Tag: Pop

  • Eva & Manu – [2011] Still Traveling EP

    Eva & Manu – [2011] Still Traveling EP

    Acoustic vocal indie pop. This gem from French-Finish duo Eva & Manu has unfortunately been de-published by the creators from the original sources, but the archive.org mirror is still up. And thanks to the nature of Creative Commons license, I can be sure that it remains legal to download the original EP. Four songs long,…

  • Various Artists – [2009] Music From All Around The World

    Various Artists – [2009] Music From All Around The World

    Timeless introductory drug for to-become Creative Commons addicts. This is less of a review and more of a SHOUT-OUT to make you GET. THIS. RELEASE. 17 good to excellent tracks have been gathered. They show both how diverse (and enjoyable) from 2009 and earlier is.

  • Crepusculum – [2009] Sing on in Silhouettes

    Crepusculum – [2009] Sing on in Silhouettes

    Ambient guitars. Many of them. Strange, uncommon harmonies that sound uncannily familiar. Multiple acoustic guitars, all recorded by Fred Baty (aka Crepusculum), create a rich soundscape. Rhythmic chords and melody patterns render percussion unnecessary.

  • Dr. Mindflip – [2014] Every Waking Moment

    Dr. Mindflip – [2014] Every Waking Moment

    Quirky indie pop. Netlabel blocSonic keeps to its mission to deliver solid indie music, this time in form of swingy pop tunes. Acoustic instrumentation (drum, piano, bass, acoustic guitar) + vocals create a solid soundstage and 4 slightly eclectic songs.

  • Garmisch – [2013] Fishes

    Garmisch – [2013] Fishes

    Swedish indie pop. Better late than never for me to join in to praise Garmisch for their excellent third album. Excellent as in professionally recorded and produced, craftily written and solidly executed. 9 7 9 exceptional tracks await you…

  • The Sleeping Tree – [2008] Leaves And Roots

    The Sleeping Tree – [2008] Leaves And Roots

    Dreamy acoustic guitar folk pop. While writing this review, I realised that I already have reviewed praised a track by The Sleeping Tree back in my review on the 50th release compilation by 12rec. and compared him to Bright Eyes. Like then, melancholic voice and acoustic guitar are enough to create mellow impressions. My two…

  • Frau – [2010] Starlit Carousel

    Frau – [2010] Starlit Carousel

    Soft Vocal acoustic pop, slightly eccentric. Piano and voice are the weapons of choice of Indonesian artist Frau. From scarce notes and harmonies, a strange magic unfolds that reminds of old and traditional songs, though being contemporary compositions. The lyrics speak today’s language and tell beautiful stories. My two picks – as usual – after…

  • The Dada Weatherman – [2008] The Green Waltz

    The Dada Weatherman – [2008] The Green Waltz

    Tender vocals, acoustic guitar. Dada is a talented musician from Paris, gifted with a great voice and sense for the right chords. Equipped with piano, acoustic guitar and occasional percussion, he sings his way through 15 tracks. It seems that he calls himself now Dada & the Weathermen, has released three more acoustic albums on…

  • Ancient Lasers – [2013] You In The Future

    Ancient Lasers – [2013] You In The Future

    This joint release from the netlabels Clinical Archives and No Source features Daniel Finfer’s (almost) solo project Ancient Lasers. “Sonically the music sits comfortably somewhere between Nine Inch Nails and the Postal Service” tells us the release notes. Where does this leave us? With shoegazing, stomping, screaming post rock worth a place in my personal…

  • Intoxicated Piano – [2013] Vice Versa

    Intoxicated Piano – [2013] Vice Versa

    Juicy indie-pop with scratchy vocals. This album contains five melodic songs, beautifully arranged around piano and the singer Oxy. It is brought to us by the Russian netlabel Mixgalaxy. It features solid production, classy song arrangements and a wonderful singer. Read on for two preview songs and the download link.

  • Cambriana – [2012] House of Tolerance

    Cambriana – [2012] House of Tolerance

    This week’s release found its way to my HDD thanks to the (French) review by @diffuser on this album. As he remarks, Cambriana don’t fail to draw attention to their skills, both technical and songwriterish. A tender melancholy lies on their Indie-Folk/Pop compositions. Like usual, I present two of the ten tracks below.

  • Various Artists – [2012] netBloc Vol. 40: AAIR Attack

    Various Artists – [2012] netBloc Vol. 40: AAIR Attack

    It’s great when an awesome compilation of first-class free music makes to its 40th release. Few similar projects have managed to see their 10th release. The happier I am to be able to write this review. For now over 5 years, the netlabel blocSonic has been pumping out the netBloc compilation series, in addition to…

  • Fall Walk Run – [2011] Throwing It All Away

    Fall Walk Run – [2011] Throwing It All Away

    Exceptional acoustic pop from UK. This is Fall Walk Run in a nutshell. Voice, acoustic guitar and some percussion are all this talented artist needs to capture my attention.

  • Botany Bay – [2007] Grounded

    Botany Bay – [2007] Grounded

    Botany Bay make simple emotional pop music with influences from many genres. The common theme among their various releases are rich instrumentation, female vocals and good arrangements. This album from 2007 was released at Jamendo. The band caught my attention by their contribution to the compilation Freeloaded (play on freemusi.cc), issued by Musikpiration once a…

  • Jonathan Dimmel – [2009] Closer at the start

    Jonathan Dimmel – [2009] Closer at the start

    Adorable piano pop rock, featuring a great lead singer. I can’t claim much credit for finding this artist: Jamendo already featured him on their homepage, where I also stumbled upon him. This seven track release is a great soundtrack for everyday. During the morning commute, writing a music review, or simply chilling.