[1984] K.U.K.L. - The Eye

One of the earliest projects involving Björk, and easily the one that captured the insanity that is often hinted but not fully displayed in her well known solo career. Simply put, not only she was able to shriek, scream and ramble in the way only someone with her vocals would, but she was also in a band that emphasized it, lyrically and conceptually speaking. KUKL (sorcery in icelandic, apparently) is an underrated band that heavily focused into experimental punk and art rock, dabbling at times with the hazy, drugged out akin to psychedelic rock, reverberated and chaotic.

Download it here: [V0][FLAC]


Buy it directly from One Little Indian here.

[2010][REQUEST] Mop Meuchiine - Mop Meuchiine plays Robert Wyatt

Another Robert Wyatt tribute, and this time is the collective Mop Meuchiine, fronted by the prolific Pascal Maupeu, with an intense collaborative project which ranges from the jazzy feel of early Soft Machine to the intense, improvisational post-rock delivery of bands like Godspeed You! Black Emperor and similar.
Excellent material.

Download it here: [V0]

Buy it directly from Le Chant Du Monde here.

[REQUEST] [2006] Walter &Sabrina - Chioma SuperNormal: The Dark Album

I haven't actually listened to this yet, but I might get around to it today. I'm not fully familiar with the projects associated to AMM as it's something I have on my to-do list. For whoever requested it, enjoy.
 --
And after listening to this, I can certify it's really good stuff. A bizarre form of art-pop, involving electronic manipulation and contemporary classical in big doses, paired with sarcastic, dark humored lyrics.

"This uniform dull plodder,
This Sodden Strangler.
All hail little man, into average stagger marching.
Feeling social inferiority."

~ The Sodden Stranger

Download it here: [256 Part 1 Part 2][V0]


Buy it directly from Danny Dark Records here.

[2011] Ulver - Wars of The Roses

Practically a month after the short article I wrote about the upcoming Ulver album, I've finally listened to it and arrived to my own conclusions regarding this new album. Unsurprisingly, Wars of The Roses didn't fail to deliver. Placing it one step ahead of their previous effort Shadows of The Sun, most of the expectations raised by the gathered lineup were fulfilled, particularly speaking of Daniel O'Sullivan's keyboards, Steve Noble's drumming in Norwegian Gothic and Stone Angels, and Stian Westerhus' guitar manipulation in more than half of the album.
Those aren't the only highlights of this album, which had a solid vocal work in Providence: aside from Garm's mid falsetto, Siri Stranger complemented the song with her voice (giving the song a soothing tone after the tense mood Garm sets), while Attila Csihar growled in the background near the end. However, my big favorite song is Stone Angels, in which Daniel O'Sullivan recited poetry in a way not too unlike David Tibet with his project Current 93, and made me wonder if one day he'll relieve Garm from the vocals in the band, since he seems to fit the role quite well.

All in all I consider it one of my main choices for a favorite album of the year, and proves that 4 years didn't pass in vain.


Download it here: [V0]


Buy it directly from Kscope here.

[2007] Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - In Glorious Times

 In Glorious Times, the latest Sleepytime Gorilla Museum album, represents their most accomplished work to date, while becoming arguably more accessible than they were in Of Natural History. Half of this album is instrumental which is already an important change, but that's only one of the many secrets hidden in this album. There's short spoken word sections in the middle of some of the last songs and shorts outbursts of violence intertwined with rests that might caught a first listener off-guard. Definitely not for the faint, one of the finest examples of modern avant-prog along with bands like Guapo and Cheer-Accident.

Download it here: [320][V0]


Buy it directly from The End Records here.

[1979] Art Bears - Winter Songs

Second Art Bears album, following the stylistic approach started with Hopes and Fears (which contained the written, but unperformed Henry Cow "song-oriented" material). Highly dissonant, reactionary songs, fully exploring the vocal range of Dagmar Krause and the first glances of the avantgarde approach Fred Frith and Chris Cutler were about to fully focus into in the next decades. Not as approachable as The World As It Is Today, but it's definitely a compelling listen for these interested in early avant-prog.

Download it here: [320]

Buy it directly from Recommended Records here.

[2003] Cheer-Accident - Introducing Lemon

Progressive rock (with a touch of RIO) meets math-rock, meets indie rock. Thymme Jones' main band, Cheer-Accident is easily one of the best, most underrated progressive-rock bands of the last decade. This album is their most known release, in which remarkable drumming (without being too showy) and occasional brass instruments add their quota of amazing melodies, paired with mellow, sometimes cheesy lyrics. There's many highlights in this album, for instance Zervas and While. In reality, most of the song bleed into the next one, making it better to listen to it in its entirety to fully appreciate it. All in all this is great music that deserves more attention, very unlike most bands in their genre, considering their humorous approach and emphasis on 'telling' rather than 'showing'. It reminds me of Art Bears a lot, not much in the content though (or even musically), but the spirit behind it.

Download it here: [V0]

Buy it directly from SKiN GRAFT Records here (page 8).

[1998] You Fantastic! - Homesickness

Retaining some of the upbeat feeling present in Cheer-Accident, You Fantastic! is a more experimental and sparse take on said math/prog/indie rock band fronted by Thymme Jones. This isn't really a side-project though, it feels more of an experimental "jam band" going at it, snipping and pasting everything they've collected through years of performing in their respective bands (Brise-Glace and Cheer-Accident), and resulting on a very interesting album that borders math-rock, prog-rock, noise, spoken word, field recordings, all over rough 70min. Good for fans of any of these bands and for those interested in crazy, somewhat random pieces of music.

Download it here: [256][320][V0]

Buy it directly from Skin Graft Records here (page 3).

[1981] Art Bears - The World As It Is Today

An integral part of what became the Henry Cow legacy, Art Bears stands out as one of the most influential, cult-like bands of the rock in opposition/canterbury movement of the late 70's and beginnings of the 80's. The World As It Is Today, their last album, is agressive, dissonant, and full of politics, expressed not only by the acclaimed vocalist Dagmar Krause (in one of her best performances to date), but the complex and (at some points) seemingly random arrangements, which is in fact well structured and rooted in modern classical archetypes and free improvisation. The song Freedom is already considered a classic, in which the rebellious nature of the band (and their stance against corporations and capitalist systems of their time and the present) is fully displayed. Essential listening material.

Download it here: [320][V0]

Buy it directly from Recommended Records here.

[1977] This Heat - Made Available: John Peel Sessions (2006 Reissue)

The uniqueness of This Heat, the way only John Peel would've recorded it. Can't say much of the difference between this one and the previous 1977 release, but I can assure you This Heat never sounded this heavy. Every song in this live sesssion sounds as if they were being churned up by a big, merciless crawling machine, crushing everything on its way, breathing every 20 seconds before assaulting the listener over and over again. No other album is able to mix that violent delivery with softer, almost self-mocking melodies that change the mood minute after minute. Special mention goes for Makeshift Swahili, this version of the song is easily better than both the s/t and Deceit. Meant for extended, high volume listenings.


Download it here: [320][V0]


Buy it directly from Recommended Records here (Special Box Set).

[REQUEST] [1993] Slapp Happy - Casablanca Moon / Desperate Straights

Compilation of one of the german bands that earned a cult following after their release with Henry Cow and later merge. Dagmar Krause's vocals, a trademark of their sound, shines like the previous chanson performer she used to be before the band and even after, when she released her solo works. This compilation gathers the most brilliant moments of their career and is, therefore, a must-have for the followers of the genre and its roots.

Download it here: [320]