New Releases: Duck Fight Goose, Little Monster, Jia Huizhen, Deng Yong Peng

Intergalactic jazz rock, hauntingly beautiful electro pop, lush piano post rock, and noise rock mayhem – it’s an diverse roundup of the latest sounds to be invading the Mainland with new releases from Duck Fight Goose, Jia Huizhen, Deng Yong Peng, and Little Monster.

The Shanghai indie rock band Duck Fight Goose has completely shed their skin on their sophomore release, CLVB ZVKVNFT, off of D-Force Records, transforming into a high tech, futuristic jazz band that’s entirely on their own wavelength. It’s ambitious, packed to the gills, and singular in its approach. And while it’s precision and meticulousness hinders the band’s sound at times, it’s an album I’ve been finding myself coming back to time and time again. Alien and enthralling and just maybe one of the records we’ll be talking about at the year’s end. Bandcamp.

Last year I highlighted the stellar work put out by ethereal electro pop artist Jia Huizhen, who in a year span released eleven brilliant demo tracks. Well, the singer-songwriter, who works with producer Yao Sichen, has gone ahead and given those tracks a facelift, releasing them as a LP, aptly entitled 11. The album is one glorious hit after another – beautiful, powerful and raw, unafraid to be vulnerable – something you simply siply don’t hear in most female artists nowadays. It’s uncompromising and personal – a singer in complete control of her sound. Bandcamp.

Changsha pianist, Deng Yong Peng, known for his work with the post rock outfit Summer Fades Away, lays down some chords for instrumental release If Changsha Were The Picture You Imagined, Then I\’ve Never Been Here, out on 1724 Records. With the focus solely on the piano, the album is a sublime rarity – a stripped down post rock album that mines emotional with understated grace. It’s storytelling at its most direct and unsubtle and all the better for it. Bandcamp

Shanghai ‘destruction pop’ duo Little Monster continue their reign of masochist noise rock on the latest Genjing Records split 7\’ – which finds the band paired with Brazilian freak rockers Negro Leo, whose genre-bending blend of tropicalia and free jazz riffing that’s downright romantic when put side by side by Little Monster. Nevertheless, there’s a freewheeling madness to both groups that’s downright infectious. As an added bonus, the Shanghai duo, which consists of F (of Pairs) and Alex (of Dirty Fingers), put together a killer compilation of China’s indie rockers, 12 Bandas independentes chinesas para você conhecer, which they brought with them on their recent South American tour – a solid entry into the indie rock scene here in China. Bandcamp.