M83 - Saturdays = Youth

French indietronica artist M83, that originally was a duo, but was reduced to one-man project of Anthony Gonzalez in 2005, flirts with synth pop and new-wave influences on the fourth album Saturdays = Youth. Compared to early records that focused on instrumental textures and melodramatic atmosphere, Saturdays is more song-oriented. The album even features input from a female vocalist with a voice very much akin to Kate Bush. In terms of mood and music the album is filled with nostalgia as it's a throwback to the artist's youth that he remembers brightly. The album is well realized, as M83 has managed to adopt the trademark 80s synth and drum sounds into his own style without sounding banal or tasteless. Gonzalez has aimed at more focused songwriting and sometimes the results yield a few melodic gems (like "Up"). Gonzales however does have room for development in terms of conventional songwriting. He's still impeccable at establishing the mood and atmosphere, as proved by the standout track "Couleurs".

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

Motorpsycho - Little Lucid Moments

Norwegian outfit Motorpsycho started out as a metal band about 20 years ago. However, they quickly took an entirely different direction, developing an alternative rock sound of eclectic nature, combining elements from indie, jazz, psychedelia, prog-rock and ambient. The band's music is especially marked by influences from 1970s rock, like Led Zeppelin and Hawkwind on one hand, and Kraut-rock on the other.

On Little Lucid Moments Motorpsycho embarks on a two-fold direction. First, they rock hard and intense here, especially showcasing the new drummer to a very good effect. But then there are only four songs on the record, them being long suites ranging from 11 to 21 minutes. The 21 minute title track is the most accomplished work here, featuring lots of sectional and tempo changes without sounding forced or contrived. Instead of aimless noodling, Motorpsycho clearly focuses on rock energy here. Little Lucid Moments is archaic prog-psychedelic rock in structure, contemporary indie-rock in terms of energy and sonically an amalgam of the two styles. Nothing really new here, but nonetheless a good work.

Robert Wyatt - Old Rottenhat

Recorded in the mid-eighties, Old Rottenhat is one of Robert Wyatt's most stripped down albums. All that is heard besides vocals are keyboards (mostly cheap Casio-ish synthesizer with occasional piano) and percussion, and occasionally a drum machine. All played by Robert himself. Being a member of Communist party, the album also presents Wyatt's political side quite heavily. Wyatt is not known for being prolific and thus, Old Rottenhat serves as his first proper full length since Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard in 1975. Musically the record is rather slow and minimalist, especially in the texture. His melodies are still jazzy and the chord progressions are unusual. Wyatt has also developed interesting drumming technique using just the arms, having been paraplegic since 1973. The former Soft Machine drummer hooligan has evolved into a percussionist capable of subtlety, while driven by necessity, but still an interesting listen. Some of the political commentary might be too heavy handed (such as "Alliance" or "East Timor"), but nonetheless, Old Rottenhat displays a lot of stripped down charm from Robert Wyatt.

Boris - Smile

Japanese noise-metal power-trio Boris is a band of longevity, having played for more than 15 years and released comparable amount of albums, to say nothing of assorted collaborations and split-releases. Outside their homecountry, Boris only gained wider attention with their 2005 album Pink. The band has an interesting concept about their albums: whenever the band name is written as uppercase on the covers, we have a more or less straight rock/metal record. Lowercase Boris however indicates a more experimental direction. As one can tell from the album cover, Smile is more rocking than avant-gardist record. There are less stoner-rock/doom-metal elements to be found than before. Instead, the band offers more compact and focused rock attacks like "BUZZ-IN", but also a fair bit of psych-outs as well as sampling and sound manipulation often bordering on industrial. Smile is fairly accessible record, but still a far cry from conventional rock&roll.

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

Monade - Monstre Cosmic

Monstre Cosmic, third album by Monade, the side project of Stereolab chanteuse Laetitia Sadier; continues the development from the initial bedroom solo project into a full band, presenting slightly more mature approach than previous two albums. Tellingly, listeners can expect the same kind of francophilic hypnotic and dreamy indie pop with a slight jazz tinge as her day job. Nonetheless, compared to Stereolab's multilayered, rich and polished style Monade comes off more modest, straightforward and homespun. At the same time the arrangements are becoming more inventive, utilizing vibraphone, acoustic piano and strings. And it goes without saying that this record is worth listening to just because Sadier sings on it: her voice is not only distinctive and immediately recognizable, but she also possesses an impressive range, rising higher and descending lower than one can usually expect from female indie vocalists. The music as heard on this record sounds an even more natural context for her distinct voice than the most recent Stereolab records. While this album doesn't come close the peaks of classic Stereolab, it's an enjoyable and consistent listening nonetheless.

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

Atlas Sound - Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel

Atlas Sound is a solo project of Bradford James Cox of indie-rockers Deerhunter, where he plays all the instruments and makes all the sounds (using Ableton Live) himself. Cox aims to realize ideas that are difficult to execute within conventional rock band format and Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel shows that the results are successful. Stylistically, Cox uses elements of ambient electronica (album opener "A Ghost Story" that samples a child telling...yes, a ghost story), electronic kind of indie ("Quarantined", "On Guard"), shoegaze-inspired post-rock ("Recent Bedroom") and psychedelia ("After Class", "Atavan"), crossing these stylistic bounds from song to song and often combining the stylistic elements freely and fruitfully. Everything is held together by warm melodicism and melancholic emotionality with a sense of tragedy. The result is quaint, introverted, introspective and empathically atmospheric ambient-rock album. One of the most accomplished works in that field.

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

Yochk'o Seffer - Ghilgoul

Ghilgoul is an outstanding effort from reed-man Yochk'o Seffer (known from Zeuhl ensembles like Magma and Zao) who was in his Neffesh Music period, combining complex jazz-fusion stylings with string quartet orchestrations and his own sharp sax skills along with quite adept piano playing. Influences range from John Coltrane to Bela Bartók and Hungarian folk music. "Dag" is a highlight: one of his most accessible and memorable melodies written, a folky jaunt allied with rhythms and textures that suggest avant-prog or Rock In Opposition, along with solid jazz soloing from Seffer on soprano. "Sifra" starts with classical chamber music and transitions into a busy ensemble work with nimble rhythm section work from Dominique Bertram (bass) and Francois Laizeau (drums). Bertram wrote "Dailn" and that is the most overtly Fusion-influenced pieces, while "Larma" features Seffer's trademark falsetto vocalize, harking back to mid-period Zao. The title track is an avant-garde piece in the vein of "Ima", but less droning, combining Seffer's ghostly Ligeti-inspired overdubbed vocal harmonies, sax improvisations, keyboards and strings. The album's reissues have three bonus tracks recorded in 1980 with a different lineup, they feature Seffer extensively on piano and there's an alternate version of "Sifra", skipping the classical intro and jumping headfirst into ensemble section. Recommended for fans of RIO/Zeuhl.