A good friend of mine (who occupies the same black lodge as me, although we are thousands of miles apart) recommended this album to me. Its from the Chicago based International Anthem label (Makaya McCraven / Jeff Parker) and its Ben LaMar Gay's "Downtown Castles can never block the sun". It doesn't really fit into any category if you ask me, its fairly wild with a lot of ideas. I love it. This track reminds me of The The (Matt Johnson), but that's about it! The other tracks you can make your own mind up on!
Bill Orcutt & Chris Corsano - Brace Up! Incredible album... I feel like I physically can't stop listening to it today.
My favorite bandcamp download only release from last year got a physical release this month on a small Swiss label Russian shoegaze band Blankberge's Radiogaze
That sound’s incredible. Also, this article about Melnyk is quite interesting: Lightning-fast pianist Lubomyr Melnyk: 'When I play I turn into an eagle flying'
I'm really enjoying the new album by Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness called "Upside Down Flowers". This video of the opening track has a short honest moment of truth at the beginning, regarding hope for success of this new album (or not), which I found refreshing. Great honest lyrics about their already short-lived fame and success in this opening track called "Teenage Rockstars" ...
The NECKS – Body Blaine L. REININGER – The Blue Sleep The EX – 27 Passports Tim HECKER – Konoyo Anna Von HAUSSWOLFF – Dead Magic Laurie ANDERSON & KRONOS QUARTET – Landfall Ryley WALKER – The Lillywhite Sessions Nils FRAHM – All Melody ORCHESTRA OF SPHERES – Mirror MOSTER! - States Of Mind
White Denim - Performance It's a long ways away from workout holiday and i haven't seen much love for their latest around here but i think it's a really great record.
Just heard this thanks to Angry Metal Guy's things you may have missed in 2018 posts. Can't stop listening to it. A perfect blend of beauty and aggression.
Here's my top 10 new releases in 2018, in no particular order: Visigoth “Conqueror’s Oath” - The musical equivalent of a D&D critical hit. Avoid this if you hate fun. Wayfarer “World’s Blood” - Other than a new Falls of Rauros album, this is pretty much exactly what I wanted from black metal in 2018. Kriegsmaschine “Apocalypticists” - The percussion on this album is mesmerizing. I can’t get enough of this one. Bongripper “Terminal” - This is Bongripper doing what Bongripper does best. Thoroughly solid. Thumbscrew “Ours” - Mary Halvorson is the star of the show here, though everyone involved really shines. In a world with no shortage of great guitar players, she really stands out. Spaceslug “Eye the Tide” - Heavy but not overbearing. I listened to a lot more doom metal in 2018, and this was likely the best of the lot. Stone Disciple “Lost Comm” - Raw, but awesome. Another solid doom album. Also yet another awesome band to come from the fertile Denver metal scene. Monobody “Raytracing” - Some fun prog that has exactly the right amount of wanking. Sylvaine “Atoms Aligned, Coming Undone” - It’s no surprise that Neige was involved in this, though he only played drums. Excellent black-gaze in the vein of Amesoeurs. Kikagaku Moyo “Masana Temples” - Psychedelic without sounding derivative. It has a loose feel to it, but still sounds tight. Quite the balancing act.
For some reason keeping a close eye on this thread has made me feel much more detached and much less cranky about the Tower of Babel deluge of year-end lists. So thanks everybody.
Hadn’t checked out Sylvaine’s album until now. Angelic feminine vocals and Neige’s relentless drum onslaught (can’t recommend Alcest enough). It’s a winning pick.
This album takes me to a foreign highland valley around a campfire. If you don’t have any albums with Harp of David (aka begena), this might be a good addition to your collection. Sosena has a magical, hushed voice that facilitates lucid dreaming and meditation. This is actually a re-release of a Ethiopian only cassette release, if I’m not mistaken. Sosena Gebre Eyesus, by Sosena Gebre Eyesus
“Not since Itzhak Perlman performed klezmer in the 1990s has Yiddish music been played at such a high level. An epic discovery of Yiddish songs from the World War II and the Holocaust brought together Sergei Erdenko (Russia’s greatest Roma violinist, and longtime collaborator of Yehudi Menuhin) with an elite ensemble of virtuosi from the worlds of folk, Jewish, Roma, classical and jazz music. Going beyond klezmer, the album to be released by Six Degrees in 2018, re-defines the performance of Jewish music for the twenty-first century. Yiddish Glory tells the remarkable story of folklorists in the Soviet Union who risked their lives collecting songs from Jewish Red Army soldiers, Jewish refugees, victims and survivors of Ukrainian ghettos. Following the war, the researchers were arrested by Stalin; their work was confiscated, and they died thinking the collection was lost to history. But the songs were later discovered in unmarked boxes stored in the basement of the Ukrainian National Library, and brought to life through painstaking research, for the first time in 75 years.” The Lost Songs Of World War II, by Yiddish Glory
The Foxwarren album is really quite excellent from cap to converse. Listen to the beautiful chorus on the album opener:
