Web Spotlight #6 - Limalo

I found this artist through Reddit's electronic music sub.

Limalo is interesting. They're a music duo from Texas that specialize in atmospheric, ambient,  beat-driven music. In my mind, the strongest comparison is to Boards of Canada. Yesterday, Limalo released their first ever album, Human Bloom, on Bandcamp, and hot damn do I like it. 14 tracks, but it's about quality, not quantity, the longest song is 3:25. Human Bloom was recorded with all analog instruments, and that's a quality I can't praise highly enough, but you can hear the difference. The synths sound earthy and dream-like. The beats behind the synths never get too intense, but their is glitching abound, and that's something I can get behind.

Human Bloom has this great lo-fi sound to it that doesn't sound like a mastering effect. It's not so lo-fi that you lose a lot of detail in the tracks, in fact you can clearly make out everything that's going on, but it's a kind of fuzzy/blurriness that lets you just enjoy it in the background. It doesn't require your full attention, you can just let it roll out and envelop you. It's an action I support, because that means I can let the music be the soundtrack for an experience in my mind. I can just let it take me places. Hell, this is the kind of music I could see getting tied to memories of this summer when I think back in later years. I cannot stress enough how the entirety of Human Bloom is something to experience, but there are tracks that stand out. Clouds In My Puddle, Gamogy's Creek, Magic Lantern, Blurry Mood and Tiwa are all great pieces by themselves that really stood out to me.

Right now the entire album is on Bandcamp, and it's set at a Pay What You Want model, meaning it's donation based. You can enter $0 and get the album for free, or you can choose to pay however much you like. I'll be supporting Limalo and I hope you will too.

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Web Spotlight # 2 - Beliefs

This week I've got some Dream pop goodness to spotlight. I found this week's band, Canadian act Beliefs, through their US record label Manimal Vinyl's Tumblr. Beliefs are a Canadian duo who have been combining light, ethereal vocals with lush wispy audio soundscapes. Before the release of their self-titled album in March, they put out a video for a bonus track for the album, Violets, and it's what got me turned on to Beliefs.

It's light and airy, dreamy and sweet. A perfect song for summer.

Music Review - 13ghosts - Garland of Bottle Flies

   Dark, atmospheric bluesy rock from this Alabama based Indie band. Beautiful, yet haunting. The album has a lot of space and lets the songs just flow, letting them envelop you. Ten tracks that leave an impression of an experience.They're fine on their own, but wonderful together. There is definitely a Country influence on this album, which is refreshing. This album is a collection of Southern influences. Country is present, most definitely, but there's also strong overtones of the past Southern Rock acts and most certainly the Blues, with lyrics that are deeper than you might expect from a band that exemplifies so much of the South. 

   Garland of Bottle Flies opens with While You Were Bathing, a track that combines sentimental lyrics that ooze with emotion with a high pitched piano, a dark-underpinning guitar and haunting atmospherics to establish the mood of this album. Stella's overblown mic effect drive the lyrics forward, making for a quick, catchy rocking track that only goes for 2:30. I Have Brought Fire brings forth a fine Southern Rock-tinged ballad, complete with a trademark southern drawl. Wicked Drink picks up the pace and brings things into the modern day, but hangs onto these more complicated lyrics that keep these lighter sounding rock songs from being all that light. From those four tracks we can figure out what the rest of the album is going to sound like, different variations of these four combinations. Dr. Bill, a favorite of mine, is a story that goes through a couple different sonic changes, starting primarily acoustic and then just builds until it crescendos into this dark, loud tale that twists and turns, and then it builds up again, but never gets as loud as it did before and just rides it out right into the next track, The Last Time I Died, a beautiful acoustic-led duet. Stars flows right on through from The Last Time I Died, clocking in at a little over 2 minutes, providing a perfect segue into the highlight of the album, Billy Dee, a sprawling track clocking in at 9:32. A dark and twisted bluesy tale that surrounds our protagonist coming into contact with Billy Dee, a longtime rival, at a Motorhead show. Billy Dee steals the show, it is the center piece of this album and if you're going to listen to one song, make it this one. After that, we're onto Whitey Joe, a song with a strong Country feel that brings a tale of war front and center. Finally, we slip into Slyvianne, a slow ballad that encompasses a sad reflection of a man's life as he looks back.

   Combining the brains of an Indie Rock band with a strong knowledge and acceptance of the music past of their culture, 13ghosts' Garland of Bottle Flies is not one to miss.

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Web Spotlight # 1 - Zack Hemsey

Do you remember the score to Inception? Maybe. Maybe not. I do guarantee however you remember the music for the trailers of Inception. The Hans Zimmer-esque rhythm with the "BWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAM" sound that became synonymous with the movie. Well, that sound wasn't a creation of Hans Zimmer's, rather, it was of an independent New York musician named Zack Hemsey. He was the creator of "Mind Heist", the track used in the trailers for Inception. It turns out he does more than just make memorable movie scores. He also makes his own unique brand of hip-hop.

The track I'm spotlighting is "Slave" from his album, Ronin. His lyrics and flow are simple but effective, a song about the common people being slaves to, essentially, the system.  His production is really interesting because of that work in scoring he has, it's more elaborate and uses a wider variety of instruments than what would typically be used. The production has a lot of depth and texture and it's fascinating to hear.

The thing I find most intriguing about Hemsey is the making and distribution of this album. Hemsey did everything on this album himself, right up to mastering and the album art,  which are handled by other people. That means he wrote the songs, he produced the tracks, he preformed on them and he also mixed them before sending them off to be mastered. A one man show at it's finest. He also has made the album as widely available as possible, he uploaded every track from the album to Youtube. If you can access Youtube you can hear the whole thing, start to finish. He's also put up a Bandcamp page where you can purchase Ronin.

With his distinct production, his interest in different forms of delivering content to fans and his varied musical interests, Zack Hemsey is one to watch.

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