Slipped Discs

Discs You May Have Missed
by John Noyd

Reviews From: Pop
The Clientele - Music for the Age of Miracles

The Clientele - Music for the Age of Miracles

The Clientele
Music 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 WebsiteThe Clientele FacebookThe Clientele Wiki

Stars - There is No Love in Fluorescent Light

Stars - There is No Love in Fluorescent Light

Stars
There 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 WebsiteStars FacebookStars Wiki

Mister Heavenly - Boxing the Moonlight

Mister Heavenly - Boxing the Moonlight

Mister Heavenly
Boxing 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 WebsiteMister Heavenly FacebookMister Heavenly Wiki

Wild Ones - Mirror Touch

Wild Ones - Mirror Touch

Wild Ones
Mirror 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 WebsiteWild Ones FacebookWild Ones Wiki

Colleen - A flame my love, a frequency

Colleen - A flame my love, a frequency

Colleen
A 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 WebsiteColleen FacebookColleen Wiki

Angel Olsen - Phases

Angel Olsen - Phases

Angel Olsen
Phases
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 WebsiteAngel Olsen FacebookAngel Olsen Wiki

Karl Blau - Out Her Space

Karl Blau - Out Her Space

Karl Blau
Out 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 WebsiteKarl Blau FacebookKarl Blau Wiki

Monster Rally - Flowering Jungle

Monster Rally - Flowering Jungle

Monster Rally
Flowering 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 WebsiteMonster Rally Facebook

This Pale Fire - Alchemy

This Pale Fire - Alchemy

This Pale Fire
Alchemy
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 WebsiteThis Pale Fire Facebook

Uncle Meg with MC John Debt - Can’t Stay The Same

Uncle Meg with MC John Debt - Can’t Stay The Same

Uncle Meg with MC John Debt
Can’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. 

Uncle Meg with MC John Debt WebsiteUncle Meg with MC John Debt Facebook

Cindy Wilson - Change

Cindy Wilson - Change

Cindy Wilson
Change
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 WebsiteCindy Wilson FacebookCindy Wilson Wiki

Mimicking Birds - Layers of Us

Mimicking Birds - Layers of Us

Mimicking Birds
Layers 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 WebsiteMimicking Birds FacebookMimicking Birds Wiki

View More

Viewing Page 33 - of 44

‹ First  < 31 32 33 34 35 >  Last ›