L7 - Smell the Magic

1990 (Re-issue, 1991); 9 tracks

Smell the Magic is a really awesome piece of grunge/punk/angry girl rock. It is the second release by the LA-based grunge band L7, who also founded Rock for Choice, a pro-choice women's rights group supported by another favorite band of mine, 7 Year Bitch. Anyway, this is an incredibly heavy and abrasive album full of fast and furious angry girl music.

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Electrelane - Rock it to the Moon

2001; 11 tracks

Here is the debut album by all-female British band Electrelane.

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Quasi - The Sword of God

2001; 14 tracks

Interesting and sometimes positively yummy indie/math rock from the Portland-based ex-husband and wife duo, Quasi.

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Madredeus - Um Amor Infinito

2004; 13 tracks

Madredeus is a Portugese band who combines traditional Portugese music with modern folk and neo-classical. They have been making music since the late 80s, but this is one of their newer albums. Un Amor Infinito actually reminds me a lot of neo-folk music I used to be really into, like Empyrium, Vàli, Forseti, etc. The primary instruments used are the classical guitar, cello, and keyboard synthesizer. I've had this album for a while, but I thought I'd share it because I love it.

suave tristeza

Blue Daisy & Anneka - Raindrops EP

2010; 4 tracks

This is really nice. Blue Daisy is Kwesi Darko, an electronic musician based in the UK, and Anneka is a vocalist/instrumentalist who's worked with bass/electronica producers such as Falty DL, Starkey, Ital Tek, Vex'd and Blue Daisy. Raindrops is their first collaboration.

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f(x) - Pinocchio

2011; 10 tracks

Fun and cute and really awesome all-girl pop from one of South Korea's biggest girl-pop groups, f(x). I love this album. So. Much. "빙그르 (Sweet Witches)" is my favorite track.

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Cortex - Tropeau Bleu

1972; 11 tracks

Smooth and jazzy music from 70's France, gilded with glittering female vocals that are shockingly high-pitched. I am personally obsessed with the song "Chanson d'un jour d'hiver," it is sooo pretty! Tropeau Bleu is a very nice and wintry album, so I'll just leave it at that.

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Azalia Snail - Burnt Sienna

1992; 13 tracks

Azalia Snail is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Or at least, that's what Wikipedia says. She has quite an assortment of albums and other releases, but Burnt Sienna is her second full-length. It's really folky and dreamy and nostalgic, like stepping through time into your childhood bedroom to watch yourself sleep. Dream-catchers on the wall, a jar full of bugs on the dresser, drawings on the wall, your favorite blanket and stuffed animals cluttered around your bed. This is, for lack of better words, a very pleasant album.

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Anika - Anika

2010; 9 tracks



You might like this, but you also might not. This is Anika's first album.



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Excuse 17 - Such Friends Are Dangerous

1995; 13 tracks



Angry girls. Angry girls everywhere. Excuse 17 was a Washington-based trio including Sleater-Kinney's Carrie Brownstein, Becca Albee, and drummer CJ Phillips. Such Friends Are Dangerous was their first album.



"It's a disservice to remember this band solely as the practice run at Sleater-Kinney, but then again, S-K were so monumental, so earth-shaking that it can hardly end up any other way. Listening to this again for the first time in ten or so years, I'm amazed at how well-formed, confident, and bone-cuttingly visceral they were. Of the two pre-Sleater-Kinney bands, (we'll get to Corin's Heavens to Betsy tomorrow), Excuse 17 sound the most like what's to come, with their dual, tangled, razor-wire guitar attack, back and forth vocals, gut-wrenching screams, and sense of moral urgency.



Like much of the work Carrie's associated with, it's an album of catharsis. Whether on the bouncy standout track "Watchmaker" (a dig at music journalists and scenesters), the painful "This is Not Your Wedding Song," or the biting "The Drop Dead Look," their combination of pure punk fury and tight musicianship is some pretty righteous shit, no matter what came next."



he'll say anything to get inside of you

Jale - Dreamcake

1994; 12 tracks



Jale was, at first, an all-female indie rock group from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Their name was derived from the first letters of the four initial members of the band - Jennifer Pierce, Alyson MacLeod, Laura Stein, Eve Hartling. This was the band's first album, and they went on to release another full-length and an EP. Although it sometimes gets a little slow, Dreamcake is an innocuous indie/pop rock record, very catchy and pretty. :3



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Here's the opener to the album, "Not Happy," which happens to be one of the really awesome tracks (I also like "Emma" and "3 Days").

Dot Allison - Afterglow

1999; 10 tracks

Dot Allison, or Dorothy Elliot Allison, is a Scottish singer / songwriter, and former lead singer of the trip-hop / electronic group One Dove. Afterglow is her first album as a solo artist.

"This album finds her breaking free of One Dove's sound, beginning her free-form expression within her chosen musical genres. But she does bold new things with the techno/choir/pop hybrid on this album. The lonely piano that begins 'Alpha Female,' for example; the sensual Eurodance grind of 'Mo' Pop;' the absolutely lovely 'Did I Imagine You?;' the Eastern-flavoured keyboard riff that permeates 'Close Your Eyes' -- every song is a gem, infused with Allison's trademark multitracked vocal magic and her daring arrangements. Allison's on-record charisma is phenomenal but despite her ice-goddess looks, her voice can convey a real warmth that makes these songs not just a collection of machinery and mechanized beats, but organic lifeforms with a beating heart."

This may take some getting used to among some, but through the haze Afterglow shows itself to be a charmingly oneiric album. (Yes, I did just come across that word only yesterday, but it is exactly the word I was looking for.)

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7 Year Bitch - ¡Viva Zapata!

1994; 11 tracks

7 Year Bitch was an all-girl grunge-influenced punk rock band from Seattle, Washington, that yielded three albums in their nearly decade-long career. ¡Viva Zapata! is their second release.

After the release of their first album, Sick 'Em in 1992, the band's guitarist, Stefanie Sargent, died of a supposed heroin overdose. Not long after, the lead singer of another American punk band, Mia Zapata of The Gits, was brutally raped and strangled walking home from a bar. These two deaths left a profound mark on 7 Year Bitch, and ¡Viva Zapata! was made as a sort of tribute to Mia Zapata. It is also the debut of their new guitarist, Roisin Dunne.

All in all, this is one of the most incredible punk / grunge albums I've heard, ever. Their sound is unique and fierce, the guitars and vocals being absolute perfection. I love Selene Vigil's voice so much - she is very convincing, and her lyrics are precise yet rugged... I think I might like the lyrics to "Cats Meow" (wow, that track... I'd give it a 100 / 10) more than is healthy.

There's so many good reasons for you to keep your mouth shut
Like actions speak louder than words
And if you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything at all
But I can see you've got a lot on your mind
So let it drop to your throat and try not to choke

Disregard the pity if you wanna get to the nitty gritty
Can't survive in the city and still remain witty
No tough little alley cat is gonna come run to no kitty kitty
No tough little alley cat is gonna come run to no kitty kitty
So disregard the pity
Get to the nitty gritty
Remain witty

I also love the tracks "It's Too Late," and "Kiss My Ass Goodbye." If I could have just those three songs on repeat forever, I'd be very happy. But it must be said, there is no way one couldn't at least enjoy this album.

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Agnes Obel - Philharmonics

2010; 12 tracks

"Danish singer/songwriter Agnes Obel's first major release, Philharmonics, is without a doubt one of the most powerful records I have heard in recent memory. An album that lacks the overproduction that has managed to creep its way into nearly every genre of music, her skill as a pianist would be enough to impress most.

Obel's musicianship extends far beyond keyboards, however. With her delicate vocals and eloquently layered harmonies, Obel crafts songs that speak volumes without unnecessary frills. The majority of the songs consist mainly of piano/keyboard and vocals, with some guitar and strings filling in on some tracks, and any sort of rhythm section on only two of the albums 12 songs. With some instrumentals in the mix, Philharmonics is an incredibly diverse, but at the same time cohesive album. While her popularity will need time to grow in the US, Philharmonics has reached double platinum status in Denmark, and has been nominated for various other awards in Europe as well."

Yeah I looooove this album. Especially the track "Riverside."

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朝生愛 (Ai Aso) - Lavender Edition & Chamomile Pool

2004; 9 tracks
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2007; 10 tracks
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朝生愛 (Ai Aso) is psychedelic-y folk-ish pop music with dreamy vocals to add to it. Not much can be said about substance, ethereality being a focal point, but it's the perfect accompaniment to a night spent reading spooky Wikipedia articles (one of my favorite pastimes) and checking out the neglected books site. So many books that never get read.

So, um... AI ASO. Musique précieux.

二階堂和美 (Nikaido Kazumi) - また おとしましたよ

2003; 13 tracks
Nikaido Kazumi is a lovely young Japanese singer of mellow pop/folk music. With just her and her guitar, these lovely waves of tracks turn simple melodies into gorgeous songs, as warm and beautiful as a day by the ocean. Nikaido's music is a precious blend of cute, heartbreaking, and ethereal. I realllllyy recommend this!

"また　おとしましたよ (Mata oto shimashita yo), or You Dropped Something Again, Didn't You?, is a foray into beautiful and simplistic pop album that focuses on Kazumi Nikaido's beautiful voice as the instrument of choice. Fragmented melodies that feel so innocent and playful in the most childish manner ever. What we have here is mostly just soft acoustic strumming that manages not to sound like every other singer/songwriter who uses an acoustic guitar. It's even slightly experimental, and Nikaido uses her voice to great effect, whether it's sounding more intimate or more screechy (like in "Even Though the Time Passes"). Nikaido can make eight minute songs seem like nothing; you really do just drift along with her music."

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Elysian Fields - Last Day on Earth

2011; 11 tracks

This is the gorgeous new album of New York-based duo Elysian Fields. I really loved Bleed Your Cedar, but this album retains their early seductive mystery, and it has even matured in some ways. Her voice sounds a little older, more experienced... the plodding, jazzy melodies snare you in their webs in the same succulent way. "Sleepover" and the title track remain my favorite tracks by far, but please try this out.

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Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers - Teenage and Torture

2011; 10 tracks

This is the spine-tingling second album from Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers, a bluesy/garage rock band from New York. Teenage and Torture is an abrasive listen, but fully worth it. In the words of one reviewer, it is a "brainy and brawny hybrid, unleashing barbed commentary on consumer culture." Thunderous and exciting, this is yet another 2011 you shouldn't miss. Shilpa has an incredible voice, also.

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Henry's Dress - Henry's Dress

1995; 8 tracks

"San Francisco’s Henry’s Dress debuted on Slumberland Records with this self-titled, eight-song disc. The songs were recorded at Supersonic Studios in 1993 and 1994. The band’s distortion and heavy use of fuzz pedals are immediately prominent, along with Amy Linton’s relaxed vocals. The haunting and chaotic instrumentation on 'Title Forthcoming' combines with Linton’s distant vocals to create a surreal and dreamy aura."

This is quite the debut. Indulgent yet engaging. Dreamy vocals reminiscent of Lovesliescrushing + pure, noisey fuzziness. "Feathers" is a personal favorite, but Henry's Dress is just a great listen.

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Pinknruby - Garden & The Vast Astonishment

Oh my god. In the music of Pinknruby, I have found true, surrealist beauty. It is one of my favorite new finds, and I am positive you will love it too.

Pinknruby, a duo comprising Slovenian Michaela Repina and Brit Paul Bradbury, began working together in 1998, intending to write dance music with strong melodies. The ensuing garage, drum'n'bass and chill-out tracks generated some interest. Early in 2002, Pinknruby decided to try something entirely different. Carrying folk guitar backgrounds, Repina and Bradbury opted to return to simple acoustic melodies. Their preceding tenure in dance music, however, led to acoustic songs with a dance approach, which led to the use of loops, etc. Their music, warm, acoustic, and performed using guitars and vocals by both members, combines folk with elements from the Mediterranean and eastern Europe. When performing, the musical pair likes to dress colorfully in accordance with the occassion, which adds to the appeal of their shows. Pinknruby's lyrics, in Slovenian, usually present short stories or philosophical comments.

Pinknruby attracted the attention of French underground label, Prikosnovénie in 2002 and released their debut album, The Vast Astonishment with them in 2003. Since then, they have released two more critically acclaimed albums, Garden (2005) and Queen Kale (2008).


2005; 10 tracks

Garden is Pinknruby's second album, and my favorite. Mihaela Repina's soft, high Slovenian-singing voice combines with the purring of a cat in seamless intimacy. I have grown a deep love for this album, which provides a great collection of musical genres and styles - pure acoustic folk to jazzy, up-beat tracks, often accompanied by a violin. Mihaela Repina's voice is utterly gorgeous, reminiscent of Kate Bush and perhaps even Liz Frasier.

"Mihaela Repina and Paul Bradbury make light, mysterious and mostly acoustic music that draws from Eastern European folk and Brazilian samba, with a dash of jazz. Both sing in Slovenian, she in a dusky voice that recalls Lou Rhodes from Lamb, he in a light tenor that reminds one of Ben Watt. The music dances on the edge of being too precious and twee, one song features a cat purring. But the harmonies are solid, the instrumentation inventive, harps, psaltery and cello are added to mix, and Repina's alto is truly bewitching. On such tracks as 'Nader Margh' and 'White Lady Mirror', her dark voice and the soothing, glimmering instrumentation create an indescribable world of dark and light."

Download + Track 1


2003; 11 tracks

The Vast Astonishment is Pinknruby's debut album (with Prikosnovénie).

((I like it but will provide more thoughts after more listens.))

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