It was all in all a fruitless day. I wasn’t planning to do anything. Watch a classic Eastwood flick and let adult cold drive me drowsy for a morning hurry I’d rather not wake up early to. Well, I don’t think I’m going to change that plan. But at least tonight is coming to a joyful fate. Because I’m lending ears to a crazy freak-folk band from Copenhagen. Daring as Akron/Family and unsettling and restless as a Devendra Banhart whose modern rock’s lousy repetitive obnoxiousness has driven him mad. A revenge scheme is here!

Hanuman 5 is led by singer/composer/guitarist Kristian Haarløv. When I read the tagline of their band in my mail that described them as “all involved in many aspects of the Copenhagen music scene” I misinterpreted the line as bragging. But this all luckily turned out wrong. This is an odd combination of folk that does not hide its zest for sketching their songs to 8 or 10 minutes. And believe me, this roller coaster ride of genre galore sounds adventurous and exciting. If you found them joyous, mad and hard to categorize but fun-lovin’, why not share this soothing insanity?

The album is called Ethereo and will be released as of March 1st via Safety First Records. Hmm. No, They don’t mind if you play the whole thing down here. Also if you check their Facebook out, they have a unique collective of influence that has infected their chaotic shifts from afro to pop, from Yim Yames to acid jazz and from Scandinavia to Simon & Garfunkel. And man! This is too much music on one LP to begin with.

Photo: Tony Katai

There’s always an enormous gap of hard-settling void we have to deal with when departing ourselves from a relationship. You don’t see it in our faces. We keep smiling and partying with you. But we’re neighbors to an emotional black hole in our subliminal. But isn’t it where the music begins? The difference in our own wavelengths and that pile of nothing inhabiting somewhere very near. Keep living with it. It’s only a matter of time that makes avoiding this delta easier. But until then, let’s write songs for the broken-hearted and lost. Hence, The following record is inspired by “an existential crisis that comes with the prospect of leaving a long-term relationship”.

[♫] Our Orthodox - “We’re Not the Only Ones”

Our Orthodox, the indie-folk project of Neil Harris has a new album We Are Not the Only Ones out. Harris keeps his songwriting to a safe corner, like Okkervil River songs without that dose of defiance. This makes the better part of his music easy listening and appealing. And…well it’s all recorded in a kitchen. Kudos!

Stream the whole album via bandcamp.

Photo: Florence Thomassin in Oral Fix from Katerina Jebb’s Simulacrum and Hyperbole, Gloria Maria Gallery, 2010 - via umanesimo

This is the quick opener to Fire Island Pines’ upcoming second EP called Ricky Lee Jones. What I found interesting about it is how patiently every song structure settles down and finds its path despite the short run. A catchy Dire Straits-resembling intro, followed by verses that bring a swooning Jarvis Cocker to mind, backed by a delicate harmony, a vibrant trumpet and even a bridge.

Fire Island Pines are an indie pop act from Cornwall UK. The EP will be released as of February 28th. You can stream the remaining three tunes on their bandcamp.

Photo: Fire Island Pines’ tumblr - October tour poster

No, I know. Your daily routines have injected the ADD in your veins. So taking some time off would bring back your focus. Cause procrastination is what we’re currently best at. So don’t even mention remembering what happened on this blog a while back. Never mind, a while back we posted “Inn Keaping”, a 10-minute slowburner by The Sea and Cake and I told you how it reminded me of Wilco’s “Spiders (Kidsmoke)”. Here on “Debut” I get the same impression, except that it builds itself up a bit faster, a few pleasant harmless lines and then you’re out on your own, the way you were left halfway on your own on The War on Drugs’ “Best Night”. This dangling wander may not last long but I can resort to that immune indie rock for tonight. I’d sooner not defy my limits for now.

[♫] Adios Amigo - “Debut”

[♫] Adios Amigo - “Easy To Hide”

The breezy San Fransisco act, Adios Amigo are on the loose with their self-titled debut EP that can be directly obtained through their bandcamp.

Photo: Part-time Job by davidfromdallas

We don’t know a lot about Black Polygons. They are tentatively from Paris! But their starting free EP was enamoring enough for me to wait for more and the wait was utterly worthwhile. Here you can stream their self-titled minimal ambient noise-psych machine LP and have the first song “Symmetry” for free.

[♫] Black Polygons - “Symmetry”

The album consists of 13 profoundly atmospheric experimental electronic soundscapes that despite the short duration do not serve as Prefuse 73-like short circuits. To my opinion each track gives birth to its own observatory probe while - just like the act’s withdrawn identity - does not divulge and elaborate on its offspring. This keeps us longing for more. But the work is kaleidoscopic enough to be gone through again. I’ll keep you posted if they let us know who they are.

Soon a year after their self-titled debut, Cardinal disbanded in 1995. It remained the sole collaboration of Richard Davies and Eric Matthews. They both pursued solo careers. Hymns is their new unlikely album after sixteen years and it is released today. Below you can download the first single:

[♫] Cardinal - “Carbolic Smoke Ball”

Not to be mixed with Ryan Adams backing band, the duo is best described as 60s-infused chamber orchestra pop or as they like to call it “following the Beatles and Bee Gees and before Belle & Sebastian”. It may also remind some folks of Sebadoh and Dandy Warholes at points. The song is about the first essay in law Davies ever read.

For a full stream head over AOL Spinner before it’s late and if you find it soothing, buy the album from Fire Records.

Photo: Dave Cooper via Illustration Inspiration