Jerrod Harlan - Hello Ontario EP review

Year : 2012
Genre : Synthpop with Atmospheric Shoegaze character
Label : Independent
Origin : United States
Official site : > - here - <

Introductory information is taken from the artist's website :

"Hello Ontario is the music project of Pittsburgh’s Jerrod Harlan. Only 20 years old and Harlan’s already made a name for himself playing top venues throughout the Alleghenies, including Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Hello Ontario’s flavor of modern indie/electronic has been compared to the bands Of Montreal and The Postal Service.

Actually, you’ll hear a wide range of influences in Hello Ontario, including Foster The People, Breathe Electric, Tokyo Police Club, Death Cab For Cutie and even the legendary Buddy Holly. Quite a ride, considering Harlan first learned to play guitar when he broke his arm! What is a musician at heart to do, with an arm casted at 90 degrees? He also plays synthesizer, piano, bass, and does vocals. Harlan has a wanderlust for sharing his music far and wide and yet, he has an ace card of a solid musical education. He studied music theory and composition at the highly prestigious performance arts charter school, Lincoln Park Performing Arts. Hello Ontario has played to jam-packed audiences at coffee shops, festivals and charity concerts."

Read on to find out how the music sounds.

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Perilium - Optic 72 review

Year : 2012
Genre : Progressive Rock with a Psychedelic Light-Sludge flavor
Label : Independent
Origin : Australia
Official sites :  > - Bandcamp - <
                      > - Facebook - <
                   

Australian Perilium is into the Opeth horizon of progressive music deliverance, expressing the related key-affections and a nice variety of unique flavors on a full-value debut LP that is accessible at the band's Bandcamp as a whole listen session and a name-your-price offering.

Though it would be misleading to tag this contribution with an additional "sludge" genre label outright, I personally think that the fabric of this music shows a great deal of exquisite and pleasant similarities both to the Opeth-, and, to the Place of Skulls stance towards - so called - things. The instrumental track "Mirage" is a song worshiping a harmonic pattern your premiere doom wizard Victor Griffin would be super-fond of, and it remains notable throughout that Perilium finds considerable joy AND efficiency at channeling from a musical Zone that equally is fervent at progression while belonging at heart to a pseudo-morose/peaceful emotional disposition. This behavior might be a beneficial one to conduct a spiritual experiment with, which pretty much what this album is. A spiritual experiment ready and able to submit both to fragile AND robust southern vibes - submitting to mammoth-sludge, on occasion - among a "spacescape" of the primordial psychedelic private investigations. Read on to find out more about this honest, surprisingly ripe delivery.


Though the individual songs of the flow exhibit evident capacity to exist on their own as autonomous declarations, Perilium's Optic 72 reveals its intended Ultimate Face of valiant and relevant trip-experience as a full listen, - best spent on your-, or on someone else's back - taking you on a spiritual sightseeing that is quite rewarding to be subjected to. The disc, luckily enough, is fueled by the intent to primordially and exigently entertain along the favorite rhetorics it excels at, and these terms, I feel, are not exaggerations.

Perilium maintains focus and luscious variety during the LP's highly ideal run time, which clocks in about 40 minutes. Interestingly enough, bands with a similar approach often dwell on the misconception with misplaced enthusiasm that a progressive rock record with a psychedelic and quasi-sludge flavor should not relent below the 1 hour mark, - at that is just an EP, dudette! - and that often is a tolling length to endure with largely similar sentiments to soak a human nervous system into. If you are a Golem, good for you.

Remember, you can not really go borderline-happy here or suicidal-sorrowful without the majority of the audience being interrupted. No, this direction of music seeks to explore inner spaces and their related thought-patterns in equally calm, YET eventful manner. It is primarily "supposed to be" mystical, as this music aims to be honest regarding the (current) spiritual limitations of both its resonators and its listeners.

Contrary to popular (?) belief, you don't need to be stoned to a sedated gargoyle to be able to scientifically immerse yourself in inner spaces, so a nice sense of variety along the soberly accessible palette of tools is not only a possibility to rely on, but it is pretty good to see and hear when the possibility gets taken efficient advantage of, too. Optic 72 never mistakes trance with self-indulgence amidst patters of limited charisma power. The Aussies are not afraid to entertain the receptors with full blown instrumental narratives, and even tasteful, zero-wankery guitar solos are present. I especially like the solo guitar tone, it packs that "desert wolf" feeling, while the overall production is crisp, in-your-face sonic resonance that could crush you any time, it is just kind enough to refrain from that. (Most of the time.)

The segments exhibit a legitimate, organic flow and it especially is nice to see that the album does not get hooked in terms of orthodox song structuring : you hardly, if ever will know at your first listening if the vocalist dude is nearby with the next verse, or, if the music will form and declare its right to take you wherever it wants to. By all means, please do that. This album does exactly that, and I'm impressed. Recommended.

Check out Perilium - Optic 72 at the official Bandcamp of the Australian ensemble, while
you are giving them your virtual facetime at their Facebook, too.

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Cynic - The Portal Tapes

Year : 2012
Genre : Easy Listening Anti-Sludge
Label : Season of Mist
Origin : United States
Rating : 9.5 / 10

Buy it now

The Portal Tapes contains music that you can decipher in real time with a grateful set of ears. This is not something that is a "given", as it is natural these days that a disc demands a learning curve. Not THIS baby. It is clear as a crystal, only clearer. The now-full-musculature variant of Cynic's notorious demo session is audio data that has zero concept of strain or lies. Everything I hear on the record is straight from the heart to the heart astral data that manages to convey both dignity and beauty, and not for a single moment I feel like I am being cornered into a -oops - corner to get deprived of my reactionary emotions that the music seeks to toll on me. Cynic "simply" plays the music that they find both honest and beautiful, and, these qualities are reflected in your soul with zero obstacle in the way of the pleasant transfer the album as entity embodies. Read on to find out more about this fine contribution.


The shape of things on this release sounds to me as a special blend of exigent anti-sludge and the best days of Foo Fighters being put on marijuana. The Portal Tapes is a spiritual relative to Wobourn House, only less lethally morose. This Cynic album is capable to present a reverberating listening experience without being fueled of coarse ambitions or showoff-arrogance to do so. It is "just" music - that is exactly the most a music critic expects while optimistic - which has nothing obtrusive in its way at all. Michael Jackson says in an interview that artists tend to get in the way of the music. "Don't get into the way of the music!" - he adds - logically -, and oh, he is so right, in my opinion.

The Portal Tapes LP is a contribution that contains data taken from-, and composed of a natural sonic flow of astral beauty that has a very clear and dainty anatomy to it. Once again : very clear, elegantly simple, but utterly dainty musical anatomy. Track number 7, "Mirror Child", for example, brings to mind Faith No More's Evidence, and I'm pretty sure Mike Patton would sing this song wholeheartedly without a second thought occurring to him in the process.

A set of favorite pastimes of the release are to be mentioned as the premiere defining ingredients of it. Cynic has a superb taste for thrilling harmonic passages, and, so efficient these passages are indeed, that they do not get tedious during the repetitions they are recruited for, quite the contrary : they are used for just the right amount of turns, giving their respective places to another superb follow-up pattern (per motif, of course) that wants to add to its surroundings as opposed to interrupt them with stimuli that is hard to grasp at first. The choruses, the verses all reeking top of the heat easy listening music that is coming from the heart with a natural flow and beauty you can't get around, no matter how hard you try. Okay, the chorus of track number 10 has a little bit too much of Grimes retardation going on, but it is good. (For the exact same reason.) At ultimate value, this here is an instant seducer album and an immediate recommendation.

Rating : 9.5 / 10

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Xipe Totec - Eztlacuani review

Year : 2011
Genre : Atmospheric Death Metal
Label : Independent
Origin : Mexico
Rating : 9.0 / 10

Mexico expects a superb year from a touristic point of view, courtesy of the 2012 apocalypse some portion of the masses anticipate. Xipe Totec's Eztlacuani is coming to you from the most authentic soul content you could possibly imagine, as this Mexican formation channels the sonic variant of the apocalyptic ancient energy steadily summoned on the cover art. If you did not yet see Mel Gibson's movie Apocalypto, - a vastly significant movie, in my opinion, and people dissing it are failing to realize what they are witnessing, seems to me - then now is the time to do so. What you - in my view - witness is a real life historic science fiction movie in which the wrath of anguish Gods indeed seems to threaten the life quality of the Mayan community. As such, this hive entity, driven by fear, accepts and follows the direction of - haha! - religion, - ahhhahahahahahaha! - that which declares that lives must be sacrificed in vast numbers to gain the mercy of the anguish entities up above. Comfy so far? I dare you to imagine that you are a Mayan woman or man with an impending eclipse above the scenery, tribal music by million drums and animalistic shouts in consensus air and in your ear, and you are being led/dragged to the top of the sacrificial pyramid with the High Priest on it, who, rest assured, will have no problem cutting your heart out, having done that 23 times in the past 30 minutes already. This horrifying experience is a part of the collective psyche, and these humans had no choice to tap out of this, to dismiss the terrible, real life 3D life experience crushing their current form of existence. They had to die by this trauma, and had to experience it emotionally and physically. Infinitely disturbing and infinitely sad thing.

I confess I do not understand a single word sung on this release, but I instinctively understand that they promise no good. To me, it is a record made both for the timeless remembrance of sacrificed Mayans, - talking about death metal, hm? - and, for the timeless remembrance of that ancient variant on the fabric of physical reality, in which you, as a living human being, indeed lack both the capacity and awareness to convince anyone that no one needs to die, it is "just" an eclipse. There are no words in use in that reality fabric to make them "understand", even if you would knew the information, you would have next to zero chance to convince the religious leaders of this collective psyche to give up on their ancient traditions, losing their face in the process. You will be sacrificed. Read on though, Lover.


Xipe Totec's Eztlacuani is a superb, authentic addition to the attractions you can properly anticipate your personal apocalypse with. This rampant spin comes to you along a traditional-, yet very well realized death metal register, soaked skillfully and tastefully in Mayan atmospheric elements. Among these, tribal drums and the Mayan flute are the focal ingredients. You got to love and fear all of them. They summon an ancient vibe that flatters a cosmic secret of timeless significance regarding mere cosmos and the oh, so casual existence, and, though the Mayan flute herein has only two favorite pitches, those two pitches will always find their way to your core, courtesy of the lack of all doubt on their part that they will do so indeed.

To make the metaphoric picture given earlier - with the pyramid and tribal drums - more precise, imagine that there is an ancient, anachronistic Mayan death metal band playing on one of the tribunals when you are being dragged to the top of the pyramid to be sacrificed. The music you hear during the process, is contained on this spin. As such, it is needless to say that Xipe Totec's Eztlacuani is both a disturbing-, but very significant spiritual ride, after which you give all grace you can to the fabric of cosmos that you are not in the position of having to die by the trauma the sacrificed Mayans had to die by.

As for your Personal Apocalypse of any other kind : if that is what you are after, than that is what you will get.

Rating : 9.0 / 10

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Woburn House - Sleep Summer Storm review

Year : 2011
Genre : Atmoshperic Sludge
Label : Zeitgeister Music
Origin : Germany
Rating : 9.0 / 10

Woburn House plays a rather rare type of sludge music, and what makes this sludge special, is that it does not seek to intimidate its listener. This German group delivers caressing lightweight sonic data, coming to you through touches hidden in a glove hot as the vicinity of hellfire, and the intent never is to wear you down or to fix you into a brick wall.

Woburn House's music cunningly and willingly reigns in the position of being elegantly lost in space, yet always remains ready to give a ping of life upon request. The album's agenda is firm and original, while its sound is capable to summon - in my opinion - a truly special mood that reeks an alternate universe Type O Negative of the early '80s with Peter Steele contemplating in ambient terms. Read on to find out more about this.


The peculiar character of the music on this release is not something you can easily come across. In fact, it is safe to say that Sleep Summer Storm comes to you with a sound that has all the chance in the world to hit you as rather original, free and unmannered, and, as something you did not hear before. Sludge, and its closely related extreme buttbudy, funeral doom are subgenres that seem to utilize the method of musical intimidation without restrain : the explosion of the tuned-below-hell guitar and the crawling drums are sonic entities you are familiar with while under sludge-siege, or, if you find your awareness amidst the tidal anti-torsion fields of funeral doom. Booooosh! In other words : sludge, and funeral doom are intimidating forms of music, and what makes THIS particular release unique, in my opinion, is the fact that it is capable to summon a super-similar vibe with tender methods and instruments, while rejecting intimidation.

The songs herein are deceitful images, as is a woman who comes close to you, only to make you realize that her face, which seems so pretty from the distance, is 1000 years old. The fabrics of the tracks are not too "busy" at all, there always is plenty of room for modest, but proper variation, mainly administered by simplistic, yet efficient arpeggiated harmonies and random sonic entities that find relevant function in their respective environments. The delivery remains tender in nature, armed with its lethal kiss even when it puts its grouchier face on.

The vocal contribution sounds to me as a conscious fanboy tribute to Peter Steele, as the method the related data is expressed through is quite similar to the vocal style of the Type O Negative fronter, in my opinion. It must be mentioned though that the singer lacks the

(n)e(c)rotic deep

of Peter Steele, and, fortunately, does not even try to go for THAT pitch. He instead delivers along the similar mood register, but, on HIS natural frequency.

The Type O Negative correlation is something that the whole album baths and finds beautiful sonic pleasure in, but not with an intent to rip the mood off. Good luck ripping off Type O Negative properly by the way, as Peter Steele had - and I sure hope still has, in his favorite form of existence - an exceptional sense for brutal-fragile harmonic hooks that pull a checkmate on the awareness right away, and this methodology evidently is one that the creators of this LP are greatly enjoying from Mr. Steele, too. I have a hunch that this record might work pretty well with a variety of situations and moods, and the only viable test to the pudding fails to elude me, too. This LP easily is one of the most special releases of 2011, and you definitely should check it out.

Rating : 9.0 / 10

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