Spring 2009 New Releases

2008 was a busy year for us. We released seven records (SQR008 through SQR014), half of our label's entire catalog. These releases included dynamic new material from label stalwarts Cantilever and Conifer Rock, in which both artists explored new sonic territory -- acoustic songwriting, microscopic instrumentals, etc. We also brought you the debut recordings from Timwarrenmusic (SQR010) and Tokyo Morose (SQR014), two new additions to our artist roster that took our music in unexpected new directions.

2009 is looking to be just as exciting -- we have a number of projects lined up, particularly for the next two months. We're also trying some new things, like getting into short films, experimenting more with packaging design for our albums, and finding new ways to get our music into your hands.

Here are five new releases we have lined up for the next few weeks:

SQR018 - Conifer Rock / Exploded Views
Available February 24th, 2009
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After exploring fuzzy rock on the Show Me Some Heart single and acoustic ballads on the Wood Creaks EP, Conifer Rock turns to gritty glam pop with Exploded Views. This record is a concentrated barrage of dirty synths, guitars, and expertly crafted percussion, with layers of vocals on top. This is Conifer Rock's "pop" album, if you will, but pop like only he could do. Lately he's been listening to a lot of Bowie, T-Rex, Roxy Music, Motown, Ellen Allien, William Basinski, Stevie Wonder... This image isn't the final album cover, by the way -- the CD comes packaged in a hand-crafted chipboard sleeve with a set of posters and other assorted ephemera. We're very excited about this one, which comes out in two weeks...

SQR015 - Centre / Another Year
Available March 2009
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Centre makes his long-anticipated return with two new EPs, Another Year and L'Enfant Coma. Drawing inspiration from post-punk, acid house, ambient guitar, and shoegaze, Centre's music is pop from an alternate universe. Centre contributed two tracks to our Catalog compilation, released way back in 2005, and this is his first new work for the label since then. As such, we're incredibly excited about it. The two new EPs work as companion pieces of sorts. Another Year is the more digital of the two, focusing on synth pulses, drum machines, and delay pedals. The EP is built around the solitary vocal track, Take It or Leave It, an exquisite pop gem up there with the likes of New Order and the Cure. This EP, and that song in particular, really floored us when we first head an early copy, and we can't wait to give other people a chance to hear it.

SQR016 - Centre / L'Enfant Coma
Available March 2009
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While the Another Year EP is connected more to the digital post-punk world, its counterpart, L'Enfant Coma, moves towards atmospheric guitar, somewhat akin to the Durutti Column or R.E.M. The three-track instrumental EP incorporates subtle drum machines, pitched bells, effects loops, and the occasional field recording to create a subdued sense of melancholy, ending with an extended ambient drone version of the title song. If Another Year is a cold, digital affair, then this is its warm, nostalgic sibling. Or is it the other way around?

SQR017 - Spectral Mornings / Spring Rain
Available Now
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This is a new single from Spectral Mornings. A nice traditional single -- the A-side is Spring Rain, the B-side is a song called Ballroom Beaches. This is the first new material from Spectral Mornings since their EP in the middle of 2007, and the band has undergone some radical changes since then. The old ten-minute epic post-techno song structures have been replaced with sleek minimalism, a reductionist approach to instrumentation, and a flirtation with pop sensibilities. The history of Spectral Mornings is really fodder for a blog post (or three) in and of itself, really. Spring Rain was the first song that the band wrote in this new framework, back in the beginning of 2008. Therefore, we thought it would make a fitting single, a first step towards the full-length album that's looming on the horizon. The song Spring Rain is based around drum machine, bass, and synth, and features the band's first prominent use of vocals. What's with all our bands turning towards pop these days? The B-side Ballroom Beaches is a rather stately affair, built on hushed electronic percussion, off-kilter synth loops, and a globular chorus that might have Vangelis or Klaus Schulze turning their heads. Spring Rain is available now to download from squarerootmusic.com, or you can buy it on a CD in hand-assembled packaging with a poster.

SQR019 - Sean Patrick / Flight
Available March 24, 2009
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Finally, we come to Flight. After the pop obsession of the previous four records, we turn to Sean Patrick's Flight project, a study in distorted ambient music, white noise and tape loops. Sean's been experimenting with these sorts of sound manipulations for the past few years, and we think this is some of his strongest work yet. Flight is a joint release between Square Root and Andras Klang, Sean's own label, and it will be a CD/DVD release. That's right, we're getting into films. Again, that image isn't the final album artwork. We haven't seen the packaging yet, but we've been told that we're in for a treat...