Gaye Israel – ‘L’Israel’ C34 $5
Highly recommended debut cassette from Detroit songwriter Chad Silbert. Made using a handful of cheap synths, bass, guitar and a Roland R-70, “L’Israel” is a melodic trip suitable anyplace, anytime. Israel’s self-recorded bedroom pop is full of easy charm, and the songwriting is hooky. On an album generally void of confrontation but instead marked by clean-handed sweetness, Israel’s warning on “Candy:” “don’t you touch my candy,” seems an appropriate protest. The sprawling “Golden Age” is an outstanding track, at home as the theme to a b-movie, teen, beach romp, and while the warm vibes of “Golden Age” seem drawn from some 80s VHS theme, “It’ll Be” is decidedly 90s- Centered by a driving Kim Deal-esque baseline complimenting Israel’s affable vocal. “Life Is A Dream,” on the other hand, feels of 4-track pop psychedelica. Yet, Gaye Israel’s debut is totally cohesive; it’s thoroughly chill, unpretentious and highly fun.
Sunken Road – ‘The Sunken Road EP’ C20 $5
Improv drone session with guitar, violin and shrutti box recorded in Spring 2011 in Ann Arbor, Michigan USA. The tape consists of two pieces, one on each side, performed live in a living room and recorded straight to one mic. It could be described as quite meditative, dreamy and it seems to capture the aura of the railroad tracks near its recoding. The duo displays improvisator skill in this session, never getting too heavy, leaving things in a restrained, textural and most of all hypnotic order. With its slow harmonic language, the sessions noir casted shadow has dabbles of avant-classical or jazz underpinnings, but mostly keeps focus on weaving an ambient, natural drone. Sunken Road was drawing vague inspiration from a scattering of avant influences: free-jazz leanings like Sonny Sharrock and Don Cherry, noise and a range of visual artists.