31 August 2011

Akron/Family - S/T II: The Cosmic Birth And Journey Of Shinju TNT


My Rating: 3.8/5
Listen Music Samples
Watch Live Session Video
Watch Live Video

Since their formation in 2002 and debut album ‘Akron/Family’ released in 2005, Akron/Family just can keep offering lot of new weird ideas and strange surprises in their last 5 albums……..coming to this 6th album, I still expect something new something weird something different from this Brooklyn-based psyche freak folk band …….after few listens, I am no disappointing and feeling good on their new release…….still their trademarked mixed-genre mixed-culture mixed-living-philosophies high energy high tempo hippies-party-like music with mixed stuff of psychedelic jam, freak folk, afro-jungle-beat, acoustic country, improvisation, electronics, strange vocal, etc…….something like mixing their US fellows Flaming Lips, Animal Collective, Iron & Wine, etc. altogether……very rich and diversified as usual but more well-balanced and solid album produced this time and full of those vibe of genesis of beginning of everything, earth, planet, civilization, etc……a very good un up-beat enjoying listening experience though you might not really have any idea what’s the meaning of the album title!!


Low – C'mon


My Rating: 3.7/5
Listen Music Samples
Watch Acoustic Live Video 'Nightingale'
Watch Live Video 'Try to Sleep'

Low is not only a band for me, sometimes they represent a mood…...a mood that is sad, self-pitying, people sucked at low point of life, everything moving slow, depressingly sitting static on sofa don’t want to move starring outside window sky blue thinking lot of things unfocused, etc……… so when they have a new album, it’s not really meaning there’s new music for me…..that might be only meaning it is going to return to the mood of Low helplessly but beautifully…….

Their last album ‘Drums & Guns’ in 2007 is a let down for me because they want having musically changes to be more rich & accessible and might be a bit more bright……it might work for other indie band, but not really for Low…….So, it’s feeling good for me to see them in their ninth new album ‘C’mon’ to go back to their sad/slow core musical track of past 20 years since their debut in 1994……..once again they focus on beautiful & healing song writing and mood setting with simple loosen shoegaze fuzzy guitar notes and Alan Sparhawk’s delicate & full-of-passion saddened vocal……everything’s just simple, serious and solid and giving me another chance to immerse into Low’s beautiful healing dark sad world!!


29 August 2011

Kashiwa Daisuke - 88


My Rating: 3.8/5
Listen Music Samples

Kashiwa Daisuke is a really playful multiple talented musician that like to bring some surprises to people……. every time he has new release and I have to figure out whether this new album is post rock, dub or classical stuffs……..just like last one, after the classic 2nd album ‘Program Music’ with the rich beautiful electro/acoustic post rock music, he then surprised everyone to release a clubbing dub album ‘5 Dec’ in 2009....as I’m not a dub fan, so not really like that album……..so, this time I played safe to check out the music he will play in his 4th new album ‘88’…..answer is classical piano solo stuff!....after repeat listening, those flowing piano plays are just too beautiful and poetry……..nevertheless, sometimes the music are just quite close to the trademarked piano sound of Ryuichi Sakamoto that confuse people on its originality……anyhow, it’s still a very good piano music album worth repeating listening for the poetry thoughtful atmosphere created……

15 August 2011

This Will Destroy You - Tunnel Blanket


My Rating : 3.8/5
Listen Music Samples
Watch Live Video

I don’t know why…….Since I have been listening a couple of their tracks few years back, I’m not too interested to try their first same-named album in 2008 from this Texas-based This Will Destroy You who are formed in 2005 as I think their post rock stuff is a bit too atmospheric too ambient.

Nevertheless, I keep hearing many positive comments on them last couple of years……so decided to make a try on their 2nd album ‘Tunnel Blanket’ and the result is just so rewarding…….if your frustrated or exhausted mind needs some escape and This Will Destroy You will bring you a mind traveling journey in a silent night with ever changing soundscape flying through empty lonely forest and isolated wave-blasting shore and even immersing in quiet ocean sea with your ears blocking by sea water hearing blurred sound/noise……..it’s a really ambitious album trying to achieve to blending everything in their own evolving post rock sound like Nadja’s high-pressure life-distorted doom noise, Eluvium’s thoughtful after-life shoegaze ambient, Godspeed’s beautiful epic orchestral post rock, etc…….a really cool and emotional post rock album that will bring you surprises!!               

12 August 2011

Suede, Live in AsiaWorld Expo Hong Kong, 11 August 2011


Watched Suede’s reunion show last night and see all thirty/forty years age people coming out for such a night of nostalgia……when you see only hundreds to turn up for Brett Anderson’s Hong Kong show couple years ago while thousands have showed up last night, you know the power of NOSTALGIA for a name of SUEDE in Hong Kong…..it represents a generation of 90s……sometimes, people do need NOSTALGIA like some newly injected power and energy to refresh memory of our good old days…….I recently watched 2 reunion shows from Pulp and Suede and  feel Pulp’s show is more like as reunion with fans with more imagination and creativity in all set-up while Suede’s is a bit too straight forward for a show with typical (solid though!!) set up for an oversea band touring in Asia for fans with some not always show up for concerts……some more things to mention, the sound quality is quite bad and ‘Stay Together’ is missing again in their song list though Animal Nitrate, So Young, We Are The Pig, such early good stuff were still there……I don’t really like their mid-to-late albums’ stuff, so feeling boring sometimes while hearing girls (or women?!) screaming for songs like film star, etc….the show is quite short also with only 70-80 minutes makes fans a bit disappointed………   






10 August 2011

Alva Noto / Ryuichi Sakamoto - Summvs


My Rating: 3.3/5
Listen Music Samples
Watch Sonar Festival Live Video

‘Summvs’ is already the 5th album from the collaboration of Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto since ‘Vrioon’ in 2002 and it’s also heard this is the final one of their collaboration……I have been buying only one of their previous albums…....forgot the title, probably ‘Insen’ and also watched their live performance in Hong Kong City Hall years ago as well as their Insen Live DVD…......Initial feeling of this collaboration is very good, but their music of following album to album is just so similar (might be I’m not really fan of ambient/glitch stuff and not also their target audience!) with those abstract moody (you may say avant-garde!) piano play of Ryuichi Sakamoto plus those groovy minimal micro electronic glitch/noise sound from Alva Noto plus those atomic-geometry inspired graphic show on stage and plus very consistent less-is-more minimal cover art design…….

After repeat listening of ‘Summvs’, the above mentioned feeling is still the same...…they just keep playing same stuff over last 10 years…...sometimes I will ask why this collaboration still lasts with such no changes no breakthrough!!........In ‘Summvs’, I even feel this latest release is also a bit not really up to the par of the previous ones…....Ryuichi Sakamoto’s beautiful abstract piano is still there (but not too memorable), but Alva Noto’s electronic glitch stuff seems to be even more low profile and unimpressive……..those groovy micro electronic rhythm and glitch noise is just almost disappeared and make ‘Summvs’ like a Ryuichi Sakamoto album with supporting guest artist of Alva Noto rather than a collaboration…….sometimes, things have to come to the end if sparks are gone!!! 

9 August 2011

Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact


My Rating: 3.8/5
Listen Music Samples
Watch 4AD Live Session
Watch Primavera 2011 Live Video

I think Gang Gang Dance is one of the most original and adventurous indie bands in last decade amongst the peers like Animal Collective, etc. Their music is just hard to classify that mix assorted music influences and lot of weird ideas like afro-beat, techno synth, samples, electronics, etc. with their unique devil-angel vocal, Lizzi Bougatsos, to make their music something uniquely psychedelic, hip, cool and unstoppable……they just can create something unique that represent the nowadays young generation like other greats in their own generations!!!

‘Eye Contact’ is already the 5th album and also the debut for 4AD label from this full-of-excitement everything-unexpected Manhattan-based band since their formation in 2001………musically this time is still the same stuff same direction as their previous albums, but just turn out to be more refined, planned, mature and solid music of their own!!!......a bit like walking in the same path as Animal Collective that are now to be everyone’s favourite and try to making their music more big-band-like…..Who knows it’s good or bad? But for sure it’s more refined, well-produced and less adventurous as well as less surprised!!!! For those people like music adventure, ‘Eye Contact’ or nowadays Gang Gang Dance might be not too hitting the G-spot of their music taste anymore!!!        

3 August 2011

Thurston Moore - Demolished Thoughts


Mt Rating: 3.8/5
Listen Music Samples
Watch Live Documentary
Watch Live Documentary

‘Demolished Thoughts’ is the third solo album from this cool guitarist of Sonic Youth since his last solo one ‘Trees Outside the Academy’ in 2007……quite an efficient guy in the sense of releasing solo album from a band member……..

Compared to his last one with more guitar noise stuff, Thurston Moore is more on soft side approach and plays some gorgeous poppy easy-accessible chamber acoustic/psychedelic folk this time, something like unplugged Sonic Youth with no more electric guitar noise, very limited drumming, changing to with laid back and soft vocal of his own and adding some elegant violin and orchestral stuff……nevertheless, the music is still so cool especially in term of acoustic folk album…….you still can hear his trademarked cool dissonance power-chord-like repetitive guitar riff ‘decorated’ with some poetic orchestral strings plays……...conceptually no breakthrough, no new things and sometimes some songs are too long and flat might be the down side, but generally speaking this album is still cool, forever-young timeless and good for modern hippie escapism!! (the cover art and LP version's inlay stuff are also so nice!!)