This one gets my vote as one of the best works I’ve heard on Eh?/Publiceyesore records so far, and I see this artist has done many other releases beside having took care of the drawing of the front cover that reminded me so much some layout from mighty Ebullition records during its heydays. Differently from Downcast or Amber Inn, Andreas Brandal has probably nothing to share with hard core and his music even less, being on Eh? you may have guessed it’s an experimental work, but though the whole catalogue of this cdr label is quite varied, this one is quite particular. We’re talking about a deep drony-ambient work but don’t expect all of the songs sound in the same way, as I’ve said beside the stylistical "trait d’union" linking all of the tracks sometimes becomes really personal like in the fourth track where you’ve this weird "bell/vibraphonic" sound that goes on slowly like a slug for the most of the song while you have some melodic-cathartic melody depicting a scenario on the background. Some strange dissonance colored thanks to some drones create an odd atmosphere which links most of the tracks. Be it I’ve been listening to it several times at the end of the day, but I think that’s the proper time of the day in which you can appreciate the most such a release. Andreas Brandal is really minimal but the music he composed is really intense and sometimes desolated, I can even image it could help a movie reaching the climax right when the protagonist is lost in the depth of a forest. A nocturne release which doesn’t mean dark but just nocturne.

Mixing elements of neo-classical, post industrial, dark ambient and neo-folk music For Greater Good are presenting their first full length album which contains ten tracks. Created as a sort of soundtrack for nowadays life the album succeeds into spanning through different kind of feelings using for each track a different approach. If "Distress" has an electro industrial rhythmic section combined with neo-classical strings, "Rush hour" is a melancholic piano ballad with vocals, orchestral inserts and traffic noises. "Le judgement de roi en jaune" has dark melodies and neo-classical elements while the following "De to fabula narratur"is based on ambient synth sounds, light choirs and electro-industrial rhythms. The closing "The mechanist", instead, changes everything by presenting a piano/orchestral suite that recalled me the Wim Mertens tracks. If you want to try a different approach to the aforementioned musical genres try For Greater Good.

Lically based on poems by Stefan George, Bernhard von Uxkull-Gyllenband, Gottfried Benn, Ludwig Uhland and Timo Kölling, SONGS FROM THE IVORY TOWER is the second album by Sagittarius. Composed by Cornelius Waldner during the 2002/2007 period the album contains fifteen minimal decadent and melancholic piano compositions which sometimes are enriched by instruments played by guest musicians such as Marcel P. (Allerseelen), Herr Twiggs (Kammer Sieben), Damiano Mercuri (Rose Rovine E Amanti), Troy Southgate (H.E.R.R. / Seelenlicht) and Philipp Jonas (Secrets Of The Moon). The atmosphere created is heart ripping and sometimes the spoken word neo-classical compositions turn into folk songs (see "Das lied" and "Der gute kamerad", "Menuet von Johann Krieger (für H.E.R.R.)", "Sternwandel V" and the closing "The song") keeping always alive the dramatic atmosphere created. The sound changes with a proper neo-folk song titled "Europa calling" (the lyrics of this one have been written by Marcel P., who now is a stable member of Sagittarius along with Dimo Dimov of Svarrogh). On this one we have on guitar and vocals Damiano Mercuri of Rose Rovine Amanti. SONGS FROM THE IVORY TOWER is a nice neo-classical album but sometimes I found a lack of tension (the one you can find on H.E.R.R. records for example) but if you prefer calmness and melancholy Sagittarius is a band you should try...

There are often two issues that I have with power electronics acts: First, they all begin to sound alike, and second, they tend to deal with things that I am uninterested in, such as the whole "true crime" elements of Slogun and the like. STROM.ec manages to avoid these two pitfalls to create a sound that is quite engaging. The first I heard of STROM.ec was their Neural Architect album, which was good, but then I heard some of the tracks from "The Manual of Diagnosis" (a concept album on surgical lobotomy!) and realized that their sound had evolved considerably. "Divine Legions Beyond Psyche" continues on that trajectory, drawing together harsh noise with ominous atmosphere all with the disembodied samples and harsh distorted vocals that one would expect from power electronics. Evidently, they have been working on this album for seven years and the evolution certainly shows. The opening track, "Helvetin Esikartano," is downright subdued at times, making more use of atmosphere than I expected. Quite nice – kind of reminds me of Karjalan Sissit. The use of quiet atmosphere juxtaposed with shouted, warbling, distorted vocals and noise elements is a theme that persists throughout this album to great effect. In fact, some of the tracks border on dark ambient at times, such as the first half of "Divine Legions Beyond Psyche Part 1" and much of "Vitaalinen Olomuoto." Overall, if you are looking for power electronics that goes beyond the standard fare, this is definitely one to pick up. This has just the right blend of noise, ambience, and yelling. Comes in a nicely illustrated fold out DVD digipak with lyrics, which is good because there is no way you’ll understand them by listening to the album. This disc weighs in at 62 minutes.

After listening to Life Toward Twilight, I put this on and was not quite prepared for what came out of the speakers. BLÆRG unloads with both barrels, throwing down some harsh broken beats that reminds me a lot of Venetian Snares. But not all of it is so spastic. "Thrice Vexed" has its moments of calm mixed with the beats and "Crepuscular Harlotry" sounds like what would happen if there was a breakcore Bollywood soundtrack. Overall, this is complicated (but certainly not random), noisy beats mixed with lilting synth lines that provide a nice counterpoint. Of course there are the obligatory random samples as well to provide humor. The artwork also adds a bit of humor, with a woman wearing an octopus on her head. Certainly worth checking out, especially since you can get it for free on the label’s website. The disc weighs in at about 34 minutes.