archived brainwashed reviews
Sun Stabbed, “Des lumières, des ombres, des figures” (Doubtful Sounds, 2011)
I have not heard anything from this French duo since 2008’s The World Upside-Down, but their gently roiling and shimmering guitar drone made a big impression on me. On this, […]
Natural Snow Buildings, “Chants Of Niflheim” (Blackest Rainbow, 2011)
I was both surprised and amused when Natural Snow Buildings released an entire full-length album of all new material to celebrate Record Store Day, as nobody has such a voluminous […]
Motion Sickness of Time Travel, “Seeping Through the Veil of the Unconscious” (Digitalis, 2010)
I discovered Rachel Evan’s music in a somewhat roundabout way, as I stumbled into some music videos that she directed while I was searching for something else on Vimeo. As […]
Peaking Lights, “936” (Not Not Fun, 2011)
This husband-and-wife duo has been lurking around the cassette underground and amassing an enthusiastic following for several years, but their work has always been a bit too abstract and lo-fi […]
“Cartagena! Curro Fuentes & The Big Band Cumbia and Descarga Sound of Colombia 1962-72” (Soundway, 2011)
The late Curro Fuentes was quite a fascinating guy. The youngest brother of the Fuentes musical dynasty that dominated Colombian music for four decades, he stayed behind on the coast […]
Tim Hecker, “Ravedeath, 1972” (Kranky, 2011)
Tim Hecker has made a career out of releasing reliably excellent albums, but aside from rare departures like 2002’s Van Halen-inspired My Love is Rotten to the Core, he has […]
“Pakistan: Folk and Pop Instrumentals 1966-1976” (Sublime Frequencies, 2011)
This album is very deceptively packaged and presented, but in the best way possible: the tame cover art and the word “folk” did nothing at all to prepare me for […]
LA Vampires, “So Unreal” (Not Not Fun, 2011)
I never quite understood the popularity of Pocahaunted and I was pretty underwhelmed by the LA Vampires/Zola Jesus collaboration last year, so I figured it was pretty safe to conclude […]