The Blog That Celebrates Itself (TBTCI) has become one of my go-to labels for great covers of indie and post-punk music done in a style not unlike shoegaze music. This one is a gem because the theme is girl groups, and each of these Brazilian unknowns does a stand-up job reworking the originals into something quite modern-sounding,
Psychedelic
[Music] The Myrrors – Arena Negra
I’m not sure about the other bands in Tuscon, Arizona, but local lads The Myrrors are swimming in a sea of sludge and LSD. This is slow, plodding, and very, very effecting stoner rock.
[Music] Zeresh – Sigh For Sigh EP
I love unsolicited material coming into one of my many inboxes. I ended up having the pleasure of discovering Zeresh, a neofolk band out of Israel who rather deftly interpret, on three of the four songs, the poetry of William Ernest Henley (of Invictus fame).
There is a lot of dark, pulsating music that would have been rather comfortable inside of the earlier releases of Current 93. Looking forward to hearing more, obviously.
[Music] Mark McGuire – Glass Bowls
Mark McGuire is a guitarist and improviser out of Cleveland, Ohio, who has a large body of work available via Bandcamp, but this one caught my ear because of pleasant, gentle, floating music within. There’s a vibe here that reminds me less of psychedelic music, and more of something akin to early Pink Floyd or Krautrock.
[Music] 草莓救星 (We Save Strawberries) – Solar System
Taiwan’s 草莓救星 (We Save Strawberries) are dream pop which would make Hope Sandoval smile, I’d gather.
[Music] Scott Walker – Epizootics!
It rarely gets much weirder than Scott Walker. The man is certifiably bonkers, but awesome on every level.
[Music] Gary Oldman – The Man Who Sold The World (at Celebrating David Bowie)
It’s hard to believe David Bowie died a year ago. It’s even harder to believe that Gary Oldman did justice toBowie’s legacy with this rather decent cover.
[Music] NDIO – Airback
Saxophonist Frank van der Kooij was a member of the Hugh Hopper Band for many years. When that project finally closed up shop, Frank asked Hugh to participate in a new project, NDIO. This is one of the fruits from that collaboration.
[Music] JOHN 3:16 – עשר
Our friend from Alrealon Music and JOHN 3:16 main man, Philippe Gerber, has graced us with a new, extremely powerful release.
Right from the outset, Gerber hits us with the (early) Floydian drone of The Sun Shall Be Turned Into Darkness, which is so reminiscent of Pink Floyd’s evergreen, Set The Controls For The Heart of the Sun, without the percussive elements, but focusing more on a lilting drone. As the disc progresses, you are treated to genre-splicing par excellence. Progressive rock drifts into post-rock, supported by a skeletal percussive framework and an ethereal drony element serving as ether holding everything together.
In all, this release has 29 tracks, which makes עשר such a generous offering. Philippe has much to be proud of with this release.
[Music] Kim Oki – The Great Root
I have to thank Andrew Jervis who publishes Bandcamp’s weekly radio show for hipping me to this release!
Kim Oki is a saxophonist and composer out of South Korea who hashes together a sweet combination of free jazz, Korean traditional music and fine psychedelic rock and folk into a warm, coherent, and at times, challenging stew. Very pleasant listening!
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 