2015 Picks

Algiers – s/t: Debut album for this Neo-soul/post-punk band. Sounds like a weird combination but it’s something you just have to hear for yourself. 

Sample: Claudette

* The Dear Hunter – Act IV: Birth and Reprise: First entry to the acts series in 6 years.  After releasing his symphony this past year, Casey seems unafraid to embrace the full orchestral gambit.  Ambitious crossover prog / indie rock / chamber pop with early 20^th century vibes.

Sample: Night on the Town

* Jaga Jazzist – Starfire: Vibrant and colorful electro-nu-jazz with a very urban/trippy sort of feel. Overall lots of craziness and fun.  Definitely more electronic than their previous album, One-armed Bandit

Sample: Oban (live session)

Son Lux – Bones: Experimental electronic / trip-hop accompanied by brittle vocals and swaths of synth-driven cacophony. Definitely brighter and more tooled for a live setting than previous albums, though not as strong as Lanterns or We are Rising.

Sample: White lies

Viet Cong – s/t: Moody & somewhat noisy post-punk with heavy 80s aesthetic.  Very fun and powerful music that just makes you want to grab a guitar or pair of sticks and jam out. Bonus: My girlfriend says the singer sounds like a vampire, for whatever that’s worth.

Sample: Continental Shelf

GREAT

2814 -新しい日の誕生 – This is what I always wanted from vaporwave

* Beardfish -- +4626-Comfortzone –Zappa/King Crimson inspired retro-prog with jam band elements, fortunately have brought some of the playfulness back from the early era

Carpenter Brut – Trilogy – Strongest synthwave/outrun effort this year.  Think 80’s action/horror movie chase music.

Chelsea Wolfe – Abyss – Crunchy, heavy, slow, and aptly abysmal darkwave

* Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Asunder Sweet and Other Distress – Apocalyptic post-rock progenitors return, unfortunately nowhere near as good as their 2012 comeback release. Their first track is great, drone-y, and reminiscent of Earth, but the central sound collage tracks fall flat.

Kamasi Washington – The Epic – Spiritual Jazz / neo-soul, huge bombastic pieces

Natural Snow Buildings – Terror’s Horns –Somewhat creepy droney atmospheric avant-folk

* Tigran Hamasyan – Mockroot – Avant-garde Armenian folk jazz with heavy progressive tendencies

* Turzi – C – space / krautrock with operatic vocals (more spacey, less kraut than previous releases A, B)

* William D. Drake – Revere Reach – Ex-keyboardist from Cardiacs; jaunty whimsical pastoral prog

GOOD

Big Blood – Double Days II --  Ambient avant-folk

* The Decemberists – What a Terrible World What a Beautiful World – folk-pop

Komara – Komara – Dark avant jazz/metal

Odawas – Black Harmony –  Synth-laden atmospheric amorphous folky Americana stuff. Not as strong as last year’s Relfections of a Pink Laser.

* Sannhet – Revisionist – Instrumental post-metal

Thundercat – The Beyond / Where Giants Roam  -- Nu-jazz / neo-soul

Timbre – Sun and Moon – A lady sings and plays harp.  Results are quite beautiful.

Umberto – Law Unit – Horror Synth

* -- probably included on this site

Still looking forward to getting my hands on the new Guapo and Elephant9 albums