Tollund Men - Autoerotik

There is something about this release that I find very hypnotic and mesmerizing; there is definitely a sense of mystery here, which I absolutely love - it isn't something you see all to often in these glory days of the information age! Couple the fact that this cassette release meanders within itself as much as it leads with hypnotic rhythms, and you have the perfect recipe for pulsating electronic work. The "cassette" quality sound of the sound make it hard to differentiate whether this has been composed on analogue or digital equipment, but the density of the tape sound really adds to the overall atmospheric. Beautiful stuff. If you can track down an original tape, I strongly recommend that you snap it up.

Lorde - Pure Heroine

It's not that often that I usually listen to shit like this, but I burned this album when it first came out and it's just one of those things that's been stuck in my car since. My stereo broke a few months ago when I tried to spin a leaked copy of Swans' To Be Kind (that's what I get for pirating music, folks!*) but when my car went in recently to get a new starter motor all the electronics were reset, and it freed the stuck Swans disc, allowing me to return to my awful car listening. I found this Lorde album lodged conspicuously behind a copy of Dr. Dre's 2001, and all the memories and mediocre pop music came flooding back. The mirth!

*I bought the 2xLP, and have nearly every other Swans record in existence, before you fucking judge me for doing illegals ;)

Most of you probably know Lorde for being a silly out-spoken 17-year-old who talks a lot of shit about stuff that she actually doesn't know anything about (kinda like me, only I'm 25). Take away her daftly over-opinionated, sensationalist media-baiting crap, and she's a fairly talented girl with, no doubt, a long future in music ahead of her. Pure Heroine is a fairly minimal pop record, led entirely by Lorde's unusual vocal. It kinda sounds like if Lana Del Ray got her head outta her arse, stopped trying to sing like a man, and employed Gary Numan to do all her backing tracks.

As is normally always the case with up-and-coming artists signed to major labels, one can't help but speculate how different this would sound without massive boardroom pressure and a most-likely retardedly huge production budget. And for that reason, the link below is of a live performance from Lorde, which I believe does her more justice than any of the tracks on this record. All in all, it's not a bad CD, as far as mass produced pop goes, but it could be a lot worse. Favourite tracks: "Tennis Court", "Glory & Gore", "White Teeth Teens".

Check out the super-hipster on keyboards for extra lulz.