Unknown Albums of 08

Here at AudioScribbler we’re devoted to bringing you the new music, the sort of stuff that you won’t be able to find anywhere near Radio 1. And so this is why we’ve trawled tirelessly through the depths of the internet, battered our way through billions of bitorrents an read every whining emo blog imaginable to bring you what we believe to be the best of the unknown albums of 2008 (so far, anyway).

Trifonic - “Emergence”

The Trifon brothers of San Francisco have taken their own spin on trip hop with their debut album “Emergence” released in February. Layered relentlessly with silky beats strung together by atmospheric and often haunting guitar licks, this album takes electronic chill out to another level. However, “Emergence” is still able to pack a punch with the eerily beautiful “Broken”, the quietly seductive “lies” and the floor stomping “sooner or later”. “Vacuum Tree” gives a more electric beat to the album whilst songs like “Terminal A/B” sprawl on the floor convulsing in a world of their own.

More trippy than a Crystal Castles fan on meth and smoother than an otter dipped in lube, Trifonic is a must listen for fans of Massive Attack, Portishead and the like, but it also appeals to those in search of a good beat to chill out to.

You can download the album “Emergence” FOR FREE here: www.trifonic.com

Damiera - “Quiet Mouth Loud Hands”

Damiera make their way onto our list with an un-noticed but furious stomp with their second full length album, “Quiet Mouth Loud Hands”. After a troubled past in which almost every member of the band, bar lead singer Dave Raymond, left the band for other commitments, Damiera managed to pull together a totally different line up from their first album “M(Us)IC” to record “QMLH” which was produced by the man responsible for the black plague…whoops sorry I mean the “Black Parade”.

Don’t let this put you off though, Damiera throw themselves in at the deep end with a cocktail of experimental indie progressive math rock brimming with furious guitar riffs, bass lines to set your balls on fire and vocals that’ll make your ears bleed. “Nailbiter” gives you a flavour for their truly unique sound with harmonies layered over a furious riff that drops in and out over the bass line to keep you guessing. “Image and able” once again builds up and drops down again from screaming fury to the quiet chattering intimacy of Raymonds voice against a restrained backdrop.

“Teacher, Preacher” seems to somehow rip off a bizarre Maroon 5 b-side and make it sound half decent but then they regain form with “Weights For The Waiting” and “Chromatica” which flows effortlessly from one extreme to another with acute guitar riffs and ranting chants. Damiera mix up even more by throwing in an all acoustic song “Woodbox” and then finish off with the spleen rupturing “Silvertongue” and “Trading Grins”, a delicately poised but relentless anthem.

It’s the intensity of this album that makes it special, it ebbs and flows as Raymonds is able to go from screaming fury to delicate lullaby in a fraction of a second and then bring it back up again for a roaring finish.

You can listen to a snippet of the album on the bands myspace: www.myspace.com/damiera
Or buy the album from their website: http://www.myspace.com/damiera

Sloan - “Parallel Play”

You can be forgiven for never hearing of Sloan. Described as one of today’s quintessential Canadian bands they are renowned for their song writing technique as all four members of the band write their own songs and have two lead vocalists. Although they were hailed as “The Canadian Nirvana” they struggled to make a name for themselves and even though “Parallel Play” is their 9th studio album they have yet to crack Europe.

“Parallel Play” is an example of doing power pop right. Highlights of this album include “Cheap Champaign” which is a pop song too perfect to believe. Catchy, sweet, and adorable this ticks all the boxes. It skips along nicely into a chorus that couldn’t be more contagious if it tried. Kicking things really into shape is the following track “All I AM Is All Your Not”, catchy licks, great harmonies and a chorus that will once again knock you off your chair, this is where Sloan are allowed to switch up and vary their sound. This ability is again flexed on the next track, “Emergency 911″.

Bursting straight out of the last song you’ve hardly any time to think before it hits you, a grating and relentless track which ends just in time for you to be able to collect the back half of your head that’s blown off. Other tracks such as “Burn For It” and “Witches wand” take a while to get used to but once you come to appreciate the quality of Sloan’s writing style and their ability to create an album with so many different angles and perspectives without compromising, it’s remarkable.

This is an album that may take a couple of spins for you to get used to but with Sloan’s capacity to mix the old school electric blues with the magic of honest power pop this will be an album that will stick around.

New and other classic Sloan songs can be found on the bands myspace: www.myspace.com/sloan

Velveteen - Home Waters

Being the but of a cruel internet joke never usually pays off for up and coming bands, this however, was not the case for German indie rockers Velveteen when internet blogger Jerome Holeyman leaked “Home waters” under the false name of the new Death Cab For Cutie album “Narrow Stairs”. The prank worked as millions of salivating DCFC fans downloaded the fake “Narrow stairs” believing it to be the real deal.

It is easy to see why the mistake was made as lead singer Carstens Scheauff’s voice is an uncanny resemblance to that of DCFC’s Ben Gibbard. But it’d be too easy for me to compare Velveteen to Death Cab. Yes they have the same low-key, melodic easy going and paint-you-a-picture-with-lyrics sound to them but there’s also something more. It’s something that grounds “Home Waters” to the floor, a back to basics ethos about it that’s driven by shoe gazery and indie elements.

“Home Waters” is able to perfectly blend melancholic lyrics with soaring undertones, their sound is almost purposely down played to create an ambiance which at some points is delicate enough to crack but at others is almost with an overpowering accumulation of dirty guitars smothered delightfully in whimsical vocals. “After The K.M Tapes” is a prime example of the latter, a no nonsense introduction to Velveteen’s soaring sound restrained by Scheauff’s delightfully lazy voice.

“3 Kids Home” carefully builds its way up into a ballad that would be at home on any early Death Cab record while “Drink up Girls” feels like a drunken slur of remorse knocked about violently by Velveteen opening the gates and setting loose a tide of crashing symbols, smoking bass lines and furious guitars. The purposely discreet and reserved sound of Velveteen makes “Home Waters” a surprisingly strong album. You’d expect them to flop about with meaningless lyrics and sappy, uninspiring riffs but this is an that album proves that you don’t have to bash around with the big guns, you can just let an honest love and talent for music lead the way.

You can listen to the full album FOR FREE on the bands website: www.velveteen-music.de

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