REVIEW: Le Carousel - s/t

8.25 out of 10

Find it here. 

Le Carousel was a random chance find on the internet for me one day.. (although Phil Kieran actually leads a pretty prolific career I am new to his sound) This was a good day, as Le Carousel's debut s/t album is a pitch perfect Synth-Kraut-Gaze Pop masterpiece, and that was precisely Phil's goal with this release, his "opus" if you will.

From the get-go this album will most likely have you tapping something. The beats are smooth and seductive meets slowed down Disco meets Dub-like bass sounds. The guitar layers are really nice too, somewhat of a Krautrock vibe meets New Order meets (MBV) Shoegaze style. The vocals are pretty impressive too, in a way that they can seduce as well as inspire and move you. Every track on this release has an epic feel to it, the tracks builds from something pretty and mysterious and blossoms into a colorful audible heaven (the kind you don't want to leave). I guarantee there is at least one to three (if not more preferably..) tracks on this release that you will dig, trust me. Get-ta listenin'..

One of this year's best.. it'd be a shame if you missed this boat-Highly Recommend.

Standout Tracks: Good Times, Carousel, Lost Years, Stick Together, Broken, Forget Me Not,

REVIEW: Mux Mool - Skulltaste

7.25 out of 10

Find it here.

Brian Lindgren (Mux Mool) creates some of the freshest, forthcoming, yet vintage beats out there today. The kind of music he creates could easily be classified as IDM. But more than just IDM, "Skulltaste" (Mux Mool's 2nd full length) is chopped full of 8-bit to 16-bit noises, Hip Hop beats, Dance music, a little bit of Psychedelia and the "intriguing" piece of vintage Electronic homage that makes every Ghostly artist stick out so much.

"Skulltaste" starts off with a Psychedelic-kaleidoscopic arpeggiated sound that could easily be mistaken for all future soundtrack rides into outer space. From there it goes into Hip Hop, Electro, video game sounds, and even Disco-ish dance music. The music on this album really will apply to anyone who has ever liked anything Dance, Hip Hop, or video game oriented. One of the sounds that sticks out the most for me on this album would be the sleazy/queasy synth sounds that give you sense of listening to R n' B music while being force fed vast amounts of acid. Their super thick and will f&^% with your head. Awesome stuff! I also LOVE the beats on "Skulltaste". Anything from semi-glitchy to Hip Hop to even Industrial always sounds good coming from the right producer. Kudos to you Mr. Mool, you have done it again, you have set the bar again, and you have left me with wanting more. Electronic music this good only comes along so many times a year, and this is definitely one of it's shining moments in 2010.

Chances are you will see "Skulltaste" pop up a lot this year on many a blogger's year-end lists. RecommenDID!

Standout Tracks: Hog Knuckles, Dandelion, Get Better John, Wax Rose Saturday, Death 9000, SFW Porn, Crackers, Morning Strut (I love when song titles live up to their name)

Good (free) music laying around the interwebs..

Jacob Faurholt - Burning Holes
&
Bear In Heaven - Love Sick Teenagers (Twin Shadows Twins In Heaven Remix)
&
Kisses - Bermuda
&High Places - Can't Feel Nothing (Remix)

~njoy