Modern Sorrows
March/April roundup, pt. 2: The beautiful and the eerie.
In the second part of the (bi-)monthly release overview, here are some more highlights from March and April.
Joanne Robertson's Blue Car is probably the most gorgeous acoustic record to come out in months. A collection of unreleased songs spanning ten years, Blue Car actually feels like a perfectly coherent album, united by an overarching bedroom-like intimacy. Although Robertson is a singer/songwriter, her music doesn't necessarily require a close reading of the lyrics in order to identify with the songs. It's at once familiar and distant, creating an overall mood rather than focusing on the details. In that sense, Blue Car could be said to function a bit like a full album of “Heavy Water/I'd Rather Be Sleeping,” only more minimal, built entirely on guitar and vocals.
Slowly Forgetting, Barely Remembering by the Kraków-based artist Martyna Basta is a definite highlight among this spring's experimental releases. Her second album for the budding Slovakian label Warm Winters Ltd. is an eerie yet utterly beautiful affair. Seemingly subtle on the first listen, Slowly Forgetting takes its time to unfold all the exquisite details of its rich electro-acoustic sonic palette. Tracks flow into each other, muted voices come in and out of the picture, as well as some unexpected instruments like the zither. The dramatic “Lullaby for Two” sounds like it could have come from an art horror soundtrack, and “It Could Be As It Was Forever” features a contribution from claire rousay. Slowly Forgetting, Barely Remembering is an impressive statement from Basta, its timeless sound promising good aging potential.
Richard Youngs does it again. Does what? Does literally whatever you least expected from him. On his aptly-titled new album, the hyper-productive artist provides his uniquely left-field take on the sound of much of present-day pop music. Of course, Youngs does this in the space of two minimalist tracks that span almost twenty minutes each. It’s weird as hell, but as is usual when it comes to Youngs – it simply works.
Courtesy of Belgium's Stroom TV comes this obscure tape music gem, If Paul K.'s Life Was a Movie, This Would Be the Soundtrack of His Death, by a certain Paul Stas. The release comes with an extensive biographical story on the artist, which I really don't want to spoil by picking out some details - I highly recommend you read the whole thing. Compiling tracks from Stas's several projects, If Paul K.'s Life Was a Movie features instrumental, off-kilter synth music that is equal parts dark and lively.
Sometimes I'll add a record to my playlist without knowing exactly what it is or where I first learned about it. When it finally comes on, it will elicit a reaction along the lines of… What the hell is this?? This is one of those records. Originally self-released last year, Glasgow-based artist Kay Logan aka Helena Celle's fantastic If You Can't Handle You At Your Worst, Then I Don't Deserve Me At My Best recently got a vinyl release courtesy of Night School Records, which probably made me want to check it out. However, nothing could have prepared me for the brain-melting collage of jungle, acid, electro and everything in between. In particular, the twenty-minute closing track “Original Besttrack (Abe's Oddysee Extended Mix)” meshes everything together into a little rave of its own.