This is the 2nd imaginary mixtape on this blog.
For this week's imaginary mixtape, I'm going to break with style a bit, and showcase some songs that don't fit in the genre I've been focusing on. Next week, I'm delving back into the overarching shoegaze/alt-rock theme, but for this week, you can check out some great tunes from other styles.
As usual, there are loads of great bands from all over the world, and many of them are largely undiscovered, so I hope this post helps, even if only a bit. So get ready for another installment of the imaginary mixtapes, this time, from across borders, musically and physically.
Here's my TBT:
1. "Someone With My Face And My Name, But Not Me" by Portabot, from There Must Be A Sunrise In Every Ending (2009).
This is a heavily ambient/shoegaze/psychedelic/microglitch/electroacoustic instrumental. As you can see, it almost defies genre description, but fortunately, what it lacks in similarity to other songs, it makes up in what sounds like pure distorted sound created straight from the mind. It starts out with a calming cinematic under-sampled melody, which sets up the almost 8 minutes to come, well. There's harmony and dissonance at once, crushed through under-sampling distortion which gives it a kind of hypnotic and meditative effect. Loops alter throughout, and the song changes face after the 3 minute mark, to eventually include what sounds like glasses being played musically, and synths overtop the ever-changing crushed sound. It's hard to decide what the sounds actually are, but I'm guessing reversed acoustic guitar. Needless to say, there aren't enough words (in English, at least) to accurately describe the sound without getting ridiculously technical, but I highly recommend it (and the entire There Must Be A Sunrise In Every Ending by Barcelona's own Portabot), especially in headphones, when you're in that space between waking and sleeping. Portabot has since released a few newer songs available at the same link (http://portabot.bandcamp.com/)
2. "With Our Eyes Closed" by Prevrat, from Symbols (2013).
"With Our Eyes Closed" starts with a strange and modern analogue-sounding loop. There are definitely dream-pop influences in the track, but it's mainly an indie-pop/synthpop track. Vocals are fed through a soft vocoder, and loads of addictive synths, drum samples, and harmonies create a cold yet upbeat atmosphere. "We walk through the world with our eyes closed" is an awesome lyric. It also has a bit of a video-game sound to it, like some of Yoshito Hirano's and Yuka Tsuhiyoko's compositions. There are some intricate compositions of notes in the track that transcend ordinary video-game music as well, and retain a kind of strange welcoming alternativeness. (http://prevrat.bandcamp.com/)
3. "Ophelia (among the flowers)" by What,Really? from s/t Promo 2013 (2013).
To shake things up a bit, here's a power pop track from Italian band What,Really?. "Ophelia (among the flowers)" begins with a bandpassed guitar, and then hits the mark with sharp drums, indie-rock-style guitar, and a great following bass. Vocals fit so well in the sound What,Really? is going for, with nice harmonies, and an easy-going attitude, lyrically and tonally. It's upbeat, and catchy like the Dickens. There's a catchy energy like songs the Newglads release, Here There Anywhere Like You (which I reviewed earlier in the year), but it reaches the ears in a distinctly different way. Once again, music from across the sea holds its own against the sea-like swarm of pop-rock/power pop bands from my own continent. (http://whatreally.bandcamp.com)
4. "Ol Rudy" by Euphoria Again, from Bedroom tapes part 1 (2012)
"Ol Rudy" is a great lo-fi track. The thing about lo-fi that I really love is the ability to create a certain organic mood, without overusing instrumentation, and this track is no exception. A sleepy, emotionally worn-out sound comes through, in a nice low-frequency range; with the sound of soft double-tracked vocals, beautifully (and deceptively) underplayed acoustic guitar, and a southern/indie twang of an electric guitar fed through a quiet-sounding amp. John Forrest Klein's name for his project, Euphoria Again, is a perfect description for the mood both musically and lyrically. There's almost a kind of sarcasm of the track, but it also sounds at least equally honest. Relaxing, bittersweet, and folky; lo-fi euphoria again. Euphoria Again has since released a new compilation of remastered versions of the bedroom tapes releases available at the same link. (http://euphoriaagain.bandcamp.com/)
5. "Machines Fall Apart" by Tree Wave, from the EP Cabana (2004)
This is an interesting alt-pop/dream pop crossover track. It starts with strange and wonderfully warped electronic sounds (likely made from some sorts of archaic synths), and then an old-school 808-reminiscent drumbeat leads the song forward. More layers of synths, and great vocals that sound like they're sung by a slightly-more-awake Bilinda Butcher (shoegaze in-joke) make it both alternative and poppy, but as the track goes on, the sound evolves into a structured and serious yet upbeat melody, similar to Billy Corgan's amazing solo album, TheFutureEmbrace.(http://archive.org/details/os034)
6. "half open" by The Bilinda Butchers, from Goodbyes (2012)
From sounds like Butcher, to named after Butcher, here's the 6th track of this imaginary mixtape. This is a dream pop band I've been wanting to mention for some time. No, it's not Bilinda Butcher in some new solo project, but it is a dream pop band with some great tones. "half open" is a bit poppy, and has some mild Eastern-stylized synths as well as loads of other ones. Vocal "ahhs" are in a great amount of reverb, and the melody is catchy and greatly sung. The layers of different synths, drums, vocals, and guitars, give it an overall modern style, even though there are some definite '80s sounds in there too. The instrumental ending is like listening to an epitome of something not yet named. Oh, and don't be freaked out by the sounds at the end; they're part of the track, not actual radio interference near your ears. (http://thebilindabutchers.bandcamp.com/)
7. "Community College" by LAKE R▲DIO (feat. PIXEL GRIP), from Hypnagogia (2013)
"Community College" is a laid-back instrumental with house influences by LAKE R▲DIO (Caden Moore), featuring PIXEL GRIP. There's a lot of reverb in all the right places, and a synth solo that's analogue-yet-new-sounding. Vocal samples turn into blips, and the track brings a slow style to the electronic music scene, that doesn't rely on bad writing, vocal trills, or ambient loops to make it sound that way. Slight hip-hop influences also come through, and it sounds just as good when sped up at time and a half (I like to experiment with music on my computer). (http://lakeradio.bandcamp.com)
8. "I'm Not Perfect, Are You?" by The Silence of a Whisper, from The Past, The Future, The End (2011)
This is a moody and pensive instrumental track from Swedish artist The Silence of a Whisper (Jerome Engström). It reminds me of the kind of dusk when it's getting dark-blue outside; like a rainy day spent in a tub surrounded by the atmosphere, and a soft yellow light. As much as that isn't in musical terms, it really defines the sound to me. "I'm Not Perfect, Are You?" is one of the slower and non-distorted tracks off the largely post-rock/metal The Past, The Future, The End. Starting with a deep bass drone, and soft nostalgic melodic electric guitar fed through reverb, the track takes on a beauty reminiscent of Sigur Ros, or some of the softer early Pumpkins tracks ("Luna" comes to mind a bit). Drums are as evocative as the rest of the track, and the whole track has a kind of relaxed, resolved sound that is almost completely unique. The Silence of a Whisper has since released 2 new singles, available at the same link (http://thesilenceofawhisper.bandcamp.com/)
9. "Downtown" by The Shipyard [single] (2012)
This is a nice nighttime-ish alt-rock track from Polish band The Shipyard. This track is upbeat and catchy, as well as being sophisticated and mellow to a point. Great lyrics and singing are complimented by perfectly equalized and processed drums, loads of heavily melodic guitars, a chorus-processed bass, and synths that sound like a new beginning for popular music. "Downtown" has the great quality of being moving without being overdramatic, and catchy without being annoying; it's a slight chillwave influence on top of a post-rock/pop-rock style that seems to do the trick. And the ending is just how I wanted it to be, before I heard it. It's also featured on the new album by The Shipyard, We Will Sea, under the name "Downtown 2012". (http://theshipyard.bandcamp.com/)
10."a smoothie robot for my moon mansion" by Ricky Eat Acid, from (2011_demos) (2012).
The final track of this imaginary mixtape is a somewhat ambient track, with a sweet beat, and beautiful piano, accented with delays, and other soft synths on top. It's a rich atmosphere of contemplative melancholic contentment, as uplifting as it is nostalgia-inducing. An instrumental, it reinforces the power of instrumentals to evoke the same amount of emotion that non-instrumentals do. The track sounds like Air, but mixed by someone like Brian Eno, maybe with help from Nigel Godrich, and a lo-fi/chillwave producer as well. Beautiful sums it up well. (http://rickyeatacid.bandcamp.com/)
Overall, this is an eclectic mix of genres, from different albums, from different countries, and they all bring great sound to the table. Now just see how that can work, physically.
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