caught the breeze

boat club ~ caught the breeze (luxury records, 2007)

some time ago i made a post talking about citytlights... well, now i'm gonna talk about two guys who were in the band and now play under the name boat club.
so far they've released a mini album called caught the breeze. it's the best example of balearic music (well, to me at least): airy, uplifting, warm, ethereal, crystalline...
the songs are filled with layers of noises, keyboards, mid-tempo beats and awesome (awesome!!!) crystal guitar hooks.
the lyrics are also pretty good, always evoking a certain warmth and reminiscenses from a melancholic summer. for instance, you'll get yourself singing over and over "i loose my mind for warmer climes(...) cause you, you can't fake the sunshine" and then humming the guitar that follows this verse in 'warmer climes'.
another catchy chorus can be heard in 'always away', a more melancholic song with andreas singing that "you're always away on rainy days" with his soft, cool voice.
boat club is music that comes from the ocean...






01. all the time
02. warmer climes
03. always away
04. nowhere
05. memories
06. spanish castles

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sunlight

the windmills ~ sunlight (matinée recordings, 2001)

the windmills started making music in 1984 but after a long break/split they reunite in 1998 to make the essex music scene brighter.
they make melodic jangly pop tunes that could've been written during the 80's by bands like the orange juice and east village. the 10-track album is filled with minor pop classics that'll most likely remain unknown by the masses.
when i first heard the windmills i thought that they were a band from the 80's because brought me the feeling i had when i listened to heartfelt guitar music of that era... (ok, i was just a kid back then but i already had my imagination and (most important) feelings).
roy thirlwall writes great songs about heartbreaking and people reaching for each other... as perfectly wrote dave heaton on erasing clouds: "...[the lyrics] they're not sad for the sake of being so; they're real, showing people for the lovable messes that they are". and roy's deep and expressive voice really makes you believe in every word he says/sings.
it's hard to name the highlights because the whole album is flawless... well, the only thing is that some songs could be longer, like the beautiful ballad 'taxi fare'.
the songs with keyboards are awesome as well, bringing a more airy and dreampopish atmosphere like in morrissey-esque ' when it was winter'.
this is definitely the album for sunday mornings.




01. unkiss
02. pounds, shillings and pence
03. taxi fare
04. when it was winter
05. she's so hard
06. boxing glove
07. cloud five
08. be groovy or leave
09. untouch
10. drug autumn


matinée's info page

1981

carrie ~ 1981 (static discos, 2008)

carrie's music is a blend of indietronica and acoustic-folk. but, of course, it's not only that because she goes from the postal service to tha radio dept in the same song. she comes from guadalajara, mexico, her real name is laura becerra and 1981 is her second album.
her music takes the beats, clicks and synths from a more cerebral and aseptic eletronic music and mixes with warming guitars and warming breathy vocals resembling hope sandoval. all very sensitive and also haunting. actually the album is like walking inside an empty house full of rooms and old furniture covered by sheets... maybe with a few (harmless) ghosts wandering around (you can hear theremin (?) ghosts in 'instrumental').
'road season' could've been soundtrack in a david lynch movie.
'feeding little dogs' is one of the highlights. its beats and keyboards wall may get stuck in your heart (i mean head) for some time with its catchy chorus.
'japanese coffee' is the most acoustic (with only guitar and a high pitched synth (more ghosts?)) and as delicate as chinese porcelain.




01. take one
02. feeding little dogs
03. stumble
04. the wrong way
05. road season
06. japanese coffee
07. 1981
08. instrumental
09. srta. cometa


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a careless lifestyle

tillmanns ~ a careless lifestyle (fraction discs, 2007)

tillmanns comes from the prolific music scene of gothenburg and is formed by andreas and björn (well, it seems that now the duo had become a trio with the addition of a bass player).
they make music with undeniable new wave influences. and their sound also makes me think about bands like the cure, joy division and french dark wave act asylum party.
actually the combination is quite odd but works pretty well: on one side you have a darker new wave on keyboards and anders' hollow voice, and on the other pulsating life affirming melodies and winding guitar hooks.
speaking of guitar hooks there are incredible (contagious and vicious) moments like 'hypnosis' and 'twist' that'll most likely have you dancing.
the album has the atmosphere of an old vinyl from the early 80's that was found in the basement.



01. heavy rotation
02. background
03. hypnosis
04. cold hands
05. instrumental
06. opening
07. new place
08. sketching
09. twist (radio edit)
10. time

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soft focus

oppressed by the line ~ soft focus (drifting falling, 2008)

oppressed by the line is the project of jon thompson, an american musician from a small town in texas now living in london. he makes touching tunes blending shoegaze, electronica, melancholic crystal guitars and amazing textures. among his influences are the magnetic fields, the cure, ride and vitesse...
'soft focus' is his second album and is full of delicate (yet powerfull) sounds.
in songs like the opening track 'condensation', 'don't bestow the lesser things' and 'solitude' we also hear the (moving) vocals and feel that jon's creativity can also be applied to his vocal skills and the ability to create another layer to his music. 'i can't remember the sound' and 'shattering glass houses' are the most shoegazy tracks filled with layers of electronica merging with walls of (beautifully played) guitars.
at moments - specially in the beautiful 'the stars are sleeping' it feels like you're inside a cave full of stalactites and stalagmites... actually most of the time, and the feeling is very conforting. melancholic, sad for moments but most of all conforting.



01. condensation
02. sorry i never wrote you back
03. don’t bestow the lesser things
04. the stars are sleeping
05. solitude
06. i can’t remember the sound
07. static images and soft whispers
08. thousands of miles and an ocean away
09. shattering glass houses
10. magnetic north

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