Slipped Discs
Discs You May Have Missed
by John Noyd
The Clientele - Music for the Age of Miracles
The ClienteleMusic for the Age of Miracles
Label: Merge
Courtly discourse awash in posh, wishing-well novellas, “Miracles,” wield well-mannered analysis whose royal harpsichords, sea-side calliopes and Tudor lutes scoop gilded dream-pop sorcery into swinging, psychedelic elegance. Golden moments polished and placed in Carnaby storefronts, The Clientele’s soft-sell intel makes marvelous foggy waltzes; coy, buoyant sophistication tripping down magical rabbit-holes, surrendering pretensions and hosting heavenly energies cast in silver-screen cinematics.
• The Clientele Website • The Clientele Facebook • The Clientele WikiStars - There is No Love in Fluorescent Light
StarsThere is No Love in Fluorescent Light
Label: Last Gang Records
Hopeless poets romancing danceable dissertations, Stars harbors savvy cabaret gushing in lusty touches and pushing plush indie-pop promises onto mirror-ball peers hailing late-night cabs to meet languishing dangers for satin-smooth rendezvous. Daintily aching, the iridescent, “Fluorescent,” swoons and flutters among lonely-hearts and misplaced lovers trapped in unconditional finishes; personal journeys turn dazzling pageants as compassionate ballads evolve into spectacular galas.
• Stars Website • Stars Facebook • Stars WikiMister Heavenly - Boxing the Moonlight
Mister HeavenlyBoxing the Moonlight
Label: Polyvinyl
Pliable and pounding, clever and confounding, “Moonlight,” delights in sizzling contradictions; mocking pop bops in blazing syncopation, headstrong ska scoops zany do wop brewing thrashing mash-ups over slithering cobra rodeos. Roaming every which way with sure-hands and clear purpose, clown princes Mister Heavenly embrace diverse mirth from madcap shakedowns built from boardwalk boogie to sinister incriminations baked in paranoid percussion.
• Mister Heavenly Website • Mister Heavenly Facebook • Mister Heavenly WikiWild Ones - Mirror Touch
Wild OnesMirror Touch
Label: Topshelf Records
Nimble, swinging Cashmere synths primp with sly kittenish sin programmed in wry Cheshire cat grins while Oregon’s Wild Ones pamper hook-heavy fantasies prowling around film noir back-lots, pacing in contagious space-age impatience. Exploring modern courtship’s sorted head-games as victor and victim, “Mirror,” casually balances dynamic examination with haphazard passion crafting peek-a-boo grooves oozing sensual menace lacquered in alluring dream-pop circuses.
• Wild Ones Website • Wild Ones Facebook • Wild Ones WikiColleen - A flame my love, a frequency
ColleenA flame my love, a frequency
Label: Thrill Jockey
Happily matching bubble-wrapped palpitations punctuated by cooing computers, buoyant, electro-ballerina Colleen composes unfolding emotions with pure, gurgling circuitry, merging prancing raindrop phantoms with chattering digital patterns. Coy, vacuum-sealed calliopes rejoice in voiceless poise around impish art-pop fairy-tales regaled in calm, experimental sound-stencils, “Frequency,” knits parallel systems both natural and artificial; tranquil sanctuaries filled with sublime baroque designs refining interactive strategies.
• Colleen Website • Colleen Facebook • Colleen WikiAngel Olsen - Phases
Angel OlsenPhases
Label: Jagjaguwar
A compilation of demos, b-sides and unreleased songs, “Phases,” blazes in old-school croons; unvarnished rag-doll pop baptized in smoky Appalachian prayers and roasted over plugged-in indie-folk. A spiritual will manifested in swamp-gospel taunts from broken-hearted ghosts infiltrating tear-choked letters home; Olsen’s emotions whittle things to a fine, almost fragile point, presenting graveside love-songs to entice stony testimony from twilight revivals.
• Angel Olsen Website • Angel Olsen Facebook • Angel Olsen WikiKarl Blau - Out Her Space
Karl BlauOut Her Space
Label: Bella Union
Bright, infectious island vibes bob between bouncy Tex-Mex boogie and sweet Memphis soul for a beautiful bouillabaisse brewed in the chill, accommodating, “Space.” Original, well-informed, generous and modest, multi-talented Blau’s cavalier curios, impertinent excursions and lyrical larks fall together in jazzy, imaginative patchworks; liberating songs graced with natural logic backed by spry observations, sassy brass, gypsy strings and ambidextrous guitars.
• Karl Blau Website • Karl Blau Facebook • Karl Blau WikiMonster Rally - Flowering Jungle
Monster RallyFlowering Jungle
Label: Gold Robot Records
Looped grooves from Cuban big-bands mash hip-dipping cha-cha-chas to Hawaiian sunsets and moon-lit cocktails as lush, revisionist kitsch bewitches an inquisitive, “Flowering,” with vintage crate-digging synchronicity. Remixing exotica with hip-hop beats, Monster Rally’s balalaikas, marimbas, slack-key guitar and congas infuse the nostalgic scavenging with lavish backing for tasty sound oases, green bygone Edens spritzed in glitchy mystery and stereophonic harmonics.
• Monster Rally Website • Monster Rally FacebookThis Pale Fire - Alchemy
This Pale FireAlchemy
Label: Tone Tonic
A graceful sage lost in thought, This Pale Fire builds bittersweet pangs from estranged language nestling soft-spoken consolations in emotional moments with cordial metaphors supported by crisp description. Nebulous webs of brittle electric and nimble acoustic guitars unravel open-hearted departures lifted in wind-blown keyboards and punctual percussion as, “Alchemy,” wrestles and rises around anchorless melodies pirouetting beneath gleaming folk-pop streams.
• This Pale Fire Website • This Pale Fire FacebookUncle Meg with MC John Debt - Can’t Stay The Same
Uncle Meg with MC John DebtCan’t Stay The Same
Label: self-release
Dapper rappers stashing impassioned theatrics inside glowing flow and autobiographical bravado, Debt and Uncle’s flyweight-boxer bounce throw potent punches at social conventions, ill-informed norms and uneducated pre-conceptions. Schooling in cool fluid grooves brewed in styled vibes and double-timed rhymes, “Same,” enflames the game in tamed anger, arranging smart hearts with sincere feeling and laying down astounding rounds with swinging opinions.
Cindy Wilson - Change
Cindy WilsonChange
Label: Kill Rock Stars
Plush, techno-lounge crowning heavy-petting jet-setters with wistful twists of psychedelic dreaminess; “Change,” unchains gorgeous synth-pop torch-songs padded in satin purrs and swaddled in slow-dance swirls. Experience shows as Wilson easily eases between patient innovation and electric celebration, substituting the former B-52s singer’s zing with sultry, shimmering invitations to create vixenish mid-tempo magic which radiates modern-rock options and emulates retro-hipster charm.
• Cindy Wilson Website • Cindy Wilson Facebook • Cindy Wilson WikiMimicking Birds - Layers of Us
Mimicking BirdsLayers of Us
Label: Glacial Pace
Deep-shag magnets grab placid jangle-rocked psych-pop while the plush head-rush tucked in, “Layers,” peels slow-motion vertigo from swinging whimsy for courteous dervishes wringing shimmering lyrics from sun-soaked foot-notes. Melodic, space-age soothsayers, Mimicking Birds shepherd electric fret-filled daydreams bouncing around big-sky horizons and diamond-studded beaches in translucent shaman harmonies. The Portland outfit plays FRZN Fest January 18th at Madison’s Majestic Theater.
• Mimicking Birds Website • Mimicking Birds Facebook • Mimicking Birds WikiView More
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