Written by Ben Meyercord.
Pattern is Movement‘s new album, All Together is good. Definitely above average. Enough that I have songs stuck in my head. Enough that I looked up their tour schedule to see if they are playing anywhere near me (they aren’t). Enough that I looked up their back catalog and plan on acquiring some it.

Yesterday was the drop date for All Tiny Creatures‘ Segni, a 12″ EP featuring four tracks of immense instrumental awesomeness. The EP opens with an epic, the 17 minute title track “Segni”, and is followed by three songs that do not equate to that time allotment by more than a minute-thirty.

“Meet And Greet”, off Slaraffenland‘s upcoming debut LP We’re On Your Side, follows precisely the direction in which they embarked on last year’s EP Sunshine with tracks like “I’m A Machine” and “The Trick”. Slaraffenland continues to shovel out intricately orchestrated experimental pop melodies. “Meet And Greet” proves this band’s signature is quickly becoming hand claps and stomps featured at unique intervals and horn heavy instrumentation, fronted by ornate multi-part vocals that converge and spread into complex harmonies instantaneously.

You rarely hear the words avant-garde associated with pop music. Yet the eclectic and sometimes ear-wrenching sub-genre can be found in all corners of music, but perhaps most notably in jazz through classic artists like Ornette Coleman. In some ways avant-garde is simply a pretentious way of saying experimental. But the definition of the term is merely a push of the boundaries away from the norm. That, then, brings up the question what is the norm?

Megafaun (MySpace) was originally birthed from the remnants of DeYarmond Edison and released Bury The Square in 2007. Gather, Form & Fly is the follow-up to that widely-hailed album, and it warrants all the hype one can give. The band consists of Joe Westerlund and brothers Phil and Brad Cook. The main Edison absentee is Justin Vernon, who now goes by Bon Iver. Despite Iver’s greatness, there’s a lot to be said about these three — the music they create, in my opinion, is just as great …

Written by Fense
In the realm of indie-pop there are few that stray beyond the comfort of the sub-genre’s homogenous nature. Virtually every artist that expands on the traditional elements of indie-pop does so by pulling from other genres like folk and psychedelic rock and prog. Slaraffenland is no exception.

Written by Fense
It’s the end of the year and I’m rapidly trying to catch up on and wrap up all loose ends. My promo rack is still out of control, as is my inbox. And my 2009 resolution will be the same as 2008: keep up with the inbox and promo rack. Hopefully I’ll be able to stick with it this time around. As I hastily try to pare these two things down, I keep stumbling across new items that slipped by unnoticed, like Stars Like …

Written by Fense
Nick Butcher is youthful but balding; he’s thin with a very natural, normal look. One would hardly expect him to be the mastermind of a minimalist-experimental-electronic outfit. But he is. That his appearance is more fitting for a talegate party than this just goes to show that looks can be deceiving.