Track Listing: Vivisect, Poison, Dissuade, Daedalus.

Hearts Fail reminds me of old school Joy Division and The Cure. The sounds are vintage and the construction is classic. With bands like Interpol and Placebo making this sort of electronic retro dark wave music popular again, it’s definitely worth checking out Hearts Fail as well. They refer to themselves as “post-punk/coldwave” and although similar to their influences, they have their own overall effect.

What I listened to was their Demo #2 which includes the four tracks listed above. They have one preceding album called The Empty Promise which, if anything like the few songs I got to listen too, is worth looking up. The full length album, Medallion, has since been released and is available online and at live shows.

Meanwhile, the group is gaining popularity in their native Texas. Edward Wagner, the lead singer, does justice to his influences, easily carrying the music along. Bandmates include Clint Kingsbery (keyboards), Roberto Medina (lead guitar), Michael Lampe (bass, backing vocals), and Ruben Salazar (drums, percussion) all equally represent. Instruments layer in and out of every song without fighting for prominance yet are very cohesive. Very smooth.

I’m putting these four tracks in my iTunes^TM and unless the full length CD takes a complete u-turn from the demo, it’s a definite keeper. Learn more about Hearts Fail at www.heartsfail.com.

Track Listing: Arabia, Philomel, Rain, Station Dream.

There must be something in the water because musicians from Brooklyn are pretty darn decent. No exception here. This demo from Rarefaction has very limited info on it but refers to their MySpace page at www.myspace.com/rarefactionNYC where you can hear an additional song.

The song on MySpace varies from what I sampled. I really enjoyed the demo. All the selected songs are much slower and basic. My only critique is that when mastering the vocals they need to be a little louder. Otherwise nothing but enjoyment.

The sound is pure, sometimes only two or three instruments and the vocals. The feel reminds me of a gloomy, nineties-era chick singer type i.e. Lisa Loeb, with more substance. Ava/Mad Tristan provides strong, heartfelt vocals, most prelevent on the second track where she is only accompanied by guitar. The music is sparse and straightforward, just the bare essentials. The result is very beautiful and haunting. The simplicity means their composition is right out there without layers of sound to hide behind; it’s solid.

Rarefaction is Ava/Mad Tristan (lead vocals), Jerold H.(instrumentation), and D. Scott Diperna.

Track Listing: Buried Under Crows, Boatman, An Unmarked Trail, Husk, Death’s Door, Flintlock Tincture, That Night, Creation Myth, Ray of Daylight, Retribution.

The Transparent World is not your typical CD. For starters, it’s sound-scaping and not lyrical. Sounds are thrown together like paint strokes on a canvas in the modern fashion. But while there is no structure and form, there is thought. I am amazed that seemingly completely random notes and beats can evoke emotion and images, which this CD does, richly.

The brainchild of Bartow, Petersen and Wivinus, The Transparent World is not something you should listen to if you need get up and go. It’s an excellent good reading accompaniment since there are no distracting vocals.

Musically I hear a slow, almost drugged country. There are banjos and aucoustic guitars. The melodies are almost Middle Eastern sounding so you get this really neat hybrid especially audible in “Flintlock Tincture”. But really there is no one style that sticks out and Bartow, Petersen and Wivinus consider themselves an instrumental improv project. It’s really a mess theoretically and reminds me of an orchestra warming up on a rocking ship in the middle of a ghost town out west somewhere.

But it’s really good which is strange for me to say since I’m usually a stickler for structure. Perhaps my overly-organized brain needs a vacation and this CD provides just the sensory wandering that it needs. In any case, it’s a total keeper.

Bartow, Petersen and Wioinus are Rich Bartow, Jesse Petersen and Erik Wivinus, who work all the instruments and composition. They’re located in Minneapolis, MN. For more information, please visit Hand/Eye Discography.