ARTICLES
Benoît Pioulard's Précis
Label: Dynamophone
Label: Hidden Shoal

ALBUMS
Aemae
A Lily
Arc Lab
Blotnik Brothers
Gui Boratto
Cagesan
Jeremy Caulfield
Loren Dent
Do Make Say Think
Eats Tapes
Enduser
Domink Eulberg
Explosions in the Sky
Michael Fahres
The Field
Frivolous
Maximilian Hecker
Hug
Hush Arbors
Jan-M. Iversen
Espen Jørgensen
Kattoo
O.Lamm
Bruce Levingston
Tobias Lilja
Lusine
Marcia Blaine School
The Missing Ensemble
Nebulo
Ölvis
Charlemagne Palestine
Palomar
Pornopop
The Postmarks
Propergol Y Colargol
The Retail Sectors
R/R Coseboom
Sankt Otten
Scratch Massive
Slow Dancing Society
Stars of the Lid
subtractiveLAD
Sunosis
Aoki Takamasa
Amon Tobin
Tokyo Mask
Kate Wax
Wes Willenbring
Windmill

COMPILATIONS/MIXES
Chaos.Lovers
Cryosphere
Hub: 2004-2005
Rufs
Satoshi Tomiie

3" /7" /10"/12"/EPs
Agnes
AM/PM
Arctic Sunrise
Audion
Characterize 1
Dartriix
Death is Nothing To Fear
Don't Be A Stranger
Einóma
Fusiphorm
Heartthrob
Human Nature
Infant Cycle / Antmanuv
Lilienweiss
Luci
Mauve
Paco Osuna
Ben Parris
Carola Pisaturo
Portable
Sutekh
System
Aoki Takamasa
Cortney Tidwell
Andy Vaz

Windmill: Puddle City Racing Lights
Melodic

Sounding like a first cousin to Joanna Newsom or Michael Stipe on helium, Matthew Thomas Dillon (aka Windmill) has an idiosyncratic singing voice that's, shall we say, a bit of an acquired taste. Luckily, the quality of his songwriting justifies whatever effort's needed to grow accustomed to his high-pitched, almost androgynous twang. The album's twelve songs (i.e., “Plastic Pre-Flight Seats”) alternate between restrained vocal-and-piano verses and anthemic choruses that exude the epic sweep of classic pop. In his verses especially, Dillon gravitates towards a melancholy confessional style that recalls the singer-songwriter period of the‘70s, two prime examples the strings-drenched ballads “Boarding Lounges” and the stately and especially lovely “Fashion House.” Though instrumental support comes by way of Ian Smith (Alfie) on drums and members of The Earlies' live band, the album's core instrument is the piano, no matter how much it's sometimes buried under an avalanche of drums and strings (in its quietest moments, the creak of the piano bench is clearly audible, enhancing the intimate bedroom quality of the material). And, though it eschews drums (and loudness in general) altogether, “Replace Me” ends the collection on a splendidly hymnal note. Dillon's voluminous list of influences—The Flaming Lips, Elliott Smith, Counting Crows, Ben Folds Five, Red House Painters, Aimee Mann, R.E.M, among others—offers some hint of his own style on this impressive debut issued by the ever-reliable Melodic Records imprint.

April 2007