Warpaint-Warpaint album review

Please allow me a moment to publicly renounce all my notions about genre classification.  This is necessary because the new eponymous album by LA's Warpaint blows them all out of the water. 

I am finding a recent trend in music where bands are incorporating aspects from many different styles of music.  In the 80s or 90s, this idea wouldn't have gained any traction.  It probably wouldn't have worked well in the early part of this century, either. 

There are three positive ways to react to an album stream by a band you've never heard of: Interested, maybe I'll look into buying it, great, I think I want this, and Holy Mother of Judas!  My reaction to the brand new album by Warpaint was the third option.

This female foursome knows how to rock.  What we basically have here is poppy vocal melodies played over lush ambient textures with bombastic drumming and many electronic beats.  This band uses human drumming and drum machines in a creative way that I don't believe I've heard much.  The two styles blend together seamlessly. 

All of these different ideas and band traits could have been a cluster of confusion.  Instead, it is one of the most fun listening experiences I have had in years.  I'd heard one song prior to listening to the album.  It was fantastic, so I was eager to start the album stream when it was posted online.  What happened with the rest of the album is beyond words.  The only previous album I can remember where I've had this much fun listening was early last year when I first listened to the latest :papercutz album. 

The moods and energies in this album are unpredictable and exciting.  The textures present in the music are dark and brooding to an extent where one could haphazardly label this as a gothic rock album.  Such simplified genre classifications, as I alluded to above, are becoming less and less accurate.  You could label this album many things, but what it really is, is great music that adheres to no set of stylistic genre rules, whether arbitrary or not. 

Another thing I would mention is that this album is a grower.  The deeper into the album you get, the more you get wrapped up in it.  Listening to a single song hardly does it justice, although the lead single Love is to Die is pretty fair representation of what you will hear on the rest of the album.

Warpaint is scheduled for a Jan. 21 release, but pre-streaming is available.  Just Google Warpaint.  I don't care what kind of music you listen to.  You need to check this album out.  Love is to Die is posted below.  As always, thanks for reading and enjoy!

The Top 5 Electronic Albums of 2013

Season's Greetings, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, one and all!  Or if you don't celebrate anything this time of year, Happy Antipathy Month! 

It has been a good year for all genres of music.  Perhaps less so with electronica, but there were still several solid releases.  Since electronics seem to be the only holiday gift that matters, I present to you our top 5 electronic albums of 20013.  This list is varied between the different schools of electronic music.  You won't find house or EDM in this list.  What you will find is some other great stuff.  Here they are:

1. Trentemoller-Lost
Before the later year release of this album, it would have been difficult to predict Trentemoller even making this list, let alone coming in at number one.  That's because we didn't know this Danish composer was working on new material until late August.  It would have been even more difficult to predict what kind of flavors were on order with this album.  Unlike his previous album, Lost incorporates a wide variety of vocals from a number of gifted singers.  Instead of breaking away from tradition, however, Trentemoller simply seeks new musical territory.  The result is nothing sort of astounding.  The deep pulses and electronic rhythms against a sea of blurry undercurrent still remain, as do the heavily distorted guitar lines.  What is new sounds almost like dreamy pop, delivered in spectacular doomy fashion.  This album grabs you from the first track and does not relent.  Speaking of which, here is that first track.


M83-Oblivion (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Normally, soundtracks do not count for album of the year awards.  Unless said soundtrack is a collection of compositions by one artist.  This doesn't happen extremely often.  When you think of electronic artists making movie soundtracks, you immediately think of Daft Punk's excellent work for Tron: Legacy.  In that same vein is the new work for Oblivion, which stars Tom Cruise.  This is a major departure in sound for M83, a French nu-gaze artist with some excellent talent.  With Oblivion, M83 trades in the guitars and pedals for an entirely symphonic electronic production.  In this album every sound you hear is being produced synthetically.  The album's closer is probably closer in style to normal M83 work, and it is the only track on the album with vocals.  You need to hear both.


3. Ulrich Schnauss-A Long Way to Fall
The first solo work released by Ulrich Schnauss in quite a long while is as good as any of the work he's done.  His latest works have been his collaborations with Jonas Munk and Mark Peters.  That should give an idea of what Ulrich Schauss sounds like.  What you hear is a deep, chill-wave style of music with some random infusions of jazz over long, soaring synths.  This album sounds darker than his previous work.  It is a very solid release.  You can listen to some of it here.


4. The Luna Sequence-The Day the Curse Grew Stronger
If you are in the market for some good old-fashioned electronic synth rock, this album should be right up your alley.  The Luna Sequence unveiled their debut album two years ago.  That was a very good effort.  This release lays down razor sharp, computer-enhanced guitar lines to create a metallic frenzy of rock and electronic.  This is a somewhat odd style, less mainstream than Celldweller, less metallic than Blue Stahli, and less industrial than I Will Never be the Same.  Also of note: There are no vocals, which really allows the music to shine.  Jump into some of the chaos here.


5. Klaus Schulze-Shadowlands
How often do you come across a double album that contains only five tracks?  That is just what German composer Klaus Shulze has done with his airy, ambient electronic new album.  As you would imagine, the tracks are very long, so this is not music for short attention-spans.  It works best as background music for when you are playing solitaire or...um, writing a music blog.  This music is dreamy, atmospheric, and beautiful.  One of track on this album is a shade under 42 minutes long, while another falls just short of an hour, a hefty 55 minutes.  The track you will hear below is the shortest track on the album. 


Of course, this list would not be complete without some honorable mentions.  Here they are in no particular order.
Cosmo's Midnight-Surge
Public Transport-Dark Days
Boards of Canada-Tomorrow's Harvest
Daft Punk-Random Access Memories
The Knife-Shaking the Habitual
Logos-Cold Mission

As always, thanks for reading, and enjoy!

The Top 5 Ambient Albums of 2013

Good evening, readers!  Another year has come and gone.  Per tradition, we like to break down what we feel are the top album releases of the year. 

In December of 2012 we published a list of the top 12 overall albums.  There were some great albums that year, and limiting the list to only 12 releases proved to be difficult.  The year 2013 has been even busier.  So many new albums and EPs were released this year that we decided to make a simple top 5 for each genre we cover.

I have been increasingly enthralled with ambient music, and 2013 has given us at least a dozen masterful releases.  We have five spots and some honorable mention awards to hand out.

1. Olekksii-Iris
This Kiev, Ukraine composer put together a very impressive album early this year.  Iris presents to us a classy mixture of lovely, minimal synths and modern classical-styled compositions set against electronic elements to add further texture.  The result is a real treat.  Listen for yourself below.


2. A Veil of Water-Reminder
Norway may be home to numerous metal bands, but sometimes a more somber, beautiful type of music emerges from the chaos.  Reminder is a remarkable album that renders thoughtful, airy piano work into a breathtaking work of art.  Not many pianists can do what Rune Trelvik has done.  Trelvik is a self-taught musician of piano, drums, guitar, and bass.  This album is almost entirely piano melodies interspersed with some lightweight ambient guitar textures.  Listen to some of this incredible work below.


3. Endless Melancholy-Epilogue
We have raved about Endless Melancholy here before, and with the sheer number of quality releases Oleksiy Sakevych has put out this year alone, it should come as no surprise that his debut full-length album makes our list,  Like A Veil of Water, Endless Melancholy's works appear on the Hidden Vibes record label.  And, like said band, Endless Melancholy deliver sensational piano tunes interspersed with electronic ambient music.  Sakevych is also a self-taught pianist.  Listen to the title track from Epilogue here.


4. Olafur Arnalds-For Now I am Winter
Olafur Arnalds is an Icelandic composer we have talked about here before.  This year he released a spectacular album that is as much about varying styles as it is peaceful melodies.  Several tracks on this album feature vocals from a variety of artists.  This style of music is easy to enjoy.  You just sit back and lose yourself in the waves of layered sounds. A featured track is available here.


5. Gamardah Fungus-Night Walk With Me
This Ukrainian band's music is slow, meditative, and, at times, dark.  This may be as close to drone as I can realistically enjoy, but the band incorporates a plethora of other sounds from a variety of instruments, all juxtaposed against a backdrop of sweeping, atmospheric synths.  Night Walk With Me was largely inspired by a 1992 prequel to the movie Twin Peaks, starring David Bowie.  While no Bowie-esque music makes its way into this release, it has plenty of other things going on.  It is more than good enough for a top five ranking.  Check it out here.


One of the better aspects of these brilliant pieces of work is that most of them are available as name-your-price downloads from the respective bandcamp pages. 

If you liked what you heard above, check out these honorable mentions from 2013:
Berserker Children Club-Someday (EP)
Endless Melancholy-Five Songs, Autumn Outtakes, and November
Equal Stones-To Erase a Lifetime
Linear Bells-For Your Eyes Only
Myosotis-Too Little Too Late
Ulver-Messe I.X-VI.X

As always, thanks for reading and enjoy these wonderful tunes!

:Papercutz-The Blur Between Us (2012)

A while back we talked about a series of free download compilation albums from Future Sequence.  These discs are loaded with great finds.  Among the golden, I discovered a Portuguese artist called :Papercutz.  I didn't discover this album until late, or it might have made our year-end list.

"The Blur Between Us" has a diverse array of sounds on display throughout the record.  Perhaps the defining characteristics are the brooding ambient undercurrents interspersed with electronic beats and flourishes of modern classical harmonics and percussion.  These elements show an impressive depth that you simply can't get from any similar artist (if there is such a thing).

With a Cranberries-meets-Enya vocal style, the singing is what really sets this album apart as a can't-miss.  The vocals are varied, but repetitive enough to maintain a distinct pop vibe.   Not quite to the realm of electrogaze, the vocal stylings dwell mostly between dream pop and new world music. This is perhaps the area in which :Papercutz shines the most.

By that last line, I of course meant the figurative sense, because most of the music in this album is indeed cinematic and dark.  The undertones of drone ambiance mixed with modern classical instrumentation lends the music an eerie feel.  If this is not your thing, please be advised that this quality is not overt, nor is it an attempt to make the music a statement of what it is not.  This is simply creative, emotional genius.  "The Blur Between Us" is much more accessible than I have so far made it out to be.  Do not underestimate the dream pop effects present in this album. 

I normally don't enjoy much pop music; I'm not a musical purist.  Therefore I enjoy a broad spectrum of styles that defy classification.  Thus, :Papercutz has turned out to be right up my alley. 

Get this album.  It is perhaps the best album you didn't hear in 2012.  Another thing to note is that if you order through the artist's bandcamp page, you get a bonus track which is a rather incredible cover of The Cure's Disintegration. Speaking of the :Papercutz bandcamp page, below you will find the full album stream.  Just push play and let the music become you...or something like that.  Thanks for reading and enjoy!

Olekksii-Iris review

When I first stumbled across Olekksii on the Fluttery Records website, I thought the name sounded familiar.  Indeed, this is the last name of a Ukrainian artist known as Endless Melancholy, only his last name is spelled with a single 'k'. 

The artist Olekksii is Alexey Krolevets.  Like Endless Melancholy, he is from Kiev, Ukraine.  Olekksii specializes in electronica, but his music can appeal to fans more diverse than the typical electronic music lover.  His new full-length album, "Iris" is an abbreviated eight-track album rich in classic electronic beats, smooth, atmospheric reverb, and piano.

This music is multi-layered.  While ambiance plays a crucial role in developing the dreary aspects of these tunes, it is sole focal point.  Olekksii builds upon that template with recognizable electronic beats, which provide tempo and depth the music.  Another key element of the mix is the piano.  Simple, catchy piano melodies play a thoughtful juxtaposition with the electronic beats, while various string arrangements cast rays of beauty into the mix.

"Iris" would be a strong modern classical performance without the electronics.  With those beats mixed in, it reflects on some latter film pieces.  These arrangements of multiple cellos and violins instead call to mind true classical music.  These arrangements are deep enough to sound cutting-edge and modern, but paced more like contemporary. 

The length of tracks does often matter to me.  As I said in yesterday's post about Funeral for a Friend's new disc, short tracks can lead to less variety in musical sound.  This is not the case with "Iris."  Though the average track length is nearly identical to the new FFAF album, the music is strikingly diverse.  This perhaps owes to the absence of vocals and the insistence of contemporary musicians need to create music devoid of catchy hooks or other sounds of repetitive nature.  Indeed, these eight tracks seem to stretch much further. 

This album is still short and I do feel that Olekksii would have been served well by including just one or two additional songs, but this is but a minor complaint. 

Fluttery records claims that this music is for people impressed with works by Olafur Arnalds, Max Richter, and several other lesser-known artists.  Having read this bio before I listened to a single note of the music, they had me at Olafur Arnalds.  Olekksii is indeed similar to Arnalds, and believe me that is a major plus.

I fully recommend purchasing "Iris".  This is a fantastic listen and an inexpensive download.  Check out the full stream, courtesy of the Olekksii bandcamp page below.  Thanks for listening and enjoy!

Sea Oleena-Sleeplessness (2011)

Whether or not music contains lyrics, it is as much a medium of artistic expression as literature, dance, or sculpture.  It is my opinion that artists should try new ideas and to push the limits of genre classification.  The harder it is to classify a certain artist, the more artistic that artist tends to be.

Sea Oleena (otherwise known as Charlotte Oleena) has released two LPs that are, in my opinion, as a whole greater than the sum of their parts.  What you hear is ambient distortion, cool electronic production and silken, bluesy vocals that serve as the staples of the music. 

Oleena, of Montreal, calls herself an ambient blues musician, and while these two styles would seem to clash, creating a disjointed listening experience, the two mesh much better than one could imagine.  The music she writes and performs is about organic visual perception as much as it is an outward expression of inward emotion. 

Contrary to most ambient music, "Sleeplessness" contains both memorable and recognizable melodies that manage to shine clear through a misty wash of electronic reverb.  As the term suggests, the ambient portion of the music supplies the beautiful, sparse atmospherics, while Oleena's gloomy vocals provide a spark of blues-oriented rhythm and a simple melody.  Even on a casual first listen, the music is difficult not to sing along to.  In its own way it is catchy, but at the same time honest and soulful.

The textures present in this music are varied and deep.  The visuals are breathtaking and the emotions true and serene.  In many ways this is an incredibly unique listen.  It stays in the head of the listener for hours after the short seven tracks have faded to silence, leaving one comtemplative and restless.  It is this quality of all else that makes this record a standout.

While this album is not patently new, it was a recent new discovery for me.  Sea Oleena is a criminally underrated artist that deserves support.  Through her bandcamp page, she is offering both "Sleeplessness" and her 2010 self-titled debut as name-your-price downloads.  There is no minimum, but if you have the means, please donate a few bucks to help keep her producing new music. 

If you like music with no boundaries, you will love both of Oleena's albums.  I enjoyed both of them very much and can whole-heartedly recommend them to you.  Check out the full stream of "Sleeplessness" courtesy of the Sea Oleena bandcamp page below.  As always, thanks for reading and enjoy!

Celldweller-Wish Upon a Blackstar review

Also from the 'somehow we missed this' vat, Celldweller's new album is upon us.  We have mentioned this band here several times because many consider them to be the gold standard of electronic/synth rock. 

When you think Celldweller, think Blue Stahli.  Think I Will Never be the Same.  All of these artists share one thing in common--a propensity for thick, chunky, and groovy electronic rock tunes.  When listening to this album I almost thought it was too good for its own...good. 

Both undeniably glitchy and impossibly catchy, this album creates a fine balance between melancholic wandering, danceable grooves and fun electronic beats.  Not unlike the aforementioned bands, Celldweller uses distorted buzzing guitars in tandem with Reznor-esque singing with sparse screams. 

The one complaint I have with "Wish Upon a Blackstar" is that I feel it overstays its welcome by about 20 minutes.  The relentlessly catchy and singable tunes need a breather occasionally, but this album clocks in with a heft 16 tracks.  Some bands try so hard to create catchy tunes that they lose sight of the real purpose behind the music. 

This is a good album, but not in the same atmosphere as the latest I Will Never be the Same disc.  This music is fun to listen to but much like an amusement park, one can only take so much of it before they are ready for something else.  If you are in the mood for some poppy, dancy, groovy electronic synth rock music, then this album should fill the niche.  Don't take this disc too seriously or it will wear on you.  Just have fun with it.

Enjoy the full album stream via Celldweller's soundcloud page below.  As always, thanks for reading!

Free Downloads from Endless Melancholy and Blue Stahli

Here at ThinkMuzik, we love sharing brand new free music with our readers.  Call it a gift to our loyal fans, but there is little music better than free music. 

Today's first item is from Endless Melancholy, a solo musical project from the Ukraine.  This beautiful music is from the exceptionally talented fingers of Oleksii Sakevych.  Sakevych is not only talented, but is also self-taught.  This is incredibly impressive for an artist with no formal musical training.  Endless Melancholy, as the name implies, is a down tempo instrumental ambient project, from which the music is played mostly on keyboards with some slight atmospheric ambient nuances to add just the right amount of taste.  Drawing the line between instrumental post-rock and down tempo ambient music is a feat many artists have attempted, but where few have succeeded with such masterful results.  This music is sad and dreary, but oddly uplifting the way a single ray of light in a dark room can lift spirits and enrich outlooks.  For ambient music, this album is surprisingly not all that challenging a listen.  All it takes to enjoy it is an open mind and a willingness to take chances.  The last part of that statement is an easy undertaking, because Sakevych is offering his new album, "Before, After" as a name-your-price download from the Endless Melancholy bandcamp page, which is also where we are getting our full album stream from.  Check it out below.  If you feel inclined and don't hate PayPal, please donate a few bucks.  It will be worth it.


Our second item is a brilliant new single from Blue Stahli.  It is called Atom Smasher, and is downloadable from Soundcloud for absolutely free.  This single is classic Blue Stahli, as electronically distorted guitars clash with punchy samples at an alarming rate.  Blue Stahli is also affiliated the electronic rock project Celldweller.  Contrary to most Blue Stahli tunes, this new track is entirely free of vocals.  Sadly, it is criminally short, clocking in a just over two minutes.  Call it a teaser for a new album, which it sounds like will be entitled "Antisleep Vol. 3".  Check out the new track below!  Thanks for listening and enjoy!

Free Downloads from Handlingnoise and FPRF

You've heard the saying that the best things in life are free.  If you have not--well, you just did.  There is no downside to downloading albums that come with a price tag of free.  And we like to unearth these gems just for you.  Once in a while we find free stuff we just have to share.  Call it one of our irregular features here at ThinkMuzik. 

We'll start with the new self-titled debut from Finland's Handlingnoise.  This is an eclectic styled band that produces ambient post-rock music flush with noise and occasionally pounding percussion.  Post-rock is a genre of music that can be played numerous ways.  In this regard, it can be much like contemporary music as far as composition construction goes.  Handlingnoise blends beautiful and harmonious post-rock ambiance with startling noise and heavy percussion.  It is a delight to listen to.  The best thing about it, of course, is that it is downloadable for free from Handlingnoise's bandcamp page.  It is a name-your-price download, so if you should choose to toss a few bucks the band's way, they would greatly appreciate it.  I would have done so, but PayPal and I do not get along.  Check out a new the album below!


Our second item of pricelessness comes from FPRF.  This is a four-piece musical project out of Russia.  They perform progressive rock tunes with a strong leaning towards post-rock, shoegaze, and electronics.  The compositions form a delicate balance between these styles of music.  This combination works exceptionally well, never creating obvious transition points that turn off listeners.  It is exciting to find new bands not afraid to take chances on the music they are passionate about.  There is no doubt about the passion behind FPRF's music.  To download this album for free, go this website and click the highlighted 'free' link in the text.  This is a safe download, so don't hesitate.  Check out the full stream of the album via FPRF's bandcamp page below.  Thank you for listening and enjoy!

Miscellaneous-Sarah Brightman and Trentemoller

Today's post is going to be a little bit on the random side, since we seem to have hit yet another lull in new music released to listen to.  I am sharing a couple of tidbits of news that is not really news. 

The first Item I wanted to look at is the new video of the song Angel from Sarah Brightman.  This track comes from her forthcoming album "Dreamchaser."  The video features clips of childhood memories interspersed with space exploration footage while Brightman sings across symphonic brilliance in her unforgettable soprano-operatic voice.  Check out the new track below.


Second, I was doing a random search on soundcloud for M83 and I discovered a remix of the smash hit Midnight City by Danish electronic prodigy Trentemoller, who we have raved about here before.  Trentemoller takes apart the original by slightly lessening the atmospheric ambiance while adding bouncy electronic sections and digitally modified vocals that fit the song perfectly.  Check out the remix below, followed by the original M83 version.  Thanks for reading and enjoy!

New music from Nick Efremov and Underoath

I've got some sad news and some happy news for you today.  Since I try to be a glass-half-full kind of guy (what's the point anyway?--it's half a glass, right?) I'll share the happy news first.

Nick Efremov has released a bunch of new music available for free download at Soundcloud.  Efremov is a Russian electronic producer who composes beautiful works of dream-pop/electro-gaze laden with rich reverb.  After listening to just one of the new songs, I decided I would pick this up.  After all, you can't go wrong with free.  The textures Efremov weaves into this music are breathtaking, rounding the arc from full-on shoegaze, to repetitive dream-pop, to electronic ambiance, and back again.  His vocals are understated, layered, and looped to create the stretched melodies that make up the music.  While this music is mostly electronic, moments of distorted live instruments creep through the music.  It appears that most of the songs are written in Russian, so I am sharing one that is obviously in English.  Check out December here.


Now that I have the happy out of the way, I lament to be the bearer of the sad news.  American Christian Metalcore band Underoath is disbanding after some fifteen years in the business.  They have just announced plans for their farewell tour and have shared perhaps their last brand new song, which is streaming now.  I became a fan of Underoath after hearing the solid release "Define the Great Line".  After that, I picked up a copy of "Lost in the Sound of Separation" as soon as I could.  This disc also did not disappoint.  As I mentioned, Underoath is a Christian metal band.  Lyrically, most of their songs deal with personal, emotional issues and religion.  This band manages to blend harsh, screaming vocals with beautiful melodic clean singing as well as any I have ever heard.  When they break out the clean singing, the pace of the music slackens to reveal heartfelt, somber guitar melodies enriched with ambient atmospherics.  Underoath is as good as metalcore gets.  This new track, Sunburnt will apparently be released with the farewell tour live album.  This is a great track by which to remember this excellent band.  Check it out below.  Thanks for reading and enjoy!!

Mist Glider-The Pyroclastic Flow

Recently I have been reading a lot about volcanoes and learning some interesting information that has been new and enlightening to me.  I'm a fan of learning if I have the time, and in fact can do it on my own time.  By now I am able to define what a pyroclastic flow is.

A pyroclastic flow is a superheated surge of volcanic gas and rock collectively known as tephra that is emitted during an explosive volcanic eruption.  For two examples, I would point to the 1980 explosion at Mount St. Helens.  That event unleashed a pyroclastic flow that destroyed the nearby forest.  Another, perhaps more pertinent example, would be the infamous event at Mt. Vesuvius which buried the Italian city of Pompeii in ash and rock.

In the interest of not turning this into an educational piece on the awesome power of volcanoes, I will now turn the the music of Mist Glider. 

The newly released album from Mist Glider is an eclectic selection of off-kilter electronic tunes that defies description.  This is music that you have to hear to appreciate.  If you are not a fan of electronic music in general, it is a safe bet to assume that you would not like this album.  This music float across the ears with vivid, pulsing rhythms and atmospheric eruptions of sound that are at the same moment unsettling and startlingly beautiful.  This formations of sound often take on textures of nu-jazz with echoes of ambient music spaced over the mix.  These rhythms are varied enough to never get old, yet stylish enough to be easily predictable so that one can nod in time with the music.

Mist Glider have crafted a deceptive album that somehow sounds exactly like you might expect by admiring the wonderful cover art.  This music is hypnotic and spellbinding.  It would be a great addition to any collection of weird electronic music. 

In some ways this album can be reminiscent of some of Trentemoller's more rhythmic tracks, but in other ways drastically different.  "Pyroclastic Flow" was not at all what I was expecting, yet pleasing and refreshing.  Perhaps the best part about this LP is the fact that all of it is available for free download at soundcloud.  To give you an idea of what you're getting into, I'm including a few of the standout tracks at the end of this post.  Do enjoy!

Inner Trip-Initiate review

The most interesting aspect of post rock music is that it can often take on other forms entirely.  One album may incorporate so much orchestral elements that it sounds like reverb-laden neoclassical music, while another may be more based on rock sensibilities.

Inner Trip, a solo act by Saman N, produces quiet, introspective post rock music leaning more toward electronic soundscapes and ambient structures with cinematic elements.  This artist is versatile.  While most songs on this album are purely instrumental, some include Trent Reznor-esqe industrial vocals that are sufficiently tasteful and not over-produced.  Put simply this is an interesting and unique listening experience.

Released by Fluttery Records, "Initiate" brings forth a certain charm that is not found in most post rock.  Middle-Eastern styled instruments sneak their way into the mix from time to time, never staying long enough to become overbearing or redundant.  At the same time, you get more of what you are expecting from post rock music, with a lot of echoing guitars and pianos, few drum sections, and long, drawn-out downbeat instrumentation. 

Fluttery Records' website mentions that Saman N, who resides in Iran, had to overcome a substantial amount of prejudice to win fans and land a record deal.  This is sad, because in my opinion, one's religious or political leanings should in no way determine how an artist is received, especially when such influences are not a focal part of the music said artist produces. 

Early on with this album, I found myself somewhat disappointed due to what i perceived as a lagging introduction.  This problem worked itself out later on in the album by building to a satisfying climax, where the varied instruments and electronic sounds reached a pitch that brought out a sweet atmosphere.  I feel confident that I can strongly recommend this album to fans of post rock music as well as those that are more interested in cinematic and contemporary music.  This is indeed a good listen that does not get old with repeated listens.  You can listen to the entire album below.  Thanks for reading and enjoy!