In Rotation: RadioSeed, Altus, Crushed Stars

A quick rundown on some of the music that I’ve been listening to lately. More reviews can, of course, be found in the archives.

RadioSeed - “There Has To Be More”

As I write this, it’s the last week of October, which means that we are smack dab in the middle of autumn. The days are getting cooler and greyer, and I couldn’t be happier—this is my time. However, I’m sure that for many out there, this is the worst time of the year, and they look back with fondness and regret at the ever-receding summer. It is for these people that I recommend RadioSeed’s There Has To Be More.

Listening to There Has To Be More may conjure up memories of Ecovillage’s Phoenix Asteroid—which isn’t be surprising in the least, as RadioSeed is in fact the project of Ecovillage founding member Peter Wikström. Both groups have a similar dreamy, washed out bliss-pop sound, full of swirling, sighing vocals and ambient guitar textures. But having listened to both albums back to back, I think I might prefer There Has To Be More a bit more.

The sound palette is a bit more eclectic—for example, the folksy atmospherica that opens the album, and sounds like the nexus between Appalachia and New Delhi. More importantly, the album is more propulsive and beat-driven. The aptly titled “Kissed Your Galaxy Goodbye” is a clear standout, with thumping beats propelling and grooving Wikström on a cosmic odyssey as he heads for the Large Magellanic Cloud. It’s like listening to Studio and the rest of the Balearic scene, if they got a good, swift kick in the drum machine, and it’s the perfect soundtrack for a summer that has just passed you by.

More info, as well as streaming songs, can be found on RadioSeed’s MySpace page.

Altus - “Black Trees Among Amber Skies”

However, if you’re like me and welcome the incoming autumn chill with open arms, then I’ll point you towards Altus’ Black Trees Among Amber Skies.

Mike Carss’ ambient recording project shares its name with the closing track on Steve Roach’s The Magnificent Void, which might give you a clue as to what to expect sonically. Altus’ album certainly contains plenty of Roach-esque ambient drift, but whereas Roach’s acclaimed album plumbed the black depths of interstellar space, Black Trees Among Amber Skies opts for a more terrestrial sound.

In that regard, Black Trees Among Amber Skies is closer in tone and scope to Roach’s frequent collaborator Vidna Obmana. Like Vidna Obmana, Carss’ compositions are quite evocative and even occasionally intimate, with simple little details, such as angelic vocals and sparse piano noties, emerging from the drifting layers of synthesizer. It settles quite nicely into the background of whatever you’re doing, even when listened to via headphones. But when a track like “Sodium Glow”, with its solemn bell-like tones and deep sonorities, begins to coalesce, the album’s emotional heft is truly felt.

Black Trees Among Amber Skies, like all of Altus’ releases, can be downloaded for free.

Crushed Stars - “Convalescing in Braille”

If you’re looking for something that’s a little more substantial and a little less ephemeral for your autumn drives, than look no further than Convalescing in Braille. I first became aware of Todd Gautreau through his Tear Ceremony project. But whereas Tear Ceremony delved into cinematic ambience, Crushed Stars opts for a relatively more pop-oriented sound. Of course, “relatively” is the operative word there. It’s still plenty atmospheric, recalling at times The Sundays, the sadly unknown Best Boy Electric, and even a really mellow Sonic Youth.

It’s nothing flashy or showy—indeed, Convalescing in Braille might be the most unassuming album I’ve listened to in quite some time—and it’s tempting to dismiss the album at first as simplistic. But Gautreau’s melodies, as simple as they may seem at first, find a way of slowly but surely winding their way into your mind, and his arrangements and atmospherics add just the right amount of tonal color in just the right spots. Then there’s Gautreau’s voice, which falls somewhere between a sleepy Jason Martin (Starflyer 59) and a really sleepy Tom Waits, which adds a nice balance of wooziness and roughness to the songs.

I’ve mostly listened to this album on long drives, and when the afternoon sun illuminates the empty cornfields and colorful trees as it only can in the Nebraska countryside, well… Convalescing in Braille makes for a pretty nice soundtrack for such scenery.

More info can be found on the Crushed Stars website.