Sunday 17 May 2020

Nac/Hut Report - Transmisja Z Przesilenia (Chrunchy Human Children)


Sometimes, massive changes of direction can be a good thing.  However, I'm always glad to hear a new Nac/Hut Report album and find that they've resisted it.  Frankly this duo, based in Poland, create such astonishing things together it's always refreshing to find that a new collection of their stuff consists of hammering out a new set of jarring, challenging noises from pretty much the same template.

As usual, the release comes via the Warsaw cooperative Crunchy Human Children and, as you might have guessed from my preliminary comments, it doesn't disappoint.  I played a track from the album in my Dandelion Radio show last month and this month I'm playing 'Plytki Lek'. 

The album is available to buy on cassette or as NYP download here.

Tuesday 12 May 2020

Mood Taeg - Exophoria (Happy Robots)


Another excellent release from the Happy Robots label becomes available next week in the form of this Dusseldorf/Shanghai collaboration that stems from a wider collective comprising DJs, graffiti artists and photographers, among others.

Exophonia's five tracks exhibit their krautrock influences prominently but there's something highly distinctive about what emerges, all emanating from their own Lowell's Garden studio where digital recording techniques meet with analogue synths to produce results that are at once experimental and bewitchingly accessible.

I'm playing opening track '2MR' in my Dandelion Radio show this month and you can pre-order the release as a download or on vinyl here.

Sunday 10 May 2020

Jangly Mark & The Benefits - My City (Lavender Sweep)



The sprightly, strangely intimate feel of a Jangly Mark & The Benefits release has invariably brought a positive shine to many aspects of life.   This new EP - released at the height of lockdown a coronavirus-ravaged Britain - is no exception.

Released via the always excellent Lavender Sweep label, the EP contains some unreleased gems, the B-side of the excellent I Fancy You single and a couple of glimpses of what to expect from the forthcoming Rimmer & Other Stories album.

I'm playing 'Heading East' (the aforementioned B-side) in my Dandelion Radio show this month and I strongly encourage you to give the full EP a listen.  It's available here as a free download but with a request to make a donation to a charity providing PPE for NHS staff.

Thursday 7 May 2020

Wished Bone & Spencer Radcliffe - A Bug Crawled In The Piano


While all genres of music can throw up items of interest, some are less fertile ground than others.   For instance, that kind of dreamy bedroom lo-fi that has found a home on the 'name your price' areas of bandcamp has not, it has to be said, offered an especially rich source of great tunes.

Ohio's Wished Bone are an exception and always have been.   Very often even a cursory wander over to their bandcamp page can dig up the occasional delight: on this collaboration with Spencer Radcliffe, the delights are more than just occasional: they come thick and fast.

I'm playing opening track 'Help My Brother' in my Dandelion Radio show this month.  It's a wonderful starting point for a short journey (six tracks) of subtle touches and gentle but threatening curves.   Get it, of course, for name-your-price here.