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Reviews
July 2007
THEIR HEARTS WERE FULL OF SPRING - A Question of Trust
The song so good its rumoured it has its very own myspace page dedicated to it. No its not a cover of the Depeche Mode tune but more a paean (not!) to the Labour government and how they’ve broken our hearts and let us all down. However The Hearts Were Full of Spring being Their Hearts Were Full of Spring manage to make a political statement sound like a catchy lovelorn pop song. There’s echoes of the Smiths in there. The middle 8 gives a nod to the outro of Bigmouth Strikes Again and this could easily be the greatest pop single Morrissey and Marr never wrote.
The B-side (although it doesn’t deserve to be called a B-side) is Out of Sight, Out of Mind, as previously featured on Psychedelica Vol 2, where Markus claims ‘The songs that I sing will be soon forgotten.’ This would indeed be a criminal offence, but as they keep turning out songs of this quality, he may have to accept there’ll be little chance of that happening!
Scott
SUNSPLIT - Sing For Sunday
Sunsplit is built around the core duo of Aislinn and Ryan van Kriedt who also moonlight in The Asteroid #4. 'Sing For Sunday, their debut contains no less than 9 psych pop gems, guaranteed to lift up your hearts and brighten up your summer.
The music is a lesson in the history of the last 60 years of popular music often incorporating a range of influences in one song. Title track Sing for Sunday starts with a menacing Velvet Underground drone before embarking on a Crystals/Phil Spector style 60s singalong. On ‘We Fall Away’ Sunplit clearly show why shoegazing is not for them – this is stargazing in its purest form a la My Bloody Valentine. Album closer ‘The Warmth In Me’ wouldn’t have sounded out of place on The MorningAfter Girls’ album ‘Shadows Evolve.’
The tracks for the album were recorded in Oakland, California and Scotland. Album highlights also include Running After You and All I Want, which was also recently featured on Psychedelica Volume 2. This is the sound of the summer!
Scott
GR - Experiments From Within The Tentacular
Experiments From Within The Tentacular is the latest project from prolific avant-garde experimentalist Greg Raimo. Greg favours the total DIY approach - he writes, records and plays everything on this album and has released it on his very own Lesdisques Blasphematoires Du Palatin label.
This album is Greg's 4 track adventures into sound… although don’t let the limitations of 4 track recording fool you. The limitations and boundaries in the music are non-existent as album opener ‘4 Tracks To Hell’ and its rampant rhythms go off into a demented rampage, tearing up everything in its path… this music is designed to expand your mind and make your head throb. Other album highlights include potential spy movie soundtrack ‘Deviation No.1.’
Comparing this album to anything else would be like comparing it to the uncomparable.... nearest reference point is Alien Sex Fiend at their wildest and most out of control but even this is way off mark as you won't have heard anything quite like this before. For all its madness though, Experiments From Within The Tentacular is paradoxically a lesson in self-control. To fit this madness into a 4 track recording takes some restraint and organizing. The fact that this insanity has been planned makes it all the more wonderful. A kind of organised chaos.
Scott
YOUNGTEAMMUSIC – Missnobandjet
Youngteammusic are a musical collective from Stockholm in Sweden. Missnobandjet is their debut album. Their music recalls a whole host of greats such as My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Sonic Flower Groove – era Primal Scream and Brian Jonestown Massacre, but like all great bands, Youngteammusic transcend their influences and arrive at their own unique sound.
The album features various lead vocalists including the unique vocal talents of Anna Järvinen who features on album highlight Your Love. This track recalls Catch The Breeze-era Slowdive and the jangly indie pop of Velocity Girl-era Primal Scream at their very best. The lyrics refer to being lost in a dream and there’s no really no better words to describe this album. Listening to the whole album, you feel lost in a dream. Other album highlights include Tokyo with its skyscraping guitars, and Lightgazer which evokes lazy summer days. Elsewhere they provide perfect pop moments to keep you returning again and again.
Scott
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