Upcoming Releases: February/ March 2008

2008 kicked off with several strong January releases, ushering in albums from veteran and newcomer groups alike. Additionally, the year promises to strengthen as early spring continues. As usual, this crop of releases is marked by the inclusion of a variety of styles and experience: highlights will undoubtedly include sophomore albums from Daturah, Bitcrush, and Our Brother the Native as well as debuts from a variety of acts (Glowworm, Strangers Die Everyday, etc).

The Big Sleep- Sleep Forever (FrenchKiss Records)
The Big Sleep in Search of Hades- Ownland (Self-Released)
Bigmouth Strikes Again- Ascender/Descender (Self-Released)
Bitcrush- Epilogue in Waves (n5MD)
Camping- Politics of Love (PuPilo Records)
Daturah -Reverie (Graveface Records)
Elika- Trying Got Us Nowhere (Fiercely Independant)
Experimental Aircraft- Third Transmission (Graveface Records)
Glowworm- The Coachlight Woods (Self-Released)
Hadoken- The Ancient Machine (Arghh! Records)
Hinterland- Pan Pan Medico (Submerged Records)
Io- Monolith (Arghh! Records)
Kyte- Kyte (Kids Records)
Our Brother the Native- Make Amends, for We Are Merely Vessels (FatCat Records)
Our Sleepless Forest- Our Sleepless Forest (Resonant Label)
Pacific UV- Longplay 2 (WARM Records)
Pale Man Made- Oh, My Treasured Things (Self-Released)
Ports of Call- Like Thieves (Self-Released)
Resplandor- Pleamar
Startle the Heavens- Find Yourself Here (Self-Released)
Strangers Die Everyday- Aperture for Departure (This Generation Tapes)
SubtractiveLAD- Apparatus (n5MD)
Suffocate for Fuck Sake- Blazing Fires and Helicopters... (Escucha! Records)
Televise- Secret Valentine (Distant Noise Records)
The Very Hush Hush- Evil Milk (Sao Bento Music)
::Tin Tin::- Dry Light (Sao Bento Music)
TSMZ Memorial Orchestra- 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons (Constellation Records)
Wembly Shadwell- Pieta (Self-Released)

Upcoming Releases: Winter 2007

In hindsight, the past month has proven to be one of the most prolific periods of the year in terms of experimental releases; eight of the current Top 30 alone were released sometime during the month of October. However, both November and December are shaping up to be equally salient in their own right, with key albums expected in genres ranging from electronic dream-pop (Arms and Sleepers, TLS) to epic post-rock (Cecilia::Eyes) to experimental screamo (Envy). Either way, the following list marks a strong conclusion to the year of 2007.

Adolf Plays the Jazz- Day 4/Urban Fiction (Self-Released)

Arms and Sleepers- Black Paris 86 (Expect Candy)

Astral- Sleepwalker (Vibraphone)

Atlantis- Carpe Omnium (Field Records)

Cecilia::Eyes- Mountain Tops Are Sometimes Closer to the Moon (dEPOT214)

Colour- Heaven (Grey Records)

Envy- Abyssal (Rock Action)

Halcyon High- To Be Infinite (Vibraphone)

Hologram- Hologram+ (n5MD)

I Am David Sparkle- This Is The New (Kitty Wu)

Kerosene Daydream- Oscillate (Self-Released)

Sidewaytown- Years In the Wall (Self-Released)

TLS- A Song Left For You (Imperial)

The Winchester Club- Britannia Triumphant (WHI Recordings)


Additionally, upcoming reviews will be posted within the week and include the new full lengths from Pooma and Followed By Ghosts among others.

Upcoming Releases: September 2007

The month of September sees the release of several heavyweight albums: Things Falling Apart, The Enright House, and Electro Group are all scheduled to finally drop their highly-anticipated full-lengths. However, several promising debut artists (Holler! Wild Rose, Pooma, and Kerosene Daydream among others) are also planning releases that should greatly strengthen September's impact on the charts.

Atlantis- Carpe Omnium (Field Records)

Electro Group- Good Technology (Clairecords)

Holler! Wild Rose- Our Little Hymnal (Backlight Records)

Immovable Objects- Hoping It Stays Just Broken (Self-Released)

Kerosene Daydream- The Unbearable Weight of Water (Self-Released)

Monarch- If Children (Morphius Records)

Pooma- Persuader (Next Big Thing)

Televise- Sometimes Splendid Confusion (Drifting Falling)

The Enright House- Stalled In The Shadows (Self-Released)

The New Ghosts- Storms Are Beautiful (Protonatural Records/Self-Label)

Things Falling Apart- Disintegrating! (Self-Released)

Upcoming Releases: Dreamend, The Autumns

Unofficially, the month of October marks the official release date of LA's shoegaze/dream-pop quintet The Autumns. According to various sources, the band's fourth full-length album, "Fake Noise from a Box of Toys" will be released on October 10th by Bella Union. While audio samples have yet to surface, the tracklist and artwork have been set:

1. Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers (0:51)
2. Boys (2:44)
3. Clem (3:43)
4. Midnight Knock (2:18)
5. Killer in Drag (4:54)
6. Night Music (4:45)
7. Only Young (3:39)
8. Glass Jaw (3:00)
9. Uncle Sim (4:18)
10. Beautiful Boot (2:30)
11. Adelaide (4:25)
12. Oh My Heart (6:07)

Additionally, while no track-list or release date have been organized for the upcoming release of "The Long-Forgotten Friend" from post-rock/shoegaze veterans Dreamend, an mp3 sample has been circulating the internet recently. Listen to the track, titled "Are You Waking", in the new Neosurrealist Playlist mp3 player.