Cynic, Carbon-Based Anatomy

U.S.A., 2011

Following up on the last post (that was a prog-metal one), we have the recently released EP from Cynic.
Highlights on this one: they dropped the growly vocals, focusing on Masvidal's trembly but melodious and emotional vocals with a more reduced but pleasing pitch-shift here and there. Amazing work from the three founding members, counting on Reinert's beautiful musicality on drums, delicious timbre from Malone on the bass, and Masvidal's great guitar work, sipping on jazz and whatnot.
Apart from the minor fact that a couple of the songs are re-hashes from previous sideproject Æon Spoke, this is a delightful release.


Playlist:
1. Amidst The Coals
2. Carbon-Based Anatomy
3. Bija!
4. Box Up My Bones
5. Elves Beam Out
6. Hieroglyph

Link.

more...

Arch/Matheos, Sympathetic Resonance

U.S.A. 2011

IMO, an excellent release from Fates Warning founders, guitarist Jim Matheos and vocalist John Arch. Matheos' unmatched ability to balance excellent riffs with an unexuberant technicity along with Arch's great musical positioning and vocals harmonies, make this album reek of early FW releases – though with a better sonic production – and a very unsurprisingly cohesive one at that.
Expect nothing less than great tracks out of this record – fair share of repetitiveness included –, having in mind the personnel included: Matheos, Arch, Joey Vera and Bobby Jarzombek.


Playlist:
1. Neurotically Wired
2. Midnight Serenade
3. Stained Glass Sky
4. On The Fence
5. Any Given Day (Strangers Like Me)
6. Incense And Myrrh

Link.

more...

Kimbra, Vows

Australia, 2011

Amazing artist, amazing voice. Unwilling to span to the kind of clichés spreading throughout the internet about this album, I'll just say it's a very good musical effort, from a very promising young artist who's obviously not afraid to stretch out beyond boundaries. Pop music certainly, but much much more. I'd also advise to check out her music videos.
Ready to let you get under my skin.


Playlist:

1. Settle Down
2. Cameo Lover
3. Two Way Street
4. Old Flame
5. Good Intent
6. Plain Gold Ring
7. Call Me
8. Limbo
9. Wandering Limbs
10. Withdraw
11. The Build Up

Link.

more...

(end of) hiatus

First post in a long while. A reason for this is that, personally, I've been dealing with several issues that demand time – such as dissertation research and teaching –, as I imagine my fellow bloggers from SC have too. I hope I can liven up this blog as much as I can, as the opportunities to do so arrive.
Also, I won't be able to guarantee posts from my colleagues, so I apologize if my posts and tastes don't correspond exactly to the standard you've been accustomed to, from this same blog. However, the variety of genres will be maintained, as much as possible.

I also hope that the few followers which still have us in their radar understand this shift in focus.
In my following posts I'll try and be succinct – even though the frequency of posting may be sometimes scarce –, synthetic about the information or links and, as much as can be, more personal.

For now, I thank you if you're reading this and still care.
Warmth

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Digitalism, I Love You Dude

Germany, 2011

I'd unconsciously waited for this for a bit so I wasn't expecting when it came out.
Thumping and driving, this sophomore album: I was very surprised with the maturing of this electro "dance punk" duo — in terms of both sound and musicality — as I hadn't really loved Idealism except for "Anything New".
I Love You Dude is a great album, cohesive and fun to listen to. Sometimes a rare combination as it obviously tells a musical story, akin to Daft Punk's Discovery. Their concept of social critique and imagery in their music evokes gets you to feel both bright and dark moods (sometimes in the same song) and, come on...
...what basslines.


Playlist:

1. Stratosphere
2. 2 Hearts
3. Circles
4. Blitz
5. Forrest Gump
6. Reeperbahn
7. Antibiotics
8. Just Gazin'
9. Miami Showdown

Link.

more...

Cream, Disraeli Gears

U.S.A., 1967

Disraeli Gears (funny thing about the name of the album, if you don't know already, wikipedia is your friend) is a breakthrough album for a vast majority of musical elements that later came to define what rock would be from then on. One of the first albums the wah wah pedal was used on – about that, check the Cry Baby documentary also –, specifically in "Tales of Brave Ulysses", and which includes the rock classic "Sunshine Of Your Love".
A very good psychedelic listening experience, a cohesive (as much as possible) opus that has earned its place as one of the great albums in rock history.


Playlist:

1. Strange Brew
2. Sunshine of Your Love
3. World of Pain
4. Dance the Night Away
5. Blue Condition
6. Tales of Brave Ulysses
7. SWLABR
8. We're Going Wrong
9. Outside Woman Blues
10. Take It Back
11. Mother's Lament

Link.

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Riverside, Memories In My Head EP

Poland, 2011

Drifting away from their latest release, Riverside seems to target the fans who missed their earliest materials. This EP expresses their spacious nostalgic flavor along with a spiritual feel from the front-man Mariusz’s side project "Lunatic Soul".


Playlist:

1. Goodbye Sweet Innocence
2. Living In The Past
3. Forgotten Land

Link.

more...

Miracle, Fluid Window

US, 2011.

Steve Moore (Zombi, Earth, Titan, Gianni Rossi, Lovelock) + Daniel O'Sullivan (Sunn O))), Guapo, Æthenor, Ulver, Mothlite, Miasma & the Carousel of Headless Horses) = Miracle.

Playlist:

1. The Visitor
2. Sunshine Hall
3. Wild Nights
4. Sunstar
5. Breathe

Link.

more...

Umberto, Prophecy of the Black Widow

US, 2010.

If Zombi and Justice had a child and the child played videogames. Just awesome.

Playlist:

1. Temple Room
2. The Psychic
3. Red Dawn
4. Widow Of The Web
5. Black Candles
6. Night Stalking
7. Someone Chasing Someone Through A House
8. Everything Is Going To Be Okay

Link.

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Vessels, Helioscope

England, 2011.

Vessels is a post-rock band from Leeds, formed in September 2005.

Playlist:

1. Monoform
2. The Trap
3. Recur
4. Later Than You Think
5. Meatman, Piano Tuner, Prostitute
6. Art/Choke
7. Heal
8. All Our Ends
9. Spun Infinite

Link.

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Mamiffer, Mare Decendrii

US, 2011.

Simply awesome.

Mamiffer is Faith Coloccia, a Seattle-based pianist, and Aaron Turner from Isis, Jodis, Lotus Eaters, as well as a collective of other song-weavers and visionaries.

Playlist:

1. As Freedom Rings
2. We Speak in the Dark
3. Blanket Made of Ash
4. Eating Our Bodies
5. Iron Water

Link.
Buy it.

more...

DeVotchKa, 100 Lovers

US, 2011.

DeVotchKa is a four-piece multi-instrumental and vocal ensemble that fuses Romani, Greek, Slavic, Bolero, Mariachi music with American punk and folk roots. This is their latest release. Playlist:

1. The Alley
2. All the Sand in all the Sea
3. One Hundred other Lovers
4. The Common Good
5. Interlude 1
6. The Man From San Sebastian
7. Exhaustible
8. Interlude 2
9. Bad Luck Heels
10. Ruthless
11. Contrabanda
12. Sunshine

Link.

more...

FEN, Epoch

England, 2011.

FEN are a recently created project from Eastern England that blends black metal, post-rock and shoegaze. Their debut, "The Malediction Fields", was an amazing and absolutely overwhelming album for me. Of course expectations were high enough for "Epoch"... Overall, it's a good atmospheric album, definitely worth a listen, even though not as memorable as its predecessor.


Playlist:

1. Epoch
2. Ghosts of the Flood
3. Of Wilderness and Ruin
4. The Gibbet Elms
5. Carrier of Echoes
6. Half-Light Eternal
7. A Warning Solace
8. Ashbringer

Link.

more...

Gallowbraid, Ashen Eidolon

US, 2010.

Another steal from soundweave, but this stuff is so damn good. This EP is like a mix of Agalloch and Wolves In The Throne Room... or something along those lines. See? This is why I don't write the descriptions myself.

Playlist:

1. Ashen Eidolon
2. Autumn I
3. Oaken And Aspen
4. Autumn II

Link.

more...

Grails, Deep Politics

US, 2011.

According to a press release, "The eight-song set was conceived during the band's longest-ever gestation period between albums, a fact immediately reflected in the increased compositional depth, intensified use of fetishistic cut-and-paste production techniques (akin to those employed by RZA and MF Doom), and the striking inclusion of lush string arrangements (courtesy of acclaimed composer Timba Harris)."

The resulting sound is described as containing "the indelible stamp of '70s Italian film scores and obscure occult/fringe library music, cultivating an immersive environment that inspires both an eternal sense of longing and an impending sense of dread."

Playlist:

1. Future Primitive
2. All The Colors Of The Dark
3. Corridors Of Power
4. Deep Politics
5. Daughters Of Bilitis
6. Almost Grew My Hair
7. I Led Three Lives
8. Deep Snow



Link.

more...

Long Distance Calling, Self-titled

Germany, 2011.

“We are just a tiny part of the ever growing universe. It's the important third album, so we decided to call the album Long Distance Calling as a statement.”

Playlist:

1. Into The Black Wide Open
2. The Figrin D'an Boogie
3. Invisible Giants
4. Timebends
5. Arecibo (Long Distance Calling)
6. Middleville
7. Beyond The Void

Link.

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Vanessa Van Basten, Closer To The Small/Dark/Door

Italy, 2010.

"Vanessa Van Basten is a duo from Genoa, Italy with many guests and contributors from the alternative and extreme Italian underground. They make slow, heavy, metaphysic instrumental music. Formed in 2004. Their influences are the cosmic psychedelia, industrial rock like Swans or Godflesh, Neurot & Hydrahead catalog.

The music can still be described as heavy post-rock, but Vanessa Van Basten is nowadays a lot more than just that. A strongly emotional sonic magma absorbs and metabolizes different sonic influences, from the introspective metalcore of Jesu and Neurosis to the experimental metal drones of Sunn O))), from Lycia and Slowdive melancholy-driven soundscapes to the psychedelic and spacey atmospheres of Klaus Schulze to the cinematic melodies of Morricone and Badalamenti. And there you have Vanessa Van Basten."

I can't really be bothered to describe the album or the band in my own words, but this is awesome.

Playlist:

1. Porzellangasse
2. Putana
3. L'Uomo Che Comprava Il Tempo
4. Fuck The Best, Take The Rest
5. Domio '95
6. La Selva Dell'Orba
7. Scolopendra
8. Untitled
9. L'Affetto Non Serve

Link.

more...

Seabear, The Ghost That Carried Us Away

Iceland, 2007.

Seabear is an experimental/folk band from Reykjavík, Iceland. Their music is subdued and mellow folk pop, with hints of piano, violin, acoustic guitar and atmospheric vocals, all carefully squeezed through a lo-fi filter.

Playlist:

1. Good Morning Scarecrow
2. Cat Piano
3. Libraries
4. Hospital Bed
5. Hands Remember
6. I Sing I Swim
7. Owl Waltz
8. Arms
9. Sailors Blue
10. Lost Watch
11. Summer Bird Diamond
12. Seashell

Link.

more...

Earth, Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I

US, 2011.

"Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I is the sixth full-length studio album by the band Earth, released on Southern Lord Records. Cello is introduced as a new instrument, along with the usual ones being used since the album Hex. Dylan Carlson describes the album as more melodic and riff oriented. The second part of the album (described as being more spontaneous than this one) will also be release in 2011."

On a side note, I love this cover.

Playlist:

1. Old Black
2. Father Midnight
3. Descent to the Zenith
4. Hell's Winter
5. Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I

Link.

more...

L'Altra, Telepathic

US, 2010.

L’Altra is the stormy collaboration of singer-guitarist Joseph Desler Costa and singer-keyboardist Lindsay Anderson.

Coming out of their respective corners, the duo have composed and recorded their fourth studio album, Telepathic. The songs, initially crafted apart by the two artists in separate locations, come together as a swirling and beautifully unified whole.

Playlist:

1. Dark Corners I
2. Nothing Can Tear It Apart
3. Big Air Kiss
4. Boys
5. When the Ships Sinks
6. Black Wind
7. Either Was the Other's Mine
8. Winter Loves Summer Sun
9. This Bruise
10. Telepathic
11. Dark Corners II

Link.

more...

notify this.

Just thought of saying: Got kind of sick of DMCA notifications.

I'm not going to repost Steve Reich's Double Sextet / 2x5 — or my top 5 of 2010, for that matter — in respect for the health of this blog.
Maybe someday someone(s) will realize the futility of this and stop the persecution. It's not going to be so soon, though.

This is not protecting the artists, or anyone other than capitalism.
Thank you.

more...

Olivia Pedroli, The Den

Switzerland, 2010.

"This third album, at the crossroads between classical, folk and experimental music, was released on September 27th, 2010 under the musician’s real name, Olivia Pedroli. It shows the evolution of her compositions and voice towards more personal and enchanting horizons."

Classically trained Olivia Pedroli was born in Switzerland. "The Den", which was produced by Valgeir Sigurðsson, combines Olivia's enchanting voice with the most beautiful experimental folk compositions.

Playlist:

1. Bow
2. The Day
3. A Path
4. To Be You
5. Raise Erase
6. You Caught Me
7. I Play
8. Stay
9. House
10. Silent Emily

Link.

more...

Jesu, Christmas EP

Wales, 2010.

"Jesu's sound is heavily layered and textured, drawing from and incorporating an eclectic mix of influences, ranging from ambient music, post-metal and drone doom, to shoegazing, downtempo and industrial music. Broadrick himself has made it known that he does not consider Jesu to fall into any of these categories and that he has been intentionally writing what he considers to be coherent and structured pop songs."

Playlist:

1. Christmas
2. Christmas (Pale Sketcher Remix)
3. Christmas (FINAL Remix)

Link.

more...

Apparat Organ Quartet, Pólýfónía

Iceland, 2010.

"Apparat Organ Quartet is a 5 piece band: 4 organists and 1 drummer. Their music is sometimes described as “Machine Rock and Roll" but the standard definition of their sound is “Organ Quartet Music", a completely new genre."

The truth is, words cannot describe how awesome this music is. A crossover between nintendocore and Kraftwerk on acids. I strongly recommend this album.

Playlist:

1. Babbage
2. Cargo Frakt
3. Konami
4. Pólýnesía
5. Pentatróník
6. Macht Parat den Apparat
7. Síríus Alfa
8. 123 Forever
9. Söngur Geimunglingsins

Link.

more...

Clint Mansell, Black Swan Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

England, 2010.

Mansell was introduced to film scoring when director Darren Aronofsky hired him to score his debut film, π. And scoring Aronofsky's movies is all he's been pretty much doing ever since.

"Black Swan" revolves around a Swan Lake production by a ballet company. As a result, the soundtrack is heavily influenced by Tchaikovsky's ballet, sometimes even including variations of the original music. This is really amazing stuff.

Playlist:

1. Nina's Dream
2. Mother Me
3. The New Season
4. A Room of Her Own
5. A New Swan Queen
6. Lose Yourself
7. Cruel Mistress
8. Power, Seduction, Cries
9. The Double
10. Opposites Attract
11. Night of Terror
12. Stumbled Beginnings...
13. It's My Time
14. A Swan Is Born
15. Perfection
16. A Swan Song (for Nina)

Link.

more...

kaneda's top 10 of 2010

Unlike my fellow bloggers, and while i agree that 2010 wasn´t the beat all end all year for music, still there were some pretty amazing album releases. Here´s my top-10 for 2010:

10. Brandt Brauer Frick, You Make Me Real

Released: December, Germany

Ambient techno with a huge organic feel to it and a high emphasis on piano, jagged percussion , weird rhythmic structures and improvisation.

9. Gonjasufi, A Sufi And A Killer

Released: March, US

Coming straight from the all-mighty "Warp Records" and produced by the magic fingers of "The Gaslamp Killer", Gonjasufi´s first album took the music world by storm with his enormous mix of styles and flavours all wrapped up on a "Flying Lotus" kind of musical envelope while being able to sound entirely unique. Truly wonderfull music.

8. Panopticon, On The Subject Of Mortality

Released: November, US

The brightest of all the "usbm" records that came out in 2010 (and there were some stellar ones), the solo moniker of Austin Lundr continues to prove that when it comes to convey absolutely beautiful melodies (the "bluegrass" moments in here, nham!) with the feeling of absolute despair, he is one of the best. Although the lo-fi production may turn some heads, do not stray away from this record. To give a redundant representation of Panopticon´s sound, think Wolves In The Throne Room by the way of Katatonia and Alcest.

7. The NULLL Collective, De Monstris

Released: June, Belgium/US

Dark opressive spacey atmosphere, drum tempos that flow between a snail like pace to a cybergrind drum-machine, vocals that came from the darkest pits of hell buried between a wall of sound. The NULLL Collective debut album "De Montris" throws the "Doom" genre to another new level of perception. This album´s truly a sensorial experience, better listened at night gazing into the blackness of the space.

6. Bardo Pond, Bardo Pond

Released: December, US

I love Bardo Pond, and i love their new album. It´s nice to see them kinda putting all their monstrous reverb and psychadelic vein a little bit aside thus making all their sound more "clear". Still, "Cracker Wrist" is a model when it comes to true "sludge" and standouts like"The Stars Behind" and "Sleeping" figure between the most beautiful tracks that i heard from 2010.

5. Pan Galactic Straw Boss, Reverberator

Release: November, US

A very young three piece from Norfolk "PGSB" play a blend of post-rock and noise and they play it with such maturity, cohesiveness and passion that seem that they´ve been doing this for years. I may seem overly enthusiastic about these guys, but they are truly amazing and, if they continue to sound like this, the time for them to be one of the driving forces of american post-rock is not too far ahead.

4. Deathspell Omega, Paracletus

Release: November, France

The much awaited final chapter of the "metaphysical" trilogy focusing on the relatioship of Man with God and The Devil is chaotic, angular, dark and ugly as it always is with them, but on "Paracletus" DsO pushed, just a little bit, back on the impenetrable chaos of drums and never-ending riffage, giving some time for the listener to breathe. The result is a brilliant album, one more from this prophets of hell.

3. Chelsea Wolfe, Apokalypsis

Release: December, US

OH MY GOD, this record! "Apokalypsis" is one of two albums released in 2010 by Chelsea Wolfe (the other being "The Grime And The Glow") and while i enjoy the former, i end up liking "Apokalypsis" a little bit more because of it´s amazing production, i mean this thing growls with menace, relishes on the thickness of the low end and it all sounds so crisp, that when i realize that this album comes from someone who released her two first albums this year, my mind boggles.

Musically she plays dark-folk, think Marissa Nadler with the ferocity of Rose Kemp permeated with a menacing black-metal atmosphere.

As a side note, her cover of Burzum´s "Black Spell Of Destruction" is nothing short of amazing!

2. Brian Mcbride, The Effective Disconnect

Release: October, US

Being one of the halfs of ambient/drone heavywights "Stars Of The Lid" Brian Mcbride crafted a beautiful, delicate, soul-reaching album that is sure to put anyone on a daydreaming state. Was there anything else to expect apart from absolute magnificence? I think not.

1. A Forest Of Stars, Opportunistic Thieves of Sping

Release: June, UK

I already posted this album in here and at the time i stated that it was my favourite album of 2010. My feelings still haven´t changed regarding this album, it is an absolute masterpiece and everyone should listen to this. It´s as simple as that.

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