Monolith Cocktail Blog

A CATCH-UP OF REVIEWS FROM GRAHAM DOMAIN

__/SINGLES/EPS\__

TANDM ‘Sirens’ EP
(self-released) (Download)

Of this five song EP, ‘The Man in the Sea’ is the best song. A spooked lonely piano ballad sounding not unlike Sarah Blasko. They need more variation in their sound to hold interest, but still ‘one to watch’!

Corinne Bailey Rae ‘Peach Velvet Sky’
(Thirty Tigers) (Download Single)

This the second single from her new album Black Rainbows, released back in September. It is a beautiful slow jazz piano ballad where her soft voice often soars above the music reaching out towards the stars.

The song is inspired by the autobiography of a slave girl in the 1800’s who escaped from her master by hiding for seven years in a crawl space above her grandmothers’ storeroom viewing the outside world through a small hole in the wood. As an artist CBR has developed and grown since her pop breakthrough hit ‘Put your Records On’ in 2006, collaborating with Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder along the way. Nowadays, her music has more of a jazz edge to it rather than pop. A lovely song and a great record.

Michael Peter Olsen ‘So Far So Good’
(Hand Drawn Dracula) (Download Single)

Experimental instrumental piece that blends acoustic and manipulated electric cello to produce a piece that could easily slot into a documentary about manufacturing or cell reproduction. Not exciting, not Rock and Roll. Music from a dimension where Ian Curtis had never been born.

Neon Kittens ‘Sunburn On My Legs’ 3 track EP
(Metal Postcard Records) (Download EP)

This three track EP from Neon Kittens is a frantic whirlpool of abstract guitar, rabid rhythms and Freudian psychosis – ‘a disturbance of the connections between the self and the exterior world.’

A masterclass condensed into a few vital minutes where nothing is wasted, every scratch, every scrape, and every note speaks. The paranoia bleeding into a chaos of neurosis – ‘you see everything but nothing sees you.’

__/ALBUMS\__

Yungchen Lhamo ‘One Drop of Kindness’
(Real World Records) (Vinyl, CD, Download)

This is a fantastic album of beautiful spiritual music by the wonderful world-renowned Tibetan female singer. Accompanied by a variety of acoustic instruments from around the world the seven songs are offerings to the Great Divine Spirit ‘devoted to spiritual awakening, unconditional love and compassion for all beings!’ A record to treasure – a beacon of hope in the darkest of times.

Emil Amos ‘Zone Black’
(Drag City) (CD, Download)

An album of eerie instrumental music, much of it electronic. The sort of music that could easily be used as a TV Theme or to soundtrack a cult Movie (or even as music on a Video Game). It bears comparison to both D J Shadow (‘Bad Night at Cowboys’) and Martin Rev of Suicide (‘Theme from A Personal Prison’). Intriguing and addictive. This album could well become a cult classic!

Fir Cone Children ‘The Urge to Overtake Time’
(Blackjack Illuminist Records) (CD, Cassette, Download)

This is fantastic album from Berlin based band Fir Cone Children. It sounds like it was recorded in 1979 when New Wave (Post Punk) creativity took hold for a couple of years and no two bands were the same! ‘Time Needs an Upgrade’ sounds like the Cure mixed with the Pop Group. ‘Snowblack’ sounds like Wire led by Jeff Lynne! ‘The Inability to Raise the Left Corner of my Mouth’ sounds like the Buzzcocks if they had been from San Francisco circa 1968. ‘It Feels Complete’ sounds like the Cramps if they had been Buddhist Monks! ‘Spider School’ sounds like the Scars mixed with the Undertones and Interpol. ‘One Hundred Years’ sounds like the Sound mixed with Wire and MBV! But moreover, although there are always comparisons to be made, Fir Cone Children have an individual spark; the music is much more than the sum of its influences! Perhaps, the best German band since Faust!