Music

[Music] a place both wonderful and strange – The City Smells Like Cat Spit

/ Rudy Carrera / Leave a comment


These fine folks must be from either New York or Los Angeles, as the euphemism cat spit (well, something more urine-related, anyway) seems to hold true in both cities to an ugly degree.

More importantly, that term serves as the title of an EP released by Brooklyn residents a place both wonderful and strange, who produce music that straddles the grimy Batcave-era London goth music scene with a more ethereal touch that would be familiar to fans of Dif Juz, Chandeen or even the Cocteau Twins.

I like the directions this EP is heading. It’s nostalgic, but there is a lot of fertile ground the band can plow in this style.

[Music] Astral & Shit -XĤ

/ Rudy Carrera / 1 Comment


Though I’m not a big fan of bands who release new music almost daily, there are a handful whose work I enjoy in small doses. One of these is the Russian project Astral & Shit.  Yes, I know, lovely name, but the music is soothing enough to let one drift into the Solaris Ocean when one is feeling a bit exhausted from the daily grind.

With well over 660 releases to their credit, I’m not about to become a completist, but it’s nice to know that there are artists who are putting out high-quantity/high-quality ambient music to keep my ears busy.

[Music] Midnight Radio – NOIR JAZZ

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I never thought I’d review a Signora Ward release here, namely due to a prejudice I’ve developed against modern noise, as too many releases sound like some idiot kid flipping on the vacuum and then recording it, and THEN having the nerve to expect someone to pay for that garbage.  Thankfully, I was wrong about this particular label.  Perdonami, Signora!

This compilation is a teachable moment for me.  Never, ever judge a record label by one or two releases, as every one of them have the capacity to surprise you with something utterly brilliant.

Thanks to groups like the Orchestra of Mirrored Reflections (friends of the blog whose works have been reviewed here in the past) and the Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble, I’ve begun to fall in love with the deep, creepy, noir-ish sounds they emanate.  Signora Ward have done a service in collection some of the leading lights of the darkjazz genre together to make one of the most enjoyable collections I’ve heard in a while.

I’ll do well to pay more attention to this label in the future!

[Music] Jeton Hoxha – Vowel

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I’m tempted to say that this release came from out of nowhere, but that simply wouldn’t be true.  Once again, my good friend Raffaelle from Eighth Tower Records releases a bombshell of a release for those of you who are into drone, especially of the kind made by luminaries like Thomas Köner or the Cold Meat Industry roster.

Jeton is a Macedonian sound artist from Struga, Macedonia, who goes deep in for bleak, rumbling sounds which give you a good shaking, especially if you decide to download the FLAC file and hear it on great headphones.

Essential.