Are you into ambient/electronic music with a melodic edge? Well, if you're you'd better watch out for this sampler is one of the best records of the year. I think I could say something about the deluxe jewel box that looks like the cover of a small diary/note-book but I will limit the description to the music. I think if this cd would have been featuring Ultra Milkmaids, Taylor Dupree, Oren Ambarchi, Tape and Fenton "alone" it would have been already a congress of top quality musicians, but Hèrve Bogossian, Stephen Mathieu, Tomoshi Date, Sogar, Naph and some others top class names is probably too much!. "Small melodies" is an incredible honeymoon in ambiental electronic, sweet drones, delicate guitar-glitches, trance-like loops bringing in a third dimension faster than a dream machine. Releases like that should be filed under "stress erasing music", if the day's been hard "Small melodies" puts you in a relaxed mood to face the night. I've always thought music in general was a great mean to amplify emotions and there's nothing more empyreal than the music contained in this sampler to fest the end of an hectic day. During the listening I got the impression every small frame was moving slowly like a relented documentary on natural environments. Fenton's "beautiful loser" is another clear signal this guy "has it", but scouts' honor the whole menu fills my mouth of saliva like Pavlos dog. If you are into this style, please get it!.

I know the title "The last man in Europe" comes from the famous book by George Orwell, but it also bring my mind straight to that old movie titled "The Omega Man". Charlton Eston (the protagonist) is the last human being alive (later in the plot he will discover he's not the only one) in a world populated by white eyed mutants (sort of...and not to be confounded with Black Eyed Peas...ha,ha). By the way, the movie was pretty sad and very sick: Initial Prayer is probably less desolated but twice as "sick". There's a consistent abundance of keyboards in the nine tracks and despite they have post-goth/neo-dark guitars the atmosphere remains really krautesque. Rhythmically Initial Prayer are pretty "martial" and their use of obsessive vocals betrays a clear industrial/dark background be it Death in June, Current 93 or Throbbing Gristle. I'd also add every once in a while they have also some little sparks of doom mixed with kraut influence by the way, I'm sure their best possible audience should be into post-industrial music. During some tracks it's possible to hear some old fashioned esoteric ambient feelings but don't expect anything like Steve Roach or Amon. "The last man in Europe" is much more post-industrial oriented.

Anaphylaxis is the atmospheric noise/noisecore project of Jason Coffman (programming) and Teresa Santoski (vocals). Apparently this couple has had a slew of releases, though this is the first I’ve heard of them. I’ve got to say, though, they’ve definitely made an impression. From the moment this album started playing I loved it. Anaphylaxis' Noise for Lovers is exactly what it says it is... At least at first.

Distorted radio frequencies serve as the introduction to this gem of a release, contrasted by the nostalgic orchestration that perseveres for almost three minutes before being replaced by a seductively creepy, all-too short sample of a beautiful female voice. The entire album follows this suitor a suit like it. Nothing stays for long, the atmospheres, environments and beats flow in and out, corroding from one to another with ghostly voices and sounds manipulating and being equally manipulated. Everything about this release sounds like it is foreshadowing a terrible, ghastly event; beautiful in the most foreboding of ways.

I’m not sure what more I can say about Anaphylaxis’ Noise for Lovers. This release is absolutely worth the time, money, and effort of online purchasing. Noise for Lovers is beautiful, noisy, nostalgic, and altogether creepy. This album will not be easily forgotten.

Two teddy bears on the cover and a surreal statue of a fox-headed boy on a wheelchair on the back: what else could you expect from the collaboration of these two drone masters? Judging from the liner notes, Darren Tate has handed his sounds to Andrew Liles who has then structured and mixed the five untitled tracks. Some acoustic guitar plucking and a few accordion improvisations (by guest musician Kathleen Vance) are recognizable here and there (track 2 and 5), but most of the work is the perfect mix of sustained drones and natural field recordings you'd expect - which necessarily reminds of Monos' tradition, especially the finest moments of "Sunny day...". Brighter and almost bucolic moments alternate with powerful, awe-inspiring atmospheres - but all is graced by that sense of mystery and magic which is common ground between the two artists.

Grabowski is a young Polish soundmaker now relocated in Dublin, with a couple of releases under his belt, on Laub and his own Silence Is Not Empty label. Grabowski may be young but he surely doesn't lack talent and a refined style. Both "songs" are based on subdued, far-away drones and concrete elements (dripping water, a creaking door...), and the artist knows well how to weave captivating and emotionally engaging soundscapes with those minimal elements only. Grabowski's approach to minimal music reminds of great artists like Mirror, Coleclough or Monos - my favourite ep of the new Drone batch. This 7" comes in a black cover with a photo and, oddly enough, on black vinyl.