Ben Woods - Nymh: Realms of Detachment

Artist: Ben Woods
Album: Nymh: Realms of Detachment
Genre: ambient, drone
Year: 2008
Label: Wise Owl Records
Web: buy, last.fm, myspace
Bitrate~Size: 320 | 123
Other posts: A Collection of Thoughts, Moments

Ben's third release marks his evolution as an experimental musician. Beautiful drones accented by spaced-out pianos make this a perfect album for an autumn night's walk.

again, free to download from Wise Owl Records.

Tracklist:
1 Raindrops Deliver Messages From Above 6:30
2 From Blue to Grey 7:21
3 Inevitable 7:29
4 Realms of Detachment 6:38
5 Walls of Sound 6:40
6 Flying Over Remnants 5:10
7 A Distorted Recollection 5:20
8 Waving At A Distance 1:41
9 Watching Pillars Dissolve 6:55

Julien Neto - Le Fumeur de Ciel

Artist: Julien Neto
Album: Le Fumeur de Ciel
Genre: electronica, ambient
Year: 2005
Label: Type
Web: buy, last.fm, myspace
Mirror~Bitrate~Size: rs | vbr ~195 | 60

After contributions and remixes on various compilations around the world, the mysterious Parisian has finally settled into his home on Type Records where he has been working from the very beginning.
Very little is revealed about Mr. Neto, other than the fact that he has a great talent for crafting soulful and moving electro acoustic soundscapes and a penchant for fine literature.
Julien Neto has brought us an album of underplayed, theatrical beauty. A soundtrack to the hazy memories of childhood exploration and the melancholy of loss.

recommended.

Tracklist:
1 I (One) 3:20
2 Sketch 4:05
3 VI (Featuring Keith Kenniff) 4:13
4 IV (Keates) 4:29
5 Musicbox 2:59
6 Voy 4:47
7 V (Rivers) 4:58
8 Questionable Things 5:11
9 III 4:36
10 Farewell 4:37

Pan•American - White Bird Release

Artist: Pan•American
Album: White Bird Release
Genre: ambient, post-rock, drone, electronica
Year: 2009
Label: Kranky
Web: buy label amazon, last.fm, myspace
Mirror~Bitrate~Size: rs | vbr ~227 | 82

Mark Nelson’s post-Labradford work has always done more for me than Labradford itself. This is not a disparaging comment on Labradford but a testament to how good Nelson has become. With each Pan•American release, Nelson has further crafted his distinctive and often copied style. These are not just interesting sounds or clever use of musical form, the music goes beyond that (and any "post-rock" clichés) to become a genuinely moving experience...

full review

Link removed by request.

Tracklist:
1 There Can Be No Thought of Finishing 6:12
2 For Aiming at the Stars 3:04
3 Both Literally and Figuratively 5:18
4 Is a Problem to Occupy Generations 4:09
5 So That No Matter 5:33
6 How Much Progress One Makes 4:12
7 There Is Always the Thrill of Just Beginning 6:20
8 Dr. Robert Godard 7:10
9 In a Letter to H. G. Wells, 1932 9:01

Great Lake Swimmers - Great Lake Swimmers

Artist: Great Lake Swimmers
Album: Great Lake Swimmers
Genre: folk, acoustic, singer-songwriter
Year: 2003
Label: (weewerk) records
Web: buy label amazon, myspace
Mirror~Bitrate~Size: rs | 192 | 66

Great Lake Swimmers make wonderfully understated, heart-wrenching music. Led by songwriter-vocalist Tony Dekker, their haunting sound finds its roots in vintage folk and alt-country colourings, shaped by accordion and piano, lap steel and acoustic guitar, with a voice that seems to come from the walls. This self-titled debut album, engineered by Victor Szabo, was recorded over several months in an abandoned grain silo in Southern Ontario. Its echoes of rural and urban landscapes include the ambient sounds of crickets and the Toronto subway. The record was issued by weewerk in March 2003, in Europe by Fargo Records in March 2004, and Misra in the USA in April 2005.

great band.

Tracklist:
1 Moving Pictures Silent Films 5:31
2 The Man With No Skin 5:26
3 Moving, Shaking 5:22
4 Merge, a Vessel, a Harbour 4:44
5 I Will Never See the Sun 3:35
6 This Is Not Like Home 3:45
7 The Animals of the World 5:31
8 Faithful Night, Listening 4:08
9 Three Days at Sea (Three Lost Years) 3:52
10 Great Lake Swimmers 6:45

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Slow Riot for New Zerø Kanada EP

Artist: Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Album: Slow Riot for New Zerø Kanada Ep
Genre: experimental, post-rock, chamber rock
Year: 1999
Label: Kranky
Web: buy label amazon, last.fm, myspace
Mirror~Bitrate~Size: rs | 192 | 39
Other posts: here, here

Link removed by request.

Tracklist:
1 Moya 10:51
2 Blaise Bailey Finnegan III 17:45

The Zephyrs - Bright Yellow Flowers On A Dark Double Bed

Artist: The Zephyrs
Album: Bright Yellow Flowers on a Dark Double Bed
Genre: dream pop, indie rock
Year: 2005
Label: Acuarela Discos
Web: buy label amazon, last.fm, myspace
Mirror~Bitrate~Size: rs | 192 | 64
Other posts: A Year to the Day, When the Sky Comes Down, It Comes Down On Your Head, Fool of Regrets

criminally under the radar scottish band, they're one of my fave so I can do nothing but recommend everything by them..

Tracklist:
1 Dancing Shoes 3:12
2 Hell’s Dark Hall 3:28
3 Galicia 5:58
4 A Friend 3:19
5 What Voltage Is the Moon 4:10
6 Nyung 3:43
7 Ganeesha 3:05
8 Perfume 3:35
9 Never Be the Same 4:16
10 So Called Beau 6:04
11 Stargazer (Acoustic Version) 5:44

A Silver Mt. Zion - "Born Into Trouble as the Sparks Fly Upward."

Artist: A Silver Mt. Zion
Album: "Born Into Trouble as the Sparks Fly Upward."
Genre: post-rock, experimental, chamber rock
Year: 2001
Label: Constellation Records
Web: buy label amazon, last.fm, myspace
Mirror~Bitrate~Size: rs | 224 | 93
Other posts: He Has Left Us Alone But Shafts of Light...

don't hesitate to check this one if you liked He Has Left Us Alone... their best two imo.

Tracklist:
1 Sisters! Brothers! Small Boats of Fire Are Falling From the Sky! 9:07
2 This Gentle Hearts Like Shot Bird's Fallen 5:47
3 Built Then Burnt (Hurrah! Hurrah!) 5:41
4 Take These Hands and Throw Them in the River 6:58
5 Could've Moved Mountains... 10:59
6 Tho You Are Gone I Still Often Walk With You 4:48
7 C'mon Come On (Loose an Endless Longing) 8:06
8 The Triumph of Our Tired Eyes 6:54

Anneke van Giersbergen - Pure Air

Artist: Anneke van Giersbergen with Agua de Annique
Album: Pure Air
Genre: acoustic
Year: 2009
Label:
Web: buy web, last.fm, myspace
Mirror~Bitrate~Size: rs | 320 | 75
Other posts: Air

Inspired by many enthusiastic reactions to her acoustic performances, Anneke decided to put together a number of these versions for one CD: ‘Pure Air’. The album will host Anneke’s performances with Danny Cavanagh (Anathema), John Wetton (King Crimson, UK, Asia), and Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon). ‘Pure Air’ also features collaborations with her favorite Dutch music-friends that will join Anneke on stage for two unique shows at ‘de Melkweg’ and ‘Oosterpoort’: Sharon den Adel (Within Temptation), Niels Geusebroek (Silkstone), trumpet player Kyteman and singer-songwriter Marike Jager. Anneke states: “It seems that these last few years a whole new audience has begun to notice me, as well. That’s why I wanted to re-introduce myself as pure as possible and perform the songs totally stripped down. People are touched even more by a ‘small’ song, or so it seems”.

Anneke is my fave singer ever and I'm going to see her tonight ^^

Tracklist:
1 The Blower's Daughter (feat. Danny Cavanagh from Anathema) 4:33
2 Beautiful One (feat. Niels Geusebroek from Silkstone) 5:55
3 Wild Flowers 4:19
4 Day after Yesterday (feat. Marike Jager) 3:43
5 Come Wander With Me (feat. Kyteman) 3:34
6 Valley of the Queens (feat. Arjen Lucassen, Ayreon) 2:40
7 To Catch a Thief (feat. John Wetton from King Crimson and Asia) 5:46
8 Ironic 3:54
9 What's the reason? (feat. Niels Geusebroek) 3:31
10 Yalin 3:40
11 Somewhere (feat. Sharon den Adel from Within Temptation) 4:09
12 Witnesses 1:51
13 The Power of Love 4:44


*

Moonlit Sailor - A Footprint of Feelings

Artist: Moonlit Sailor
Album: A Footprint of Feelings
Genre: post-rock
Year: 2008
Label: Deep Elm Records
Web: buy > myspace, last.fm, myspace
Mirror~Bitrate~Size: rs | vbr ~213 | 41


average instrumental music but still a lot of nice melodies, really short songs (like that for a change). Overall this is a very well executed post-rock album (whatever that means ha.. some reviews on their myspace).


Tracklist:
1 A Footprint of Feelings 3:24
2 Night Stroll 4:08
3 Earls Court 3:38
4 The Fog Is Lifting 3:46
5 Waterwall 4:28
6 Yes 3:21
7 Once We Were Children 4:30

Microfilm - A Journey to the 75th

Artist: Microfilm
Album: A Journey to the 75th
Genre: post-rock
Year: 2004
Label: Rejuvenation / Paranoid / Migouri / Théatre Rec
Web: buy > myspace, last.fm, myspace
Mirror~Bitrate~Size: rs | vbr ~175 | 50

Microfilm (France) have since 2003 been on tour throughout France, Switzerland and Spain. Coming from various musical backgrounds their music have influences from bands such as Gum, Seven Hate, Myra Lee, Sonic Youth, Jawbox, Foxy Brown, My Bloody Valentine, The Neptunes, Queens Of The Stone Age, Bernard Hermann, Trs 80, Black Sabbath and Envy.

The music itself is a “Post Rock” instrumental style that includes movie samples reflecting closely their feelings much in the vein of Mogwai, Explosions in the sky and From monuments to masses.

Tracklist:
1 Secret Camera 7:00
2 Dpt. 4 4:17
3 Fancy Nancy 5:41
4 Inouwali 2:00
5 Margaret on the Rocks 6:05
6 Intrepide 5:52
7 Andre 3:58
8 Dpt. 5 5:38

The Radio Dept. - Lesser Matters

Artist: The Radio Dept.
Album: Lesser Matters
Genre: dream pop, indie pop, electronica, shoegaze
Year: 2003
Label: Labrador Records
Web: buy label - amazon, last.fm, myspace
Mirror~Bitrate~Size: rs | vbr ~223 | 69
Other posts: This Past Week Ep, Freddie and the Trojan Horse 7"

Their debut album "Lesser Matters" which was released in the spring of 2003 was an underground success internationally and Labrador's first entrance in the sales charts in Sweden. The buzz that slowly grew to give the band worldwide recognition with a little help from XL Recordings who released the album in large parts of the world, and the release of Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette, which featured "Keen on Boys, [from "Lesser matters]" "Pulling Our Weight, [from the EP with the same name, 2004]" and "I Don't Like It Like This. [from the EP "This past week", 2005]"

very good, many great tracks, I think its their best.. still waiting for the new one (Clinging to a Scheme)

Tracklist:
1 Too Soon 1:17
2 Where Damage Isn't Already Done 2:43
3 Keen on Boys 4:53
4 Why Won't You Talk About It? 3:09
5 It's Been Eight Years 2:33
6 Bus 2:58
7 Slottet #2 3:07
8 1995 3:12
9 Against the Tide 4:23
10 Strange Things Will Happen 4:27
11 Your Father 4:01
12 Ewan 2:24
13 Lost and Found 4:08

Last Days - These Places Are Now Ruins

Artist: Last Days
Album: These Places Are Now Ruins
Genre: electronica, ambient, post-rock
Year: 2007
Label: n5MD
Web: buy label amazon, last.fm, myspace
Mirror~Bitrate~Size: rs | vbr ~219 | 83
Other posts: The Safety Of the North

Last Days' 2006 debut, Sea, a lo-fi digital gem, passed under the radar for many, but this follow-up is equally worthy of attention. Producer Graham Richardson uses acoustic guitar, piano, field recordings and a variety of other instrumentation to add a warmth and depth often sorely lacking in electronica. Points Bridge, Swimming Pools at Night and Station (Part 2) are cinematic in their scope, and there's a nod to contemporaries such as Deaf Center (Saved by a Helicopter) and Port-Royal (The Whole Town Is Against Us). The theme of the album is thoughts and feelings, good and bad, evoked when returning home after many years, and the 13 instrumental soundscapes conjure these perfectly. An album that rewards with repeat listenings, These Places Are Now Ruins is a beautiful achievement. Highly recommended.

Tracklist:
1 Station 3:09
2 Reasons to Go 4:35
3 Points Bridge 5:58
4 Devil's Wood 3:05
5 Saved by a Helicopter 1:56
6 A Storm Tore This House 5:44
7 Swimming Pools at Night 2:29
8 Two Halves of a Line 6:29
9 Ruins 2:05
10 The Whole Town Is Against Us 5:57
11 Look After Yourself 4:09
12 Station Part Two 4:12
13 Travelling Heart 3:32