Category: Music

As I did last week, I’ve written a few notes on things I’ve downloaded this week. All are rated on the Sound Opinions “Buy it/Burn it/Trash it” scale, and the theme for this week is artists who have several albums available for free, and who are at least starting to make a career out of music.

Then by Black Era – I wanted to download something Italian, in preparation for our imminent trip to Italy. This was the most promising thing I could find, and it’s actually nothing like I expected it would be. It reminds me a lot of Massive Attack and Tricky, and has a darkness that I find quite appealing. All the vocals are in English, and it is the sort of album that drags you in and forces you to listen even if you find it a little uncomfortable at times. I’d give this a “Burn it”, as there are some tracks that don’t have a great deal of impact, but you do really need to hear the first few tracks if nothing else.

The Simple Life by Josh Woodward – At first listen this comes across as standard singer-songwriter fare. After a couple of further listens, I realised that this is at least as good as anything else in the genre, and that there is a professionalism evident in the music that belies the fact it is avaialble for free from Jamedno (or for “pay what you like” for physical CDs on his website – http://www.joshwoodward.com/). This is a “Buy it”, and I’ll be downloading further albums on quiet weeks I think.

House Made of Glass by Death by Panda – I will begin by saying I don’t know how to catagorise this. It’s my album of the last two weeks, and it can best be described as sitting somewhere between melodic Ambient and Post Rock. Listen to this early in the morning and it will make sense, but TRY and make sense of it and you will be left wanting. I’d buy stuff like this (and do), but for most people it would be something to stream once to see if it sooths you or annoys you, as I think it has the potential to do both equally.

The Grasping Hands of Possibility by Ruined Machines – This is fairly standard guitar led Post Rock, but quite enjoyable nonetheless. I’d say Explosions in the Sky and Mogwai would be reference points, but it touches on a few tried and tested sounds with a couple of surprises thrown in. This is a “Burn it” record that at present I will keep and listen to, but I’m not sure how much staying power it has.

As promised, a few scribbles on things I’ve downloaded this week (mostly from Jamendo). All are rated on the Sound Opinions “Buy it/Burn it/Trash it” scale.

Ze first cidi by Delph’ sans les pattes – Very French, but very beautiful, this is a style of music I like a lot but didn’t own much of until recently. It’s what I refer to as “Paris Cafe Music” but what other people call Chanson. Definitely a “Buy it”.

The Dreamer’s Paradox by JT Bruce – An instrumental Progressive Rock album that makes great background music. I would never pay for music like this, but it’s totally inoffensive, and worth a listen. I think this would have to be a “Burn it” at best.

Encore des chansons (2008) by Saint-Jean – More wonderful French music. I may have to download more of this as it fits the beautiful summer weather perfectly. This would have to be a “Burn it”, because I think I’ll grow tired of it eventually.

Who is on my Sofa? by Poxfil – I don’t know how to classify this. There’s a bit of dub, a bit of pop, a lot of strangeness, and very few reference points to hang it all off. Think the Beta Band crossed with ACR in a loft in Paris. I did put this as a “Burn it”, but a week on I actually really like it.

The Asylum theory by Ghostfog – German Darkwave, which is an excellent example of German Darkwave. It totally doesn’t work at this time of year but I might go back to it in winter. Probably a “Burn it”, although I might end up trashing it at some point.

Feed the Animals by Girl Talk – Not from Jamendo, but released under Creative Commons so it belongs here. Girl Talk mix bits of existing songs into new compositions, which works a lot better than you would think. They’ve been on my radar for a while, but have just released their new album on a “pay what you want” deal, so I thought they were worth another mention. This is a total “Buy it” album, and should be played loudly at cooked meat events throughout the summer.