One of the best/worst things about the whole blogging game is the abundance of great music. Unfortunately there are (still!) only twenty-four hours in a day, most of which are consumed with non-WTD things, so even if we get sent ten great albums then chances are we will only be able to cover three or four. While trying to avoid falling into the listicle trap, we thought the best way to remedy this problem would be a semi-regular round-up, ‘Best of the Rest’, where we include all the songs we think you should hear but don’t quite have the time to tell you why. Inclusion here is no comment on quality – this isn’t a runner-up prize!
Floating in Space – The Edge of the Light
Floating in Space in a recording project of Spanish songwriter, composer and multi-instrumentalist, Ruben Caballero. Recorded, mixed and mastered in Alicante, his latest release The Edge of the Light blends evocative piano and orchestral arrangements with post-rock energy to create huge soundscapes worthy of the act’s name. Pre-order it now from the Deep Elm Bandcamp page.
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Mt. Wolf – ‘Golden (feat. St. South)’
London’s Mt. Wolf put out an EP Hex earlier this year to critical acclaim, and are filling the gap to their debut full length in 2017 with ‘Golden’. Joined by Australian vocalist St. South, the track finds the band pushing their warm yet melancholic sound. The dual vocals play like the communication of some long held relationship, one full of pain and confusion yet now spoken of from a position of comfort, or at least context, allowing the mood to be fond and soft.
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Hazel English – It’s Not Real
The third track from her forthcoming EP, Never Going Home, ‘It’s Not Real’ is the perfect introduction for anyone unfamiliar with Australian-turned-Californian Hazel English. With it’s washed out guitar and echoed vocals, the track is a late summer nostalgia jam, packing both indie pop energy and the gentle tug of shoegazy nostalgia. The EP is set for release on the 7th October via Marathon Artists and you can pre-order it now.
Tilman Robinson – Deer Heart
Based in Melbourne, the Australian composer, producer and sound designer Tilman Robinson makes music “with focus on the psychological impact of sound”. His album, Deer Heart, utilises field recordings and body sounds alongside a multitude of instruments to create lush, cinematic soundscapes that fall somewhere between Benjamin Shaw and Keaton Henson. The record is set for release through Hobbledehoy Record Co. this October and you can pre-order it now from Bandcamp.
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rgz – gaver en faar; gaver en gir
gaver en faar; gaver en gir, the latest album from Norway’s rgz, a collection of beguiling ambient and drone songs which ebb and flow between delicacy and harshness. ‘zzzz’ and ‘zszs’ are examples of shorter tracks, their uplifting electronics tempered by odd industrial glitches which threaten to strike into static, while songs like ‘Kom Ned’ offer a more tropical, vapourwave style. Our current favourite is ‘Venter’, a seven-minute slow burner which plays like the sci-fi soundtrack to some forgotten series of Twin Peaks set in space. Grab it from the rgz Bandcamp page.
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Shana Falana – Here Comes The Wave
Okay, so we haven’t actually missed this one, but we wanted to tell you that Shana Falana has a new album, Here Comes The Wave, coming this October on Team Love Records. Made with partner Mike Amari, the record offers dream pop amped up to eleven, clashing warmth and wildness and whopping instrumental sections to create a sound both dark and thrilling and strangely empathetic. We’ll get a full review up closer to release but you can pre-order the album now from the Team Love website.
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Tall Ships – Meditations on Loss
Brighton’s Tall Ships have been on our radar pretty much since we started WTD, with our post on There is Nothing But Chemistry Here one of the first on our fledgling Tumblr page. We’ve moved on somewhat from then, and so have Tall Ships, who are now atmospheric indie rock anthems like ‘Meditations on Loss’. The single, out on FatCat Records, comes complete with a video directed by Ben Phethean:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxXBzeMkrks
Jana Irmert – untitled (slow)
A sound artist based in Berlin, Jana Iremert is no mere musician. Her work in film sound, electroacoustic composition and audiovisual installation art has seen her appear at international festivals and exhibitions such as the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, the I-Park Environmental Arts Biennale and the Banff Centre in Canada. Her debut album, End of Absence, is being released on Austrian label Fabrique Records in October. This is the first single, a sound and video piece that shifts and blurs, inspired from fragments of text from Virginia Woolf’s novel The Waves.