Evan Caminiti – West Winds
Rarely does cover art capture the sound of a musical artist, but the painting of a brooding maelstrom that accompanies Evan Caminiti’s West Winds perfectly conveys the sonic soundscape of the music within. Dense, dark and swirling, Caminiti(a member of San Franciso’s Barn Owl) balances voluminous power and a subtle beauty on these elementally themed pieces. “Westward Sun” features a lovely piano part that evokes the magic hour of the day, while “Thunder Breaks The Dawn” and “Glowing Sky” are forceful drone pieces that suggest the ferociousness of nature.
The Vietnam War – The Vietnam War
From the New Zealand capital of Auckland, The Vietnam War play country rock and roll tinged with darkness. These largely mid tempo songs are tightly assembled and performed with a Velvets-esque swagger. Singer Lubin Raines delivers the finely composed lyrics with a deceptive casualness; the breezy nature of most of these songs being perfectly suited to his reedy tenor. The tempo picks up with the Old 97’s-esque “Love Is Nothing”, though largely this album cruises at an amiable pace with just the right amount of dirtiness in the guitars. Torn and frayed country rock at it’s finest.
Benoît Pioulard – Lyon
Benoît Pioulard has been a prolific artist over the last decade, releasing EPs, CD-Rs and full albums of diverse style. Primarily he has produced fractured folk music altered with hazy distortion, while also dipping into experimental noise (last years release Valley). On Lyon, Pioulard performs purely acoustically and the result is a pristine collection of classic folk songs. Free of the fuzz and reverb, these finely crafted songs starkly display Pioulard’s superb songwriting ability and a delicate, lilting vocal. A great talent reducing his art to it’s essence, with beautiful results.
