5 June 2010

Aare Undo

Ans. Andur „Kiletron“ review

The band Ans. Andur was formed in a small town called Paide. The group got together when two other bands called Rooza Öökull and PillSkill fell apart and it consists of Mihkel Kirss, Madis Kirss, Gert Pajuväli and Madis Aesma. It is an electro-oriented band with shades of pop, rock and alternative music. Quite a number of confusing elements that are bound to offer diversity yet again. But how does it deliver? Kiletron is their third and to date last album.

The album starts off with a song titled (1.) Reede. The title is promising, had high hopes of something that I could lose myself into, but I was left emotionless. The song is about going to a party, but it sounds a bit too depressing for that (and do not get me wrong, I can absolutely enjoy a depressing song). The next song goes by the name (2.) Start Stopp which turned out to be one of my favourites of the album. Magnificent rhythm with vocals I could grasp. Furthermore (3.) Melodraama is a song which I expected to be slower and more dramatic, but they added a nice twist by making this song one that is rhythmic and cheerful. Then comes

(4.) Praha Kevad, a song from which I also expected much, and I was not let down. Contains a reference to Prague’s spring of 1968 and how things have changed since then, the rhythm and tone elements are also fitting for a song as such. Whereas (5.) Mu Binoklis completely changes the tragic view of the last song, being a bit more country-like, something that could be put into the movie Smokey and the Bandit. Moreover, (6.) 100 reminds me much of Vennaskond’s Maailma Hümn, only a bit slower and with a dominating midi keyboard sound. (7.) Marko Kristal is a purely instrumental piece. A slow song, sounds beautiful and meaningful. But thenagain, it is a kind of song that would fit into The Sims as background music. In the song

(8.) Ester the vocalist kept saying „Ester, Ester /.../“ whereas the rest of the song escaped from me due to silent vocals. But the song had a fast rhythm that would definitely cause hippies of the 21st century to dance J. (9.) Puhkepäev talks about the joys of a day off. The song delivers mixed messages – It makes me want to stay in bed for the day, but it is rhythmic and on the other hand wakes me up and makes me want to activities on my day off, but either way, it is a song that that cannot leave a person emotionless. (10.) Sügisene Meloodia is a slow, a jazz-like song. It sounds like a song which would be really meaningful, but I cannot quite get it, leaving me feeling empty and uneasy. Now (11.) (Sa olid mu viimase leveli) Lõpuboss is a song that really got to me. Since I have spent a portion of my life gaming, this is quite possibly one of the most attractive song titles ever. But the song itself had a too dominating empty midi keyboard sound, vocals start half-way into the song and the meaning escapes me yet again. I also suppose they sampled some music from Super Mario Brothers. (12.) Suhkur is definitely the best songs to end the album with. Obviously the „out of sugar“ metaphor has some kind of deep meaning, but it is fun to listen to even without grasping it.

Now, to take the album as a whole, I found that it offers quite a lot of diversity – offers songs movingly deep to foot-tappingly rhythmic. Genres reach from basic electro and indie to rock and even country. One of the main flaws would be the quite-often-silent vocals and undecipherable wordplay. My personal dislike is the often too much dominating midi keyboard sound. But all in all it must be said that a new band from a small town has made quite a name for itself with its previous albums and this one, offering something for different musical tastes

NOTE: Yes, I do realise that that this might sound somewhat like my first review, but without knowing I picked a somewhat similar band.

Yeasayer "Odd Blood"

Sille Iloste

Being one of the “common people” who occasionally listens to Power Hit Radio, it is indeed a considerable (yet interesting!) challenge for me to review something that somebody else has suggested as quality music. Therefore, just to inform my readers right away, the following review will not contain sentences such as it’s weirdly plodding with distorted sci-fi vocals, clanging percussion, and eventually smooth synthesizers and submerged horn sounds (by brandon) or it’s a bird-sound-haunted, ambient, rambling hymnal, somewhere between shoegaze, psych-folk and ambient (by Emily MacKay). What the review does offer, however, are my own utterly subjective and honest thoughts and impressions as they have been provoked by the songs on the album. Although perhaps lacking in quality to some extent, I would still like to consider my point of view as somewhat refreshing and potentially interesting as well.

Odd Blood (2010) is the second album by Yeasayer, the alternative/indie/experimental band from Brooklyn, New York. The three members of the band – Anand Wilder (multi-instrumentalist), Chris Keating (lead vocals, keyboards), Ira Wolf Tuton (bass guitar, vocals) – themselves have said that Odd Blood is definitely a poppier album than their debut album All Hours Cymbals (2007), one of the aims of the former being to sonically challenge Rihanna in the clubs. Why not. Let us see if they have succeeded.

The first song on the album, The Children, is an interesting start indeed. The rhythm is gripping and, closing my eyes, I immediately find myself on a live concert swaying along with the audience. Although the electronic intro reminds me of my own music making back in the day – using some pots and pans as drums – the song, in fact, goes far beyond those jolly memories. As the somewhat dark and unearthly vocals start, we get the feeling that the fate of mankind is being told precisely by this song: the lyrics tell us that (it took some effort to understand them, I must admit) We are the children and we’ll give you trouble if we don’t like what you’re doing... Despite this gloomy atmosphere, I am intrigued and encouraged to listen further, so the first track has done its job well, I believe.

Ambling Alp (the nickname given to an Italian boxer apparently) is the first single from the album and undoubtedly a more positive and lively tune than the previous song. By the time the chorus begins, one cannot but throw in some dance moves. The chorus is memorable so that even an hour later I can hear Chris Keating telling me to stick up for yourself, son... never mind what anybody else done. I love how this “happy” song responds to the “doom” predicted by the previous one; perhaps a message like this is precisely what we need in times like these (the overall depression, I mean). Looking then at the big picture – a positive message blended with a catchy tune that almost sounds like disco – this song is indeed a rather obvious choice for a single. By the way, I do recommend watching the video as well – it is interesting enough to try to figure out what they have meant by this.

Just when I was hoping that the positive atmosphere will carry on, what we get is another melancholy song: Madder Red. I like the drums and I most definitely like how they sing in harmony ooh-ooh-ooh, but I have doubts about the way such a promising start evolves into verbal contemplation of how he is not worth her time and she should not ask why he has not been on her side etc. Like I said, the review is highly subjective. Therefore, despite the fact that I personally feel that there are too many “sad” songs and too few of those that really make you feel good about living in the world as it is, the song is still worth listening to, especially for the ooh-ooh-ooh part.

I Remember, the fourth song on the album, is the first one that made me lose interest by the time the second verse could begin. There are some surreal sounds (created with a damaged keyboard as it turns out) and some very high notes by Keating telling us how he made love on a Sunday; however, as there is hardly any variation throughout the four and a half minutes (and I am not a big fan of what one might call ambient music in the first place), I rather impatiently move on to the next track.

ONE is the second single from the album and – yes! – a song that makes the listener dance. The lively tune and the gripping beat of the drums are hard to ignore. Although Keating sings here with his clear voice No-No, you don’t move me any more, I truly appreciate it that he does it in a non-melancholy way, without the slightest regret and self-pity. I realize now that I very much like Yeasayer when they sing catchy dance songs like this one and Ambling Alp.

The sixth song, Love Me Girl, is a song I would not have expected from Yeasayer. When the lyrics start after the long intro (only at 1:51), it sounds as if our very own Lowry has been asked to contribute to the song, thus making me check if it is still Yeasayer I am listening to. Although the R&B-like verses and the it-sounds-like-some-dance-hit beats might be somewhat unconventional considering the album as a whole, this song acts as an efficient reminder telling us that Yeasayer can surprise its listeners just when we think we have figured them all out.

The next song, Rome, is pretty much a repetition of five lines accompanied by just as repetitive rhythm. The members of the band themselves claim that the song rips off Moroccan and Syrian dance music, and, indeed, the song might work just fine out there. Here, however, the song is a bit annoying.

Perhaps the only word to describe Strange Reunions, the eighth song on the album, is “strange”. The song is short (2:37) and confusing as it seems to combine an uncountable number of different elements and effects. It is hard to understand the message as well: it sounds as if the words uttered by Keating are unable to reach us due to unimaginably thick fog. For further information, please consult the it’s a bird-sound-haunted-sentence by Emily MacKay above.

Mondegreen is yet another dance song. However, the song is so fast that it is hard to keep up with it at first. Yet, once I manage to feel the rhythm in my bones, I really start to like it. Although some might argue that the song is too over the top and even Keating himself says that the song is deliberately created to sound paranoid, I find the energy of the song amazing. Everybody's talkin’ ’bout me and my baby, makin’ love til the mornin’ light, makin’ love til the mornin’ mornin’ light...

The last song, Grizelda (dedicated to some drug lord), is a much calmer song than the previous one, suggesting that it is time to wrap it up for today. Or go to sleep as the lyrics tell us. The song reminds me of the sounds, those slow and slightly confusing electronic sounds, I heard at the beginning of the album, thinking that they were the Yeasayer’s “thing”. As it then links all parts of the album together, it is a proper ending as well.

Looking back on this experience, I must admit that Yeasayer did succeed in surprising me. There were songs I really liked (Ambling Alp, ONE, Mondegreen) and songs that provoked slightly less positive emotions in me. Yet, overall, this diverse album is an excellent start when one wants to familiarize herself with quality music different from that coming from some mainstream radio. Did they manage to sonically challenge Rihanna? Further investigation needed. :)

A Brief History of Love

The Big Pink

"A Brief History of Love"

[...]

The Big Pink are London's gift to the world. Probably not the most neatly wrapped one but everyone seems to like them regardless. Robbie Furze and Milo Cordell- the two men that make up the duo, have been playing together since 2007 and "A Brief History of Love" is their debut album.

According to an interview, the idea of the album is to show different aspects of love....(you have to admit this sounds like another tribute to the mother of all clichés)... love, as seen by two guys in their twenties, poured into the form of an eleven track album and delivered by electro-rock (as they have been labelled).

The first song, "Crystal Visions", is the perfect soundtrack for daydreaming at 4 a.m. With its long intro, reverberant backing vocals and constant feedback (general characteristics of the album) it has a very areal and massive feel to it. Kind of like love actually...

"Too Young To Love" starts with a catchy rhythm accompanied by plain (distorted) noise, if you will. As soon as the vocals join in everything seems to add up for a while but for me this song is clearly too long. The psychedelic, repetitive sound of the song lost its charm and started to get on my nerves about half way through the track and made me feel nauseous as if I had been spinning around a little too long. Then again, everything concerning love tends to spin out of control (and possibly make you want to throw up).

Now the third song, "Dominos", is the obvious pop hit. Suppose that listening to electro-rock(ish) does not exactly make you cry for joy and just maybe the first minute of the first song brought about arbitrary thoughts that slowing the track down and removing the vocals might make it possible to get away with labelling it 'post rock'. As a result, the entire second song might just turn into background noise because your mind is occupied with trying to remember where you put your Sigur Ros albums.... And then suddenly, the simple and almost disturbingly catchy chorus of the third song violently penetrates your conscience and you just know that "....these girls fall like dominoooos, dominoooos..." is what you’ll be humming in the bathroom for the next week.

After "Dominos" the next song- "Love In Vain", is almost disappointing at first. Typical oh-you-broke-my-heart kind of slow and doleful moaning. The song just seems to stand still as if it has grown roots in its own misery and ends without a proper ending. Perfect when feeling melancholy...and by the end of the song you probably are feeling melancholy. The considerably faster "At War With The Sun" in turn starts crawling out of the Pit of Sorrow but doesn’t quite make it to the top. You might think that this track would fit better between the third and fourth one to create some sort of a balance but this whole album keeps pulling listeners in different directions (soundwise), dipping them in various emotions so trying to establish a rational pattern won’t get you very far.

The sixth track ,”Velvet”, reflects a kind of mechanical state of existence where routine work and one-night stands help pass the time in between the nights you get really drunk and depressed over you ex. It starts with an industrial-sounding beat which is then drowned in the usual mixture of echoing high-pitched backing vocals and distorted guitars so it literally sounds like voices in your head that amplify until you pass out.

And moving on with associations with machines- the beginning of "Golden Pendulum", sounds like an overexcited steamboat out of a cartoon. The 'horn honking' may prove to be a turn-off but the chorus of the song actually feels cheery enough to make you want snap your fingers. It’s followed by the monotonous vocals and contrasting backing vocals of the eighth track, "Frisk", conveying a somewhat embittered view on love. The same old story- love hurts so "...fill your pockets full of stones and walk upstream..." Spellbinding nonetheless and this track is probably my personal favourite off the album.

The end of the album more or less repeats the sound of the first songs. So that "A Brief History of Love" features haunting female vocals that create a dream-like state familiar from the first track. The tenth song, "Tonight", in turn, bears some resemblance to "Dominos" and like the third track, it's followed by a fairly melancholy song because despite its desynchronized beginning the last song-"Count Backwards From Ten", is just as slow and almost as wistful as "Love In Vain".

The first track gives a good idea about how the album will sound like but each song is still a world of its own. Truth be told, I am not quite sure whether that’s a good or a bad thing because there is always the danger that the album has too many faces. Occasionally the melody and the lyrics even seem to be telling two completely different stories which adds the word ‘schizophrenic’ to the list of adjectives that could be used in describing The Big Pink’s first album.

However, at this point it would be smart to look at the title and the concept of the album again because love is not supposed to play by the rules nor make any sense for that matter...

So on account of it not being a failure in the eyes of someone not particularly keen on 'electro-rock', the overall assessment of The Big Pink's first album is still thumbs up.

Camera Obscura „My Maudlin Career“ (4AD, 2009)

A long overdue listen – they have been hovering on and off my radar as a need-to-check yet overwritten by a legion of oddities that the mighty ’tube and sharity pages have conjured up for the better part of the millennial turn, here today and gone tomorrow, to be had in preference to a deceptively surefire stability such as a band actually holding a recording deal here and now. Always the next day to find out. Yet there are deals and deals; labels and labels. Sneery as I am over stable-spotting, 4AD is something of a soft spot. Come the chance, I threw myself under the gentle opening punches of „French Navy“.

The peacock motif fluttering through the pastelsy album cover won’t cheat – the opening salvo is way sprightlier than the nocturnal house (as in „haunted“, not „acid“) style of 4AD. Less Cocteau Twins, more early Texas, all that Celtic soul ambition of putting the purr back in „perfect pop“ of the Me Decade. Camera Obscura might have their hearts in aulder synes but not for nothing did they once kick off with „Eighties Fan“.

Yet never trust a single – the Northern stomp of „French Navy“ yields to a languid flow of roadside reverie where Tracyanne Campbell’s vocals obtain the just-out-of-bed twang so de, um, rigueur in the nebulous transgenre publicly known as indie. No overwrought c(r)ackling under self-pity, though; more like holding steady against the current of impending stardom, watching the bodies of the boyfriends past drifting by.

The slow ones keep being pleasant in a wee bit Lynchian mode (think Julee Cruise, Chris Isaak) with „Careless Love“ waxing grand orchestral epic; but it takes a faster jangle of „Swans“ to pit the aspirational backing most impressively against the slumbersome sarkiness of the stay-at-home vocals. An even struggle now that the Swedish production unit bares its Abba tooth.

At present, then, homeward bound is little more than a fading memory for Camera Obscura: the lyric sheet draws a map of worldly sites right up to Mexico city of the reconciliatory upbeat closer „Honey In The Sun“. They do get around these days and it sounds like they’re ready to have it that way after all.

The Wire's Tony Herrington @ Eesti Päevaleht

http://www.epl.ee/artikkel/576749

just a little something to continue the subject of Ans. Andur

now I know I probably should have posted this earlier, but just to give an idea of what a foreigner thinks of Ans. Andur's music here. I remembered reading it some years ago after that album came out. short, but well, says it all.

Ans. Andur - Kiletron

Ans. Andur - "Kiletron"

28.04.2010

Norman Kuusik

Ans. Andur is a four-man band from the heart of Estonia (the town of Paide) and Kiletron their fifth and ultimate release so far. The general consensus seems to define the band as 'indie-pop/rock' and if you are, like myself, confused at the musical characteristics behind the term, let's go and try to take this one step at a time.

From the very first notes, we are greeted with an upbeat, rather scratchy guitar melody, followed by even more upbeat vocals, singing about a guy dancing around with the listener, buying her(/him) drinks all Friday night long and going for a quick spin in the loo (the lyrics on Kiletron are exclusively Estonian, something we also look later on). The track ultimately fades out on the sound of some obscure electronic loop, which is another characteristic aspect of the album. The second track, Start Stopp, starts with a similar upbeat, scratchy guitar tone, except that the melody this time sounds something like a variation on the theme of Kung Fu Fighting. But this is rather a good thing, giving the song a hook to latch onto – something which was missing on the first track. The ending is again somewhat obscure, coming down to an improvised acoustic section not really having anything to do with the rest of the song. Like the melody in the beginning, this need not be a bad thing.

The main problem of Kiletron seems to be lack of depth. Particularly in dynamics, the production results in a somewhat flat sound. Considering there's actually quite a bit going on in the record, this is quite sad although it might just as well be the inevitable consequence of piling too many things ontop of each other. Still, composition-wise, there isn't much sense of redundancy.

Emotionally, Kiletron is equally obvious; the adjectives 'optimistic' and 'naïve' completely cover the whole spectre of the album's repertoire. And while there can be no doubt in the sincerity of this joie de vivre (much more than in the case of Id Rev anyway), the refined listener of the 21st century might at occasion find this simplicity wanting (tsk!).

So that's indie-pop for you, tried and true. Now let's take a look at the redeeming factors.

If you, like myself, have a thing for multiple vocal arrangements, Ans. Andur must sound like heaven. Unlike the norm of having a single dominating lead-singer, three of the four band members actually sing both on the album and on stage. And by singing, I don't mean a silent hum-along of an occasional chorus or two. Shifts of the lead vocal are frequent and seamless, backed by alternative vocal lines most of the time. In fact, so dominant are vocal arrangements that they tend to overshadow rest of the music, and thus the successfulness of each song is determined by how well they are worked out. In my own particular favourite, Melodraama, the leading vocal line is uncharacteristically low-pitched, which the backing vocals flood in wave after wave as the song reaches its culmination(s). Perhaps not as flamboyant as in some other songs, the verse/chorus contrast here is the album's most stellar moment. Of course, the singers themselves aren't necessary stellar on their own right, and rather have this impact only in the context of a larger frame. I would go as far as to say that it is not very outrageous for the audience of auto-tuned R'n'B radio pop to come to the conclusion that none of the vocalists can actually “sing”.

Although the occasional incomprehensibility does not help, the lyrical side well supports the band's image. No high poetry here (except for maybe the fourth track Praha kevad, which contrasts the events of 1969 with a modern spring in Prague. deep stuff!), but the whole album is a prime example that pop-lyrics in Estonian (without sounding cheesy) are indeed possible.

There you have it, 'indie-pop' from the heart of Estonia. And a rather good one at that – the (home-brewed?) recording quality is well compensated by the songs themselves. The first few listens might pass unnoticed (which is probably bad for the band's commercial success), but ultimately the band's love for vocal harmonies justifies a lengthier devotion.

One last thing to mention is the productivity of these guys. This is the fifth album of a band active only since 2002 (making it about... an album in every 1.4 years). Admittedly, the first two they themselves consider a demo recording than an album 'proper', but the quantity of music is still tenfold of – say – Axl Rose (tho' something like a hundred times less than Buckethead, so it's all a matter of perspective... and quality). Not that we should read too much into that sort of things, but this too works in favour of Andur when compared to some more polished counterparts from the distant west. Even more so when considering the anecdote how one of the band members accidentally managed to leak the unreleased Kiletron via Soulseek. Now that's indie for you.

TRACKLIST:
01. Reede
02. Start Stopp
03. Melodraama
04. Praha kevad
05. Mu binoklis
06. 100
07. Marko Kristal
08. Ester
09. Puhkepäev
10. Sügisene meloodia
11. (sa olid mu viimase leveli) Lõpuboss
12. Suhkur

Review for Moon Wiring Club

Moon Wiring Club- „An Audience of Art Deco Eyes“

Lauri Peterson

19 April 2010

The debut album of the ambient artist Moon Wiring Club is an interesting case in the genre of background music. Run by the talented Ian Hodgson, who also creates visual art beside music. He designs all of his records, the majority of his Moon Wiring Club themed artwork can be seen on his Myspace page. The dark imagery is filled with retro extravaganza, using collages of long forgotten photos and recontextualised sentences. Using words ripped away from books written in the heyday’s of the British Empire, these collages take us into a place which at the same time seems far away and contemporary. „Moon Wiring Club- Old Wine in New Bottles“ states the Myspace page. Victorian age influenced sounds mixed with the electronic cadence of today. He draws illustrations of characters such as crows with ties and hats, mystical demons in army uniforms, Romantistic wanderers. All of this lets us access the aural phenomen of Moon Wiring Club, a trip to the familiar but esoteric world. After the introductionary track to the album stops, begins „Ghost Radio“ with a haunting message from an old variety show: „Long ago in an ancient and beautiful England...“. The record „An Audience of Art Deco Eyes“ is the radio programme of Byronic occultists, seeking to lure you in with promises of the good old days in the United Kingdom. But the Victorian or Edwardian age represented on the record is not a real place or even an authentic flashback of it. No more genuine than the alternate history anime „Steamboy“, a science fiction film about the industrial age. The concept exists only in the mind of Ian Hodgson, who vigorously presents it to the listener. His preferred alias Moon Wiring Club while producing music, refers to an arcane aristocrats club. The clique is searching for ways to control the incomprehensible moon, our eternal companion in the night sky. The darkness is where this music hides, haunting and harassing us with somber timbres. Romanticism and the belief in the arcane art sets the tone of the album. A dream of cold and wet England in the 19th century emerges, much thanks to the visual art and out-of-date samples. The track „Mademoiselle Marionette“ uses samples from a child’s music box, again reminding us of the retrospecive value of the record. The music box isn’t used as much on the foreground as in Aphex Twin’s B-side „Nannou“, yet the subliminal value stays. Dissonant loops and samples are common throughout the record, like jazzy and sometimes hiphopish beats, while at the same time eerie synth sounds remain. Many disturbed narrators appear in these ghostly musical pieces, most likely snatched from retro late-night TV shows. These characters seem to talk to us from an unknown distance, their dialogue is short and introductory. Echo effects manipulate their speech and cause a sense of worry. It is meant as if a warning and this is exactly the kind of mystical aura that drives people by tingling their curiosity. Makes them feel as a part of something big and special. Animates the idea of something beyond the world of our cognitive experience. Provokes visions of the paranormal. This is evident in track names such as „The Slip In The Forth Dimension“, „Roger’s Ghost“, „Underground Library“ to name a few. The underground library is an etheral sphere where nightmarish creatures call out to each other. Some sound like children in distress, others are adults lost in the intricate cobweb of the record. It’s a huge musical synthesis project, nothing sounds like it should but at the same time is recognisable for the human ear. Unlike inept artists who fecklessly mix dissimilar genres together, Moon Wiring Club’s project is a success. He masterfully takes an eerily intriguing subject matter and forms a gloomy music package. It’s a faux 19th century experimental electronic record and composed only for the ones who are interested in new experiences.