Utility Fog

Sunday, 31st of July, 2011

Ah, what a weekend... Awesome gig last night at Pablo's in Epping, thanks to all who came!
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There's some awesome new music this week, but the quantity wasn't quite as huge as it has been, which gave me the opportunity to revisit some releases I've been wanting to play again for a while. Tonight's opener was only played a couple of weeks ago, but Caribou manages to actually improve on Radiohead’s "Little By Little". A beauty.

Next up is a pair of new tracks, from the new EP (literally released today, as far as I know) from Quench, an alternate name of Funckarma that they've used for their entire existence. Ostensibly it's a more melodic, gentler form of their music, but I've never been convinced of the difference here. In any case, there's some gold on this EP/album, and it features one of the first "ambient" versions that I've really loved, along with some of the dubstep-inspired beats they've been doing for a while.

Another recent repeat is from Skeletons, whose brilliant album People struck a chord with me a couple of weeks ago. Surely it's their best yet, although the previous two were both great. "Grandma" is one of many highlights, with that slight African influence that so much indie music is displaying these days.

Last week we heard Gareth Davis & Machinefabriek’s take on "My Funny Valentine"; this week it's the flipside, a Jazz Standard I'm not familiar with called "Oh Doctor Jesus", again a beautiful combination of slow, breathy clarinet melody and sparing glitchy interventions.

Also new this very day (or perhaps this very weekend at least) is the first of Animals on Wheels’s 8 EPs in 8 weeks. A trashy guitar electronically dismantled.

After AoW we finally make it to Australia, with the viola-led folky indie of Sailor Days aka Biddy Connor. I'd be a sucker for this sort of thing anyway, but it happens to be an extremely well-written collection of songs.

Sydney's sleepmakeswaves on the surface make pretty familiar generic postrock of the LOUDquietLOUD variety, but actually do it really well. Not to be sneezed at (whatever that means).
From Perth, Tangled Thoughts of Leaving are at least as much prog as postrock, with some jazz and classical influences and plenty of glitch. Utterly batshit crazy, but that's awesome.

I raved about Tom Hall’s new album a week or two ago, and it remains very special. Detailed and beautiful.
Also from Brisbane, Anonymeye finally has a new album coming out, and tonight's track showcases his fingerstyle guitar alongside his electronic production and an absolutely lovely piano melody following the guitar in the second half of the track.

Last week's showstopper was the new album from Queanbeyan resident y0t0, and we had a few more takes from his new album tonight. First up was a remix by Leeds' Relmic Statute, who I found on Bandcamp, so we heard some lovely minimal beats and guitar from him as well.

And then from a few months ago, Fabio Orsi with a very long minimal synth piece, and a track from his insanely good Preservation album from the start of the year.
After the grainy sound of the Fabio Orsi track it seemed natural to have a piece from the wonderful debut EP from Clams Casino.
And with no real logic, we then head back to an ambient take from y0t0, plus an indietronic remix by Downliners Sekt.

The Esmerine album is really growing on me, and I liked it from the start. "Trampolin" is certainly a highlight, with its tuned percussion and lovely melody, but it's comforting listening as a whole album.
Alexander Tucker’s new album Dorwytch is another I've been meaning to get back to for weeks or even months. It seems to me that the songwriting has jumped ahead since his ATP albums. There's still the emotional singing, string playing and folk-rock guitars, but this is one I really want to keep coming back to.

Also with the strings are Wires Under Tension, whose take on violin postrock is unique and energetic, and joyfully carries you along with it.

I've just about collected all the back-catalogue of aus now. I'm not sure how I missed his 2007 album on one of my fave labels moteer, but the gorgeous piano the leads into the soft bass tones in the closing two pieces is splendid.

Once again, the new Jasper TX album, Black Sun Transmissions, is one of the albums of the year so far, and I haven't played it nearly enough. The way the soft droney field recording sounds grow with piano and trombone into something else entireley is really... something else!

And finally, Chris Abrahams is in his most esoteric mode, helping ROOM40 celebrate their 10th anniversary from earlier this year.

Radiohead - Little By Little (Caribou remix) [Ticker Tape]
Quench - Caipruss ambient [Funckarma shop]
Quench - Money on my Mind [Funckarma shop]
Skeletons - Grandma [Shinyoko/Crammed]
Gareth Davis & Machinefabriek - Oh Doctor Jesus [Brian Records] {also available from Machinefabriek Bandcamp}
Animals on Wheels - 1b [Animals on Wheels]
Sailor Days - Born Quick [self-released]
sleepmakeswaves - to you they are birds, to me they are voices in the forest [Bird's Robe]
Tangled Thoughts of Leaving - They Found My Skull in the Nest of a Bird [self-released]
Tom Hall - As To Think It's OK [Complicated Dance Steps]
Anonymeye - Meritocracy [Someone Good]
y0t0 - Uriarra Road (Relmic Statute remix) [fac-ture]
Relmic Statute - water colours [Relmic Statute]
Fabio Orsi - loipe1 [Boring Machines]
Fabio Orsi - Naked Trance [Preservation]
Clams Casino - Waterfalls [Tri-Angle]
y0t0 - Ida's Dream [fac-ture]
y0t0 - Uriarra Crossing Mirror Condensation (Downliners Sekt remix) [fac-ture]
Esmerine - Last Waltz [Constellation]
Alexander Tucker - His Arm Has Grown Long [Thrill Jockey]
Esmerine - Trampolin [Constellation]
Alexander Tucker - Red String [Thrill Jockey]
Wires Under Tension - Wood, Metal, Bone [WesternVinyl]
aus - linier / yoakemae [moteer]
Jasper TX - White Birds [Fang Bomb]
Chris Abrahams - Water [ROOM40]

Listen again — ~ 153MB

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