I suppose it’s called Pleasure Vibrations because the theremin is one of the primary instruments. Seksu Roba is also down with le mini-Moog, but their music sounds more like Felix Da Housecat, Ladytron, and Miss Kittin to me.
A distinctively different Map. The “band” (Dooley, Swift and Lenz often moonlight in Starflyer 59) sounds much, much “lighter,” with sprawling Californian sunshine replacing past shadows and darkness.
Life At Sea sound vaguely familiar, like lost b-sides of your favorite albums or a supergroup made up of your favorite ex-members. Life At Sea have good songs. And you should listen to them.
Karmella’s Game write accessible synth pop without dumbing down too much. There are smart vocals, tasty harmonies, and most importantly, songs that go somewhere.
Born with the same visceral affection as Jeff Buckley and the sixth sense of pop mastery ala Jason Falkner, Coryell’s moody take on polished California pop is like an aural orgasm.
Truth be told, I probably prefer this band to Godspeed You Black Emperor, simply because the music on The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place is simpler, more efficient, and more pure in its evocation of formless beauty.
Languid bass lines and mournful vocals blend with explosive power chords and grooves, expertly timed like a Hollywood movie to lift you out of your seat during climaxes.
No string quartets, flutes, keyboards, choirs, or boomy beats, just primal guitar assaults and the voices of Emma and Alun. In the beginning, they were a punky bunch, fists full of jagged distortion and choppy downstrokes.