Kunteynir - В Гавно

2005; 20 tracks01 ПЬЮК (feat. Sid)02 ПИТУЛЯ 

03 В ГАВНО 

04 Е 

05 ПОДСТАВИТЬ СТУЛ 

06 ЧИШИРСКИЙ МИКС 

07 В РОТ 

08 АНДЭРВОТЭР 

09 HARDCORE SCREAMO 

10 ИДУ 

11 ИСТОРИЯ 

12 МОЙ СРОК КОНЧАЕТСЯ 

13 НЕНАДОИНТРО 

14 КОСМОС 

15 ОН ВЕДЬ НЕ БУДЕТ 

16 МИКС - ДАУН 

17 FREESTYLE 

18 ПРИДЕЛ 

19 СВИСТУЛЬКА 

20 BONUS FREESTYLE

Kunteynir is a Moscow-based collective of underground hip-hop artists (Техник, Блёв МС, Смешной) and  В Гавно is their second album.

It opens with the notes of Schubert's A-flat Impromptu, and from then on a terrifyingly brilliant mishmash of jazzy, abstract beats and lyrical accompaniment unfolds in a mesmerizing, nighttime-colored, fun-filled ride through a fuzzy alternate world. Cigarette smoke and shiny, expensive cars. Grease and sweat and filth. Classy streetfights and flickering lamps. Shadows of shivering trees and the rubbing of tennis shoe on pavement. Mystery all around.

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Pale Cocoon - 繭

 1984; 12 tracks The echoes of a dream, lost in a nebulous emptiness deep inside your head. 繭 (Cocoon) was released as a cassete in 1984 by Japanese duo Pale Cocoon, and it is unreal.

This music seems to have spawned from a disconnected TV program from a far away universe, broadcasted over time that is not time to finally echo inside our heads while we dream. I have never experienced an album so illusory, but the sensation is incredible. There is no structure, no direction - just as in a dream... Enigmas raining from the sky in unpredictable patterns. Distant hums of an unimaginable instrument accompany dreamlike and utterly surreal vocals. From time to time the mirrored sounds from a remote childhood make themselves heard (as on "Toy Box") alongside the sheer strangeness of Pale Cocoon, a band as mysterious as their music. Some aspects of this could be called shoegaze, or dreampop, but it is more experimental than anything else, and incapable of fitting into any one genre. I am so glad I got this, though it was purely on a whim. It seems as though whenever I find something completely randomly it always ends up being infinitely more enjoyable than something on one of my many "music to listen to" lists.

a very private sonic universe

My Dad is Dead - Chopping Down the Family Tree

1991; 12 tracks

My Dad is Dead is the recording project of American musician Mark Edwards (of the Cleveland-based band Riot Architecture), and since 1985 has released 11 full-length albums.

Chopping Down the Family Tree is Edwards' 7th album, and fully awe-inspiring. Its opening track, "Cool Rain," which is steeped in a heavier indie/punk sound, sets a very gritty and dark tone for the album. After the first half of the album, however, the tracks become increasingly cheerful (and increasingly enjoyable). The instrumentation of Chopping Down the Family Tree is astounding - bright guitars, exciting vocal harmonies and a great sense of variation and movement throughout. When you listen you will be surprised at the variety of music styles Edwards employs to convey his thoughts. Amazing tracks that transcend perfection: "Without a Doubt," "Cool Rain," and "Chopping Down the Family Tree."

"My Dad Is Dead, most of whose songs were indeed inspired by the loss of Edwards' father, makes music whose appeal lies largely in its matter-of-fact handling of trauma. Growing steadily in fluency and confidence, Edwards, who writes, plays and sings with instrumental and vocal help from a floating gene pool of Cleveland musicians (Prisonshake's Chris Burgess has also produced the bulk of his recordings), makes records that are as comforting as they are harrowing.

Chopping Down the Family Tree boasts its fair share of Edwards' familiar lyrics and dense, metallic instrumentation, but the fog hovering over his head has lifted a little further."

The strength of the family can be an illusion when built on control and based on collusion.

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Kiila - Silmät Sulkaset

2004; 8 tracks

Kiila is a Finnish folk/experimental group made up of about 6 people, give or take a few. This album is truly stunning, the first freak folk album I really loved upon the first listen. The opening minutes bring be back to the first time I listened to Supreme Dicks' album The Emotional Plague, a relatively tame, yet dissonant, cacophany of twangs and odd sounds. The similarites end here, however. Silmät Sulkaset soon builds into an atmosphere of impressionistic beauty and psychedelia, touching on many different elements of music and styles.

The ensemble combines electric guitar, hand percussion, bass, violin and wooden flutes, voice, melodica, accordion and electric keyboards with a traditional Finnish instrument, the kantele (a lap-held, strummed harp with the piercing metallic twang of mandolin). This album was breathtaking from start to finish, a journey I want to make again soon.

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