Foreign Cinema

We’re mixing it up a little bit for this release with Foreign Cinema. We’ve decided to drop in a little something different, or, as we like to call it, Foreign Cinema. Shoegaze? Sure. We’re good for that. Spacey? OK. Trip-Hop? Something to chill to? Yup. Something that is darn fun to listen to and have on your player? Absolutely. They are all of these and so much more.

From their EP Non-Synchronous Sound, we’re running the cut Arbitary Map Mode… it plays well, holds on to you, and delivers a great sonic soundstage for you. We’re delighted to bring this to you! Oh, and there is the little matter that they are the Deli SF’s Band of the Month. These guys are good! - Radio Free David

Shoegaze? Yes, certainly. Trip Hop? A little bit, yes. Ethereal good-versus-evil? Uh-huh. It's like Foreign Cinema have taken a past-it punkman with a beard, given him a yacht and a blank cheque and told him to go nuts.

It's shadowy and spacious but not murky in any way, all the noises are clearly defined and very deliberate - right down to the reverb on Dave Han's voice. The EP features three original songs - the bassy, swirling 'At The Bottom Of The Deep Blue Sea', edgy, funky favourite 'Arbitrary Map Mode' and 'Lovers and Killers', a huge post-punk/shoegaze power trip. The fourth track is 'Ice Machine', a rather obscure Depeche Mode B-side, and it suits Foreign Cinema's style perfectly.

I expect big, big things from these guys, and I'll be keeping an eye out for more of the same over the next year. Live performace skills down pat, the only upward way from here is a full-length LP. - Music Emissions

The moody beats and ghostly vocals delivered from Foreign Cinema off of their debut EP, Non-Synchronous Sound, could quickly be in heavy rotation on every indie station, and in the bedrooms of gloomy hipsters, looking for their new-millennium version of Robert Smith.

Hailing from the West Coast, the band brings a melancholy shoegazer vibe mixed with a love of foreign films. They’ve been described as having a noir sound, combining light and dark musical elements, while offering a fresh perspective on the idea of music as a tool to set a mood, and tell a story via this ethereal four-song set.

Non-Synchronous Sound is tinged with low bass lines, airy keyboards, and Dave Han’s whispering vocals. Opening with three original compositions (all heavy on dark, floaty bass with a trip-hop edge), a cover of Depeche Mode B-side “Ice Machine” (which could be the best track on the EP) rounds out the set, as the band undoubtedly has a major crush on Dave Gahan and Co.

This EP is not bad by any means, with the haunting “At the Bottom of the Blue Sea”, and shoegazer homage “Lovers and Killers” standing out as the better of the original tracks.

A live show would definitely be worth checking out; this really is admittedly great background music, so adding something visual to the mix could be alluring. The band might also have a promising future were their material to be featured in as a soundtrack to either film of television.

Anyone who enjoys the brooding synthpop of Depeche Mode and The Cure, ethereal pop of Air or trip-hop of Massive Attack may enjoy this EP. - Machine Gun Funk

Non Synchronous Sound
Foreign Cinema
review by justintime

Foreign Cinema’s latest ep has a haunting post modern sound with reverb guitar reminiscent of Johnny Marr. A meloncholic, gothic sound similar to bands from the Projekt label. Not very upbeat, but a smooth mellow sound to relax to during these chilly autumn days. - WRUV 90.1FM - Burlington, VT

Like a breath of Arctic air, Foreign Cinema sound a bit like New Order. The songs are regulated, cold, and emotionally challenging. The album cover presents a female with headphones, and the back, a male with a small movie camera. These photographs are in black and white, and that only complements the starkness of the album. Not one note is extra or out of place on Non-synchronous Sound. As the title implies, it's a slip from synchronicity, where everything matches up with life; the starkness gives an otherworldly quality to the album. There's a Depeche Mode cover. It fits in so well one might not even notice it was a cover.

Overall, the album has a deliberate, plodding feel - but not in the sense that it will drag you down. Rather, Foreign Cinema wants every beat to count, most notably on "Lovers and Killers," the standout track on this album. - Music Blog: Even in the future nothings works

Foreign Cinema - Non-Synchronous Sound (CD EP, Parallax Sounds, Progressive pop)
Foreign Cinema is the project spearheaded by Dave Han and Natalia Silva. This is a very short CD clocking in at just under 20 minutes. But on these four tracks these folks prove they have the talent and skills to deliver the goods. Non-Synchronous Sound presents lengthy subdued pop tunes with a heavy emphasis on rhythm and cool dreamy sounds. Neither shoegazer nor slo-core...these progressive cuts emphasize some surprisingly effective vocal melodies. Well done. (Rating: 5+) - Babysue

Foreign Cinema – “Non-synchronous Sound”
Published
by
wonkawriters
on November 5, 2009
in F

Foreign Cinema evokes equal parts of the Deftones’ spaciest atmospheric character and Cocteau Twins’ guitar tones (almost, but not quite) on this little gem of an EP. Cold blue reverb and airy synth-waves make it taste like a grey rain and it’s not a passing trend. This is like listening to the saddest elements of a David Lynch film, but the subconscious knowledge that there is a dark underbelly to the story creates a pensive suspense in the mind of the listener… it’s sensory cross-communication with the subconscious.
“At the bottom of the Deep Blue Sea” is on par with any Slowdive-esque soundscape or dreamy vocal styling without making a bastardized whore of the technique. The bass performance on the closing track “Lovers and Killers” brings to mind David Sylvian’s masterpiece “Taking the Veil.” Foreign Cinema seems to have carved out a nice private burrow in the mountainside for themselves and have managed to remain unobtrusive to the established groups already nesting there. As the band’s label page suggests “Foreign Cinema’s noir sound balances light and dark with ethereal warmth and interjected groove to create a romantically dark world guided by interpretive lyrics about the human condition.”
I originally chose to review this release based on the label’s name: Parallax Sounds. It’s certainly no surprise that this synchronicity is enacting: the music brings a welcomed change of perspective and distorted representation of the original ideas of space, texture, and dreamlike images. Exciting music is rare, and creative music is even scarcer in today’s social structure; finding this was pure synchronicity. [By: Steven DiEva]
Rating: 4/5 - Wonka Vision Magazine