Reviews: indie x

indie (indie / (post)rock / pop / lofi / shoegaze)

Franz Ferdinand – You could have it so much better

To prepare myself for the new Franz Ferdinand-album, I decided to listen to the single ‘Do You Want To’ first. And I nearly fell backwards. With the single track itself was nothing wong: typically Franz Ferdinand with a high singalong factor…

Sabertooth – Cadillac Soldier

Sabertooth is an American twosome from Missouri. The pair used guitars, synthesizers, a drum machine, and do-it-yourself techniques in the recording of ‘Cadillac Soldier’.

Sixteens – Casio

Sixteens are great! If you were not convinced yet about this band after hearing their ‘Fendi’ cd or at a concert of the band there is this Casio record to make it clear. Casio consists of eight minimal synth (Casio) punk tracks. Although the tracks are long they will not bore you. For example, listen to ‘Bed of Nails’. Bit by bit the track evolves…

For Against – December

“December” originally came out in 1988 on Independent Project Records, a now defunct label which released quite a lot of For Against’s music…

Redworms` Farm – Amazing

Italy’s Redworms’ Farm first came to my attention through a split with The Paper Chase. Now they’re back with an album of their own, which contains ten songs in just over 20 minutes.

Amandine – This is where our hearts collide

Untill recently I associated the combination Sweden and music either with bubblegum pop, nasty noise or darkest ambient. The members of Amandine though seem to have lived in southern parts of the USA in their former lives. Their music, though also inspired by indie pop, comes probably close to Americana or ‘alt country’, genre labels which I’m not very familiar with…

Mad Happy – Renegade Geeks

Mad Happy is an American duo with the names Mike iLL and Rivk who sing and handle the drum machines. On “Renegade geeks” they are supported by a bunch of other people, who mainly contribute vocals and turntable tricks. The result is a rather crazy, chaotic album that fuses electro pop, funk, rap and a wide range of other influences, with an improvised, rebellious attitude…

Ohn – In the end, all things begin

This album by OHN from Austin, Texas, displays a fusion of jazz, hip-hop and IDM. Seven musicians are involved, who handle bass and guitars, beats and turntables, trumpet and saxophone.

Songs of Green Pheasant – S/T

My first impression when hearing this album: was this really made recently? Because the sound of Songs of Green Pheasant is really nostalgic. The music lies between traditional folk and acoustic pop. Especially the smooth harmonic male vocals remind me of the likes of Simon & Garfunkel and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young…

Bellakun, The – Bendición Maldita

Both The Bellakun and their label Has Anyone Ever Told You?, both from Texas, were completely unknown to me until I received this album. The band consists of four members, with a pretty basic line-up of guitar, drum, bass, keyboards and vocals. The Bellakun was formed in 2004 and this is their second album, which should be out in early October 2005…

Sigur Rós – Takk

Waiting for new releases of your favourite bands can be a pleasant hell…

Faun Fables – Family Album

Just like the German band Faun, the American Faun Fables plays folk and traditional music related songs. Their sound is melancholy, unpolished and lo-fi, like the dark country music from The Handsome Family in a way. At times a flute pops up that gives the music a lighter touch. Dominant in the music is the warm female voice and the minimal arrangements that accompany the singing…

Laurence Wasser – Laurence Wasser / Disco Banana

Laurence Wasser is a very interesting band from Belgium. If you try to categorize their music I wish you good luck. The band itself calls it no-wave and primitive disco. On these two EP’s you will hear a strange eclectic sound with elements of new wave, post-punk, rockabilly, surf, lo-fi indie pop and indeed no wave…

Nick Grey – Les eaux territoriales

I was quite anxious to check out this promo cd by Nick Grey. I knew about this artist through the Stateart label, which recently moved out of Germany to Texas. Until now I only listened to some audio samples of Nick Grey on the Stateart website, and I liked them…

Ken – Stop! Look! Sing Songs of Revolutions! / I am Thief

Strange Ways introduces a new band (not completely as they already released two more records on another label) and this time not a synthpop band but a very modern guitarpop/rock band named Ken. Not just one but two albums are released at the same time. One with songs written by the band ( Stop! Look! Sing Songs of Revolutions! ) and one with covers ( I am Thief)…

Retail Sectors, The – Untitled

When I first saw the promo CDR of this Japanese band I didn’t even bother to put it in my record player. A band with so little concern for the outlook of their release couldn’t be worth listening. A simple paper cover with an ugly print and some contact information…

Charlottefield – How long are you staying

Underground label Fat Cat from the UK covers a widely varied musical spectrum. This time they came up with British indie rock/punk band Charlottefield. In 2002 they already released a 7″ on Fat Cat, now they have created an album which lasts almost half an hour. Their line-up is pretty basic: a foursome playing drums (two drummers!), guitar and bass…

Vive la Fête – Grand Prix

Not so long ago I was pretty enthusiastic about ‘Nuit blanche’ by Vive la Fête. Therefore I decided to get the new album of Danny Mommens and Els Pynoo. ‘Grand Prix’ follows the same line as ‘Nuit blanche’, which means catchy, uptempo electro-pop, some guitar riffs now and then and the crooning in French by Pynoo…

Editors – The back room

I don’t know who emptied the barrel with retro-wave, but the hype is far from over. Meanwhile a real subgenre is starting to take shape, which is further proven by the young English formation Editors. The group was founded in 2003, they signed a contract with the small label Kitchenware at the end of 2004 and recently they released their debut ‘The Back Room’…

Kaiser Chiefs – Employment

The Kaiser Chiefs (named after a South-African football club) is a young English group from Leeds. They ride along on the retro-80’s-wave bandwagon, but manage to give their own twist to the current musical fashion…