The Mauskovic Dance Band - Shadance Hall (Dekmantel)

From the Netherlands, the Mauskovic Dance Band continue to weave their rhythms into ever more curious and beguiling combinations.  I'm speculating that the proclaimed geographical origin for this release (the Welsh valleys) has something to do with their appearance at last year's Green Man Festival, where the band brought a mesmerising live set to the Chai Wallah stage.

Some of the spirit of that set is undoubtedly captured here.  Finished off in Amsterdam, the result is a compelling and bewitching combination of elements derived from instruments that clash and bounce all over the place, encountering echoes, reverbs and curious bass rhythms as they go.  

This is nowhere more pronounced than on the wonderful 'Squeeze Dogs', which features in my Dandelion Radio show this month but the album's eight tracks all manage to surprise and consistently reward as the listener works through.

The album is available as a digital release here. 

Dead Bambies - Dandelion Session (Thomas Imposter)

There's so much great stuff coming out of Japan at the moment and the Thomas Imposter label is home to some of the best of it.  Dead Bambies unquestionably qualify for inclusion in that category: their frenzied guitar attack has launched many welcome assaults on my ears in the last few years and I hope and trust there will be many more to come.

This session was broadcast in my Dandelion Radio show in September 2018 and it's great to see it getting an official release via TI.  Not only that, but the four session tracks are augmented here by a further three previously unreleased tracks: you can hear one of them, Taste of Honey, in my show this month. 

It's available to download from the Thomas Imposter Bandcamp site.  Get a copy here.   Also, listen out for their labelmates The Jungles!!! whose brilliant debut session can be heard in my show this month.