OPM: Kraut Psych, Noise Rock and Pop

Air Cushion Finish – Flink

This one is a long, strange trip that recalls some of the weirder, vocal-focused moments of krautrock history. It’s constructed mostly of little dabs of psychedelic guitar and weird electronic music beds, all in support of largely incomprehensible crying, wailing, and chanting vocals. Every once in a while, something recognizable as language, or even lyrics, becomes obvious. 

Take, for example, the fine cover of Silver Apples’ “You and I,” and on the honest-to-gods song that precedes it, “She Never Lies” – both highlights. Fear not, tho! Even these bits are really out there, in the best possible way. It’s a hypnotic and irresistible musical journey reminiscent of the weirder side of early Pink Floyd, the hippy side of krautrock, and being on loads of psychoactives. Right up my alley, in other words. 

(Listened to the entire album)

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Luna Evans – “Just Stop and Breathe”

A tight and atmospheric tune that draws from drone, downtempo and post rock to deliver its delights. Opening with a minute or so of a synth drone before a few echoing piano (or guitar?) notes enter the fray. From there it slowly builds, adding elements (hints of guitar, a vocal sample) bit by bit for another minute or so. 

Then, halfway thru, it breaks open into a slow, almost electro rock instrumental with a proper beat. From there we get a few crests and troughs times before everything wraps up, leaving you wanting more. 

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Benjamin Russell – Waves

A mature and varied set of alternative electronic pop songs, pulling from ‘80s New Wave, ‘90s alt-pop and ‘00s indie rock. Essentially a one-man show courtesy of singer-songwriter Benjamin Russell (he wrote, played, sang, and coproduced it), this is purely pop music, but maybe not quite as sugary as that might suggest. 

Russell is clearly a mature and eclectic songwriter with a deep love of music, and the material here shows it. Take the title track, for instance, which manages to incorporate elements of reggae, garage rock and pure pop into something coherent – no easy feat! If you love pop music but don’t always love the usual focus on teenaged emotions and glib, shallow influences, this is definitely worth a listen.

(Listened to tracks 3, 5, 8, 10)

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Makroplastik – Dunkler Streifen des Zweifels

Brace yourself for 16 tracks of eclectic, but always weird and wild, electro/noise/rock experimentalism. All of these tracks are short (the longest ones come in just under 3 minutes), and most are relatively abrasive (blasts of noise, harsh textures, stumbling rhythms, goofy processed voices, etc.). 

You could compare it to a mellower Lightning Bolt, a really weird Ween album, or maybe a lost Mr. Bungle side project. Drums, some guitar (or at least a few guitar pedals?), a few electronic noisemakers (synths? circuit-bent toys? who knows!), vocals and a complex, adventurous spirit combine to make a surprisingly approachable noise outing.

(Listened to the entire album)

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Babu Menos – “DOINITRITE”

An nine+ minute epic of Bowiesque funk, soul and pop. Reminiscent of Bowie’s Thin White Duke/blue-eyed soul periods, not to mention a lot of the punk-funk that came out in the late ‘80s in the wake of those Bowieisms. 

A slinky beat, funky guitar lines and synth horns, polished production and a solid vocal performance that references Bowie without trying to imitate him are the core ingredients. If you miss this vibe (or missed it the first time but want to know more), definitely grab this one. (Bonus points: it’s also seemingly a big FU to Trump, which we can all get behind.)

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A parting note: If you’d like to support my efforts to expose cool independent music to a wider audience, you can contribute to my year-long fundraiser via Ko-Fi. Alternately, you could always buy some of my music…