The Star Department Reviewed at Road Records
A superb blend of noisy indie rock and euphoric wall of sound shoegazing sounds, jangly guitars meets big explosive guitar freakouts, like a mixture of Ride and Mogwai.
The Star Department Reviewed at Pyxis Magazine
Their sound is reminiscent of Belle and Sebastian meets Glen Phillips meets I’m From Barcelona (with a less overwhelming number of band members).
The Star Department Reviewed at The Guardian
Art rock with a nice, romantic/melodic edge to reign in the cleverness.
Kramies ‘The Fate That Never Favored Us’ Reviewed at The Sunday Experience
There’s so much to cover, some killer stuff has been filtering through our in box this last month since we went off radar – one thing that immediately hit us like an oncoming wall was this little darling. New single from Kramies finds the author of some of the finest and most sublime ethereal sonic hymnals to come our way in recent times shimmying up to forge a new old acquaintances with Grandaddy man Jason Lytle here taking up production duties. Available as a free download ‘the fate that never favoured us’ is to simply put it – breathless. A delicately spun cosmic carnival teased upon the same unseen fragile structures that hold stars in the night sky, this demurring honey deceptively arrests all the time transmitting its lunar love noted opines across the celestial voids as though the result of some star crossed love in embarked upon by Sterling Roswell and a certain J Xaverre. Bliss.
Chloe March vs Markus Mehr EP Reviewed at Igloo Mag
You never know what to expect from Hidden Shoal, post-rock, electronica, ambient, folk, it could be anything; the people operating the Australia-based independent label don’t bind it to just one genre. If it’s good and they like it, they’ll release it. One of the latest gems from Hidden Shoal is a stimulating 4-track, free download EP aptly titled To Set The River On Fire. The concept: two Hidden Shoal artists remix each other’s music, or, set each other’s rivers on fire if you will. English dream-pop artist Chloë March has reconstructed a track from the latest album by German experimentalist Markus Mehr, and vice versa. The results are incendiary and seductive.
Mehr took March’s “Ember” and turned it into a multilayered, futuristic and electrifying beast. The track surges forward savagely, throbbing and twisting, but Mehr has beautifully preserved the caressing expressive charm of the original, in fact, he even intensified it. It’s a cutting edge, erratic sonic roller coaster bursting with electricity, craftiness and otherworldliness. An absolute stunner. March, on the other hand, has set a different kind of fire in Mehr’s minimalist ambient river, “Buoy,” a mystical and slightly dark fire that burns slowly and sensually.
The EP also includes the two original pieces. This collaborative effort really ignites the imagination and will surely leave, and probably has already left, many listeners craving for more. We here at Igloo Magazine would be absolutely thrilled to hear March and Mehr setting more of each other’s rivers on fire, in the form of a full-length album.
Hidden Shoal MixTape
