Dark Entries published an in-depth interview with Gone Bald. They talk about the 16 year history of the band, baldness, underground music, the line-up changes, being a duo, improvisation and their favorite records. Read it all here.
The latest Gone Bald album Waiting It Out also got some great new reviews. Built on a Weak Spot says that ‘Waiting it Out it shows that Gone Bald are still overflowing with ideas, even if the presentation hasn’t necessarily budged.’ Perte et Fracas says ‘Waiting It Out is the best album of Gone Bald.’ Festivalinfo rates the album 3,5 out of 5. ‘The guitarwork is razorsharp and the drums are raw and aggressive.’ The track Christmas Song got a mention on the website Stubby’s House of Christmas: ‘For two people, they sure make a lot of noise.’
Door by Puin + Hoop was pronounced Album of the Moment by Written in Music: ‘One of the most memorable Dutch albums of the year.’ Den Helder Actueel compares Puin + Hoop to early Pink Floyd and krautrock bands like Faust. ‘A remarkable audio trip.’ Vital Weekly says De Objectieve Lach, Puin + Hoop’s collaboration with Herman Wilken and Coen Oscar Polack, ‘is not as strong as Door, but then this is undoubtedly more a work of improvisation.’
The Fine China Superbone album Make-Machine got 3 out 5 stars from the Belgian zine Kwadratuur: ‘It sounds like four conservatory educated artrockers took speed and started experimenting.’
The track Flutheelal by het Het Fukking Licht from their sold out album Kutplaneetwas included in the mix Secret Chords & Apparitions by Peter Van Cooten from ambientblog.net. Listen to it on Fluid Radio.
Quasi Quasi by Kruno JoÅ¡t | Gijs Borstlap got 4 out of 5 stars from Chain D.L.K.: ‘If you are looking for guitar improvisation that doesn’t quite cross the line into straight noise, this would be up your alley.’
The Door, the debut album by Puin + Hoop on Narrominded is getting some great reviews. Festivalinfo gave the album 3 out of 5 stars (‘an exceptional record’). Moors Magazine strongly recommends the album ( ‘subtle and refined’). Vital Weekly says Door is ‘a major step forward for Puin + Hoop’. Subjectivisten – Het Shaduwkabinet calls the album ‘abstract, but human and sensitive at the same time’. The online radio show Beautiful Extremes played the track Bomendocumentaire twice, once on November 16 and once on November 23.
The latest effort by Gone Bald, Waiting It Out, got a raving review by File Under: ‘What a band. What a record.’ MusicFromNL compares Gone Bald to dEUS and Dark Entries says ‘Gone Bald does nothing new, but what they do, they do with great craftmanship’.
The limited cd / free download Quasi Quasi by Kruno JoÅ¡t | Gijs Borstlap is only out for two weeks, but already received some raving reviews. Vital Weekly says their music is ’a curious hybrid of improvisation meeting noise meeting drone meeting rock’ and thinks that it’s ‘a trip that pays off.’ Subjectivisten / Caleidoscoop calls it a ‘fantastic project’ and Kindamuzik says that ‘the deconstructive Quasi Quasi shows that Narrominded, besides retro-electronics, is also deeply rooted in the current progressive improvisation music.’ Moors Magazine on Kutplaneet by Het Fukking Licht: ‘Absolutely recommended for the adventurous listener.’ Chain D.L.K. on the Hunter Complex debut album : ‘If you love all the kind of 80s wave bands, from Human League to ABC passing from A Flock Of Seagulls, Ultravox, Dalis Car or obscure cold wave bands, I suggest you to check Hunter Complex.’
The just released album Kutplaneet by Het Fukking Licht already got three reviews. Recent Music Heroes rates the album 7.3, Vital Weekly says it’s an excellent release and Subjectivisten/Caleidoscoop calls it a ‘geweldige kutplaat!’. The Hunter Complex debut album got a review on the blog Terrible Music: ‘What really makes this music so outstanding is that you hear classic 1980′s synthpop elements but still all sounds very fresh.’ The Dutch magazine Fret also reviewed Hunter Complex (read here), and also The Almighty Internet by Spoelstra (read here). Online radio show Beautiful Extremes played the track Unique Visitor by Spoelstra. Listen to the fragment from the broadcast on May 4 2010 in the player below.
The international music magazine 365Mag rates the debut album by Hunter Complex 8,5 out of 10: ‘Each song features a magnificent and well balanced structure that finds it origin somewhere in the area between dance and pop, with the vocals adding a certain pop element to the overall in a Kraftwerk kind of way. Recommended!’ The Hunter Complex album also got some very positive reviews from Vital Weekly (‘it’s great’) and Subjectivisten / Caleidoscoop (‘highly recommended!’). Musicfrom.nl is less enthusiastic about the latest Narrominded releases. They think the idea behind The Almighty Internet by Spoelstra doesn’t make a good album and compare Hunter Complex to The Edge. The online radio program Beautiful Extremes played tracks from both albums, so you can judge for yourself. Listen to the fragments from Beautiful Extremes in the players below.
Beautiful Extremes, February 16 2010, with Moonset by Hunter Complex and Day of the System by Spoelstra:
Beautiful Extremes, February 23 2010, with Dance by Hunter Complex and The Classic Handbuzzer by Spoelstra:
Posted in press | 25 February 2010 | 16:55 | comment
Retro Retry 2: Another Another Green World got some mainstream attention in NRC Next: ‘Not all the remakes are evenly succesful, but I’m sure Eno will appreciate this album. After all, he always encouraged breaking down conventions.’ Lobo by Garçon Taupe, elected dance track of 2009 on Eclectro, made it into the playlist of Nalden, a prominent Dutch lifestyle blogger. The Almighty Internet by Spoelstra has just been released, but already got two great reviews. Vital Weekly: ‘Shut down Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and go that nice bar around the corner, and have some of this great music, preferably played by Spoelstra, sweating over his equipment. Loud is best, cold beer in your hand, and Spoelstra’s quirky electro beats, chopped up synth lines, bits of noise will do the rest.’ Incendiary Magazine on Spoelstra: ‘I love it, and if you like the oddball, you’ll love it too.’ Incendiary Magazine also reviewed Katadreuffe‘s Quel Gargantua EP: ‘It’s a long time I heard any band so wound up and truculent, to be honest. Fantastic stuff.’
Posted in press | 1 February 2010 | 13:53 | comment
The online dance magazine 365Mag rates Retro Retry 2: Another Another Green World 8.5 out of 10. ‘Whereas lots of compilations tend to result in shallow a dime a dozen releases, this one actually takes the listener down an intriguing trip through the depths of electronica in its best form.’ In their review of Split LP #4 the oldest online source for music reviews Vital Weekly says: ‘Garçon Taupe plays rudimentary electro poptunes, that are actually quite nice. He mixes good ol’ fashioned 80s synthi-pop with 90s techno, but in a very playful manner. Legowelt play altogether a somewhat darker tune. Nice tracks too, but not on par with Garçon Taupe.’
Posted in press | 17 November 2009 | 23:13 | comment
‘This is what a cover album should sound like’. Subjectivisten / Caleidoscoop reviews the just released remake of Brian Eno’s classic from 1975: Retro Retry 2: Another Another Green World. Read it here. Vital Weekly also reviews the album: ‘It’s a nice compilation, wether or not you love Eno.’ Read more here.
Posted in press | 12 October 2009 | 21:21 | comment
Vital Weekly, the oldest online source for music reviews, reviews the new albums by Psychon and Living Ornaments. They call Slow Country For Old Men by Psychon music with ’hip hop like rhythms and lots of wacky vocal samples, guitars, ambient doodling, psychedelica that strangely enough sounds all pretty coherent.’ And Korrelsby Living Ornaments ‘armchair dance music’. Read the whole review here.
Posted in news | 29 September 2009 | 23:47 | comment