The Battle of Land and Sea - The Battle of Land and Sea

Rating: 8
Links:
- Official Website
- Last.fm

The Battle of Land and Sea consists of Sarah O'Shara and Joshua Canny, whose compositions are mere products of their voices, their guitars, and their love for music. This terrifyingly ethereal duo plays a brand of ghost-like indie pop on their self-titled album, their haunting and memorable vocals fusing with the atmosphere fashioned by dual acoustic guitars. O'Shara's trembling voice is soaked in complete sorrow, but where sounds of mourning are penned, there seems to be an equally powerful message of hope and buoyancy. I don't know if their songs have a purpose in their writing, but I don't think I want to know. Mellow, flowing rhythms carry themselves through each song effortlessly, strumming and eerie modulations intact. The lo-fi resonance of "Birdsong" drifts quietly through the air, enclosing in a bubble of tranquility anyone who crosses its path, leaving them at a standstill, exhausted and impassioned. "You Are a Sailor", the final track on the album, does the very same with terribly memorable discourse sung so lazily that you can't help but be swept up in their lethargic daydream. Go ahead and slip into magnificent phantasms at the hands of The Battle of Land and Sea. You won't regret it.

Album Highlights: "You Are a Sailor", "Saltwater Queen", "Birdsong", "I Built the Sea"

MSTRKRFT - Fist of God

Rating: 7
Links:
- Official Website
- Last.fm

Truly masters of their craft (Shut up, don't make fun of me), MSTRKRFT pours in the bass, stirs up a whole lot of synths, and adds a dash of reverb and compression, to create a completely funked up, moveable-shakeable-can't-help-but-groove-your-ass-off record. Who knew Canadians could be so talented? The arpeggiation of sounds scales up and down on the very first track, “It Ain’t Love,” appended by a similar up and down motion by my own head. “Heartbreaker”, featuring John Legend, is a great electro-ballad with Legend reminiscing about the sad, sad story that we’re all familiar with: the one who slipped away. The title track "Fist of God” bumps out a gritty, vehement synth line while a fun (at first) little sample echos in enhancement; I say at first because I found myself annoyed by this sample before the song had ended. The song that follows, known as “So Deep”, featuring Jahmal Tonge of Canadian indie duo The Carps is one that I happen to like very much. The soulful vocals blend with the warping electronica, those Rolands flowing with the intonations of his voice. Nonetheless, a fair share of piping, vexatious synth lines and vox that throw off certain tracks certainly mar and blemish points of the album. Entire songs are completely ruined by the vocals, whereas their instrumental counterparts could've come off much better. One example of this is "Bounce", where the trying verses by N.O.R.E. and Isis interfere with my love for good, ol' electro. But don’t let that hinder your acquisition! If you're looking for the "White Album" or "Sgt. Pepper's" of all electro albums, then I don't think you'll find what you're looking for, but if you're in the mood for something a lot less serious and a lot more fun, then there's no need to look elsewhere. “Fist of God” remains entertaining, and danceable as fuck, at its core and is a good listen for any electro fan. And yes, I know, the cover is fucking atrocious. Goddamn Canadians.

Album Highlights: "Fist of God" (although kind of annoying, but meh), "1000 Cigarettes", "It Ain't Love", "So Deep"