Review: Cassettes Won’t Listen – Evin Spacey
Forget about the obvious; a K was removed from the album title to avoid a lawsuit from an actor who supposedly supports independent creativity. This Jason Drake engineered project from Brooklyn does enough in opener, ‘Friendly Float’ to shift focus onto the atmospheric, mood-implanting Shy Child, M83 and Underworld conjoining approach. This predominantly instrumental forage is contemplative, yet gyration inducing. It engineers just the right touch for a dance-pop-indie crossover of a track. This is juxtaposed by the soaring, poetic lyrics pushed ‘Perfect Day’. Vulnerability and optimism seep out from a cruising instrumental base:
“But you Won’t see my face as I start to fade. Don’t be afraid it’s a perfect day.
Look out the window on a perfect day.”
Stirring synths and broad percussion manipulation is a continuing trend, throughout this explorative full-length. An incongruous edge gives a mystique and an uncompromising vibe to ‘The Night Shines’. The vocals have a strained, but warming and well pitched feel to add another strand to an eclectic track. Catchy lyrical hooks are present, but not relied upon to be the main focus of the number. ‘Turn Back the Other Way’, has a noire edge and an aching, epic darkness drawing out the depth in Drake. A creeping percussion nudge and trundling mixing adds to the increasing eeriness on display.
As the album builds, so does the groove building and a more reflective stance is adopted, ‘Hard Darkness’. 80s electro leaning ‘Wave to the Winner’, is the most mainstream and also the most lyrically expressive and philosophical Drake gets. A soaring spacey touch and longingly stammering vocals pepper the snappy ‘Waiting’, contrasting from earlier epic tendencies. Cassettes Won’t Listen continues to show the broadness of electro and have the ability to switch from epic to snappy to keep an album interesting and fresh.
Video: Beta Hector – Jupiter Mission
“Jupiter Mission” is the first single from Beta Hector’s upcoming debut solo album, ‘Sunbeam Insulin’.
The single is out as a FREE DOWNLOAD on 8th August. Watch this space for the link.
Video animated/directed by: Simon Hill (aka Beta Hector – what a multi-talented chap)
Video: Xray Eyeballs – Crystal
Sounding like something between the sweet charismatic tones of new wave power pop, and the screeching of Subway tires as it is about to crash into a west bound carnival train, Xray Eyeballs is a group that brings the estranged into your living room with the intensity of a mortar, yet the structure of a menacing opera that could make you cry, if not only from the heavy guitar riff punches to the face.
In the video for “Crystal”, we see Xray Eyeballs doing what can only be considered a Warhol-esque interpretation of their absolutely catchy and fine tuned track. It is ravaged with voodoo, blood, and nipple slips. With wonderful direction from Brooklyn based filmmaker/artist Painless Surgery, this is a video that merges insanity with artistic creativity. And, really, what more could you want?
“Crystal” can be found on the band’s 7″ EP, aptly titled Crystal.
Xray Eyeballs “Crystal” from Painless Surgery on Vimeo.
Download: Esperanza Spalding – I’ll Look Around
StormVox Records will release A Tribute to Billie Holiday on July 5, 2011 – a new compilation featuring Angela Bassett as the guest narrator and musical performances from some of today’s hottest musical talent including Esperanza Spalding, Babyface, Rocco DeLuca, Boz Scaggs, Shelby Lynne, and more!
We have Esperanza Spalding’s cover of “I’ll Look Around” as a download.