Space-folk-gospel-disco pop, with a hint of The Who. It’s all here, kitchen-sink rock. Gotta hear it to believe.
Broken Spindles
Joel Peterson, aka Broken Spindles, runs the gamut of electronic music; from chilled-out synth symphonies to dark, bass-heavy grooves, he serves up a fitting soundtrack to our post-everything lives.
Thavius Beck
Collages of stuttering breaks and swirling samples, along with extended doses of “spoken word” culled from the underbelly of American pop culture. A potentially played-out formula turned downright entrancing.
Weevil
Lonely, loping folktronica with a healthy shoegazer sheen.
TRS-80
I keep thinking CLOADM “donkey”…sorry. I actually played a Donkey Kong clone on my TRS-80, loaded from cassette. These tracks are much better than Donkey Kong; reminiscent of DJ Shadow’s work with UNKLE.
On!Air!Library!
The chin-stroking ambience of O!A!L!’s 2003 material (see “Ex’s and Ho’s Oh’s”) makes way for a more diverse palette of bristling pop and sprawling sonic gems in ’04.
Four Tet
The “As Serious As Your Life” B-sides come in all flavors: Jay Dee and Guilty Simpson capitalize on the original’s funky underpinnings with b-boy savoir faire while the live version pushes the limits of both RAM and patience.
Adem
Intricate, next-level folk music from Fridge bassist Adem Ilhan.
Say Hi to Your Mom
This pick inspired by Sam’s 3/4/04 pick: SHTYM is what you’d expect from someone who grew up using a Commodore 64, Atari 2600, Compaq Portable II, and an Epson dot matrix printer. Now he’s making music on those machines about the girlfriends who beat him in Centipede.
Her Space Holiday
We’ll keep adding MP3s ’til the wheels come off… Our growing talent showcase proves again (if needed) that emotronica wiz Marc Bianchi can play confessional singer/songwriter, bedroom beatslinger, or sampler symphonist with equal artistry. And yet, somehow, my man still finds time to get his remix on.