Nossiennes - Vivere (2020) EN

The label that can always be relied on when it comes to providing with good quality shoegaze and noise rock, Shore Dive Records, in January released another intriging EP. This time it's the English Nossiennes and their album Vivere.

The band makes very old-school space rock with very noisy backgrounds. The characteristic pace of the tracks and dispersed, but not too much, vocals are serious proofs for the space rock inspirations, but we shouldn't overlook what the Englishmen do with the guitars in the backgrounds of, say,  Vivire. Fascinating noise. Even an interlude called Repides makes an intriguing, a bit jazzy cacophony of noisy guitars. The album is closed by more orthodoxly space rock Microcosm. And proves that the orthodox part here is only an advantage.

Vivere costs 3 USD.

Check: Repides 

Country: England, UK

Genre: noise space rock
Label: Shore Dive Records

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Hanging Valleys - Behind the Backs of Houses EP (2020) EN

Thoma Bylesa vocals for me are the definition of the most dream pop male voice I know. Now, he's back together with a new EP by the English Hanging Valleys.

Obviously vocals, vocals, vocals. But this is not the only worth-noticing aspect of the music by the British. Their slowcore works are perfectly modest, delicate and touching. Guitar, bass and drums make minimalist backgrounds that is not overwhelming but still makes priceless accompaniment which is best heard in the awesome The Shinning Mountain and its relaxing pace. Undoubtedly, this is an album that forces its atmosphere onto the audience together with its sweet blend of melancholy and peace. Recommended, as always.

Behind the Backs of Houses EP costs 4 GBP.

Hanging Valleys - Fortaleza EP (2018) EN

Check: The Shinning Mountain

Country: England, UK

Genre: melancholic dream pop

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Metsä - ボケっと (2019) EN

Metsä is a Finnish word for forests. And among all the projects and companies with this name, there is also a duo hailing from the British Devon.

The artists I cannot say anything about as I just don't know a tiny bit, have released a short but really good album called ボケっと. The title says a lot about its content. Bokeh in photography is namely a way of showing the blurred, unfocused elements the purpose of which is to draw the attention to a focused element of the picture. And also is beautiful and unique. This is exactly what Metsä's work is all about. It involves this sound version of bokeh created with looped tapes ambients and drones.

ボケっと costs whatever you want to pay.

Check: ボケっと

Country: UK

Genre: looped ambient

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Qualia - Hopeless Optimism (2018) EN

Qualia (the one from Cambridge as there are at least a few projects with similar names) is a solo work by Dan Leader who creates extremely sad and atmospheric music. After the last year's album Cheerful Pessimism, he comes back with the second part in Hopeless Optimism. And it's going to be one of the most important releases of this year.

From the very first moments, Leader's music makes me think of Raised By Swans - similar vocal, similar aesthetics, similar instruments. The artist creates his music so the audience could "dive into the wall of sound created by layers of guitars, ambient landscapes and noise experimentations". But .I should stress it very clearly, Hopeless... is first of all an acoustic album, the leaders here are vocals and guitar sounds, not much more is needed.

Noise here is generated mostly by the furious (in some parts) drums and... trumpets. And they can generate lots of it. Together with those come post-rock guitars making tracks like the very complex The Fool a compositions developing from silent acoustic sounds to sky-scraping post-rock ones. Another great and worth checking song would be We All Know One, but this is already mostly beautiful drones.

"Hopeless Optimism" can be yours for whatever you pay.

Check: Quidding

Country: England

Genre: acoustic post-rock

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Qualia - Hopeless Optimism (2018) PL

Qualia (ta z Cambridge, bo podobnie nazywa się co najmniej kilka innych projektów) to solowe prace Dana Leadera, tworzącego nadzwyczaj smutną i nastrojową muzykę. Po zeszłorocznej płycie Cheerful Pessimism wraca z drugą częścią w Hopeless Optimism. I będzie to dla mnie jedna z najważniejszych pozycji tego roku.

Od pierwszych chwil muzyka Leadera przywodzi mi na myśl Raised By Swans - podobny wokal, podobny klimat, podobne instrumentarium. Artysta tworzy muzykę taką, by słuchacz mógł "dać nura w ścianę dźwięków złożoną z nawarstwiających się gitar, ambientu i noisowych eksperymentów". Trzeba jednak dodać, że Hopeless... to płyta przede wszystkim akustyczna, tutaj pierwsze skrzypce grają wokal i gitara, niewiele więcej trzeba.

Hałas na tej płycie generowany jest przez furiatyczną miejscami perkusję i... instrumenty dęte. Trzeba przyznać, ze potrafią sporo go wygenerować. A oprócz nich są też zupełnie post-rockowe gitary sprawiające, ze takie utwory jak wielowymiarowy The Fool rozwijają się od cichego akustyka po podniebne post-rocki i z powrotem. Innym wartym uwagi kawałkiem jest We All Know One, ale to już głównie post-rockowe drony.

"Hopeless Optimism" może być twoje za ile tylko chcesz.

Sprawdź: Quidding

Kraj: Anglia

Szufladka: acoustic post-rock

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Alex Kozobolis - Alex Kozobolis (2016) EN

Quite suddenly came autumn, and together with her long, grey days will come too. The days when raindrops sound like unhurried piano music and thoughts slow down their race. Sometimes the days are thought of as utterly sad, sometimes as filled with hope. With sadness comes peace.

The same goes with Alex Kozobolis of London's music. Contemporary classical music with keys and strings sounds either melancholic or peaceful. Or more likely melancholic AND peaceful. On his FB profile the artist publishes photos filled with minimalistic and geometrical architecture while on the cover of his album he emerges from fog. Apparently you can combine the two.

His website is also worth visiting as it swarms with good photographies.

"Alex Kozobolis" was published by 1631 Recordings and costs 6 EUR.

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Fuzzy Lights - Twin Feathers (2010) EN

Quite suddenly came autumn, and fog floating over lakes came too. We should celebrate the fact with the most autumnish music. And my most autumnish band is Fuzzy Lights - dream folk group from Cambridge with autumn smoke scented music.To believe their own description, the band includes five musician - Rachel playing shimmering lights, Xavier black lights, Dan low lights, Mark strobe lights and Chris a lighthouse.

But when listening to their akbum we can clearly hear violins, guitars (also the electric ones) and atmosphere provding drums. Fuzzy Light's music combines many genres, every one of which would justify mentioning them on this blog. The best way to get it is to listen to "Through Water" in which delicate folk quite suddenly becomes rough post-rock and comes back only to end up being a series of extremely distracting whispers. They describe their music as epic/melancholic, Drowned in Sound wrote that it's "a rare kind of quiet dignity". The truth lies in the middle. Just like the fallen trees and the two protagonists from "Fallen Trees".

"Twin Feathers" was published by Little Red Rabbit Records and you can have it for £ 3.

How about you? Do you like autumn?

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