Fresh Mango: May 27, 2022
First of all, and because it cannot be said often enough:
нет войны | ні війні | No War
How to help the poeple in Ukraine
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10 new releases that are worth checking out!
10 short reviews.
If available on Spotify, one song each will also be added to the MangoRotation playlist (MR) for 14 days.
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LULL - Something in the Way (MR)
(03:21, Single, Digital, selfrelease, 21/04/2022)
The latest single 'Something in the Way' by LULL from English city Newcastle upon Tyne is the soundtrack to shake off all negativity to. In only 200 seconds the band manages to soak up all anger, sadness, grief or pain, and then create a massive beam that shoots it all off. But this is no dull anger relief. Instead, LULL approach the emotive realms in a sensual and sensitive way by interweaving gloomy Grunge into their sharp (Post) Hardcore sound. And once, the tension created by those two sonic elements interacting with each other has been formed to big ball, the final breakdown makes you spinkick that s.o.b. to Pluto. Sensible and brutal simultaneously, the Screamo Grunge by LULL is the ideal way to get out of bed.
Koalra - The Fires burned everything we had. When the Dust settles, they will do it again. (MR)
(40:50, Album, Cassette/Digital, Gigantic Noise Records, 30/04/2022)
With their newest album "The Fires burned everything we had. Wen the Dust settles, they will do it again", Koalra from Portland, Oregon might have presented one of the greatest release title in ages. The album contains four tracks, each of them between nine and elevent minutes long, and each of them presents a part of the release's title. The fifteen words are beautifully arranged on the cover artwork which you can order on Koalra's bandcamp page.
The forty-minute journey thorugh fire and flames, anxiety and curiosity, hope and despair, dust and wind sets the audience to a comfortable trance. Stoic Krautrock rhythms are the motor for this sonic trip that is ornated by colourful rays of Space Rock and Kosmische Musik. Between those two psychedelic elements, Koalra build an atmospheric but also gloomy construct made from Post Rock and Post Punk - a fantastically colourful and versatile sonic world to dive in to.
Bad Fractals - FreeRange (MR)
(02:28, Single, Digital, X-Ray Sound, 13/05/2022)
After LULL have rid us from negativity and Koalra have provided a soul-cleaning journey to ourselves, let us now explore a possible core for negativity in our lives. London's Bad Fractals deal with one of the main sources for bad things happening on planet Earth: greed. Sarcastically, and by the power of dynamic sounds, the band points their fingers at the shambles our species has left here. Their main tools for this are heavily rolling Punk Rock, a dark and insane combination of Post Punk and Noise for the atmosphere, a certain Hillbilly Blues madness, and the voice of the coolest animal on Earth, chicken.
'FreeRange' immediately moves your whole body. And at least as the first chorus sets in, you will realize that song is about to get even wilder. The best word to decribe this beautifully insane sound is: explosive.
Bones in Butter - A Dystopian Love Story (MR)
(03:06, Single, Digital, selfrelease, 27/05/2022)
So what do we do in this world ruined by greed and violence, a world that may look free and colourful but is ruled by the darkness it is constantly moving towards? Do we give up or do we fight for every sparkle of light that spends warmth and comfort in this cold and dark environment?
Bones in Butter from Serbian capital Belgrade present 'A Dystopian Love Story', their latest single in which the band lets the beauty of shared affection and love grind on the merciless and harsh surrounding.
Such a melodramatic tale screams for a wholesome artistic musical realization, and that is exactly what it gets as Bones in Butter create a sound that lets the sun shine through darkest clouds. From Dream Pop to Post Punk, from Cold Wave to Blues, and from New Wave to Indie Rock, the Serbian ban has hereby produced the most honest thing a love song in these days can become.
Dendê Macêdo - Agô
(50:20, Album, CD/Digital, Ropeadope Records, 27/05/2022)
And as sunshine shall follow after rain, the new album "Agô" by Dendê Macêdo from Bahia, Brazil fits in perfectly. On a dozen new tracks, the percussionist and bandleader presents a sound full of sunshine, hope, empowerment, and soul. The album "Agô" is a deep and dear conversation between the outside and the inside. Body and soul, past and future, night and day come together when Dendê Macêdo and his guest musicians provide us with the sweetest melodies and dynamic rhythms to move us physically and mentally. It is a eclectic mix of Afrobeat, Soul, Blues, Rock, Funk, and much more that sets the audience under a gorgeous charm.
The joyful sounds and the eclectic percussive elements especially make it impossible to sit still. Yet, behind the colourful music there are serious contents that Dendê Macêdo addresses on "Agô". The song title 'Black Lives Matter' speaks for itself, and the album contains further empowerment for the African diasporic communities and other people who have suffered from injustice, oppression, and marginalisation for far too long. And thus, "Agô" is not only an artistically stunning release, but also a very important album with a clear message.
(41:19, Album, CD/Digital, 51st Woodhouse Lane, 06/05/2022)
On their previous longplayer, German Dream Prog and Art Pop band starfish64 invited us into "The Crimson Chamber". After exploring this exciting room, the quartet is taking their listeners by the hand and leading them through the most beautiful and calm regions of the wilderness. Melancholically and happily watching the clouds fly by, enjoying the sweetest song by birds flying by, or gathering seasonal odeurs, starfish64's seventh longplayer is a fantastic ode to life.
The four musicians let us dive deep into the realms where dreams are born. And thus their progressive and gentle compositions make the elements melt and thereby create a new form of happiness. "Scattered Pieces of Blue" is the musical pendant to the most impressive surise above a landscape of your choice - Cinematic Dream Prog for heart and soul.
(74:19, Album, Vinyl/CD/Digital, Tonzonen Records, 25/05/2022)
(47:25, Album, Digital, Inverse Records, 20/05/2022)
Another deep dive is provided by quartet Womack from South Finnish town Forssa. But instead of leading their audience to dreamy spheres, this sonic journey will make you encounter demons, infernal flames, and maybe even Satan themselves. On their third album "III - Songs of Downfall & Deliverance", Womack gradually move away from their Heavy Metal and Southern Rock roots and instead they elements from Heavy Prog, Psychedelic Stoner Rock and occvlt hallucinations become more ostensible.
Womack's third longplayer is the sound that tells you to put on extra strong sunglasses because the flames of hell are inevitable. But this is not a sad ride towards the dungeons of the fallen angels. This is a joyful psychedelic trip on the fast lane.
(47:16, Album, CD/Digital, Necktwister, 21/05/2022)
And while our musical exploration in this issue of Fresh Mango has brought us to hell already, this is a good moment to introduce Belgian Black Metal band Provectus. The trio has released their debut album "Postero Mundi" via Necktwister. Driven by raw and atmospheric Black Metal, Provectus tell about pain, darkness, anxiety, sardonic and supernatural phenomena, or the thick melancholia that life can be. Provectus combine the brachial violence of bands like early Immortal or Dark Funeral with the atmospheric mood of Attila-era Mayhem, and finally add some Dissection- or Helrunar-like disharmonic melody to create a forceful and merciless Black Metal cocktail.
(16:05, EP, Vinyl/CD/Digital, SBÄM Records, 27/05/2022)
And last but not least for something completely different: Melodic Punk and Hardcore from Chepstow, Wales! What once began as a drinking group with a music problem has grown to be a succesful band that has already toured Europe. On their EP "ZILCH!", Bottlekids neither beat about the bush nor do they mince words. On activating, dynamic ad moshpit-ready tunes with plenty of catchy melodic leads, the band bring up the inconvenient truth: the situation on our home planet is catastrophic, and action needs to be taken yesterday. So let us pogo our way to improvement by these six bangers.
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