Awhile back somebody from our Last.fm group suggested to check out this website BEKO-dsl.com. It’s an awesome website where they release a brand new digital single every Monday, and they keep churning out the jams like it’s their only purpose here on Earth.
About two weeks ago they put this one up from a band called HOORAY! (exclamation included), and it’s an equally mysterious and interesting single that I found to be quite pleasing to the ears. It’s 8 solid minutes of sad, eerie noise pop from a guy named Ben Wagner, and as of lately it looks like there’s a lot going on in his world. His Myspace has two new releases posted up saying that they’re both “coming soon”, and then there is also a list of direct links to Mediafire where you can download all of his past efforts, including an EP called “Winter Break”, along with three others entitled “Snow Daze”, “Stuffed Animals”, and “Sleep(c)Overs”. I haven’t gotten around to checking any of these other releases out, but if they’re anything like the BEKO digital single, they’ll surely be worth your time. If this still isn’t enough for you today, you should check out the entire catalog over at BEKO, because they have an ever-growing list that is only going to get bigger and bigger.
Kyle’s Having People Over –
My Rating: 6/10 Genre/ Tags: Shoegaze, Pop, Ambient Beko 51: Tracklist:
1.) I Guess…
2.) Jimmy, Grow Up
3.) Kyle’s Having People Over
Not too long ago I initially came across the band Pure Ecstasy. In discovering Pure Ecstasy, I came across another band from the same record label as Pure Ecstasy, and their name would be SILVER PINES. They both have released something on the Light Lodge imprint, and if it wasn’t for Pure Ecstasy, I don’t think I would have come across this gem of a band.
Silver Pines come from the same place as Pure Ecstasy, (which would be somewhere in Texas), and they actually share some band members. Jesse Jenkins and Austin Youngblood from Pure Ecstasy also play in the Silver Pines, and if you’re asking me, Silver Pines is like the next step up from Pure Ecstasy with a few elements added to change things up a bit. They play deliciously hazy and atmospheric slow summer jams, all being drowned out, layered and as frothy as can be. Stefanie Franciotti takes vocals duties in Silver Pines, and that’s probably the most noticeable difference between them and Pure Ecstasy.
Their debut LP “Forces” is a dazed out journey across an endless beach, and it all begins on the first track “Timefather”. Franciotti voice hangs perfectly over the mix, being as moody as possible, but at the same time completely laid back and relaxed. It’s almost like she’s trying to sing you to sleep as all the little subtleties in the music come and go. Towards the end with about a minute left in the song, the guitar beings to squeal and swirl away, becoming a textured wall of sound that you probably didn’t see coming at first listen. Next up comes the darker ambient song “Polar Bear Music”, and while I’m not entirely sure this goes along with things a polar bear does, I can tell you that this one becomes another textured and layered mess of a song, with crashing cymbals and scorching guitars – except this one is instrumental.
Following up this song is the moody “Maypearl”, which is about as slow as it gets on “Forces”. The bass line shakes the ground below your feet as Franciotti’s vocals float above the song, and they even bring in the keyboards for this one. During the final minute of the track a crunchy guitar solo comes through to melt our faces, and before you know it it’s time for the next song, “Payasito”. This one is probably the most welcoming and accessible song on the album, as the joyous guitars that introduce the song continue on as it builds up more and more and gets louder and louder. The numbing guitars swirl around towards the end as they evoke a heavenly landscape that beckons you to jump in and just float away. Great stuff right here. Following that song would be the slow, strung out track “Travelin’ Bones”, filled with a bunch of subtle sound effects, tambourine hits, and Franciotti’s beautiful, comforting voice. Next up comes another instrumental track, and it’s strangely called “Fortress of Daughters”. The drums are ridiculously drowned out, giving you the sense that they’re being played from miles away. They echo like crazy in the beginning, and then everything else comes in midway and we’re in the midst of another textured Silver Pines wall of sound that they’re so good at doing. I’m not exactly sure why, but I don’t have the next song that should be the final track, “Old Sky”, so I guess this is where I’ll end for today.
One last thing: The Philadelphia Flyers MUST win tonight, or else they’re fantastic run in the post-season will finally come to an end. We’ll see what happens. Either way, thanks for a great season, and possibly the most exciting post-season I have ever seen in my 18-or-so years of watching ice hockey. See ya tomorrow!
Timefather –
Maypearl –
Payasito –
My Rating: 8/10 Genre/ Tags: Shoegaze, Dream Pop, Ambient Forces: Tracklist:
1.) Timefather
2.) Polar Bear Music
3.) Maypearl
4.) Payasito
5.) Travelin’ Bones
6.) Fortress of Daughters
7.) Old Sky
Silver Pines on Myspace BUY the LP directly from LIGHT LODGE
Pure Ecstasy previously posted on the Styrofoam Drone: Easy 7″ – Voices 7″
Silver Pines on Discogs – They have a cassette tape that I’d like to get my hands on!
My Rating: 9/10 Genre/ Tags: Ambient, Electronic, Electronica
Scott Hansen is the name of a San Francisco based design artist who some people might already know as ISO50. As ISO50, Scott produces his own personal designs, and then they’re put onto things like t-shirts, hoodies, and posters. When Scott isn’t concentrating on his design career, chances are he’s putting his time into his moonlighting profession: music production. As a music producer, Scott is known to the world as “Tycho”. His music could be described most easily as electronic, but that’s a bit too easy. Along with electronic, some other accurate words to describe the music would be ambient, atmospheric, spacey or dreamy, not to mention that his music would make the perfect soundtrack to anybody’s dreams at night. The songs never contain any lyrics, but that doesn’t mean there are no words. Instead of lyrics, you can hear bits of people speaking in the background, whether it’s a little boy shouting his age, or a weather man telling you the forecast. Listen closely and you’ll definitely hear what I’m talking about. I always thought maybe there was a story that could be pieced together with all the different voices that can be heard, but I don’t think that is the case. A good example with many of these voices would be on the track titled “PBS”. Check that out here and listen for yourself. In this song you most often hear the voice of a woman and a young boy, and unlike most of the songs, the voices actually become part of the song rather than just clips of someone speaking thrown into the background. I’m not entirely sure why Tycho has so many clips of people speaking in his music, but I can assure you it makes for an interesting listen. A lot of times I find myself listening to Tycho when trying to sleep or attempting to do homework, and every time I swear I hear something new, whether it’s a voice or a sound effect. If you’re still not convinced enough to listen to Tycho, be sure to listen to this track, which is titled “Could Generator”. This track is without a doubt one of the highlights from the album, so if that doesn’t do the trick, I don’t know what will.
Past is Prologue: Tracklist
1.) From Home
2.) Sunrise Projector
3.) Dictaphone’s Lament
4.) PBS
5.) Send And Receive
6.) Brother
7.) A Circular Reeducation
8.) Past Is Prologue
9.) Cloud Generator
10.) The Disconnect
11.) A Circular Reeducation – Dusty Brown Remix
12.) Send And Receive – Chachi Jones Remix
13.) Sunrise Projector – Nautilis Remix
Scott Hansen’s Official Blog
Past is Prologue: BUY (You can also purchase some of Scott’s design work here)
Styrofoam Drone 