Sure enough, another quality act out of Ireland has arrived. Debut EP released May 2011, it’s even free. So if you’re unhappy about the short supply of instrumental post-indie-rock, here’s some pretty straight-forward amends. Non-stop creativity, sweet and soft melodies, just the kind of thing that’ll bring energy and smiles to you and all your friends. Seems like they’re also looking for someone to do a split with.
Embodying Villarreal’s distinctly innovative and other-worldly guitar style, this album includes a wide spectrum of sonic variety. Hinged on the tumbling rhythms of Villarreal’s unique guitar work, the music on “Invisible Cinema” ranges from lush indie-rock-slow-dance (“Enters”) to meditative-percussive-drone (“Out Of My Hands”) to what Victor does best: how-the-fuck-did-he-play-that-on-one-instrument-and-what-the-hell-is-the-time-signature acoustic guitar work.
Often credited as a pioneer of modern indie rock through his work with Cap’n Jazz, Owls, Ghosts & Vodka, and more recently, Joan of Arc, Victor Villarreal’s solo venture brims with unpretentious, child-like optimism. Elements of classical and spanish guitar, as well as indie and metal are all present in this diverse batch of songs. Utilizing a plethora of instruments, and a few recording studios, “Invisible Cinema” is the first fully-realized Victor Villarreal solo material.
Denovali wrote This is maybe the most awaited (instrumental) metal record of the year. And it’s not like they don’t release any other instrumental records.
Dear reader. Stop what you’re doing and immediately start appreciating the new Bronzed Chorus EP. It’s the perfect continuation of their debut I’m The Spring. Out on Hello Sir.
The Bronzed Chorus - Gleaning EP
Hello Sir, 2011
The Drift has released a new album, Blue Hour, that I’ll hopefully hear the full version of soon. Much excitement, especially because this track, Dark Passage, sounds amazing. What I like a lot, also, is the video that truly reminds me of these French railway commercials featuring Turing Machine.
Secondly, Pinback has promised to release a new album in early 2012! As a fore-runner they’ve released this little 7″. A trailer for the Record Store Day.
Last month I attended a Town Portal warm-up before a Polvo show. To be honest, there wasn’t anything interesting to bring back from the Polvo show, but I’m glad that Town Portal was there to make it worth going.
Town Portal is a 4-piece instrumental math-rock band from Copenhagen that doesn’t mind mixing in a bit of heavy influences. But they keep their musical expression from suffering any single discourse, instead allowing for experiments into fragments of epic and fragments of off-beat rhythms and fascinating guitar textures.
Deserves loudness and repetition!
Town Portal - Vacuum Horror
self-released, september, 2011
Little Kingdoms has released their second EP, Home. They have abandoned the acoustic sounds and are venturing into a still laid-back yet more indie/post-rock/emo-ish territory – perhaps a bit like Owen or The Curtains. The overall sound is much more complete than before, and still rich with melody. Hope to hear more from them!
From France, Vialka combines folk music in a guitar/drums duo and sounds absolutely outstanding. If you like The Evens, you’ll LOVE Vialka. I’ve had the joy of listening to their two latest albums, Science & Superstition (2011) and La Poursuite de l’Excellence (2010) both of which are excellent. A real tribute to a world of so many different and beautiful cultures. And they’ve got a discography of 9 releases to check out!
Vialka - Science & Superstition
self-released, 2011
