Reviews

Monk Turner’s Coordinates – Hello! Mr. Galactic Defender of the Concept Album

A concept album that slaps you hard about the reality. You've got to love Monk Turner for creativity and witty lyrics. He combines various music genres and creates tracks suited for any type of music listener. Equipped with tongue-in-cheek lyrics about everyday life and social events that people encounter throughout their lives. Of course, it won't be a concept album for nothing. Pretty much the entire album is all about songs at a particular location, like that "Dive Bar off Maine Street" or "The Hair Salon, " even "MJ's Grave." It's meant for you if you love to pay attention to the lyrics more than fuss over melody.

No Way Through – award winning short film by Alexandra Monro & Sheila Menon

No Way Through is strong and powerful visualization of a "shocking reality of Palestinian life in the West Bank uncomfortably close to home". The very simple storyline highlights how one of the basic human rights is being continuously broken in the region. The short, written and directed by Alexandra Monro & Sheila Menon was a 2009 Ctrl Alt Shift Film Competition Winner and created quite a bit of conversation both online and off.

The Trespass – Mirror Moon EP

Electro pop, new wave, glam with a touch of the 80s. Initiated as a simple project in 2001, The Tresspass is the brainchild of twin brothers Vincent C. (aka Blackell) and Benjamin C. (aka Kruwll). Their sound is a mixture of pop, rock, glam and new wave with long synth backgrounds and almost robotic vocals. They eerily sound like Inxs meets Nine Inch Nails along with an 80s tinge, which is unsurprising since the band cites them as among their primary influences.

The Destroyed Room “The First Six Months” – energetic punk rock beats

The Destroyed Room was conceived after Sergi (vocalist) simply got tired of letting everybody else create music and wanted to be able to records songs in his room. The band's songs range from complex, acoustic to typical, fast punk rock beats found usually in the garage punk scene. This album is full of fun tracks and slightly "emo-ish" vocals and lyrics.

Archon Defender – award-winning 3D animation film by David Krupicz

The 3D animation film Archon Defender is a one-man project by David Krupicz, who completed the film by working on second hand computers during his spare time within three years. The other people involved in the movie are only the voice talents, who Krupicz found with the help of a radio station. I did not know what to expect from an hour-long animation film that is a product of one man's creative input, from the story to the visuals, to the music, and everything else that needs to be creatively integrated into a film. Perhaps if I personally knew the filmmmaker, I would have had an idea that it would be good, but since I didn't, I was simply awed.

Be Brave Benjamin! Self-Titled EP – Valium for Your Nerves

Dreamy soundscapes with quiet vocals; a chance to sit back and think nothing. Be Brave Benjamin is essentially Ben Palmer and his guitar singing about everything in his life. It's a mixture of acoustic, slightly folksy compilation of songs which are easy to listen to. Formerly known as Wiseacre, this talented Welsh singer is currently creating music from Barcelona where he's marooned and stationed.

Synthematik: Purple Fog Side – Project:Rentgen

Netlabel Synthematik is proud to present the result of a unique and brave experiment under the code name “PROJECT:RENTGEN” conducted by one of Russia's oldest and renowned gothic electro/darkwave bands PURPLE FOG SIDE. The idea of the experiment is quite simple: to produce an album in a real-time mode with each song created and recorded from scratch within as short as two days.