This Month's Soundtrack, August 2010

Jul 29, 2010 5:23 PM, By Mike Levine

           
 

The following are some of the more noteworthy releases that came across my desk this month. Many of these albums are self-produced. Three of the five lean to the electronic side, while the other two represent two very different rock styles.

Laura Escudé: Pororoca (Autodidactic)<
Escudé, an expert in Ableton Live, offers up a compelling set of compositions that skillfully blend electronic textures with her live violin and cello playing. DAW-wise, she used both Live and Apple Logic in the production process.

Download the title track from Laura Escudé's album Poracora.

Trances Arc: TA (Slush Fund Recordings)
Melodic songs, hard-hitting rock instrumentation, a rough-edged sound, and plenty of energy all add up to a very impressive album from this Atlanta-based quartet. The band used kickstarter.com, an unusual creative-project funding website, to finance this record from fan donations.

Download the song "Boom City" from TA by Trances Arc.

Repose: After the Equinox (Soundscape Media)
Repose is the baby of Canadian composer/producer Jason Greenberg, who has put together a self-produced collection of mostly instrumental music he classifies as “ambient chill-out indie electronica.” Whatever you call it, it’s very well done.

Download the entire song "Turning Point" from the Repose album After the Equinox.

Good Old War: Good Old War (Sargent House)
In a bit of an odd twist, this is the Pennsylvania trio’s second self-titled album. Musically, they fall on the folky side of indie rock, with high harmonies, jangly guitars, and very catchy songs.

Here's an excerpt from "Here Are the Problems" from Good Old War's new self-titled album.

Various Artists: Outer Spaces (Retronyms)
This free EP was put together by software company Retronyms, and the prerequisite for the artists involved (Eskmo, Exillon, Jneiro Jarel, and Starkey) was that they had to use the company’s iPhone music app, DopplerPad, in at least some part of their production. The result is four cool-sounding, electronic tracks.

Download the entire Outer Spaces EP.