Leonard's Lair Music Reviews

Back in 2009, Yonokiero released ‘Blue Apples’, a pleasing record resplendent in lo-fi melody. Well, Washington DC’s BLK w/BEAR has now rearranged these songs to “accentuate audio decay and broken communications”. A contrast in styles must surely ensue.

For ‘Casey Jnr’, the brass instruments are brought to the foreground and the organic feel brings to mind Talk Talk during their experimental ‘Laughing Stock’ phase. ‘Sumimasen’ follows and maintains the intimacy with static and mournful violin. In terms of atmosphere, if the original version had an air of understated menace, the remixed version provides a very real threat. ‘Blk Apples’ brings forth the strings accompanied by “deepdrone” or-  in layman’s terms – something huge and metallic. Finally, ‘Blue Apples’ – a version of the same song – is deconstructed to the basic guitar melody but distorted beyond recognition.

Listening to the original tracks again, some of the music is almost unrecognisable here. So whilst one could claim BLK w/BEAR have strayed too far from the original, the other side of the coin is that these versions tell a whole new story that is just as fascinating.

Web Sites:
Sorry About Your (Remixes) Soundcloud Page
Front And Follow Label and Shop Site

Further Listening:
Yonokiero