Pinionist’s “Machinations” is Electro-Industrial Beauty

Search Twitter for “Free+ Album” and you will uncover a host of goodies that only come to those seeking for the “magnificent random.” One such example is Pinionist’s 3rd album “Machinations” (released July 2009) which is available for free on his own website, and which, on first listen, led me to exclaim: “Holy hell!!!!! I never expected anyone doing industrial stuff this well to release it for free!”

“Machinations” is 12 tracks (a glorious 46 minutes and 19 seconds) of some of the heaviest electro-industrial rock I’ve heard this side of Nine Inch Nails and 1990s-era Ministry. For the most part, the tracks flow seamlessly into one another creating an immense texture of heavy noise.

Tracks like the album opener aptly entitled “Torture” bring menace back into the industrial mix, pitting groaning drums with guitar distortion that fills you with that warm fuzzy feeling called fear. Track 4 “Social Abortion” even mixes in a little pop bounciness into the mix along with ten-foot walls of noise. “Escalation” starts out with a plucked guitar ballad but apropos of the title, quickly leaps into headbanging mode by the one-minute mark. Title track “Machinations” melts from a post-punk rhythmic piledriver into a slower grind.  “This Means Nothing to Me” is a nightmare lullaby with an anthemic mantra for this humanistic society we live in.

The album is a brilliant noise in the bland silence of our world of plastic pop idols. Pinionist (AKA Stuart Spoard) is vocalist, composer, arranger, and a genius at his art.  Download it now.

DETAILS
12 MP3s at 320 kbps stereo 44.1 kHz.

Download all files in one zip file: Machinations

Pinionist’s website.

The charm of Popup’s Scottish cowboy alt-pop

 

Popup - A Time & a Place

 

 

Artist: Popup
Album: A Time and a Place

It begins with the moody plucked guitar ballad “Love Triangle” which deals with siamese twins and angsty crying of the noisy kind. Lead singer Damian Gilhooly sings with a Scottish brogue that soars above the guitar-bass-drums foundation. “Poison Apple” quickly follows with the lo-fi post-punk dissonance that was once a staple of 1980s new wave romantic bands. By the 3rd track “Stagecoach,” the band changes gear yet again singing about bus schedules in a 3/4 waltz alt-folk song complete with 3-voice harmonies and an a capella bridge section. The album title comes from the strangely anthemic powerpop ballad “The Saviour of Judas McDade,” also the longest song on the album, which segues from tender lovesong to screaming guitar showcase and back again. “Chinese Burn” is a quick, rocking tune quite like the more recent The Killers, The Vines, et. al. And track 11′s “In Her Day” intro is a bossanova beat that quickly becomes a spitting, tongue-twisting romp through a Scottish cowboy paradise.

The only thing that could detract from their music is their tendency to choose chords that don’t always match the melodies. But that’s a minor music theory issue that doesn’t spoil the overall enjoyment of their songs.

The rhythms and moods change as often as the song topics do, always displaying wit, charm and self-effacing humor. In all, Popup is part Franz Ferdinand, part Beatles, part Talking Heads, part cowboy, part minstrel — a fun pop/rock/folk band that showcases versatility and the refusal to take itself too seriously. Fun, yes. And soon to take the world by storm. 

Their debut album A Time And A Place  will be out in stores by April 2009, but they have it online for free download right now. Grab it while it’s free. 

13 MP3s encoded at 192 kbps 44.1 kHz stereo.
Total running timne: 45:34

LINKS

Download the album in a zipfile by signing up at the Team Love Library,  
and then heading to their release page where the zip file is available [62.7 MB]

Popup’s Main Website.
And their MySpace page.

Moaner Lisa’s industrial guitarmonica in “Bac-Up!”

Moaner Lisa - Bac-Up!

Roots. We all go back to them sooner or later. California-based electronica producer LightSleep3r returns to his own rock roots with his Moaner Lisa side project. His debut single as Moaner Lisa is “Bac-Up!” released on the fledgling StickySweetSounds (SSS) Records. It is three versions of a single industrial tune.

Track one incorporates a rollicking rock instrumental before launching into the main song, Bac-Up, which is a simple, no-frills industrial rock track, reminiscent of early God Lives Underwater and Filter. The main guitar/bass riff rumbles along atop a drum track that shows little variation — but you gotta love the distorted harmonica solo. Track two fits the song with an ’80s new wave arrangement (an alternate version arranged and performed in the style of his first band in the late 1980s, Colloidal Mixtures). Is that The Fixx, I hear in there? I think so too. And then track three returns to the original tune except with some dirty vinyl and distorted vocal effects. All in all, a catchy tune, done with perfectly snarly vocals and made better with distorted harmonica.

When he sings “it’s good to be back,” before proceeding to “dance like hell,” I must wholeheartedly agree.

LINKS

Download the entire single on one zip file.

Moaner Lisa’s MySpace page.

SSS Records netlabel home page. SSS Records on MySpace.

Swirly Retro Rock Goodies in “Your Psych Tunes Vol. 3″

First off, when you have an album entitled Your Psych Tunes vol.3 – The Earth Above the Sky Below, then you know it’s gonna be a doozy. Second off, if it’s freely downloadable, then you know you MUST have it. The question now is: do you like what you get?

I literally stumbled into this release via their MySpace page. Which kinda irritates me because I have serious beef with the messy glittergraphicky shoutout chaos puddle that is MySpace. And yet, all the best indie bands and artists flock there to utilize the sheer magnitude of its network. Anyway, the My Psychedelic Tunes page hosts 5 full compilation albums of artists with similar tastes and production values.

Whatever your personal definition of “psychedelic music” is, it’s all here in volume 3 which is chock-full of low-fidelity, jangly, swirly guitars and ’60s to ’70s acid rock riffs. It’s a compilation of vintage (anachronistic even) tunes which remind one simultaneously of Woodstock hippie craziness, Grateful Dead jamminess, and the tongue-in-cheekiness of the Kill Bill soundtrack. What this all simply means is: this is music to grow your hair to, to paint your face to, to hang out with.

Standout tracks include:

• • the lazy, bluesy, slackerific “The Routine” by The Rocking Horse People
  • the jangly, acoustic guitar goodness of “Ride” by Absolute Zero

All in all, a joyful celebration of psychedelic rock and swirly folk music, powered by a love for all things retro. Download one of their compilations for an assured hour of good vibes. Make love not war, man.

LINKS:
Direct link to the RAR file download hosted on RapidShare. [around 65 MB]

Your Psych Tunes’ MySpace Page.

Lady Lynch’s haunting indie rock is a joyful division

LadyLynch II

Track 1 “New Plans For New Days” begins with two guitars doing single note riffs, a muted drumset, and a singsong spokenword (and then rawking out) vocalist reminiscent of PJ Harvey. Lady Lynch is simple and direct-to-the-point indie rock without bells and whistles. Although the editing of the track does leave much to be desired. The MP3 has a 2-second dropout somewhere in the 3:36 region and a residue from an earlier edit at the end of the file.

Track 2 “Hey It’s Me Again” has more singing than screaming, more guitar strumming and more of a riff, even cute silent breaks. “Gory Ride” is the standout track for me, going from a slow depressing shuffle complete with monotonous Joy Division-like vocals all the way to a bouncy pop-py track, yet still talking about the most gruesome topics around. Bizarre and yet you can’t forward to the next track.

This is the second EP from this 4-piece band from Austria and is a showcase of simple guitar riffs combined with haunting vocals and lyrics. Sometimes the songs fill you with creamy goodness, and sometimes the songs just end abruptly leaving you hanging, wanting more.

DOWNLOAD LINK:

All files on one zip file. (20 MB)

Release page on Collective Family website.

OTHER LINKS:

Lady Lynch on MySpace.

Lady Lynch official website.