Articles
Spotlight 17
Anneli Drecker

Albums
Aegri Somnia
Susan Alcorn
Damián Anache
A Sides and Makoto
Heather Woods Broderick
Atrium Carceri
Robert Crouch
Anneli Drecker
David Evans
Finland
Anne Garner
Tania Giannouli
Peter Gregson
Grönnert and Mondfish
Emily Hall
Hidden Orchestra
Hior Chronik
Hilde Marie Holsen
Inner8
Joyfultalk
Deborah Martin
Scott Miller
Monkey Plot
Kate Moore
Mr. Jones
Nicolay
NOW Ensemble
Numina + Zero Ohms
Oiseaux-Tempête
Kristoffer Oustad
Pete Oxley & Nicolas Meier
Peptalk
Qluster
Bruno Sanfilippo
Maria Schneider
Dirk Serries
Stratosphere
Robert Scott Thompson
Skydive Trio
Time Being
toy.bizarre / EMERGE
T_st & Dronelock
Kamasi Washington
Andrew Weathers
XaDu
Yen Pox
Young & Martin
ZOFO

EPs / Cassettes / DVDs / Mini-Albums / Singles
Alex Agore
Bird People / Waterflower
Kaison
Lullatone
Donna McKevitt
M. Mucci
Nattavaara Rocks
Zenwan

Oiseaux-Tempête: ÜTOPIYA?
Sub Rosa

Oiseaux-Tempête's sophomore collection ÜTOPIYA? picks up where its late-2013 self-titled predecessor left off, though this time with bass clarinetest Gareth Davis in tow. Spearheaded by multi-instrumentalists Frédéric D. Oberland and Stéphane Pigneul (members of both Farewell Poetry and Le Réveil des Tropiques) and drummer Ben McConnell (Beach House and Marissa Nadler), the sixty-six-minute release offers a comprehensive portrait of the group's musical range and interests.

Inspired by a 2013 trip to Greece that found Oiseaux-Tempête witnesses to political upheaval and strife, the album encompasses politically charged pieces sprinkled with voice samples and instrumental rave-ups heavy on electric guitar, mellotron, piano, alto sax, dukar, and field recordings. Recorded live to tape in Lyon in March 2014, the material includes explorative sound collages that feel carefully stitched together as well as others, such as “Soudain Le Ciel,” that play like molten improvs birthed from bass clarinet, electric guitar, bass, and drums. Middle Eastern and English voices intersect in cinematic settings that evoke tension-filled sojourns to Istanbul and Sicily.

There's certainly no shortage of scenic material on offer. We set sail on a rather bruising note with “Omen: Divided We Fall,” a lugubrious slice of raw instrumental rock inflamed by guitar playing and Davis's keening wail, after which The Ex's G.W. Sok recites poetry by Nazim Hikmet against an incendiary backdrop during “Ütopiya / On Living.” Slavoj Zizek's unmistakable voice surfaces at the beginning of “Portals of Tomorrow” before the tune enters guitar-fueled freak-out mode. On the quieter tip is “Aslan Sütü (Santé, Vieux-Monde!),” a late-night meditation sprinkled with tremolo guitar and crickets that emphasizes the band's capacity for moodscaping.

July-August 2015