Apoplexia – 2013 – Carré Rouge EP

Drum and bass/chillstep

[FOR FREE]

http://apoplexia.bandcamp.com/album/carr-rouge-ep

• 6 songs to download
• You name the price (min 0,-)
• You get the link if you register your email address
• Listening recommendations: Coup D Tat, Hasardeuse Victoire

Impressions

The music of an uprising is angry, throbbing with bloodveins that are just about ready to pop out.  Apoplexia’s EP, Carré Rouge, inspired by recent political turmoil in Canada relating to a controversial college tuition policy, is a prime example. Everything about this release is drenched with dread, from the angular synth melodies to the seemingly simple breakbeats: if you really listen, you can hear the whirring of 16th hi-hats underneath, a subtle buzz that nevertheless sets the tone for the songs paved over it. Apoplexia, real name David De Garie-Lamanque, expresses himself through atmosphere and atmosphere alone. Nowhere is a lyric found (though the Bandcamp page features comprehensive explanations for the inspiration for each track), yet his compositions are so tight that you’re right there in each moment with him. Perhaps the strongest cut here is “Coup D'État,” a visceral mix of blood-thick wubstep synths, vocal samples disturbing enough to evoke Venetian Snares, and absolutely draining 16th beats. It leads right into closer “Hasardeuse Victoire” (translating to “Hazardous Victory”), which, befitting of its name, begins with a brief burst of chirpy chiptune before launching back into a future colored with the blood of radicals; the melodies toe the line between triumph and tragedy, never revealing whether the characters buried within are heroes or villains. It’s a fitting end to an album full of music for uprisings—after all, there’s never a happy ending when it comes to governments, is there?

Wasfuersohr Mailbag for February 21st

Mailbag time! This blog is about free music and bands who take the time to contact us shouldn't be ignored. Lots of interesting music out there, and unfortunately we don't have the time to cover everything. This week, a couple of new releases from artists whose records we've reviewed in the past.

Ten Million Sounds - Finding Time Compilation

A brand new collection of down tempo and ethereal instrumental hip hop with proceeds of the PWYW going to a good cause. Every bit as good as the previous Ten Million Sounds, fans of the genre and those looking for a relaxing way to wake up their body and mind should definitely check it out.





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Plaisance - So Fresh


One of my favourite releases of last year gets a quick EP follow up? And it's even more awesome 80's inspired electronica? Shut up and take my money! In an 8 minute span, Plaisance knock it out of the synth-park yet again.

bevlove - 2012 - happily ever after.

R&B/Soul

[FOR FREE]

http://bevlove.bandcamp.com/album/happily-ever-after/

• 7 songs to download
• You name the price (min 0,-)
• You get the link if you register your email address
• Listening recommendations: Fired Up, Where Do You Sleep, Happily Ever After

Impressions

Debuts are a tricky business; go too far and you risk alienating your audience before you even begin, but dial things down and you may never even find an audience. Detroit-based R&B/soul outfit bevlove’s first release, however, brims with confidence, charm, and creativity. happily ever after. is split evenly between rousing crowdpleasers and seductive slow-jams, and bevlove inspires both enthusiasm and introspection in equal turns. The first thing it has going for it is a playful, dynamic instrumental ensemble: “fired up,” for example, lives on handclaps fresh off the playground and blasts of tuba; even when the track has the balls to sample audience cheers, the bravado feels entirely earned. bevlove’s second weapon is a powerhouse vocal, with which she radiates charisma and demonstrates a relatable vulnerability. Even better, she understands that the two states aren’t mutually exclusive, best exemplified on the captivating “no better than this” with an attitude somewhere between Janelle Monae and Beyonce. The plaintive piano-led ballad “where do you sleep?” lives on the strength of her haunted performance: “I won’t go on living without you,” she cries, yet the tone is not one of despair but one of empowerment. So there’s a lot to like here: unfortunately, while happily ever after. is very well-made, it’s not terribly cohesive, serving more as a grab-bag of bevlove than a polished representation of what she really stands for. The brassy, hip-hop “amnesia,” for example, is strong on its own merits but downright baffling sandwiched between “where do you sleep?” and the hushed, downtempo “boundless.” All in all, though, debut acts rarely come as full-formed as this, and bevlove is certainly one to treasure if the quality of happily ever after. is any indication.

Honest Haloway - 2011 - The Towns

Indie/Electronica

[FOR FREE]

http://honesthaloway.bandcamp.com

• 5 songs to download
• For free
• Direct Download
• Listening recommendations: What I Leave Behind, Closer

Impressions

Another musician that does not deserve their level of obscurity. A calm and sympathetic voice on catchy electronic sounds. If this EP is anything to go by, this band has a LOT to offer and I cant wait to get my hands on a full record. Most of the time calm, this EP definitely goes well together and shows a promising and coherent band concept. Honest Haloway shows with tracks as "Pouring Rain" and "Closer", that he has huge potential and is already able to put out tracks that dont need to hide themselves before the bigger names in the genre. The last track offers a slightly different approach to his songs with a big focus on some disharmonic sounds and a faster pace. While I applaud musicians experimenting with their sound, I get the impression that his calmer tracks are better suited to him and manage to grip the listener on a rather emotional level. At its best, this record gives you a glimpse of another world. A mysterious, closed door in front of the listener, stirring curiousity and waiting to be opened. Once it is opened, the listener gets 3-4 minutes of impressively well done music that show the appreciation the musician has for his art. After listening to the EP once, it got me intrigued. The third time listening left me with wonder. At the time of writing this review, this EP became a friend, whom I will definitely continue to pay a visit once in a while.

Hector - 2013 - One Man's Treasure is Another Man's Trash

Noise Rock

[FOR FREE]

http://hectorhector.bandcamp.com/album/one-mans-treasure-is-another-mans-trash

• 7 songs to download
• You name the price (min 0,-)
• You get the link if you register your email address
• Listening recommendations: Yr Bad Hat, Tent

Impressions

And my first review of the year will be noisy, hard for many to get through, and gleefully so. Hector's self-aware LP title One Man's Treasure is Another Man's Trash is probably a decent hint for those not interested in the sonic spectrum on display here. If the idea of free jazz, rock, and noise together in a single mixture does not appeal to you, it's probably Trash, but I certainly feel there is Treasure to be found. “Yr Bad Hat” for example, drenched in feedback and noise effects to be sure, is an excellent slow burn prog rock song with a head bouncing rhythm. That there is now a crackling, unhinged adaptation of Mary Had a Little Lamb (called “Mary Had a Little Limb” here, those cheeky monkeys) in the world is reason enough for me to say “Go. Listen to this now, you.” even though I know this me aiming at niches. The real standout track, at least in terms of inventiveness is certainly “Didgeridont”, a song built around a simple wandering, repetitive guitar line that's bludgeoned by the sheer size and heft of the didgeridoo. “Didgeridont” and “Mary” combine to make psyche melting little trip that thankfully “Tent” brings things full circle; back to outright music, and you can walk away unscathed. It's an oddity, something I seem to specialize in it seems, and worth a look. 

Funky Monarch - 2012 - Funkomania Ep

[FOR FREE]

Electronic/Funk

http://funkymonarch.bandcamp.com/

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

Impressions

It has only been a couple of years since David Guetta and Skrillex brought the genre, "Electronic" to the mainstream pop scene. If you've been a fan of either one, then the instrumentals in "Funky Monarch's" Funkomania Ep are likely to make you dance. Implying strongly by the duo's name, the main element in Funkomania Ep is none other than the sassy funk. The album marks it opening with "Prelude", starting with light electric guitar strums. The fast moving drum beat adds on with the additional instrumentals to compose an 80s-esque funk vibe. Track number two "Wicked Styles" is a track that requires patience. Building up with a repetitive bass-line, the track makes feet move after it's second minute. Highlights of the EP come to the eye in "Part of Your Ass". With a guitar strum reminiscent of disco hit "Funkytown" and a horn section sampled from the all too well sampled-"Unwind Yourself". Another notable section are the pieces of vocal tracks sampled into the tracks. The album closes with "The Cow", a beat that would've been made by the Early Guetta if not Funky Monarch. As an album that you would hear loud in the clubs, Funkomania Ep makes you fantasize the perfection you would have heard if full vocal tracks were layed on to the instrumentals. Still, its no doubt that your body will react to a listen of this funky mess.    

the laybacks - 2013 - feel lighter tonight

Indie Rock

[FOR FREE]

http://thelaybacks.bandcamp.com/

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

Impressions

Dropping a straight ahead rock record these days is a rather ballsy move, but the laybacks seem to have done just that with feel lighter tonight, a four track EP that would fit right into a rock music landscape where Oasis and Blur still ruled supreme, and Nickelback and their ilk had yet to shit things up for everyone else. This Aussie export keeps the pacing just tight enough that when they start pinning for Swedish girls on the song of the same name, it almost seems out of place. A little too heavy on the earnestness for its own good I feel (not that the other tracks are pulling punches either), as if the band were aiming for rock ballad, but didn't want to commit 100%. They do seem to like hammering away on the whammy bar though, with the title track and “just which way” showing these guys are having fun and obviously know what they're doing (no guitar wank here) when they shred. I thought it was all instrumental when it the guitars finally subsided after more than a minute to let the lyrics into play. As I mentioned before, not wordsmiths wielding the pen, but not cloying or angst ridden either. Maybe it's not their goal to write really deep lyrical content, but the lyrics really are the lowest point of an otherwise excellent EP.