Proxy XIX: Media Kingdom

Darla is proud to release the debut record by Danish nu-gaze group Rumskib. Rumskib is the Odense, Denmark duo of Keith Canisius (Guitarist, Vocalist, Composer, Producer) and Tine Louise Kortermand (Singer). Keith produced the debut record with Jonas Munk (Manual), who programmed the beats, made the electronic sounds, and played synthesizer. (…) There’s no denying Rumskib are derivative, however, Rumskib has such command of all the genre’s key sound elements and their own pop songs are so damn good the band gloriously claim the new shoegaze sound as their own. Rumskib’s sound is at once modern and classic, blending a strong love for early 90s shoegazer bands such as Chapterhouse and Lush with the sensibilities of grand Scandinavian 80s pop such as A-Ha and Roxette, all flavored with harsh noise-rock guitars and crunchy micro-programmed beats. Sometimes their sound is up-tempo, almost danceable like The Cardigans meet St. Etienne. At other times their sound is thick, heavy, and romantic recalling The Cocteau Twins or Simple Minds. Rumskib manage to be both surrealist and accessible; complex but straight forward. Vocalist Tine Louise creates harmonies so beautiful one would think they came from some mysterious wonderland (or Victorialand?) and Keith Canisius’ lyrical call & response guitar playing is intelligent and evocative. Combine all this with well crafted compositions and Jonas Munk’s trademark head-spinning, multi-layered sound sculptures, and you’ve got a work of undeniable beauty. «This is great stuff indeed. Her voice sounds amazing and it’s such good melodies» –ULRICH SCHNAUSS «»Re-evokes my dancing feet with the fragrance of Liz Fraser insanity there on top.. humm..There’ s some serious celebration going on in Scandinavia now.» –SERENA MANEESH «»Springtime» kills, kills again, and then kills some more. And then bathes in in the blood of its own awesomeness.» –JATUN (http://www.darla.com/)

Tracklisting:
1 Hearts On Fire (5:07)
2 Springtime (4:24)
3 Dreampoppers Tribute (6:56)
4 Where Are The Flowers (3:32)
5 Ferris Wheel Blackout (2:17)
6 Think Eyes Away (5:02) // Guitar [Additional] – Jonas Munk
7 You’re My Japan (1:50)
8 Sneak (3:12)
9 Crucial Love Games (4:52)
10 Ovation Outsiders (2:16)
11 Girl Afraid (4:12)
12 Love At First Sight (1:52)

Label: Darla Records
Catalog#: DRL 164
Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Genres: dream pop / newgaze
Credits: Performer, Producer, Mixed By, Guitar, Bass, Vocals – Keith Canisius // Performer, Vocals – Tine Louise // Producer, Mixed By, Programmed By, Synthesizer, Electronics – Jonas Munk
Links: Official Website || @MySpace || @Last.FM || @Discogs
Download: @MediaFire || @InfoStore [UA-IX] || @UploadComUA [UA-IX] || @ElectroMusic [UA-IX]
Grade: 10/10

Коллектив из обоймы «так могли бы сейчас звучать Cocteau Twins». Датчане Keith Canisius Baerken и Tine Louise Kortermand (а «rumskib», говорят, переводится как «космический корабль») играют и поют под вполне очевидным впечатлением от CT. Но – у этих в музыке чуть больше кости и саунд грязноватый, как “home-made” (видел я фото, как они гитару пишут – дома, за компьютером, прямо как Паша Великолепный). Посмотрите на название третьего трэка – ну разве это не мило (сколько и исчерпывающе)?

(1) Swedish musician Tobias Lilja recently completed a two year course in Sound Engineering which resulted in his disillusionment with the clinical sound of electronic music. Where his 2003 debut album “Ex-leper” depicts a stark picture of a town in decay, “Time is on My Side” sees him experiment with adding vocals to his desolate electronic soundscapes. Vocals and electronic music often don’t mix but in Lilja’s case there is a certain hypnotic tone to his voice that helps add an intimate narrative quality to his music. Each track unfolds like a story being told in a half spoken, half sung style that bears an almost folk-like storytelling theme. The often quite lengthy tracks let their tales of time, choices and longing unfold as Lilja relates his tales over icy sonic soundscapes. At times, such as on “Blood Tracer” or “Dreams of Movement”, the combination creates a potent mix of powerful atmosphere and heartfelt lyrical content. The building drones, layers of synth tones and sweeping melodies further enhance the mood of his impassioned lyrics on tracks like “Gas of Forgiveness” or the Coil-esque “To Be Thought Of”. Lilja continues to experiment and expand on his ideas for combining his unique vocal delivery with experimental electronic sensibilities and “Time is on My Side” is a more than excellent first attempt at the concept. (http://www.side-line.com/)

(2) Tobias Lilja, a graduate of audio engineering sought to infuse his latest electronic work with more spontaneity and personality via the inclusion of lyrics. Yet the resultant effect is provocative rather than warmth. Imagine Helios arranged by David Sylvian. If 4AD house project, This Mortal Coil, had continued and evolved to this day, it might have sounded something like this. ‘A ruthless beast’ a descendent, perhaps, of Come Here My Love? Like a masterwork of fiction, this is a record that captures the imagination, pulling the listener into its world – a landscape that might have been conjured by Ballard or Shelley; Mervyn Peake or TS Eliot. Alternately dark, yet hopeful, Time Is On My Side is a concept album, whose themes explore choices and longing while reflecting upon the cost in lost opportunities. At 71 minutes, this is not for the jog/shuffle as each consecutive piece builds and develops on those preceding. (http://www.evilsponge.org/)

Tracklisting:
1 A Ruthless Beast (3:25)
2 Time, Oh Time (6:02)
3 My Authority (5:24)
4 Blood Tracer (8:54)
5 Dreams of Movement (7:33)
6 A Settlement of Dust (4:29)
7 Gas of Forgiveness (6:48)
8 The Pyromaniac (6:11)
9 Beginner’s Optimism (5:44)
10 Gothenburg (7:12)
11 To Be Thought Of (9:36)

Label: n5MD
Catalog#: MD 142
Format: CD
Country: US
Genres: dark ambient / avant pop / trip hop
Credits: cover art by Jacob Grönbech
Links: Official Website || Webpage@Label || @MySpace || @Last.FM || @Discogs
Download: @InfoStore [UA-IX] || @UploadComUA [UA-IX] || @ElectroMusic [UA-IX] || @LoadError
Grade: 9/10

Тот случай, когда (почти) всё держится на голосе. Слушая эту запись, мне нечаянно вспомнились три сторонних произведения: Fennesz feat. David Sylvian “Transit”, Björk “Desired Constellation”, This Mortal Coil “Waves Become Wings”. Тобиас большой почитатель Сильвиана, ему импонирует манера Дэвида выражать личное минимальными средствами. Вот и в своём втором номерном альбоме (первый, как я понял, был инструментальный) Тобиас исполняет своим привлекательным тембром (по крайней мере, мне такие мужские голоса очень нравятся) личные тексты под холодные dark ambient гармонии (на втором плане – ненавязчивые зашумлённые биты, на третьем эпизодически – размазанные пианинки и скрипочки). А n5MD один из моих любимых лэйблов – большинство релизов fit my mood like a glove.

«it’s out of my hands
a chain of events
tied to a beast
and this beast drags me in the dirt
ruthless
it’s ruthless

am i tied up or am i clinging on?»

***

«time
oh time
will you heal me?
will you pull me out of this?
time
oh time
please push me on
push me on

and time
oh time
will you take me on?
will you
complete me?
oh time
oh time»

***

«please replace my memory
pull it out
pull it out
just pull it out

i’ll be brand-new
i’ll be just as new»

(1) Shoegazer/dreampop ruled the alternative rock world in the early 90s; now it’s just another sub-genre, ignored by all but the most devout. That’s kind of a shame, actually, as many young bands making that kind of sweet candied noise equal the best practitioners in ye olden days. Tearwave is a good example. The Buffalo-based quartet isn’t an innovator in the shoegaze movement by any means, but it does do everything—sweeping, gauzy guitars, sturdy melodies, lush vocals, insistent rhythms—just right. As with any type of rock, songs are the key, and Tearwave has some strong ones: “Pointless Savior,” “Emotional Cocoon” and the gorgeous mini-epic “Crimson Water Cleanses the Soul” shimmer and flow in exactly the way good dreampop should. Nice stuff. (by Michael Toland)

(2) Shoegazer, or dream-pop is a genre that had lots of adherents and fans back in the 90s. With the disappearances of bands like Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, and Love Spirals Downward (now known as Love Spirals), fans of the lush, dreamy soundtracks that these bands produced were left to languish and wait for a band like Tearwave.

Hailing from Buffalo, NY, this band takes the dream-like viscosity of those past bands and produces a tear-squeezing, blood-freezing original that will have you feeling as if dream-pop never left. And if the style did disappear, who cares…it s back now with very powerful, and associative differences. Tearwave is beyond dream-pop; it is a frighteningly addictive walk through a glittering ice-cave that will entomb you as you descend into its heart.

There is a haunting element that runs throughout the Tearwave debut, reminiscent of the ethereal beauty of the Suzanne Perry years of Love Spirals Downward, with more than a hint of that dark, cold desolation that runs through Lycia’s ambient masterpiece, Cold. Cold led you into the deepest recesses of an endless frozen wasteland of emotion, creating a visually relentless white landscape of no redemption and no exit. Tearwave is part of that inescapable mythology. The music itself is a wall of sound and melody that is made all the more heart-rending by the vocals of Jennifer Manganiello, the Cure-like repetition of Joe Villella’s surging bass-lines, the soft rhythmic beats of John Stephanski’s drums and percussion, and the hypnotically enveloping guitars and keyboards of Doug White. It is also Doug White’s expert production of Tearwave that makes this excellent debut what it is, a masterwork from a band who will only get better. (by Matt Rowe)

Tracklisting:
1 Lotus Flower (5:05)
2 Emotional Cocoon (5:01)
3 Trial By Fire (4:58)
4 Melinda (4:52)
5 Lady Aurora (4:46)
6 Dream Bliss (4:29)
7 Crimson Interlude (1:32)
8 Crimson Water Cleanses The Soul (5:35)
9 Pointless Savior (4:02)
10 Nightingale (5:09)

Label: Projekt
Catalog#: PROJEKT197
Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Genres: dream pop
Credits: Bass, Mixed By – Joe Villella // Drums, Percussion – John Stephanski // Guitar, Keyboards, Producer, Recorded By, Mastered By, Mixed By – Doug White // Mixed By – Jeff Kandefer, Rand Bellavia // Vocals – Jennifer Manganiello
Notes: Produced, recorded and mastered at Watchmen Studios, Lockport, N.Y.
Links: Webpage@Label || @MySpace || @Last.FM || @Discogs
Download: @InfoStore [UA-IX] || @UploadComUA [UA-IX] || @ElectroMusic [UA-IX] || @RapidShare (1) or @RapidShare (2) || @IFolder (1) or
@IFolder (2)
Grade: 10/10

Отличный минорный dream pop с оттенком gothic ethereal/rock (потому что Projekt).