LISTEN TO: Spiro Agnew – Desert of the Real

Sonically, San Francisco-based Spiro Agnew is somewhere in-between the fuzzed-out guitar noise rock of The Jesus and Mary Chain and the synth-pop of New Order, a hybrid between reverb-heavy music and electronica.  Over the course of 2010, songwriter Alex Musto recorded its debut album “OH What Model Citizens We Be,” a mediation on love, politics, and the fiction in between.  After gigging at SXSW, SOTR caught up with Musto via e-mail:

With “Kites” from their newest release Animal Shapes EP featured in a Twitter ad, the Baroque-rock-meets-synth-pop-with folky-vocals sound of Geographer has won over music-loving hearts everywhere.  SOTR spoke with frontman Mike Deni about Geographer’s sonic journey from naming the band to their current goings-on.

SOTR:  Why did you choose the name “Geographer?”

Disasteradio – Kids Of 99

Disasteradio – Drop The Bomb

Some glossy 80’s inspired techno shit that will make you want to move. I think Disasteradio is related to Dan Deacon somehow, maybe his little brother or distant cousin??

Download Disasteradio’s album Charisma HERE

The Proper Ornaments – Recalling

Relaxed, non-distinct guitar tracks coupled with cool melodies and a dream like synth-pop sound make The Proper Ornaments sound akin to many influential bands – The Beach Boys, Beatles and even Radiohead to name a few- but not without establishing its own unique, hazily vibrant sound.  The problem plaguing typical up-and-coming indie bands is just that; safely resting in the safety net of resemblance does not make a band stand aside with an influence, but rather in its shadows. It is the atypical that personify and subsequently succeed within a genre. I applaud bands that take the aforementioned initiative and imbibe it in their performance, allowing it define the band. Bands such as the London-based Proper Initiative certainly have an innovative future in store, and certainly no lack thereof presently.

Factor 10-Ever Since You Went Away

D.H.S.S.-Together

Synthetic Romance is chalk full of emerging synth-pop artists from the early 80’s. Dark Entries has digitalized the origianl LP and has made it available for download below.  The back cover of the album reads:

“Synthetic Romance – for people wanting a collection of modern and futuristic music. The groups are varied, from all parts of the country and all walks of life, with one thing in common – the synthesizer – perhaps the most sophisticated instrument of our century.”

One of the most popular topics that futurist tend to discuss is the marriage of humans with technology, leaving one to speculating as to what this unholy union might produce. Synth-pop music seemed to have tried to give us a tentative if unsatisfactory answer with the likes of Kraftwerk, The Human League, etc. However fresh and forward thinking those bands were the music tended to come off as sterile. Enter Trans Am. Fusing organic drum work with synthesizers and other electronics, Trans Am’s music is equal parts man and machine. The presence of the physical drums gives their electro tendencies a grittiness that most electro/synth bands severely lack. Having been around since the mid nineties, Trans Am continue to crank out their robotic jams well into the uncertain millenia while cluing us in as to what the future will sound like.

Kumon Plaza-Hans Kruger

The re-release of “Cliff” from Edmonton’s Kumon Plaza features a bunch of new remixes including  Gobble Gobble, Kiss Kiss Fantastic tracks, and remixes of Kumon Plazas songs by COOLRUNNINGS and Tyler Butler. Download the whole thing below from bandcamp.

Download Kumon Plaza “Cliff” HERE

Performed as the alias of solo artist Dayve Hawk, Memory Tapes’ style is nothing you can really put a finger on. “Bicycles” is a leafy suburban road outfitted with Congo drums, “Plain Material” is a 60s vinyl played in a large French cathedral, and “Green Knight” could easily be found in a backroad German euroclub where expatriate funk enthusiasts go to get down. The only common trait among all the work that Hawk has put out is a sustained haze of sound that tends to pervade through every song. There is never a silent or inharmonious moment— a quality that makes every listen worthwhile and complex. Hawk’s innovation is never-ending—the man has gone through more aliases than Diddy Dirty Money, and his music similarly shows little sign of ceasing.