Something Completely Different

Since we're all making something of a fresh start, thought I'd go ahead and set up a fun journal to share stuff I'm listening to, take your suggestions for reviews and make observations in general.  Cheers.  :D

Sophie and Peter Johnston - self titled (1988)

Synth pop magic with a touch of New Wave and a host of other influences from the end of the decade.  These siblings are quite inventive, covering a wide variety of territory but never finding the audience they should have had.  This album remains a curio but is being heralded as something of a lost classic these days due to its almost vaporwavesque production on a few cuts plus Sophie's great voice.  Sparkly, extremely well written stuff that should give some of you A-ha and Pet Shop Boys fans quite a rush.

Lynn Avery & Cole Pulice - To Live & Die In Space & Time (2022)

An ambient jazz album for the ages, courtesy of that uber talented sax player from Bon Iver and Lynn Avery from Iceblink. Inspired by the greats of the past but with a more expansive, contemporary palate, this should appeal equally to fans of Alice Coltrane or perhaps Pharaoh Sanders's more meditative works whilst also being a lot of for those of you who miss those classic ECM records.  It also has a touch of the stranger side of Japan's early 80's electronic music scene.  Overall, quite a treat when you are in the right mood.

Moonrise - Stopover-Life (2013)

You might enjoy this one Trollheart. Evocative, AOR flavored neo-progressive rock from Poland with a hefty dose of melancholy, tasteful synths, some excellent instrumental interplay and even the occasional sax solo. Vocals are pretty nice too, all in English. Moonrise is the brainchild of guitar wunderkind Kamil Konieczniak and he definitely knows his way around a good song.  Fans of Pendragon or the lighter side of bands like Threshold will really dig this I think.

To Live & Die In Space & Time (2022) sounds nice and interesting. I'll give that a more thorough listen :)

I'll also check out Sophie and Peter Johnston. Unfortunately, the youtube link you provided seem to be dead on my end.

Fixed that embed.  :D

Bob Drake - What Day Is It? (1994)

The mindblowing debut album from Thinking Plague bassist / vocalist Bob Drake.  This album is Fragile-era Yes channeled through the unsettling atmosphere that Comus so expertly crafted on First Utterance. Couple those two sets of influences with a bit of West Coast rock and a pinch of Henry Cow's Rock-In-Opposition quirkiness...well, that's a recipe for indomitable brilliance.  The album as a whole is a lot of strange fun, and the above song will give you an idea of what to expect.

Hey! Thought we'd lost you, man! Good to see you're still around.  :thumb:

^ I'm definitely still around brotha.  Let me know if you end up taking a shine to these albums I'm highlighting. ;D

Toshifumi Hinata - Sarah's Crime (1985)

Toshifumi Hinata lived much of his collegiate years as a traveler and observer, weaving a nomadic existence through America's urban sprawl and the older, more decadent fistulas of Europe's past before returning to Japan in the early 80's. These experiences fueled his creative sense in an era when Japan's global power was beginning to peak. When you couple that creative impulse with Japan's growing musical fascination (trend-wise) during the decade with neo-classical, ambient, prog-rock and what we becoming known as City Pop...you have a perfect storm of influences that gave rise to Sarah's Crime, one of the best debut albums ever made.

To say that this album has a real mood to it just doesn't do it justice. Neoclassical ambient with jazzy almost-Third Stream sounding flourishes is not an easy style to pull off, but you can hear traces of this album in much of what would get made in Japan after the mid-80's, especially Joe Hisaishi's work with Studio Ghibli and Koji Kondo's work with Nintendo. Every fantasy JRPG soundtrack and classical crossover artist in the country owes something to Toshifumi's gorgeous productions during this decade. Nostalgic but somehow ahead of the times, this music is a treat to the ears.

Scarypoolparty - The Act Of Forgiveness (2021)

Alejandro Aranda is that famous multi-instrumentalist & singer prodigy from the 17th season of American Idol who ended up as the runner up.  He also happens to be the best thing that ever happened to that normally turgid show - he showcased an almost alien level of musical talent on multiple songs, most of which he wrote.  This album, about a year and a half ago under his Scarypoolparty moniker, is a 20+ song tour-de-force that covers everything from post-punk to 80's inspired pop to slowcore to proggy baroque jazz rock (see embedded song above) and a whole plethora of other styles. A very slept on album from someone I can rightly call a genius.

Paradigm Shift - The Rain Child And The River King (1986)

Founded by singer / multi-instrumentalist Makoto Matsushita,  Paradigm Shift is an English-sung and very fun art rock project from the mid 80's that captures the stranger side of that decade and rolls with it like no tomorrow. It is a curious collection, playing around with production ideas and different moods / textures. 

Sonically it comes across as a souped up crossbreed of Discipline-era King Crimson, Talking Heads and Peter Gabriel, with an extra sheen of cool not too dissimilar from the city pop soundscaping of Toshiki Kadomatsu.  It shouldn't work, yet the music actually weaves these very distinct threads together in unexpected ways.

If you like your New Romantic pop with a pensive strangeness or offbeat (yet catchy) music from the 1980's in general, this will be right up your alley. 

Revis - Places For Breathing (2003)

For me, this one-hit wonder of an album is the best of the post-grunge boom of the early 00's. It checks a lot of the boxes - meaty production from the guy who gave us Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory, Don Gilmore, for example, but there's more to the story.

Revis didn't do quite well enough in the major label big leagues to become some kind of household name (opening cut Caught In The Rain got into the FIFA games soundtracks and a few movies), but songs like Your Wall, Spin, and the haunting Living Rooms showcase intriguing qualities I would describe as esoteric. There's a certain ethereality, a mood if you will.  Lyrically, the album feels like a discourse on isolation and the liminality of our surroundings, themes I have a better understanding of as I've gotten older.

Vocalist Justin Holman is the special sauce here - he's got a bit of the yarl thing going on occasionally, but a richer tone and palette that brings out the potential in these tunes. I've always liked how the guitar work and drumming are fairly varied.  No two songs here step on eachother's toes.

My favorite jam on the thing is probably the apocalyptic ballad Seven, a minor radio hit that weaves in and out of its End Times imagery like nobody's business. Good stuff and worth the price of admission.

Is this the kind of album that will change your life forever? Probably not, but it is a bright spot for me in the post-grunge landscape, has some great songs, and I have a lot of fond memories of it from my high school years. Enjoy.

Good stuff m8 keep it coming.

Quote from: Dr_Rez on Mar 25, 2023, 10:49 PMGood stuff m8 keep it coming.

Hey Rez, nice to see you around!

Lovers Entwined - The Way (2020)

A gorgeous album experience from vaporwave auteur Telepath that answers the age old question - What if Brian Eno and Jonn Serrie became best buddies and did the soundtrack to Blade Runner back the early 80's instead of Vangelis? This record is one of the most perfect and heartfelt experiences I've had with ambient music in the 20+ years I've been collecting albums - it has a melancholic, liminal sensibility that reminds me of Haruomi Hosono at his most pensive and abstract, yet is also littered with some beautiful Ryuichi Sakamoto-esque piano work and tons of other ideas that tug at your ears in a tasteful way.  Just excellent stuff.

Fan Fiction - Anticipated Hits (2021)

Top-tier modern yacht rock band from L.A. with a power pop edge and some fantastic guitar harmonies. This debut is a really fun record that comes across as the unexpected lovechild of Pages and Jellyfish, with all the jazzy energy of the former and the baroque kick of the latter. Some tracks where these influences vibe particularly well include the sprightly 'A Staler Tale' and the high octane AOR of 'Back To Philly', but I love all the songs here and it is a lot of fun when you are in  the right mood.

George Clanton - Slide (2018)

While I personally don't have a ton of nostalgia for the 1990's, this brilliant record is probably the closest I'll ever get to that all-consuming love that some have for the decade, especially in regards to the trip-hop and shoegaze scenes as a central sonic pair of touch points. 

Nothing goes quite as you'd expect though - 'Livin' Loose' coalesces a chaotic chime motif into a sax line and somehow transforms it into a dreamy long-player from Ride or even early Smashing Pumpkins if they had been a hair stranger than they were. Elsewhere, you hear other influences rear their presences in unexpected places, from the R&B of Seal to the post-New Romantic beats of Bel Canto and Enigma.

Giving cohesion to all these ideas isn't an easy task, but Clanton brings it all into focus with plenty of style and emotional substance to go around.

Psycada - Hiking Lung (2022)

Probably my favorite psych-rock album from last year. Catchier than your typical stoner act, these Greeks know their way around a melodic groove. Their closest peer aesthetic-wise is probably Kikagaku Moyo but they have an almost 70's Camel sense of space when you least expect it (complete with Hammond organ), which is a nice touch to these ears and a strong indicator that they have more up their sleeve in the future as they continue to evolve their sound.

Steely Dan - Katy Lied (1975)

Probably the most intrigue-laden Steely Dan album in some ways - it marks the point where they transitioned fully into a high concept jazz rock outfit specializing in telling tales of scoundrels and strangeness in equal measures (sometimes both in the same song).  Dr. Wu, the centerpiece of the record and my favorite tune of theirs, is a particularly fun exploration of the relationship between a desperate man and his drug dealer.  Some have said it is also something of an exploration of toxic patient-doctor dynamics and big pharma, though that might be a reach.  But that's the fun thing about Steely Dan - the songs are so interesting that you want to actually understand the crazy characters that tend to show up in them.

Hello Meteor - Seven Hour Sunset (2022)

A fun blend between chilled out House, 90's electronica and some John Carpenter-esque haunted melodicism. If I were to point out examples of instrumental projects that walk the line between beautiful and ominous, this is a record that treads that path with a fair amount of confidence.  The emphasis on piano and how it weaves around the other elements in a lot of the tunes here is rather soothing. Overall, the album is a disquieting storm that wouldn't be out of place as the soundtrack to some future Lovecraftian thriller on an island paradise. A calm façade that belies something colder and stranger underneath.

That sounds right up my alley, I'll definitely check it out!

Quote from: Mrs. Waffles on Jun 02, 2023, 03:49 AMThat sounds right up my alley, I'll definitely check it out!

Hello Meteor have a ton of good albums, so I hope you like a few things. :)

Monsoon - Third Eye (1983)

A catchy New Wave / Raga Pop-Rock outing that launched Sheila Chandra's solo career in the U.K. The album has a really cool vibe overall, like a richer palleted Bangles writing tunes with Deborah Berg.

Sheila was only like 16 or so when she fronted the mic on this outing, so the sheer vibrancy of her voice is quite something to behear, especially on songs like Wings Of The Dawn or the big single Ever So Lonely.  The overt Indian music influences, especially the percussion and sitar, meld really well with the early emergence of digital 80's production and sounds tasty in a grand, psychedelic sort of fashion.  No matter how you slice it, definitely worth owning.

That's a cool find, Nimbly 🙂 I'm not familiar with Sheila Chandra, but I like this.

Chris Isaak - Chris Isaak (1987)

Late 80's rockabilly icon known for being a frequent musical collaborator and muse to David Lynch, it's not hard to see why the film maestro was enamored by this guys' Smiths-meets-Westcoast dark country energy.  He's like Roy Orbison with a touch of the vampiric, a troubadour channeling that decade's fascination with all things late 50's / early 60's.

While Chris doesn't have a bad album to his name, his first three (with this one being the second) are considered the cream of the crop and the perfection of his somewhat Gothic take on classic rockabilly with a touch of 80's soundtrack AOR and some post-punk jangle to round out that roadhouse vibe. 'Fade Away' and the iconic 'Blue Hotel' are two instant favorites, but the album is just fantastic.  8)

The Paper Kites - On The Corner Where You Live (2018)

Somewhere between the late 80's Indie rustic swing of K.D. Lang, a lush Blue Nile styled dream pop and the neon cruising dreamscapes of modern synthwave bands like The Midnight sits this gorgeous record from Australia's The Paper Kites. It is a true marvel: over the course of 50 minutes, they maintain a late-night ambiance that embraces spaciousness and atmosphere. Lot of great guitar work and harmonies too. The songs exude a sense of ease and tranquility, yet they are far from passive. In fact, they possess captivating climaxes that sneak up on you.

For instance, "Give Me Your Fire, Give Me Your Rain" and "Don't Keep Driving" build up their energies gradually but culminate beautifully while they circle their grooves like whirlpools.  And my favorite cut here, 'Deep Burn Blue' is a luscious ride that's as good as anything the band could claim influence from, burning a trail across a blackened highway as it snakes its way toward the dawn.

One of my favorite late night albums and the perfect soundtrack when your on the way to a far off destination, wherever that may be.

Hell yeah!
I'll be checking this thread out post by post. We don't always agree but I've always appreciated your taste and missed it on MB.

Valeriy Stepanov Fusion Project - Album №1 (2019)

In a parallel universe where everyone loves modern Russian jazz with a smooth fusion edge, this would be the greatest soundtrack to a Gran Turismo game you've never played. Alas, this is not that reality.  But this album might just be good enough to change a few minds.  Valeriy is a multi-instrumentalist and singer who is considered something of a prodigy. When you watch any of his videos on YouTuhe (including ones where he sings) you begin to see why - he's so perfect it seems unreal. 

While his fusion band has a fair amount of material out there, this first album is a great starting point.  As you can likely tell from the song above, the tunes have have a contemporary slick modern smooth jazz aesthetic, but with the hyper stylized melodic sense of great video game composers.  I mentioned Gran Turismo earlier, but this style of fusion owes an equal amount to Chick Corea and Sonic The Hedgehog soundtracks...and that's not a bad thing at all. When the mood is right and you need the musical equivalent of the best Moscow Mule you've ever had in your life, this will definitely do the trick.  It is muzak for people who hate the Weather Channel but who miss those PS2 Course Selection screens of yesteryear.

Bill LaBounty - Bill LaBounty (1982)

Despite looking like your weird uncle from every 80's sitcom, there's some real magic going on within this singer-songwriter's self titled masterpiece. 

Considered to be one of the best golden era examples of what an end-to-end "yacht rock" album should be doing in early 80's California, I'd say there's more to like than just the Steely Dan-level studio perfection and wonderful grooves.  LaBounty isn't the most technically gifted singer you've ever heard, but he's got a ton of personality and soul.

LaBounty later became a prominent and successful songwriter in the Nashville country world, and on this record in particular he demonstrates a knack for sad sack divorce-core stories like the old school country artists he looked up to were so good at, just in a smoother city-slicker context for the L.A. downtown crowd. 

It also helps when you have groove gods like Jeff Porcaro and Chuck Rainy leading the charge in troubadouring these excellent odes to fools who just can't get it right.

Thanks for the write-up, @Nimbly9 🙂 Sounds pretty good! I'll check this one out 👍

Masayoshi Takanaka - The Rainbow Goblins (1981)

A fun one here. This is an exceptionally smooth (mostly) instrumental concept record that tells the story of seven rainbow goblins who travel through the land, catching rainbows and stealing their color. The narrative is presented through spoken word bits at the beginning of most tracks, creating an immersive experience that transports listeners into the world of the goblins. It is supposedly based on a famous children's story but I haven't ever read it.

Sonically, the jams here disarmingly smooth and would be right at home at your next beach grill party. It incorporates strains of ECM-styled Third Stream jazz, early City Pop, and even some Progressive Rock touches, creating a rich and diverse sound palette.

For me, it is Takanaka's masterful guitarwork that's the biggest highlight of the album, flowing seamlessly through every track. He's a god on both electric and acoustic, so you get fair amount of both. And like Herbie Hancock was doing around this era, you also get the occasional vocoder use for extra flavor, so extra points for that.

There's a live version of him at the Budokan back in '81 where one of his guitarists ls literally dressed up as a yellow goblin while he shreds, so that's worth checking out too on YT.

Takanaka I'm actually familiar with as I saw a mini doc about him on YouTube a year or two or three ago. It's fun music, upbeat and well produced 🙂

^ I think I've seen the same one.  I love all his crazy album covers (like the one where he's skydiving) and that one for 1981's Alone where he's on a bigass sand dune.  8)

Mad Honey - Satellite Aphrodite (2023)

One of my favorite albums of the year come from this Indie shoegaze act out of Oklahoma City.  And whilst it does carry a lot of of the typical trademarks of the genre, the vocal stylings of Tiff Sutcliffe have an almost Westcoast singer-songwriter kind of timbre to them which are rather striking. You also get a variety of tempo types and subtle stylistic shifts.  'Kamakura' is a gorgeous little acoustic cut that has more than a little bit of Linda Perhacs in its DNA whilst that confident bass / drum combo stride on 'Eileen' is very Tool-esque without being a ripoff.

My version of the album also came with a cool extra single, a beautifully Gothic new wave jam called 'Blue & You' which felt like it should have been the closer on the original digital album release. The groove reminds me a lot of something the Psychedelic Furs or Chris Isaak might have done, but with a Cocteau Twins twist.

In a year full of great albums and songs, it was nice to have something that tickled my shoegaze-meets-David Lynch soundtrack itch.  Looking forward to the next release!

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10. Mad Honey - Satellite Aphrodite

See previous post. A fantastic and very novel shoegaze album.


9. Ozric Tentacles - Lotus Unfolding

Space rock perfection with a strong classic psych influence and even some jazzy flute thrown in.  Best album they've done since 2000's The Hidden Step, maybe even since the early 90's.



8. Press To Enter - From Mirror To Road

Djent meets veryyy catchy modern pop.  It reminds me a little bit of what District 97 were trying to do awhile back but with better hooks and tighter arrangements. It also helps that Julie Jules Wiingreen has the voice of an angel.



7. Osaka Punch - Mixed Ape

A debut that's been 10 years in the making.  They take Australia's heavier alternative rock sound and throw us right back to Faith No More's super eclectic mid 90's period with pure swagger and charm like its the easiest thing in the world.



6. YATTE & Duett - The Minute

Austin, TX's premiere champion of 80's popcraft nostalgia takes his skills to the next level with Duett's delicious synthwave production skills, resulting in a legitimately great album that's stronger than either one would have been alone. 



5. Trevor Rabin - Rio

The mastermind behind Yes's best pop albums (90125 through Talk) returns with his first vocal solo album in 30 years.  Ironically enough, he actually sounds a lot like Jon Anderson himself now after working on his vocals so much in the past decade.  His songwriting is leagues above anything Yes themselves have done since the 90's for the most part, so if you are a fan of some of Yes's pop/prog hybrid jams you'll really dig this album.



4. Perfect View - Bushido

If Journey and Queensryche had a baby and that baby was the main character in a lost Akira Kurosawa samurai epic, the result would be Bushido.  These Italians weren't great on their past outings, but this album has some legitimately awesome concept rock/metal hijinks going on. AOR with a slightly heavier edge is never a bad thing in my book, especially when it is done this well.


3. Moon Safari - Himlabacken Vol. 2

Some catchy power pop inflected prog.  I've waited 10 years for another album from these guys and it doesn't disappoint. They got those classic late 70's Styx synths going on and six part vocal harmonies that make the best barbershop quartets green with envy.


2. JELUSICK - Follow The Blind Man

Dino Jelusick is a Croatian singer with a voice bestowed by the heavy metal gods of old.  He's early 80's Ronnie James Dio and David Coverdale all rolled into one person and he's a multi-instrumentalist prodigy on top of that.  This album is his first end-to-end original work in a few years and it sounds positively massive with a ton of touch points covering classic metal sounds through grunge and even Queen-esque balladry.  Dude is a monster talent and he's just going to get even better as time goes on.


1. ModX - Secrets

Peter Ericson is a talented singer-songwriter from Sweden who has been involved in the music industry over there since the mid 80's.  Most of the time he writes for or produces other people, but on this awesome debut Secrets he really showcases his true calling - the classic pop-rock sound of Toto and Mr. Mister crossed with mid 90's/early 00's Max Martin boy band hook crafting. The end result is way more substantial than anything Max Martin has been involved with, but you can hear his influence and it comes through in the best possible way on jams like 'Looking For Closure' and the rollicking title cut.  This style isn't for everyone, but he does it exceptionally well and it's one helluva sugar rush if your in the mood.

Toto - Mindfields (1999)

An extremely adventurous and interesting album from the best session musician band to ever emerge out of L.A. Toto IV and Africa this ain't, but it has a lot of varied and interesting ideas (60's psychedelia, blues rock, even progressive metal).

Back on MusicBanter years ago, I reviewed this record over a conversation with UnknownSoldier.   In retrospect, I was hard on some songs I didn't need to be and I appreciate the wider range of styles they tackled.  'Cruel' is one of Bobby Kimball's best vocal performances ever, and it swings hard with those horns like a lost Motown jam.  The groove is very typically Toto though (not a bad thing).

Songs like 'Melanie' and 'Mad About You' are pretty good 90's flavored pop-rock numbers, but the real gem here is the super proggy 'Better World'.  It has some fantastic central motifs and some serious payoff at the end.  Might be the best thing they've ever done.