Artist: Squonk Opera

Album: Go!

I discovered Squonk Opera via their 1994 debut Howandever, when I lived in Boston and went to things called “used record stores”. The band was called “Squonk Opera”, so that caught my eye. Its instrumental lineup was vocals; piano/ keyboards; wind synthesizer/ celtic flute/ whistles/ sax; contraption kit/ rototoms; electric bass; tabla/ electric tabla. The players were additionally titled “prima donna”, “kapellmeister”, “impresario”, “glocksonic”, “basso buffo”, and “percussionisto”. First six song titles: […]

Artist: Delta Spirit

Album: Delta Spirit

Delta Spirit ‘s Matthew Vasquez sings with a twang, and their rock music has strong heartland folk/country leanings. I’m told this was even truer on their first two albums, which had titles; Delta Spirit is their third, and shows an, apparently new, interest in keyboards and mild electronic beats. That’s not what you’d notice first.

Me, I noticed the drummer first. I’m not sure whether Brandon Young is unusually good — his […]

Artist: the Very Best

Album: MTMTMK

As should be obvious from the plaintive opening blasts of fog-horn, the Very Best are a dance band, and MTMTMK is a bright, shiny, transnational, transcultural electro-pop dance record … Well, fine, but it *becomes* obvious once the fog-horn has been made to hold down the ultra-low bass end. Meanwhile, groaning synthesizer has been drafted to hold down the almost-as-low bass; ultra-trebly synthesizer whistles and bleats have started playing the high […]