And now, a few quick mini-reviews of CDs I've listened to recently:
- Origami, Please Exit Quietly.
Their first release on Stewart Anderson's 555 label, and they got a proper jewel case in the deal too.
It's pretty much standard guitar-and-Casio garage indie-rock, somewhat reminiscent of
Life Without Buildings in places, only the
lyrics are less vague and more politically charged (in the riot-grrl sense).
It certainly has some of the most sweetly sung smash-the-system vocals, with the possible exception of Stereolab.
- Sarah Sarah, Sing Till It Hurts:
Loud, brash and about as subtle as the Australian sun in summer. They have a
promising career ahead of them, possibly doing theme songs for youth-oriented
TV soaps.
- Club 8, Spring Came, Rain Fell:
I've been listening to this quite a bit lately.
A very nice (if somewhat brief) indie-pop album from Sweden. Shimmering guitars, subtle keyboards,
understated boy-girl vocals, quietly lush harmonies, fey, bittersweet lyrics, handclaps, and the token synthpop number or two.
Think The Field Mice meet Saint Etienne, or possibly a combination of Birdie, GusGus and a less stilted Kings of Convenience.
I also picked up Sigur Rós' (); I haven't listened to it in its entirety yet, but it certainly doesn't seem like they're going for the mass audience, what with the near-complete lack of text in the packaging; not to mention with cheerful tracks like the 13-minute Death Song. So far, it sounds a bit more lush than Agætis Byrjun.
Hmm, ()'s alright, though not as instantly appealing as Agaetis Byrjun - a little bit too Pink Floyd in places. The last two tracks, whatever they're called, do crack along nicely though.