. Everything about the production here sounds retro, like everything was recorded on old school recording equipment to give it a warmer, crisper sound while keeping the vocals clean and up front. A lot of modern rock music goes out of its way not to sound like this. It's doesn't come off as 'huge', going for a simpler but well crafted and honed sound instead, and it works completely. Les Rivals might just be the hippest cats in the place, “EP 2010” oozes swagger and charm, but you won't begrudge them for it, you'll want to join them. Move over Mick, Les Rivals are here.

The Gravity Amendments - 2011 - From the Other Side of the Mirror State

Indie/ Folk

[FOR FREE]

http://thegravityamendments.bandcamp.com/

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

Clean "non-hissing" versions of these 3 songs:
- Daydreams
- Bury Your Bones
- Yellow Dress

English

This collection of Indie Folk songs is horribly produced. Every song has a background hissing noise that probably manages to drive the majority of listeners insane. Usually, I wouldn't complain too much about that on a Lo-Fi record but it is simply too distracting in this case and the main reason for the 1/5 rating. On top of that, the song quality differs greatly, ranging from unbelievably catchy with interesting lyrics (see recommended song section) to songs that don't even remotely compare to the best songs. However, those 2-3 songs are really recommendable and especially Daydreams and Yellow Dress are songs that I would love to have professionally recorded, clean versions of. Due to that, I decided to try my best at cleaning those songs a bit with Audacity to get rid of the hissing noise. Listen to the clean versions linked above the review to convince yourself of the potential this band and these songs have. Despite the poor quality and the the mixed bag song selection, I absolutely love those two songs and I hope they record a clean version of these song at some point since it would be a waste not to give these songs the careful attention they deserve. This record is hard to recommend, but the "clean" versions show that these songs shouldn't be written off completely and would probably be closer to a 4/5 rating if recorded properly.

Jori and the PUSH - 2011 - The Heart Is Wise

Hard Rock

[FOR FREE]

http://joriandthepush.bandcamp.com/

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

English

So I guess the internet read my 'more female hard rock' comments in the One-Eyed Doll review, because hot damn here's some more of it. Jori and the Push's “The Heart is Wise - Promo EP” is dripping with the same sort of cocksure sleaze and heavy guitar riffs one might expect to hear if they popped in a Queens of the Stone Age album. I think I may actually have to clean off my headphones after listening to opening track 'Give and Take', those guitar riffs and bassline seem tailor made for dancing with your clothes off for singles. Jori Teran's voice alternates between angry punk rocker (without screeching, thankfully) and huskier-voided temptress on the prowl for unsuspecting prey. 'Falling In' is throbbing with bass, but it appears to be about depression (although the reasons for depression may be related to the sex), which is somewhat out of place, but shows there is more on display than sweaty flesh. An then just when you expect more hard rock swaggering, “The Heart is Wise” wises up and lets out its pink mohawk and the punk flag flies. It may be about fucking, but it's punk, it's a quickie! The bridge is a bit slower and heavier, but the tempo picks right back up at the 1:54 mark and we're back to 3-cord glory for the few remaining seconds of the song. Take from that whatever metaphor you want. This promo EP ends its quick run with 'Saving Grace', which sounds a bit like the previous two songs mixed together – a fun way to go out really. I can only hope whatever LP follows is as good a mix of punk rock and sex drenched hard rock as this is.

Goodbye Kumiko - 2011 - My Wild Arms

Indie/Pop/Rock

[FOR FREE]

http://goodbyekumiko.bandcamp.com/

• 10 songs to download
• You name the price (min 0,-)
• You get the link if you register your email address
• Listening recommendations: Plain Dream, Sleeping in, We own the night

English

This album is a perfect example of how you are not convincing people to listen to your, too good to be overlooked, music. The band knows how to make music, very good music at that (convince yourself by listening to Plain Dream or Sleeping in), but the beginning of the album is very alienating, starting off with an Instrumental piece that isn't quite interesting enough to catch most people's attention and a few songs that sound not quite as well thought out than the songs the album ends with. Unfortunately, most people tend to judge musicians by the first few songs they hear/skip through and its really troublesome that the best songs of Goodbye Kumiko were probably never heard by the people stumbling over this record. I like with how much different variations of their sound they came up with. I can't really blame them for trying different styles, some resulting in better songs than others. And it definitely paid off since the 3 best songs on the album are also 3 songs that feel completely different. These guys are definitely very talented, and if you look at some of their older songs/older versions of current songs (which you can find here), you can't help but notice how much they already improved their own style of music. They have quite the potential to improve themselves and I am already liking what I am hearing on this album. This is definitely a band we should hope for getting another record.