After several virtual spins of Steve Shiffman & The Land of No 's latest EP "Nemegt Uul," I began to look at the three song work as a continuous story. It was only after I formed this theory that I discovered that "Nemegt Uul" is the second in a series of 3 EPs (each to be released every 3 months) which will be later compiled into a full length album. So, albeit shaky, my postulation held a little water. The three songs are tied together by recurring themes of lost and found love, dream vs. reality, communication failure, and dressed by the band's intense guitar sound, rooted in the indie sound of the 90s, and Mr Shiffman's vocals, which are at times reminiscent of an angrier Brendan Benson. Don't miss the EP release party at Cake Shop on November 4. - Allison Levin
We've always been big fans of Luke Temple, and it's good to see that, together with the Here We Go Magic crew, the man is keeping at it with increasingly beautiful records and videos. The band's new album "A Different Ship" (stream it here) will be out on May 8, and betrays at least a partial return to Luke Temple's more intimate and melodic sound from his solo repertoire - in this regard, lend a ear to "Hard to Be Close," "Alone but Moving" and "Over the Ocean". This is welcome news for fans like us who always thought that in most HWGM material Luke's noteworthy songwriting skills seemed a little sacrificed on the altar of textural experimentation. This doesn't mean that the band's signature hypnotic, impressionistic sound is lost - it's just that these two elements work together better than they did in past records, and this is what makes this album one of the NYC highlights of the year so far. Indeed, this collection also features songs more in line with the band's past releases ("Make Up your Mind", "I Believe in Action"), which follow on the steps of brainy-pop icons like Brian Eno and The Feelies, but there's definitely a balance here, also betrayed by the almost perfect alternation of melodic songs and less traditional ones.The just released video of "How Do I Know," telling the story of a rejected dancing robot that ends up revitalizing an older man's appreciation for life, seems to reflect on this brain/heart, mechanic/organic dichotomies and somehow bring them to unity. - PDG
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