Wasfuersohr Mailbag [June 2014]

Mailbag time! This blog is about free music and bands who take the time to contact me shouldn't be ignored. Lots of interesting music out there, and unfortunately we don't have the time to cover everything. This section is devoted to bands who contacted us and other bands we've found but couldn't write a review for. Click the album picture for the Bandpage.

Impressions

2Nerd - BOSQ:
Chiptunes

I've never liked chiptunes, this is simple fact of life. But damn if BOSQ doesn't change all that. There's just something about this particular EP, it doesn't sound like a gimmick, like someone trying to sound like a videogame soundtrack gone rogue. No, BOSQ is what happens when some takes a Gameboy and makes music from it. It's still twitchy and 8bit, but it sounds so much more.

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Nothing But Hope And Passion - Nothing But Spring:
Alternative

This popped into my email just when I needed it most. A compilation album of indie music spanning several different genres (pop, rock, electronic, folk, and so forth) that provided me with a much needed uplifting shot in the arm. I don't bring it out often, but it has staying power and I'll always bring it out when A) I need a pick me up, and B) when it's bright and sunny already because it's infectious.

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Helvetica Syndrome - A Closed Counterform:
Synthwave

Did you really think I'd be bale to go this long without coming across more synthwave that tickled my musically fancy? Well A Closed Counterform is a quick shot of the good stuff, and I do mean quick, this EP is a little over 10 or so minutes of synthesizers and drum machines (especially on Sun of the Sand, oh my!). Yes, I unabashedly like the musical sounds of a made-up version of three decades ago. And you should too. Mulroney be damned!

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SNOWMINE - 2011 - LAMINATE PET ANIMAL

Ambient Indie Pop

[FOR FREE]

http://snowmine.bandcamp.com/album/laminate-pet-animal

• 9 songs to download
• You name the price (min 0,-)
• You get the link if you register your email address
• Listening recommendations: Beast In Air Beast In Water, Penny, Let Me In
• If you liked the free record, you can grab a more recent release from their website with an interesting self-publishing/fan-funding concept which I fully support: http://www.snowmine.com/

Impressions

I frequently consider whether I should just make a clean slate with the old albums that were still waiting for reviews and every single time I dig one of these up, I find myself reassured that it would an outright horrible idea to do so. Snowmine is making great music, and is one of those bands where it is unclear to me how they are not more popular, even if they are easily among the best known bands on the blog. Varied and catchy instrumentation that you'll hum and sing along with on your second listen, genuinely interesting and intelligently arranged lyrics and a likeable voice make this a no brainer for anyone remotely interested in the genre. They did an incredibly good job at making all songs feel different, which makes it very easy to keep listening to the album over and over again. If you like this album, I highly recommend downloading the other EPs on their Bandcamp page and add these tracks to your track rotation. Due to that variation, not all tracks are of the same high quality, but the ones that are, are hymns to the emotions in life that make life feel worth living.
Music is best when evoking thoughts, emotions and creativity and Laminate Pet Animal is one of those records which brings me down to earth, lets me dream of the sky and motivate me to get to work on stuff that was neglected for way too long. With that thought, I'll close these impressions and look forward to the next hidden gems that are waiting for me.

octopus! - 2014 - When Will You Stop?

Rock

[FOR FREE]

http://octopus12.bandcamp.com/album/when-will-you-stop

• 8 songs to download
• You name the price (min 0,-)
• You get the link if you register your email address
• Listening recommendations: Этот аукцион - слишком мал , Shark Attack

Impressions

So I went into a weird bit of winter hibernation from my last to about now, and in that time, I didn't get any new music from bandcamp. I ended up putting this review on hold nearly indefinitely until such time as I was able to sit down, tell everything else in the world to go intercourse itself and tackle an album review. Four months hasn't changed how I feel about the album thankfully, which is that the rock and roll showcased on When Will You Stop will keep your fist pumping, head nodding/banging with it's twangy bass guitar lead instrumentals. Octopus! have created a record that fits into the 'I've been looking out for this kind of rock music since I started reviewing', joining a scant few bands whose records I can always go back to again and again regardless of when it is in the year or where I am. There's something to the different layers coming together (like on Спасибо , тебе, за эти берега) that I just feel is very optimistic and uplifting in a way that scuzzy rock music tends not to be. We may all be sweaty and jumping around, but we're enjoying every damn minute of it while Octopus! do their thing. The bass on Shark Attack is simply perfection. It's dirty, ladden with a effects, but it delivers on tongue-in-cheek menace and a sense of cool that I can just wrap myself up in and wear like armour. The drumming can go from standard fair, merely keeping the beat (though in this case, that's no easy task. Things move at a clip) to taking progressive detour fills  (the short interlude on Vulcano, for instance) when the bass decides to stand down for a few seconds. That one person is doing all of this is both mighty impressive (my hat is off to you madame/sir), but also makes a lot of sense. Some of the time changes being thrown around on here would probably leads to a rip in space-time if it someone else had to try and keep the rhythm together. I would occasionally put When Will You Stop? on every now and again over my time away, and every time I wanted to drop everything and sing its praises from on wasfeursohr high. Now I finally can, and have. Get this record.