June’s EMusic Downloads
Tuesday, July 13th, 2010I actually managed to get my downloads within the calendar month this time!
- Akumu by Akumu
Ambient, teetering on the precipice of minimal. Akumu is the post-Thrive project of Deane Hughes. Â While it hasn’t captured my attention the way Thrive had, it’s very very good.
- I Will Be by Dum Dum Girls
I downloaded this after listening to the 30s samples. Â Imagine a low-fi Ladytron and you’re most of the way towards understanding the sound of this album. Excellent.
- Improvised Electron Device by Front Line Assembly
Once again, Rhys Fulber has left the fold and the FLA sound changes. It doesn’t change all that much, though. Â Like KMFDM, I keep buying FLA’s stuff because of its consistency – it might all sound similar, enough so that I can’t always tell which album any given song is from, but it’s all good.
- Pearl Diver by Malory
The first Malory album, the magnificent “Not Here Not Now”, was an unabashed Slowdive worship session. Â Since then, Malory have worked hard to define themselves as their own band, and not merely an exceptionally good knock-off band. Â Pearl Diver, their fourth effort, still wears the Slowdive influence proudly, but by now it’s just that – an influence. Â The songcraft is more varied with this album, with songs that wander into the atmospheric and spooky. Â This album’s the highlight of the month.
- Chase the Tear by Portishead
A one-off track that Portishead released in support of Amnesty International. This could be the song that defines Portishead for me.
- Parallelism by The Science Teacher
Gentle, yet haunting, ambient music from Stripmall Architecture (ex-Halou)’s Ryan Coseboom. Not what I was expecting from him at all, but well pleased. It’s lovely. Â My only complaint is that at 3 tracks across 18 minutes, it’s just way too short.
- The Five Ghosts by Stars
Perhaps not Stars’ best album, but a worthy followup to the brilliant Sad Robots EP. To be fair, I think anything would be hard-pressed to top “A Thread Cut WIth A Carving Knife”.
