Boris – New Album

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Boris is a band I’ve been into for the better half of last decade and now into this one. The band keeps my attention by not sticking to one style.

Their music is largely rock-based, going between drone metal, psychedelic rock, and noise rock. But they also have a pop album.

They frequently collaborate with other musicians. Sun Baked Snow Cave with Merzbow is probably my favorite experimental track of all time. It plays for 62 minutes, and is the ultimate approach to that style of music. The build up and the intensity work. It truly wowed me. They also have collaborations with classics like Keiji Haino and Sunn O))). Continue reading →

New Orleans Music and Culture Review

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This past weekend I ventured into the deep south, New Orleans to be exact.

While there, I explored its culture and saw its sights. I was shocked and amazed at the amount of music there, and how much art was part of everyday life in the city.

Nashville, which is affectionately called “music city,” is comparatively a dead scene. New Orleans “has it,” and has it everywhere. Sure, all the one-way streets might make it hard to get around, but the entertainment is worth it. Continue reading →

Mystic Sounds Top Picks, 2011

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Top Artists Reviewed or Interviewed on Mystic Sounds in 2011

We at Mystic Sounds decided to put our heads together and come up with a joint list of favorite indie artists that we reviewed or interviewed in 2011. So Andrew compiled his list and I compiled mine.

Andrew’s List

10. Screen Vinyl Image (1 point)
9. Clairy Browne & The Bangin’ Rackettes (2 points)
8. The Dagons (3 points)
7. Sabrepulse (4 points)
6. Amanda Palmer (5 points)
5. The Flashbulb (6 points)
4. GIRAFFES? GIRAFFES! (7 points)
3. Circle Takes The Square (8 points)
2. Captain Ahab (9 points)
1. Tyler, The Creator (10 points)

Michael’s List

10. GIRAFFES? GIRAFFES! (1 point)
9. The Flashbulb (2 points)
8. Sabrepulse (3 points)
7. Love and a .38 (4 points)
6. Emilie Autumn (5 points)
5. Hanzelle (6 points)
4. Alexx Calise (7 points)
3. Clairy Browne and the Bangin’ Rackettes (8 points)
2. Florrie (9 points)
1. Stevie Scott (10 points)

You can see that Andrew and I have quite different musical tastes, though there is some overlap in our lists. To give more weight to those artists on whom we both agreed, any artist landing on both our lists earned an additional 5 points.

Mystic Sounds Editors’ Top Choices

10. Alexx Calise (7 total points)
9. Circle Takes The Square (8 total points)
7. Captain Ahab (tie, 9 total points)
7. Florrie (tie, 9 total points)
5. Tyler, the Creator (tie, 10 total points)
5. Stevie Scott (tie, 10 total points)
4. Sabrepulse (12 total points)
2. GIRAFFES? GIRAFFES! (tie, 13 total points)
2. The Flashbulb (tie, 13 total points)
1. Clairy Browne and the Bangin’ Rackettes (15 total points)

Congratulations to Clairy Browne and the Bangin’ Rackettes for landing at the #1 spot on the Mystic Sounds Editors’ Top Choices list!

Mystic Sounds Editors's Top Choice: Clairy Browne and the Bangin' Rackettes

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The above image, Mystic Sounds Editors' Top Choice Award, 2011, by http://www.trollmystic.com/music/2012/01/22/mystic-sounds-top-picks-2011/ is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Dear 2012: Don’t Be Lazy, Slow, and Disconnected

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For anyone who read my Top 10 albums for 2011 post, you should be aware of how depressing I feel 2011 was.

I felt that all the indie bands were trying to outdo each other on how slow, lazy, and uninspiring they could be. Almost half of the bands on my list were what I call “snowy day” bands. Even music inspired by dance punk stopped being danceable. What happened? Did we all eat too much turkey in 2010 and become lethargic for the rest of the year? Continue reading →

Spotlight on Retro Japanese Music, Pt. II: New Wave & Punk

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I’ve always found New Wave and Punk sort of interesting. I wasn’t old enough to remember when this type of music was fresh, so now that I’m older it’s fun to hear the kind of music adults were listening to in the decade I was born.

American New Wave is generally kind of oddball, but Japanese New Wave is its own special brand. Some of it is far more electronic than rock influenced, and I have a feeling most of it was made on Amigas but don’t quote me on that. Continue reading →

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Spotlight on Retro Japanese Music, Pt. I: Pop

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I’ve had a growing fascination with older Japanese music over the last couple years. Up until recently, I had only listened to acts like Zard. Even then, I only heard their newer contributions.

I came across a video from Rebecca, whose YouTube description was “wacky 80s Japanese video.” As a fan of Japanese music since 2001, I highly doubted that anything would put a twitch in my eye.

It wasn’t the strangest music I’ve ever encountered, but it opened a door. I found out about a website called Idollica that documents a large number of Silver Age Jpop. As I perused the site, I kept thinking to myself: “I had no idea these bands existed!” Continue reading →

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Sleigh Bells Album “Reign Of Terror” To Be Released In February

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I’ve been an avid fan of Sleigh Bells since hearing their first release in late 2009. Capturing my attention with my weak spot for female vocals, and still having that loud rock edge. Sleigh Bells tracks were easy on the ears, had the right vocals, and didn’t put me to sleep.

Songs like Infinity Guitars and A/B Machines brought a spark of new life to my music collection. They were loud, they were bass heavy, and the beats impressed me as a mixture of hip-hop and rock. It was something you could head bang to, but also something you could freak out to.

The coming together of dance punk and noise pop could have never been so fresh. When I listened to their album Treats in April 2010, it was many of the same songs; however, they were cleaner. Sleigh Bells didn’t really change, they were still loud. I much appreciated their previous efforts, but eventually Treats began to grow on me. Continue reading →

Michael’s Top 10 Artists for 2011

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A Review of the Top Favorite Music Artists in 2011, by Michael K. Eidson

In the US, solo female vocalists dominated the top of the year’s end music charts for 2011. On Billboard’s top artists of 2011 chart, the top 4 artists were all solo female vocalists: Adele, Rihanna, Katy Perry, and Lady Gaga, in that order. Nicki Minaj (#7) and Taylor Swift (#8) also placed in Billboard’s top 10 for 2011.

On a personal level, my preferences with respect to new music have leaned heavily towards female vocalists for the past several years. In 2011, my tastes leaned so heavily in that direction, 32 of my top 50 artists for 2011 are solo female vocalists, and 10 were groups with lead female vocalists, such as Heart (#13), or otherwise prominent female vocalists as members of the group, such as Fleetwood Mac (#34). Continue reading →

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Screen Vinyl Image

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With the resurgence of post-punk inspired bands like The Killers and others, I have been desperately trying to find a band that captures the feel most accurately. Many of these modern bands claiming to be post-punk revival have little similarity, but in Screen Vinyl Image I believe I may have found a band that truly captures the post-punk essence.

Reminding me of Joy Division, Mission UK, Depeche Mode, Ambulance, and Echo & The Bunnymen, Screen Vinyl Image “gets it.” Continue reading →