OPM: Sisters Rock

sideSister – Space for You

Smart and polished pastoral pop with strong production and gorgeous arrangements. A unique set of influences and styles – New Wave and folk and ‘70s singer-songwriter MOR and more are mixed and matched into some intriguing pop shapes. The tunes are finished with a charmingly straightforward lyrical approach and some heavenly voices. 

An incredible sound palette – guitars, synths, woodwinds, organs, and more, all recorded and processed with great care and intention – contributes favorably to the songs’ impact. The resulting songs –mostly endearing slice-of-life vignettes, with a few protest songs to mix it up– are a lovely and memorable set. 

(Listened to the entire album)

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cowsounds – cow sounds

Groovy collection of raw, rough-edged instrumental hip-hop and funk spiked with Big Beat and delivered in delicious lo-fi. High energy and probably best appreciated high as well, these tunes sketch out a fuzzed-up and blown-out aesthetic that fits the material really well. It’s reminiscent of a less polite and polished Ratatat, which is good because my biggest knocks against that act was they were a bit too polished and polite. 

The tracks are short and sweet (only a single track  appreciably tops two minutes) to maximize the number of ideas on offer. Sometimes cinematic, sometimes sexy, nearly always tasty, this is a real treat for anyone that likes their beats bitcrushed and beat to hell.

(Listened to the entire album)

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Pulsing Bulb – Grains and Pulses

Loose collection of bold, weird electronic instrumentals – a fair bit IDM, a bit electro, a bit of old-school electronica. The best of these tracks really dig into the weirdness, offering up surprising timbral turns and unusual structural approaches to the core influence set. 

An unusual, but dynamic and attention-grabbing production approach is worth mentioning as well – kind of a hi-definition take on lo-fi, as odd as that sounds. It’s crusty and distorted but with incredible presence and sense of space.  

(Listened to the entire album)

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Jacob Isaac – One

Post millennial indie rock with deep roots in classic rock, grunge and the heavier side of ‘80s guitar indie. This kind of stuff –indie rock with heavy guitars and a love of some of the classic rock canon– ruled a big part of the popular landscape not long ago, and it’s always nice to see it out in the wild these days. 

A one-man bedroom production that manages to sound like a full band does the songs justice, even if they do beg to be realized on stage in a grimy venue on a Tuesday, like the best moments of this type of guitar-hero indie.  

(Listened to the entire album)

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Lime Bar – “unhealthy 3onk”

Groovy, dubby slice of deep electro with a spoken-word monologue and a spiraling, hypnotic acid line. It’s short and sweet, coming in at just two and half minutes, with a beat so deep it might as well be subliminal. Some trippy processed percussion and weird, aliasing sound fx offer a bit of audio sweetening to the mix. A delightful dollop of electronic groove. 

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