Friday, December 23, 2011

Fritz's Top 30 Albums of 2011 (#15-1)

15. A Winged Victory For The Sullen - S/T

This album is, quite simply, breathtaking. A side project of Stars Of The Lid, A Winged Victory make ambient drone sounds with a string quartet, guitar effects, and a piano. It's sort of easy to describe this kind of music - pretty, melancholy, hopeful, etc. But I'd say an accurate depiction of this stuff can be found by simply looking at the album art. This album transports you to the most serene, peaceful place possible, and makes you float there, in endless, self realizing bliss. This is an album for late night listening, where you can leave this world behind with all of it's troubles, and just be.


14. *shels - Plains Of The Purple Buffalo

Speaking of albums that sound like their cover art, *shels is a post rock/post metalish mostly instrumental group who make music that can only be described as epic. These guys use lots of different instruments - horns, strings, along with the tried and true guitar/drum/bass setup - to make really fantastic soundscapes. Especially evident on the title track, when you listen to this stuff, you can see purple buffalo striding across some massive field. The vocals, popping up only every now and again, add an extra layer of power with their shout-a-long lyrics. This album absolutely soars. Fantastic stuff.


13. Bruce Peninsula - Open Flames

Bruce Peninsula came out of nowhere in 2009, and quickly became a favorite of mine. With Open Flames, the group has made a very solid follow up, teeming with emotion and tinged with darkness. Still making fantastic soul/folk music, this album is filled with gorgeous choral vocals that juxtapose the gruff lead perfectly. There's more of a focus on female vocals this time around, and it matches the darker tone of the songs. There's sort of this ominous ambiance that follows these tunes, and for good reason - while this album was being created, the lead singer was diagnosed with Leukemia. That news, that feeling of impending end, made a major impact on these songs. There's always a somber tone in the vocals, in the instrumentation, especially on the second half of the album. But all the while, there's a hint of hope, a hint of happiness. Very beautiful stuff. From what I've read, he's recovered quite nicely, and I'm very excited to see where these guys go next.


12. Radiohead - The King Of Limbs

Okay, lemme just get this out of the way first. If I made a disappointments of 2011 list, this would be on there, no question. I mean, four years in the studio, and we get under 40 minutes of stuff? What the fuck Radiohead! But while this may be one of the lesser Radiohead albums, it's still one of the best of the year. There's some obvious krautrock influence on these songs, especially on Morning Mr. Magpie, probably my favorite track on the album. Jagged, stuttering drums make you wanna get up and dance. The second half is much calmer, prettier stuff that bring the record to a peaceful end. Now, while this is a disappointingly short album, Radiohead was kind enough to release four more songs, two of which, Supercolider and Staircase, are phenomenal tracks. Honestly if they were on the album itself, it would probably be one of the top for the year. But, until the next time Radiohead decides to grace us with their music, this will have to do.


11. John Knox Sex Club - Raise Ravens

The sophomore album by these Scottish Twilight-Sad-ish rockers is everything a sophomore album should be; bigger, fuller and grander, all while keeping the good stuff from the debut present. Raise Ravens starts off with a massive, 13 minute epic full of building, bombastic percussion, guitars and vocals. The other tracks on the album are decidedly calmer, introducing violin and female vocals that add gentleness to the music. The album closes with The Thaw, bringing the album to a huge, hopeful ending; "The grass grows beneath the ice and snow", they sing. These guys seem like they've been getting bigger over on their side of the world, and I hope that trend continues.


10. Braids - Native Speaker

This album came out pretty early in the year, and quickly became a favorite of mine. Braids makes that kind of music that transports you to summertime in some decade you didn't grow up in. There's a hazy, nostalgic mood to these tracks that's instantly recognizable, yet somehow unique. I've seen comparisons to Animal Collective, which I can kinda sorta see. They're more organic though, I think. Poppy tracks all about love, making love, doing love, etc etc etc. Every now and again it breaks away from it's lifetime summer attitude, especially in tracks like Lammicken, a slow dance song for the apocalypse. This album has stuck with me all year, and I can't wait to see what they do next.


9 The Dear Hunter - The Color Spectrum

I am absolutely convinced that there's something for everybody in this collection. These nine EPs, each one corresponding to one of the colors in the color spectrum, plus black and white, all tackle different genres, styles, and sounds with surprising finesse, with each set of songs surprisingly illustrating the color it represents. Red is full of high energy rock n' roll tunes, Blue is drenched in echos and reverb, Green has folky songs about love and nature, Orange is...a weird, watered down, alt-country version of Red? I dunno, Orange is such a weird color, and probably the worst in the collection. The best would probably have to be Indigo, taking you on a mind-bending trip through cyberspace, or White, probably one of the most hopeful, realized set of songs this group has put out. Maybe it's just me, but these EPs flow together tremendously, just like the colors of a rainbow. Wonderful as a whole, wonderful as parts, simply wonderful.


8. O'Brother - Garden Window

O'Brother takes the soaring rock styles of Radiohead and mixes them with metal and drone sounds to make something massive. These guys know how to mix harsh, yelling vocals and crunching guitar tones with beautiful ambiance perfectly. On tracks like Poison!, possibly my favorite song of the year, the group builds everything up into a towering wall of sound. The last song on this album is notable as well. There's a small bit that they play a few times, after the line "Keep your last breath, make it worthwhile", that, whenever I listen to it, has an interesting effect. Whenever I head that part, I feel absolutely alone, and overwhelming sense of solitude fills the room almost instantly. That loneliness, though, is accented by a shred of hope, of power, that says "you'll be fine." That theme is present over the album too, I think. Life is hard, life is tough, life is empty. And yet, life is beautiful. This is a fantastic album that I'm sure will stick with me for years to come.


7. Farewell Poetry - Hoping For The Invisible To Ignite

Calling on the post-rock gods of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Farewell Poetry burst onto the music scene this year with their four track debut album, which may be just what the stagnant genre needed. Starting with a nearly 20 minute track, Farewell Poetry quickly illustrate what makes them a band to watch. Seasoned with a dark, sensual spoken word piece about Troilus and Cressida, the band makes beautiful, brooding music that builds and builds until igniting in noise. The next piece, split into two tracks, doesn't get as immense and powerful as the previous song did, but still works as a powerful piece. I will admit, it is disappointing that the album didn't finish off as incredibly as it started, but these four tracks still make one of the better, more unique post rock albums I've heard in a long time. These guys can only go up from here.


6. Years Of Rice And Salt - Nothing Of Cities

Like I said in the last blurb, post rock is a pretty dead genre right now, over-saturated with boring, generic, twinkle-core movie soundtrack stuff. However, this group is a beautiful diamond in the rough of this genre. These guys don't try to do anything different to the formula - they just make damned good post rock. One of the things YoRaS have going for is their heavy use of strings in their music, which adds a certain beauty that no guitar effects can provide. Another thing is the general mood of the music; most post rock thrives on sadness and darkness, but this group makes some of the most hopeful music I've ever heard. Certainly helped by the massive support that this album's Kickstarter page had for it, the music suggests a sense of community, of togetherness, that I almost never hear in instrumental music nowadays. Hopefully other bands will take notice of this album, and realize post rock doesn't always have to be dark and depressing - maybe then, we can breathe life into this once wonderful genre.


5. The Beach Boys - The Smile Sessions

(It counts, it counts!)
It's interesting to think about what would have happened if this album came out when it was supposed to. Finally presented in it's most complete form, Smile is a schizophrenic masterpiece, skipping between ideas multiple times in each "song". For the most part, the sounds on this album are what you'd expect from The Beach Boys - harmonies, summery guitars, harmonies, more harmonies, etc. However, being the experimental masterpiece it was intended to be, there's definitely a noticeable, conscious effort to move away from their surfing music days. This is especially noticeable on the track Surf's Up, which was released after Smile had been abandoned. The chorus of "surfs up, before the tidal wave" carries such heavy emotions. It's a song where Wilson realized the struggles he'd have to face in order to get away from their happy-go-lucky past. On Mrs. O'Leary's Cow, that struggle is put front and center, with a chaotic, frightening track that echos (dare I say it?) Radiohead and their contemporaries. If this album was released in the 60s, who knows what would have happened? Well, who knows. The album is fantastic anyway.


4. Skeletons - PEOPLE

Skeletons are probably one of the most unique groups I've ever encountered, and this album might be their most realized yet. Among all the jagged, math-y instrumentation and odd falsetto vocals is an underlying accessibility and relatability. Lyrics that describe the drawing of our house that all of us drew in kindergarten with eerie accuracy, about the general sense of confusion that we Americans are facing nowadays, and a closing statement of hope fill this album with ideas that support it's title - PEOPLE. This is a human album. Real, jagged, beautiful, odd, and generally mysterious. Wonderful.


3. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

To be honest, I'm not really sure what it is about this album that makes it so good. Fleet Foxes' 2nd album is simply really, really good. All the songs are beautiful, filled with soaring harmonies and perfect instrumentation that paint a picture of the country side. When this first came out, I called it perfect. I actually do stick by that label, frankly. I can't find a single thing to dislike about this album. It's weird though, I can't really describe what exactly makes it so good either. Maybe it's a cop out, or maybe I'm just dreading writing the next album's blurb. Either way, do yourself a favor, and listen to this record - you won't regret it.


2. Giles Corey - S/T

"Sometime in the spring of 2009 I tried to kill myself"

That's how the accompanying book for this album starts. Dan Barret, half of the seminal Have A Nice Life is Giles Corey, and his music is his story. There's no question of what the theme of this album is. Darkness. Depression. Solitude. Sadness. Suicide. There's a fucking song where the lyrics are literally "I'm going to kill myself." The music itself is very much what an acoustic Have A Nice Life would be - stark, beautiful, and drenched in reverb. If you look past the lyrics, and look past the story behind these songs, you could easily write off this album as another trite collection of songs about how tough life is after loosing your girlfriend or something. But if you really listen, and feel this music, you'll see that it's so much more. This music is real. It's an album of absolute, pure emotion that simply can't be accurately described with words. When you listen to this album, you realize Barret's struggle, and share it with him.
And then there's the personal side of this album for me. This album came out during a pretty dark time in my life. For one reason or another, I was simply unhappy for a long period of time, up to a point where suicide almost seemed...reasonable? I'm not sure. I cried to this album, many times, simply because of how disgustingly relatable it was. I hated it. I hated the album for making me realize that those awful feelings weren't uniquely my own. And yet, I visited it, almost daily, for a long time. Through the help of time and friends, I let go of those depressed feelings, and Giles Corey almost seemed like a used prescription. I didn't need to be exposed to those feelings anymore. However, I found myself listening again and again, with a new mind frame. Now, these songs about suicide and depression, gave me a sense of hope. It's like, when I listen to it now, I realize that life is truly beautiful, and worth living.
This album has become an artifact for me. A piece of indescribable art that conjures up feelings and thoughts that simply can't be described. You have no idea how much I've dreaded writing any sort of thing for this album, because I knew I wouldn't do it justice. I still don't think I have.


1. Moonface - Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I'd Hoped

I'm not gonna lie to myself this year. I usually top my year end lists with the album that absolutely destroyed my emotions, like Hospice, or absolutely crushed my senses, like Swans. This year, however, Spencer Krug released his first full length album as Moonface, and I can't lie to myself and say that it wasn't the most enjoyable, rocking, kick ass group of songs I've heard all year. This thing fucking jams. With five songs clocking in at just under 40 minutes, Krug builds some really awesome soundscapes with his organ sounds. His lyrics, weird and quirky as always, have a somewhat relatable tone to them that simply adds to the enjoyability of the record. I saw him play the album live in August, a few months or so after it came out. There were only, like, 20 or 30 of us there, which wasn't very surprising. But the cool thing about it was how into it everybody in that hall was, musicians and fans alike. Everybody realized how hard these tunes jammed, and took advantage of it. Just like Fleet Foxes, this album is simply good, and absolutely worth a listen or thirty.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Fritz's Top 30 Albums of 2011 (#30-16)

Dude, this year was really good, like, seriously. Kayo Dot has a new record coming out on the 24th. That's probably gonna be really good too. But, whatever. Here's my top 30 albums of 2k11

30. Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi - ROME

I've always been a fan of Danger Mouse's stuff, and ROME is par for the course. A very western sounding album, ROME conjures up images of a weird, nostalgic, burlesque type of thing. Jack White and Norah Jones supply very fitting, and in the case of Jones, very sexy vocals to a couple of songs. This album definitely dropped off my radar after a few months, but it's still a solid record with a bunch of catchy tunes that are worth checking out.





29. Giraffes? Giraffes! - Pink Magick

Giraffes? Giraffes! make some of the catchiest math rock I've come across. The drums and the guitar are always on point here, blending the wicked quick riffs of bands like Hella with hints of post rock thrown around - this group knows how to use silence to their advantage. Really cool album.









28. Earth - Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light I

Pretty much the exact opposite of #29, Earth made yet another slow, creaking monster of an album with Angels Of Darkness. With five tracks lasting for about an hour, Earth does what they do best; make lengthy, slow, repetitive tracks that somehow never get boring. This is an album to sway to. It's pretty incredible to experience live, too. You can't help but get lost in the sound.






27. The Middle East - I Want That You Are Always Happy

This group makes a very dark, somber kind of indie/folk/whatever we're calling it this year. Drenched in reverb, this album maintains a nice mix of woods-dance-party type stuff, with tracks like Jesus Came To My Birthday Party, and heart wrenching soul like Deep Water. Unfortunately, this band broke up this year, which is really too bad. They've got a lot of good ideas to play with.






26. The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble - From The Stairwell

When this album came out, there was some press release going on about how the music encompasses the idea of "mood," which I'd say is a pretty accurate description. The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble makes beautiful, emotional, and (of course) dark jazzy music. This album is very much a soundtrack for a non-existent film noir. Unfortunately, the two longest tracks, Cocaine and Past Midnight, are ultimately, in my opinion, aimless ambient noise tracks. But I have to give them credit; they definitely maintain that idea of mood.

25. The Decemberists - The King Is Dead

Taking a number of steps back from their experimental Hazards of Love, The Decemberists decided to make a simple record of very nice folk tunes. Colin Meloy's lyrics are on point here, with songs about mining, the end of the world, and his young son. The band doesn't stray far away from the simple verse-chorus-verse formula here, but they don't really need to when the writing is this spot on. Maybe I'm just a sucker for Meloy's vocals/lyrics, but this is as good as any other album in their discography, and all in all, a good group of songs.

24. Low - C'mon

To be honest, I never really looked into Low other than Things We Lost In The Fire, no matter how much I love that album. But, I checked into this new one, and it was well worth it. Really beautiful songs here, substantially 'quicker' than stuff I've heard on earlier works, but all still leave plenty of room to get lost in. I really like the emphasis on female vocals on this one, somehow they complement the general beauty of Low's music. The track Majesty/Magic pushes this album even harder for me though, with it's slow, almost crushing build up of stomps and claps. Amazing stuff.

23. Masturbation Goes Cloud - S/T

Speaking of music to get lost in, Masturbation Goes Cloud makes a wonderful mixture of math and kraut rock that really grooves. There's not a whole lot going on in these songs, but there doesn't need to be. Mathy bass riffs slink along with somewhat simplistic drum beats, and create a rather unique, often times beautiful sound. This is some cool music to get lost in.







22. Seryn - This Is Where We Are

Seryn is another one of those "group of mountain-type folky folks getting together in a circle and pounding on their instruments" kind of bands that have been popping up lately, but these guys shine through for me. The male/female vocals absolutely soar on these tracks. The rapid finger picking match the simplistic, almost tribal drumming perfectly. A summer album for late nights on the beach, check it out.






21. Deer Leap/The World Is A Beautiful Place - ...Are Here To Help You

I'm not gonna lie. Deer Leap is a cool band, and I really like the tracks they put on this split. But when I first listened to this split, I went straight for TWIABP's songs. After seeing them (at probably one of the most interesting gigs I've been to...some of you guys know what I'm talking about) this summer, I was sure that these guys were gonna be huge someday soon, and this split cemented that opinion. These are probably the best tracks the band has put out yet. A perfect blend of twinkly shit, weird-but-understandable lyrics, and beautiful post-ey breaks. These guys can only get better from here.


20. Owen - Ghost Town

Owen, the post-American Football project of Mike Kinsella, returns with another wonderful acoustic album for winter listening. It's pretty clear that becoming a family man has affected Mike - lyrics about home, hoping to know his daughter when she's older, and (in one of my favorite tracks of the year, I Believe) God make this album very personal, and very relatable. Mike is a pretty soft singer, to the point where him saying 'fuck' in a song is actually shocking, and matched with the gorgeous strings and guitar, he makes beautiful music.


19. Beirut - The Rip Tide

Beirut has made their most accessible album this year, at least as accessible as a rustic horns band can get. This is a very summery album, transporting you to some foreign beach whenever you listen to it. Um...yep! Good album! Can't think of much else to say. Listen if you like good, summery pop type stuff.








18. Portugal. The Man - In The Mountain In The Cloud

While Portugal. The Man may have strayed away from the conceptual epics of Censored Colors and It's Complicated Being A Wizard, they still make some damn good pop music, and this may be one of their best albums yet. These guys have the formula down; falsetto vocals, bright guitars, and violins thrown in the mix here and there. Probably the most 'epic' song (or at least, the video) is Sleep Forever, a six minute track masterpiece about family, and death. With the rate this band cranks out good albums, I'm sure next year will bring something equally as awesome.


17. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy

This is probably the weirdest, sexiest album of 2011. Annie Clark's seductive vocals, and somewhat creepy and almost disturbing lyrics, float along as the musicians behind her freak the fuck out. These guys groove like crazy, especially at the end of Surgeon, where they do a funky, silky smooth bass/synth breakdown that simply requires the volume to be cranked. The album ends on a more sober note, where Clark almost begs America to "owe her one". This album is equal parts unique and accessible - check it out.


16. The Antlers - Burst Apart

When The Antlers announced their new album for this year, I was worried. I can't count the number of times I burst into tears (no pun intended) while listening to Hospice. It was, is, and always will be a really important, sentimental album for me that has tons of memories attached to it. How the hell could the follow that up? Well, of course, they didn't, really, but they still made a damn good record. Taking more of an electro-pop route here, The Antlers make songs on tried and true topics, love, loneliness, regret, and makes them sound fresh. Peter Silberman's vocals are astounding on this album. If there was ever a 21st century Jeff Buckley, Silberman would be it. The band doesn't completely forget its heart-wrenching past, though, as evidenced by the last track, Putting The Dog To Sleep. In some senses, it's almost like Silberman saying goodbye to Hospice and all the feelings that created it. "Prove to me that I'm not gonna die alone," he sings. I think we all have to ask that now and again.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Top 5 Albums Of 2011 (with no explanation)

1. "Stranger Ballet" by The Poison Control Center

2. "Triple Trinities" by Mumford's

3. "We're All Dying To Live" by Rich Aucoin

4. "The Seed Of Something"by The Seed Of Something

5. "We Love Evil" by Little Ruckus

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Kyle's Top 10 Albums of 2011 (Part 1)



10. Jay Z & Kanye West - Watch the Throne

I was a big fan of Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Fantasy last year, and though this album is not quite as good, it still hits the spot on what I would expect from these artists. I really enjoyed the first five or so tracks in this album, but it seems to lose its momentum after a bit. Still a great album, and I'd say my number 10.



9. Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will

This is a very well done post-rock album that released this year, which I still end up listening to quite often. It's very relaxing and chill., I'd even fall asleep to this sometimes. Has a bit of a God Is An Astronaut vibe to it. Rano Pano and San Pedro are great tracks, some of my favorites of the year.


8. Tyler, the Creator - Goblin

He's awesome and fucks dolphins, 'nuff said. Tyler is a great rapper and his spike in popularity gives me a little hope for music in the future.




7. Grayceon - All We Destroy

This album is a sludgy-progressive-metal piece of art, very similar to Giant Squid. I'd suggest giving it a listen, as if you like progressive music like I do, you'll certainly give your stereo and headphones something richly rewarding to obsess over for the foreseeable future.



6. Andrew Jackson Jihad - Knife Man

Andrew Jackson Jihad's 'Knife Man' really hit me on the first listen, and I can't stop listening since. The lyrical content is great; somehow it manages to pull of both amusing and sad. For the tune itself, spot on, I can't get enough of these guys.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Scroobius Pip - Distraction Pieces


It's good idk

First track "Introdiction" has a video here it is



dumbass fish
gotta love at that bearde

-shiba 'oot

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Masturbation Goes Cloud

Masturbation Goes Cloud is a duo from Athens, Greece that play some really cool kraut/math rock. Their sound is defined by the use of a 6 string bass and loop pedal, and drums, with occasional synths hidden in some songs. They've got a nice chill sound to their music, and while the songs are relatively simple and repetitive (as most kraut rock is) what I really like about the band is how easily you can get lost in the music, and how nicely they build their songs. You know how much I love them builds. Those synths I mentioned bring a really dreamy atmosphere to some songs, especially The Figs Figs and the Tab Tab. Yes, the name is silly, but don't let that deter you. If you like krautrock like Neu! or Can, I'm pretty confident you'll dig this.


Monday, July 18, 2011

Reporting In

I'm finally in, guys. It's true. Where's the music, you say? We hate music, right?

Years of Rice and Salt - Nothing Of Cities (Help Fund It!)



So as you may recall, I'm a pretty big fan of Futurerecordings Label, and recently they've decided to experiment with the site Kickstarter. On Kickstarter, fans can give money to whoever is asking for it in return for various rewards. In this case, what's being funded is the new album by Years of Rice and Salt, a post rock outfit that released an EP on the label a few years back. Now, the album itself is already done - what's being funded is the physical release of the record. As for the music, it's fantastic - some of the best post rock I've heard all year. You can listen to the whole thing here. This is an awesome opportunity to bring fantastic music into the real world, so donate what you can!

Friday, July 1, 2011

First Half Of 2011 General Updates (pt. 1)

I know I keep saying I'll write more here, but I can never kick myself into doing it. Oh well, here's my report of 2011 so far - favorite albums, songs, etc.



The Antlers - Burst Apart

This album is not Hospice. Nor does it try to be. It's a collection of songs that you can listen to without becoming overly depressed, which is nice. Peter Silberman is at the top of his game here, channeling every ounce of emotion he can in his falsetto. He's seriously our generations Jeff Buckley in my opinion. Favorite tracks would have to be I Don't Want Love (a rather cynical, almost violent love song), Rolled Together (a vocal high point, especially on live versions) and Putting The Dog To Sleep (the most "Hospice-ey" song on the album).

I Don't Want Love

Rolled Together (Live From SXSW)

Putting The Dog To Sleep


Battles - Ice Cream


This is probably the funnest song of the summer. From the UH AH UH AH UH AH stuff at the start, the generally funky fresh mood, and the incomprehensible, sometimes Spanish lyrics, this track just screams kiddy pool and sunglasses. The rest of the album is good too, check it out.


Braids - Native Speaker

This was the first album I fell in love with this year. I've heard comparisons to Animal Collective, and I gueeeeeeeeeeeeess that's accurate. I dunno. Synth and drum (very cool drums at that) driven music with a fantastic female vocalist. It's got a summery feel to it with a bit of a dark twist, especially in tracks like Lammicken. Another key track is Glass Deers, where the vocals soar all over the place.
This is a good year for vocalists isn't it?

Glass Deers

Lammicken


Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi ft. Norah Jones - Seasons Trees


This is seriously the sexiest song I've heard in a long time, again because of the vocals. This whole album has a very romantic mood to it, and this song is the epitome of that feeling. Check the rest of the album out.

Monday, June 13, 2011

World's End Girlfriend - Seven Idiots

Okay so how do I describe how this sounds. Some sources say it's UNCLASSIFIABLE which is bullshit and laziness. Shut up, your music isn't that weird, you smug cunt.
Anyway, it has guitars, jazzy sounds, glitchiness, electronic sounds, and random audio samples here and there. It's pretty crazy.

Here's a very very very very catchy one, "Teen Age Ziggy" which sounds ridiculous but shut up :(

World's End Girlfriend – Teen Age Ziggy by erasedtapes

Nobody has it on Youtube which is either because it's so super duper obscure or because it keeps getting removed (like it did when I tried to upload it. So probably that.)

It's mostly that kind of sound, but it does have some creepy ambient stuff like in The Offering Inferno.


creeeeeepin
But man man man I love it so much >: First listen was at midnight in the dark with headphones. Lying down. Staring at the ceiling. I didn't even know it was going to be like this. Such fun.

Also that there, in that video, that's the album cover. The interesting one. The other one is dull I wont post it.

Also I described it as jazzy before because I'm pretty sure I remember someone saying it was jazzy, and fuck I've not been paying attention enough to know? But eh, this album is just incredibly fun like I never imagined. It's crazy weird shit and I love it. Listen to it. BECOME THE SEVENTH IDIOT.

-Teto

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Killbody Tuning



























http://www.myspace.com/killbodytuning

Long time no see guys! How you been? No, no, shut up, enough small talk, because you have to listen to this band. The RBN has done it again.

The thing is, I buy a LOT of songs on RB. To be completely honest, often times, especially with the RBN songs, I'll buy them, play them, enjoy them, and then kind of forget about them for a while. This is definitely not one of those cases. This band completely amazed me with the two songs available right now (Marker of Change and Bamburg, the first two videos above respectively) as well as the one that's on it's currently in the pipeline (Seestrasse, the last video above). I'm normally more of a metal guy, hence why a lot of my posts are of lesser known metal bands, but lately I've really been getting into more indie-post-rocky type stuff as well. If you're into that kind of stuff (and if you're on this site, then there's a good chance you are), then definitely don't let the fact that this band is on Rock Band throw you off.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Digging

I've recently taken up a little challenge for myself, and by recently I mean I've been doing it since the 30th of April. The challenge is to listen to every album I have on my computer.

See, I have a lot of music, like most music nerds, but the thing is I've only listened to about half of it. And about half of the stuff I did listen to, I never paid a whole lot of attention to, and then I never listened to it again.

So I've taken on this little challenge to try and make myself listen to all of this music. I even made a special Last.fm page just for it! So as of right now, here while I'm making this post, I'm listening to This Is Happening by LCD Soundsystem, another one of the albums I'd listened to but never paid attention to. I am silly, this is good. But I have nothing to say about it really, nothing worth noting. It's good, okay? I like it.

But yeah, this would be a boring blog post. And it is a boring blog post. So here I am, I am going to share with you, and you are going to be all "I am glad you shared with us, because we enjoy this, okay?" That's the reaction I'm going for anyway! So so so, music music music. What have I come across that you might think is ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC???

Well well well! I did happen to be listening to A Cross The Universe by Justice a while ago. Cross itself is a great album. But have you ever heard A Cross The Universe? The live album I mean. Oh my god, holy shit.



Are you feeling that? Isn't that just the best build up ever? And the release, holy wow. That's just immense, my goodness gracious. I am so flustered by it.

But hey here, here's another one, another one! Recent time has just been bursting with the good tunes, right?



See that bit around 0:30? BWOW BWOBWOW BWOW BWOBWOW BWOWBWOWBWOW
I love that bit.
Also, gotta love the Varg references (kind of?) in there for the first verse.

I spent the winter on the verge of a total breakdown
While living in Norway
I felt the darkness of the black metal bands
But being such fawn of a man
I didn't burn down any old churches
Just slept way too much, just slept

Man, I had of Montreal for so long, and I didn't ever listen to this album. What is wrong with me. I am awful.

But hohoho yesss I have more shitty shit! I can't quite remember how I got myself tangled in all this Japanese classical/electronic music (maybe it was when I got linked to Motoro Faam by someone) but I've kind of got myself all tangled up anyway. And it's great. I can't lie.



All very nice Japanesey stuff going on for a while, and then it's all breakcore kind of electronic rubbish being thrown around. But that's not the best one. I really think I should've been linking you this one instead, right?



Don't feel like listening to the whole 13 minutes right now? That's fine. I am okay with that. You are totally forgiven, you lazy waste of space. If you're just wanting to get to the point and get the best bit, listen from 10:00 onwards, or thereabouts. First listening to that in my mp3 as I was going to sleep. Oh gosh, my mind was just gone. Blown, even. Holy hell. That is just the most fun ever. Got anymore like that? Get yer comments going, mannn

More Japanese classical electronic bullshit, you ask? Oh yes yes yes, Kashiwa Daisuke!



Not a fan of 36 minute songs? Well man tough luck, it's all or nothing. Or I guess whatever part you listen to. It's all great, though. Favourite bit is probably 2:45 to about 3:40. Before that, it's all seemingly random glitchiness all over the place, but then that kind of mixes it up in just the best way, without sounding like it's just being played that way, it's all chopped up and arranged like that (at first anyway [seemingly]). And it's just bliss.

But that's all. Well actually that isn't all, I have some other stuff I'm wanting to post up, but that's about a whole album, so I'll get back to you on that later, or maybe tomorrow. Maybe never.

-Teto

Sunday, April 17, 2011

herp de derp

I'm gonna start kicking myself into doing more reviews
I'll try to get other folks to write more stuff too
Upcoming stuff will probably include a review of Helplessness Blues, an overview of twinkle daddies stuff, probably an Arcade Fire concert review, and hopefully my essay on Soundtracks For The Blind

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Radiohead - The King Of Limbs

Like the rest of the world, I’ve been eagerly waiting for a new Radiohead album for a while now. So when they announced The King Of Limbs was coming out on Saturday – and then released it on Friday – needless to say, I was ecstatic. After a few listens, I can easily say that this is a good Radiohead album (which of course equivocates to a phenomenal album compared to everything else). TKOL has two sides with rather different styles – the first side being mainly beat and groove focused, and the second side being more acoustic and emotional. The opening track Bloom, probably my favorite track on the album, fucking soars with its off-kilter drum beats, plunky piano, and Thom Yorke’s incredibly heartfelt vocals. What I love so much about this song – and really this whole album – is how it builds, more so than any other Radiohead release. I can certainly see a kraut/post rock influence in these tunes. By Lotus Flower, the album has shifted its focus back to melodies and choruses, and by Codex they’ve gone full acoustic/piano rock. And really, it works very well On the track Give Up The Ghost, Yorkes looping vocals are greeted by a seemingly generic four chord structure. But as the song progresses and builds, it remains an acoustic song, but it’s an acoustic song by Radiohead – those four chords disappear behind walls of sound quite nicely. Really, the only gripe I have for this album is, of course, the length (and there is that rumor of two or three more short albums being released in the near future... they do have two 10” discs to fill up with music after all) But even if there’s no more Radiohead for this year, I’m very pleased with this, and it’s definitely going on my end of the year list

9/10

I mean, it’s good, but its no Kid A

Friday, February 18, 2011

The Go! Team - Rolling Blackouts


Welp, the criticism has it that this is just more of the same, and predictable and blah blah blah (I'm a critic I get paid to predictably dislike things for predictability reasons). But I'm a "if it's this good, then who the fuck cares" kinda guy when it comes to music.

The Go! Team are just incredibly difficult to dislike. It's just too gosh darn happy.
I'm just way too common a person to be a good critic. It's just fun, so enjoy it. I can't explain what I like or dislike about each track and I don't know enough about music to be able to make any fitting comparisons to genres or bands or eras. But who cares who it sounds like and what sort of time it sounds from. I don't.

But so what, you can still listen to it. So do that now and see if you dig these NASTY TUNES.


Sunday, February 13, 2011

ARCADE FIRE WON ALBUM OF THE YEAR

FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES

Seriously though, this gives me hope for the world of popular music