It’s the end of June. I suppose that means the year is half-over? I hope 2007 has been treating everyone kindly. We sure have a lot to be grateful for growing up in an era such as this. Access to information…loose women…a million technological gadgets I’ll never understand…it’s a veritable Mesopotamia, I tell you!
We’re also living in a fascinating era for music. Despite headlines reporting on the industry’s downfall, and bloggers endlessly searching for the “next big thing,” there is still unique and engaging music being created in the margins. I think that’s the general theme of this week’s top ten, which is devoted to what I believe have been the best albums released so far this year. Of course, this list could definitely change by the end of the year, as new releases by Zelienople, Hans Appelqvist, Like A Kind of Matador, Mono, Qui, Paavoharju, Good Stuff House, and Paradigms / Mystery Sea releases could threaten the top ten. Plus, there’s always the chance that I’ll stumble across a band when I least expect it and be blown away. That’s how most of this list came together… Listen, enjoy, and support the artists.
10) Islaja – Ulal yyy (Fonal Records) – An Unspeakably lush recording. The listener is transported to a place between a deep, wintry sleep and an herb-induced blissfully blurry state. I don’t speak the language, but according to the press release, “The songs tell us about the decay of our age, its demise and immorality. Its plunge into heartless consume culture.” Although I can’t get past Bjork’s insufferable pretentiousness enough to enjoy her music, I imagine her fans would greatly appreciate the body of work Islaja has laid out over the past two years. Listen to: “Sydänten ahmija”
09) Expo ’70 Animism (Kill Shaman) – Fittingly enough, the first full-length album from Justin Wright might be his best offering yet. Animism expands upon the wholly unique sounds developed on various cd-r releases, melding krauty space rock tendencies with glacial doom drones. The result is a heavy sonic trip that is perfect for both late night comedowns AND zoning out at the park on a sunny afternoon. Recommended if you enjoy Sunn O))), Ghosting, or Ash Ra Tempel. Listen to: “Outside In”
08) James Blackshaw – The Cloud Of Unknowing (Tompkins Square) – I was listening to John Fahey’s Fare Forward Voyagers last night, and then I listened to this album (sometimes I actually research things before I write about them), and I had a long and heated debate with myself about who I enjoyed listening to more. Then I broke down crying and asked God why I’m such a terrible guitarist. In any event, these five tracks are stunning both individually and as a whole (the harmonics heavy, minimalist third track! the deep fullness of the last track! the last five minutes! what the fuck!?). The title track features deftly plucked twelve-string melodies, rich in tone and juxtaposed to an omnipresent swelling drone. If you enjoy succumbing to paralyzing trances, this is one for you.
07) The Angelic Process – Weighing Souls With Sand (Profound Lore Records)- This is the heaviest record I’ve heard this year. More so than Jesu, or Sunn O))), or anything else you might think of as heavy. All VU’s are in the red on this one. Don’t let that turn you off, there’s still that eerie, beautiful voice floating atop the muck and mire that will guide you through the songs and clue you in on the actual melodies that are audible below the fuzz and decay. Codeine-slow, metallic dream rock.
06) Grouper – Cover The Windows And Walls (Root Strata) – At the Bottling Smoke festival Jefre Cantu recommended I pick up a copy of this LP because it would soon be out of print. It did not take long to realize why. The fine folks at Aquarius describe it as, “Dense bleary eyed fields of druggy reverb, thick swirls of blurred vocals, smeared into indistinct melodies, all abstract and shimmery, soft focus and billowy, the musical version of those soft fuzzy grey clouds that fill the sky at twilight.” You’d better get yourself a copy before it’s too late. Listen to: “Heart Current”
05) Starving Weirdos – Shrine Of The Post-Hypnotic (Root Strata) – It’s been a great year for Root Strata! I think some of the joy derived from listening to this album comes from remembering the band’s otherworldly live show. It does not diminish the quality of the record, it actually expands upon it by adding in a visual element. Whereas it would be hard for someone to imagine what exactly is going on when a band composes a record like this, the ability to watch them in person sheds light on the process. Shrine of The Post-Hypnotic is crackling and buzzing and feeding back and building upon layer after layer of sound. It’s equal parts back-porch folk and abysmal industrious hell. Listen to “Shrine Of The Post-Hypnotic” (edit)
04) Antibalas – Security (Anti) – Sure, this list is packed with gauzy, dreamy folk/doom thus far, but that doesn’t mean my tastes aren’t varied. Take this record, for example. Pure Afro-beat. Up-tempo, funky, and miles beyond anything even remotely related to the genre that has been released in as long as I can recall. The band boasts a killer horn section, stunning rhythms, and it never hurts to have John McEntire enlisted as recording engineer. This one is indescribably awesome from start to finish, and a perfect change-up for the mundane crap you normally listen to. Listen to: “Hilo”
03) Titan A Raining Sun Of Light & Love For You & You & You (Tee Pee Records) – The top three records all happen to be psychedelic rock bands from Brooklyn. Coincidence, or is there a new scene emerging, preparing to melt the faces of unsuspecting listeners across the globe? Here are some snippets I have written about Titan over the past two years: “…Melding space-rock with the cooler, psychedelic elements of prog-rock. At times they sounded like Harmonia, or Cluster.” … “Heavy and huge, with incredible guitar work. Watching Titan is like surviving a deadly storm. It’s a brutal cacophony. Drums roll without relent, keyboard spiraling with guitar and bass like a tornado, picking up intensity, slowing down to a blissful state of relaxation, backbuilding, and finally relaunching into the cosmos.”
02) La Otracina Tonal Ellipse Of The One (Holy Mountain) – I reviewed this album last month, and here’s the gist of what I had to say about it: “La Otracina intend to envelop the listener in massive swaths of sound…Free, loose space-rock complete with dive-bombing synthesizer tone bends and monumental feedback swells. The musicians are masters of restraint, and for the sundry noises which make up these tracks, it never sounds like overkill…A nod to all this free; totally blissed-out, bending and weaving, dynamic celestial jamming.”
01) White Hills Glitter Glamour Atrocity (Self-released) – I’ve been geeking out over White Hills since I saw them in February. And for good reason! They’re unbelievably talented. My initial response upon seeing them live was…well, there was none. I was speechless. I wrote after that show that they were a “tremendous space-rock band” with a top-notch guitarist. “Like the Stooges rhythm section with off-the-wall, acid-drenched guitar solos. It was something to behold. Not only did the band harness this intensity on Glitter Glamour Atrocity, we haven’t seen the half of it yet. A new album, Heads On Fire is going to be released on Rocket recordings in September. A limited-edition CD-r collaboration between White Hills and San Francisco’s White Pee (one track, twenty-nine minutes) will be available exclusively through Aquarius Records. 85 copies only. 50 will be housed in wood bound covers. White Hills is poised to take over. Listen to: White Hills Live on WFMU’s Evan “Funk” Davies Show
