Füxa - Dirty D

LPs round-up: Füxa, God is an Astronaut, Plankton Wat

Published on September 2nd, 2013 | Jonny Abrams

Here be a round-up of some albums we’ve enjoyed recently from Füxa, God is an Astronaut and Plankton Wat…

Füxa – Dirty D

Comprising of “a sixteen-strong army of collaborators”, Füxa’s tenth LP plays host to lush convergences of shimmering synth pads and gloopy loops, the latter of which is not a breakfast cereal as far as we know.

“Berzap” draws from an electronic palette of sky blues, pale yellows, oranges and pinks that, aligning it with recent albums from Ulrich Schnauss and The Suicide of Western Culture, before “Inside” does drag us deeper, er, inside, whooshing inwards and shooting oddly soothing high-end sounds right through our brains and souls.

Dirty D is richly nourishing for each of these: “Shout Out Loud” takes us on a blissful cruise akin to a Motorik version of Moby’s “Porcelain” – that’s a good thing, by the way – then, out of nowhere, “Sun is Shining” goes relatively abrasive on us.

Upholding the Motorik beat and squirting great big fizzy out-of-tune synths all over the place like a tube of toothpaste with holes cut in it, “Sun is Shining” swarms its mix with marvellous things, gradually getting louder and whirring itself into tumult as if the album had intended all along to lull you into sleep then mess with your head.

Proceedings calm down again on the title track, although it maintains a goosebumps-inducing intensity atop its slow, clacking beat, like some electronic Primal Scream instrumental. Contrary to its title, “Whisper” is another relatively noisy one, while the psychedelically jangling guitar of “Unknown” slips into sheer, mind-blown wonderment…

…paving the way for a stunningly sweet cover of “Stand By Me” to end with. Tremendous stuff.

Dirty D is out now on Rocket Girl.

BUY: Dirty D on iTunes or on Amazon.

Rocksucker says: Four Quails out of Five!

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Plankton Wat – Drifter’s Temple

Another of those records that could lull you into a deep sleep, not through boredom but by sheer hypnosis.

Chiming, open-tuned, vast-expanse-implying acoustic guitars dance around dronier elements to form a psychedelic ring around the world, the vaguely out-of-tune jangle and lo-fi edge to the production making it all feel like one long glorious jam – as indeed it might be.

“Klamath at Dusk” twinkles with galactic benevolence, as if watching over the world with an empathetic yet optimistic sadness, the sound of a sleepy universe ringing out the music of the spheres whether anyone’s listening or not.

Particularly mournful is “Empire Mines”, which suddenly lets rip with layers of rising electric guitar majesty then falls out again, while the fabulously titled “Hash Smuggler’s Blues” dips furthest into the darkness with its juddering paranoia.

“Western Lament” throws in some exquisite key changes then welcomes aboard a cloud of feedback – but then, why wouldn’t it? The universe makes it so.

Plankton Wat will be released on September 9th by Thrill Jockey.

Rocksucker says: Four Quails out of Five!

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God is an Astronaut – Origins

The County Wicklow post-rockers return to Rocket Girl Records for their seventh album and first as a five-piece, firing monster riffs out of doom-laden minor keys into clear blue skies like recent-vintage Mogwai.

Opener “The Last March” sets its stall out with marching drums and soaring synthwork that erupts with inflamed guitars, an early display of the dynamic mastery that characterises the album.

God is an Astronauts are at their best when infusing the aforementioned synths into their spiralling columns of sound – they’re not always present and correct, which feels like a shame when you’re presented with such splendour as the buzzing interference and crystalline sci-fi keys of “Transmissions”.

Origins is out now on Rocket Girl.

BUY: Origins on iTunes and on Amazon.

Rocksucker says: Three and a Half Quails out of Five!

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About the Author

Editor of Rocksucker and the website's founder, Jonny is passionate about the music he listens to, both good and bad, as well as interviewing his favourite musicians.


2 Responses to LPs round-up: Füxa, God is an Astronaut, Plankton Wat

  1. Pingback: Rocksucker: LPs round-up: Füxa, God is an Astronaut, Plankton Wat | moonblogsfromsyb

  2. Pingback: The 100 best albums of 2013 countdown: 100-91 - Rocksucker

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