We vs. Death – A Black House, A Colored Home

Nice melodic set of post rock. On their latest album, We vs. Deaths musical ramblings go all over and they aren’t afraid to explore any aural territory. The Dutch five-piece features the standard bass, guitar and drums, plus trumpet and even a concertina. If you’re a post rock fan, you definitely don’t want to miss this.

We vs. Death – A Black House, A Colored Home

Loss of a Child – Carry Me Home

An amazing post-rock album! One of the best yet by Loss Of A Child. Carry Me Home is well produced, heavily written post-rock that makes use of guitar and drums for a standard post-rock sound but adds piano and strings on top of  that to give it an orchestral feel, a labyrinth of intricacies and variations. This entire release actually feels like a soundtrack to a movie – a movie that I’d definitely want to see. I think I’ll use it as the soundtrack for the movie that plays in my head all day long…

Loss of a Child – Carry Me Home

Sliptone – Funk Agent 1

Awww snizzap son, it’s time for some downtempo hip-hop. Check out this funky six-track release from Budabeats. Mixing hip-hop with elements of house and funk, this is an all over the place audio trip that will have you tapping your feet and drumming beats on the desk. Reminiscent of Revolution Void, this style of music features jazzy basslines, breakbeats, wah-wahed synths and funk guitars – you name it, it’s in there. The first track, entitled Birds And The Bees, is a humorous take on ‘the talk’ (don’t worry, it’s family friendly). The other five tracks follow suit, making this an first-class, entertaining and just downright fun release.

Sliptone – Funk Agent 1.

DAMOHL33 – ULTRA EP

From the excellent Italian netlabel Deep In Dub comes the artist calling himself Damohl33. His release Ultra EP is a classic example of a house record, polished to the max and adeptly crafted. Only four tracks, but coming in at twenty three minutes long, Ultra is the perfect blend of deep basslines, syncopated melody and repetetive, grooving synth lines that define house music. Be sure to add this release to your collection.

DAMOHL33 – ULTRA EP

bad loop – Fragments

Another entry from the Soft Phase netlabel, badloop captures the eardrums with six tracks of smooth electronica with a dream-like quality. Track 1 – Sinner – starts out with a serene pad movement that gradually evolves into a slow beat and big bassline before finally picking up the pace and slamming the end of the track home. Track 2 – Nth – is full of robotic melodies and glitchy elements that move all over the place, each doing their own thing yet remaining coherent as a whole. Track 3 – Sometimes – starts out with a Tron-like pluck sound and quickly gets to the point with a simple bass riff and pleasant synth work. Track 4 – Pinta – is introduced with a sort of old-school radio tuning sound that progresses into a throbbing pad and dub bassline, eventually building into the perfect mix. Track 5 – En Sure Sina – leads out with a  mellow, yet dissonant synth that is just on the edge of grating, and then along come the electro beat and acid style synth to create an almost blippatronic track until the final fadeout. (For those of you who know what blippatronics refers to, I say: Much respect!) Track 6 is a remix of Nth by the artist Planet Boelex. All in all, this is a great electro release, and it’s been a long while since I featured this sort of music (too long!) Check it out, as well as the other Soft Phase artists who are all outstanding in their own way.

bad loop – Fragments

Internet Archive: Free Download: Milhaven – Milhaven [12rec.061]

Milhaven is back with a rocking new record. Having departed from their old label, 12rec, they’ve graciously allowed their new release to be downloaded for free from the 12rec website. A little fresher, a little more grown up, they’ve honed their sound and distilled it into a purer form that rocks all the harder.

Eight tracks that run for almost fifty minutes, there are plenty of droning builds and smooth transitions from clean guitar to slamming melt-your-face-off electric guitar; quiet moments that induce a feeling of elation; slow intros leading up to loud and rowdy guitar themes. Milhaven does it just right. Do not miss this – if you’re a fan of post-rock then this release is a must have.

Internet Archive: Free Download: Milhaven – Milhaven [12rec.061].