Sunday, October 25, 2015

Live: Death And Vanilla @ Six D.O.G.S (Athens, October 23, 2015)


The Swedish invasion continues; a few days after Goat's mind blowing performance in Athens, it was the turn of Malmö's Death And Vanilla to pay us a visit and present their psychedelic, baroque pop melodies. The trio of Marleen Nilsson, Anders Hansson and Magnus Bodin has been recording since 2009, but it is this year's "To Where The Wild Things Are", Death And Vanilla's second LP, that helped them to raise their profile outside of Sweden.


On their debut Athenian gig, the band presented us an hour-long, atmospheric set with songs from both of their albums. The fragile, haunting melodies from their vintage synthesizers created the backbone of their songs which own a debt to 60's French pop, '90s dreampop and soundtrack music, while the ghost of Broadcast cast its shadow on several occasions. 


Their most interesting moments, for my ears at least, came when krautrock rhythms crept into the mix in songs like "Necessary Distortions" or "Cul-De-Sac", adding an underlying tension to their ethereal sound, which on other songs tends to be a little too dreamy for my liking. Overall, the nostalgic, psychedelic mood of their music went down well with the audience and, hopefully, next time they come to town, they will be able to attract a larger crowd, especially if they keep creating songs like the Beach House-y "California Owls" which deserves more attention from radio.


Death And Vanilla's performance was preceded by a set from local, guitar and synth, dark-pop duo Cruel Anagrams whose music brings flashbacks from the early '80s dark wave scene.

Cruel Anagrams
Here's a taste from Death And Vanilla's set on a very rainy Friday night in Athens:

Death and Vanilla - Cul-De-Sac, live in Athens




Sunday, October 18, 2015

Live: Goat @ Gagarin 205 (Athens, October 17, 2015)


It's Time for Fun! This was the title of Goat's latest single, but it's also a fitting description for the Swedish band's extravagant live show.


On Saturday night, Goat played their first ever Athens gig at the packed Gagarin 205 club and there is no doubt that everyone present left with a smile on their faces after witnessing the euphoric, shamanic rituals of the experimental collective. Dressed up in their exotic costumes and wearing  masks, the seven members of Goat presented songs from their two excellent albums, 2012's "World Music" and 2014's "Commune", and various singles, including the aforementioned "It's Time for Fun" and "Dreambuilding".


As great as all of these songs sound on record, on stage they gain extra dimensions, sounding bigger and better, each one an ecstatic ritual with the mission to unite performers and audience in a euphoric, altered state. After 80 minutes filled with mystic, eastern-tinged melodies, repetitive dance rhythms and psychedelic guitar grooves, Goat's mission was accomplished and we left the club with the distinct feeling that we had, indeed, talked to God, as their tune goes. Best concert of the year? Most likely!



The gig opened by the noisy, dance-rock grooves of local act Kooba Tercu. Check out their self-titled album here.

Kooba Tercu
And here's a taste from Goat's transcendent live experience: check out below "Dreambuilding", live in Athens:


Goat - Dreambuilding (live @ Gagarin 205, Athens, October 17, 2015)

Thursday, October 08, 2015

New Releases: September 2015

Round-up of the most interesting albums, singles and EPs released in September 2015:

Albums

JULIA HOLTER - Have You In My Wilderness
U.S. GIRLS - Half Free
THE DEAD WEATHER - Dodge and Burn
KURT VILE - B'lieve I'm Goin Down
METRIC - Pagans in Vegas
LOW - Ones and Sixes
THE LIBERTINES - Anthems For Doomed Youth
BLANK REALM - Illegals In Heaven
WIDOWSPEAK - All Yours
OUGHT - Sun Coming Down
SEXWITCH - Sexwitch
EMPRESS OF - Me
NEW ORDER - Music Complete
BEIRUT - No No No
LOU BARLOW - Brace the Wave
ROBERT FORSTER - Songs to Play
MICACHU AND THE SHAPES - Good Sad Happy Bad
THE MAGIC CASTLES - Starflower
GIRL BAND - Holding Hands With Jamie
FIDLAR - Too
DESTRUCTION UNIT - Negative Feedback Resistor
RICKED WICKY - Swimmer To A Liquid Armchair
CRAIG FINN - Faith in the Future
HeCTA - The Diet
CHVRCHES - Every Open Eye
PEACHES - Rub
BATTLES - La Di Da Di
CARTER TUTTI VOID - f (x)
PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED - What the World Needs Now
PRIMITIVE PARTS - Parts Primitive
THE ARCS - Yours, Dreamily
THE SCHOOL - Wasting Away and Wondering
YOUTH LAGOON - Savage Hills Ballroom
PETITE NOIR - La Vie Est Belle / Life is Beautiful

Singles & EPs

COURTNEY BARNETT - Nobody Really Cares If you Don't Go To the Party
DESTROYER - Forces From Above (Remix) / Times Square, Poison Season
PANDA BEAR - Crosswords EP
DIIV - Dopamine
KEVIN MORBY - Moonshiner / Bridge to Gaia
PINS - Dazed By You
SHOPPING - Straight Lines 
MENACE BEACH - Super Transporterreum EP
WOMPS - Live A Little Less
SLAVES - Sockets
CHVRCHES - Leave A Trace
THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS - Go
DEAD FADER - Sun Copter EP
JAGWAR MA X DREEMS - Another Day in the Sun
GAZ COOMBES - Matador (Da Capo)
EVERYTHING EVERYTHING - Spring Summer Winter Dread
RICHARD HAWLEY - Heart of Oak
EYE - Crushin' Leaves
MAMMOTH PENGUINS - Propped Up / Thinking Of You
LIONLIMB - Turnstile
TIMMY'S ORGANISM - Get Up, Get Out / The Thrill Is Gone
TERRY - Talk About Terry
CHELOU - Mothership EP

Courtney Barnett - Nobody Really Cares If You Don't Go To The Party

Julia Holter - Sea Calls Me Home