luke buda
special surprise
arch hill records, 2006
A little bit quirky, a little bit cheesy, but always engaging; Luke Buda’s Special Surprise is a delightful serving of low-fi, nostalgia-tinged pop. Endless harmonies and syrupy synths abound, in what was clearly a labour of love for the artist.
Born in Poland before moving to Wellington, New Zealand as a child, Buda is a member of The Phoenix Foundation, where he plays second fiddle to frontman Samuel Flynn Scott. Whilst there is a certain sonic familiarity for P.F. fans served up here, Buda uses the independence offered and delivers a constantly fun, personal and cohesive album that simply towers above anything the band has yet produced. read more…
the orb
orbus terrarum
island, 1995
Released in 1995, The Orb’s brilliant Orbus Terrarum is both the pinnacle of the fashionable early 90s ambient-electronic scene, and yet also a timeless album that manages to transcend most of the stereotypical tags that came with that scene.
Much more organic sounding than most of their earlier work, the album certainly requires a fair dollop of attention and effort to appreciate, in contrast to other ambient albums that some may regard as purely “background music”. However, after a few listens, the intricacies of each track, and the delightful flow from one track to another, will weave their magic. read more…
grandaddy
sumday
V2, 2003
Although Grandaddy’s 2000 album, The Sophtware Slump, is considered by many critics to be their chef d’œuvre, their follow up to it is often criminally underrated – despite (or perhaps, because of?) it being a much more enjoyable and fun listening experience.
Whereas The Sophtware Slump was a dark and difficult listen, Sumday is remarkably upbeat, despite covering similar themes – most obviously, the ever-increasing dependence that humans are placing upon machines and technology, and where that may lead us. It’s all a bit more mellow and accessible than much of their earlier work, which actually works perfectly, as they never lose their quirky and clever eccentricities. read more…
high dependency unit
cross channel multi tap
flying nun, 1998
Hailing from New Zealand, High Dependency Unit (HDU) have been exploring the extremes of the sonic palette since 1994. Having described themselves as ambient psychedelic punk, the majority of their music is instrumental, and based around the interplay of core threesome Tristan Dingemans (guitars, occasional vocals), Neil Phillips (bass), and Constantine “Dino” Karlis (drums and percussion).
1998′s Cross Channel Multi Tap catches the group at the peak of their powers read more…
fan modine
slow road to tiny empire
phovsho, 1997
Fan Modine is the project of American musician Gordon Zacharias. Apparently, Slow Road to Tiny Empire is a concept album of sorts, and yet even upon numerous listens, it certainly isn’t a laborious or overbearing concept. Apparently, this was initially meant to be the soundtrack to a film script that Zacharias was working on, that never came to fruition. Our subject, a certain Fandemian Kirk Modine, is an American pop star living in China; clearly, alienation and loneliness are strong themes based on the concept. Of course, these are themes that most people can relate to in some sense.
With a heavily low-fi, DIY aesthetic, this is certainly an album which takes a few listen to get into. The great thing about this is that each subsequent listen will uncover something new and fascinating – a surreal album read more…
flaming lips
clouds taste metallic
Warner Bros, 1995
Look past the horrible orange blazoned across the album cover. Thank god the music isn’t anywhere near as dated as the artwork. Once you get past that, and actually listen to the album, you’ll have to make just as much effort again to actually get into this album. When I first bought this album, working my way backwards from The Soft Bulletin (ignoring for now Zaireeka) through the Flaming Lips catalogue, I gave this album a couple of uninspired listens, before grunting and placing it back in my CD rack.
Fast forward, a good six months later. Looking for something to listen to, I flicked through my CD rack. A ghastly orange cover stood out. I thought I’d give it another crack. And ever since that listen, Clouds Taste Metallic has been one of my undisputed favourite albums. read more…