Chlopomania - "Chlopomania" [SP]

Bland electroclash (2/10) Some of our friends started to practice old polish idea of life. They were tired of everyday citylife. They decide to go back to the village. If you like to know what they found on their way, download this short single neccesary. Chlopomania is a nice piece of fresh commodore, acid electroclash with nice vocals and lyrics. This song can fight for a title of 2009 summer hit! In some ways, this song is similar to some well known polish electro / rap hit. Do you know which hit is it? Do you know why? Do you want to guess?

It's bland electroclash, with lyrics that were meant to be funny, but are just stupid, and a tiring synthetic tune. Waste of time.

The album has been released by the 49manekinow.net netlabel and is available for downloading at archive.org in mp3 format.

[Artist's Myspace]

The Motyw (Wojciech Wszelaki) - "Droga do ciebie" [SP]

Simple pop - too simple for my taste (5/10) Very simple disco-based electropop. It's definitely not my cup of tea, but if somebody is a fan of the genre, he should check it out. The artist has a good voice, sings with a great passion. The melody is not bad either, even if too obvious for my liking. The love-themed lyrics are simple but nice and well-written. If you want to score and you look for a romantic song to play to your pop-oriented Polish-speaking girlfriend, search no more. This is your weapon of choice. ;-) [Artist's website]

Royalty-free music for professional licensing

The Motyw (Wojciech Wszelaki) - "All For You"

Simple, disco-based synthpop - not my cup of tea (4/10) The album contains songs already released - but they are subject to re-mastered and slightly revised arrangements. In addition, contains an additional track - as an instrumental version - which will soon be in as stand-alone single. The album will also include a special booklet in pdf format with all the songs lyrics as a bonus for fans. Primitive synthpop or - more precisely, electropop, as synthpop is usually based on rock music, use some guitars and rock expression, even if it is executed with electronic means. This album is definitely based on disco, dance, pop - the artist is very far from rock stylistics. And that's what I mean by "primitive": using the most simple, obvious and commercial-driven forms of artistic expression. Even in synthpop music there are works, which are highly original and thought provoking (Depeche Mode, for example). But not this time, ladies and gentlemen. Compared with this album, even Erasure or Pet Shop Boys write experimental music. Still, this is not a total flop. Many people love such "easy" music. That's why I described above what I mean by primitive - this isn't in any way primitive when it comes to production or performance. The artist knows how to write pop melodies, he has an acceptable voice with a nice timbre. And the issue of a chosen stylistics is just a matter of taste. If only such recordings populated charts in Poland, I'd be a happy man. Unfortunately, much worse acts gain a huge popularity. I would definitely prefer to hear this guy on radio instead of the highly successful Polish crap-pop band Feel. So, if you like such simple, "easy-listening" disco-based pop, check it out. By the way, the album is very uneven, with some songs balancing on the verge of the "disco polo" genre (the most primitive style of the Polish disco music), e.g. "10 - Dwa serca". The others are much better, like opening "space-musical" instrumental track, energetic no. 5 with a catchy melody or no. 9 played on accordion - yet again a nice melody, almost killed by an ugly disco beat, though.

Royalty-free music for professional licensing [Artist's website]

Coma Stereo - "Binary Endings"

Very good post rock (8/10) "Binary endings" is an over 50 minutes of a very spatial, a bit nostalgic and melancholic sounds evoking such a bands as the silver mount zion, godspeed you! Black emperor, trans am and explosions in the sky. Sometimes ,when the forlorn vocal is present( "obsessions and a tulip"), it may be associated with xiu xiu, no twist or even The Cure. Four musicians from Slovenia take us in a imaginative trip arousing a full scale of perceptible emotions and associated with their memories. A light electronic and an extensive passage created by guitars intertwine with mind-blowing, sometimes a bit brutal and dramatic mood. It`s a great challenge for a post-rock band to achieve a balance between an experimental guitar formulas and electronic-ambient threads. Coma Stereo gives it to you and for this reason it is an obligatory position for connoisseurs of the style. Binary endings gives you a 50 minutes of sound which is a perfect connection between hypnotic and magic motives and dose of field recordings. So if you like to listen music full of sadness and filled with pain but with a ray of hope at once, don't hesitate to download this album. It's perfect music to listen in the dark and alienation. Very good post rock album. Great gloomy atmosphere, depressive melodies. Highly recommended for fans of dark guitar music. The album has been released by the 49manekinow.net netlabel and is available for downloading at archive.org in mp3 format. You can also download it directly from the artist at Bandcamp for free in a variety of formats, including a lossless FLAC version. [Artist's website / Myspace]

Light Among Shadows - "At The Gates Of Dawn" [EP]

Generic gothic metal - not bad at all (7/10) It's totally generic gothic metal. I mean it is completely devoid of any originality; a highly conservative product for the dedicated fans of the genre. Still, if you can cope with that, it turns out to be quite good. Musicians are skilled, production decent, atmosphere adequately gloomy and disturbing. Melodies on the most of the tracks are really great, with "Lying Among Shadows" deserving a special notice for awesomeness. And as the other reviewer pointed out - played by a real band on real instruments. Very well played. Only one track is worse: "Wastelands", an almost pop ballad with bland uncreative melody. Unfortunately, this one song makes in fact a quarter of this short album, as three of the tracks are only short instrumental intros. Nevertheless, it is quite an interesting effort, worth downloading and most of the songs are entertaining, if only one is not obsessed with originality. BTW, the cover is terribly kitschy. Yuck.

Royalty-free music for professional licensing [Artist's Myspace]

Television Tom - "Static Action" [EP]

Two good, one bad (6/10) Do you recall all these platform, adventure games? If not, "static action" will drag you away from reality for a literally few minutes and will haul you in rhythm of mad adventure held in lo-fi aesthetics. Seemingly, a short, simple and effortless single but in reality it constitutes very well-thought-out and interesting composition. Opening whole "runner" brings to mind a mythical game "dizzy" where a title character changes from lazy and outwardly calm egg into mad and full of beans runner who lark all obstacles and mysteries of level 1 without effort and in very fast rate. In "commander coma" he changes into detective who riddle mysteries of secret organization. A track "pilot ballon" which is closing this short album could be a brilliant ending of whole adventure, a final stage of the game. It could be a moment when all tension and emotions are slowly stalling, there are presenting the credits and demo- in which our character is getting on balloon and passes out. If there will be a reedition of some mythical platform game, "static action" or other tv tom`s recordings could be a perfect soundtrack. Highly prescribed! This is a 3-track album of 8-bit techno. Unfortunately only two of the songs are good. The track no. 1 is too simple, with a primitive melody - completely devoid of creativeness. But still, I recommend to download and check this recording out, as the remainder of the album is quite the opposite. While still exploring the 8-bit realm, the tracks no. 2 & 3 are highly entertaining, if only someone is able to appreciate the deliberate use of lo-fi samples. The album has been released by the 49manekinow.net netlabel and is available for downloading at archive.org in mp3 format.

Hearing, Harry - "Little Green Martian" [SP]

Vocoder kills electronic stars (1/10) Hey! you though that only musicians from berlin make good minimal electronic sounds? Test newest release in 49 catalogue! Harry Hearing it's our new brilliant purchase straight from poland! Little green martian is his first official released stuff. This short single is essence of all the best traits contained in beautiful minimal stucture. Deep, heterogenic spaces, multilayered, far-outed beats, multithreaded, untypical structures, modulated politicial involved texts ..you need more recomendation? Harry Hearing is a pseudo of Piotr Gajcy born 20.10.1988 in Poland. As a child he was interested in instruments instead of toys. He started his music production from program called Music 2000 (for Playstation). Subsequently he changed it into computer composing. In 2006 he started to play also as a DJ. In performances, he connects his own productions with sophisticated motives. "I have to connect everything which was the best in my work... And show what I can afford to do... Be someone, whose music will not be closed in one template". Generes: all electronic (chillout, downtempo, progressive, minimal, techno, dnb, dub and his own mbc...)

[Artist's Myspace]

Well... It seems I overuse one particular title in my reviews... But what can I do, if it fits so well?

It would be very good minimal electronica, if it wasn't covered and destroyed by a vocoder vocal line. :-/

I know I'm not objective as I particularly hate vocoder and consider it to be an evolutionary dead-end. But then again, it is me who review this track and I don't like it. Every review out there is filtered by the critic's taste. And for me this is a flop. If you like vocoder - go for it. You'll love it. All the others - stay away.

The album has been released by the 49manekinow.net netlabel and is available for downloading at archive.org in mp3 format.