Josef K - The Only Fun In Town (1981, Postcard Records)

Ah yes, Josef K. My first experience with these Scottish post-punk funk masters was several years ago when I was exposed to the 2004 One, Two, Twee: An Indie pop Retrospective compilation, in which the single version of the band's seminal hit Sorry For Laughing appeared. It wasn't until I listened to their fellow Postcard Records label mates, Orange Juice, that I acquired an actual interest in them.

Anyways, formed in the early 1980's, Josef K created a unique sound that combined funk, new wave, and disco, while retaining a sort of post-punk dignity.

Download: Josef K - Sorry For Laughing.zip (38.4 MB)

Islaja

Yet again, our internets have been disabled. This time at the fault of our foolishly bull-headed neighbor we negotiated a deal with. Long story short, you can't call your landlord a motherfucker and fully expect to continue residence in his property. Alas, just another obstacle to be overcome in order to post anything to this blasted blog. I do have an excellent offering for today that I luckily already had uploaded in anticipation of a future post.

Islaja, a Finnish lady that makes remarkable psych-folk music. The stuff she releases is ambient-like and has a large range of instruments used, and all for the definitely strange folk vocals she provides. Her voice is utterly mesmerizing to me. To bolster her credentials as an experimental folk singer, she has worked as a member of the exceedingly fantastic Finnish group Kemialliset Ystävät. If you don't like her stuff I'll consider that fact that you have some lacking quality as a human being if we ever interact at a later time.

To be had here:



Meritie (2004)










Palaa aurinkoon (2006)










Ulual Yyy (2007)

Half Japanese - Sing No Evil (1985)

Jad Fair and brother David have been making musics since the 70s and with many famous people from all over, but I still think this is the single best album he's ever had a hand in. I remember when my sister began going to the University of Michigan I forced her to listen to this album the entire car ride, on one level to please me as I was stuck helping her lift shit all day and another one to make her understand the proto-punk glory held herein. She failed to grasp the amazing-ness. Oh well, perhaps you'll enjoy the untuned guitar and squeaky horns more.

To be had here:
Half Japanese - Sing No Evil [160 kbps]

The Sky Drops - Clouds of People (2006)

I honestly cannot recall if I got these guys off of soulseek or if I found that traversing the blogosphere, so if they seem familiar I make no claims at uniqueness. What I am sure of is that they makes some damned fine music that is a very much reminiscent of Elephant 6 pop but without being a molded copy unworthy of play. While making sounds in Delaware of all places, The Sky Drops makes use of a something close to the wall of sound that shoegazers so masterfully employ. The vocals are harmonious and the mood is jovial. Nice afternoon listening material before diving into the heavy work load of my college courses. As this is an EP it is quickly heard and easily replayable.

To be had here:
The Sky Drops - Clouds of People [192 VBR kbps]

Skywave - Echodrone (1999) & Synthstatic (2003)

Skywave was first given to me by danger dog, but as he is lazy when it comes to posting (too busy with Mech Warrior games and whatnot) I've taken it upon myself to share this with you. They cite the notable shoegazers "The Jesus and Mary Chain, Galaxy 500, The Spacemen 3 and My Bloody Valentine" all as influences on their myspace, and they aren't out of line invoking such references either. The songs are decidedly more noise-pop than anything space rock and heavy that sometimes gets called shoegaze, all the while they make great use of the wall of sound. Connections via membership to other recognizably fantastic bands like A Place To Bury Strangers only makes them all the more intriguing. One thing I really enjoy about them is that they are retro sounding but don't feel as easily commercialized as more famous acts like the Raveonettes (though I will admit I like me some Raveonettes for time to time). Out of the two albums I'm sharing here I do like Echodrone more, especially the songs "Sixteen" and "Under the Moon."

To be had here:

Echodrone [192 VBR kbps]

Synthstatic [192 VBR kbps]

Harry Nilsson - Pussy Cats (1974)

Harry Nilsson was a character of an unforgettable nature. A close friend of John Lennon, the man is no where near the famed Beatles name recognition, but that's not surprising given the more limited listenership for the much odder songs he penned. I can't recall where I even ran across the album for the first time, yet I do recall trying to show it to friends and not getting them to understand. However, when the Walkmen came along and covered this album almost entirely, keeping the title even, they began to see it wasn't just me being eccentric again. Nilsson did achieve success in his day, although the staying power of his music is outshone by many contemporaries as far as radio repetition goes (fuck that by the way). Nevertheless, perhaps the moment I realized even I was underestimating Nilsson's strangeness is when I sitting with some of the local musicians of my age range in these parts in a garage attic hearing The Point! That is an album I highly recommend (share if you have it, I haven't downloaded it), a soundtrack completely written by Nilsson and about a round-headed boy in a village where everybody and everything is pointed, most noticeably heads. The songs on Pussy Cats are a mixture of Nilsson's own and off-the-wall covers of Bob Dylan and, my favorite, the children's song "Loop de Loop." He's really not well conveyed by the written word, you must hear what he sang and played.

To be had here:
Harry Nilsson - Pussy Cats [192 kbps]

Ecstasy of Saint Theresa - Pigment EP (1991)

The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa are an early 90's Czechoslovakian shoegazing band, who now mostly only perform ambient material. This is their first EP, which is a far-cry from the sounds they're making now. I would frequently listen to this EP whilst riding my bike when I was in high school.


Download:
The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa - Pigment EP (1991, Self-Released)

The Depreciation Guild - In Her Gentle Jaws (2007)

These guys really know how to merge genres. Consisting of two young men both brandishing guitars and backed up with Nitendo sounds, The Depreciation Guild has managed to overcome my initial weariness that this might be another spastic pop-rock with cartoonish sounds lain over thing. Fortunately, they knew exactly what the weakness of being too gleeful could expose them to, and took a more controlled and sober mood that I'd definately say fits with a shoegaze act. The use of the electronics does two things for the music really, allows them to get away without a conventional rhythm section and provides a uniqueness that seperates them from many other comtemporary shoegazers. The chiptune side really shows in the opening of the songs, with a gradual ease from electronic humming and synthetic drumming to guitar being brilliantly executed. The singing is more melodramatic than I'm used to, but it certainly isn't anything overpowering. A nice experience for fans of shoegaze.

To be had here:
The Depreciation Guild - In Her Gentle Jaws [256 VBR kbps]

Aidan Baker - Scalpel

Aidan Baker is an extremely accomplished musician from Toronto, and in my opinion, this is one of his best releases.
My first experience involving Aidan Baker was driving home from work one night through pouring rain when the song Our Needs Bear No Relations To Our Desires (found on Scalpel) came on the radio. After it ended and they revealed who the artist was, I took out a pen and scrawled his name on the inside of an empty cigarette pack. This album is a perfect example of the Folk/Drone/Ambient genre in it's full, and I highly recommend you give it a listen.

Download:
Aidan Baker - Scalpel (2007)

Collections Of Colonies Of Bees - Birds (2008)

An absolutely brilliant display of sonic barrages woven into four lengthy tracks. Difficult to imagine that this is a side-project of the post-rock group Pele, in particular Chris Rosenau and Jon Mueller. The instrumentals that they create are difficult to place into a genre, leading to it being called glitch, post-rock, and IDM simultaneously. They're definitely louder than what I'd think of as glitch like The Books, Giuseppe Ielasi, and Radicalfashion. Nevertheless, they're no drone band, but I'd say the balance is much of what makes their music so fantastic. I've frequently listened album while doing myself assignments for college, and it never fails to make them pass more quickly, or at very least more enjoyably. I'm already excited to see what they might make in the future. By the way, we've finally got the internet running here on both my computers, this should greatly ease our ability to post, perhaps there'll even be something from that old scoundrel danger dog.

To be had here:
Collections Of Colonies Of Bees - Birds [320 kbps]