01-08-2002

Snapshots #10

Gravenhurst, Windsor For The Derby, L'Altra, Spokane, Man, Karate, Fivehead

Due to obvious reasons of slow translation, we're unable to provide you with this review in English at the moment. In the meantime, as we're very keen that you should read about the cds we've listened to lately, and if you want to live a strange experience, here's an automated translation by Altavista!

It is really times where one should not listen to his friends but rather its impulses. Thus the disc of Gravenhurst was disadvised to us whereas the small pocket and the sticker (speaking about Nick Drake, of Red House Painters and Low) pushed us in the other direction. Well took us to set out again with this album under the arm, because it is about a very large pearl! A pearl of delicacy which would almost make pass Arco, Rivulets and Kings Of Convenience for bands of rockers in santiags, the voice of the so weak and fragile singer being and play of picking if purified and subtle. De Windsor For The Derby, we did not know almost anything, with share the fact that this name was familiar as well for us as it would be necessary a day well to consider their case. With "The Emotional Rescue LP", the first step is taken and brings us already well high! The title of the album speaks about emotion and it is indeed this feeling which comes to invade us on these nine pieces with the rather different structures. With "The Same", the group inserts to us to the idle in the album and it is very often at this rate/rhythm that the listener will be likely to traverse a very coherent unit, even if it has fun to play great difference between post-rock'n'roll, folk, pop... Vertiginous Summits of the album: "Emotional Rescue" and its melody involving in Sea & Cake, "Indonesian Guitars" or the meeting éthérée between folk and melody indonésienne and "Mythologies" with its coldness and its loop entêtante. Left about at the same time and on the same label, Aesthetics, the second album of L'Altra convinces us largely more than the precedent. Go, we can even acknowledge that "In The Sea" more easily makes us return in the musical universe of the group while playing in a "human" register more with voices much more present and slightly choked which, paradoxically, make take off limpid melodies, the whole pointing out atmospheres 4AD. And since one is with being spoken about the English mythical label, and while waiting for that the new album of Magic Piano does not come to slip into the reader, the moment is ideal to evoke the Spokane, group which seems more and more to devour the cold and arid grounds and to evoke the beginning of the years ' 80. "Bodies Whitebait", like its predecessor, is truly a wonder which bores the secrecies of New Wave classieuse with a male-intonated voice which thwarts the traps guignolesques of in addition to-fall from operetta and a female-intonated voice airing of the pieces enjoying to lead us on the ground. Also essential element of the group and the album: a violoncello which allows some saving flights all the same. The discovery of Man was done last year with a first album touffu - but also very insane - and blow rather difficult to approach bus being especially a compilation of recordings extending over one year. "left Hand", even if it is not really simple of access, is especially much more coherent and leaves impassioned instrumental the least surprised by the fitting of the disc. But it does not go until letting it derive all quietly, it obliges it to be trotted on the various structures and instruments to try to hang up again itself with each break of rate/rhythm, alone average which will enable him to leave indemme it! Like Windsor For The Derby, the name of Karate rather often returned in the reviews and the webzines which interest us. The very long ep "Cancel/Sing" was thus a good means of discovering what hid behind. Good, eh well it will be necessary to consider a new group because this two titles literally impressed us with these very stretched beaches very, this voice monocorde stating continuations of words, these digressions jazzy and the few rises to power (recalling us per moments our comrades of Amor Belhom Duo). We began this chronicle with a very slow album, finish it with the folk-rock'n'roll very involving of Fivehead. The label Tight Spot Records sent its three last exits to us and even if it is about shortest, it is undoubtedly "Big Mistake Factory" which turned the most by here with these six pieces which explore the rock'n'roll by various spyglasses: lo-fi and direct with "Moelling", spoken and hypnotic on "Las Vegas Stanza" and explosive on "Young And Compliant".