Quick Before it Melts

Monday 10 November 2008

Moscow Olympics

I don’t remember the last time I have a true new musical experience that didn’t involve a digital file, but I’m thankful that the opportunity to experience music in a physical way still exists.  Although I don’t patronize them as often as I’d like, the number of small upstart labels that still like to trade in vinyl is heartwarming.  It may be great that any musician can plug into a USB port and have their music heard all over the world, but the intimacy of handing over a record for someone to manipulate and play can never be replaced by a copy-click-paste interface.

By way of Sweden’s Lavender Records, I hold in my hands a copy of Cut The World, the debut CD by Philippines band Moscow Olympics.  Imagine Lush, Joy Division/New Order, Ride, and Galaxie 500 all competing in the same battle of the bands night;  the resulting residual swirl of sounds in your earlobes and euphoric high of your senses approximates the Moscow Olympics experience.  Long championed by Matt over at Skatterbrain, I’ve only just recently fallen under the spell of their charms.

Information is scarce and sketchy at best:  they’re a five-piece from the Phillipines who’ve been crafty their dreampop masterworks since 2006.  AJ, Dino, Jojo, Melanie and Richard (no last names) infuse some delicate melodic flourishes in the haze of feedback and fuzz, so the songs progress rather than spiral on repetitious riffing.  If they are a harbinger of the indeipop scene in the Philippines, then it’ll be most exciting to hear what comes next from their compatriots.

I’ve yet to come across any legal downloads to offer you, but if you’re at all serious about new music, then this is one band you’ll certainly want to check out.  It took very little time between clicking on “Pay Now” at the Lavender site to when the disc arrived in my inbox, and the price is definitely worth the purchase, so if you’re finding yourself with a couple of extra bucks, splurge on the CD.

Myspace: Moscow Olympics
Video: Moscow Olympics “Second Trace” (fan created video)

Congrats go out to Ian in Surrey, B.C., who wins the 21Tandem Repeats CD from last week’s giveaway.

Nivek Ogre of Canadian industrial noise legends Skinny Puppy has released a new album of skull-crushing noise-rock under the moniker ohGr.  Devil’s In My Details is one single musical statement broken into 11 bite sized morsels.  Sample if you dare.

MP3: ohGr “Timebomb”
Myspace: ohGr

Coldplay are releasing the Prospekt’s March EP on November 24th, but if you have some patience, and don’t mind one of the lamest user interfaces I’ve ever experienced, you can hear some samples by going here.

Indie Music Filter has released a crackerjack mix.  The Indie Music Filter Vol. 5 is available here, and features Woodpigeon, The High Dials, Friendly Fires, Mates of State and many more.

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by J. Di Gioia | Comments Off

This entry was posted on Monday, November 10th, 2008 at 12:00 pm and is filed under MP3, ViDEO. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.