electronic albums
Album Review: Battery Operated Orchestra – Snare
Battery Operated Orchestra might hail from Brighton but, in a previous incarnation as Katsen, they emerged on Thee Sheffield Phonographic Corporation. Which seemed very appropriate even then given the quality of their Kraftwerk-inspired synthpop, which would never have been out of place in the Steel City at any time over the last 30-odd years. Now …
Album Review – Black Moth Super Rainbow – Panic Blooms
That theme song from Silicon Valley? The incredible off-kilter synthpop played on a ribbon? That’s Tobacco – the enigmatic front-man who started life with Pittsburgh’s Black Moth Super Rainbow. Perhaps unfairly overlooked among some circles as another acid-laden, synth driven indie-psych band in the same era as Late Of The Pier and every mum’s favourite …
Album Review: Thievery Corporation ‘Treasures from the Temple’
Thievery Corporation Treasures from the Temple (ESL Recordings) released on April 20, 2018 Rating: 7.5 Washington DC based electronic duo of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton known as Thievery Corporation’s latest release of Treasures from the Temple is a companion to their chart-topping 2017 Temple of I & I album release. The 12-track compendium includes a trove of original recordings …
Album Review: North Sea Navigator – The Memory Clears the Space for What’s Needed
Former Gravenhurst sideman Paul Nash has been trading under the name North Sea Navigator for a while now, expanding the line up from himself to a three piece and then to a four piece band recently, but its his solo eponymous album for Felt that is getting its commercial release, titled ‘The Memory Clears the …
Album Review: Josh Rouse – Love in the modern age
Seems Josh Rouse isn’t one for staying still, with the follow up to 2015’s The Embers of Time promising that he has embraced the likes of The Blue Nile, The Style Council and Prefab Sprout, rather than the indie/americana of his previous work. As it turns out, Rouse makes good on his promises for the …
Album Review: PRIDES – A Mind Like The Tide Pt.2
Alt-pop duo Prides, from Glasgow, have just released Part Two of their sophomore album A Mind Like The Tide, concluding the story they began to share with us last Autumn and sharing seven brand new tracks for us to enjoy. The duality in Prides has always been apparent, marrying earnest and emotional lyrics with boisterous …
Album Review: Moby – Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt
The album is desribed as “a glowing tapestry exploring spirituality, individuality and the brokenness of humanity and finds him returning to his orchestral, soul, trip-hop and gospel roots”. The first thing I noticed about this album is straight away it has a far more darker feel to it than his usual efforts. The opener is …
Not Forgotten: John Foxx – Metamatic
It’s one of life’s cruel ironies that some people saw John Foxx as a Gary Numan wannabee, as just prior to his solo emergence, Numan had famously stated in the press that “I’ll never be as good as Ultravox!” He was referring to Foxx’s hideously underrated futuristic glam-rock pioneers, his comment instantly prompting millions to …
Album Review: Poliça and s t a r g a z e – Music for the Long Emergency
Released on Transgressive Records, Music for the Long Emergency sees Poliça collaborate with s t a r g a z e, a group of orchestral musicians based in Berlin. First glimpses of these blend of forces was in February 2016 in Berlin during the Liquid Music project hosted by the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, linking …
Album Review: Johnny Jewel – Digital Rain
Johnny Jewel is a musical Renaissance man: he owns a record label, he writes film scores, he collaborated with David Lynch on the recent Twin Peaks soundtrack and he’s a member of Chromatics and Glass Candy. And having grown up in Texas, he’s obsessed with the idea of rain, which is why he’s written this …