[Dusty Chalk]

Lacrimosa, Echos, Fassade, Einsamkeit, and Elodia -- what a great band, goes from operatic bombastic neo-classical (not this wussy Rachel's stuff) to bluesy-tinged rock'n'roll, mostly in German. I need to find Inferno.

Death in June, All Pigs Must Die -- wacky stuff from Douglas P.

Der Blutharsch, (self-titled) -- more wacky stuff from the Tesco Distribution label.

David Thrussell, The Hard Word soundtrack -- some of the most serious stuff this guy has done, the movie must be prety intense.

Peter Gabriel, (3rd self-titled album, aka the one with "Games Without Frontiers" on it), on SACD -- sounds great, but that's not comparing it to the recent redbook remaster.

Ephel Duath, The Painter's Palette -- this is so great. Schizophrenic. Can't decide if it wants to be an emo record, a jazz record, a prog-metal record, some combination of all of the above, or a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. LOTW.

Sparta, Wiretap Scars -- meh, I liked Mars Volta better. Perhaps will grow on me, not ruling that out.

Electric Soft Parade, Holes in the Wall -- recommended to fans of The Eels, Super Furry Animals, et al. Excellent.

Neal Schon & Jan Hammer, Untold Passion -- bought mostly for the beautiful-beyond-words title track, but forgot how good the rest of it is. About 50% instrumental. Jammy for both guitars and keyboards, and Jan is also surprisingly good on drums (although he shouldn't give up his dayjob).

Celebrity, Lovesick -- really good, don't remember much more than that, should probably listen to again. Indie singer-songwriter type stuff.

(London) Suede, Everything Will Flow -- the remix sucks, the title track is the best song on the Head Music album, and the b-sides are really good, too.

The Coral, Magic and Medicine -- as good as the first album, arguably better. Somebody been asleep for the past 30 years or so? This is throwback music to the 60's.

Hair, Original Broadway Cast Recording, and Original Motion Picture Soundtrack -- what can I say? I've had songs like "Sodomy", "3-5-0-0", "Walking in Space", the title track, and the transcendent "Flesh Failures" (aka "Let The Sunshine In") stuck in my head.

Fifth Dimension, The Age Of Aquarius -- ditto. Looking for the definitive version.

Lacrimas Profundere, Burning: A Wish, Fall, I Will Follow, and Memorandum -- after listening to these some more, I would have to say that they are three really very different albums. DA, if you're reading this, if you're going to get anything, get Fall, I Will Follow -- it's a bit rockier than Burning: A Wish, which might be a little too proggy for your tastes, and reintroduces some femme vocals. It's also got some nice godhead-like moments on the vocal processing. I like all three, yet differently.

Sulpher, Spray -- DA, you're right, I did like this, though I didn't hear the Stabbing Westward. I found more godhead analogies.

Collide, Some Kind of Strange -- I can see why someone wouldn't like this album. All the tracks are slow, for a rock album. But Karin's voice is so good, and Statik is such a sublime composer/musician/producer, that I love this album.

 

[averydonovan]

I just discovered Peter Murphy on Emusic a few days ago. Been listening to Deep and Wild Birds 1985-1995: The Best of the Beggars Banquet Years a lot for the past few days. A nice change from my usual electronic-sounding stuff. Sounds like alternative rock to me, although it seems to be categorized as goth rock.

Before that Project Pitchfork Collector: Fireworks and Colorchange (a collection of their more recent B-sides and remixes), T.O.Y. White Lights (a techno, pop-ish kind of album from the renamed Evils Toy), and Decoded Feedback Shockwave (the Canadian duo's latest album, a harder version of their previous Mechanical Horizons) were getting heavy playtime.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Quote:

Originally posted by donovansmith Before that Project Pitchfork Collector: Fireworks and Colorchange (a collection of their more recent B-sides and remixes)...

I didn't even know this was out, thanks for the (inadvertant) heads-up. Quote:

...T.O.Y. White Lights...

Still need to pick this up. Quote:

...Decoded Feedback Shockwave (the Canadian duo's latest album, a harder version of their previous Mechanical Horizons) were getting heavy playtime.

Thanks for the mini-review -- seems like I like a lot of the same artists you do. (I think I have most of the previous Decoded Feedback albums.)

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Starlight Mints, Built On Squares -- meh. May require more listens. "Power pop".

Senor Coconut and his Orchestra, Fiesta Songs -- silly fun. Cha Cha Cha and Merengue covers of classic rock songs ("Smoke on the Water", "Riders on the Storm", etc.). Highlight is a cover of Jean-Michel Jarre's "Oxyxgene (Part II)" -- it sounds so natural, you'll wonder what the synthesizer version sounded like.

Venetian Snares: printf("shiver in eternal darkness/n"); -- still my favourite, captures a sense of methodical anarchy I haven't heard in a long time -- and Doll Doll Doll -- probably my second favourite.

Grandaddy, Sumday

Electric Soft Parade, Holes in the Wall -- recommended if you like Coldplay.

The Coral, (---), Skeleton Key EP, Magic and Medicine and Don't Think You're the First EP -- excellent stuff. I dig this more each time I listen to it.

The Notwist, Neon Golden -- One of my favourite albums from last year.

Jeremy Boyle, Songs from the Guitar Solos -- weird. Track titles are "Kiss", "Van Halen", "Sabbath", "AC/DC", "Zeppelin", and "Jimi", but I don't hear the guitar solos. Ambient.

Múm, Please Smile My Noise Bleed -- very cool. Includes remixes, not sure if this is a full album. Recommended if you liked Finally We Are No One. I still need to track down Yesterday Was Dramatic - Today is OK, though.

Raveonettes, Whip It On -- I like, but not as much as others do.

Killing Joke, (---) -- excellent! Highly recommended if you like hard rock, such as Queens of the Stone Age, et al.

Minus, Halldor Laxness -- even harder rock, borders on nu-metal without going over the edge (rapping, etc.). I like it better than the previous album.

Mars Volta, Tremulant EP and De-Loused in the Comatorium -- definitely destined to be in my top 10 of the year. See my argument with my friend here:

http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/mus...ges/30234.html
http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/mus...ges/30240.html
http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/mus...ges/30258.html

I am especially proud of my "...flows like geography..." description.

Schlammpeitziger, Spacerokkmountainrutschquartier. Ja, ich verstehe. NICHTS!

K.K. Null/disc, Nullsonic -- K.K. Null is probably my favourite noise artist, even more than Controlled Bleeding.

Dysrhythmia, Pretest -- meh. Kinda lame.

Fr/Action, Crimes of the Future -- unabashed future pop.

Philip Glass, The Hours soundtrack -- gorgeous. A couple of reworkings of older tracks, too.

Kill Memory Crash, When the Blood Turns Black -- dark electro.

Colder, Again -- Joy Division meets Kraftwerk.

Virgin Black, Elegant...and Dying -- gorgeous. I liken to Lacrimosa.

Hocico, Disidencia Inquebrantable -- Mexican industrial.

Cardigans, Long Gone Before Daylight -- no longer a faux-lounge act, these guys grew up some.

Collide, Some Kind of Strange -- not sure how to describe it -- not hard enought to be truly industrial, too dark to be synthpop. E-pop?

Vangelis, Earth -- early stuff, a little raw, doesn't have the brilliance that he showed later, but still enjoyable.

Valis/Kitty Kitty (split), 8 Tracks

Mike Oldfield, Tubular Bells 2003 -- I was going to wait until the DVD-A came out, but this came with a bonus DVD with a video of several of the tracks. Meh. Kind of disappointing -- it's not a "pure" re-recording of the seminal album, he updates it in several places in several ways, and, IMHO, ruining it in the process. If it was someone else covering the album, it would be exactly what I was expecting, but as it's Him, Himself, falls short of my expectations.

And Christ Wept, Unholy Rebirth Through Technology -- anti-religious industrial, what more can one ask for?

Death in June, Operation Hummingbird -- meh, it's okay, will keep, but...you know, it's just kind of weird.

Hovercraft Vagus Nerve/De-Orbit Burn Remix by Scanner -- very cool. Too short, though.

Chris Spheeris, Desires -- a re-recording of Desires of the Heart. Why?

Future Sound of London, Dead Cities -- probably my favourite FSOL album after the classic Lifeforms. It's just so...cataclysmic.

Controlled Bleeding, The Poisoner -- one of their more ambient, abstract albums.

Ephel Duath, Rephormulae -- excellent, excellent black metal.

Argyle Park, Misguided -- from the Circle of Dust guy. Very good, if you like Vast, Machines of Loving Grace, et al.

Ilya, Poise is the Greater Architect -- this one is really growing on me. Some shoegazer, some other stuff (indie/alternative, for lack of a better term), nice variety, all good songs.

Mike Keneally, Wooden Smoke -- interesting, but schizophrenic. Not as musically valuable as other things he's done, but still worth keeping and listening to, again.

Lacrimas Profundere, Fall, I Will Follow and Memorandum. Their first album does not even hint at the greatness that will follow.

Bill Withers Live at Carnegie Hall (see Tuberoller's comments in the virtual CD club thread, I concur)

Celebrity, Sle.EP -- recommended if you like their album.

Hate Dept., Ditch -- Yay! A new album from them. Finally! I glove these uys.

Classical:

Grieg, Peer Gynt Sir Thomas Beecham/Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Ilse Hollweg, soprano. I love "Solvejg's Song".

Various artists:

Covered -- a fun album. From lb's cover of "Ashes to Ashes" to Flunk's non-dance cover of "Blue Monday" to Placebo's inimitable cover of "Johnny & Mary" to Oasis' faithful cover of "My Generation" to a delightfully funky cover of "Miss You" by Mirwais feat. Craig Wedren.

Sound Collector 8 -- great stuff. All over the place. Thought I listed this one already.

Songs of the Siren 2 -- a nice collection of alternative femme vox. The only "name" is Creatures (that I know of).

Immortal Legends -- groups like Soil Bleeds Black, 4th Sign of the Apocalypse, etc. Very cool.

Touch Sampler.3 -- Pan Sonic back when they were Panasonic, Biosphere, Famers Manual, Bruce Gilbert, et al.

Alien Dust 1 -- techno. Shiva Chandra, Cydonia, Der Dritte Raum, et al.

Synthetic Broadway -- pure silly fun. Covers everything from "Grease" to "Little Shop of Horrors".

 

[stymie miasma]

Quote:

Originally posted by Dusty Chalk David Thrussell, The Hard Word soundtrack -- some of the most serious stuff this guy has done, the movie must be prety intense.

I saw The Hard Word a couple of months ago and was a little disappointed - it had the potential to be so much better but was just a little too predictable in the end. Funnily enough, I can't even remember noticing the soundtrack! Still, it was worth a look, and seeing Melbourne on the big screen was nice being so far from home

As far as intense soundtracks go, I have never been so blown away by Sexy Beast. The first time you see Ben Kingsley's character storming across the airport lounge with U.N.K.L.E's totally beserk soundtrack in the foreground, you kinda get the impression that this guy is bad news

 

[ArChaos]

Well, part of it it's in my "heavy rotation list" (which is not quite up to date, by the way) but lately I could add:

- All *DEATH* albums (beginning with Scream Bloody Gore and ending to Sound of Perseverance) Wow - these guys ROCK!!!

- EDGE OF SANITY - Crimson, Purgatory Afterglow, Spectral Sorrows... Has anybody already heard Crimson II ?

- AMORPHIS - Tales of a Thousand Lakes

- SEPULTURA - Chaos AD. (one of their best IMO)

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Various Artists:

Star Gazing
Tangent 2002: Disco Nouveau -- what can I say? I've been in an electroclash mood lately.

...and the reindeer you rode in on -- whacky Xmas music. Lots of "raw" sounds, twistingly manipulated, and a good tongue-in-cheek sense of humour.

Survive and Advance, Vol. 3 -- got it for the Matt Elliott track, which is more Third Eye Foundation, and Buzzcocks (of whom I am a huge fan). Ended up liking quite a bit of the rest of it.

CMJ New Music Monthly, August 2003 -- I think I like every track on here, which is a rare occurence. This is a monthly magazine that comes with a CD sampler of tracks from current "alternative" releases, from the likes of Jane's Addiction, Firewater, and Thrice. This is going to cost me some money.

Underworld Soundtrack -- some pleasant surprises here. I'm really looking forward to this movie, but the soundtrack is worth getting even if you don't plan on seeing it. There's two contributions from A Perfect Circle, an excellent track from ex-Helmet frontman Page Hamilton, a new track from Skinny Puppy (yay!), a new track from Milla (is she recording again? I can only hope), a fantastic song from Bowie (with Maynard -- Maynard is all over this album), and a bunch of other stuff. You know how some soundtracks mix it up between the hit tracks and the real soundtrack stuff? In this case, the latter was done by Renholder, and I think they struck the perfect balance. Nicely done.

Indietronica -- Notwist, Múm, Mouse On Mars, Her Space Holiday, et al, what's not to like? Lots of nice bass on this one, too. What kind of music? Look at the name -- alternative/indie and electronica.

Chris Vrenna, American McGee's Alice, Original Music Score -- it's a game soundtrack that doesn't sound that much like a game soundtrack, works well as a (soundtrack) album. Several spoken-word portions.

The Gathering, Souvenirs -- LOTW! Not the post-rock direction of Black Light District, but some very inventive experimental portions in some songs. It's more of a sequel to How to Measure a Planet than anything else they've done, so it's easily my second favourite by them (How to Measure a Planet is still superior, what with the great songwriting on that one). But this has and will be getting a lot of playtime. There's even one track that starts out sounding like Curve.

Yellow Note, We Love Everybody...You're Next -- these guys were ahead of their time, but are finally (I hope) going to become something, what with the perfect timing of this record amongst the rest of the electroclash movement. Doesn't have the sense of humour that I remember their first two albums having, but still does to some extent (especially when it comes to the lyrics -- "Film of the Book" and "Naked Drunk and Horny" come to mind).

Eirc Gorfain and the Section(?), String Quartet Tribute to New Order and Joy Division -- one of my favourite pairs of bands, wide variety of tracks (from "Love Will Tear Us Apart" to "Regret", including the [usually] more electronica-tinged "Blue Monday", "True Faith", the raw "She's Lost Control", "Isolation", and the more organic "Love Vigilantes").

Matmos, (---) (untitled, self-titled, eponymous, whatever) -- meh, don't really remember, will have to listen to it again.

C4AM95 (pronounced "Champs", aka The ****ing Champs), III -- riffage!

Headcase, Crosseyedrabbit -- I like this a lot better than the first album. Flows more. (This is Andy Garcia from Curve's electronica side project.) Got some nice hard-hitting stuff, too, sounds like a Curve side project this time (which is a good thing).

Girls Against Boys, Nineties vs. Eighties -- early raw stuff.

Black Heart Procession, Hearts and Tanks -- yes, Davey, I heard about this, was going to mention it, but you beat me to it. It's weird. It's got hints of the old frighteningly sad stuff, but is mostly of the non-depressing ilk. With a name like Black Heart Procession, they really have a reputation for depressing music that they need to uphold, and I don't think they've been doing it very well with the last album and this. The first track is kind of electronica (which I don't normally associate with them), but the rest is more like an instrumental BHP EP.

Red Light Sting/Hot Hot Heat split -- is okay.

Dead Soul Tribe, A Murder of Crows -- prog metal, highly recommended to fans of Dream Theater, Pain of Salvation, and etc.

Coil, Black Light District -- I love Coil. They never do the same thing twice, so it's hard to describe their music, but it's lovely.

Roger Waters, Amused to Death -- this is such a great album, sounds particularly good on headphones. "What God wants, God gets, God help us all..."

Dredg, El Cielo (SACD) -- heavenly. Highly, highly recommended. Kind of Toolish, but not as consistently brutally pummeling, more variety.

Yes, Tales from Topographic Oceans (recent Rhino remaster) -- alright, the album has already been accused of being a bloated excess at 80 minutes, and they added two more tracks...(of approximately 20 minutes each)? Personally, I disagree with the accusation. I mean, in this day and age, we're used to 50-70 minute CD's, so it's not that much of a stretch. The studio run-throughs of "Dance of the Dawn" (first side/track) and "Giants under the Sun" (side three) are particularly interesting, especially without the vocal harmonies.

Matt Elliott, The Mess We Made -- see review. This is beyond LOTW. Easily LOTY.

Télépopmusik, Genetic World -- French booty-shaking fun, and surprisingly interesting electronica moments, as well. Nice variety. Listened to several times.

Crouch End Festival Chorus, National Sinfonia, Three Songs/Vessels/Songs from Liquid Days -- really pretty.

Air/Baricco, City Reading -- spoken word (in Italian) over musical backdrop by Air. Not as mainstream as other things they've done, but I like it a lot more than 10,000 Hertz

Robin Rimbaud, 20' to 2000: Scanner.cystic -- I love this series, my only complaint is that it's usually too short.

Mice Parade, Collaborations and All Roads Lead to Salzburg -- really digging Adam Pierce's music, lately. Discovered him through the Branches and Routes compilation (there's a connection with the Dylan Group). Acid Jazz -- think modern, edgy, tinged with electronica, laid-back. Recommended to the Tortoise and Medeski Martin & Wood crowds.

Lustmord, Metavoid -- delicious damnbient. This is so beautiful...

Icarus, Six Soviet Misfits -- more damnbient. A little bit more abstract, which at times will seem like filler, but I get the impression that this is a very carefully thought out album. Most people are going to say this could have been pared down to a single CD, but I'm glad they released it as two. Recommended (to fans of the genre).

 

[DarkAngel]

hey ArChoas
If you listen to all those groups why don't you post at "darkest desires"............these mortals don't know what you're talking about.

Crimson II has been ordered, awaiting arival.


hey Dusty
is it uncool to use term darkwave.............damnbient is a new one for me, but clever play on words that also describes sound.

have you not scooped up new albums this week by:
-Raveonettes
-BRMC

Sorry no Ephel for me yet, Nacher keeps hounding me to get Ram Zet also.............too much music too little time.

I must be behind, please translate LOTW, LOTY
(listen of the week???????)

 

[KR...]

Lots of Spanish Metal bands :

Mago de Oz
Northwind
Red Wine
Lorien
Dark Moor
Ankhara
Tierra Santa
Azrael

and also a whole lot of Angra from Brazil.

and I just finish listening to Death's Human album

 

[Mr.PD]

Old blues.
A friend loaned me a double cd of "The Chess Blues-Rock Songbook".
Good stuff from the 50's like Muddy Waters, Willie Mabon, Chuck Berry, Willie Dixon, etc.

Very enjoyable listening and excellent recordings. Quite a learning experience finding out where some modern rock classics came from.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Quote:

Originally posted by DarkAngel If you listen to all those groups why don't you post at "darkest desires"............these mortals don't know what you're talking about.

Probably because it's impossible to get to the last page -- didn't we go to "II" when we hit 1,000? We should move to "Darkest Desires III". Quote:

is it uncool to use term darkwave.............damnbient is a new one for me, but clever play on words that also describes sound.

Not at all -- it's just that I stay away from terms that I don't understand, and suspect it's wrong, anyway -- isn't darkwave stuff like Black Tape For A Blue Girl? Besides, I'm very proud of the term I made up, thanks. Quote:

have you not scooped up new albums this week by: -Raveonettes -BRMC

Yes, I have not scooped them up. Will do so immediately, though not sure about Raveonettes -- wasn't particularly enamored with their first EP. But at US$6, what's not to try? Quote:

I must be behind, please translate LOTW, LOTY (listen of the week???????)

Yes -- Listen Of The Week and Listen Of The Year. Sorry, more invented terms (I brought them over after having invented them on another board). I use LOTW more often, LOTY was just sort of a play on LOTW.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Pennywise, From the Ashes -- great new pop-punk (Offspring, Green Day, et al) album.

Ephel Duath, Rephormula -- proggy black metal, melikes a lot.

VNV Nation, Futureperfect -- future pop, excellent release from last year. So good, I got it twice (alright, that was really an accident).

Virgin Black, Sombre Romantic -- DarkAngel was right, I like this a lot. This is a 2-CD set, definitely worth the price of entry.

Golden Dawn, The Art of Dreaming -- screamy, blastering metal, interspersed with a fair use of synthesizers (surprisingly much). Quite good.

Manitoba, Up In Flames -- very psychedelic analog electro.

Gary Judd, Ambience -- very pretty ambient. A little bit of a world influence.

Roger Joseph Manning Jr. and Brian Reitzell, Logan's Sanctuary Original Soundtrack -- not really a soundtrack, I think it's making fun of classic synth soundtracks like Clockwork Orange and the like. Very electroclash -- think Moog Cookbook, and you'll have a clue.

Manuel Barrueco, Nylon & Steel -- duets with Steve Morse, Al Di Meola, and Andy Summers, by a classical guitarist. Very nice.

Magnetic, Fastlife -- electro. Nice bass.

Quadrant, Death Minor -- ambient electro. Very dark.

310, Aug 56 -- classic album from this sound collage collective.

Penumbra, Skandinavien -- more electronica based work from a member of :zoviet france: (I think I'm going to start calling myself

usty Chalk:, in honour of bands like them and :wumpscut: ).

Peter Gabriel, Big Time single -- includes the classic deep cuts "Curtains" and "Across the River".

Desiderii Marginis, Deadbeat -- easily my favourite Cold Meat Industries artist.

Notwist, Shrink -- LOTW! Some glitchy stuff, reminding me of Neon Golden, some more jazzy pieces (even an instrumental or two) reminding me of Van Morrison -- all good.

Otto von Schirach, Chopped Zombie Fungus -- you wouldn't think that someone would be able to make a hybrid between IDM and...well, dance music, but that's exactly what Otto von Schirach did. Think Venetian Snares with a more discernible beat. Other LOTW. Highly recommended. Has a great album cover, too.

Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio, Make Love, and War; The Wedlock of Roses; Dernière Volonté, Le feu Sacré; Sophia, Spite -- this is the sort of stuff scrypt listens to.

Heavenly Music Corporation, Anechoic -- this stuff should be called "bliss trance" or something like that. It's not blissful as in ecstasy the drug, it's just...well...pretty happy compared to most of the other stuff I listen to.

Allan Holdsworth and friends, 'igginbottom's Wrench -- excellent jazzy fusionistic stuff from this guitar virtuoso.

Flanger, Midnight Sound -- pretty accurately conjures up a late night jazz club.

Aphex Twin, Richard D. James Album -- I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir on this one, so I won't.

Señor Coconut, El Gran Baile -- more traditional music from the senior of cuckoo-ness.

Peter Kruder, Peace Orchestra -- half of Kruder and Dorfmeister, and sounds like it. Very nice.

Ozric Tentacles, The Hidden Step -- techno meets guitar wizardry.

Klaus Schulze, Mirage -- a synth ambient classic. Great headphone music. I listened to two different masters of this, "exercising" my ears, trying to learn to hear the difference. Mostly subliminal.

Elliott, U.S. Songs -- indie rockers; a little more energetic than the later albums, not as blissed out and dreamy as, say, Song in the Air. I don't like it as much, but it's not really a fair comparison, the three albums are all really very different, and I like that about them. More traditional songwriting than most of the weird things I listen to.

FC Kahuna, Machine Says Yes -- techno/electroclash.

The Postal Service, Give Up -- indie synthpop, destined to be in my top 20 of the year, I think.

Within Temptation, Running Up That Hill -- oh, c'mon Braver, it's not that bad. A little different yes, and I still prefer the original, but it's not wince-worthy.

Isotope 217, Who Stole the I Walkman? -- Tortoise side-project -- indie instrumental music. Several of the tracks are named after buttons on the Walkman, and this is the Japanese version, so there's a bonus track that is named after the "stop" button.

Lights of Euphoria, True Life single -- unabashed future-pop. One of the better examples of the genre.

Einstürzende Neubauten, Silence is Sexy -- classic album from 2000, easily one of my favourites from that year.

Sully, I Have Much to Report -- on Nettwerk. Advertised as having been on one of the "Plastic" compilations, but that was a remix, these guys are more shoegazer. Mestilllikes.

Collide, Some Kind of Strange and Kidneythieves, Zerospace -- great dark gothly synthpop.

Starlight Mints, Built on Squares -- trying to give this another chance, but I'm just not digging it that much. It's enjoyable enough, so I won't sell it, but...I don't know, maybe I should. Too much music, not enough time.

Unearthly Trance, Season of Seance; Science of Silence -- OMG, this sucks so bad. Most of the tracks are sporadic (the silence between the notes being more important than the actual music, perhaps?), noisy and bad. The only redeeming feature are the faster tracks.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Take Them On On Your Own -- singer kind of reminds me of Daniel Ash, doesn't it DarkAngel? I like the first album much better.

Electric Soft Parade, Holes in the Wall -- a late 2002 discovery. Indie, with emphasis on songwriting. Kind of SFA/Eels/Beatles kind of sound, but very very good. Might belatedly make it to my favourites list.

C17H19NO3, 1692/2092 -- soundtracky damnbient in the vein of Lustmord, very good (completely under-rated).

Kraftwerk, Tour De France Soundtracks -- was it worth the wait? Hell, no, but then again, nothing ever could possibly be worth that wait.

Clan of Xymox, Farewell -- more dark gothly synthpop (with guitars, though, more so than even Kidneythieves). Excellent.

Yes, Relayer and Going For The One (new Rhino remasters with bonus tracks) -- had to get these for the bonus tracks. The studio run-throughs and early versions of songs rule. Haven't A/B'd them with the Japanese HDCD remasters, but it's definitely to the point of diminishing returns -- I would be happy with either version. Note: only the early versions are Digipaks, they're already beginning to come out in jewel boxes. Wish I knew that, I would have waited for the jewel boxes. Although the Digipaks aren't that bad.

Spiritualized, Amazing Grace -- some of the early tracks rock, but for the most part they have a gospelly swagger to them, almost bluesy. Melikes.

Der Blutharsch, The Pleasure Received in Pain -- militaristic damnbient.

Celebrity, Sle.EP and Lovesick -- great classic alternative/indie sound. Kinda like Comsat Angels, maybe...?

Various Artist:

Harthouse B-Sides + Rarities -- kinda traditional techno from the mid 90's.

Super Post Electronica Phase One

Indietronica -- great fun! From the likes of Mouse On Mars, Múm, Her Space Holiday, Dntel, Tarwater, et al.

Underworld soundtrack -- very cool, for one of those soundtracks that mixes actual soundtrack music (from "Renholder") with hit songs.

Axiom Dub - Mysteries of Creation -- dubby.

Rarewerks -- not consistent

Trance Europe 2.0 - Aural Electronic Dreams -- Cleopatra glutted the market with these, many years ago, when those of us who had discovered techno couldn't get enough. This is just one of them.

Classical:

Orff: Carmina Burana/Holst: The Planets, by Hill/Mackerras on a Virgin Classics two-fer. Pretty good versions. Now that I "get" Carmina Burana, I can enjoy lesser versions (than Thieleman's).

Grieg: Peer Gynt Suites 1 & 2 by San Francisco Symphony/Blomstedt on London. Quite good. "Solvejg's Song" remains my favourite movement. It's so sparse yet lyrical. I still prefer it being sung by a soprano, though. Imagine that diva in "Fifth Element" (the slow part at the beginning, not when the beat picks up). It's very much like that.

Dvorák: Symphony No. 9 "from the New World"/Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition by Ancerl/Czech Philharmonic Orchestra on Aura. Pretty good for an older recording. I probably got it because it contained two of my favourite pieces ever.

Holst: The Planets, by von Karajan/Berliner Philharmoniker on DG (original image bit processing version). Still remains one of the most definitive versions to me, although I think I don't like the dither.

 

[kuma]

LOST ON ARRIVAL
BENT

 

[truant truism]

rufus wainwright- self-titled (initially, I didn't like it as much as Poses, which I thought was more polished, but it's growing on me)

plastikman- musik (I've been looking for this kind of stuff for a long time. Can't seem to get through the album without falling asleep however

)

funki porchini- fast asleep (another album laced with tryptophan, as the name implies. Lush and mellow.)

cannibal ox- the cold vein (one of the most stunning hip-hop albums I've heard in a long time. El-P revolutionizes beat-making (again) and Vast Aire's lyrics rank among the best poetry I've heard)

beth orton- central reservation (bitter-sweet is the phrase I'd use to describe this album. Her voice is to die for.)

coil- black light district (I must agree with Dusty Chalk here, impossible to describe, but fantastic none the less. I've been looking for this album for a long time, and I finally broke down and downloaded it.

I know, I know.)

elysian fields- queen of the meadow (after I found out (from head-fi) that this was Jennifer Charles' (from Lovage) group, I had to have it. Unlike any other female-led group I have encountered. I'd call it opulent, but that's mostly her voice.)

miles davis- kind of blue ('nuff said)

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Mall, 05.17.2012 01:34:28 PM -0400 -- actually, the band is spelled upside-down, 77VW (very cool), as is the entire tracklist (very cool):

6. E+w
B. 54+V3J8 om+
L. 6uo5-3
9. 3uo J3>|)n=|
S. 3p!5+no & 46!4
h. o!
E. 3)V8
Z. Z >|5!p!u!w
|. | >|5!p!u!w

The music is beat-driven atmospheric (almost ambient) music. I actually like it quite a bit.

Garbage and Version 2.0 -- in hindsight, I end up liking the first album more than the second, but the second is by no means weak. The first just has a darkness to it, the second one suffers from "not enough minor chords" syndrome (a purely personal preference). Japanese editions with the bonus tracks.

Project Pitchfork, Daimonion -- excellent electro-industrial. I think I like these guys as much as Apop B and VNV Nation, if not more.

Peter Gabriel, Us (SACD) -- see Peter Gabrial (sic) thread.

Lab Partners, Daystar -- starts off kind of samey, but somewhere around song 5 really takes off. Highly recommended. Shoegazer/jammy/psychedelic.

David Bowie, Reality -- I really like the version of "Bring Me the Disco King" on the Underworld soundtrack much better. Maybe I'll get used to this one after a couple more listens. The album overall is not as bad as I'd heard -- it's more croony than Heathen (which was more "alternative"), and that's a good thing.

Praxis, 1984 -- weird. Their first album. Lots of turntablism.

Karate, Cancel/Sing -- cool indie rock.

Dawn of Relic, Lovecraftian Dark -- metal. Gothic. Good.

Graeme Revell, The Negotiator

HIM, Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights -- ear candy metal.

A Perfect Circle, Thirteenth Step -- I need to listen to this again, the only thing I remember is it being too quiet to listen to in the car.

u-Ziq, Bilious Paths -- recommended to fans of Venetian Snares and the like, that sort of spastic laptronica. Sure, it may already be a fading fad, but he does it well. I like it, anyway, and that's all that matters.

The Notwist, 12 -- probably the most reflective of their live show -- electronica mixed with the occasional (like two across the entire album) metal breaks, dark vocals immaculately presented. Sure, he's not the best singer in the world, but Robert Smith isn't either, but can you imagine anyone else singing Cure songs? I can't. This guy's better than Robert Smith, anyway, I don't know why I brought him up. Great cover of "Johnny and Mary" on the bonus disc.

Manitoba, Up In Flames -- sounds like this guy got heavily influenced by tracks like the "Tomorrow Never Knows" and stuff. Very psychedelic. Some electronica.

Simple -- electroclash side project from producer for Switchblade Symphony and vocalist from Memphisto Waltz. Very cool! Nicely darker than most other "fun" electroclash that is out there. Cover of AC/DC's "Back in Black" needs to be heard to be believed (there is the occasional guitar, so it's not a complete departure, which I would have preferred).

ELP, Best of the Bootlegs and Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 (the latter being their debut performance) -- what a great live band. Version of "Pictures" on the latter is surprisingly different...and yet the same. Highly recommended other than the sound quality. Version of "Pirates" is a standout.

Talking Heads, Stop Making Sense -- classic live album. I hope I don't need to say much more about this, just get it. I have a hard time anyone not liking this (although I still wish they would release The Name of this Band is... -- that version of "Crosseyed and Painless" is just a tease of some of the versions of, E.G., "I Zimbra", "Houses in Motion", and "The Great Curve" which are just stupendous on that lost live album).

Neal Schon, Electric World -- instrumental fusion. Kind of laid-back, with some world influences, not a "chops" album by any means. Weird side note: most of it is HDCD, but the first two tracks on the second CD are not -- how did that happen? Someone effed up at the mastering house.

Pride and Fall, Nephesh -- future pop. Is okay.

Roxy Music, Reflections -- early live album. Not worth the fidelity, but good performances. Stick with the albums.

Raveonettes, Chain Gang of Love -- pretty cool. May not listen to often, but will keep.

Skyclad, The Silent Whales of Lunar Sea -- someone on the SSMTB board recommended this to me, and I'll be getting more. Jig-influenced metal with a dash of "sense of humour". Kind of proggy.



Otto Von Schirach, Chopped Zombie Fungus -- whacky laptronica, along the lines of Venetian Snares, but not as dark. More fun. My only complaint is the vocals -- sounds like some kid got a hold of a microphone and didn't know what to do with it. It just ends up sounding very amateurish. On the one hand, it adds to the fun atmosphere, but on the other it's distracting. Still, ultimately fun, so this is LOTW-runner-up.

Beth Gibbons and Rustin Man, Out of Season -- L.O.T.W.! This is so good, I think I've played it a million times in the last week. Very slow ("patient" is a word I like to use), with an understated energy. The finale' "Funny Time of Year" is huge, making the rest of the album pale in comparison, but I "found" the rest of the album recently. It really is a great album. Lots of self-multi-tracked backing vocals (kind of reminds me of Mary Ford's work with Les Paul ["Mr. Sandman"]), and that same sort of lazy night-sky-gazing croony vocally prominent music (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, et al). Also stands up to careful examination, Rustin Man is doing some very clever production work. The final track is almost throw-away-able, sort of like a bonus track, but it shows off his production work a little bit, so I still listen to it. Harkens to the old Pink Floyd days in a lot of ways (nothing fancy in the way they're playing it, just very straightforward, no extra drumbeats, etc., but still perfect in execution and lots of atmosphere). Lots of what sounds like just acoustic-guitar and vocals type tracks, but there's usually a bit more going on than that. I believe Rustin Man is one of the guys from Talk Talk.

"Funny Time of Year" is almost two songs. For almost a whole minute, it's just a delicate acoustic guitar and vocals song, but then a little bass is added, and then, right around the 1:10 mark, it shifts into a 3/4 rhythm and starts growing. It's this sort of thing that begs repeated listens. There's something about hearing that first minute that makes you look forward to that shift, and when it happens, the release is almost physical. Same thing with that slow crescendo. Just a gorgeous song.

Various Artists:

A Techno Tribute to Depeche Mode -- better than those trance tributes to dM, but that's not saying much.

Matrix Reloaded -- cool.

Queen of Rock: An Electronica Tribute to Queen

Sometimes God Hides: The Young Persons' Guide to Discipline -- stylistically all over the place, from a plaintive protest song from Adrian Belew, to the dextrous acoustic guitar playing of California Guitar Trio, to Fripp's own Frippertronic noodling, to the raucous spasms of King Crimson, to some stuff in between (whatever that is).

CMJ New Music Monthly, September 2003 -- lot of good tracks this month.

She -- A Female Trip-Hop experience -- got this mostly for the Zia track, but there's quite a few other good numbers on here. I've heard the Laika before, and Lamb and Mandalay, of course, but Hybrid works with Julee Cruise, and I end up liking it quite a bit (don't remember him/them? working with her before), and most of the rest I haven't heard.

Classical:

Philip Glass, Symphony No. 5 -- beautiful.