ok – things have been a little too nostalgic recently with my hammering of prince and the reviving of old madness records. however today i would like to state that the so-called normal service has been restored.
the reason behind this virtual kick up the arse ?
the airing of two albums that seem to have some unearthly connection between them :
other passengers – we are all
menomena – friend or foe
both these albums are predominantly guitar based indie rock. not in the uk sense of the genre though (hurray given the current love for crap like the view et al), more in the genre stretching experimental manner.
other passengers are a nyc band and seem to have taken quite a while to get the album done after some initial scenster buzz with their debut ep, but now that the tastemaker that is something in construction have stepped up to the mark the album is now on the schedule. it’s a different direction for the label that brought us akira the don and the silent league. other passengers have a deep gutteral approach to their guitars, and like to stretch and flex their sonic muscles over the course of the album. one dimensional it may be, but when the dimension is as loud and abrasive as this, who am i to argue. in fact i think its very wise not to.
on the other hand menomena can do the big fuck off noise thing brilliantly (the pelican) but then they also like to play around with the offerings that access to a studio offer with processed horns, displaced piano parts and all manner of weird and wonderful things happen across the 12 tracks that make up this genre busting 45 minutes.
it’s a strange compelling album that has taken a few listens to get into, expect a proper review once the dust has settled, however, in the interest of raising your awareness, then can i point in in the relevant directions of both these new names in case your normal routes to new music dont pick up on these records.
thank you.
other passengers : here
menomena : here
stay tuned
mark e
ireallylovemusic