Domino I remember the first things that I reviewed for Freq were the Medical Records re-issues of the first two Pram albums, long out of print and absolutely essential. Whilst undertaking that I figured that it was unlikely we would ever see another new Pram album, considering Rosie Cuckston‘s move to academia and loss of musical impetus. So eleven years after The Moving Frontier was released
London 14 July 2018 Ah, those summer OTO nights. It’s so hot in here that I can almost feel the electrolytes leeching from my body. With my dotage rapidly approaching, this is one of those sauna-with-the-clothes-on experiences which I really wouldn’t put myself through anymore were it not for the presence of genuine greatness.
Ici d’Ailleurs Based on one of the final works of Carl Jung where the alchemical informed psychology, Uruk’s second outing is another psychological pleasure for the headphonically inclined.
Fueled By Ramen Panic! At The Disco have existed in a few different forms and have covered various genres in their ever-growing career, starting off by riding the coat-tails of the legendary Fall Out Boy, helped along by bassist Pete Wentz. Now, Panic! At The Disco consists solely of Brendon Urie, a man beloved by fans for his stellar vocals
Hubro There seems to be no end to the fascinating post-jazz and experimental music going on in Norway, and Hubro are right in the thick of it, cataloguing all this for our benefit. The latest release to drop through my letterbox is the second release from trumpeter and soundscape artist Hilde Marie Holsen.
SFE / Cherry Red Claudia Brücken was the vocalist of 1980s electronic wonders Propaganda, her vocals soaring over such songs as “Jewel” and “P Machinery” that still sound wonderful today. Jerome Froese is the son of Edgar and one time member of Tangerine Dream during the 1980s and 1990s. On paper this seems quite an odd collaboration, but sometimes these things just work
Cyclic Law Taphephobia‘s latest release is an absolute peach. It is Ketil Søraker‘s tenth since 2007, the third for Cyclic Law and the album finds him revisiting the theme to Twin Peaks as a starting point for this gently unfolding journey, a cycle of songs that finds the listener drifting in some sort of extraordinary limbo.
Grönland Yes, I confess, during my early teenage years I badly wanted to be David Sylvian. I spent a lot of time standing around nonchalantly beside neo-classical façades, trying to look as though I was on the cover of Oil On Canvas.
Bristol 10 July 2018 Opening act Pip Blom shambled on to a very warm response from an already two-thirds full O2 Academy Bristol. One singing guitarist and one drummer share the stage with a fluffy bassist and a manic guitarist looking like a young Jerry Harrison. The rhythm section were taut and focussed, allowing the singing guitarist to throw the sweet but rather ramshackle songs out into the […]
Self-released Been sat on this for ages like an absolute fuckstand, but it’s a grower. Or perhaps a seeper, in the sense of the dreadful mould problem in Brighton, or the inexorable vortex of death. That kind of deal. You’re probably not familiar with Sam Cutting, but if you are it’s either as the kind of singer-songwriter that doesn’t have you screaming
Front And Follow Filled with a Grouper-esque love of shimmered atmospheres, this (for the most part) psychedelically coruscates in gentle vaporous curls attached to simplest of melodics, the odd percussive clank here and there. The first solo track from Jodie Lowther welds this Lynchian sway, a cipher dance replete with a Julee Cruise-like little girl lost
Dur Et Doux Piniol are a French band consisting of two bassists, two drummers, two guitarists and a single keyboard player to make their unearthly music. Live, I would imagine that this is a very formidable experience, and certainly one to hammer home their barrage of sound.
House Of Mythology When asked about this latest collaboration with the Italian band Zu, David Tibet says they “made something very beautiful and very powerful for me to skip into”, and the surrounds certainly hold his words in a perfect tension.
Transgressive tl;dr: does this sound like the best thing you’ve ever heard? If you answered yes, read on. If it doesn’t, kindly fuck off or listen to it again, you feckless wank. So here’s the good news: it’s the album you wanted because you listened to “It’s Okay To Cry”, “Ponyboy” and “Faceshopping” already. In fact, this review is most likely an abject lesson in the fatuous
Modularfield After 2017’s Atmospheres Volume 1” on Modularfield, Denver-based Ann Annie has found an opportunity to follow it up with Volume 2, containing more pastel sketches and gauzey sunset glances, perfect for easing the mind and gently sinking into contemplation. Over the course of about half an hour and seven tracks, Ann takes us gently by the hand and leads us through long grass and around rippling pools
Modularfield Noah Pred is a techno and house producer and DJ from Canada, who over the last fifteen years or so has released a plethora of dance-orientated tracks spread across numerous esoteric labels. However, his latest album Homeward finds him at a bit of a crossroads.
Dais A Thousand Lights In A Darkened Room Nestled between their experiments with acid house and the esoteric Time Machines identity, Black Light District (and ELpH before it) were temporary monikers in which to tinker, delve deeper into what made Coil tick without being overshadowed by the crippling claw of context. An elemental approach that vividly paints possibility, seems to be pawing a significant other.
Geo Gagarin is one of the noms de plume of Graham Dowdall, who has been recording for the last thirty years with such luminaries as Ludus, Rothko, Pere Ubu and Nico among others. Gagarin itself started back in 1995, and in that time he has released seven albums all through his own Geo label. Last year’s Corvid was very well received and on the strength of that, he has […]