Author: Matthew Bedford

France-based art collective Nøthing recently released their second compilation album Songs from Nøthing #2, a followup to last year’s We Want Nøthing More Than Nøthing #1.  The album features tracks from the collective’s stacked lineup of bands including music by Venera 4, future, Maria False, Dead Horse One, and more.  It can be downloaded via Bandcamp for whatever you’re willing to pay.  It’s pretty cool to hear covers of Nøthing artists made by other Nøthing artists, including this nice little track:

 

Dutch noise-makers Wolvon, whose 2013 album folds. was one of my favorites of the year, released their new EP bother. last week.  The band picked up right where they left off, pounding out four more blurry, uptempo tracks for your enjoyment.  You can pick up the EP on Bandcamp.  Wolvon today announced the music video for sort-of-title-track “BTHR”.  Check it out here:

Norwegian noise quartet The Megaphonic Thrift have released the latest single from their upcoming album. “Bergen Revels”, named after the band’s hometown, isn’t quite as dark as the singles we’d been accustomed to, but it’s really good nonetheless. It’s a lighter song, primarily showcasing TMT’s female vocals over a melodic base, lacking the harshness of its predecessors, but equally addictive.

The Megaphonic Thrift’s third album is expected to be released in the fall. Over the last couple years they have been building up quite a reputation with some great music, some stunning videos (thanks to creative studio Blank Blank), and touring in support of the likes of Dinosaur Jr, Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, and A Place to Bury Strangers.

Given the lack of recent activity, it is no surprise that Italian shoegaze outfit Sea Dweller has announced that it will be no more.  The band’s guitarist, Paolo, made the announcement on the Sea Dweller Facebook page and posted a link to a nostalgic live version of “She Whispers” recorded at an intimate gig some years back.  The individual members will still be active with their other projects (Cristiano’s CYMBLS, and Paolo’s My Violent Ego).  It really is a shame that Sea Dweller just seemed to lose steam after having done a lot over the years to build a reputation as one of the most promising artists in the global shoegaze scene.  Still, best of luck to Paolo, Paola, and Cristiano in the future.  Here is a screen shot of Paolo’s post:

One thing that will always have a special place in my heart is an intimately self-produced demo.  It’s always cool to hear a band working within their means to put the music about which they are passionate into a recorded form.  Obviously the sound is often lacking, but anyone who has been there before is certainly able to look past the poor production values and try to understand what the band was trying to achieve.

I was pretty stoked to see that Chinese noise pop/shoegazers The White Tulips put out a collection of tracks recorded at their rehearsal space in the form of “Wrapped in the Waves”.  Though they would call it their debut EP, the band’s drummer Milk has made it perfectly clear that it is merely a jumping off point for the band.  It is definitely a bit rough around the edges to say the least – snare rattling, murky guitars, soft vocals, and everything else that can be expected of some live demos.  Still the Xiamen-based band, who appeared at last year’s First East Asia Shoegaze Festival in Shanghai, put their passion into getting some recordings out there.

The band appears to be set on putting out a “high quality EP” in the near future, but for now there are six intimately recorded tracks to listen to.  The EP is currently available to stream (and with some understanding of Chinese or strategic use of Google Translate to purchase) at http://www.xiami.com/album/1795813587.  Be sure to keep an open mind when you give it a listen!

More great music being released out of Brooklyn, this time from Crown the Invisible.  The band released its self-titled album on April 8th and it is well worth a listen.  The 7-track release – which was produced entirely by the band – is loud throughout as it moves from huge droning guitars to more psyched-out grooves, offering a little bit of everything.  I’ve probably listened to the whole thing start to finish about ten times already and it’s stayed fresh and interesting.  You can get the album at the band’s Bandcamp page and be sure to give them a follow on Facebook as well.