In 2013, Australian rock band Evoletah unveiled ‘We Ache For The Moon’, a huge surprise of an album that threw away most of their previous alternative rock traits in favour of a moody sound combining rock, prog and touches of jazz. One of the best albums of the year, it’s lower-key sounds really seemed in tune with the voice of frontman Matt Cahill, tapping into the understated qualities of his voice. It was a brilliant musical statement – and the band knew it; so, then rather than set about creating a similarly themed successor straight away, Cahill stepped aside and with a huge input from multi-instrumentalist Andrew Muecke, began creating material in a completely different style.
Tag Archives: electronica
ELLA SQUIRRELL – Loop EP
Taking in a range of influences on her debut EP ‘Loop’, singer-songwriter Ella Squirrell creates four tracks which are heavily rooted in the electronic with some hefty beats, but always retain elements of the human spirit. The core of the music borrows heavily from late 90s trip-hop and electronica, while her open and sometimes biting lyrical approach owes more to the candid singer-songwriters like Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon from decades earlier. In this respect, her work should appeal to devotees of Sarah McLachlan, especially those who have a liking for her work with electro act Delirium. Ms Squirrell, of course, doesn’t just recycle these influences – as with any singer-songwriter dealing with the more personal, huge chunks of her own emotion and spirit make up the heart of the material.
I US & WE – Mono EP
Blending elements of dream pop and synth pop, California’s I Us & We create a fairly spacious, yet melancholy sound on their debut EP ‘Mono’. Like Australia’s MNTNS, their core sound is heavy on electronic drones and synths, but thankfully like the more melodic elements of Moby or the very best parts of Depeche Mode’s expansive catalogue, somehow manages to eschew most of the coldness that such humanly detached sounds might conjure if left in the hands of the lesser talented.
JENNIE VEE – Die Alone EP
On this five track EP Toronto born, New York based singer-songwriter Jennie Vee is set to melt the hearts and heads of those whose musical tastes hark back to the early-mid nineties. Maybe not those who reminisce about plaid shirts and muddy fields and blonde unshaven men with a glassy stare, but those who hold fond memories of seeing the faces of Tanya Donelly and Miki Berenyi gazing blankly and unobtainably from the pages of NME. Vee’s recordings hark back to a time when Frank Black and Kim Deal liked each other (okay, so maybe there was never such a time); a time when you got excited about that next 12” single from Chapterhouse; when Ride were kings of their own UK kingdom and The Jesus and Mary Chain wanted you to venture under ‘April Skies’.
EDGAR FROESE (1944-2015)
Edgar Willmar Froese passed away on 20th January 2015 at the age of 70 as a result of a pulmonary embolism. Between the late 60s and his death, he put his mark upon over a hundred recordings with Tangerine Dream, as well as releasing several dozen solo albums (albums which have rarely been given their due; some of which were not available in their original mixes on CD for many years).