New #BandcampFriday purchase; New Decadence by Michelle Gurevich

https://bandcamp.com/pmarg

#Bandcamp #Experimental #Chanson #ArtPop #Pop #ArkRomantic #PostPunk #Copenhagen #Denmark

🇬🇧 Ultravox "Visions in Blue" – 1983

A slow-burning synthscape where icy textures meet deep emotional undercurrents, unfolding with haunting elegance and quiet dramatic tension...

#ultravox #synthpop #newwave #electronic #80smusic #artpop #vinyl #music #vinylrecords #vinylcollection #vinylcollector #nowspinningonvinyl #nowspinning #nowlistening

mUmbo – When It Was Quiet EP

“When It Was Quiet” is the latest release by mUmbo, an excellent English trio based in London. It’s their first piece of work this year, arriving after “Sky Is Blue,” “Fringe Benefits,” “Red Benefits,” and “A Little Life,” a series of marvellous standalone singles released throughout 2023 and 2024 that you should also check out as soon as possible. Still, their new material introduces many innovations in songwriting, composing, arranging, and producing, showcasing a natural progression for an already incredible band. Lyrically, the songs observe a life from a distance, tackling various sentiments, moods, situations, and circumstances in such a profound, poetic, storytelling manner. It’s a highly relatable material that will immediately appeal to the broader audience. Sonically, mUmbo cites renowned acts such as Cocteau Twins, Mazzy Star, Goldfrapp, Ry Cooder, Mark Knopfler, Johnny Marr, and Billie Holiday as their primary influences, so “When It Was Quiet” carries an entire palette of various styles. mUmbo is known for blending various approaches, techniques, and directions to depict vivid sonic imagery, and that’s the case here as well. Perhaps dream pop resonates in the mix the most, as the band incorporated all the fundamental elements of this genre into their songs, but do not be surprised if you stumble upon some of the finest properties borrowed from art pop, indie pop, indie folk, blues, cinematic ambient, and many more. mUmbo uses all these additional sonic ingredients as more than necessary enhancements, accentuations, decorations, and other details to elevate their music to new heights while simultaneously remaining loyal to the primary sonic direction. Therefore, these experimentations with various techniques and many complementary music genres resulted in mesmerizing songs that will not only appeal to the dream pop fans but anyone who appreciates calm, soothing, relaxing, and enchanting music.

This majestic sonic journey commences with “You Can Do What You Want To,” a beautiful introductory piece that vividly showcases what you might expect from the remainder of the album. As soon as you press play, this composition wraps around your listening apparatus, grabs you by the collar, and refuses to let go long after the last notes and beats end. The superb guitar works based on shimmering, jangly, angular chord progressions, harmonies, melodies, and accentuations shape a perfect backdrop for all the vocals to shine upon, while the generous servings of hall and spring reverb decorate and elevate instrumentations to new heights. These effects give more space and make all those notes shine in the limelight, creating a lush, spacious, otherworldly ambient. In the meantime, you’ll notice how Emma Semple’s marvelous vocal performance elevates everything to new heights, commands attention, and guides listening attention on this epic journey through an expansive sonic universe. Her impressive vocal range seamlessly balances low, mid, and high notes with such precision and finesse, emphasising everything the band intended to achieve with this track. Beneath all these vocal and guitar layers, you’ll notice subtle yet noticeable basslines, perfectly blended with guitars for maximum impact. These low-ends provide more than necessary depth, warmth, and heaviness, making this song even more detailed. Of course, there’s also a magnificent drumming performance based on moderate beats, fills, and accentuations. These rhythmic manoeuvres keep the remainder of the band in line while dictating the groove and pace. These are the moments where the rhythm section truly shines, mainly because each hit of the snare, kick of the bass drum, accentuations over the hi-hat, and cymbal has its purpose. This is also notable on “You Know The Song,” a composition where the approach to drumming is more minimalistic yet equally impactful. Antonio Dalé’s usage of the drums and percussion goes beyond comprehension, as he incorporates almost detached snare hits and beats, yet everything sounds so organized. In the meantime, the hi-hats and cymbals appear moderately, like subtle details that mark the transition into the next segment. A wonderful performance that true dream pop fans will appreciate.

Of course, there are Doug MacGowan’s fascinating guitar works, leaning much more into dream pop and shoegaze territories while keeping that indie folk signature moves intact. The luxuriant, beautiful arpeggiated chord progressions continuously collide with the viola and violin, which, in this case, give more soulful and emotional depth. The interplay between these instruments is what makes “You Know The Song” such an incredible track. Emma Semple elevates that emotion through another sincere, soulful, passionate vocal performance by uplifting these intricate instrumentations with another collection of beautiful vocal harmonies, melodies, and accentuations. The band leans even more into dream pop waters with “Worm Moon,” an incredible piece where vocals sound even more powerful, guitars shine with some of the finest orchestrations you’ll hear in a while, lush viola and violin layers elevate an already complex soundscape, more subtle yet complex basslines, and an entire collection of half-time rhythmic patterns. The additional vocal layers, back vocals, and sing-alongs make “Worm Moon” even more cinematic, anthemic, and ethereal. Such a beautiful closing track that sums up the brilliance of this outstanding trio. “When It Was Quiet” is a dream pop masterpiece. It combines all the fundamental elements of the genre while embracing the finest qualities of indie folk, indie pop, art pop, blues, shoegaze, and cinematic ambient. Doug MacGowan, Emma Semple, and Antonio Dalé poured heart and soul into this material. They demonstrate all their experience, knowledge, skills, creativity, and talent through these three fascinating songs, proving that even the longstanding genres like dream pop and indie folk, when done right, can still sound innovative, fresh, unique, and exciting. “When It Was Quiet” is a thrilling exploration of a dreamy, cinematic, ethereal sonic universe, an otherworldly listening experience you surely do not want to miss. Head to your favourite streaming platform and check it out.

https://open.spotify.com/album/17ZehGZNOu6me7o1pcdnul?si=ejaykTQHT-GZ0FH8mY60Sw

#ambient #artPop #blues #cinematic #dreamPop #indieFolk #mumbo #music #reviews

#AlbertineSarges aus Berlin und ihre Band spielen hypnotischen #ArtPop mit geloopter Querflöte und covern "I Can't Dance" von Genesis. Ein sehenswerter Auftritt von internationalem Format.

https://www.gig-blog.net/2025/11/29/albertine-sarges-28-11-2025-merlin-stuttgart/

#Konzert #Konzertbericht #Concert #LiveMusic #LiveMusik #Konzertfotografie #ConcertPhotography #PopMusik #PopMusic #Stuttgart

Free download codes:

immortal ebt - zigmund void

"A experimental venture into an outsider art take on hip hop and art rap."

https://getmusic.fm/l/wFLvF5

#artpop #experimentalhiphop #postrap #music

não amei mas gostei bastante do álbum novo da Rosalía. muito bonito #nowplaying #pop #artpop #espana

https://song.link/s/4ORvXsPK9AJmDzm36BYcdy