Ashton Parson - 2012 - Walk on Water

Rock/Soul

[FOR FREE]

http://ashtonparson.bandcamp.com/

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

Impressions

I needed a little bounce in my step, and Ashton Parson's “Walk on the Water” EP provided just the thing to get me going. An R&B soul album is not something I come across often for wasfuersohr, nor do I ordinarily gravitate towards them on my own, but these four songs drew me in and here we are, a review later. Parson's voice is part of the appeal, I suppose for me, it's that he's not crooning, he's rocking out with a soulfulness his young age betrays. He sounds less like a ladies man trying to sing his way into the audience's pants and more like a showman trying to entertain them. “Bottle of James” and “Feels Like Forever” dance around being cheesy love songs, though they're fairly tame in their lyrical mojo and never slips into preachy gospel themes (“Feels” being as much about loving New York City as it looking for love in the city). As I said Parson's voice is part of the appeal, and the production seems to favour it as well, as his voice is definitely put front and centre in the mix. 'Walk on the Water' features quite the raucous piano on just about every track (or a keyboard equivalent) and it slides in next to the thudding rhythm section really well. The urge I have to to stomp and clap rises with every successive track, so he's won me over without a doubt. I can't find any fault in the production or the singing, though some may find his voice overly familiar to other male singers and find that a detractor, but not I. It's good, lively music and I want more.

mr_carmack - 2012 - Vibes, Vol. 2

World electronic

   [FOR FREE]

http://mrcarmack.bandcamp.com/

• 11 songs to download
• You name the price (min 0,-)
• You get the link if you register your email address
• Listening recommendations: The Next Morning, Busted, Dipped Lightweight

English

Hailing from Honolulu, mr_carmack describes himself as a world musician, and once you sink your teeth into his music, it’s easy to see why. Take “The Next Morning”, the opener of his latest compilation Vibes, Vol. 2: influences are taken from genres as diverse as dance, ambient, electronic, and trip-hop, making for a glitchy but warm cocktail of synths and beats. As beautiful as his soundscapes are, though, it’s his ear for melody and rhythm that drives his concoctions forward. He’ll begin with one instrument or motif before building upon it, as his songs slowly bloom into lush gardens of music, constantly shifting tone and direction. This approach is relaxed aesthetically but bustling instrumentally, and the contrast makes for a compelling but inviting listen, suitable for late night expeditions in the car, reading sessions, or even trips to the lavatory (if you’re feeling particularly classy that day, that is). As he goes deeper into his beats, mr_carmack grows bolder with his experimentation. The dubstep-influenced “Busted” finds room for some wicked record scratching and a rollicking bongo drum in the midst of its staggering, trippy beat, before the album segues into “Roller (New Look)”, a dance floor ditty replete with distant gang shouts in the background and a subtle but tricky drop that lets the synthesizer improvise a little. The world is mr_carmack’s oyster, it seems, and this time, you’re cordially invited to the rager.

Unbuttoned - 2012 - Electric Kingdom

R&B

   [FOR FREE]

http://unbuttoned.bandcamp.com/

• 7 songs to download
• You name the price (min 0,-)
• You get the link if you register your email address
• Listening recommendations: Something Wicked, Play On Pain, Ruler Of The Sun

English

With the recent success of acts like Drake and Frank Ocean, there’s been a supposed “revival” of R&B, a genre that had been mostly recognized as the reason R. Kelly’s “Trapped In The Closet” ever came to fruition up to now. It’s too bad that some of that sudden attention to a long-dormant genre in the pop landscape didn’t land on Canadian group Unbuttoned, because seriously? Electric Kingdom is, and I say this with my butt on the line, everything that music should be. From the opening notes of “Something Wicked”, something just feels right: perhaps it’s the gentle yet empowered coos of vocalist Casey Manierka-Quaile as the track builds from a piano ballad into a jazz-rock slow jam. Yes, this is R&B, but who says that you can’t throw some other ideas into the pot with it? Indeed, album standout “Play on Pain” makes its appeals over a rousing gospel overlay, while “Cold in The Summertime” is a chameleon of a track, mixing brass and beats with a hard rock sensibility, all carried over a bed of electronic synths, before it strips back down to a piano solo near the end. And like that title suggests, this release is not one lacking in warmth behind its ice-cool surface. The desires here may be seductive, even primal, but they project themselves out of real emotions, real pain. That vulnerability tears the superhuman back down to the human—and elevates Electric Kingdom from merely a good listen to a great reflection on life. Drake who?

Copernic# - 2009 - 24 Lights

Trip Hop

[FOR FREE]

http://copernic.bandcamp.com/album/24-lights

• 10 songs to download
• You name the price (min 0,-)
• You get the link if you register your email address
• Listening recommendations: Sweet Love, The Beauty, Welcome To Minea

Impressions

Some times, a good bit of trip hop music is just what the doctor ordered. While I'm writing this review (but most likely not while you're reading it), I'm getting over some recent surgery, and the smoky-smooth vocals on Copernic#'s '24 Lights' makes it really easy to just sit back and relax and let the music take over. The music here is a smattering of different bits and pieces, bringing together manner of genres influences in a well-rounded sonic package, as any self-respecting trip hop record would be in this day and age. The albums should have taken its name from the lead off track, “Almost in Trance”, as the music does carry a subdued feeling, where even the fastest track (which is judging shades of gray) has methodical tempo. “Bond Girl” is an obvious tribute to and pretty good attempt at the band writing a Bond theme song. A little subdued in light of older Bond anthems, but certainly better than more recent offerings from that film series. Lyrically, it's nothing too heavy; slinking between romantic liaisons and misty emotions (and Bond girls, which is kind of the same thing really), given life and weight by Regina Przic's voice. The instrumental pieces are uniformly well done, though not as standout as Przic's voice on most of the tracks, because they tend to push her to the forefront. When they do get to take centre stage, such as the bridge near the end of “Sweet Love”, they really do put some harder edge to things (that drum and bass!). '24 Lights' showcases some serious musical chops, and makes for a relaxing listen that I wholeheartedly recommend during these dry summer days. May also work as music for gettin it on. No guarantees.

Genevieve Guimond - 2012 - Genevieve Guimond

Classical

[FOR FREE]

http://genevieveguimond.bandcamp.com/

• 8 songs to download
• For free
• Direct Download
• Listening recommendations: Fratres

Impressions

Time to class up my review repertoire on the blog, or at least bring some more classical music to the forefront on wasfuersuhr. An album based around the cello is not something I run across every day, so this one caught my ear right off the bat. Admittedly, I don't recognize any of the pieces Genevieve and company are playing, so these may be standards to one more familiar with classical. To me, they're simply enthralling sonatas all excellently performed. “Fratres” is the track that has me coming back for more among the eight tracks. The easy going tempo building to the ominous reoccurring piano motif at the beginning of the song, that only builds more and more tension (the strings have a very sharp sound to them at times) and ends with a subtle, somber softness. There are moments during the “Shostakovish Cello Sonata” that are downright childlike in their playful sound that have a certain charming appeal to them as well, especially when taken as part of the greater Sonata (which can shift tone dramatically), they just don't catch my ear as much (The “4^th Mvmt” comes closest). “Ritual Fire Dance” end things on an upbeat, up tempo note that could easily work as the accompaniment for a hunter chasing a rascally lagomorph. Low praise to some, the means by which classical music was first heard to others. My one issue with this LP is the end of “Schumann Cello Concerto - #rd Mvmt”.Yes, this may have been recorded live, but if that is the case, feature audience reaction more than once during the album. The cheering seems extremely out of place on only the first track of the album, never to be heard from again. For such a masterfully put together LP, this seems like a really strange oversight. This is a great record for lovers of classical/cello music, and for those who only wish to dabble.

Blackset, Invisiblesky, General Joystick - 2012 - 3 Rock Bands to Choose From

A little something different this time around folks, instead of one album of listenable goodness, you're getting three recommendations for the same low price of free! All three albums offer different takes on instrumental rock that I believe deserve your ears attention.

Impressions

Blackset - Blackset: Post-Rock

 Blackset's self-titled provides the brooding, with an LP's worth of dank rain-soaked post-rock. While sticking close to the usual post-rock setup, Blackset deliver the goods by adding wall of guitar theatrics to their sound (“Pictures of Home”). It's nice to have the go-for-broke attitude of post-punk with the architectural waves of post-rock. Dark, but hopeful with a sense of urgency to just about every song, like seeing a glimmer of sun through a storm cloud.

• 8 songs to download
• For free
• Direct Download
• Listening recommendations: It Was Funeral

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General Joystick - Meal and a Bath: Instrumental Rock

General Joystick plays fast and loose, experimenting with whatever sound tickles their fancy on 'Meal and a Bath' (a flourish of math rock here, a smattering of psychedelic or acoustic there). While they too dabble in darker sounds, their synth/organ and rhythm section back and forth is just too much fun not to enjoy with a smile - “The Man Who Went to Lunch and Never Came Back” is a fight song for cubicle warriors who just want to spend an afternoon at the ballpark. That said, you can just hear a sly gleefulness to the music that's just so damn catchy.

• 11 songs to download
• You name the price (min 0,-)
• You get the link if you register your email address
• Listening recommendations: The Man Who Went Out To Lunch And Never Came Back, Raccoon In A Raincoat

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Invisiblesky - Cloud Discharge: Post-Rock

The final album to take note of rock fans, is Invisible Sky's 'Cloud Discharge'. It too stands within the province of instrumental post-rock, though like it's title is much breezier, lighter in tone than just about any post-rock record I can think of. Invisible Sky have chosen to compliment their soaring rock with small bits of techno and ambient, giving those songs a colder, eerier feel. Even with the electronics the guitar is still the star here, wailing away like it's reminded of days gone by.

• 9 songs to download
• You name the price (min 0,-)
• You get the link if you register your email address
• Listening recommendations: Where No Water Flows, Electronic Liquidation, Underground

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So there you have it, three instrumental rockers for your listening pleasure, each bringing something different to the rock music palette.