Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

Veckatimest is third album by US psych-folk group Grizzly Bear, that initially begun as Ed Droste's solo project, playing all the instruments himself on the debut Horn of Plenty (2004). By the time of Yellow House, the critically acclaimed second album (2006), GB had morphed into a full quartet.

Compared to other neo-indie folkers GB is more chamber like, baroque and less rural sounding. Their sound stands out for intriguing melodic and harmonic tricks, multi-part vocal arrangements, along with strings and even woodwinds. All of it sounds especially good on here. Each tune is different, some are folkier, others more psychedelic and others develop into directions on their own (like "Two Weeks" pure pop bliss). Some tunes sound brighter ("Cheerleader") others more melancholic ("Fine For Now"). Thus GB has balanced the material's eclecticism and cohesiveness. Grizzly Bear sound introverted, but expansive and beautiful.

Baikonour - Your Ear Knows Future

Baikonour is Frenchman Jean-Emmanuel Krieger residing in Brighton, England. He has been compared to Air, the most famous French indietronic act, but it's rather misleading. Contrasting the mellow-sounding naivete of Air, Baikonour refers to psychedelic kraut-rock instead. There may be slight similarities to be found with Fujiya & Miyagi (their drummer actually plays on this album too).

In terms of neo-krautrock Baikonour is definitely more masterful than many other performers in that idiom. The fusion of ambient, prog, indie and psych comes across naturally and there are several good tunes to be found, particularly on the second half. If there is something to criticize, then it is that the listener may get the feeling of oft-traversed territory. Baikonour certainly has potential, but more distinctiveness may be required to truly stand out. Who likes Your Ear Knows Future, should also check out this one man band's debut For the Lonely Hearts of Cosmos, which is even better.

Dungen - 4

Dungen from Sweden used to be pretty much a one man band by Gustav Ejstes. On the current album, which is actually the fifth, despite being titled 4, Dungen pretty much functions as a full band. Ejstes mainly sticks to the piano and vocals, adding occasional flute and violin overdubs here and there. Even though we still get heavy psychedelic guitar sound in spades (especially on "Samtidigt 1"), the current emphasis is in general softer. Dungen's psychedelic rock sound is now mellower and suggests lounge-infused jazz-rock, occasionally referring to the Soft Machine's Volume Two. It's almost as if Dungen took the softer and more orchestrated pieces like "Familj" from the last album and developed that style further. Even though none of the songs really capture the highs of that composition, this album nonetheless is a fine work as a whole, that can, with its charming sonic language, grow on the listener.

Mercury Rev - Snowflake Midnight

Even though the seventh studio album by Mercury Rev called Snowflake Midnight does not shine as much as the first four albums, it is nonetheless a significant improvement over dull and toothless Secret Migration (2005). I was afraid of hearing signs of serious stagnation, but the new album sounds surprisingly well. It's been quite a while since Rev last retooled their sound. Here Rev relies on electronics. While such move of combining electronica with rock is not really innovative and some of the synth sounds border slightly on new-age, the result is still quite potent. Rev hasn't sounded this vital or bold for ages. There is less orchestral instrumentation on this album and Jonathan Donahue's voice sounds more natural, relying less on cloying falsetto and occasionally even going lower in terms of notes. Occasionally the psychedelic wall of sound rears its head, hinting a bit at the early Rev, but it's more polished and more reminiscent of the sonic language as heard on Blonde Redhead's 23. Standout track "Senses on Fire" is a good example of a polished noise pop driven by motorik krautrock pulse. Not a classic album, but nonetheless the boldest and most exploratory since the underrated See You On the Other Side.

Mercury Rev - See You On the Other Side

After the eccentric and volatile frontman David Baker left in 1994, Mercury Rev went on with guitarist Jonathan Donahue taking over the lead vocals. Musically, a lot of the rough extreme experimentation was subdued in favor of lusher gentler arrangements that pretty much foresaw the direction Mercury Rev would take subsequently. At the same time, Rev retains the rock intensity and psychedelic wall of sound that characterized the Baker era band. Thus, See You On the Other Side is a transitional album and it's also the band's most underrated record. It didn't do well commercially and it is often overlooked in favor of both the first two albums and then the next one after that.

The album nonetheless is a very consistent, but an eclectic affair, combining spacy experimentation, rockouts, jazz touches and pocket symphony arrangement into a coherent forty minute whole. This is the brightest and happiest Rev album to date, as most of the tunes are in major key and feature many blissful melodies and friendly textures. There is one heavy punk-ish song called "Young Man's Stride", but mostly this is kindler, gentler Mercury Rev. "Everlasting Arm" and "Peaceful Night" refer to the retro sensibilities that Rev would subsequently explore, but there's also a fair bit of territory never covered before or since. "Sudden Ray of Hope" is a blissful tune with its sunshine harmonies and easy going feel matched with heavy rush of guitars a la Boces, but without the lunacy of that album. On this track, and in fact, most of the album, is where Suzanne Thorpe's flute contributions are really noticeable. A talented player, who shies away from show-off to contribute memorable and sweet countermelodies instead which serve to add another important layer in the mix. Two lengthy workouts, "Empire State" and "Racing The Tide", are psychedelic space-rock numbers tied to Boces in terms of intensity, but more melodic and multi-layered in approach. Overall not merely a transitional album, but a unique work that Rev never duplicated later, on its own right.

Kago - Mopskassi Maja

The use of lo-fi methods is motivated by various reasons: often it is the lack of funds for professional recording, but also a deliberate striving for rawer aesthetics. Even though many lo-fi recordings refer to obscured, or non-existent talent (depending on how musical the results are themselves), it is hard to imagine the work of some of the notable lo-fi artists being captured by the professional recording equipment. For Lauri Sommer's bedroom project Kago, homespun charm is also important. Third album Mopskassi Maja is so far his best work. As on the previous two albums, Sommer combines poetic folk-indie, seto folk music and Pastacas-styled bedroom electro-acoustica. Mopskassi Maja is more charming and endearing though, especially thanks to the vocal presence of Sommer's girlfriend Liska Keerberg. The voices of her and Sommer himself may sound out of tune with each other on the a cappella folk song "Laevapuu", but nonetheless the voices match each other quite well and this lends the rendition a hypnotic effect on its own. This record works well with autumnal moods.

Adem - Takes

Adem Ilhan is a British indie-folk musician of Turkish origin, whose background includes membership in Fridge (an early band of Kieran Hebden later known as Four Tet). As a multi-instrumentalist he plays all of the instruments himself, often utilizing various broken instruments rescued from flea market. Takes is Adem's tribute album to his favorite music from 1991-2001. He has taken on reputable indie heavyweights such as PJ Harvey, dEUS, Yo La Tengo, Breeders etc, but also Aphex Twin, Tortoise and Björk. The most interesting cover song is his rendition of Aphex Twin's "To Cure A Weakling Child/Boy Girl Song", which is very reminiscent of Penguin Cafe Orchestra. "Gamera" from post-rock eclectics Tortoise becomes a John Fahey-esque acoustic guitar number. Mostly the covers here sound like indie rock anthems unplugged. Although well done, occasionally the record veers into boredom and in general the cover/tribute albums can safely be written off as curious projects rather than endeavors on par with albums containing original material.

*This review was published in Estonian in a journal called Postimees. This is the English translation

The Chap - Mega Breakfast

Third album by the London quintet The Chap, Mega Breakfast, contains a single that proves the possibility of a strings-driven indie rock to sound, as the title implies, fun and interesting! Not just deliver the last one at best. There's no Arcade Fire type somberness and po-faced drear to be found on "Fun and Interesting". Overall The Chap performs dance-oriented indie rock that distinguishes itself from other fare by multilayered arrangements, strong sense of melody as well as dadaist humor and attitude. And then there are choral arrangements! All five members (some of them multi-instrumentalists) sing and when they belt out vocals together, they sound very choral. Vocals, instrumentation, grooves and humorous lyrics result in a record that makes all other indie/dance efforts seem stale by comparison. A truly talented band from whom you'll no doubt hear more about.

*This review was published in Estonian in a journal called Postimees. This is the English translation

Blonde Redhead - Melodie Citronique EP

Melodie Citronique by Blonde Redhead is essentially a companion EP to the full-length 2000 release of Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons. As such, it's an interesting effort, featuring different versions of several album cuts, and most of the pieces are sung in either Italian or French. "En Particuleur" is virtually the same as "In Particular", but with a different mix and edit, and in French. "Odiata Per Le Sue Virtu" is "Hated Because of Great Qualities" in Italian with Kazu Makino's surprisingly sexy delivery in that tongue. The highlight however is an original called "Chi è e non è", a rare excursion to folk-rock territory and one of the best songs featuring Amedeo Pace on lead vocals. The rendition of Serge Gainsbourg's "Slogan" is a surprising, but then again expectedly logical, send-up of Stereolab style circa Emperor Tomato Ketchup. Expected, because Serge Gainsbourg was a heavy influence on The Lab, but it was recorded at the In Expression of the Inexpressible sessions, when BR was still firmly in their noise-rock phase. The track ends with dub-inspired percussion and effects. Closing track "Four Damaged Lemons" is a Third Eye Foundation remix of "For the Damaged", which does sound similar to the album version, but with electronic embellishments that predict Blonde Redhead's subsequent reliance on sundry electronic flourishes with synths, drum machines and other devices. This overlooked EP showcases a whole lot different, a more esoteric, more cosmopolitan still, side of the Blonde Redhead.

Pram - The Museum Of Imaginary Animals

Pram's fifth studio album The Museum Of Imaginary Animals (2000) is one of their finest accomplishments blending varied instrumentation and unique song-craft. Pram has often been compared to Stereolab, but the comparison isn't warranted as closely as it's passed along. Yes, these two bands have their compatibilities, mainly the use of analogue instruments and obscure musical inspirations. However, while Stereolab is a more basic rock group with guitars-keyboards-bass-drums-vocals setup augmented by session string and brass (and other) musicians in the studio and also relying on more polished production, Pram is a seven piece ensemble who plays all of the instruments themselves and their sonic panoramas sound very natural, yet lush and cinematic all the same. It helps that several of the band members are multi-instrumentalists, an outstanding example being Sam Owen who handles flute, clarinet and keyboards. This group also uses trumpet, theremin and various weird toy instrumentation. Texturally the sonic palette is unique and stand-out. And the songs? While a few of the numbers come off as failed experiments (including an aimless sound effect piece "A History of Ice"), there are at least six good to great compositions on this album. The most outstanding of them is the opening trio of numbers: oddly Björk-ish "The Owl Service" with understated funk rhythms, sad melodies and mournful wind instruments; an electric piano driven upbeat "Bewitched" and "Mother of Pearl" which contrasts melancholic melodies and eerie sound textures with jovial horn charts. Seven minute album closer called "Play Of The Waves" is cinematic jazz at its finest, whereupon clarinet and trumpet form supportive melodic counterpoints, with shimmery keyboards, harps and laidback smoky grooves providing a relaxed backdrop. Recommended.

Pram - The Moving Frontier

Genre tag "post-rock" usually brings to mind groups like Tortoise, Godspeed You Black Emperor or Mogwai. Post-rock tag seems to be applied a lot to Stereolab as well. Considerably less-known is a fairly under-rated British band, a contemporary of Stereolab called Pram. With its eclecticism, colorful arrangements where the tone is set by instrumentation as diverse as theremin, toy piano, horns/woodwinds, analog synthesizers and whatever is interesting (most of the band members are multi-instrumentalists), as well as its distinctive cinematic atmosphere; Pram has created an eccentric, playful and childlike; albeit eerie and melancholic sound-world; which indeed goes well beyond rock as we know it. Pram's records are modest in their length and thus, The Moving Frontier (14 tracks) is only 45 minutes long. The main difference being, only five of the tracks feature Rosie Cuckston's fragile voice that matches Robert Wyatt in its melancholy. The rest of them are instrumentals that are not only laden with spacious and multi-layered arrangements, but also sound very musical. How many bands boost a trombonist who is also a skilled theremin (and stylophone!) player? Pram is one of the few indie groups capable of writing both songs and instrumentals well. For those who are interested, I'd recommend scooping up what I consider their best album to date, Museum Of Imaginary Animals.

Stereolab - Emperor Tomato Ketchup

Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1996) is milestone in Stereolab's career, although they have kept releasing great music after that. The record has a unique feel, which effectively fuses post-My Bloody Valentine post-indie sound with the post-modernist pop mentality of the mid-nineties on one hand and the nascent loungecore movement (mixing modern electronic genres with space age pop) on the other. "Metronomic Underground" enters with its funky hip hop beat, as the hypnotic bassline comes in and layers of instruments and vocals are accumulating on top of the groove, it's obvious Stereolab has reached new heights in their minimalist drone-rock leanings. But the pop songs, such as string-laden "Cybele's Reverie", Kraftwerkian "Les Yper Sound", groovy "Spark Plug", punkish "Noise of Carpet", the peppy title track and sublime, beautiful heavenly "Slow Fast Hazel"; are what make ETK the great album. The sharp pop sensibility is aided by a healthy dose of experimentation, like the jazz-rock groove of "Percolator" in 5/4 time, minimalist "Tomorrow Is Already Here" and the buzzing psych-electro-kraut jam feel of "OLV 26". Stylistically there's lots of variety, but also a necessary sense of concision as the album has 13 tracks taking up 57 minutes in t0tal. Here Stereolab delivers some of the most timeless beautiful and captivating music ever, in which brevity is the soul of wit. A must-have.

Blonde Redhead - 23

Blonde Redhead's seventh album, and their second for 4AD record label, 23 presents kindler and gentler version of the former noise-rock veterans who started out in early nineties with apparent Sonic Youth and no-wave influences. Such transformation already begun on 2000' "Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons" and as the band's album titles have got shorter, so has the Redhead's sound got more stream-lined and accessible. Heck, even more polished as far as production goes. The production of Alan Moulder who has worked with bands such as Depeche Mode and My Bloody Valentine, definitely hints at a sort of a high-gloss, dream pop influenced alterna-rock sound. Former fans of the band might view this direction as commercializing or selling out, but that's a limiting way to judge it. Whether or not this is pop-oriented or not, is not a good way to judge if this record has merit. There are only two types of music: good music and bad. Everything else is just a matter of stylistic variation. Even though this album doesn't surpass the 2004 masterpiece Misery Is A Butterfly, this one has enough strengths to consider it as good music.

The title track may throw off diehard BR fans as a more polished and commercial sound with its drastically compressed piano, a hint at eighties pop. However, if one thinks about it, this composition actually reverses a mainstream tactic that I've always considered rather frustrating. Have you ever heard some mainstream pop song that kicks off with something like an awesome guitar riff, only to descend into a bunch of overproduced slick drivel in a matter of seconds? BR does it backwards, it puts the cheesy sound (compressed piano chords) first and then adds layers of psychedelic guitars and loud, booming drums, making it an exciting rocker and an outstanding dream pop song with heavenly vocals from Kazu Makino. In fact, the first three songs that open the album are all outstanding pieces of polished dream pop, with solid guitar playing, sensual female vocals, swirling spacious sounds along, a great attention to detail and good progressions.

Blonde Redhead has always had a dichotomy between the songs: the ones sung by Kazu (guitar, keyboards), and the others by her partner Amedeo Pace (guitars). Kazu has an ethereal and a sensual voice, brimming with erotic tension and subdued passion. Amedeo's tenor voice however is somewhat bland and at its worst sounds unassertive. He sings three songs on the album. "Spring And By Summer Fall" is his attempt at a rock-out song, but it sounds a bit tacky, as his voice weakens this song somewhat. "Publisher" however is a drab attempt at electronic pop. These two are listenable, but nothing more. Only "SW"(track four on the record) is worthwhile: a more complex and grandiose sounding version of something like "Falling Man" on the previous album, replete with a regal sounding French horn interlude. Other seven songs are all sung by Kazu. Including track six "Silently". This is obviously the most blatantly pop oriented number, a bouncy 80s synth pop/new wave influenced song, and probably one of the first instances where the purveyors of transcendent melancholy (which they perfected on Misery) are playing the kind of song that sounds...happy? It's not bad, just way lightweight compared to the previous fare. The last three songs are again worthwhile, "Heroine" having some vocoderized singing and a melancholic progression, "Top Ranking" sounds a bit like "Melody" from Misery with an electro-samba sort of beat and a happy-go-luckier atmosphere and "My Impure Hair" is a swirling, folky ballad with heart-wrenching Kazu vocals.

This album showcases the band's talent at writing accessible, memorable tunes with layered arrangements. It also has lots of nice guitar work on it. Occasional blandness and lighter fare aside, this is quite solid as polished dream pop goes.