Introduced by choppy guitars, ‘Love By Numbers’ is an encouraging start. The frontman has one of those love it/hate it vocals but it’s likely to be the former if you’re a fan of Placebo’s Brian Molko angst and anguish. Certainly the song stands up to the test too with a strong melodic flow and all band members clearly heading in the same direction. ‘Platform’ is less infectious but its melancholic verses and fuzzed up chorus are full of vigour and invention. Then there’s ‘Taking Over’ ; a song that sees the group deliver their most convincing Placebo impression with the nagging guitar hook, in particular, standing out. Slightly worryingly, on the final offering the group threaten to encroach on the whiny territory of Wheatus but manage to hold back just enough.

Based on the thirteen minutes of music here, the comparisons may seem obvious but every fledgling band takes a while to find their own identity. Pine For Cedars have at least appeared to have chosen a style which suits their age group, their songs are sufficiently complex and it has to be said that these songs bode well for a promising future.

Web Sites:
Pine For Cedars Soundcloud

Further Listening:
Placebo

Thanks to complex layers of frenetic percussion, string samples, Collings’ own despairing vocals and all kinds of sonic manipulation, the artist evokes paranoia, danger and rainy days of an industrial city all in one song. Tellingly, it’s one of the most straightforward offerings as tracks frequently veer off on to unexpected routes, stopping, starting and twisting around into what seems like a totally different song.

Although not quite as busy in its construction as the opener, ‘They Meet On The Subway’ is, if anything, even more oppressive as great slabs of sound shift around with disorientating results. There are moments of beauty as the sadness of ‘Pneumonia Loves The Moon’ strips away further layers to reveal some minimalism, infusions of woodwind instruments take us from the city to the country (not unlike Hood in their execution) but these fragments are a brief respite as the restless atmosphere soon returns and sucks out any moments of hope. It’s a testament to the power of the album that the sombre post-rock of the last track, ‘Routine’, manages to sound so eerie and yet seem so calm.

Unquestionably, ‘Splintered Instruments’ is a dark affair but it is nonetheless intoxicating as you begin to feel dragged into Collings’ world of abstract melancholia. The skill is that the “immense, violent force” which Collings claims informs this record, is translated into a musical form which is both hypnotic and something which we can emphasise with.

Web Sites:
Bandcamp Stream of Matthew Collings’ ‘Splintered Instruments’
Fluid Audio Label and Shop Site

Further Listening:
Hood, Flying Saucer Attack, Shoeb Ahmad

Indeed, from the dreamy arrangements and angelic vocals of ‘Borders’ to the eerie combination of harmonies and electronica for ‘Self Obsessed’, this is clearly an EP worth listening to. Quite why the group chose to name a song ‘Think McFly’ is open to debate but the shoegaze meets grunge pop on show is a joy to behold and it’s clearly the best thing here. Then to demonstrate their versatility, right at the centre of the EP is a cover of Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’ where the female singer reveals she has an alternative career path as a country singer to fall back on, should the need arise. ‘Tongue In Cheek’, meanwhile, projects menace and melodrama.

Sans Nom certainly don’t go out of their way to market their material and, in fairness, their music is essentially an above average mix of electronica and shoegaze. Yet there’s enough songwriting talent here to suggest these Winnipeg musicians could convert their potential into a quality album.

Web Sites:
Bandcamp Stream of Sans Nom’s ‘Vol. 1 – Self Obsessed’
Sans Nom Facebook

Further Listening:
Lush, Thrushes, The Lovely Few

I know quite a few of you readers have signed up to “follow” this blog which I believe sends you a notification whenever I post an article here. Please be aware that I link to all new reviews via the Leonard’s Lair Facebook Page too and I also post links to videos and songs (with succinct music-related comments) from there, which may appeal to your tastes. It depends which format of notification you prefer I guess but feel free to “subscribe” or “friend” Leonard’s Lair on Facebook, if this option is better for you.

Best wishes

Jon

The Chicago-based duo of David Bachmann and Nicholas Flandro may be able to express dry wit on paper but it’s their music which shines the brightest. ‘Humanity Family’, for instance, may feature the kind of digitised vocals we’d normally expect to find on anonymous DJ projects but the space-disco backing track and languid rhythms add touches of class which tells us something more edifying is going on in the arrangements to match their literary skills. ‘Lay The Hands’ is propelled by chugging rhythms but the distinctly European vocals suggests a German synthpop act on an IDM trip. Full marks too for the final two tracks: the lilting instrumental ‘Ice Trust’ and wistful closer ‘Victory Days (Victory Ways)’.

Make no mistake, there’s a strong emphasis of fun on show as you might expect for an album entitled ‘Beasts From A Silk Womb’. Yet more importantly, there’s also a sense that Bachmann and Flandro are two guys with their finger on the pulse where infectious, electronic music is concerned.

Web Sites:
Univore Official Site
Bandcamp Stream of Univore’s ‘Beasts From A Silk Womb’

Further Listening:
Grand National

It’s an album which begins with a serene ambient soundscape but from thereon in it’s all about languid but naggingly infectious indie/dreampop. Larsen’s vocals mirror the detached, disaffected style of Glen Johnson from Piano Magic and in some cases, the songs are just as bleak too. However, the USP is that ‘Halo’ balances Larsen’s insouciance with euphoric arrangements. The class truly tells for tracks three and four on the album. ‘Every Mile’ contains a simple but addictive guitar hook but the way it weaves in and out of Larsen’s cool, despairing vocal is pure melancholic pop genius. The same could be said for ‘Big Hands’, which contains the most propulsive and hypnotic mix of (what can only be described as) liquid funk and another perfectly tuned showcase for Larsen’s airy musings.

It would be extremely tough for Larsen and Hoke to maintain this quality for the second half of the record and sure enough there is a slight tail-off. Yet there is still much to enjoy, including the slow, Spiritualized-aping sway of ‘Sun Dial’, the blissed-out ambient pop of Engineers is referenced for ‘Drag’ and the hazy, trippy, acoustic charm of the title track is also highly recommended. In this company, the two remixes are rather perfunctory except to remind us what good songs ‘Every Mile’ and ‘Drag’ actually are.

If some shoegaze music can be accused of achieving big sounds but little lasting impression, ‘Charm’ is anything but. It is music with a strong rhythm and a beating heart. So all hail the new kings of Sacramento dreampop.

Web Sites:
Test Pattern Records Label and Shop Site
Stream ‘Charm’ on Bandcamp

Further Listening:
Piano Magic, Spiritualized, Engineers

It’s apparent from the opening strains of ‘Good Money’; a track which meanders like a psychedelic journey, taking on 1980′s synths, soul music, and more modern day techniques en route. ‘Rituals Pt. 3′ combines strings, alien noise, clarinet and back-breaking basslines into an intelligent stew; recalling the often overlooked Red Snapper. Of the two other tracks, the macabre ‘Precious Ghostly Metal’ is either eerie or just plain evil, with only Coleman’s own vocals reminding us that this music has been engineered by a human being and finally it’s left to ‘Bad Money’ to find that rarely discovered middle ground between downbeat and hyperactive electronica.

An awful lot of ground is covered in just twenty minutes of abstract listening material, with Coleman frequently surprising with his mind-bending arrangements. Yet whether its soul, jazz, psychedelia or just plain old electronic music you like, ‘Still Life With Sound’ already seems like the opening chapter to the story of an exciting artist.

Web Sites:
Tristan Coleman Official Site
Mystery Plays Records
Bandcamp Stream of ‘Still Life With Sound’

Further Listening:
Alpha, The Beauty Room, James Blake

It is a relative newcomer who opens the show as Luluc’s shivery tones on ‘Things Behind The Sun’ pave the way for a classy selection of interpretations of this most revered of artists. Participants in the project were selected based on the fact that they didn’t actually sound like Nick Drake. So Scott Matthews brings a gruff, countrified edge to ‘Place To Be’, Krystie Warren’s take on ‘Time Has Told Me’ is soulful and bluesy and it’s fair to say that Robyn Hitchcock and Green Gartside have been the owners of  music’s distinctive voices well before this project got underway.

Listening further, Danny Thompson and Zoe Rahman perform a colourful and vibrant instrumental version of ‘One Of These Things First’ and Shane Nicholson’s gloriously warm reworking of ‘Rider On The Wheel’ is undoubtedly another highlight. Naturally not all performances will be for everyone (Lisa Hannigan and Vashti Bunyan seem too meandering and willowy, for instance) but the devotion to the material always comes across as genuine.

Perhaps the most pleasantly surprising element of this compilation is that there’s an air of celebration and optimism about the whole experience with each artist revelling in the opportunity of being able to show their respect to the record’s subject. In fact, the only real sad moment occurs at the end of the final song as applause fills the room and you wonder how many rousing receptions Drake would have encountered if he were still performing today.

Web Sites:
Navigator Records Label Site
Luluc’s Version of ‘Things Behind The Sun’

‘Amanda In The Clouds’ presents a brilliant, colourful start; beginning with Scott’s layered vocals and dreamily melodic guitars. It’s no fluke either. If anyone wanted to know what a shoegaze sea shanty sounded like, ‘In The Forest’ provides the answer. The title track experiments with piano keys and glitchy beats whilst ‘MTWM Glass’ is as lush as, well, Lush, arguably their nearest sound-alikes. Their film score roots are rediscovered for three rather gorgeous and very different instrumental tracks and it’s left to the exquisite, gentle ‘Camden Line’ to wrap up a great record.

Die-hards may argue that some of the guitar sounds are a little too indebted to My Bloody Valentine (especially for ‘Black Pyramids’ and the admittedly thrilling ‘Good Night, Rich Kids’) but there’s no doubt Panda Riot are a more immediate proposition; easier on the ear than those noisy, dreampop behemoths. In short, if you like shoegaze in its most tuneful form, you will love this.

Web Sites:
Panda Riot Official Site
Saint Marie Records Label and Shop Site
Youtube Video for ‘Black Pyramids’

Further Listening:
Lush, Thrushes, Spotlight Kid, My Bloody Valentine

The key elements of ‘White Noise…’ are Crossley’s “chill to the bone” stark piano, Harratt’s ever-haunted vocals and walls of atmospheric noise. Harratt impressed last year with her first solo album. That in itself was far removed from traditional female singer/songwriter fare but this new material makes her album seem like a collection of nursery rhymes such is the air of loneliness, mystery and paranoia within.

‘A Search Of Things Past’ brings in the static promised by the album title, offset by Harratt’s distant voice and Crossley’s meandering piano keys. Like much of the record, the tracks can be seen as experimental, semi-improvised pieces rather than actual songs. Yet there are moments of beauty, like when the unintelligible chatter of ‘Broken Images’ is stripped back to reveal some lovely strings whilst ‘Deserts (2nd Movement)’ and ‘Sonata II (For Prepared Piano)’ are serene examples of modern classical. The second half of proceedings is markedly bleaker and moodier with Harratt reduced to sporadic interjections; making it almost a Crossley solo affair.

‘The White Noise…’ as a whole is a sometimes elegant, often macabre listening experience which finds itself bookended between Dead Can Dance’s arcane wonder and Portishead at their most minimal. Its ideas are arguably stretched out for far too long over fifty minutes but the duo usually find the right balance between challenging and coherent music.

Web Sites:
RealPolitik Official Site
RealPolitik SoundCloud

Further Listening:
Dead Can Dance, Portishead, Joe Frawley