Gareth Dickson’s Collected Recordings review at Moon Tomb

Posted by on Dec 31, 2009 in gareth dickson, review | No Comments
Glowing review of Collected Recordings at Moon Tomb.
‘collected recordings’ consists of songs from two of his prior albums (solina sea, spruce goose) and previously unreleased tracks. when i was first getting familiar with this album, i would hear certain songs playing on shuffle and mistake them for nick drake songs that i had either forgotten about or had yet to become familiar with. a perfect contrast between gentle finger-picked guitar, dreamy folk vocals, and ambient a-la brian eno or labradford. probably my favorite album of 2009. like a dream you never want to leave.

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Drowned in Sound » Matt Bartram “Left to Memory”

Posted by on Nov 28, 2009 in left to memory, matt bartram, news, review | No Comments
Drowned in Sound share their thoughts on Matt Bartram’s latest album, “Left to Memory”.
Although better known as the frontman for Brighton’s Air Formation, Matt Bartram has actually been making music in his own right for the past two years. Last year’s low-key release Arundel proved to be a seminal introduction which combined ambient melancholy with distilled electronica and Left To Memory, released earlier this month, takes his panoramic musical vision one step further. Take the album’s centrepiece, ‘Twelve String Loop’, for example; a glorious washed-out slab of voluptuous guitar ambience that features Christian Savill, formerly of Slowdive. Its angelic sounds join the record together like heavenly rivets, while the compellingly claustrophobic ‘Another Wave’ adds another string to Bartram’s already over-populated bow.

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Collected Recordings @ Forest Gospel

Posted by on Nov 25, 2009 in gareth dickson, review | No Comments
Forest Gospel share thoughts on Gareth Dickson’s “Collected Recordings”
The title to Gareth Dickson’s most recent album, Collected Recordings, sounds as if the songs were gathered together from old scraps or off of out of print titles. Unfortunately, I don’t really know much about Mr. Dickson’s prior releases, so whether or not this stuff is completely new is unknown by me. However, what I do know is that Dickson has the ability to heal souls with his soothing brand of acoustic guitar work and vocal work. When you first hear his voice, it is impossible not to think of Nick Drake, yet his slow, atmospheric guitar work is more reminiscent of modern folk soundscapist, Scott Tuma. The combination of the two titanic musical figures in Dickson’s work is awe inspiring. Eleven lengthy tracks sliced straight from heaven. Plus, isn’t any album really just a bunch of collected recordings?

Forest Gospel

Leonard’s Lair reviews Left to Memory

Posted by on Nov 17, 2009 in left to memory, matt bartram, new releases, review | No Comments
Jonathan Leonard puts pen to paper, or is it finger to keyboard about the new Matt Bartram album Left to Memory
As one half of The Static Silence, Matt Bartram represents the lighter side of shoegazing with the emphasis on songs rather than effects. As a solo artist, though, Bartram reveals a very different side to the story with his music knee deep in layers of noise.

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Everything Is Chemical reviews Left to Memory

Posted by on Nov 11, 2009 in left to memory, matt bartram, new releases, review | No Comments
Everything Is Chemical takes a look at Left to Memory by Matt Bartram.
“Left To Memory” is the sound of one man baring his soul underneath a train station. Where lush meets loud, noise becomes soothing, and sublime becomes uplifting. More than exceptional, “Left To Memory” is resplendent, imaginative, & refreshing. For fans of Air Formation, Auburn Lull, Spacemen 3, The British Expeditionary Force, Bowery Electric, July Skies, Soul Whirling Somewhere, etc. Rec-omm-ended.

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Caleidoscoop review Matt Bartram’s “Left to Memory”

Posted by on Oct 29, 2009 in left to memory, matt bartram, new releases, review | No Comments
Kind words from Caleidoscoop, so far as we can tell. Can anyone provide a accurate translation? Hit us up in the comments.
Het label met de perfect uitgekozen naam Drifting Falling is er één om in de smiezen te houden met hun grote hoeveelheid droommuziek. Dat geldt ook zeker voor de Britse muzikant Matt Bartram, die de afgelopen 9 jaar vooral met Air Formation en daarnaast The Static Silence op uitstekende en veelal shoegazende wijze van zich heeft laten horen. Hij is van de tweede generatie schoenen starende artiesten, maar blinkt daar dan ook echt al jaren in uit. Dat blijkt maar eens te meer met zijn tweede solo cd Left To Memory, waarop hij overigens alles zelf speelt en zingt. Alleen in één nummer krijgt hij hulp op de 12-snarige gitaar van zijn makker Christian Savill (Slowdive, Monster Movie). Hij zet van die heerlijk warme met softnoise gevulde gitaarmuren op, die me naast Air Formation doen denken aan die van Slowdive met de gruizige inbreng van een Flying Saucer Attack. In de meer percussie gerichte stukken waarbij de noise iets meer overheerst koerst hij ook richting The Jesus And Mary Chain. Denk daarbij nog aan dat melancholisch lieflijke van de House Of Love, de desolate uitwaaierende gitaarpartijen van Roy Montgomery en het ijle van Sigur Rós, gelardeerd met een vleugje dampende seksmuziek van de Cocteau Twins en je hebt het plaatje aardig compleet. Maar dat plaatje klinkt toch ook als steengoede muziek in je oren zou ik zo zeggen. Mooier hoef ik ook het niet te maken.

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[EDIT: There’s a translation from Emiel in the comments.]

Textura reviews Matt Bartram

Posted by on Oct 28, 2009 in left to memory, matt bartram, new releases, review | No Comments
There is the great review of the new Matt Bartram album, “Left to Memory” in the latest Textura.
In the liner notes to his second solo release (Arundel, the first, was released in March 2008), Air Formation’s Matt Bartram offers the gentlemanly suggestion: “This album will sound best when played loud so please turn it up.” Subjecting oneself to the album’s forty minutes of shoegaze songcraft, one doesn’t only undergo a thorough excavation of one’s ear canals but also experiences a heady and enveloping rush of guitars, programmed drums, and echo-drenched vocals (the gear listed at Bartram’s MySpace page includes Fender Jazzmaster, Jaguar, Telecaster & Thinline, Fender Jaguar Bass VI Custom, Guild Starfire III, synths, Farfisa).

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TSB reviews Collected Recordings

Posted by on Sep 28, 2009 in gareth dickson, review | No Comments
The Silent Ballet weigh-in on Collected Recordings by Gareth Dickson.
It is in these first two tracks that we get a sense of the pacing for the entire record: a dialogue between a calm, inquisitive voice and echoes of arpeggiated silence – a landscape that disappears into itself as soon as we think we recognize one of its clear details.

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Kiku reviewed by Space City Rock

Posted by on Sep 7, 2009 in kiku, oppressed by the line, review | No Comments
Space City Rock review Oppressed by the Line’s latest “Kiku”.
My personal favorite, though, has to be “Paper Cranes” — I can’t help but dig the steadily-building beats and vocals that sound like they’re being broadcast from inside the airlock of a space station somewhere high above the planet (complete with the cool little electronic beep that precedes Thompson’s vocal lines). Once the guitars switch on, covering the whole thing with a woolly blanket of fuzzed-out melodic noise reverently swiped from Kevin Shields, I’m fully sold. Majestic and awesome, with all the open-mouthed wonderment you should feel at discovering a new place for yourself.

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Don’t Pee on the Rug offer up thier “Halfway List”

Posted by on Jul 27, 2009 in gareth dickson, review | No Comments
The scribes at the humorously named Don’t Pee on the Rug blog have listed Collected Recordings in the top ten of their “Halfway List” which is a list of their picks for the best albums of 2009…so far. As well as offering up a brief review of the disc.