Excerpt: “Each piece is built on Willenbring’s very calm playing on guitar and piano, but these more tactile melodic elements soon evaporate into rising tides of thick, gentle, sometimes atonal drones. It’s quite like discovering you’re on a very small boat that someone has pushed out to sea while you were napping. Whichever song is playing, you’ll awake to a new, intriguing and oddly beautiful landscape that’s both familiar and just slightly unusual. And you can’t stop looking at it. Put Somewhere, Someone Else on repeat, sit in the dark—or, more appropriately, in the light of single flickering candle—and just allow Willenbring to take you along for the ride. Start to finish, this suite of minimalist tone-poems will not only give you reason to think, it will give you many reasons to listen again.”

Hypnagogue

The 2007 debut from Wes Willenbring, Somewhere, Someone Else, has recently been named a Hypnagogue Highly Recommended! Visit Hypnagogue to read to the review, or check the artist’s reviews section for an excerpt. You can get your paws on a copy of Somewhere, Someone Else at the Hidden Shoal Store, and while you’re there have a listen to the latest from Wes Willenbring, Close, But Not Too Close.

Wes Willenbring - In a Quiet Dark Room Wes Willenbring - In a Quiet Dark Room

Hidden Shoal Recordings today announced the release of the new album I Haven’t Got It In Me by Perth-based post-shoegaze outfit My Majestic Star.

On third album I Haven’t Got It In Me, My Majestic Star continue to showcase their exceptional command of atmosphere and tension. The album sees My Majestic Star merge weightless daydream pop with droning shoegaze and even a smattering of slowcore. I Haven’t Got It In Me expands upon the immersive and dynamic soundscapes of previous My Majestic Star releases with its lush and subtle songcraft, and for the first time features the stunning vocals of the band’s cellist, Miriam Braun, alongside Chris Mason’s distinctively dreamy tones. The album swims in uppers and downers, all the while painting an intimate yet brooding landscape for the listener to traverse.

“‘Crampling’ is a deliciously dreamy slice of tender post-shoegaze. Chris Mason’s signature reverb-soaked vocals sit perfectly with Miriam Braun’s delicate tones, creating a lush, thoroughly satisfying soundscape… they represent some of the best music [Perth] offers at the moment” – Drum Media

“an undeniably affecting record, poignantly igniting that inkling for extremely layered and manipulated sounds… much thought-provoking and righteous music to enjoy… Quite unfathomable, but there is something curiously magical afoot here.” – Beat Magazine on Too Late, The Day

I Haven’t Got It In Me will be available through Hidden Shoal Recordings on the 28th of November, 2009. The album is distributed on CD in Australia through Hidden Shoal Distribution and in the US and Europe via n5Mailorder. The album is available digitally through the Hidden Shoal Store and all good third-party digital music stores (iTunes, eMusic, Amazon, LaLa etc). Visit the HSR Store for all availability information. The album will be launched in Perth, Western Australia on the 27th of November at the Hyde Park Hotel.

Read a full press release here.

My Majestic Star - Take A Walk  My Majestic Star - Take A Walk

Excerpt: “Quality Instrumental Post-Rock with a fierce emotion that will blast your face off for its entirety. This album is a stroke of magnificence that is rare in the world today. It transcends the regular notions of what music is, creating a radical art form that emphasizes perfection… The songs blend together to form a tsunami of shredding guitars, loud violins, free horns, booming basses and hammering drums… One of the greatest of its genre, and one of the greatest in music.”

WRUV Reviews