New Music: Xela, Blake Miller, Dave Fischoff

Xela - Wet Bones - The Dead Sea (Type 2006)



Xela – The Dead Sea / Type

John Twells’ Type imprint is somewhat of an enigma in that the music released by the U.K. label ranges from the dark, minimal electronica of Logreybeam to the bright kaleidoscope folk of Mountaineer. So really, it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise that Twells, who records under the moniker Xela, crafts music that reaches for both sides of that spectrum. The Dead Sea, one of his two albums released in 2006, is a somber concept album tracing a sea voyage ultimately doomed by an abrupt attack of malignant zombies. Twells soundtrack is composed from gusts of dismal frequencies, tattered rhythms and eerie synths as well as glittering bells, tingling guitar picking and the occasional hopeful melody “murdered and re-animated” into twelve visceral instrumentals. The contrast within the songs brings the album to life evoking an array of dramatic emotions in the listener from desperate hope to bleak acceptance. Equally influenced by the druggy drone of Odd Nosdam, the omniscient clatter of John Cage, the hypnotic doom of Wolf Eyes and the cerebral folk of John Fahey, The Dead Sea is truly an intriguing listen, animating the ghostly cover art provided by illustrator Matthew Woodson.




Blake Miller - Rain and Sunrise - Together with Cats (Exit Stencil 2006)



Blake Miller – Together with Cats / Exit Stencil

Scraping up potential left and right, the underrated Exit Stencil label (home of This Moment in Black History, Home and Garden, The New Lou Reeds) have wisely snagged burgeoning singer/songwriter Blake Miller by compiling twelve self-recorded songs straight from his tattered, doodle-lined notebook. Reminiscent of the equally promising Julie Sokolow album (Western Vinyl Records), Miller’s lo-fi recordings are perfectly imperfect as multi-layered vocals drift in and out of harmony, acoustic guitar strums strive to resonate in the thin frequency bandwidth and consistent rhythms are nowhere to be found. Which you would assume equals a bad album, but Miller’s immensely strong songwriting and innate musical ability translates the imperfections into engaging bedroom folk echoing early recordings from Iron and Wine, Will Oldham and that lost Nashville charm. The 19-year-old upstart is currently in the studio recording a proper full-length though it seems like that was the request of label; as he puts it in Rain and Sunrise, “I want to be a superstar, but only in the bedroom.”




Dave Fischoff - In This Air - The Crawl (Secretly Canadian 2006)



Dave Fischoff – The Crawl / Secretly Canadian

The cover art for The Crawl is made up of a rush-hour crowd of simple, snuggly dressed, hand-drawn people with arching noses and quaint, masking half-smiles making their way in front of a silhouetted skyline. You can only assume that hidden behind their yarn-like hair are small, white earbuds pumping in the triumphant, cut-and-paste orchestra conducted by Dave Fischoff and causing their pencil-line mouths to curve slightly upwards. The Bloomington, IN native and Chicago-based musician recreates the cheery orchestra pop of The Beach Boys and Burt Bacharach with an array of synthesizers and keyboards, then intertwines shuffling drum machines and strings it all together with Her Space Holiday-like vocals and sentimental storytelling. Fischoff’s bedroom indie-pop will be classified with electro-pop groups like The Postal Service, but his music tends to shamble rather than bounce and has a very wintry holiday like vibe throughout separating it slightly from the pack for better or worse. The Crawl will not instantaneously grab your attention, but if it finds its way into your earbuds, you very well could crack that same small smile.