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Josh Varnedore - sun chapter (2012, Dynamophone)

Josh Varnedore wants his music to be loved and cherished. On three tracks he collaborates, with Hammock, another one with Hideki Umezawa (Pawn) and a last one with Amman Abbasi. Three names which tell a lot about "Sun Chapter".

It's ambient music but it's inviting, fresh and closely related to dreampop. The only problem is that it is not particularly original and not extremely memorable.

My Autumn Empire - ii (2012, Wayside & Woodland)

Second solo album for Ben Holton (Epic45), exploring a much more straightforward folk-pop approach, à la Elliott Smith and Sparklehorse, with the previous Hood references mostly swept under the carpet.

It's charming but mostly it is sleep inducing. I'm a little bit at loss when I come to compare this record with his previous one, "The Village Compass" as there is nothing in the same vein. Nostalgic UK autumnal folk influences have been replaced by nonchalant late summer US (indie) pop references.

Pastoral - pastoral (2012)

I recently reviewed the "Believe you me" EP by Drops, solo project of Liam Hennessy, writing that it sounded close to an American indie influenced version of Umber, solo project of Alex Steward, both from Nottingham, UK.

We are now one step further with a purely American instrumental solo project. Pastoral is Zachary Thachet, from Huntington Beach, California and his debut EP sounds as warm, as positive, as euphoric than the two others, even more. 

Federico Durand - El libro de los árboles mágicos (2012, Home Normal)

Fourth album by Federico Durand, from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and I have the feeling that I never stopped listening to his music since I discovered "La siesta del ciprés", "Elin" and later "El éxtasis de las flores pequeñas".

While starting to listen this new album, I had no special expectations, just the certitude to expand his lovely atmospheres and to welcome a few more of his sensitivity and aesthetic experiences in my daily aural environment.