shestolethebitch-blog-blog - Tumblr blog

[shestolethebitch-blog-blog]

#18 Sohn - Tremors (2014)

              —————————————————————————————————————————

Clemy : Once again I am face to face with a music prodigy. Yes, Christopher Taylor is a multi-tasker, he is a magician who turns rain drops into music, and it sounds like an invocation, like religious songs made to lionize the gods of love and music. Every song seems like a prayer. The notes he sings seem so easy to reach, they flow like a river, and with this electronic background it's a perpetual battle between machines and nature. Every songs of "Tremors" is like a growing being, starting slow and cut with emotional soarings, sometimes made by the very pure voice of SOHN, sometimes by low beats. It feels like this songs are made with the same kind of electric as the ones that make a human body work.Listening to this album, you will feel like dancing with machines, and if you are living alone like me, you will maybe be flooded by the necessity to tidy your home, and start something new on this clean bases. Some songs are like a fresh love, or like seeing the love of your life for the first time behind silk curtains floating in the wind. Others are more like your best memories... and you will also find songs that are like your hardest break up.One of my favorite song, "Fool", is a castle of ice, with walls as sharp as swords, where every bad move could kill you, but everywhere you lay your eyes on is a first idea of paradise.The final song is the "coup de grace", and it makes me say that the album is well named, as it is named "Tremors" like this masterpiece.

—————————————————————————————————————————

Release date : April 2014

Genre : electro pop, dreampop, chillwave, lo-fi, shoegaze, post rock, r’n’b, rock

Tracklist

1."Tempest"   2."The Wheel"   3."Artifice"   4."Bloodflows"   5."Ransom Notes"  6."Paralysed"   7."Fool"   8."Lights"   9."Veto"   10."Lessons"   11."Tremors"

Official website

[shestolethebitch-blog-blog]

#17 Pvris - White Noise (2014)

—————————————————————————————————————————

Aurélien : This is, very often, the same kind of method. An appealing band name, a gorgeous leader that would easily make our teenage dream come true and a capacity to evolve regarding the current music scene. Here you’ve got Pvris from the US, leaded by Lyndsey Gunnulfsen’ sweet voice and a mixture that could be Paramore’s 2015 version. It’s rock’n roll, extremely well produced, with some techno break and the fresh wrath of a first full-length. There is nothing less and nothing more that those ten catchy songs with cheesy lyrics. But it does work on you, it does attract you, it does make you feel you’re back to high school, discovering life, both pleasant and unpleasant things. The voice is soft when it needs to and more powerfull during those kind of typical catchy chorus that we somehow feel ashame to like. Yes the recipe has been used a thousand times but how many times has it really worked ? By being image-conscious, very meticulous about its communication on the internet and touring with the good bands in the right places of the world, Pvris showed that they observed a lot, learnt and that they finally mastered perfectly the rules. You can call them cheaters but I would personally say that they are smart and still have this enjoyable “freshness of the youth”. I don’t know about the future, but as I am currently listening title track “White Noise”, I know that they make me feel something. And this something is few and far between.

Clemy : Well, where to start ? Writing this review is really hard, because even if I listened to Pvris just yesterday, I can't really tell you what stroke me about this album. The rythms are great, most of the songs make you want to dance, the voice of Lyndsey, the singer, sounds awesome, all the members of the band are freaking cuties, but however, I wouldn't be able to recognize a new single if I’d ear one on radio. So yes, this band could make a lot a money, they could be everywhere in few years or even months, but I still feel like they are just following the herd led by Paramore (Because, I won't lie, Lyndsey's voice really sounds like Hayley's)... but 5 years late. In the end, as the music is well recorded and the songs well written, I would recommend you to listen to “White Noise”, I would also tell you to offer it as a birthday gift to your 13 years old sister, she will looooooove it, but I can't promise you will be blown away or you will remember the lyrics in 10 years. I think that going to their Parisian gig on April 29th will be interesting, and I hope it will make me understand the true personality of Pvris so I can have a better idea of their "quality" next time I tell you about them. —————————————————————————————————————————

Release date : November 2014

Genre : electro pop, dreampop, chillwave, lo-fi, shoegaze, post rock, r’n’b, rock

Tracklist

1."Smoke"   2."St. Patrick"   3."My House"   4."Holy" 5."White Noise"   6."Fire"   7."Eyelids"   8."Mirrors"   9."Ghosts"   10."Let Them In"  

Official website

[shestolethebitch-blog-blog]

#16 heklAa - Pieces of You - The Piano Works

—————————————————————————————————————————

Aurélien :  

I wouldn’t lie saying I have never been a fan of piano full-length but french one man band heklAa’s “Pieces of You” probably be the exception to the rule. I have no doubt thinking that this dreamer took inspiration from “unforgettable trips in the beautiful Iceland”. Every song is a true piece of art, drawing a unique painting with different colors. Every song unveils a different side of sensitivity : we go through instrumental post rock to sophisticated and soft jazz tones. There is a smart progression between each song and there is no doubt that Sébastien Touraton put his heart and soul into it. What is truly unique is that it feels like all is so easy and natural while we know there is a huge work behind it. And heklAa has the capacity to surprise, over and over again like on those very soft vocal. I guess we can say that this music is Yann Tiersen meeting Sigur Rós with, in addition, some jazz influences. Dreaming is the word. But yet I’m still here, behind my computer, letting my soul smiling and shivering.

Marvin : "Pieces of you"  is a  9-songs album, exclusively composed on piano by a french composer. All the songs are related to the same person : his wife. Hence the warm ambiance of the album. There is something fascinating with these piano songs, I really enjoy the feelings which are expressed.The Jazz influences brings a particular color to the songs. There's a certain harmony between the graceful touch of the pianist and the melancholic melodies. I highly recommend this album, it is pure food for the heart...This album has earned its place in my iPod, it will probably comfort me during cold winter evenings. My two favourite songs are "I am a piece of you" and "your hands, my hands". Could we expect a move to post-rock for the next album ? 

—————————————————————————————————————————

Release date : March 2015

Genre : electro pop, dreampop, chillwave, lo-fi, shoegaze, post rock, r’n’b, piano

Tracklist

1.your name 2.your legs  3.your skin  4.your shadow  5.your hands, my hands - the four-hands song  6.your hair - improvisation in a minor 7.your smile - memories of Köln  8.I am a piece of you  9.your walk (stella by starlight cover)  Bandcamp

[shestolethebitch-blog-blog]

#15 Purity Ring - Another Eternity

              —————————————————————————————————————————

Clemy : I have been waiting for this album to come out for a long time. As "Shrines", Purity ring's first album, followed me during a very important moment of my life, I feel bounded with the noises these two people are able to make. So, I guess you could say I am a bit influenced when writing this review. But let me tell you, the things I felt when I first eared this songs, one after another, nothing made me feel like this before. I shivered, I felt in love, I suffered, I wandered... Or maybe it was just my brain responding to this high voice and unexpected notes. So let's talk about this voice, I feel like it is the bone of this band. You will wait forever for the false note you think is coming at the end of the sentence, and that is why the sounds this girl make feel like magic, or maybe only like a child, lost in wonderland, singing with speaking flowers. The layering of melodies that surrounds -and you will really feel like it surrounds you- this vocals are all so amazing, going from one side of your head to the other, going high when you expect low, listening to Purity Ring is a real experiment, a trip. The downside of this new album - because I have to find one- is the very strong presence of the low waves that where not here at all in the first one, and it takes you underground, but it also forbids you to fly... Maybe not for "Repetition" my own personal favorite. Anyway, I want this music to be the soundtrack of my life, and be aware, it is so epic that you will want this to, walking in the streets like a warrior with your headphones on and "Bodyache" in maximal volume. You will want to conquer, you will want to create, you will want to breathe, and maybe to die.

—————————————————————————————————————————

Release date : March 2015

Genre : electro pop, dreampop, chillwave, lo-fi, shoegaze, post rock, r’n’b

Tracklist

1."Heartsigh"   2."Bodyache"   3."Push Pull"   4."Repetition"   5."Stranger Than Earth"   6."Begin Again"   7."Dust Hymn"   8."Flood on the Floor"  9."Sea Castle"   10."Stillness in Woe"   Official website

[shestolethebitch-blog-blog]

#14 K Flay -  Life As A Dog (2014)

—————————————————————————————————————————

Aurélien :  After numerous EPs, mixtapes and singles, tomboy K Flay finally released her first full-length and it feels like a "coffee and cigarettes" ritual after a sleepless night. The 11 tracks are all powerful hits, with rap verses and electro pop chorus, we understand quickly that the main girl's argument is her voice. She can play with it, exploring different tones. We somehow feel guilty to share the melancholic years of this "old" and talented teenager but it's such a delight to be part of what turns out to be a positive nightmare. Because "Life As A Dog" really feels like K Flay's lyrics are about dark and negative topics but she somehow managed to make the songs brighter than the lyrics actually are. I had the chance to see her as a tour support on the last Lights tour and I really liked the fact that she seems to be an authentic artist : she's not over acting on stage and the songs, as on the studio versions, really give a weird feeling. We have no difficulty to imagine that she just woke up after an horrible night with a strong hungover and while she raps about it, the sun is not so far away, ready to hit us during the chorus. On this debut album, K Flay is fighting her old demons while giving the impression she paradoxically doesn't give a flying fuck about anything and we feel so weak, having those puppy eyes, a sort of hangdog expression that can't mislead : this first record is really good.

Clemy : With her debut album "Life is a dog", K Flay  makes us feel melancholic about our teenage years. With her nasal voice and her - often - negative lyrics, this young girl goes with the flow in a way that seem really easy. Sometimes dropping the word capella, it feels like the bass guitar and drums that join her in most of the verses are here just to accentuate her. As for the chorus, it is just enough to make you dance, with its electronic backgrounds and sung voices. All this alternated with rock guitar riffs and ponctuated with bits of layered voices. In the end, it feels kind of repetitive, I could even say the tracks are built in the same way, and they send you in the same places, but why not ? You know some artists for the way they make you feel, and you know you will listen to them when you want to feel it. If the bad girl K Flay doesn't make you hang out in the city streets with a beer - and maybe some drugs -, then she sure will make you feel like a suicidal teenager. 

—————————————————————————————————————————

Release date : June 2014

Genre : electro pop, dreampop, chillwave, lo-fi, shoegaze, post rock, r’n’b

Tracklist

1.Everyone I Know 2. Make Me Fade    3. Can't Sleep  4. Wishing It Was You 5. Fever  6. Bad Things  7. I'm Good  8. Turn It Around  9. Thicker Than Dust  10. Time For You 11. Get It Right Official website 

[shestolethebitch-blog-blog]

#13 Shipwrecks -  Shipwrecks EP (2015)

—————————————————————————————————————————

Aurélien :  Three songs, three crosses on the cover but one single certainty : the one that Shipwrecks are both talented and inspired musicians. It could have been the 1000th band to play the same post rock, the one that, nowadays, we are listening to over and over again but this german quartet has a great sense of melodies that we hardly find. At some point, we always feel and expect a huge wall of sounds and or fast riffs to come but in spite of this, we got those kind of slow, bright and dancing melodies (Howls). The all EP seems to be devoted to life and the beauty of it. It offers radically different ambiances : the last piece is the heaviest yet the shinniest one. Because yes, there is a shinny and imperial feeling, something so bright, sophisticated and musically elegant that we are almost left blind after those 25 minutes of intense post rock. To top it all off, the sound is incredibly good for a very first production and there is almost no doubt that Shipwrecks will be more windswept when their first full-length will come out. Please, do yourself a favour and check them out !

Marvin : The first song "Telescope" announces an interstellar journey : mission accomplished ! Just relax and let your mind drifting away, the sound will do the rest. The journey continues with "Owls" which is a very elaborated piece, the parts of the song follow one another remarkably, the guitars have a very pleasant and aerial result. But I sort of drowned myself with the last song. I was lost in the beautiful and warm ambiance created by Shipwrecks. The final crenscendo already marked the end of the bright trip. Back to reality, Sh**! ... We cannot hope anything except a first full-length soon !

—————————————————————————————————————————

Release date : January 2015

Genre : electro pop, dreampop, chillwave, lo-fi, shoegaze, post rock, r’n’b

Tracklist

01- Telescope 02- Owls 03- El Rumpelstilzo

Bandcamp

[shestolethebitch-blog-blog]

#12 Trevor Something - Trevor Something Does Not Exist (2014)

—————————————————————————————————————————

Aurélien : "There's a virus in my system, there's a virus in my brain and it's driving me insane" informed a robotic voice on the opening track. Those 17 tracks are one single process that tries to set in a virus and the question is no longer to know if Trevor Something does exist or not but if this virus will achieve one's ends. And my answer won't be as straight as yes or no because I think my ears and I have been lost somewhere in the middle of this insane process. Yes we want to dance on some songs, yes we do like the 80's vibes and yes Trevor Something has his own personality with this kind of new wave mixed to electronic music. And there's no problem about some songs and structures that sound the same, the problem is more about those 3 interludes, 6 remixes and 1 cover. Can we therefore assume that Trevor Something does not exist because Trevor Something is, in the end, a bit of everything ? No offense, remixes are overall good and the Depeche Mode cover is definitely one of the highlight of the record but I have the feeling that Trevor Something could have provided more personal material... Next time maybe ? Because the virus needs to be fully set in and my ears and I are still utterly curious.

Clemy : If Trevor Something does not exist, his music sure does. With its low beats from the 80's and its chiptune sounds, this album takes us for a weird road trip in a broken time travel machine. The voices sound like some kind of jaded singing computers, but they let shine the spirit of summer love. As the tracks go by, everything is very coherent, sometimes even kind of boring, repetitive. Let me tell you that if you don't appreciate the first notes of the first song, you won't be able to hear the rest of the album. In my opinion, the keyboard parts and the constant research of new sounds is interesting enough to let the player on and start dancing, or take your convertible, drive along Ocean Drive, and go rollerskating under the neon lights. Be careful, you might want to start a sensual striptease if you let go during "something".        

—————————————————————————————————————————

Release date : June 2014

Genre : electro pop, dreampop, chillwave, lo-fi, shoegaze, post rock, r’n’b

Tracklist

01- The Beginning (intro) 02- In My System 03- Come Back Down 04- Summer Love 05- Infatuation 06- Searching 07- 1st Wave (interlude) 08- So Far Away 09- Mechanical Love 10- Sega Genesis 11- Chun Li's Revenge (interlude) 12- Into Your Heart 13- Something About You (remix) 14- 2nd Wave (interlude) 15- Stay 16- Enjoy The Silence 17- What Is Real? (outro)

Bandcamp

[shestolethebitch-blog-blog]

#11 Longlake - Virginia V (2015)

—————————————————————————————————————————

Aurélien : Sometimes we go through different bands on Bandcamp and, most of the time, we did not know when we will stop on a masterpiece. And yet, Bandcamp is flooded with amazing bands that are hidden in the dark and deserve to be known. Longlake, an american band, is definitely one of those, practicing a very soft and sober post rock that has been lost somewhere in the green grass that we can see on the cover. The most surprising is the capacity of the band to provide unique and sensitive atmospheres through very short songs (around three minutes). It's probably the first band to practice post rock without long tracks. "Virginia V" can't really be described because its mainly related to special emotions but yet, if I have to sum it up, I would say that we have here a perfect summary of the best Sigur Ros songs, a sort of best of the Icelandic with yet a true personality. The hard task will be to reproduce this tour de force on a full-length because we feel utterly sad when we hear the last notes of "Crescent Valley". Oh, and vocals will send you straight to heaven !

Marvin : Higly recommended for the stargazers and dreamers ! This band is very promising. I like everything on the record : the choirs are very thrilling, keyboards and guitars create both a pure and seraphic sound. The songs come one after another beautifully to finally reach the bliss with "Crescent Valley". The all record sounds like an ephemeral moment full of beauty, nature and freshness. Believe me that's better than ecstasy. Too bad that the EP is too short, that's the only weak side of it. This is the first time I heard about Longlake, and WOW! I need more! 

—————————————————————————————————————————

Release date : January 2015

Genre : electro pop, dreampop, chillwave, lo-fi, shoegaze, post rock, r’n’b

Tracklist

01. Hovgaard 02. Hyak 03. Virginia V 04. Fragaria 05. Bandix 06. Crescent Valley

Bandcamp

[shestolethebitch-blog-blog]

#10 JJ - V (2014)

—————————————————————————————————————————

Aurélien : JJ have the power of showing up when you did not expect anything from them. And they do it right. More than ever, the duo seems to have found his own identitiy : it's soft, it's high, it provides you a compelling desire to join them on their journey. And even if you don't know where they go, still you want to take part of it because those 12 songs are dealing with a lot of different feelings. Musically speaking, the Swedish are still high on drugs, playing with your emotions, using both old and new influences and turning the all thing into something fresh and deep. And we can sum up the result with two wonderful songs that have both music videos : "All White Everything" for the purity side and "Dynasti", more scorching. In the end, "V" is a bit like this : all white in appearance but as soon as you will get closer to touch this innocence, it will suddenly turn into a blazing fire that will swallow you. Unless you're not a big fan of sensitive dream pop meeting innovative electronic tones...

Clemy : Once again, JJ take us in a wonderland, in the middle of nature, with the sound of birds all around and wind blowing in the northern trees. Far from the amazing "Ecstasy" and the unforgettable "Still", we are here experimenting the more voluptuous part a this duet, with nearly no chorus or distinctive and repetitive melody. Some of us will even think this is being sung by a two year old child as every line seems to be in a random tune. However, Joakim and Elin are experts in this randomness, and they succeed in making us feel this very strong love melancholy. As the first glance of JJ-6 is being shown on Joakim's instagram -jjoakimbenon- (between pictures of trees, snow, and indisctinctive body parts), we feel fine waiting with JJ V, this depressive cocoon where the band transforms music into drugs.

—————————————————————————————————————————

Release date : August 2014

Genre : electro pop, dreampop, chillwave, lo-fi, shoegaze, post rock, r’n’b

Tracklist

01. V 02. Dynasti 03. Dean & Me 04. All White Everything 05. When I Need You 06. Fågelsången 07. Full 08. Innerlight 09. Hold Me 10. I 11. Be Here Now 12. All Ways, Always

Official Website

[shestolethebitch-blog-blog]

#9 Nordic Giants - Build Seas, Dismantle Suns (2014)

—————————————————————————————————————————

Aurélien : I was expecting a lot from those guys as they were opening for Sólstafir last week, in Paris. And all I can say is that their show was absolutely breathtaking, combining sophisticated music with short movies on big screen. I was afraid, then, of how will sound the band on CD, when you have no movies, no lights and no disguises anymore. Well, those two EPs, released under only one CD by K-Scope, are simply amazing. From soft ballads featuring beautiful female voices to huge wall of sounds and a lot of electronic influences, it's barely impossible to be disappointed. And we somehow find what those guys give live : a unique story behind each song. Nordic Giants will provide you the uncommon euphoria from M83, the purity from Sigur Rós and the exoticism from Sólstafir. 

Marvin : The whole album is exceptional. Each song seems to relate a beautiful story. Vocals are very ethereal, they add a "movie spirit" to the songs, especially on "Between two worlds" while the instruments sound "ample" and warm. There is an interesting mix between post rock and dream pop. I can only congratulate Nordic Giants for this amazing work and I really encourage them to carry on exploring the magical link between the sounds and some cinematographic projects.

—————————————————————————————————————————

Release date : November 2014

Genre : electro pop, dreampop, chillwave, lo-fi, shoegaze, post rock, r’n’b

Tracklist

Build Seas   1. Violent Lights ft Alex Hedley  2. Drumfire  3. Neotenie  4. Between Two Worlds ft Freyja  Dismantle Suns 1. Little Bird ft Alyusha  2. Mechanical Minds  3. Strangest Tides ft Heymun  4. Dark Clouds Mean War 

Bandcamp

[shestolethebitch-blog-blog]

#8 Kwamie Liv - Lost In The Girl (2014)

—————————————————————————————————————————

Aurélien : In those days, there's a come back to sensuality in music. And I think Kwamie Liv is one of the few to do it in the right way. If you're not convinced, go and check by yourself "What You Need" (The Weeknd cover). At first, it seems a bit hard to swallow so many different influences : from trip hop to r'n'b with chillwave and electronic touches. But this EP is nothing more than a grower : 7 songs, 7 jewels. And the more you dig those songs, the more you have the weird feeling that the songs (themselves) are digging you. Oh, and as a bonus, I have to admit that it will give you an overwhelming desire to have sex. Read and approved.

Willow : I think I can find both positive and negative sides to this first EP. If the ambiances are somehow fascinating and the finish is overall immersive, it's nonetheless creased because of a certain lack of identity. Indeed, Kwamie Liv took shelter somewhere between Lana Del Rey's influence and excessive auto-tune. I really hope that the singer will emancipate from those influences in order to release her true artistic potential.

—————————————————————————————————————————

Release date : August 2014

Genre : electro pop, dreampop, chillwave, lo-fi, shoegaze, post rock, r’n’b

Tracklist

01. Magic 02. What You Need (The Weeknd cover) 03. 5 AM 04. Follow You 05. Lost In The Girl 06. coming THRU 07. Coming Down 

Soundcloud

[shestolethebitch-blog-blog]

#7 Lights & Motion - Chronicle (2015)

—————————————————————————————————————————

Aurélien : This swedish one man band came a long way now and yet I have always felt that Christoffer Franzen is one of those rare and gifted musician. With this new record, the musician takes a huge step forwards : production has never been so groomed. "Chronicle" also avoids the typical mistake of instrumental post rock : proposing the same kind of atmosphere, over and over again through (nearly) identical tracks. Here, every track seems to have his own identity, his own story to tell (this is, indeed, very "cinematic" kind of music) and the all record is very well-balanced. It's uplifting, through very soft ballads to huge wall of sounds, Light & Motions definitely offers his best work to date. Grab this masterpiece with your eyes closed as it's probably likely to be one of the best post rock release of the year. No more, no less.

Marvin : I can say without any doubt that I learned more about myself with a new Lights & Motion album than confiding with someone : each new record from the swedish one man band appears to me as an inner journey, a way to explore beauty and love. "Chronicle" like "Reanimation" transcends me. The use of crescendos allows to get carried away and reach bliss, timelessness. This is all the power of cinematic post-rock : the interplay between you and the sound. This is where words aren't enough. So thanks to Christoffer Franzen for this piece of art. I highly recommend two other "similar" artists : Hammock and Tiny Leaves. 

—————————————————————————————————————————

Release date: January 2015

Genre : electro hop, dreampop, chillwave, lo-fi, shoegaze, post rock, r’n’b

Tracklist

01. Fireflies 02. Glow 03. Antlers 04. Reborn 05. Northern Lights 06. Particle Storm 07. As the World Goes Away 08. Paper Wings 09. The Spectacular Quiet

Bandcamp

[shestolethebitch-blog-blog]

#6 Lights - Little Machines (2014)

—————————————————————————————————————————

Aurélien : We tend to forget how it is sometimes simple to play uplifting music. We tend to ignore that sometimes, separately, we hate a lot of things. I don't like synthetizers, I don't like female teenage voices, I don't like eletronic music and, more than anything, I hate ballads. But together, those elements, combined with an undeniable talent to create, can be surprisingly good. With her new record, "Little Machines", Lights managed to illuminate (play on words : check!) our souls. Last but not least, this young and beautiful artist is able to create hits after hits. This album is full of it. In the end, the most beautiful may be that you like this record a lot and there's no concrete explanations for that. 

Willow : Ah, cheesy ballads, easy chords and post-teenage voices... we do love this, right ? Today, we're going to talk about Lights (and yes, we have noticed it too, it's way less underground), of her stereotyped yet sweet voice but essentially of her delicacy music ! She managed to play a kind of music that a lot of artists can't really play well nowadays. Lights is somehow innovating, digging into a lot of musical genres that we do love on She Stole the Bitch, in order to propose a radiant summary that really lift one's spirit. And some songs will be stuck in your mind for eternity.

—————————————————————————————————————————

Release date: September 2014

Genre : electro hop, dreampop, chillwave, lo-fi, shoegaze, post rock, r’n’b

Tracklist

1. Portal 2. Running with the Boys 3. Up We Go 4. Same Sea 5. Speeding 6. Muscle Memory 7. Oil and Water 8. Slow Down 9. Meteorites 10. How We Do It 11. Don’t Go Home Without Me

Official Website

[shestolethebitch-blog-blog]

#5 Totorro - Home Alone (2014)

—————————————————————————————————————————

Aurélien : And here we go again with France ! I have discovered Totorro when they opened for Maybeshewill on their last european tour. What a slap across the face ! Original rythm, dynamic approach, enthousiastic and gifted musicians are adjectives that could sum up pretty well "Home Alone". Old material is more post rock oriented and very interesting too but here it is a step forward into math rock with unstructured rythms and mad drums. It's fresh, it's new and it's exactly what you need if you are sick of hearing always the same post rock atmospheres. Get a blast !

Marvin : That was the first time I heard about the band and its such a nice discovery ! We are on the border between post-rock and indie pop, with an interesting approach through some energetic drum parts, staccato guitars and more crunchy sounds. The album itself reflects the good atmosphere that seem to be inside the band. They remind me some other french bands such as Jean Jean or Capture. I'm glad to see that the french post-rock scene is dynamic and vigorous.

—————————————————————————————————————————

Release date: April 2014

Genre : dreampop, chillwave, lo-fi, shoegaze, post rock, r’n’b

Tracklist

01. Home Alone

02. Chevalier Bulltoe 03. Tonton Alain Michel 04. Festivalbini 05. Motte Rock 06. Osao San 07. Eric Colson 08. Tigers & Gorillaz

Bandcamp

[shestolethebitch-blog-blog]

#4 Cape Noire - Ad Nauseam (2014)

—————————————————————————————————————————

Aurélien : This one-woman band from France got pretty much everything you need to surprise the well-behaved listener you are. Ad Nauseam EP is an open invitation to dance what I like to call "your last (poisoned) slow". Very dark but yet very dancing, there's a million of influences bumping into each other. The result is obviously something unique, with a very high voice that will unveal different tones through the six songs. The occult is still preserved with a DIY spirit (homemade EP strictly limited to 30 copies, can you go more underground ?) and a musician that plays live covered in black, hidden behind a synthetizer...

Willow : Cape Noire can be seen as a past life, waiting. A raw cynicism, a dark and urban frame in the cloudiest imaginary. Cape Noire is our recovered innocence inside the cobblestones on which we’re slowly walking, making a martial noise. Around this music, as incongruous as immersive, the most common tone reaches our heart deep inside, to a place where memories are suddenly back. We’re going reluctantly and life still waits, covered in black, for a time that may be too short. How soon before an album ?

—————————————————————————————————————————

Release date: October 2014

Genre : trip hop, dreampop, chillwave, lo-fi, shoegaze, post rock, r’n’b

Tracklist

01. Fire 02. Fifteen 03. Bam Bam 04. That Day She Wake up and Threw... 05. Three Feathers

06. Avalanche

Bandcamp

[shestolethebitch-blog-blog]

#3 Seas of Years - Drifting Ever Shifting (2014)

—————————————————————————————————————————

Aurélien : Once again Sweden you never disappoint ! What a beautiful EP with very etheral moments as well as more noisy one ! The balance is simply perfect and the musicians are excellent. But what strikes me the most is the quality of the production : its sometimes even better than some famous professional bands. If you like wall of sounds, sophisticated arpeggios and catchy moments that will besiege your brain, Drifting Ever Shifting should meet your every desire. One of the best instrumental release of the year and one more reason to think that Sweden is one of the best post rock land...

Marvin : I discovered Seas of Years with their first EP “Ocean Rift” released in 2013 and I have immediately appreciated this band. They did not disappoint with the new one ! I love their sound, I love the emotions conveyed by this EP… There is definitely a very progressive approach in their songs : good mix between post-rock stuffs (arpeggios, tremolo guitar) and more energetic parts, this is all I love. So yes, I assume that, within a few years, they’ll become a very important band in the post-rock scene.

—————————————————————————————————————————

Release date: October 2014

Genre : dreampop, chillwave, lo-fi, shoegaze, post rock, r’n’b

Tracklist

01. Passing Skies 02. Ledge 03. Stairwell 04. The Glass Shelter and the View  05. Rely on Thermal Winds

Bandcamp

[shestolethebitch-blog-blog]

#2 JANE - L'aquoiboniste (2014)

—————————————————————————————————————————

Aurélien : Even with open-mindedness, those two songs left me cold. I guess I totally missed the point of this Harsh Noise Wall thing. The experiment and the minimalism, here certainly pushed to the maximum, are not helping. I really did my best to analyse the different noise layers but I ended up to the conclusion that the Harsh Noise Wall is a musical movement made of “waves” that you have to feel foremost. And yet, the opening with the sweet voice of Jane Birkin foretold something beautiful and original. Well, any doubt about the second one. Hail to such an approach because it’s definitely clever thinking.

Willow : As open-mindedness is the motto of this Tumblr, I want to introduce you to what has been called “Harsh Noise Wall”, a kind of music that I am a lot into and that distinguishes itself thank’s to his extreme minimalism. You have it in spades and here, JANE’s choice is not a random one. The sweet voice of Jane Birkin resonates all along and sum up perfectly the Harsh Noise Wall’ spirit. This vision of “l’Aquoiboniste” is overwhelming since it remains so true to the HNW’s mood. Well, I hardly expect that it will be the same for you but we never know. I’m never in the right tone, what’s the point ?

—————————————————————————————————————————

Release date: November 2014

Genre : dreampop, harsh noise wall, chillwave, lo-fi, shoegaze, post rock, r’n’b

Tracklist

01. I 02. II

Bandcamp