Haze – ‘Clouds Surround And Breathe’ [Review]
If you’re into expansive, rough-edged, delay-drenched progressive post-rock soundscapes, I’ll put it simply: Haze are the band for you. Read more…
For Astronauts And Satellites – ‘For Astronauts And Satellites’ [Review]
When I discovered this band, they were opening a show at The Boileroom. Judging by that set and this seven-tracker, it won’t be long before you’ll spot them playing much higher up the list. Read more…
Steven Gizzi – ‘The Terrestrial Orchestra’ [Review]
Today has not been a good day. Less than an hour in, and the minutes have all been uniformly packed with stress. My mind’s agitated, and my nerves are shot.
At least, they were. All I can say is, thank God for artists like Steven Gizzi. Read more…
Rose Coloured Records – ‘Doorstep – Volume 1’ [Review]
Here at TMMP, grassroots music is a big deal. I’ve never understood why people will happily watch rubbish, stuck-in-a-rut TV talent shows that promote an illusory path to instant fame (and drop almost every winner once the last pennies have been squeezed from their exhaustive promotional activities) when hundreds of far more fascinating stories can be found just down the road, at a local music venue like The Boileroom in Guildford. It’s incredible to think that so many great, even world-class talents can go ignored, despite being within such easy reach year in, year out. Why wait for the next week’s TV-scheduled slot when you could just poke your head out of the front door and experience something first-hand? Read more…
Nanaki – ‘Afterlight’ [Review]
In a world so dominated by and dependent upon the Internet, Afterlight‘s opening tune Antisocial Media is a uniquely intriguing musical statement. Its followers are no less effective: Vocal-free and well produced, each track manages to capture the thoughts, ideas and insights associated with its respective title while working as a downbeat but welcoming piece of music. Read more…
Yuval Ron & Residents Of The Future – ‘Residence Of The Future’ [Review]
Open any book on increasing your productivity, and you’ll find this ubiquitous piece of advice: “Never check your email in the morning.” It’s often backed up with a statement along the lines of “Email is the mind-killer.” Not just any mind-killer, but the mind-killer.
Perhaps my inbox is unique, then. The messages it contains consistently offer me the opportunity to expand my mind, not blunt or damage or kill it. This is, definitely, partly due to Gmail’s super-effective spam filters (no more “COLLECT YOUR NIGERIAN LOTTERY WINNINGS” subject lines), but it’s mainly due to messages from musicians like Yuval Ron.
Yuval Ron’s music manages to make you listen and think without draining your mental energy. It’s complex, multifaceted and intricate, yes – but there’s something refreshing and cognitively nourishing buried in there. An appreciation of the need for space, a permission given for the music to breathe and really come to life. Read more…
Bob Log III / Thomas Truax [Live Review – The Boileroom, Guildford, 1/5/14]
Although it’s great that alternative culture exists, you have to ask how much it differs from the mainstream sometimes.
Standard-model society promotes segregation on increasingly arbitrary lines (watch an episode of Come Dine With Me for evidence) and “alternative” subcultures do much the same thing – think rock and metal subgenres and the constant bickering between them all. Infighting is frequently justified on the basis of appearance (“just look at him!“) by both mainstream and alternative groups. Competitive snobbery thrives in both worlds, based as they are on stereotypical male values – and yes, despite some progress both the mainstream and alternative worlds are still male-dominated. For instance, “alt girls” have been relegated to the status of fetishised objects featured in magazines that copy the topless-babes-and-articles-which-their-readers-will-say-are-the-real-reason-they-buy-the-magazine-in-the-first-place-but-for-some-reason-nobody-ever-seems-to-believe-them model adopted by their equally standardised shelfmates. For more evidence of objectification, go see a heavy female-fronted band play live, and pay attention to how the men in the audience behave. And the online side of things is, naturally, not much different. Overall, it can be argued that “alt” culture is definable today as “more or less the same as the mainstream at a fundamental level, only with different haircuts, a different soundtrack, different clothes, and more imaginative and visible tattoos”.
So let’s say we want to find something that really deserves to be called “alternative”. Where could we start? Read more…
Dani Rosenoer – ‘Basement Jams 2 EP’ [Review]
As we saw last December, Dani Rosenoer thinks differently. So, for this review, so will I. I’m going to attempt to sum up each track on Basement Jams 2 in a single sentence. Let’s see how it goes… Read more…
CeCe – ‘Framework EP’ [Review]
I’ve said this before, but it’s always worth repeating: If your music would fit into a Tarantino or Rodriguez soundtrack, I’m going to love your music.
CeCe’s Framework EP definitely fits this bill. Read more…
The Best Pessimist – ‘Love Is…’ [Review]
According to the greatest Facebook page ever, the term ‘alexithymia’ refers to “An inability to describe emotions in a verbal manner”. Although this definition only scratches the surface of alexithymia’s psychological repercussions, it serves perfectly well to describe my state of mind when listening to Love Is…. Read more…