Just for a brief moment the frontcover of This Heart (2013) will undoubtedly make you think of P.J. Harvey. Although the lead vocalist of Nehedar, Emilia Cataldo and P.J. Harvey both have a deep love for New York City the similarities also end about there. For instance, the well known autumnal raw voice of Harvey is in strong contrast with the voice of Cataldo, whose voice is far more polished and controlled. Additionally, almost everything what is known about Cataldo breaths of cultural diversity. Cataldo is based in the midst of the multicultural New York, comes from a culturally diverse family and also holds a degree in Jewish Mysticism. This all echoes through in the music of Nehedar. Because of the foregoing the band is often associated with the Israeli community in the United States but can’t be pinned down as an ethnic specialized band for electonica, indie-rock and jazz are frequently added to their music. This Heart is my first introduction to Nehedar though it must be said that the band are not new to the scene, for it’s already their sixth independently produced album. Continue reading
Tag Archives: review
Chthonic – Bú-Tik (2013)
It seems Taiwanese metal sensation Chthonic are finally getting somewhere. All of a sudden, the band seems to be everywhere, with not one but three video clips and a virtual omnipresence on the internet. Of course, that all depends on where you’re surfing, and I’m quite certain the mainstream music scene still hasn’t heard of the band, but within the much more niche metal world, there is certainly a buzz. And rightfully so, because Bú-Tik has turned out to be a very, very good album. Continue reading
Gold Panda – Half of Where You Live (2013)
Alas, Gold Panda is not the newest member of the Xtreme Justice League but an English producer who specializes in dreamy electronica. Yet the mysticism surrounding his persona would be fitting to an awkward superhero back story. In a nutshell this is his story, so ‘bear’ with me for a moment.
Blackmore’s Night – Dancer and the Moon (2013)
Where 2010’s Autumn Sky didn’t really stick, Dancer and the Moon does. That in itself is just about all you need to know about the brand new Blackmore’s Night record, but since you can’t review an album with only one sentence (then again, who says you can’t?), perhaps I should elaborate a little. Dancer and the Moon is the eighth studio album by the folk/rock duo that is guitar-god Ritchie Blackmore and his long-time muse, Candice Night, not counting the two live albums they have released, or the holiday-centric Winter Carols. Continue reading
Femi Kuti – No Place For My Dream (2013)
Femi Kuti will always be connected to his father, ‘the cornerstone of Afrobeat’, Feli Kuti. Filling the shoes of such a legend isn’t an easy task and is even deemed impossible by most. Impossible or not, from a more positive side one can say Femi learned from the best. Femi joined his father’s Egypt 80 band as a saxophonist when he was a teenager and during the decades that followed he frequently led the band while his father was locked up in a Nigerian prison due to various politically motivated activities. Femi Kuti experienced his solo breakthrough in 1998 with the release of Shoki Shoki after his father died of AIDS in the year before. Hereafter he gathered more fame by collaborating with artists such as Rachid Taha, Roy Hargrove, Common and by hosting a radio station in the videogame Grand Theft Auto IV. Femi did however never lost track of his heritage and prolongs the legacy of his father by addressing the many problems of African societies in his music. Fight to Win (2001), Day by Day (2008) and Africa for Africa (2010) are all prime examples of the latter. No Place For My Dream adds a new chapter in the battle against injustice and inequality. Continue reading
Summoning – Old Mornings Dawn (2013)
To be very honest, I did not expect a new album from the Austrian ambient black metal duo Summoning anymore, not after the seven years of silence that followed the sublime Oath Bound. So when the news broke that Old Mornings Dawn was on its way, it came quite out of the blue. Will our favourite Tolkien-inspired black metal band be able to top what many people still regard as their finest hour, or does Old Mornings Dawn fall flat in that regard. Here, we find out. Continue reading
The Heliocentrics – 13 Degrees of Reality (2013)
Critics do tend to categorize new music into genres so it’s understandable for everyone. Certain bands however seem impossible to pin down. The Heliocentrics are such a band, for they play jazz and funk. Well… that’s done and dusted you might think. Now for the tricky part, the Londoners intermingle the before mentioned styles with avant-garde, electronics, psychedelics, hip hop and ethnic traditions. So obviously no category seems to suit the well-orchestrated eclecticism of The Heliocentrics. Luckily there is always room in the extraordinary universe of Afrofuturist, Sun Ra, with whom the band is frequently compared.
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Deep Purple – Now What?! (2013)
It has taken British rock legend Deep Purple over seven years to come up with a sequel to Rapture of the Deep. That is a long time, especially given the more advanced age of the various band members (ranging between 58-67), and I am sure there will have been people out there not even expecting another studio release by the band. Last month, however, Deep Purple decided to grace us with the appropriately titled Now What?!, and boy, is it good. Continue reading
The Baptist Generals – Jackleg Devotional To The Heart (2013)
Morning haste is a normal part of life for many city dwellers. As long as you don’t dawdle, waking up, showering, brushing teeth, making and eating breakfast, drinking coffee, getting to the station and cramming yourself into a train can be done in about thirty minutes. But what sort of music will keep you from dawdling (setting aside those nonsensical radio shows)? A friend of mine came up with an answer: The Baptist Generals. Their EP Dog (2000) contains 19 minutes of rusty Americana that will undoubtedly turn those drowsy mornings into a fresh start. At a high rate, eight straightforward lo-fi tracks will blow you towards a new boring day at the office. Dog did not get much attention but can nevertheless be seen as a rediscovery of a rougher kind of Americana. The Baptist Generals, who started off playing for beer money in Denton (Texas, USA), continued their endeavors in 2003. No Silver / No Gold is once more a ‘bucked-sounding’ album that excels in terms of loudness and sleaziness. Hereafter it became relatively quiet for about ten years. During these years founders Chris Flemmons and Steve Hill where primarily active on stage in different settings and attempted to release a new studio record in 2005. Unfortunately this record never made it to the stores “[…] life got in the way for a while after 2005”, according to Flemmons. This persistent silence foreshadowed the end of the band, however ‘The Generals’ nearly escaped oblivion this month for Jackleg Devotional To The Heart was finally released on Sub Pop. Continue reading
Ghost – Infestissumam (2013)
When Swedish metal sensation Ghost released their first single Elizabeth, there was an almost immediate underground buzz. Elizabeth was simultaneously retro and incredibly catchy, and the band itself properly mysterious, fronted by the masked Papa Emeritus II and a host of nameless ghouls playing the instruments. The underground buzz quickly went to what might be called major hype with the release of their debut album Opus Eponymous, an incredibly well made album full of very old-fashioned and evil sounding heavy metal. It was as if the likes of Mercyful Fate, Black Sabbath and Blue Öyster Cult had merged into an entirely new entity. Continue reading
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