Atsuko Chiba – Link
Similar artists: The Mars Volta, Beak>, Spirit of the Beehive, Black Midi
Genre: Psychedelic Rock
Record label execs are often at a loss. They need to sell music. This is what keeps them in business. But musical tastes change all the time. So does the way to promote artists. How can they stay on top of such things?
By keeping it simple! This is often, especially now, the mantra of most of the powerful record labels. Short snippets make songs go viral on TikTok. A good chorus can make it onto a car commercial. These things are clear! They can be sold!
Music fans aren’t always ready for new things. But just like all humans, they respond to some basic emotions. Fear and joy, for example, always trigger some kind of response. Many of the best bands of any era used these to get their way.
Atsuko Chiba’s Link is a daring step into the musical unknown, but it’s easy to follow along with it. This is demanding, intrusive prog-rock. Still, it’s not music that only works by demanding you keep check of how many notes are being played. Instead, it focuses on emotion like a quack doctor leading a primal scream therapy held at the top of a misty mountain. It’s hard not to react to this!
The Moon Caravan – Disintegrate
Genre: Shoegaze
Modern music, just like modern art in general, is derided by many and loved passionately by a select few. But, whichever side of the fence you are on, understand that it’s a natural progression.
How many styles of music were there when pop became a global concern? Very few. There were very few styles. Consequently, any change to the established format was greeted just like a revolution.
It’s the same everywhere. A food company will launch one flavor of its product. More will come later. Imitators will appear. Innovators will find the courage to try something new. With luck, the consumer is the one that wins.
The Moon Caravan’s Disintegrate, in some ways, functions just like abstract art. It suggests through sound what would be very difficult to articulate with words. It does so through swirling guitar lines, and the kind of production that can easily envelop a listener. Where words fail, and all of that…
