found

Lonski and Claßen

Lonski and Claßen

This sound is a hard one to throw a label on. I guess you can kind of think Whitest Boy Alive on shedloads of valium or maybe Sparklehorse on uppers. It's beautiful and oh so gentle. As are their videos.

I saw them play at the Goldmund Festival though I'm struggling to remember what they were playing... machines, guitars and drums I think. It would be stupid to point out that there are two of them in the group (it's late at night and my brain is going).

Listening to it again I simply can't pick a favorite but I Could is the most accessible track; hopefully that should serve to get everyone hooked.

Girls United - Wunderbaustelle

Girls United - Wunderbaustelle

Again with the Berlin goodness. Another Goldmund related project I believe - though I'm pretty sure they're not playing at the upcoming festival (shame, though there are plenty of other great artists to keep things interesting).

Really cool mixture of all sorts of stuff - damn near impossible to describe really. Bits an pieces of foundish sounds, lots of bits draw towards an electro vibe but then again there are some acoustic pearls on here too.

Wrong Track! jumped out at me straight away. It almost feels like the point where the album decides it's going to allow it's electro under belly to poke it's head through. Very upbeat and rocky. After that it felt like it was happy to let the electro joy shine - some tracks (like Blair is in the Air) almost sound like old Fischerspooner productions.

Seems to be a good dollop of humour here too. Hopefully I'll get to catch these cats live soon enough.

CocoRosie - La Maison De Mon Réve

CocoRosie - La Maison De Mon Réve

I have to admit that I've raved about Coco Rosie in the past without even really hearing them. Well I've heard them now, and I'm relieved to find that I was within my rights to take the stance I did. I'd become very familiar with Terrible Angels after randomly discovering it on an internet music service (Pandora from memory).

It strikes me how similar this is to a lot of the stuff I've been listening to in Berlin lately - Goldmund goodness like Golden Disko Ship. The fact that this is close to blues dawned on me when listening to Jesus Loves Me. This sounds so much like Sister Rosetta Tharpe that I have to wonder if it's a cover.

Acoustic guitar, twisted female vocals and beats formed from the scraps and rattles of found sounds. Every track, varied as they are, is great. Check out By Your Side, it's adorned with the sort of loop/hook that the hip-hop heads strive for.

Great to finally hear the whole work.

The Books - Thought for Food

The Books - Thought for Food

This reminds me of a lot of different stuff - probably because it's all over the place in terms of style. Don't get me wrong, it's stronger for it - a cohesive work. I imagine that without paying attention it probably sounds like a bit of a jumble of noises - closer inspection reveals some really intricate bits of construction.

Almost feels like Rachels (Systems Layers in particular) done on a budget. It has more variation than that though, bits of post-rock Mogwai-ish elements in there too (see All Our Base Are Belong To Them).

Just listened to Getting The Job Done. I really don't know what to think of this anymore.... though I do know that I like it.

Hanne Hukkelberg - Rykestraße

Hanne Hukkelberg - Rykestraße

Another very pretty album. The production is noticeably slicker than her previous effort. They're actually very different sounding albums. Many of the elements are the same but the overall intent seems to be different. Little Things was like stumbling upon a child's music box. Rykestraße is more mature, the interesting sounds are still there but they take a back seat to the writing and fuller arrangements.

In North Wind instead of drums we get to enjoy the clatter of a typewriter (the ending is obvious). Seems that a lot of her stuff is made from found sounds. It's just dawned on me that a lot of my favourite pretty music these days is from Norway. What the hell do they put in the water over there?

She actually won a Spellemannsprisen award for this one (Norwegian music award where everyone in every category is downright amazing). Well deserved. A beautiful work indeed.

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