2008 so far. [Archive] - Dirty Forums

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dubman

07-13-2008, 04:07 PM

headset's in a stage right now where the ball isnt exactly rolling. we post in that song thread people kind of look at and have something to say, but once you reach a certain post count it all gets a bit lost. so instead of just dropping in with threads about albums that people may or may have not heard that will probably fail and discourage others from posting their own, lets ease into posting with a bit more frequency by aggregating the things we've loved/liked/found notable and once it takes off a bit start possibly making more specific threads :)

people keep up with the year's music to different degrees, some people get preoccupied with staying au courant and others take 5 albums a year to be a good one for them. wherever you are, we're more than halfway through the year, so share what you got: reactions to long anticipated ones, the ones that blindsided you, the singles people should be paying attention to. whatever makes sense. i might be injecting myself in this more than i should, but we should be able to talk about what we really hated out of the year without it being "negative vibes". just as much as we loved something, we've also found a lot that we think is unhealthy, contemptible, or just plain disappointing, so have at it. just put some love in there somewhere. i guess.

ANYWAY
this is what's been happening for me this year. i've a feeling this post'll get long, and i dont mean to make you all think that the longer the essay the better, but if you could make more than a numbered list that'd be great.

1. Jacaszek - Treny

Speaking of blindsided, i got hit by a train on this one. Second album by a polish composer titled after the nationally famous series of poems mourning the loss of a young daughter (look it up on Wikipedia, it's actually pretty interesting), Boomkat went completely nuts off the hype train (like they would) for this one, and i previewed a copy expecting it to be endless, repetitive and far too advanced to appreciate on any level lower than post-everything. what i got was one of the most beautiful albums i've ever heard. violin, cello, static, and soft electronics a-la-burial make up his songs about lament and loss and i sat there alternately transfixed and vocally stunned by it all. put out by Miasmah label, which i thought was too small for me to get a copy without paying stupid money, but it's still available through amazon. if you've had any interest in burial, polmo polpo, arvo part, or amute, you need need need to hear this.

2. Bruno Pronsato - Why Cant We Be Like Us

Minimal is such a strong word, because it implies mostly boring things, like hawtin's purposefully sterile strain, but here's how this is different: Steven Ford (his real name and a portland native) is primarily a percussionist and even used to drum for a heavy metal band, so when he took two years to make this, he wasnt making a german club smorgasborg, but a sort of throttled techno with surprising blood and interplay between his beats, the live percussion, snatches of vocals, and piano. thats not to say he's completely unconventional, he does take his time to get to where he is, and it can miss, but he is different is that the build is not the placeholder. aside from a couple of flubs, his tracks maintain interest from the get go and only get more exciting as time goes on. despite the missteps, this album is number 2 because what works does so staggeringly well. precise, lethal, and tense in sound, it's surprisingly human and erratic in execution. clips and samples get cut off shorter, misstep and stumble, and develop problems as they go on, or at least appear to. they rarely start as they end, and cant be predicted. one of the most exciting and visually inspirational techno albums i've heard.

3. Sigur Ros - MeÃ° suÃ° Ã* eyrum viÃ° spilum endalaust
4. Portishead - Third
5. Autechre - Quaristice

i wrote sometime terminally, almost embarassingly long about this one, and i only say that because this one had me reeling in excitement enough to do it, but i'll spare you. we all already know how we feel about autechre, but i am really loving how a group has lasted 15 years with surprisingly few dents in relevance, originality, and quality.

6. Clark - Turning Dragon
7. Flying Lotus - Los Angeles

i've made three people listen to this album so far and they've all been reminded of madvillain at some point. dont let the "hiphop instrumentals on warp" make you think this is a parallel prefuse. he may go there for brief moments, but this is thicker, less digitized, and frankly a lot more beautiful. hard to think of anyone as "ignored" when it's someones debut album and it's getting decent attention, but it's certainly flying under a few radars.

8. Girl Talk - Feed The Animals
9. Onur Ozer - Kasimir

this is one of those "technically 2007" records that few seemed to know about until 2008 rolled around, so it's here. i always wondered what he hell happened to Half Hawaii. i was talking about "throttled techno" earlier but in comparison this would make Bruno sound positively liberated. stoic but not sterile, his gaping silences and abbreviated samples positively stalked anyone listening. now he's Onur Ozer, and things haven't changed so much as things have been added. taking a cue from Villalobos' "Fizheuer Zieheuer", there's horns and wind instruments aplenty to give it a strong eastern vibe, but not overridingly, annoyingly, "world groov"ingly so. he and pronsato often got mentioned in the same breath and fittingly so.

10. M83 - Saturadays = Youth

Pink Floyd's "Momentary Lapse of Reason" made me hate the 80s at an unfortunately VERY early age. i wont get into it but every 80s album was seen through those glasses and subsequently had to crawl out of a very big hole to be anything but contemptible.yet this album somehow corrals all those sentiments and other nuances i've felt about the time and puts in the parallel of growing pains with new technology mirroring the growing pains of being a teenager, and all of a sudden the messy enthusiasm and overzealousness becomes instantly charming and i embrace it more than i could have predicted after being warned in advance of an un-ironic 80s album from M83. an album that goes big, gets naive, and reaches desperately for transcendent connections, understood as being the only meaningful sensation, by being as emotionally exposed and shameless as possible. it comes complete with especially terrible spoken 'poetry' of prematurely jaded youth thats as understandable as it is painful to hear, and i feel i have to cheer it on so it can grow up and cobble the raw beginnings into something complete and brilliant.
except that anthony gonzalez is 27 now, so while he *can* look back and reflect that frustrated passion to the last synth, he can also write songs that comes from four studio albums of experience, restraint (being a funny idea for M83 but it's there), and knowing what works and what doesnt, so what results is expertly controlled nostalgia that plays like a reissue of the greatest album of its time.

11. Jamie Lidell - Jim
12. Our Sleepless Forest - Our Sleepless Forest

i'm not even sure where these guys are on the map. they could be a myspace band or have a small label... i dont know. i was just given this and over the course of a couple weeks slowly got into their super-infused-with-everything instrumentals that never pushed too hard or drowned itself out. there was rhythm in the noise and melody hanging on. check out a track called "white bird" it's a highlight and also gives a great idea of what they do.

13. Ellen Allien - Sool

while ellen's been doing whatever the hell she wants for awhile, i think thrills was the first fumbling step towards a clean sound with lush implications that sool is getting ever closer to, and it's starting to sound really great. "caress" and "zauber" are big highlights for me.

14. Benga - Diary of an Afro Warrior

has a unique, achingly impactive sound that's clean and sharp. i've been inadvertently blurting out how amazing it feels lots of times while playing it. it's just bliss for the ears on a proper system.

15. James Blackshaw - Litany of Echoes

bookended by two rambling and pointless piano excursions, that same rambling doesnt seem nearly as directionless when done over multiple acoustic guitars. an understated complexity that slowly burns its way into consciousness, this album got into regular rotation after being vaguely confused about it for two weeks

16. Claro Intelecto - Metanarrative
17. Sonny J - Disastro

if i still believed in guilty pleasures this would be reasonably close to being it. i was 11 and it was 1996 when i got my first boombox. i got into electronic music. i dont think i can be blamed too badly if astralwerks was my drug of choice at the time. there was a point where i would guess that everyone but the optimists saw where big beat and fatboy slim was going with his parade of obnoxious frat-party-isms. SO I GUESS this is that "coulda-been" direction the optimists were seeing instead. big dumb fatboy beats of old with go team's modern sugar high. it's a nostalgic trip i wasnt expecting and wouldnt think could be pulled off very well but this is pretty infectious

18. Klive - Sweaty Psalms
19. Frakkur - Songs for the Little Boy
20. Anja Schneider - Beyond The Valley

notables:

Syclops - I've Got My Eye on You
Ratatat - LP3
Gnarls Barkley - Odd Couple
2562 - Aerial
Dday One - Heavy Migration
Loco Dice - 7 Dunham Place
NIN - The Slip
Beck - Modern Guilt

Jan

07-13-2008, 06:53 PM

First off I have to admit that I didn't really listen to many 2008 releases so far... I don't really know why, maybe I'm too tired fighting against Sturgeon's law... ;)
Thanks for your list and reviews, I'll certainly listen to those albums!

1) Live shows
I've finally seen Underworld after nearly four long years of waiting, and Autechre/SND who did not disappoint either.
Those gigs are the highlights of 2008 so far for me even though I usually hate discos, festivals, large crowds and dancing... :o But experiencing some of my favourite music live made up for that.

2) Boards of Canada
Even though there is no 2008 release (and I guess there isn't going to be one) I should mention them anyway, because judging from the time I spent listening to their albums they are probably number one at the moment.

3) Autechre
I really got into them this year. Bought Anti EP, Chiastic Slide, Cichlisuite, Peel Session, LP5, Confield, and of course Quaristice. It's hard to choose a favourite, because they are all great releases. It takes some time to 'unlock' an Autechre album, but you get rewarded.

4) Tycho
After I bought his 2004 album Sunrise Projector I've been following his work on blog.iso50.com and tychomusic.com and really like what I hear. Recently he released two singles in anticipation of his new album which is due in 2009... He makes Boards of Canada style music btw.

5) SND 4,5,6
They supported Autechre, and I was quite impressed by their unusual glitchy sound... recommended if you like tracks that entirely consist of roughly three sounds that are seemingly arranged at random for 10 minutes. :D

6) Venetian Snares
Detrimentalist shows that he is still going strong...

7) Dubstep
I've listened to a few albums that have been recommended here and elsewhere... 2562 - Aerial, Ital Tek - Cyclical, Scuba - A Mutual Antipathy are not bad.
For me the Scuba album stood out the most, Hard Boiled and Suck are great songs. However, I think it's quite hit and miss with most Dubstep albums... for every good song there are a dozen uninspired ones...

8) Arp
A track from "In Light" was played on the last or so Underworld radio show. Very nice electronic ambient music.

9) Daedelus
I really, really liked Denies the Day's Demise, and some tracks on his new album "Love to Make Music To" are equally awesome, but unfortunately the rest of it is not that great.

I've also been enjoying some netlabel releases:

1) Budabeats
A new netlabel from Hungary. Three releases so far, and all of them are among the best free music that is out there... highest recommendation!
http://www.budabeats.com/

2) Gate Zero - Green Planet
Lush, organic, minimal, relaxing ambient music...
http://www.stadtgruenlabel.net/index.php?locator=releases&id=43

3) Mendelayev - Diagonal Tunnels Ep
Excellent Drum and Bass
http://www.plainaudio.com/dnb/releases/pp027md.html

4) Bazaar - Baal
Convoluted, almost "Confield-like" electronic music... very strange, but somehow interesting...
http://www.archive.org/details/kreislaufextra003

5) Antendex - Photons
Sounds just as the title says!
http://nnnl.extra.hu/nnnl.17/nnnl17.html

pafufta816

07-13-2008, 07:34 PM

here's some singles i was really impressed with/or got stuck in my head easily:

principles of geometry - a mountain for a president
funky retro beats, warm analogue basslines, vocoder-vocals from sebastien tellier

josh wink - stay out all night
wink revisits his style from 10+ years ago. sounds like his live remix of psykosonik's "unlearn", with a modern flair. repetitive 909 style house, with tweaking filters on an organ sample, slowly builds and crescendo's, staving off for the dj to mix in the next track. for a dj it is a very friendly single, and for the home listener it reminds you of why you liked josh wink... 10 years ago.

sunchase - ahz ep
the title track and b-side are ok, but the pig+dan remix of ahz is why i really like this single. pig+dan remix a techno house tune, exploring their new millenium style of ac
id house, carrying the listener away with it's subtley morphing synth's, harkening back to the 303, but not becoming decrepit and nostalgic about it.

Strangelet

07-13-2008, 08:18 PM

dubman

07-14-2008, 02:01 AM

wow thanks dubman, love this. gonna have a couple posts but here's a few i've been itching to discuss

steinski - what does it all mean? 1983 2006 Retrospective

Steinski is the guy who surprised everyone by dragging is fat, white, ad executive ass into tommy boy records to claim his first place prize for best hip hop mix. While not being ghetto, or even interested in the ghetto/gangsta/post-colonial aesthetic might keep him from seeming authentic, he shines by just being that guy who lives for block parties. The freedom from having to prove his street heritage gives him the leverage to mix in things like casablanca, bullwinkle, and even glenn gary glenn ross, on top of the standard james brown, sugar hill, fare. Some of it will sound dated but that only adds magnetude to the instant smile vector

i've downloaded this but havent gotten to it yet because i'm completely elsewhere with music right now, but it's nice to get a little background on it. looking forward to it now :)

tellier's a difficult bastard but im always interested in hearing what he's doing. i wasnt aware of this 'alias', so i'll have to dig for that one. and 'home listening' wink sounds like a fun week or so...

and because i mentioned disappointments earlier, i'd just like to say what a complete letdown the oslo label and berghain series in general has been for me. it's not hard to get me mildly interested and to see the good side of what the new hot shit is, because it's all one big dialogue and new directions are interesting...

but what i'm hearing to be a minimal take on lounge house hasnt inspired anything but mild distate and a sense of missed opportunity. this is what the pseudo-dj at the lamÃ© furniture store would be playing in the shopping mall next to the Banana Republic Shop and across from Sbarro. instead of suave it's limp. there's no subtlety but that of annoyance that permeates most of the releases.
maybe it just needs time, because the forthcoming ep (oslo 007) from dettmann (the justified hero of it, because he's the only one to drum up something decent) is pretty okay, but so far it's the most hype i've seen for a sound that's proven almost nothing.

Strangelet

07-14-2008, 06:30 AM

2008 sucks so far .

who cares ! anyway

ecoutez, negative nancy, i wait for threads like these because for the past ten years a full half of my music collection has come from this community. a quarter from dirty radio and a quarter from these forums. so if you don't want to participate, ca c'est chouette. don't ruin it for me, mate. peeps, please continuez, merci.

holden

07-14-2008, 07:37 AM

Cool thread, Dubman...let's keep it rolling!

It's been a slender buying year for me, as well, but what has made an impression:

Ghostland Observatory - "Robotique Magestique": Quirky electrorock band from Austin, known for their spirited live shows (think: skinny singer in pigtails wailing and writhing while curl-topped beat magician works the sequencers and drums from in front of a cape) and more than a little influence by Daft Punk. This is their third LP, and ups the analog/synthpop anty. Songs are still spirited (and Behren's vocals are an acquired taste, sometimes yelping at a high octave), but gone are much of the guitars from the previous LPs. Instead, more lo-fi synth intros, a little Depeche Mode-esque gloom. 7 outta 10.

M83: Saturdays=Youth: Well, i super-enjoyed "Dead Cities..." piles of sound and thunderous crecendos, and was wholly disappointed by "BtDHU", which offered cheesetastic lyrics and paved no new roads. Then i lost interest. Picking up the latest M83 was a welcome return to the nostalgia and warm fuzzy vibes of DCRSLG. Some aspects of the 80's i'd like to frget, but this music sort of distills the best parts. 7.5/10

Coldplay: Viva La Vida (or Death and All His Friends): It's gotten the most rotations for me this year, and is imho their best album. 9/10.
But let's move on!

Death Cab for Cutie: Narrow Stairs: So i'll admit to being a johnny-come-lately to Death Cab, only really getting into thewm with their last LP, "Plans" and enjoying "Transatlanticism" after everyone else had tired of it. Narrow Stairs is, for me, a let down. I think i expected more of the emotion and eclecticism of Plans, but with the exception of the first cut "Bisby Canyon Bridge", none of the songs grab me emotionally or melodically. It's a little less produced, more straightahead guitar-rock, but frnkly, Ben Gibbard's sentiments sound really cringeworthy if there isn't something interesting going on musically to distract me! 5/10.

Moby: "Last Night": After the downward slide from "Play" (which in retrospect, included a fair share of fluff), two crappy albums (18, hotel), a couple B-side collections that were less than stellar, a Voodoo Child release that made me think Moby forgot how to make dance music completely, i wasn't expecting much from this. So, i was somewhat pleasantly surprised...it's at least an upbeat set of quasi-retro dance. Rave piano, the ubiquitous Moby divas, a few so-so ambient instrumentals at the end, elements of his "classic" 90's records. Also, he hardly sings, which is a good thing. Well, Moby crtainly was there for the late 80's raves/summer of love, evolution of styles, and he obviously remembers it fondly. For me, it doesn't sound too exciting, the record breaks no new ground. But it does make me remember what i used to love about his music. A slight upturn. 6/10

looking forward to....later this year(?):
The Cure
Prodigy
Way Out West
Hybrid
Metric
Ben Folds
Franz ferdinand

ndrwrld

07-14-2008, 09:17 AM

albums coming soon in 2008...
evil nine - they live.
adam freeland - ?
diplo / switch - ?

matt

07-14-2008, 09:47 AM

it's been another awesome year so far and this is off the cuff so i may well leave some out and have to add them later, but from memory (and after a quick butchers at my listening chart from the last 6 months from last.fm (http://www.last.fm/user/groovypanda/charts/?charttype=6month&subtype=artist)) these would be mine, more or less in order:

1 in ghost colours cut copy

brilliant 80s influenced sophomore record from melbourne's cut copy, an album that makes me smile and sing-along and is uplifting and life affirming to boot

2 yearbook 2 studio

an album of remixes yes, but what remixes! from their brilliant reworking of kylie to the blissed out love on a real train and summer pop perfection impossible this is an album with summer written all over it

3 s/t fleet foxes

massively hyped but probably worthy of the praise and a great mix of pop, rock & country

4 for emma, forever ago bon iver

simply gorgeous album of gentle acoustic strummings

5 silent movie quiet village

excellent downtempo sampadelic feast from radioslave & mate that sounds both familiar and original

6 s/t vampire weekend

not everyone's cup of tea but my wife and i have been enjoying these afro beat, prep rock stylings for most of the year

7 pacific ocean blue dennis wilson

okay, this may have originally come out in 1970-something, but it's been beautifully repackaged this year and been out of print almost 20 years so still qualifies for my list. fantastic debut (and sadly only) solo album from the beach boy's drummer and well worth checking out

8 the seldom seen kid elbow

quite simply their best album, which, if you know anything at all about elbow, is reason enough to get hold of this if you don't own a copy already

9 third portishead

brilliant return for beth & co that takes a few listens to get into and is way better than i dreamed hope for after all that time. should probably be higher up the list but to be honest there's been so much great stuff this year i haven't listened to this album as much as some of the others

10 blue river smith & mudd

actually came out the very tail end of last year but very nice album of chilled balearic vibes

and then some other very honourable mentions:

s/t hercules & love affair
stainless style neon neon
visiter the dodo's
sea lion ruby suns
nouns no age
the midnight organ fight frightened rabbits
songs in a&e spiritualized
staying in diskjokke
dystopia midnight juggernauts
saturdays=youth M83
disastro sonny j

jOHN rODRIGUEZ

07-14-2008, 11:56 AM

And Erykah's.

mmm skyscraper

07-14-2008, 06:37 PM

Perfume - 'Love the World'

the b-side 'Edge' is good too.

IsiliRunite

07-15-2008, 01:22 AM

The Roots - Rising Down
Bun B - II Trill
Lil' Wayne - Tha Carter III

if you like rap!

matt

07-24-2008, 03:02 PM

anyone else fancy contributing to this thread..? :(

gambit

07-24-2008, 04:14 PM

Strangelet

07-24-2008, 04:25 PM

anyone else fancy contributing to this thread..? :(

until then, I'll keep it going...

I don't know if its M.I.A. or some other semaphore to the music industry that the third world is actually capable of making marketable music, but here we are with 3 great releases from the soundway label available at your favorite local snooty indie music shoppe. (at least that's where I found mine)

The releases are brilliant because they are quintessentially african sounds crafted into the best music movements to come out of the states and the uk for the entire 70's. So they will tweak your ears enough to sound fresh, the way maybe herbert legitimized big band music for the club kids. Only they aren't the sounds of a dj savant in a musical sandbox. They are heartbreakingly sincere musicians evoking the very sweat and lights of a parallel club which you long to be a part. All A+'s

Nigeria Disco Funk Special: Sound of the Underground Lagos Dancefloor 1974-1979 (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:kxfpxztjldae)

Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds and Nigerian Blues (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:jxfpxz9hldhe)

Nigeria Rock Special (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:kvfrxzejldae)

youtube :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0wmIoXsLr8&feature=related

Kraak & Smaak are not going to bring world peace or defy all conventions, they are, however, great at what they do. dance floor songwriting in the tradition of bent or lemonjelly B+

kraak & smaak - plastic people (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYeTwfyx0nw)

matt

07-25-2008, 01:42 AM

You all needed to listen to Does It Offend You, Yeah?'s You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into at least a month ago. I love this album. It's like Digitalism only better, more consistent, and more exciting.No, no, no, no, no, no, no... :(

I think these are terrible and sum up everything that's wrong with the 'new rave' sound today. They're not a patch on Justice or Digitalism and sound to me like a normal indie band who thought they'd jump on a bandwagon.

This (http://www.drownedinsound.com/release/view/12892) review sums them up perfectly, imo:

You mustn’t hate Does It Offend You, Yeah?. They want you to hate them; it’s a leading question.
Consider the facts: the Reading quartet's debut showcases a singular talent for annoying names - ‘We Are Rockstars’ and ‘Epic Last Song’ to name just a few - seemingly designed with the express intent of getting up your nose.

It seems reasonable to expect, therefore, a knowing bumfuck of a record, an aesthetically pukesome collision of the mad, the bad and the ugly. In fact, You’ve No Idea What You’re Getting Yourself Into isn’t so much offensive as it is vapid and dull, the kind of crass party music that tries to pass laziness off as fun by dint of its being consciously shallow.
Actually the more pertinent question posed on You've No Idea... would seem to be the rather more concise ‘will this do yeah’, opening as it does with the sound of feckless frat party revellers feeding pizza slices into Justice’s disk drive on ‘Battle Royale’.

The strident onslaught and cymbal splashes of ‘With A Heavy Heart (I Regret To Inform You)’ are a soulless echo of DFA 1979, while ‘Let’s Make Out’ sounds like an nth rate Cameo tribute act doing facile take-offs of !!! And ‘Doomed Now’ layers fatuous vocoder effects over a lumpen 4/4 gallop, sadly indicative of DIOYY?’s sweet tooth for redundant pastiche over anything of substance.

A shame, really, since there are couple of songs here displaying a melodic facility far in excess of the record’s dumbed-down intent. 'Dawn Of The Dead''s estuary-vowelled ‘80s pop channels the vogueish likes of Psychedelic Furs and Simple Minds into a satisfying whole that fairly sparkles next to the hollow excesses in evidence elsewhere. And ‘Weird Science’ reworks the same formula into a crystalline white-bred funk reminiscent of Foals doing Duran Duran.

But really, it’s not enough to paper over the gaping hole where DIOYY?’s soul should be; an absence that’s not so much worthy of our moral indignation, as a leading question of our own: does it sound like a mediocre record, yeah?

4/10

kid cue

07-25-2008, 08:30 AM

my favs so far--

Trimski Soulfood Vol.3
Former Roll Deep member with an ectoplasmic flow. A very strange, introspective, and inspired mixtape with highlights such as the mental 8-bit "The Low-Dan" and sino-dubstep collabo "The Bits" with Dusk & Blackdown. There's also an indirect diss to Dizzee Rascal in "It's A Cold World" that strikes me as quite hurtful.

Portishead Third
Flying Lotus Los Angeles
The Bug London Zoo

JME Famous?
Tinchy Stryder Cloud 9: The EP
Jammer Are You Dumb? Volume 3
More grime that should really be reaching a wider audience than it probably has. JME and Tinchy both have star potential; Jammer's mixtape is just out of control and reminds me of Elephant Man or Ward 21 albums at their most hedonistic.

Grouper Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill
Ghostly, meditative, kind of perplexing folk record.

Times New Viking Rip It Off
Loud 90s-style indie record with a punk sensibility in its abrasive recording techniques & the length of the songs ... I think I like this better than the No Age record from this year, it sounds even more unstable & urgent.

V/A Subtle Audio Vol. 1
Melancholic artcore drum & bass compilation.

Re-releases of old stuff:

Gas Nah Und Fern
Despite its cloaked, muffled sound, techno that's big and massive and important-sounding (an antidote for these confusing times).

A Guy Called Gerald Black Secret Technology

Ragga Twins Step Out
I haven't heard this, but it's probably awesome.

mmm skyscraper

07-25-2008, 09:43 AM

First Communion Afterparty - Sorry For All The Mondays And To Those Who Can't Sing

www.myspace.com/firstcommunionafterparty

Trippy psychedelic music.

Leon

07-25-2008, 09:55 AM

Re-releases of old stuff:

Gas Nah Und Fern
Despite its cloaked, muffled sound, techno that's big and massive and important-sounding (an antidote for these confusing times).

Agreed. It's otherwordly. It scares me. And also, even with so few elements, he creates so many colours and vibes, it's amazing

jOHN rODRIGUEZ

07-25-2008, 01:47 PM

No, no, no, no, no, no, no... :(

I think these are terrible and sum up everything that's wrong with the 'new rave' sound today. They're not a patch on Justice or Digitalism and sound to me like a normal indie band who thought they'd jump on a bandwagon.

This (http://www.drownedinsound.com/release/view/12892) review sums them up perfectly, imo:

If you only knew the irony you are speaking.

And, forgive me (I wouldn't sample, edit, spin, adjust-to-my-taste, etc. your words even if I could), but this would be so much more right if you used the "wrong" before bandwagon.

gambit

07-25-2008, 02:04 PM

I'm not sure if jOHN is agreeing with me, but it's one damn entertaining album, and I've listened to it for like two weeks straight.

kid cue

07-25-2008, 02:27 PM

Agreed. It's otherwordly. It scares me. And also, even with so few elements, he creates so many colours and vibes, it's amazing
I couldn't believe it when I read that he built the atmospheres by sampling little bits of classical recordings! Awesome. My fav disc so far is the third one (forget the name).

jOHN rODRIGUEZ

07-25-2008, 02:45 PM

I'm not sure if jOHN is agreeing with me, but it's one damn entertaining album, and I've listened to it for like two weeks straight.

Sorry, not a direct comment towards the artists. They are talented.

*****

Oh no matt, I'm not too crazy about them, but just because something doesn't appeal to me doesn't change the fact that they've touched many others.

I don't really like Justice either though. I was kinda scared to type that, but uuuuuuukit.

matt

07-25-2008, 03:16 PM

If you only knew the irony you are speaking.

And, forgive me (I wouldn't sample, edit, spin, adjust-to-my-taste, etc. your words even if I could), but this would be so much more right if you used the "wrong" before bandwagon.Not sure what you mean by this but it's just my opinion. I don't want to take away from your enjoyment of the album it's just that for me there's something about them that just rubs me up the wrong way. And having read several reviews of the album it appears I'm not alone. But each to their own, and if we all liked the same thing the world would be a pretty boring place.

Originally Posted by kid cue

Gas Nah Und Fern
Despite its cloaked, muffled sound, techno that's big and massive and important-sounding (an antidote for these confusing times).I've been really enjoying this and still somewhat surprised that I picked up the box set for under a tenner on Amazon. It's great for sending my 3 month old daughter to sleep too :)

Some other albums I've been loving in the last few weeks:

The Midnight Organ Fight Frightened Rabbit
Parc Avenue Plants & Animals

Two superior indie rock/pop albums both well worth checking out

Limbo, Panto Wild Beasts

Certainly won't be to everyones tastes but this is an exhilarating album with great lyrics and fantastic song names like Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants and what sounds like a manic Anthony (from Anthony & The Johnsons) on lead vocals

Stay Positive The Hold Steady

Probably their best album yet

//\/\/

07-25-2008, 04:28 PM

sorrrrry if i keep banging on; but 'dig!!! lazarus dig!!! by nick cave & the bad seeds is the awesomest thing to come out this year imo - and sits very highly in their collection.

'jesus of the moon' is probably one his best ever pieces of writing and is an amazing performance - and that's not just the whiskey talkin...

Bargo

07-26-2008, 03:14 PM

One of the most outstanding releases for me this year has been When Victims Fight by Hunz (http://www.myspace.com/hunz). Very lush sounds in the style of Plaid or Thom Yorke's Eraser with superb vocals to accompany. I can't stop listening to it, it's amazing.

Hunz was one of the biggest names in the PC demoscene (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demoscene) era in the 90s and this is finally his debut album. The biggest shame is that something so good is only getting such a small release - pretty much available from only the label's website. :(

crank

07-29-2008, 03:02 PM

Agreed. It's otherwordly. It scares me. And also, even with so few elements, he creates so many colours and vibes, it's amazing

I have the Gas Oktember ep.
What's on this release?

cr
ank

Jafs

07-29-2008, 04:44 PM

There are the four Gas albums: Gas, Zauberberg, KÃ¶nigsforst & Pop

Leon

07-30-2008, 05:59 AM

I have the Gas Oktember ep.
What's on this release?

cr
ank

It's basicly his four albums Gas, Zauberberg, KÃ¶nigsforst and Pop, in one release.

crank

07-30-2008, 09:12 AM

Sweet will have to find it!
thanks for the info!

mmm skyscraper

07-31-2008, 02:54 PM

The Doubtful Guest - Acid Sauna

great acid stuff from Planet Mu

Jafs

07-31-2008, 03:47 PM

In no particular order:

Bruno Pronsato - Why Can't We Be Like Us (Hello? Repeat)

organic techno in the vein of Villalobos' work, I even think I prefer this one.

Al Green - Lay it Down (Blue Note)

one of the godfather of soul is back with no special innovation but with so much class. ?uestlove at the production, with Poyser, and guests are well chosen and fit perfectly in this record.

Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part 1 (4th World War) (Universal Motown)

Kind of psychedelic soul, my first big surprise of the year.

Portishead - Third (Island)

unexpected return in unexpected form. I had so many delete-retry-repeat with this one I finally ended to like it a lot.

iTAL tEK - Cyclical (Planet Âµ)

Wonderful debut album of dubstep meeting IDM. A bit disappointed at first with Aerial (2562) and A Mutual Antipathy (Scuba), it's this record released on planet Âµ which took me by surprise, with the more "classic dubstep" album by Benga.

Flying Lotus - Los Angeles (WARP)

Jay Dee meets Amon Tobin meets some glitchy sounds. I love this record. Tracks are short and it's not a problem, excepted when those little cuts are less good than their brothers, you can feel it directly.

Lil' Wayne - Tha Carter III (Cash Money Records)

Summer is the time for guilty pleasures, and this album is mine for now. Not a great rap album, but well balanced, with a lot of highlights and a MC I initially couldn't stand who makes vocals in so many ways. I will wait for Big Boi, Clipse and maybe TI to release something I expect to be a little more solid...

The Roots Rising Down

Solid record, but I was so blowed by Game Theory that I'm not totally satisfied by this.

The Bug - London Zoo (Ninja Tune)

Pure dancehall, with more variations and details than what I've heard on Pressure.

Toby Tobias - Space Shuffle (Rekids)

deep house meets cosmic disco. One point. The Lindstrom album is good too, but I'm more obsessed with this one.

Luke Solomon - The Difference Engine (Rekids)

Another full lengh which kept my attention on rekids. Slightly mixed. More Chicago-oriented stuff, maybe one the best "techno" LP of the year. 7 Dunham Place by Loco Dice is notable too.

Minilogue - Animals (Cocoon Recordings)

Very good progression on both discs, but still maybe a little bit too long I must admit.

Barry Lynn - Balancing Lakes (Planet Âµ)

Early IDM works by Boxcutter. After some repeated plays I began to see this was not so Aphex Twin and Squarepusher than that, after all...

Mixes:

Fuse Presents Adam Beyer
Fabric 39: Robert Hood
Fabric 41: Luciano
Fabriclive.36: James Murphy & Pat Mahoney I know it's 2007 but it's totally apart in the series (it's disco) and I'm still addicted to it now.
No, I didn't especially liked Dubstep Allstars 6.

Reissues:

Gas - Nah und Fern
X-102 - Rediscovers the Rings of Saturn
Model 500 - Deep Space
Derrick May - Innovator

Leon

08-01-2008, 03:50 AM

kid cue

08-01-2008, 10:13 AM

nice list Jafs - going to check out Ital Tek, Pronsato, Robert Hood, some of those others....

i wasn't that into Dubstep Allstars 6 either :X

dubman

08-01-2008, 07:06 PM

i cant wait to hear of what you think of the pronsato, duck

Jafs

08-02-2008, 07:18 AM

I forgot to mention:

Sun Kil Moon - April (Caldo Verde)

Melancholic folk. Unique voice. Listen to "Moorestown".

Peter Broderick - Float (Type Records)

Modern classical, nice debut album too.

Lx_Nen

08-06-2008, 01:32 PM

I've only got 1 recommendation for everyone from 2008 so far.

Discuss - Aeration Swells.

Treads a fine line between genius and total bollocks. Hard to describe without mentioning BoC/Schnauss, but it's not as close to a BoC clone as Tycho - Adrift from home. Don't be afraid to skip a bit (brother Maynard*), but it's definitely worth wading through a lot of self-indulgence to get to the stand out track "Puerto Rico Y La Vieja Pc".

http://www.myspace.com/discuss
http://www.myspace.com/ekofarmed (spin off project)

*obscure python reference, sorry

mmm skyscraper

09-26-2008, 07:17 PM

Heartbreak - Lies

http://www.myspace.com/heartbreak1

If you like Italo, this is great stuff.

joethelion

09-27-2008, 04:08 PM

In no particular order...

Sasha - Invol2ver
-> even though I suspect that the tracks this time around haven't been quite as "tweaked around with" as much as on the first one (which - to me almost felt like a 'artist album' if you know what I mean) - I still have been pleasantly pleased with this release. Definitely not as 'atmospheric' as the last one either, yet still with loads of melody and character

iTAL tEK - Cyclical
-> even though I'm really NOT a fan of the whole "IDM deal" (aka pretentiousness) ... it still has really been able to grab me.

Portishead - Third
-> I was worried that... at first, I only thought it was a great album b/c I was sooooo hyped up to finally get new material of theirs (and see them live), but it still gets pretty regular play and really didn't disappoint me. And it's definitely not just their last two albums all over again. There's a definite progression in sound, and some nice analogue-y traits that you didn't have as much as on their previous stuff.

The Black Ghosts - The Black Ghosts
-> it's funny how ..well... once Simian broke up, the members have all massively improved from when they were together. Just enough pop sprinkled over everything. You should buy the album if just for "I Want Nothing" and "Some Way Through This" ...plus there are some awesome remixes from tracks off this album

the Presets - Apocalypso
-> this album just is PACKED with really class singles, yet still has a great flow. I can't listen to this and not get hyped up. Soooooo menacing yet happy all at the same time. It's like you're at a club in purgatory, if that makes any sense

Muscles - Guns Babes and Lemonade
-> not sure if this came out this year or late last... and it's def a bit too similar to the Presets at times, and some tracks can be off putting to some people, but you seriously CAN NOT be in a bad mood when you listen to the album... seriously, it's impossible. It could be an incredibly dreary day, your girlfriend could have broken up with you... and you'll still have a HUGE smile on your face.

matt

09-28-2008, 02:04 PM

the Presets - Apocalypso
-> this album just is PACKED with really class singles, yet still has a great flow. I can't listen to this and not get hyped up. Soooooo menacing yet happy all at the same time. It's like you're at a club in purgatory, if that makes any senseif you like this album make you sure you also check out other modular acts cut copy and midnight juggernauts as both have also released great albums this year (and are not a million miles away from the presets in sound)

In fact one of my favourite iPod playlists this year has been a Modular (http://www.modularpeople.com/03/08.asp) one i put together which has these three albums plus the Muscles one

And i haven't heard it yet but the new Ladyhawke album has been getting some good reviews too

Jan

09-28-2008, 03:19 PM

Lone - Lemurian

Don't let the abysmal cover art deceive you, that album is actually very, very good.

mmm skyscraper

09-28-2008, 08:22 PM

Lone - Lemurian

Don't let the abysmal cover art deceive you, that album is actually very, very good.

http://www.myspace.com/lonemusic

Check out 'Rainbow Jumper'

Lone has been active in this thread on the twoism board: http://www.twoism.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2511

joethelion

09-29-2008, 04:30 PM

if you like this album make you sure you also check out other modular acts cut copy and midnight juggernauts as both have also released great albums this year (and are not a million miles away from the presets in sound)

ha! I actually originally started to write about the Midnight Juggernauts' album but then I wasn't sure if it came out this year, or late last year... and my review was pretty much "they sound like the Presets"

I dug Cut Copy's album at first... but it really hasn't gotten many plays after that first 2 week period (save for "Lights & Music")

matt

10-01-2008, 01:55 AM

some albums since my first post that will probably be making my top 10 come the end of the year:

fantasy black channel late of the pier

brilliant debut album that picks up the baton from the klaxons and takes it to a whole 'nother level. erol alkan on production duties seems to have got the best out of this youthful lot and tracks like space & the woods, heartbeat and bathroom gurgle will be staying in my playlists for many years to come

dear science tv on the radio

seen a little bit of backlash against this because they didn't push things forwards enough, but who cares when the results sound this good. easily their most accessible work to date and should be the one that catapults them into the consciousness of the general public and i imagine it will be close to the top of most critics end of year lists

the holy pictures david holmes

i'm definitely a holmes fan boy as i've loved everything he's ever done since first hearing de niro and his jaw dropping remix of sabres of paradise's smokebelch ii all those years ago but this, his first solo album in eight long years, has been picking up pretty much rave reviews from most quarters. a bit of a departure for the belfast boy as this time he takes on vocal duties himself and it's a lot more chilled than previous efforts but still one of the best albums you'll hear this year

glasvegas glasvegas

don't let all the hype and alan mcgee put you off, this is actually a rather very good debut album and one that should be praised for trying something different in a world of indie clones clogging up the charts

motion to rejoin brightblack morning light

hadn't come across this lot before but i can definitely see why they get the spacemen 3 and early spiritualized comparisons. beautiful stoned bluesy space rock

Jafs

10-01-2008, 06:31 AM

dear science tv on the radio

seen a little bit of backlash against this because they didn't push things forwards enough, but who cares when the results sound this good. easily their most accessible work to date and should be the one that catapults them into the consciousness of the general public and i imagine it will be close to the top of most critics end of year lists

Their 2 previous albums were certainly more specific, but also unequal and often sounding artificial (too much drugs in the studio ?).

But Dear Science is so groovy (new kind of fusionnal funk rock, I don't know how to descibe it), and not unequal anymore. Step forward :D

Very pleasant surprise.

dubman

10-01-2008, 01:26 PM

Luomo - Convival

easily top 5 for 2008 and i've only heard it 3 times.
heard this too and it strikes me like the loco dice album
as in, i'm going to need a bit to get in its skin and feel it properly before i completely love it.

for now it's just... pretty okay

dubman

10-01-2008, 07:15 PM

the thing is that i've never been a huge fan of luomo, but i've had a feeling that he'd make something someday that i would really like, and they usually happen when a band or an artist have 'arrived' somewhere. if i already liked them then this album would make me love them. if i was indifferent to them then i'd see them in a new light that i liked. i feel like this is one of those albums, but that it's just going to take a bit to really unfold.

other stuff i've been listening to

Johann Johannsson - Fordlandia
i've also had kind of a soft spot for johannsson in the same way. i'd like his methods but there wasnt much i wanted to listen to over and over again, when he settled into doing more classical things it wasnt very interesting and when he used his computers it felt too distracted. this one is more classical yet feels pretty good though. not stellar, but def. a step in the right direction to me.

Ã˜ - Olvera.
if you like pan sonic, you will also like this, because it is indistinguishable, really. i know it's a side project from one of them but honestly, if you're going to sound exactly like what you splintred from then whats the point? oh well. it's a solid album, wish there were more highlights and grooves and less of the plodding filler. more noise please.

Shugo Tokumaru - Exit
i heard this came out awhile ago. and that there are many many fans. it's all new to me right now, sounds like a less sugar-induced cornelius, making simple-ish folky pop songs that are friendly and spry and nice. i keep going back to it but i'm not really as hooked as most are.

TVotR update - i realized part of the reason why i was less than thrilled with the new album is because i'd listen to it alla t once, and the three song run of dancing choose-stork and owl-golden age is so completly boring and aggravating that it clouds the fact that everything afterwards is actually really damn good. so i like this album, though i think their production is still the biggest tripping point. i liked the noise and wash and flailing of return to cookie mountain, and it's heartening that they never want to repeat the same album twice.

Leon

10-02-2008, 12:13 PM

vocalcity is his best by miles. he'll never approach that level of subtle beauty again and i don't think he wants to. his luomo side seems hellbent on producing madonna or britney but i like this round of simple pop tunes.

Funny how I run into this discussion, as I've just discovered Vladislav Delay, so I'm going to check Vocalcity out.

GforGroove

12-10-2008, 09:43 AM

Heartbreak - Lies

http://www.myspace.com/heartbreak1

If you like Italo, this is great stuff.

I loved this!!. Thanks for recommend it.

GforGroove

12-10-2008, 09:47 AM

I think i have my favorites of this year:
new Fennesz-Black Sea and one of the truly most beautiful albums ever and BEST of the year for me: GROUPER- Dragging a Dead Dear Up a Hill

Jafs

12-20-2008, 07:16 AM

Time for tops, no ?