Blog Archives

Haniwa - Haniwa

12/31/2014

Title: Haniwa
Artist: Haniwa
Label: Self-released, 2014

I am starting this new year with this album. Well, actually, it's been late since I got this one on last December. However, I have to say, still, this album is more than enough to be my favorite.

Haniwa is indie-rock band from Oklahoma, influenced by Alt-J, Portishead, or Polica. One of the interesting part of this album is how they explore synth and combined it with lovely vocal (listen to 'Archipelago' or 'Tar Rose'). 'Gloom' has incredible intro and catchy bassline. The soft one, 'Sunglass Pane', the lovely 'She Said', 'Mawkish Mask' with the catchy tune sounds like 8-bit but very pop in the middle, or 'Time' is the simple acoustic guitar based,

Finally, what's good of this album is how they combine many elements into their music. We can say it's very explorative in indie-rock music. Beside that, I always think that good album is the one that could give different experience in every tracks, and this is one example. Every tracks has their own charm, not just trying to copy one formula to all tracks. Excellent. I really like this. Hope they have good fortune with this album in this good year.

You can get the album here and get in touch with them here,

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Ewian - Good Old Underground

12/9/2014

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Title: Good Old Underground
Artist: Ewian
Label: Timezone Records, 2014

Ewian is a project of Ewian Christensen, a German composer. ‘Good Old Underground’ is the first album. This album contains ten noise/post-rock/alternative songs, maybe remind you with The Cooper Temple Clause, Radiohead, or Placebo.

‘My Dear Dead Memory’ and ‘Good Old Underground’ have noisy guitar and sweet vocal melodies. However, the best part is when all the noise and sweetness reach the climax point, like in ‘Black Star’, ‘Zampano’, ‘We Are Not Afraid To Die’, and ‘When I Was Dead (feat. Fifi Rong)’. In these songs, all the noise and sweetness fused with emotional disorted piano, it all sounds different with the atmospheres. One of good and interesting album in today noise/post-rock/alternative music.

Go check this album here and get in touch with them here!

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In Every Dream a Nightmare Waits - Between The Surface and The Sun

12/9/2014

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Title: Between The Surface and The Sun
Artist: In Every Dream a Nightmare Waits
Label: Seashell Records, 2014

‘Between The Surface and The Sun’ is an album from dark-folk/ambient-folk musician, In Every Dream A Nightmare Waits. Released by Seashell Records, this album has a lot of musician working on it. I was hooked since the first song ‘Transition’ where dark atmospheres beautifully covered up the cello, slide guitar, tribal drumbeat, and thin whispering vocal.

A bit rockin’ on ‘The Vampire Light’ which I think would potentially be grunge if played in a full band format. It is like when you listen to the opening of ‘Track Your Heart’, a thought popped up suddenly, “Alice in Chains?”, Well, no. ‘Praying For You’, which is I’ve listened before in Pluviose compilation, is a song for rainy day. “Are you serious?”, “Hell yeah! Black clouds, dark music with string arrangement, what else?”. You just finally drown in a gloom of ‘Let It Rain’ with no more questions.

Gloomy album, dark atmospheres, you name it. I’d rather call this album ambient folk because every explorations with beat, sound, ambience, linger on a straight line which sounds folkish. However, what’s so important about how you call it. Just enjoy every atmospheres and you know that this album is too dark to be folk, and too folk to be too dark.

Go check this album here and get in touch with them here!

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