| tcordes | Add Friend |
Member Since: Jun 26, 2005
Rank: 68
Average Vote Received: Correct (4.10, 10 votes)
Rated 6 releases, average: 5.00
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tcordes's groups (1)
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Reviews:
Aidan Baker
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Ultra Milkmaids - At Home With... - 13-Mar-08 01:39 AM
This may be the most experimental release yet on Infraction. That's not necessarily a good thing...
Track 1 is very noisy, harsh, busy. It approaches white noise in its effect. However, if you turn the volume down so you don't go mental, the wavy drone is mesmerizing. There's enough change to keep it interesting. Definitely not my type of music, but I've played it a few times and don't mind it. Good background listening.
Track 2 begins with alien drones and what sounds like processed guitars, a la Seefeel. Much less harsh, but equally disturbing. Dissonant howlings come and go. Halfway through, the guitars exit, but the howling stays and an eerie marching-band drummer glides in the mix. Quite haunting and somewhat interesting. Again, not my cup of tea but it holds my interest.
The last track is airy, springtime, floaty ambience. Music for a reflective mood, and it won't scare off your friends. Reminds me of early Orb stuff, but without any beats or much progression. Found-sound samples come and go. Nice!
Really, I don't know what to do with this CD. It's really not my type of music, lacking much traditional structure, but I find myself liking it more on each listen. I guess that makes it worth a listen!
Stereonerds, The - HD Endless - 10-Dec-07 11:23 AM
Let's face it, Atom Heart's post-2000 output can get a bit strange and experimental. I've been filling out my RI back catalog and many fail to impress after the novelty wears off. Stereonerds, however, stands out as a solid winner.
Solid, strong beats and grooving deep bass coupled with low BPMs make this a foot tapping / head bopping experience. Sure, it's got typical RI repetitiveness, but it's never out of control and manages to stay interesting.
Some are calling this electro. I suppose that can be said, but I'd say only track 2 really fits the true electro definition. At times it feels more like electro-techno-ambient, if such a genre existed. You often see hints of Atom's ambient-laden past. It's also very Kraftwerkellian, especially Transhuman, Prazision and HD Endless. I'm sure the "HD Endless" title (and the tune itself) is a hat-tip to KW.
My favorite is the extremely funky Harddisk Rock. Maybe a nod to Planet Rock there? The squiggly bass delights to no end. We also get a nice track #4 which would be at home on a Lassigue Bendthaus album.
Quite an interesting collection, and well worth your time even if you have been a bit disappointed with Uwe lately.
Tangerine Dream - Heartbreakers - 27-Sep-07 10:52 PM
Picked this up recently to fill out my TD collection a bit with the more obscure stuff. I was not expecting much. As most, I'm a fan of TD's Franke years. Not as most, I also like a fair bit of their post-Franke years. But I'm no longer a "rabid TD fan".
Heartbreakers is quite a find. First, it has all the feel of an early 80's TD soundtrack, but there is almost zero rehash of studio songs, as there is on most others. That alone makes this required listening. Second, the music is interesting, beautiful, upbeat, with plenty of Franke-isms, haunting Froese & Schmoelling melodies and, of course, intricate TD sequences. The production quality is superb for 1984.
Your interest will be piqued by the middle of track 1, at which point you suspect this short album may not be the waste of time you had pegged it as.
Some of the most energetic Franke-era TD can be found in Gemini, with its overarching electric melody peaks mingling with rich, low synth valleys. Like Le Parc, but more so! Wow! Then over to the bass-riff laden funk of Thorny Affair. Alternately, some of the songs are haunting and strongly emotional (1,2,8). I can only guess at how brilliant they would be in a movie context. Lastly, the extremely fun and cheery Daybreak, which makes me feel like I did the first time I heard Poland. Brilliant!
On the downside, Froese starts to lose me a bit in the guitar-heavy 6 & 7. And being an 80's soundtrack album, everything is way too short. It would have been nice to see some of the ideas expanded into 15 minute TD journeys. Overall, one of the best TD soundtracks ever.
Tangerine Dream - 220 Volt Live - 03-Nov-06 08:42 PM
What we have here is one of the finest examples of post-Franke Tangerine Dream. Virgin-era purists will pan it, but if you take a gander and give it a shot you'll be handily rewarded. Personally, I'm one of those rare individuals who likes almost the entire spectrum of TD (having started with the Virgin years), and with releases like this I'm glad I am!
It's very high-energy and very rock-influenced from start to finish. This is one to play loud. Oriental Haze is classic Melrose-era, but with a driving beat. Two Bunch Palms gets you right into the action. I'm not a big guitar fan, but with the pounding, patented TD-sequences it really works. The melody will stay in your head for weeks. 220 Volt is more-traditional synth work -- superb.
The album cools down a bit until Backstreet Hero. This is perhaps the best track from TD in the 90's. Crank it up loud! No, louder! A brilliant sequence, stomping drums, brilliant support-guitar from Zlatko and one amazing does-dad-proud guitar solo from Jerome. The many embellishments put this one over the top and into the history books. For pure energy, I'm hard-pressed to think of a better track out of any album by any group.
Then we get Blue Bridge, which is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and moving slow pieces since Underwater Sunlight or Canyon Dreams. I'm usually only lukewarm on Spa's sax, but here she really shines through. Another melody to get stuck in your head.
Besides the good last track, the others don't do much for me. And to have the obligatory complaint: come on, Purple Haze? Does the intersection of Hendrix and TD fans contain any people?
Final word, you should give this CD at least one spin. If you liked Edgar's Virgin-era guitar solos then you can probably handle the ones here. Almost every song has the patented TD synth sequence going on. To top it all off you're treated to some brilliant, strong TD melodies. And the energy is through the roof! Last but not least, the production quality is excellent, especially given that it's a live recording.
What I wouldn't have given to have seen this concert live! Where'd I misplace my Tardis...
Various - Listen & Dance - 03-Nov-06 01:18 PM
This is a bizarre mixed bag. There's no predominant style other than it all being somewhat electronic.
However, it is a great way to gain a CD copy of Senor Coconut's mix of La Cumbia Triste. This brilliant bit of insanity is easily missed amongst the mediocre tracks. I'm not a huge Atom Heart fan, but am certainly warming up to him lately. The flashes of brilliance like this one are simply astounding. I haven't heard the original, but I would guess the only resemblance is the chopped up sampled vocals and chords.
The track starts with a butchered bunch of samples and a latin beat a la most of S.Coconut. It moves into an almost-mainstream (but not quite!) staccato romp that really gets you moving. And you're thinking: OK... and then at 4:20 you're thrown into a completely different song. Hold on, where did this come from? Brilliant Autechre-esque chicken-flavored echoes, panning squiggles, warm pads, insane sub-bass, and floating ambience take you back to the best ambient of the early 90's. Simply magic.
I wish I had more to say about the comp as a whole, but nothing else stands out and a lot of it is garbage.
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