Sigur Ros sure have a lot to answer for, having seemingly single-handedly set the precedent for what is expected of music hailing from their near-mythical and majestic home of Iceland.
Tonik Ensemble feels no need to let up on the inherent atmospherics that have become culturally defining, but there is an added edge, a deeply felt darkness that pours across the 8 tracks, and a beat driven underbelly topped off with carefully selected vocal collaborators lift this above the ethereal stereotypes.
It is certain that Snapshots is delivered on a chilled wind of glacial cool, yet as it whistles through your bones it also reflects touches of Faithless's most introspective moments with the crowd-bouncing synth refrains wisely sidestepped for more individualistic tendencies. Echoing of inward bound paranoia and whirls of emotion, Tonik Ensemble has crafted a delicate beast that dances its fragile dance in the overlooked darkness of uncrowded dancefloors.
but that is all in the past now, and they are now concentrating their efforts on sniffing out new talent as Njord and releasing limited edition cassettes with a lo-fi feel.
the second was a look at the latest single to be released by Akira The Don, who I have never shied away from heaping praise upon.
We Won't Be Broke Forever Baby, has long been a personal favourite of mine, teased out at occasional live performances long before being committed to record, featuring on the sophomore effort, The Life Equation and gaining itself a single release
and with these two recent reviews under my belt I gathered up a bunch of contact details from promo CDs and sent out the feelers to see if anyone out there would like to send some new music my way
and some people did, I was rather disappointed with the bland Burning Shapes, rather more impressed with the subtle hip-hop head-nodder from Niko (which, due to technical difficulties, had to be reposted in April) and also gave the seal of approval to the debut album from film makers and art-collective turned musicians, Breton.
The press release may have been full of hot air in order to push the band's high-brow and artistic nature to anyone that would listen, but when the music was allowed to speak for itself it showed a highly diverse and post-modern collection of songs that may look set to infiltrate the public consciousness via car commercials if any advert executives spot this bands crossover potential, but don't hold that against them
sadly, it has been a rather slow month for my own glasswerk activities.
and i think most of it can be attributed to the recent departure of an editor that during has tenure had managed to keep on top of mailing out promos and weeding out the type of music that was distinctly appealling to my eclectic tastes.
meaning there are just two reviews to point you in the direction of.
first up was Gazelle Twin's surreal set-piece at an old metal works building in Islington. The album launched at the show is a magnificent long-player displaying otherwordly qualities, how would this rich and vastly textured music translate live?
and the second review is a different take on my review of The Others live return, that has already been discussed on the pages of Seeking Susan Boyle. You may notice a couple of similarities between the articles, but i do strive to give a different and slightly more impartial stance for my glasswerk piece.
and that is it i'm afraid, and unless things take a sudden and drastic change for the better, i wouldn't hold out too much hope for a review roundup at all covering october.
as we bid adieu to the month of august i thought perhaps i should point you off in the directions of the various reviews that i have cultivated for glasswerk and have a quick recap of what they have had me listening to.
and to be honest, this month just gone i have mostly been listening to Crystal Fighters. With a re-release for their album and standout single Plage both coming out early in August, and both of them arriving for me to review i must admit that i really can't get enough of their monumental dose of uplifting energy that takes its cues from so many disparate sources and filters both spanish folk music and bass-heavy dance music into perfect summertime listening.
I was also lucky enough to get my name down to see the sold-out solo gig from Scroobius Pip as he worked his way through his debut album live infront of an audience for the very first time, some fans may have walked away disappointed that the setlist was entirely void of Dan le Sac collaborations, but the new material showcased held it's own without falling back on past glories and showed a much heavier side musically than was present on Angles and The Logic Of Chance.
perhaps it is a slight cop-out to shuffle readers off in other directions when i haven't had proper time for proper music blogging
but i suppose it is more like providing a service
you may have missed out on recent reviews of mine surfacing on glasswerk, and this way i can also tie them up with embedded players, so that you get a fuller effect of what i've been listening to and what i've really been feeling
and it was MC Chris in particular that was an absolute revelation to me, an absolute comedy genius and a talented rapper that tackles such hard hitting subject matter as Neville Longbottom dealing weed, ninjas, more weed and obscure references to Star Wars bounty hunters that really endeared him to me
I'm not much into slating bands that have obviously put their hearts into producing music, and try to live by the motto that if you haven't got anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all, but when you end up with a bunch of CDs sent out that need reviewing then i guess you're not gonna love them all
The Cymbals fall into this category, not a bad band exactly, but they failed to have much of a lasting impact, hence my creative criticism in this review and a lack of embedded mp3 for you to trial, check them out if you think that they'll appeal, but i've got more tracks to showcase here that are more interesting than a throwback to 2006
much more interesting in a rather chin-stroking manner is the Leicester based electronica experimentalist (with a rather un-Google friendly name) AFS, whose single, The Prince, was released to coincide with last months royal wedding, despite having nothing at all to do with it other than the tenuous title, but i could quite easily forgive that, as you'll find in my review
and after checking out a little more AFS online i also found this, his previous release entitled Mothers Day, that samples a message from a father to his sons that was found on a mystery cassette tape by a friend in Canada
and the last artist artist i want to feature is Barbara Panther
Barbara Panther's self titled debut album was released earlier this month, and in the time i have spent listening to it for the purpose of reviewing i have became quite a fan, recommending her to friends (and blog readers alike) and have continued to go back to the album, purely for the reason that it is a great listen
The easiest way to sell Barbara Panther would be as a mix of M.I.A and Bjork, then throw in a bunch of other strong female frontwomen and brave electronic production that still retains a pop sheen and you're probably thinking along the right lines.
in the hands of a new editor, it appears that glasswerk seems to be upping its game and has already hooked me up to review MC Lars when he hits London this month and provided me with a care package that arrived last week of CDs to be reviewed.
not wanting to waste too much time, i have had they have been on rotation in order to help form my opinions and two of my reviews have been posted already this week.
not wanting to deprive you of my valuable opinions, i thought i may aswell bring these to your attention, while also throwing a little light on the artists reviewed so far.
and those that wan't to know what i'm talking about may want to give a little listen to the current teaser of the album available to stream, that picks the tracks to pieces and shuffles them together to provide a 17 minute long taster session
presenting an intriguing blend of chiptune and forgotten indie, their double A-side single was released on monday, and after streaming the lead track The Despondent below, i would suggest that you glance over my review and make me aware of your own opinions of the band and their latest release.
