Gastr Del Sol

David Grubbs & Jim O'Rourke’s long-dormant Gastr Del Sol returns with a first “new” release in 25 years, an epic 3LP/2CD box set collecting previously unreleased recordings and rarities influenced by Derek Bailey’s free improv as much as hallowed jazz staples and musique concrète, like some irresistible force ploughing through the increasingly approachable, you might even say polite, output of their post rock contemporaries back in the late 90’s. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it sounds better now than ever, too.

Recorded live in January 2020, just before COVID-19 halted performances for the foreseeable, "Instant Opaque Evening" is the second intense slab from Mats Gustafsson, David Grubbs and Rob Mazurek's Underflow project. It's clear from the first few notes that these players are familiar with each other, and they make a sublime noise together, jumping from skronky free jazz to noisy electronics to impromptu covers of Grubbs' songs with bubbly fluidity. It's not gonna be for everyone but if yr looking for free experimentation, this is a meeting of some of the genre's contemporary masters.

Occasionally out of the blue skies comes an album that can truly be anointed as a progression , beyond the valleys of symphonic, through the dense forests of experimental and over the mighty Italian RPI peaks. Celebrated multi-instrumentalist and prolific maestro bassist Fabio Zuffanti (having a glorious recent past with the legendary Finisterre , the heady La Maschera di Cera, the pastoral Histsonaten, folky Aries, experimental Zaal and La Zona, to name just a few) has outdone himself with this supremely evocative and original offering. Firstly beyond the vivid green artwork that glorifies the music even more, the amalgamation of keyboardists Agostino Macor (the next Wakeman/Emerson in my opinion) and Boris Valle has only managed to make us prog fans fantasize even further over ivory pleasures, with colossal use of piano and mellotron throughout the wheezing, highly cinematographic arrangements. ..

Chicago’s post-rock and jazz dons look to new electronic horizons subtly urged by their home city’s deep house heartbeat.

Yo La Tengo - Fade (2013) {Matador OLE 994-2}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 294 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 107 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 20 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2013 Matador Records | OLE 994-2
Rock / Indie Rock / Alternative / Dream Pop

At album number 13, Yo La Tengo are an institution unto themselves, having perfected their craft of slow-burning, unassumingly insular indie rock in incremental baby steps since their formation in 1984. Almost three decades of building a language of wistfully melodic guitar rock without becoming redundant is no small feat, and Fade rises to the unique challenge by striking a middle ground between new territory and recalling YLT's finest hours. Fade is the first album for the band not recorded with producer Roger Moutenot, who had worked with the group on everything they put to tape since their 1993 breakthrough, Painful.