From France: Crocodile Rock

 Given the historical influence French language and culture has had on all things Louisiana, it's not terribly surprising that a band from France would put out an album of highly fun swamp folk-blues-country.  It's may not be as exotic as a band from Botswana putting out a zydeco record, but it's refreshingly unexpected.  The music is a blend of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and more, with a distinct Louisiana/Mississippi tinge.  The main singer's voice reminds of the guy from Eels, which is cool.  This isn't the kind of music I listen to all that often, but this record is so fun, so competently performed that I'm adding it to my collection.

https://maaularecords.bandcamp.com/album/station-mar-cage

From Switzerland: No Swiss Cheese, Just Solid Neo-Reggae

   Whereas Iceland's Hjálmar present reggae that carefully reflects the classic sounds of the 1970s, Switzerland's Phenomden brings forth a much more post-1990 style of reggae with more forceful and rapid-fire vocals (think early Matisyahu).  Like many of the neo-reggae bands, there are a couple of more classic sounding songs here (e.g. "Meh Liebi").  I'm a little surprised at how well the German vocals match up with the music.  Good, solid, fun neo-reaggae from the Alps.

 

 

From Iceland: Super Hot Reggae From A Pretty Cold Country

   If you thought Finland and surf rock is an odd pairing, how about reggae and Iceland?  It turns out that the country that inspired Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song is home to one of the best modern reggae bands around, Hjálmar.

   Iceland has the highest literacy rate in the world (and more than that, these people really read) and it seems like every third person is in a band of some sort.  For a country of only a 300,000+ there are a ton of bands, and an awful lot of really good ones.  I've always been surprised that ska never seemed to take off in Iceland, considering how many countries around the globe have at least one recorded ska band, but Iceland more than makes up for that with Hjálmar's excellent reggae.  They put out a pure reggae that is not junked up with vocoder or treated vocals or rap breaks or other distractions.  What we enjoy here is a distillation of the best reggae of the 1970s, with a little dub carefully thrown in for good measure.  Think of this as Cool Runnings reversed.

 

 

From Nepal: Do You Remember 1991?

    Ahh, the autumn of 1991.  In the span of just a few months the world beheld the releases of Pearl Jam's Ten, Nirvana's Nevermind, and Metallica's Metallica (aka The Black Album).  By early 1992, these bands along with brethren like Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Jane's Addiction ushered in a gigantic shift in mainstream rock radio:  now all of the stuff they had been playing, the Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple and Styx and AC/DC and Boston and etc. suddenly became "classic rock" (c.f. "oldies" of the late 1950s and 1960s).  Most mainstream rock stations now played or mostly played this "new" stuff (even though Metallica, Soundgarden, etc. had been around for about a decade by then).  

   So what happened to newer, up-and-coming bands who rose to the surface in late 1991 or early 1992?  In other words, does anybody remember straight-up rock and roll that came out at that time?  If you are having trouble remembering the non-grunge, non-alternative rock sound of late '91-early '92, check out this album by Nepal's Albatross, Ma Ra Malai.  Even though this album came out in 2014 and has plenty of post-1992 sounds to it (especially on "Aadhar"), to my ears it really brings me back to that weird time right before popular rock went through one of the biggest changes ever.

https://albatrossnepal.bandcamp.com/album/ma-ra-malai

From Finland: Surf's Up! (Though It Might Be Frozen)

   Quick, name some surf bands or artists.  My guess is that most if not all of the surf bands you can come up with are from the West coast, or at least the U.S.A.  Most likely Finland does not head to the front of the line when most people think of instrumental surf music.  But here we are:  some of the most fun, original sounding surf music ventures (ha ha) forth from a country better known for reindeer and black metal.

   I really can't remember how I discovered these guys (most likely a catalog of imported records) but I bought the first few records they put out.  I just checked their discography and I'll have to pick up one or two other records to complete my collection, which I am happy to do.

From Tunisia: Dramatic, Skilled Electronica From Deena Abdelwahed

    I don't remember exactly how I discovered this amazing artist from Tunisia- I'm sure it was via some sort of Bandcamp rabbit hole.  I do know it was around the time of her Dakar album which came out in early 2020.  That record is amazing, but I regret to say that I haven't kept up with her output until now.  This evening I am listening to her last record, Jbal Rsas (released September, 2023 so I'm not that late) and I am just as blown away by this latest album as I was by the earlier one.  Pounding, rhythmic Mid-East drumming frame a mix of regional and outer space sounds that sound like Muslimgauze and Autechre joined forces.  

   Non-Western countries are not immune to the unrelenting flood of junky, uninspired electronic music plaguing the world.  Though the base of the pyramid may be broad, deep, and forgettable, those that make truly unique and exciting electronic music deserve our attention.  Ms. Abdelwahed truly deserves our attention.

From India: When Seven Songs Are Just Not Enough

    A friend of mine is in India this month, which prompted me to explore modern music from that nation beyond the obvious Bollywood output.  One of my new discoveries is a really cool indie band out of Mumbai, Lawntuba.  According to a local press article, Lawntubas' influences include Radiohead, The Beatles, and Tool.  I can't hear a single thread of Tool in their music, but what I do hear reminds me a lot of some of the Swedish indie bands that appeared on the Labrador label in the early 2000s, especially The Radio Dept.  There is definitely a Radiohead proclivity in that these songs tend to be written around small melodic ideas rather than one or two dominant riffs.  That particular approach allows different instruments to take control of your attention, sometimes different instruments on different listens.

   My investigation reveals just one five song digital EP from 2016 and two digital singles.  After this much time I'm not optimistic about any new releases, but I will certainly enjoy the collection as it exists.

 

https://lawntuba.bandcamp.com/album/on-silver-clouds