The musical artist known as “Boo Hoo” is a 24 year old man named Bernhard Karakoulakis from Frankfurt Germany. He describes his music as “an antifolkish indietronic version of Simon and Garfunkel”. That’s not far off, his music is full of charming melodies and introspective lyrics. On his second release “Hypermarché”, Synths wash over glockenspiel and lo fi drum beats carry the whole affair like cartoon ants at a picnic. The songs featured here were recorded at his home and are mostly about shopping save for one song about robots. This song, called “Gakutensoku”, is “is partly inspired by the japanese robot Gakutensoku, partly by the movie “Brave Little Toaster” and partly by the “Wesley the Robot” strips” created by me, AZLTRON!
Gosh, I feel all important! But don’t think that I’m bias due to flattery, although I am honored that a man this talented would look to Wesley for inspiration, “Hypermarché” is the most complete crossover of two of my favorite genres that I’ve heard to date. Those two genres being lo-fi electro pop and melodic chamber pop. Boo Hoo glides effortlessly between the two. My only complaint is that the song “Nothing” really is nothing, two minutes and ten seconds of nothing. Other than that, this is an album of compelling beauty that is entertaining and insightful.
This is a bit strange. I posted this Wesley cartoon a while back along with a mix and now it doesn’t exist anymore. I know there wasn’t any objectionable content and no one notified me regarding taking a track down… Hm, well anyway here’s a few more tracks that go along with the repost of the cartoon. It seems that Wesley is encountering some electrical problems… I wonder what the cause could be? Autolux – Robots in the Garden My Robot Friend – Robot High School Bright Eyes – Light Pollution
UK Electro band and sometimes DJ’s have unleased a monster of a mix for this Halloween season. From remixed classic horror movie themes, to the best bangers of the year, they’re sure to have you shed your skin and become a creature of the night.
The Age of Rockets are a small unsigned band with a huge signable sound. Vocalist, programmer, keyboardist and guitarist, Andrew Futral, drummer and trumpet player Saul Simon Mcwilliams and bass, synth, glockenspiel and flute player Bess Rogers hail from New York Ciry. The three of them love making music together and have just recently released their sophomore album “Hanna”.
Their sound inhabits the space between orchestral pop and glitch heavy ballads. The album begins with sweeping synthesizers that give way to glorious harmonies and eventually gentle guitar and glockenspiel. Andrew Futral recently posted that he wanted to take the band in a more organic direction from their previously heavy electronic sounds. If the sound of the first few tracks is any indication, they have accomplished their mission. The soft melodies, harmonies, and understated glitch beats work together to create an album that is the most comprehensive successor to the Postal Service’s “Give Up”.
While the melodies, harmonies and rich lyrical content are the primary draws to their sophomore album “Hanna” there are some great pure rock moments here as well. Like the eruptions of guitar riffs on “H. Soft Escape”. Or the towering strings and ultra glitchy breaks on “Ship to Shore.”
The biggest pitfall The Age of Rockets could fall into is sounding to the passing ear as “Too Alike” to The Postal Service with Futral’s soft voice not sounding terribly different to Ben Gibbards saccharine croon. If anyone takes the time to listen to more than 10 seconds of a song, it should be readily apparent that their songs have greater cohesion and depth than that of the groundbreaking 2003 subpop collaboration between James Tamborello and Ben Gibbard. There’s not an unpleasant sound to be heard on “Hanna” and that’s sure to make them on many short lists for album of the year.
The musical artist known as “Boo Hoo” is a 24 year old man named Bernhard Karakoulakis from Frankfurt Germany. He describes his music as “an antifolkish indietronic version of Simon and Garfunkel”. That’s not far off, his music is full of charming melodies and introspective lyrics. On his second release “Hypermarché”, Synths wash over glockenspiel and lo fi drum beats carry the whole affair like cartoon ants at a picnic. The songs featured here were recorded at his home and are mostly about shopping save for one song about robots. This song, called “Gakutensoku”, is “is partly inspired by the japanese robot Gakutensoku, partly by the movie “Brave Little Toaster” and partly by the “Wesley the Robot” strips” created by me, AZLTRON!
