Some Groovy Web-Based Music

While I still highly enjoy writing this blog, I do find my time is at more of a premium than when I started two and a half years ago. This means that I tend to focus more on the classic oddities. Still, plenty of folks send newer music my way and I find a good portion of it quite groovy. I'd like you to hear them, so I'm going to try a mini-review format. Here are the ones that I've found myself listening to the most.

Blancanus - 2009 - Singles

Quality: 4.25 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4 out of 5

This Spanish fellow makes music that I feel is very much in the same vein as my Glaze of Cathexis recordings. You'll hear some homemade, relatively clear sounding psych rock with an 80's tinge. Blancanus also strikes a chord of envy as he's adorned these tracks with some live drums. There's a clear progression of quality as we reach the more recent singles, with "The Sea of LSD" standing out as overtly awesome. My only complaint is that these recordings really deserve some proper cover art (I'd be willing to do it, but my covers are a little half-assed).
http://www.blancanus.blogspot.com

Caregiver - 2008 - Letters 1

Quality: 3.75 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.5 out of 5

This is an analog synth fantasy well entrenched in the Berlin School, especially the mid 70's Tangerine Dream stuff. While I do wish for a few more organic sounds, music of this nature doesn't necessarily need them. Just be forewarned that you're in for a coldly beautiful ride. The arrangements are pretty spot on with old-school trance sequencing underpinning the whole affair. I'm especially partial to the first ten minutes of "ABC," and the whole of "GHI." That's more than half of the album.
http://fictionband08.blogspot.com/


Catasto Elettrico - 2009 - Infinite

Quality: 3.5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4 out of 5

These jazz-psychonauts have been grooving along on the internet for a few years and eight releases now. This is their most recent. It's got a serious experimental edge to it, and quite a few electronics at the forefront. I tend to enjoy their jazzier parts the best and have an affinity towards the first track. It all depends on what your bag is. Head to their website for more, especially my favorites, Micro and Radio.
http://catastoelettrico.blogspot.com/


Sister Waize - 2009 - The Lights Come From Above

Quality: 3.75 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.25 out of 5

This sounds like the soundtrack for a super-trippy, lost Mega Man game. Now this is coming from a guy who was made his way through all the Mega Man games and even a few of the X's, so I mean this as a compliment. Sister Waize has an enjoyable way of filling up the soundspace with lots of super quirky bleeps and bloops. Although lacking the lush wall of sound, I hear a few echoes of early M83 bouncing around in here as well. Like Caregiver, this is very cold sounding music for the most part. The difference here is that I get to play video games in my head while it's playing.
http://www.myspace.com/sisterwaize

We're Late For Class - 2009 - Opium Den Music

Quality: 3.75 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4 out of 5

This is the most recent release from the prolific collegiate stoners. My favorite is still the one that re-appropriates Jim Morrison, but I'd say that this one ranks in their upper-tier. Prepare yourself for an enjoyable brain-vaporizing, tranced-out psychedelic jam as these intrepid musicians try to take you along for a ride in the seedier parts of Asia. At least that's what they say. For me, this track would be right at home in one of David Lynch's more surreal bars; that or the Titty Twister.
http://werelateforclass.blogspot.com/