• Audiolicious Part Five 2009

Bat For Lashes – Two Suns
Bat for Lashes second album sees Brighton's Natasha Khan introducing some special guests, notably Scott Walker and Yeasayer, and, more bizarrely, her alter-ego, Pearl, described by the press release as "a destructive, self-absorbed, blonde, femme fatale of a persona who acts as a direct foil to Khan's more mystical, desert-born spiritual self."
The bombastic release goes on to explain that the follow-up to Mercury Music Prize nominated Fur and Gold is "a record of modern-day fables exploring dualities on a number of levels – two lovers, two planets, two sides of a personality," with Khan meditating on "the philosophy of the self and duality, examining the need for both chaos and balance, for both love and pain, in addition to touching on metaphysical ideas concerning the connections between all existence."
Two Suns was recorded in segments in California, New York, London, Brighton and Wales. Co-produced by Khan and Dave Kosten, her collaborator on Fur and Gold, the album also features Bat for Lashes' touring band, The Blue Dreams, on several tracks. prefixmag (7/10)

Handsome Furs – Face Control
Da lassen wir die Band doch am besten selber zu Wort kommen:
The second album by this Montreal band draws inspiration from Eastern Europe and re-maps Eastern Bloc surveillance state themes to contemporary life, showing the irony of our acceptance of self-monitoring through blogs, credit/debit accounts, surveillance cameras, and GPS devices. The album's juxtaposition of cold, metronomic, electronic beats with jagged, dissonant and frail guitars convey what it is to be human in the 21st century. At the same time, it provides the means to opt out. (7/10)

Gentleman Reg – Jet Black
Nachdem mir das neue Metric (Emily Haines) Album so gar nicht gefallen hat war ich doch sehr gespannt auf Gentleman Reg neues Werk „Jet Black“. Gentleman Reg wieder so einer aus dem Broken Social Scene Umfeld auf Arts & Crafts, der bei The Hidden Camera, Arcade Fire, Constantines, Islands aktiv war. Doch auch hier plätschert es etwas uninspiriert herum, mal etwas rockiger, mal folkig. Leider schafft es Herr Reg niemals an Brken Social Scene heran ist aber wenigstens etwas besser als die enttäuschende Metric Platte. Mehr aber auch nicht. (6/10)

Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Phoenix machen dort weiter wo zuletzt mit „It’s Never Been Like That“ aufgehört. Kickende, schwungvolle Pop-Songs mit hohem Wiedererkennungswert und Hit Potential. Da kann man nichts falsch machen und ist immer wieder total begeistert. Selbst beim zehnten Durchhören wird es niemals langweilig! Magnifique! (8/10)
mp3: Phoenix - 1901

Wolves In The Throne Room – Black Cascade
"Black Cascade" is characterized by a heavy and powerful analog sound and a deft touch with songwriting and arrangement. The crumbling roar of decidedly old-school tube amps unite with layers of mossy analog synthesizer and cataclysmic percussion. Blazing and crystalline Metal riffs slowly collapse and shift into ritualistic dirges that invoke endless rain falling upon the ancient cedars of the pacific North West. It is as if the instruments are controlled by shadowy and elemental forces of nature rather than three forest-dwellers from Olympia, Washington, schreibt Southern Lord auf ihrer Homepage. „Black Cascade“ reicht leider nicht ganz an „Two Hunters“ heran ist aber immer noch sehr solide und outstanding! Es fehlen die wabbernden, ausufernden Ambient Sounds die „Two Hunters“ besonders gemacht haben. (6.5/10)

Keine Kommentare:

Kommentar veröffentlichen