Moderat - II (2013)

i was already halfway to work when i realized i'd set my alarm one hour early. there was no point in turning back, so i got off the tram and aimlessly roamed around rainy brussels for an hour and a half. stricken with self-hatred and bitter regret, made worse by slight waves of nausea (not a morning person), i tuned in to NPR's latest All Songs Considered podcast to kill some time.

i'm usually not the biggest fan of ASC, maybe it's the all-american-mega-positive-vibes and shameless lack of edge [fuck buttons is pronounced as "f-buttons", come on]. but this time, although after a numbing volley of bland in-jokes, someone played 'This Time' from Moderat's latest album II. perfect track to listen to in the middle of brussels' grayness. it's not on youtube yet, so check it out (scroll down) on NPR.

fyi Moderat is the unholy union of Apparat and Modeselektor. Fact Magazine categorized their sound on II  as "digital shoegaze...closer in spirit to Border Community’s emo-electronics than much of Monkeytown’s back catalogue."

NOTE 2: favorite track on II



NOTE: after listening to the whole album, it sounds like 50% of the tracks are slightly clubbier than "digital shoegaze", almost more Caribou-inspired. for example:

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Planning For Burial - Late Twenties Blues CS (2011)

Artist: Planning For Burial
Album: Late Twenties Blues CS
Release: 2011
Label: s/r


Tracklist:
1. Where You Rest Your Head At Night
2. Late Twenties Blues
3. I Put Red House Painters On A Mixtape For You
4. Rest Your Head


Planning For Burial is a solo project devoted to the art of slowcore (see Red House Painters). These dreamy, droney, shoegazey tracks wash over you with overwhelming melancholy, paralyzing any thought you had of being chipper today. Tracks 2 and 4 are interludes more than anything, but tracks 1 and 2 clock in at somewhere around 7 minutes, giving this tape some heft. Though time has no bearing once your sucked into this release.

Pro tip: Track 3 on repeat for the win.



Get it.

-A

Fantasmes - Redgold/Sidetracked (2010)

Fantasmes is summery psychedelic hipster-shoegaze (but it's well done). as far as i can tell, these puerto ricans are still completely unknown. the album is self-produced/recorded and released by NY's Last Bummer Records.

def check 'Redgold'

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