Machiavelli
Well-known member
Just picked up Sauna Youth's new one. Yippee!
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Albums Thread - 2015
- Thread starter Theatre of Trees
- Start date
Buzzer
Languidly Clinical
- Oct 1, 2006
- 26,121
Love it. I'm a big fan of XX but up until now not so big a fan of Jamie XX's solo stuff. The Gil Scott Heron remix album is inexplicable to me. Not sure at all what he was trying to do and he deconstructed the soul of the album out of it. He did that tune a year or two back that was a sample of Fiorucci made me Hardcore that was so so and the first track that I heard from this new album was "I Know There's Gonna Be Good Times" which I hated and still loathe with a passion. It's autotune hell, there's godawful cod reggae and horrible nasally R&B going on that makes me want to switch off violently. It's the kind of track I imagine would be played with gusto and frequently in a bar on West Street. The rest of the album however is an absolute joy. That first track 'Gosh' I swear samples those hilarious drum and bass/church revivalist video mash-ups which makes it even better IMO and that one aforementioned track aside, he's consistently good. And it is a huge departure from the XX sound.
As regards the minimalist pop sound, it's right up my street and could happily listen to the likes of this or JJ or Lamb forever and never get bored.
Staly
Well-known member
And some good old fashioned Swedish indiepop from the Sun Days: https://luxuryrecords.bandcamp.com/album/album
Buzzer
Languidly Clinical
- Oct 1, 2006
- 26,121
A couple of new albums to look out for:
JD McPherson - 'Let The Good Times Roll' Thirty-something American who does authentic up-to-date rock n roll. I saw him play live at the Komedia in January and he puts on a great show too.
Pokey LaFarge 'Something In The Water' - another retro-sounding thirty-something performer. I think he's East Coast American and plays the type of music that I would place early to mid-50s just before rock and roll exploded so there's still a lot of Louis Jordan/Cab Calloway to it. He's quite bluesy too and his voice has more than a passing similarity to Aussie/American blues singer CW Stoneking. I reckon that the JD McPherson album has a better shelf-life to it and it's difficult to see where Pokey goes with his next album but this one is good fun.
[
And lastly, French trip-hop producer Kognitif has a new album 'Soul Food' out on Bandcamp. I love this bloke, he's very much like Wax Tailor/Gramatik or those late 80s hip-hop turntablists. The album is as cool as you like and perfect for chilling out to with friends. You can hear the new album in full here: https://kognitif.bandcamp.com/album/soul-food but here's the title track. How good is this, eh?
JD McPherson - 'Let The Good Times Roll' Thirty-something American who does authentic up-to-date rock n roll. I saw him play live at the Komedia in January and he puts on a great show too.
Pokey LaFarge 'Something In The Water' - another retro-sounding thirty-something performer. I think he's East Coast American and plays the type of music that I would place early to mid-50s just before rock and roll exploded so there's still a lot of Louis Jordan/Cab Calloway to it. He's quite bluesy too and his voice has more than a passing similarity to Aussie/American blues singer CW Stoneking. I reckon that the JD McPherson album has a better shelf-life to it and it's difficult to see where Pokey goes with his next album but this one is good fun.
[
And lastly, French trip-hop producer Kognitif has a new album 'Soul Food' out on Bandcamp. I love this bloke, he's very much like Wax Tailor/Gramatik or those late 80s hip-hop turntablists. The album is as cool as you like and perfect for chilling out to with friends. You can hear the new album in full here: https://kognitif.bandcamp.com/album/soul-food but here's the title track. How good is this, eh?
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Since SHC mentioned Jamie XX I've had it on repeat. And you're right it is a joy. There's some absolutely lovely little melodies on it.
tinycowboy
Well-known member
That's a lovely album Staly - it's going in the shopping basket. Alert going out to [MENTION=3566]hans kraay fan club[/MENTION]: you may love this. Stay with it - final track's a keeper....
Buzzer
Languidly Clinical
- Oct 1, 2006
- 26,121
Thanks for the heads up. That's great. Right up my street.
spring hall convert
Well-known member
Really liking Walls 3rd and final album 'Urals.'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPHpYWbye_8
Seems to have disappeared without trace which is a shame
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPHpYWbye_8
Seems to have disappeared without trace which is a shame
Buzzer
Languidly Clinical
- Oct 1, 2006
- 26,121
A few new albums that I listened to over the weekend
Vanbot - 'Perfect Storm'. It's the moniker of Swedish synth-pop singer Ester Ideskog. It's very Swedish synth with a lot of similarities to Robyn and the Knife. She takes the power synth bits from the former and the melancholic signature tunes from the latter. It's the kind of album that could very well wash over you with very little effect. Pitchfork raved about it but I think it's a bit derivative. Nice but goes nowhere.
Maribou State - Hertfordshire duo with a very intriguing album. Once again it's the very in vogue chill-wave so one for fans of Moloko or James Blake but I can't get over how much they sound like the XX. There's some very little tricks and turns that they take with extremely clever sampling and if I hadn't heard The XX I'd be raving about this album to all and sundry. Sadly, they're a couple of years too late. Nonetheless, it's beautifully produced, has a lovely crisp minimalist feel to it and there's nothing in any of the tunes not to like. Stand out track for me is this :
DJ Cam - 'Miamai Vice (music inspired by the series)': As concept albums go this is completely out on its own. Very highly respected trip-hop/nu-jazz French producer DJ Cam decided to make an imaginary soundtrack to the 80s TV series, all unofficial of course. It was only ever going to go one of two ways - crash and burn badly or it was going to be something very special. Luckily, DJ Cam has the talent to pull this off with aplomb. There's very little in the way of 80s sounds to it, it's all very dark, chilled and sounding very fresh. The biggest nod to the decade is a deconstruction of Phil Collins 'In The Air Tonight' that's just amazing even if Phil Collins isn't your bag (I like him - I can't be doing with the too cool for school crew who dismiss everything he's done as naff - and mainly on the basis of him saying he'd leave the country a few years back). The album is classic DJ Cam - it's trippy, it has jazz and hip-hop intermingled with some of the best drum programming you'll hear and there's an all-round feel of a man at the top of his game.
Of Monsters And Men - 'Beneath The Skin': I've not managed to go a few hours without returning to this album since I got hold of it on Friday night. It's festival anthemic, intimate and lush in equal measure. Easily their best album to date with the Icelandics sharing the main singing duties on an incredibly well-polished collection of tunes. I blagged a copy of their deluxe edition and if you can do then I'd urge you to listen to the bonus tracks too. There's a few very clever remixes there from the likes of Grizzly Bear and others. I was having a look at the reviews of it online and it's divided opinion with the critics either loving or hating it. I'm firmly a fan of this album but caveat that with the fact that I'm biased about all things folky from Iceland.
Son Lux - 'Bones'. It's the third album from the erstwhile TV advert music composer with the band becoming a trio too as 2 new members have joined. It's a very clever album indeed. He's taken lots and lots of influences and made them completely his own. I can't get over how incredibly complicated the arrangements all sound, it must have been a nightmare to produce but the effort was well spent. How best to describe it? It's sort of like a male PlanningToRock with fuzzy, scuzzy, glitchy electronic music with distorted almost operatic vocals. Highly recommended.
Apologies for the length of the post, last one from me is Jacco Gardner - 'Hypnophobia'. Dutch multi-instrumentalist plays everything on this quite retro sounding album. It reminds me of those instrumental guitar-driven Pink Floyd tracks from the likes of Ummagumma, Atom Heart Mother etc. Definitely one for the headphones on and active listening, if you have this as background music it won't really register - well, it didn't with me whereas the commute in this morning gave me a completely different appreciation of it.
Vanbot - 'Perfect Storm'. It's the moniker of Swedish synth-pop singer Ester Ideskog. It's very Swedish synth with a lot of similarities to Robyn and the Knife. She takes the power synth bits from the former and the melancholic signature tunes from the latter. It's the kind of album that could very well wash over you with very little effect. Pitchfork raved about it but I think it's a bit derivative. Nice but goes nowhere.
Maribou State - Hertfordshire duo with a very intriguing album. Once again it's the very in vogue chill-wave so one for fans of Moloko or James Blake but I can't get over how much they sound like the XX. There's some very little tricks and turns that they take with extremely clever sampling and if I hadn't heard The XX I'd be raving about this album to all and sundry. Sadly, they're a couple of years too late. Nonetheless, it's beautifully produced, has a lovely crisp minimalist feel to it and there's nothing in any of the tunes not to like. Stand out track for me is this :
DJ Cam - 'Miamai Vice (music inspired by the series)': As concept albums go this is completely out on its own. Very highly respected trip-hop/nu-jazz French producer DJ Cam decided to make an imaginary soundtrack to the 80s TV series, all unofficial of course. It was only ever going to go one of two ways - crash and burn badly or it was going to be something very special. Luckily, DJ Cam has the talent to pull this off with aplomb. There's very little in the way of 80s sounds to it, it's all very dark, chilled and sounding very fresh. The biggest nod to the decade is a deconstruction of Phil Collins 'In The Air Tonight' that's just amazing even if Phil Collins isn't your bag (I like him - I can't be doing with the too cool for school crew who dismiss everything he's done as naff - and mainly on the basis of him saying he'd leave the country a few years back). The album is classic DJ Cam - it's trippy, it has jazz and hip-hop intermingled with some of the best drum programming you'll hear and there's an all-round feel of a man at the top of his game.
Of Monsters And Men - 'Beneath The Skin': I've not managed to go a few hours without returning to this album since I got hold of it on Friday night. It's festival anthemic, intimate and lush in equal measure. Easily their best album to date with the Icelandics sharing the main singing duties on an incredibly well-polished collection of tunes. I blagged a copy of their deluxe edition and if you can do then I'd urge you to listen to the bonus tracks too. There's a few very clever remixes there from the likes of Grizzly Bear and others. I was having a look at the reviews of it online and it's divided opinion with the critics either loving or hating it. I'm firmly a fan of this album but caveat that with the fact that I'm biased about all things folky from Iceland.
Son Lux - 'Bones'. It's the third album from the erstwhile TV advert music composer with the band becoming a trio too as 2 new members have joined. It's a very clever album indeed. He's taken lots and lots of influences and made them completely his own. I can't get over how incredibly complicated the arrangements all sound, it must have been a nightmare to produce but the effort was well spent. How best to describe it? It's sort of like a male PlanningToRock with fuzzy, scuzzy, glitchy electronic music with distorted almost operatic vocals. Highly recommended.
Apologies for the length of the post, last one from me is Jacco Gardner - 'Hypnophobia'. Dutch multi-instrumentalist plays everything on this quite retro sounding album. It reminds me of those instrumental guitar-driven Pink Floyd tracks from the likes of Ummagumma, Atom Heart Mother etc. Definitely one for the headphones on and active listening, if you have this as background music it won't really register - well, it didn't with me whereas the commute in this morning gave me a completely different appreciation of it.
spring hall convert
Well-known member
Sauna Youth album out today, preceded by this banger of a single
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgdAoAdwwBI
Haven't heard the new one yet but love Son Lux's last one [MENTION=5200]Buzzer[/MENTION]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgdAoAdwwBI
Haven't heard the new one yet but love Son Lux's last one [MENTION=5200]Buzzer[/MENTION]
spring hall convert
Well-known member
This new one from Circuit Des Yeux is fantastic - FFO Jarboe, Nico, Swans.
https://circuitdesyeux.bandcamp.com/
https://circuitdesyeux.bandcamp.com/
Buzzer
Languidly Clinical
- Oct 1, 2006
- 26,121
I've got the album and tried listening 2 or 3 times to it but it's not the easiest of albums to get into. I'll persevere tonight.
An album that is an instant hit is Leftfield ' Alternative Light Source'. It's as if they've never been away, what they do - dark, bass-heavy dance music - they do so well. The album is VERY bass heavy, even the tracks without a lot of drums,the title track for instance, rumble ominously like an impending hailstorm. They have struck true to their roots and it's predominantly an album of 'dance' music, the lengths of the tracks and the build-ups confirm that. The first track is a Kraftwerk-esque number but then tunes such as Universal Everything and Little Fish are dance-floor behemoths. There's one or two fillers (Storms End, Levitate For You) that let you catch breath and wind-down and there's a couple of tracks (Dark Matters, Alternative Light Source) that are things of beauty. It's going to be a classic, for sure and it's so expansive and dense. Wow!
Buzzer
Languidly Clinical
- Oct 1, 2006
- 26,121
What's the opinions on the new Franz Ferdinand/Sparks Collaboration - FFS? My first thoughts are that there's a few good tracks in there but as with most things Sparks related there's an awful lot that sounds like musical theatre that just becomes an instant turn-off. I really wish I could get my head around Sparks a bit more than I do but a few tracks aside (This Town, My Way...) I can easily live without them in my life.
spring hall convert
Well-known member
I wouldn't say it's easy but it's easier than the three artists I quoted above!
Must listen to it pre Glastonbury. I fully intend to see them even if it means missing half an hour of the Parliament/ Funkadelic/ Family Stone extravaganza.
Must listen to it pre Glastonbury. I fully intend to see them even if it means missing half an hour of the Parliament/ Funkadelic/ Family Stone extravaganza.
thedonkeycentrehalf
Moved back to wear the gloves (again)
- Jul 7, 2003
- 9,340
Had my first listen today and found it quite entertaining. Plenty of humour in there as you would expect (Police Encounters, Collaborations Don't Work, Piss Off). As a long term Sparks fan I've always liked the OTT nature of their work and the link up with FF seems to work well.
Also had my first listen of the new Muse album today. Not something that instantly grabs me but like their last couple of albums might be a grower.
Buzzer
Languidly Clinical
- Oct 1, 2006
- 26,121
3 more albums and an EP reviewed. The 3 album artists are brand new names to me.
SOAK - 'Before We Forgot To Dream': She's a 16 year old from Londonderry signed to Rough Trade Records whilst still at school. She's predominantly folky guitar with song titles that Courtney Barnett might well pen although SOAK's subject matter tends to be quite dark and personal rather than the more worldly outlook of Ms Barnett. Her voice is distinctive, the Ulster accent is heavy throughout and her singing voice isn't strong, similar to Courtney Barnett's inasmuch as when she gets near anything like a high note it's quite thin and prone to breaking and with the heavy burr it can be difficult to follow the lyrics at times. There's no doubting she's talented but the good tunes are few and far between on a 13 track album. Too many sound similar. I hope she can broaden her range and if so she's got the potential to be as good as Laura Marling. I'd probably recommend listening before buying with this one.
High Wolf - 'Growing Wild': His Bandcamp bio says he's Brazilian but various other blurb has him down as French with influences from India. The strange thing is that the biggest influence to my ears is African especially Southern African music - I can hear the likes of the Bhundu Boys and most definitely Shangaan electro in it. It's not all easy listening, it can sound a little free-form at times but the underlying rhythms are there and it can and does work and when it really gets dancey it's not too dissimilar to Gaslamp Killer or Gonjasufi. It's interesting for sure and not too long either so the attention doesn't wane. One of those albums I'll return to from time to time but will never be one of my regulars.
The Sandwitches - 'The Toast': Another Bandcamp discovery, this San Franciscan band have been around for about 8 or 9 years and this is their third and final album apparently. They're described as a garage/indie rock band but unless this album is a massive departure, I don't think the description fits. That to me conjures up Black Flag, Nirvana, Pixies wannabes whereas The Sandwitches are far more like Mazzy Star. The album is slow, deliberate and extremely laid back with lots of twangs and little country blues interludes. I like this album a lot and precisely because they sound a lot like Mazzy Star. Without doubt my pick of the 3 albums listed.
click the link to listen: https://soundcloud.com/emptycellarrecords/b1-miggy-mastered
Lastly The Glitch Mob have an EP out this week called Piece of the Indestructible. The first track 'Head Full of Shadows' is pretty full on from the trio. For those who haven't heard of them they play synthpop but with a twist into a genre they practically invented - glitch hop. In a nutshell, more pops, breaks, whistles, glitches and stop/starts than you can shake a stick at. One third of the GLitch Mob is edIT who created one of my all-time favourite albums 'Crying Over Pros For No Reason'. The 2 remaining tracks are pretty good but don't get near the quality of the first.
SOAK - 'Before We Forgot To Dream': She's a 16 year old from Londonderry signed to Rough Trade Records whilst still at school. She's predominantly folky guitar with song titles that Courtney Barnett might well pen although SOAK's subject matter tends to be quite dark and personal rather than the more worldly outlook of Ms Barnett. Her voice is distinctive, the Ulster accent is heavy throughout and her singing voice isn't strong, similar to Courtney Barnett's inasmuch as when she gets near anything like a high note it's quite thin and prone to breaking and with the heavy burr it can be difficult to follow the lyrics at times. There's no doubting she's talented but the good tunes are few and far between on a 13 track album. Too many sound similar. I hope she can broaden her range and if so she's got the potential to be as good as Laura Marling. I'd probably recommend listening before buying with this one.
High Wolf - 'Growing Wild': His Bandcamp bio says he's Brazilian but various other blurb has him down as French with influences from India. The strange thing is that the biggest influence to my ears is African especially Southern African music - I can hear the likes of the Bhundu Boys and most definitely Shangaan electro in it. It's not all easy listening, it can sound a little free-form at times but the underlying rhythms are there and it can and does work and when it really gets dancey it's not too dissimilar to Gaslamp Killer or Gonjasufi. It's interesting for sure and not too long either so the attention doesn't wane. One of those albums I'll return to from time to time but will never be one of my regulars.
The Sandwitches - 'The Toast': Another Bandcamp discovery, this San Franciscan band have been around for about 8 or 9 years and this is their third and final album apparently. They're described as a garage/indie rock band but unless this album is a massive departure, I don't think the description fits. That to me conjures up Black Flag, Nirvana, Pixies wannabes whereas The Sandwitches are far more like Mazzy Star. The album is slow, deliberate and extremely laid back with lots of twangs and little country blues interludes. I like this album a lot and precisely because they sound a lot like Mazzy Star. Without doubt my pick of the 3 albums listed.
click the link to listen: https://soundcloud.com/emptycellarrecords/b1-miggy-mastered
Lastly The Glitch Mob have an EP out this week called Piece of the Indestructible. The first track 'Head Full of Shadows' is pretty full on from the trio. For those who haven't heard of them they play synthpop but with a twist into a genre they practically invented - glitch hop. In a nutshell, more pops, breaks, whistles, glitches and stop/starts than you can shake a stick at. One third of the GLitch Mob is edIT who created one of my all-time favourite albums 'Crying Over Pros For No Reason'. The 2 remaining tracks are pretty good but don't get near the quality of the first.
Anyone else enjoying the recent Dan Deacon long player? More of the same from him but very enjoyable.
Whitechapel
Famous Last Words
Have hardly listened to any new music over the last 3 months. Can somebody drop me a few albums to catch up on? My preferred Genre is Hip-Hop but I'm happy to listen to anything. Ta.
The new Young Father's album?