Top 5 Albums of 2019 (so far)

Top 5 Albums of 2019 (so far) / #2/3. Ioanna Gika – Thalassa

Moons And MelodiesLeave a comment

tumblr_inline_ptwlk4kZ8e1uutjdl_54

art pop / darkwave / synth pop / ethereal wave / chamber pop

More like this – Susanne Sundfor’s The Silicone Veil, Goldfrapp, This Mortal Coil’s It’ll End In Tears, The Changelings’ “Season of Mist”, Anna Von Hauswolff’s Ceremony

This new Greek artist taps into so many of my favorite things here. Thalassa sweeps over your ears with dramatic strings as Ioanna swoons like a lost 4AD siren-singer, all backed by a gothic synth pulse. A few cliched electro-beats (as on “Messenger”) dull some of the personality in this delicious fusion, but her choruses and melodies are dense enough to keep out of potential dryness. Shout-out to “New Geometry” for her entrancing chant-singing (“Hesitation / I found the answers in your / Hesitation…”) and the crumbling urgency of “Roseate”.

♥︎ – “New Geometry”, “Roseate”, “Out of Focus”, “Swan”, “Ammonite”

Top 5 Albums of 2019 (so far)

Top 5 Albums of 2019 (so far) / #4. Voyage Futur – Secret Earth

Moons And MelodiesLeave a comment

Voyagefutur

new age / electronic / ambient

More like this – X.Y.R.’s Reflections, New Atlantis Volume 1, Emerald Web’s Nocturne, Michel Genest – Crystal Fantasy

Secret Earth has many of my favorite new age hallmarks: rich synth pads smearing everything in a calming gauze, traces of the subtlest and prettiest synth bells, the lack of dubious ‘world music’ themes and getting that serene v.s. mysterious balance I love to hear in the genre.

Like Vangelis and Emerald Web, Voyage Futur proves excellent at creating moody nature portraits, suggesting stately mountains and dreamt-up forests frozen in time. The marimba+synth pad combo on “Eternal Dawn” is most appealing for me as a keyboard/mallet fanatic. Although there’s a few dull moments, Secret Earth is an ultimately rich and immersive experience. Recommended if you’re curious about the recent crop o electronic new age.

♥︎ – “Eternal Dawn”

Top 5 Albums of 2019 (so far)

Top 5 Albums of 2019 (so far) / #5 – Nonlocal Forecast – Bubble Universe!

Moons And MelodiesLeave a comment

a3038890076_1

electronic / video game music / new age / sequencer & MIDI / synth pop

More like this – Eyeliner, New Atlantis Volume 1, Ecco: The Tides of Time SCD soundtrack, “Aquatic Ambience” from Donkey Kong Country, “Dire Dire Docks” from Super Mario 64

One in countless Angel Marcloid creations, Bubble Universe! displays her gift for dense, oceanic synths. Song-wise the album flips between beatless new age glitter and jittery drum+synth suites. The latter nears a chaotic pace, but Angel unites it all through the gleeful virtual sheen of 90s video game music. Imagine such a soundtrack fused with guitar cameos and some modern computer polish (best shown on “Triangular Format”) and BU! is the result.

Some of the best VGM is water-themed, so I applaud Angel for making her own album in this vein. Now I’m wanting to play the made-up water-metropolis fantasy game she’s conjured here.

♥︎ – “Triangular Format”, “Cloud-Hidden”, “The Evolutionary Game”, “Classical Information”, “Conscious Agent Combos”

Playlist

Favorite Songs of 2019 – ½

Moons And MelodiesLeave a comment

smoll png

Listen on Youtube here

Here are (most of) my favorite 2019 songs at the halfway mark. I’ve ordered them by their mood, style and/or tempo to make the transitions semi-fitting despite the variety. I’ve limited all but one artist to one song each.

Look out for my favorite albums list coming very soon!

Track list

1. Rainbow Chan – Oblivion
2. Weyes Blood – A Lot’s Gonna Change
3. Tamaryn – Angels of Sweat
4. Adonis – Z Chmur
5. Glass Candy – Naked City
6. Noname – Song 31
7. DAWN – Spaces
8. Kelsey Lu – Due West
9. Kelsey Lu – KINDRED I
10. Elsa Hewitt – Pop Tuna
11. Solange – Beltway
12. Helado Negro – Fantasma Vaga
13. Bibio – Curls
14. Nonlocal Forecast – Triangular Format
15. Ioanna Gika – New Geometry
16. ioannalee – Some Body
17. Hello Seahorse! – Incendio
18. Jai Paul – He
19. Carly Rae Jepsen – Happy Not Knowing
20. Bananarama – It’s Gonna Be Alright
21. Lizzo ft. Missy Elliott – Tempo
22. MC Tha – Clima Quente
23. Brothertiger – Prideland
24. Karen O & Danger Mouse – Nox Lumina

 

Deep Cuts

Cathy Dennis’ “Toxic” demo

Moons And MelodiesLeave a comment

It might be a surprise for fans of Britney’s “Toxic” to know the song was written by former 90s pop star Cathy Dennis, the songwriter/co-producer of “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” (among others on Kylie’s Fever). Cathy offered “Toxic” to Kylie’s album Body Language first, but it was rejected.

In fact, Cathy’s Youtube-surfaced demo sounds near-identical to Britney’s version aside from the vocals, including the signature “Tere Mere Beech Mein” Bollywood sample.

Deep Cuts

Karen O & Danger Mouse – “Nox Lumina” (Lux Prima, 2019)

Moons And MelodiesLeave a comment

The new Karen O/Danger Mouse collaboration takes plenty of interesting directions in it’s duration, but hearing KO on something like “Nox Lumina” is most thrilling of all. It forms a rich bookend for the album with the ambitious opening single “Lux Prima”, it’s counterpart.

Over an eccentric guitar+synth+string blend, she repeats these cryptic lines over and over:

Somewhere in my room

Sometimes I don’t lock the door

Every time I close my eyes

Someone else’s paradise

Turns me into someone new

She sounds calm but unsteady or even possessed as the melody suggests a lurking danger. Suddenly her voice distorts and slows down along the lines of her wordless wailing in “Lux Prima”. As if it wasn’t fit for a surrealist short film already, “Nox Lumina” ends the album with a reprise of “Prima”’s orchestral flourish like the credits are rolling.