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.

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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.

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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.

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Maserati, Pyramid Of The Sun

US, 2010.

"Knowing what Maserati have been through during Pyramid of the Sun's creation makes it hard to consider the album on its musical merits alone. A year ago, they lost drummer Gerard Fuchs in an elevator-shaft accident. They were already working on Pyramid, and that gives the resulting LP a double shot of gravitas as one of Fuchs's final recordings and also a tribute to him."


Playlist:

1. Who Can Find the Beast?
2. Pyramid of the Sun
3. We Got the System to Fight the System
4. They'll No More Suffer From Hunger
5. Ruins
6. They'll No More Suffer From Thirst
7. Oaxaca
8. Bye M’Friend, Goodbye

Link.

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RQTN, Decades And Decisions

France, 2010.

RQTN is the solo musical project of the young french producer Mathieu Artu. His music is a subtle mix between classical music and modern influences such as new-wave, post-rock and pop music.

Playlist:

1. 1928 - A Birth Among Others
2. 1942 - A Struggle In The Haze
3. 1955 - A Shelter For Lovers
4. 1970 - A Gaze Towards The Lighthouse
5. 1982 - A Dawn To Remember
6. 1986 - A Son To Concede All
7. 1997 - A Block In Town
8. 2003 - A Motionless Frozen State (ft. Antoine Ollivier)
9. 2010 - A New Decade

Link.

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Amiina, Puzzle

Iceland, 2010.

"The songs on Puzzle are more rhythmically rugged than Amiina's previous work and feature heavier use of electronics. Amiina's long-standing fondness for zero-g melodies and open-minded instrumentation, however, continues."

Playlist:

1. Ásinn
2. Over And Again
3. What Are We Waiting For?
4. Púsl
5. In The Sun
6. Mambó
7. Sicsak
8. Thoka

Link.

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Maybeshewill, To The Skies From A Hillside

England, 2010.

Maybeshewill are an instrumental band from Leicester, UK. Maybeshewill’s music is characterised by the use of electronic elements alongside more traditional ‘rock’ instrumentation. The band’s music is also littered with references to film and popular culture. This is their latest EP.

Playlist:

1. To the Skies From a Hillside
2. Спутник-2
3. To The Skies From A Hillside (The Party Mushroom Remix)

Link.

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...And The Earth Swarmed With Them, The Fading Voice Of The Old Era Speaks To Us, But Where Are The Ears Left To Hear It?

England, 2010.

…And The Earth Swarmed With Them is the project of Mitchell Johns & Kat Stanbridge.

They were recently joined in the studio by Ted Parsons (Jesu, Godflesh & Ex-Swans member) for their latest EP “The Fading Voice Of The Old Era Speaks To Us, But Where Are The Ears Left To Hear It?”.

Playlist:

1. Everyone Will Fade
2. As We Drove...
3. Always Looking Backwards (For Those Without Eyes)
4. The Slow Decay Had Already Begun

Link.

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Sey Hollo, Self-titled

Sweden, 2010.

Sey Hollo is the solo-project of Sebastian Larsson from Sweden and the debut album was released in the late summer of 2010. Sey Hollo plays instrumental post-rock based on rusty guitars and tramp organs. Friends of Sey Hollo describe it as "poor man's post-rock" with a heavy, yet beautiful, sound. Sey Hollo's music is inspired by everything from punk to post-rock to politics.

Playlist:

1. Dependistas
2. Eighty Five Percent
3. Thank You Very Much
4. The Sleepy Taxpayer
5. Neo-Future (Let Them Wait)
6. A Toxic Toast To Broken Promises
7. B My Friend 4 Ever

Link.

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Amiina, Seoul

Iceland, 2006.

Amiina always have a way of blowing my mind.

Playlist:

1. Seoul
2. Ugla
3. Ammaelis

Link.

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Ólafur Arnalds, Dyad 1909

Iceland, 2009.

This is an OST of some kind, but I don't really know what. In any case, this is amazing - and Brotsjor is one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard.

Playlist:

1. …og lengra
2. 3326
3. Brotsjor
4. Fra upphafi
5. Lokaou augunum (Dyad 1909 version)
6. Til enda
7. Vio vorum sma… (Dyad 1909 version)


Link.

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James Blackshaw, All Is Falling

UK, 2010

James Blackshaw is one of my favourite musicians of his generation. With just 29 years old, he´s already created some truly breathtaking albums, "The Cloud Of Unknowing" (2007) and "The Glass Bead Game" (2009). "All Is Falling" is his most recent work, continuing and expanding his work on the 12-string guitar (this is his first work using an electric guitar, 12-string of course) and also expanding his pallette regarding the use of a variety of classical instrumentation (violins, piano, horns, etc.) giving his work a more neo-classical feel than usual. Amazing stuff as always.


Playlist:

1. Part 1
2. Part 2
3. Part 3
4. Part 4
5. Part 5
6. Part 6
7. Part 7
8. Part 8

Link.

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Misuse, Self-titled

Greece, 2008.

Before you completely dismiss this album as yet another generic post-rock band, you should know that this is actually quite impressive stuff.

Playlist:

1. Desecid
2. Made: Genesis
3. Made: Flat Line Evolution
4. Made: Loss in Action
5. Progyria
6. Amanzi
7. While it Lasts
8. Way to the Seashore

Link.

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Álfheimr, These Songs We Sing Will Fade to Silence

US, 2009.

Álfheimr is the one-person post-rock project formed in Portland, Oregon in 2008 by Madison Asche. Álfheimr’s first release was “These Songs We Sing Will Fade to Silence".

Playlist:

1. Wasted Time, Part One- The Moon Says ‘I Love You’
2. Each Day We Pass is Borrowed Time
3. It Shouldn’t Have Mattered
4. The Remnants of Our Shattered Lives Collide Like Glass on Glass
5. Hypnos & Thanatos (Breathing In, Breathing Out)
6. The Slow Approach to Midnight
7. Asleep and Falling There; Dead and Dying
8. Wasted Time, Part Two- You Will Look Back On Every Second You Have Wasted. You Will Never Be Prepared to Face This

Link.

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Hammock, Chasing After Shadows... Living With The Ghosts

US, 2010.

Hammock is the ambient/post-rock project of composers Marc Byrd and Andrew Thompson. Their latest work, Chasing After Shadows…Living with the Ghosts was released in May 2010. A majority of Hammock’s music is ambient instrumental, save for a few tracks that feature haunting ethereal vocals. Hammock is all about the guitars—the band’s sound is “sleepier” than the brash, often obvious crescendos of their post-rocker cousins, reminiscent of 80’s Brian Eno.

Playlist:

1. The Backward Step
2. Tristia
3. Little Fly/Mouchette
4. Breathturn
5. In the Nothing of a Night
6. Andalusia
7. The Whole Catastrophe
8. The World We Knew As Children
9. Dust Is the Devil's Snow
10. How Can I Make You Remember Me?
11. You Lost the Starlight in Your Eyes
12. Something Other Than Remaining

Link.

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Kaada, Junkyard Nostalgias

Norway, 2009.

John Erik Kaada (born July 28, 1975) is a musical artist and composer from Stavanger, Norway. Junkyard Nostalgias is his latest work.

Playlist:

1. A day and a night and a day
2. Truth serum
3. Ode to the old flesh
4. Hammering down the nails
5. dragging an ox
6. Marja Dalia, The Polska Bogini
7. Broken Horse Restaurant
8. Late bloomer Gipsiara
9. The Hermetic Bird
10. All the things that grow old and pass away
11. We salute you, polish working man

Link.

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Portland Cello Project, The Thao & Justin Power Sessions

US, 2009.

The Portland Cello Project is an “indie cello orchestra”, that is to say the combination of a group of classically trained cellists with different musicians and vocalists of the Portland indie scene. This album is the collaboration of the band with Thao (from Thao with The Get Down Stay Down) and Justin Power.

Playlist:

1. The Lamb
2. Beat (Health, Life And Fire) (Featuring Thao)
3. Cut The Rope (Featuring Justin Power)
4. Mouth For War
5. Tallymarks (Featuring Thao)
6. Por Una Cabeza
7. Violet (Featuring Thao)
8. Hungry Liars (Featuring Justin Power)
9. Geography (Featuring Thao)
10. Seeds May Fall (Featuring Justin Power)
11. Turkish Wine
12. Travel (Featuring Justin Power)

Link.

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Bark Cat Bark, Á Lífi

France, 2009.

Bark Cat Bark is the music project of multi-instrumentalist Josh Todd from Paris, France. His music is recognized by its use of a large variety of instruments usually in minimalist compositions, often with a touch of either European classical music or French folk music but has also included in his music; Post-rock, Balkan, Drone, Tropicália, Electronica & Latin Jazz.

Playlist:

1. Verona
2. Lac Pavin
3. Galatia
4. Iceland
5. Hóp
6. Père Lachaise
7. Intervalle
8. Á Lífi
9. Palermo a Larino

Link.

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Bo Becker, Of Vistula

US, 2010.

I don't know much about Bo Becker, but fans of Eluvium and Jacaszek will surely enjoy this album.

Playlist:


1. Morning
2. Pylon
3. Dream of the Red Chamber
4. Ikon
5. Of Vistula
6. In Human Endeavors
7. Fourth of July
8. The Power of Atom

Link.

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