[Music] Lovataraxx – Hébéphrénie

Being someone who cut his teeth on post-punk, new wave and other genres of the decade, it blows my mind that one can find bands who keep these traditions alive, and in some cases, make improvements on them.

Lovataraxx are a band based out of Grenoble, France.  The French have a a criminally neglected history of amazing cold wave acts who deserve far wider recognition, but a lot of the music here seems to be influenced equally as much by their neighbors to the west, across the English Channel, and to their immediate east in Germany.  One can hear the influence of bands like Depeche Mode and The Cure in their early incarnations, DAF, and several other bands I grew up enjoying.

Much respect to Hélène and Julien, who have released an unpolished gem here.  Fine work!

[Music] Departure Street – Two Islands in the Heart

Departure Street is American/French guitarist Allan J. Kimmel.  Reading his bio on the Bandcamp release page, he calls his work neo-folk.  I thought it a strange term, as I normally associate it with dark bands who worked with music that would set well with fans of bands like Death In June, Current 93 and the like.  Giving this a couple of listens, perhaps there is some connection there.  What I hear a bit more strongly is a sound that compares well with contemporary guitarists like Cousin Silas.  This has floaty, pleasant feel to it.  Worth a third or fourth listen, definitely.

From Allan’s Bandcamp page:

Departure Street, AKA Allan J. Kimmel, creates tranquil electric guitar meditations that sprawl and explore like the hungry tendrils of an aggressive ivy.

Kimmel, who hails from both America and France, has filled this record with nothing but vividly surreal instrumental soundscapes, which are comprised purely of his multi-tracked and effects-laden solo guitar. Across the record’s nine tracks, Kimmel takes his unique brand of psychedelic loner-folk, and stirs in elements of reverb-heavy ambient music, cosmic American primitivism and even some Middle Eastern folk traditions. The resulting brew is a heady yet mellow mix that glides along with a pleasant ease.

While the album feels like one large suite, “Ascension” is certainly a highlight. David Gilmour-esque slide guitar coasts through slow waves of spacey, repetitive riffs, all while Kimmel laces melancholic solos across the entirety of the piece. There’s a heavy atmosphere in “Ascension,” and it makes you think about people and places that you’re nostalgic for, or pleasant dreams that you’ve once had. It’s certainly a comforting recording, but there is some sort of loss hidden just below the surface.

Two Islands in the Heart is a complex record despite its minimalist approach, and it’s an unexpectedly emotionally charged one, as well. If you are a fan of Steve Palmer’s latest record, Cian Nugent or David Grubbs, then you need this album.

[Music] Philippe Simon – Android

This is something of a revelation to me.  Until the good folks at Kalamine Records (run by Zumaia) told me about him, he was off my radar.  This I count as a loss, because Philippe Simon brings a vibrant, updated sound to the Berlin School of electronic music which peaked with artists like Klaus Schulze, Mario Schönwälder and others during the 1980s.  Simon’s sound is a fresh, even better-produced continuation of that tradition.

He has made 200 albums.  I have some exploring to do.

[Music] Virus (Italy) – Eudaimonia

This was a very pleasant surprise.  Virus is, perhaps, not the best choice of band name only because there are so many great bands (including a legendary Austrian one I whose album I was listening to today) who share the monicker, but because it is about as far away from the music as possible.

The music claims to be influenced by bands like Sigur Rós, but I hear elements of New Order, some 80’s funk and pop, and a nearly shoegaze-meets-Gospel music feel.

Quite good!

[Music] Web Web – Worshippers

Compost Records released an album by Web Web a few days ago which hit a sweet spot for me. The album is a magical combination of free improv (without the racket), kosmische musik, soul and fusion, laced with elements of trip-hop, hip-hop, and any other -hop which comes to mind.

Joy Denalane’s voice is sumptuous. She is at ease telling a soulful story as she is using her voice as a improvisational instrument. Roberto Di Gioia, Tony Lakato and Stefan Pintey add a lush background for the three to play in.

This album will be my go-to disc for 3 a.m. listening for the foreseeable future. It is that good.

[Music] Saulius Petreikis – Negirdėta Lietuva

Saulius Petreikis is the lynchpin of the Lithuanian ethno-folk music scene.  This is a good survey of ethnic music preserved and reinterpreted from the villages of the country.  For Saulius’ Bandcamp site:

Unheard Lithuania – is a collection of musical sounds that were heard long before we were born and will exist long after we are gone. It gathers hundred-years-old stories about our ancestors and the forests and fields they used to live in. Acquaintance with this music began one spring morning in Barstyčiai, Lithuania. I was still a little boy (four years old or so), when my grandfather made me my first flute. Its’ sound still haunts me to this day.

Unheard Lithuania is the melodies and stories rooted deep into our very being. It is young shepherds playing molinukai and skudučiai flutes. It is a child with a jaw harp between his lips and an old man in the field, mourning for his loved one. It is the sound of a horn at the edge of a forest announcing the arrival of the herd. It is a little girl talking to the birds with her lumzdelis flute.

Special website with videos (in english and lithuanian languages) – www.ltinstrumentai.lt