Brian Eno | 1985 | Thursday Afternoon

Ambient | Minimalism
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What can be said about Thursday Afternoon is not very different from what one might comment on Brian Eno's other ambient records. Somehow, it is an album that lies between the more structured ambient of Ambient 1: Music for Airports and the more deconstructive and exploratory approach that Eno adopted in Lux. In that sense, Neroli might be a good close reference, albeit Thursday Afternoon resorts to much calmer and pacific atmosphere than the tension that reigns in Neroli.
Consisting of a single, eponymous track of just over one hour, the sound of Thursday Afternoon is both relaxing and dreamy, and has a delicacy of unparalleled beauty in its fragility. Each sonic brushstroke is simple and even timid, but always conscientious; each brushstroke contributes to the development of colourful, yet never sparkling soundscapes, but subtle and nebulous ones. In sum, Thursday Afternoon is one of the hidden gems in Eno's vast catalog, a record whose relegation within his discography would seem baffling to anyone who undertakes the beautiful instrospective journey which is found here. —IMF

Darkthrone | 2013 | The Underground Resistance

Black | Heavy Metal | Crust Punk
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Nocturno Culto (guitar, bass, vocals) and Fenriz (drums, vocals, bass on "The Ones You Left Behind")

Since its beginning, Darkthrone was a peculiar band within the Nordic black metal scene. In fact, they didn't even play black metal in their early days, but rather death metal, like the excellent Soulside Journey –their debut album– shows. The bifurcation would come with the classic A Blaze in the Northern Sky and would extend until Panzerfaust, after which the duo would undertake an intermittent return to death metal, alternating with albums in the black metal vein, not always with positive results. Sardonic Wrath would be the last one in this sequence, and The Cult is Alive would then put the first brushstrokes of a new era in Darkthrone's history.
In their twelfth album, Fenriz and Nocturno Culto took a more disruptive spin than before and ventured without hesitation into the introduction of crust punk elements to their sound. F.O.A.D. would bolster this divergence, adding a new dimension to the black metal/crust punk dicotomy: heavy metal. However, although this exploration provided the already powerful sound of the band with renewed energy, neither these albums nor Dark Thrones and Black Flags nor Circle the Wagons reached the splendour of Darkthrone's more classic records.
In this context, the relevance of The Underground Resistance lies on the fact that it constitutes, precisely, the well-deserved consolidation of the new period. There's no hesitation whatsoever in the sonic abrasion that Darkthrone exerts in this album, which is evident not only in more rapid and aggresive songs, but also in a piece such as "Valkyrie", which has a somewhat melancholic character. The confidence that the duo has developed in this new format is especially reflected in the widespread use of clean vocals, which fits perfectly into the sound that the band has been exploring for the last decade. The composing efforts are solid, and instrumentally, Fenriz and Nocturno Culto have already become blood brothers. It is now impossible to classify Darkthrone; pretty much like in the early nineties, they have forged an unrepeatable identity for which The Underground Resistance is the best possible example. Amazing. —IMF

Pabst | 2016 | Skinwalker

Indie | Noise Rock
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The one element that definitely stands out in Skinwalker, Pabst's debut EP, is the attractive fusion of influences that the Berlin trio achieves. On the one hand, the heritage of indie rock in the vein of Sonic Youth, even reaching Dinosaur Jr.'s noise rock; on the other, it is just as clear that the band is strongly inspired by stoner, whose influence, however, appears shaped by the band's melodic sensitivity, which owes a lot to alternative rock. In that sense, Erik Heise's voice is a highlight in Pabst's recipe, without overlooking the instrumental efforts, which are quite remarkable as well. This equation works perfectly particularly in the case of the title track, "Skinwalker", which constitutes a catchy and salient single.
Notwithstanding the above, the band's formula has a serious flaw: it is depleted very, very quickly. This is a critical issue, inasmuch as we are talking of a 15-minute EP and, thus, it seems unthinkable that their resort could be depleted as fast as it happens here. Certainly, Pabst are not looking to reinvent anything or to go beyond the safety of nineties-flavored rock –and they shouldn't be judged for that–, but in the future it will be necessary for them to explore the grounds on which they wander and lead their sound through more sustainable path. But then again, there's another positive aspect: at least Skinwalker shows between the lines that the band has the necessary tools in order to undertake this challenge and to exploit the richness that shines here and there within this debut. It is an unavoidable duty. —IMF

A Full Cosmic Sound / Ø+yn ‎| 2016 | Split

Drone | Ambient | Experimental
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This nameless split brings together two of the most relevant bands within the current Latin American experimental scene, each one with a vast and fertile discography. Thus, it already sounded like a promising album on paper and, luckily and by virtue of both band's talent, it's up to the expectations.
In both parts of "Obsidiana" –which form the first half of the split–, A Full Cosmic Sound undertakes a beautiful ambient exercise in which a meditative and melancholic sound predominates. The band's remarkable merit is to have deconstructed its sound –always experimental and hypnotic– and to have taken it to its minimal expression, to its most primal and bare essence. The minimalist approach that AFCS adopted in "Obsidiana" has an evident genius to it and is a reflection of the different routes that the Santiago collective can undertake with no risk of getting lost. This is one of the highest points of their discography, no doubt.
On the other hand, although "En cromo" is not as innovative as the first half vis à vis the expectations that one could have in the face of Ø+yn's style, the sonic experiment towards which the group heads down does not pale in contrast to the first part of the split. Quite the opposite: while keeping the listener in trance, the band resorts to field recordings and to a sonic journey with a tribal and shamanic feel to garnish that introspective trip with psychedelic nuances and atmospheres that, albeit just as primal as those of A Full Cosmic Sound, are developed in Ø+yn's own language.
In their split, AFCS and Ø+yn simultaneously achieved cohesion and eclecticism in an album that, in sum, confirms the relevance and splendour of both collectives. It is, thus, advisable to listen, to immerse yourself and to, simply, lift your feet off the ground. —IMF

Caudal | 2016 | Let's All Take the Yellow Pills

Space | Post-Rock
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Aidan Baker (guitar), Gareth Sweeney (bass) and Felipe Salazar (drums)

After the unexpected twist that the Murk EP meant within Caudal's discography, it was worth asking what the next step of the Berlin trio would be. In that record, which was released last year, the band ventured into more lugubrious grounds than those of their previous albums, Forever in Another World and Ascension, which were tinged with space atmospheres and an undeniable kraut spirit. Thus, while in the latter Caudal's sound came close to the likes of NEU!, Agitation Free or even Ataxia, Murk's crypticism evoked Aidan Baker's work in Nadja at times.
Let's All Take the Yellow Pills –soon to be published by Calostro Recordings– unambiguously dispels all the questions. Returning to the hypnotic, space post-rock from before, Caudal seem to be back on the path from which they had diverted for an instant to experiment with a new formula. Thereby, and without hesitation, the band undertakes a journey through three pieces that confirm that Baker, Sweeney and Salazar speak the same language; one of outstanding originality, something that had already showed up in their previous releases. The atmospheres in Let's All Take... are patiently intertwined through a subtle and always heartwarming instrumental development that gradually shapes delicate, dreamy soundscapes that drive the listener into an introspective trip for which the pristine honesty of Caudal’s sound constitutes the perfect soundtrack. Another excellent release by the plurinational trio. —IMF

Thanatoloop | 2015 | Irpasiri

Experimental | Industrial | Avant-Pop
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Michel Leroy (Korg Trinity Plus and Electribe, tapes, field recordings, vocals) and Kamila Lunae (vocals)

Although Thanatoloop's discography as a whole constitutes, in its originality, an oddity, Irpasiri is an album that stands out in a particular way within the Chilean's vast catalog. Estranging itself from Thanatoloop's most noisy tradition, this is a record that explores neighbouring soundscapes with beautiful delicacy.
Thus, the exploration begins with an industrial experiment which suddently becomes an introspective form of avant-pop, which to some extent evokes Psychic TV or even The Legendary Pink Dots. Then, a comeback to the experimental atmospheres follows, intermittently playing with that new avant-pop formula geniusly developed by Michel Leroy, with a sound tinged with a melancholic and fragile intimacy, free of excesses and reduced to its essence. For the same reason, Irpasiri is elusive to the listener: it demands a certain mood in order to reveal all its richness, which lies precisely in that introspective character and that minimalist spirit which does not show its secrets at first listen.
In its simplicity, Irpasiri hides beautiful nuances that, rather than positioning it in a privileged place within Thanatoloop's trajectory merely due to its sonic divergence, transform it into a prominent album by its own merit: due to its quality, its melodic sensitivity and its depth. —IMF

Luciernaga | 2016 | Sic Transit Gloria

Drone | Ambient | Noise
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Sic Transit Gloria (latin for "Thus passes the glory"), one of Luciernaga's most recent releases, constitutes a true introspetive trip in a drone/ambient code. As Joao Da Silva –the Chilean musician behind Luciernaga– himself explains, the album is "about [his] family and hometown, Santiago, Chile, and their complicated history". And although it was recorded in Brooklyn, where he lives, Luciernaga captured that inspiration perfectly.
Starting with the crestfallen unease of "11:00 AM 9/11/73" –the allusion being evident*–, Sic Transit Gloria begins with a subtle and mild wander through melancholic and introspective soundscapes that reflect the complicated history to which he refers. Thus, in the three following pieces Da Silva delicately and patiently weaves a minimalist sonic fabric that traps the listener in a quietude that, however, does not leave aside the taciturn spirit which tinges this album from its very beginning. In this regard, "Mi Obstinada Memoria" ("My Stubborn Memory") particularly stands out, a song that lies halfway between Terry Riley and La Monte Young.
The tempest is at sight again in "Aire Negro" ("Black Air"); slowly, the sound becomes dark, somewhat evoking Deathprod or Oren Ambarchi's work with Jim O'Rourke. Finally, "La tragedia que es Chile" ("The tragedy that Chile is") decidedly persists in its predecessor's mood, with a sound that, venturing into an oppresive kind of dark ambient, has already left behind the timidity that is present in a good portion of Sic Transit Gloria, entering into the fields of noise with an experiment which constitutes ths record's most abstract track. Thus, the album ends with the same early intranquility, a reflection of Luciernaga's outstanding ability not only to develop atmospheres that shine in musical terms, but also to provide its sound with preeminent solemnity and sensitivity, which are perfectly transmitted to the listener. This is the true challenge facing the artists within this genre and Luciernaga achieves it comfortably, no doubt. —IMF
*Pinochet's coup d'état took place on September 11, 1973, followed by 17 years of carnage, repression and blatant fascism.