Bedhead - 4 Song CDEP 19:10 [1994]

Here's a different kind of music and since most of you are metalheads and whatnot this is a short one, Bedhead are a slowcore group, if you don't know it slowcore is a alternative rock subgenre, it is minimalistic, melodic and  features depressive lyrics and atmosphere. In this case the music is composed of a repetitive bass, repetitive and upfront drums and some melodic guitar playing, vocals are calm and clean.This is a good EP for the genre and features a Joy Division that is great (in my opinion).

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Los Campesinos! - Hello Sadness [2011]

Since it was my album of the year, I figured I may as well post it. Following on from 2010's "Romance is Boring", Cardiff-based indie-poppers Los Campesinos! have put out a slower, darker, and ultimately more mature fourth album. Apparently ten songs about breaking up or loss of love or something (so a bit like Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours", only more pretentious), not that I'd know as the lyrics are as bullshitty as ever. Still though, the songs on the album work whether or not the lyrics make sense, as it's all about tone and emotion here. A trend beginning with "Romance is Boring" was to shy away from the relentless upbeat energy of their earlier work, "Hello Sadness" is a further natural progression of that. Not that there are no upbeat songs, they've just manifested themselves in a less 'twee' way ("Songs About Your Girlfriend" is probably the fastest track on the album, and it's also one of my favorites).

Anyway, as I said before, "Hello Sadness" was my album of 2011 and you'd do right to give it a listen.


10 tracks, 40:02, 84.45 MB
Mediafire (Mp3, 320 kbps)

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Radiohead - Amnesiac [2001]

This is my personal favourite Radiohead album. This being due to its fine balancing of experimentation and the songs that put Radiohead where they are today, it's not one to pass up.

160 kbps

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Los Campesinos! - Romance Is Boring [2010]

The second of today's uploads, this is another album that may seem out of place on this blog. However, it struck a chord with me (granted, after my third or so listen) so I feel it deserves a recommendation on here.

An out-and-out indie pop album, "Romance Is Boring" contains a deliberately eclectic mix of instruments (including brass and amplifier feedback), song structures and melodies. Although many of the songs lack any traditional verse/chorus structure (which I guess could be seen as a good thing) and the "I'M A COCKNEY" vocals are a little grating at first, stick it out and you'll be rewarded with a 48 minutes that entertains you over and over.

M4a, ~320 kbps (VBR)

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REVIEW: The Antlers - Burst Apart [2011]

N.B. This is a guest post from HeySharpshooter.

Hospice changed my life. Before The Antlers released Hospice back in 2009, I refused to listen to anything with the phrase “dream pop” in it. But Hospice was a different record: it cut away the overwhelming pretentiousness and hipster non-sense that dominated this Pitchfork.com genre and left only the great things about pop music: the lack of irony and cynicism, the ambient dissonance, and the sincerity of the lyrics made it a golden pillar jutting out of a sea full of bullshit. This tiny epic was something different. Hyperbole? Perhaps, but ten minutes with the album will justify it.

So when I first heard Burst Apart was set to be released this year, I was giddy. A follow up to the first and only hipster band I like and will likely ever enjoy? I could not wait. I was even more giddy when I finally got my hands on it. My expectations were through the roof. I listened to it several times in a row.

I have never been more disappointed in my life. I could not believe this was even the same band that released Hospice. Gone was the Portishead, in was the Phil Collins synth drums. Out was the dynamic, thematic lyrics of Hospice, in was the shitty hipster non-sense. Compared to Hospice, this was complete shit. Compared to Hospice, this was nothing. Compared to Hospice, this was…

I then realized I needed to stop comparing Burst Apart to Hospice., and instead treat it as it’s own album. Once I did that, I saw that Burst Apart was in it’s own way a great record. Songs like “Houds,” a shifting synth dream that featured the best aspects of Hospice frontman’s Peter Silberman striking falsetto, and “Every Night My Teeth Fall Out,” a shockingly folksy and guitar heavy track, shine through. Sure, songs like “I Don’t Want Love” and “French Exit”(the two opening tracks) sound like bad Phil Collins worship, there are some great songs on this record. The fact this album opens so poorly doesn’t help it make a strong first impression, but the album ends much better than it starts.

Fans of Hospice will need to show a little more patience with Burst Apart: it is not the highly personal and heart wrenching journal entry that Hospice was. It is instead a professional musical work. It does not, nor is meant to, transcend its genre confinements, but instead an album meant to embrace them.

Score: 7.5/10



No download presently available.

Radiohead - The Bends [1995]

This is not just an extreme music blog, and Radiohead are a band who I take great pleasure in listening to. This is a collection of great songs, and is not to be dismissed, despite the lower quality of their later material.

Similar artists: R.E.M., Thom Yorke, Snow Patrol (really, fuck knows)

160 kbps

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Travis - The Boy With No Name [2007]

This is more of a nostalgia album really, as it was the first CD I ever bought. As a result this post may be a little rose-tinted, so I apologise in advance for that.

'Special place in my heart' nonsense aside, the fifth album from the Scottish 4-piece is probably their best. From the foggy and mysterious "3 Times And You Lose" to the romantic ballad "Under The Moonlight", every track simply has a wonderful atmosphere and the album doesn't get boring throughout. The only song which I feel doesn't quite live up to the standards of the rest of the album is "Colder", but that is just a minor dent in what is otherwise a very sturdy piece of work.

Mp3, 320 kbps

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(n.b. This version of the album comes with two of the Japanese bonus tracks, because I'm nice like that.)