::Robosexual::

Sonna/Sybarite/Lilienthal - Make Shift Carousel Split EP

Lilienthal is a mystery to me, so we won't talk about them/him/her/it.  I had a mixed experience with Sonna before this CD - their album (We Sing Loud) Sing Soft Tonight was underwhelming, but sounded like just a phase in their discography. I'd heard of Sybarite from their song "Killing the Moonshine" from the Temporary Residence "Thank You" CD, and from "Sanctuary," which I heard haphazardly somewhere.  So, when I saw this little EP, I had to pick it up - it promised to tie up too many loose ends.

The style is sort of electro-acoustic, in the vein of Fridge, Four Tet, Tape, and so on.  There is more beat than in Tape, but the same sort of sound otherwise, acoustic guitar crossed with controlled dissonance.  Sometimes the rhythm is basic and straightforward, other times, like in the second half of "Carousel," it's multilayered and kind of insane.  The guitar has its beat, the keyboard another, the noise another, and of course there are the actual drums - and then little drum snippets just to throw you off.  But it ends up as constructive interference, and the whole sound is more than the sum of its crazy little parts.  Taking the material from Sonna, Sybarite mixed one track, Lilienthal another, then the final track is a collaboration of all involved.  Sybarite's track has more of a groove, and a great catchy finish that sounds so natural you'd swear they had a deal going with Sonna beforehand.  Lilienthal's track is a little more spastic (described above) but sprawls more and has more of a variety of sounds.  The last track is more ambient and changes up constantly, losing whole sets of samples suddenly and picking up others without looking back.

In my opinion, this CD is pretty much suited to anybody who can handle even a little bit of noise - like Kammerflimmer Kollektief, they use noise and freakiness breaks prudently and to the music's advantage.  So enjoy these tracks, and if you like this kind of music, you really should just browse around at Temporary Residence's site; they're one of my favorite labels, consistently putting out music that fits my tastes almost exactly, and occasionally challenges them as well.  With Tarentel, Eluvium, Mono, and practically everyone I mention in this review releasing for them, as well as the excellent pan-label "Travels in Constants" EPs, they may be the best independent label out there.  Readers should know that I have little belief in labels in general, so please do not take this recommendation with a grain of salt.

Here's "Makeshift," by Sonna and Sybarite, and "Carousel" by Sonna and Lilienthal.

Remora - Enamored

Sometimes when you listen to an band, you get the feeling that whoever is behind the amp is an accomplished, skilful musician.  The technical precision of every chord and beat is unquestionable, and it's clear they practiced for years to become so good.  Remora's not that kind of band.  Let's say music has among others 2 axes, skill and quality - not intimately connected, but not mutually exclusive.  The Mars Volta, to take one example, is clearly high on skill and, in my opinion, medium on quality due to spotty, overindulgent songwriting.  Kepler would be medium on skill and high on quality - no complicated guitar riffs there.  Remora, now, would probably be low on skill and high on quality.  This music is not complicated by any means, but the musician has an innate sense of how to make it sound good.

Take the first song, "The One I've Been Waiting For."  This song is extremely repetitive - that guitar part you'll hear doesn't change at all the whole time.  I could play this song on my guitar, and I'm terrible.  Of course, that didn't stop the song from being stuck in my head for two months while I was travelling and didn't have it.  The music is just kind of raw and basic, like an apple - and there are times when I would prefer a delicious apple over a savory feast.  The rest of the album certainly follows this example - simple, repetitive, but beautiful and sort of primally engaging.  Some of the songs are instrumentals, which Remora have more practice with if their discography is any indication, and they're very nice.  "Sorry" is a great example, a sort of cross between Frost and a sinister Windy & Carl.  The other tracks with vocals are hit-and-miss; I like "Kill My Way Out Of Here," but another could just as easily despise it for being sort of over-the-top Tom Waits wannabeism.  The singer doesn't have a particularly good voice, but when he uses it correctly it sounds fine, and anyway the vocals have no great claim to the music - they're there, but they're not primary.

You'll get an idea of whether you like Remora or not pretty much from one listen.  I personally got hooked right away, but I won't be sad if you decide it's not for you.  Take these sample songs and enjoy, and if you want to check out some more, go to Remora's website where they have more songs and a free EP.

[Sorry, the files are down... I'll put these back up in a bit.  Hosting issues.]

Eluvium - An Accidental Memory In Case Of Death

No - this isn't the new Eluvium, it's... the old one.  I saw this guy live when he opened for Mono a couple months ago, and to be honest it blew me away.  His careful keyboard work, along with the guitar and loopstation stuff he had going on, it really sounded fantastic.  To be honest, I'm not sure now if his albums can live up to the live thing, but in any case this album is hard to fault.  Consisting just of piano melodies, it's a breath of fresh air after one listens to such heavily instrumentated music as Broken Social Scene or Autolux.  Like Max Richter, Eluvium takes a classical sound and subverts it slightly - these aren't new classical compositions (nocturnes and sarabandes) so much as they are modern music done on a piano.

The first song introduces a melody briefly which is returned to at the end - a haunting little thing that I find myself whistling, badly, to myself at the strangest times.  The sound of the piano is more or less consistent throughout the record - warm and sustained, with either reverb on it or maybe it's just one of those actual piano pedals.  In any case, it's nice, and sounds organic and well-played in a technical sense, but without the sort of studio sterility that occasionally accompanies piano recordings.

The songs in general are different enough from one another, but share a few characteristics - most have a one-handed repeating figure while the other hand travels and harmonizes.  Not an especially surprising development, but just so you know, that's how the songs seem to be formed.  I'm not very good at describing simple, elegant music such as this, so I'll let you decide for yourself whether this is the kind of music you want - chances are you've already decided or already have this anyway.  Enjoy..

Here's "An Accidental Memory In Case Of Death," by Eluvium.