Faust vs. Dalek: Derbe Respect, Alder

Year: 2004
Label: Staubgold
Genre: Dark Industrial Krautrap
TRT: 52:58

This is an extremely odd release. Two heavyweights of their respective forte join forces to create this mystery dish of an album. One part avant-garde krautrock, one part underground politically explicit rap, it's the sort of thing that makes you sit back and scratch your head. The strangest part about it though, is that it actually works. Not all the time, maybe not always for an entire track, but over-all this record will have you hooked, and you'll want to listen again in case you missed something.

If nothing else, there's little-to-nothing else out there like this, and that's worth at least a few listens.

01 Imagine What We Started
02 Hungry for Now
03 Remnants
04 Dead Lies
05 Erratic Thoughts
06 Bullets Need Violence
07 Collected Twighlight
08 T-electronique
09 Bonus Track

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Vashti Bunyan (5/5)

Year: 2005
Label: Fat Cat
Genre: Atmospheric Folk
TRT: 35:31

I'm not going to go in to the entire back story leading to the release of this album, you can look that up on your own. I'll just say that Mrs. Bunyan released an album in 1970 to mediocre success, and retired to the English country side to raise her family. Then after a fantastic chain of events she released this album in 2005 to much acclaim. Though keeping the same aesthetic as Just Another Diamond Day, she brings much more life experience to the table this time around. She has crafted a timeless classic full of warmth and soothing beauty with touches of nostalgia seasoned with sage.

01 Lately
02 Here Before
03 Wayward
04 Hidden
05 Against the Sky
06 Turning Back
07 If I Were
08 Same but Different
09 Brother
10 Feet of Clay
11 Wayward Hum

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Extol: Undeceived (5/5)

Year: 2000
Label: Solid State
Genre: Progressive Death Metal
TRT: 57:14

This band single handedly opened my eyes to the world of aggressive music. I heard their debut album first, but this is the one that absolutely blew my fifteen-year-old mind. A perfect amalgamation of brutality and beauty forged together into one nearly flawless work of art. A must hear.

01 Inferno
02 Undeceived
03 Time Stands Still
04 Ember
05 Meadows of Silence
06 Shelter
07 A Structure of Souls
08 Of Light and Shade
09 Where Sleep is Rest
10 Renewal
11 Abandoned
12 And I Watch

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Embodyment: The Narrow Scope of Things (4.5/5)

Year: 2000
Label: Solid State
Genre: Melodic Hardcore
TRT: 52:03

I read a review of this album a year after it came out when I was really getting in to heavier music, and I tried to track it down for awhile to no avail. Then I received it as a birthday present to much excitement. At the time, I really loved the "hardcore" tracks, and did not care for the "melodic" tracks. But looking back on it and listening to the album now, I really do like every aspect of the album. Everything is very well crafted and put together. Even though it's nearly split in half between the two distinct sounds, they pull off both with remarkable ease.

Now when I first heard this album, I was unaware that just a few years earlier they had released a brutal death metal album, and that this was a drastic change for them. Similarly, the next year they completely dropped the hardcore element and went to straight up alternative rock. I've never been too much a fan of either ends of their spectrum, but this disc still holds it's own in my library.

01 Winter Kiss
02 Pendulum
03 One Less Addiction
04 Greedy Hands
05 Confessions
06 Assembly Line Humans
07 Prelude
08 Killing the Me in Me
09 Critical Error
10 Ballad
11 One Less Addiction (Acoustic)
12 The Aftermath of Closure

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Aphex Twin: Selected Ambient Works Volume II (4.5/5)

Year: 1994
Label: Warp
Genre: Ambient Soundscapes
TRT: Disc I: 74:42 Disc II: 76:58

The first disc of this set was a very influential album for me. For weeks I listened to it every night as I drifted off to sleep, and had it on repeat so I woke up to it as well. Though it was perfect for this implementation, I saw little use for it otherwise. But eventually, it seeped int my head and settled in the cracks of my brain, and one morning when I woke up to Radiator and realized the genius behind it. While "ambient" music is exactly that, good ambient music is very intention and planned, with textures and layers and atmosphere designed to engage and entrance when paid attention to, but to slip to the background otherwise. As Brian Eno said in 1978, "Ambient Music must be able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting".

Disc II never impacted me in the same way as disc I, mostly because i didn't aquire it at the same time, and haven't listened to it nearly as much. But it's still a quality album in it's own right.

Disc I
01 Cliffs
02 Radiator
03 Rhubarb
04 Grass
05 Mould
06 Curtains
07 Blur
08 Weathered Stone
09 Tree
10 Domino
11 White Blur

Disc II
01 Blue Calx
02 Parallel Stripes
03 Metal Grating
04 Windowsill
05 B+W Stripes
06 Siding Nails
07 Corrugated Tubing
08 Lichen
09 Leaves
10 Tassels
11 Rusty Metal
12 B+W Stripes II

download disc i
download disc ii

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Scarlet: Something to Lust About (4.5/5)

Year: 2003
Label: Ferret Music
Genre: Chaotic Math Metal
TRT: 12:24

Scarlet was a favorite in the Richmond scene for a long time before they signed with Ferret, but this EP is really what announced their presence to everyone else. Brash, in your face, and unashamed to call you out on your darkest secrets. John Spencer's furious vocals pull you in to the whirlwind, and when it's all said and done, you're left ravaged, and wanting more.

01 Revolver
02 Carbon Copy Killer
03 Sell Yourself
04 Erotic Antibiotic
05 Something to Lust About
06 Suicide King

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Terra Firma: Terra Firma (4/5)

Year: 1998
Genre: Stoner Groove Metal
Label: Music Cartel
TRT: 40:12

I bought this album years ago thinking it was the christian metal group, and was a bit miffed when I realized it definitely was not. But nevertheless, I really started to dig it. I don't know why I like this album and not much else by way of stoner anything, but this album is so much fun I can't help myself. Extremely catchy, and it will make you move.

01 Rainbow Ride
02 Goatburn
03 Good Stuff
04 ...And the 8th Seal Was Her's
05 Separate Graves
06 Spiral Guru
07 Fifth Wheel
08 Nimbus
09 Troll Formula
10 Altered Beast

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Arsis: A Celebration of Guilt (5/5)

Year: 2004
Label: Willowtip
Genre: Technical Death Metal
TRT: 44:20

Death metal with a keen sense of melody is what you'll find here. These metalheads from Richmond Virginia serve up an intense ride that will have you humming along in no time at all. Be assured, this is a brutal record, but it's also as catchy as a bad case of mononucleosis. And it'll stick around for longer.

01 The Face of My Innocence
02 Maddening Disdain
03 Seven Whispers Fell Silent
04 Return
05 Worship Depraved
06 Carnal Ways to Recreate the Heart
07 Dust and Guilt
08 Elegant and Perverse
09 The Sadistic Motives Behind Bereavement Letters
10 Looking to Nothing
11 Wholly Night

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Ulver: Teachings in Silence (5/5)

Year: 2004
Label: Jester
Genre: Dark Ambient Soundscapes
TRT: 52:55

This is the combination of two previous limited release EP's, and is one of my favorite albums of all time. It's difficult to put in to words why, other than to say that it instantly arrested my attention, and took me to places I'd never been. Mysterious, dark, brooding and in it's own way, beautiful, this cd is in a league of it's own.

And Darling Didn't We Kill You is absolutely amazing.

01 Silence Teaches You How To Sing
02 Darling Didn't We Kill You
03 Speak Dead Speaker
04 Not Saved

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Order Teachings in Silence from The End Records

Crowpath: Son of Sulphur (4.5/5)

Year: 2005
Label: Willowtip
Genre: Brutal Technical Death Metal
TRT: 33:49

This is a concept album following the exploits of an arsonist, a paradoxically chilling journey through the mind of a psychopath. There's just something about this record (and this band period) that sets them apart from the plethora of similar bands. Maybe it's their wonderful ability to create atmosphere, or the way the furious precussion section includes the extensive use of bell cymbals, or perhaps it's just the sheer precision and passion displayed by the band as a whole. Whatever that "something" is, they have an abundance of it, and I can't get enough.

01 Candles and Kerosene
02 The Will to Burn
03 Chased, Caught and Charged
04 Pidgeonmasher
05 Children of Boredom
06 Self Destruct Pessimism
07 Seed of Arson
08 Picked Clean
09 The Lucanthrope
10 Scab Coated Attraction
11 Lights Out, Left For Dead
12 End in Water

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Controlled Bleeding: Shanked & Slithering (4/5)

Year: 2005
Label: Soleilmoon Recordings
Genre: Power Electronics Noise
TRT: 79:41

I picked up this album along with about 8 other noise cds at a Wolf Eyes show I attended a few years ago, but I only recently gave it a serious listen, and it has risen above the rest. One night I popped this record into my stereo system and listened to it VERY LOUD at 2am whilst reading Stephen King's The Dark Tower saga (the saga that named this journal). It was an aurally overwhelming, brutally divine experience. It's a bit difficult to put into words how some noise is better than other noise, or to sequester the differences found within "the good stuff". All I can say is, once you release yourself and let this sinister wall of sound wash over you, once you find the warmth in letting go of everything, maybe you'll understand a little more.

This is really a compilation that spans the groups vast career, which makes the consistancy of quality it all the more remarkable. They have released nearly 30 records since 1983, covering many different genre along the way.

01 Swallowing Scrap Metal No. 9
02 Shanked And...
03 Bees No. 1
04 Bees No. 2
05 Dry Lung
06 Vole
07 Experiments Infuck
08 Bladder Bags (Session No. 1)
09 Hymn No. 1
10 Horsemeat (Yak Remix)
11 Swallowing No. 5 (Power Mix)
12 Bladder Bags (Session No. 2)
13 Hymn No. 2

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Rosetta: The Galilean Satellites (4.5/5)

Year: 2005
Label: Translation Loss
Genre: Experimental Epic Sludge
TRT: 60:05

Taking the lead from Neurosis, The Galilean Satellites was released as a two disc set designed to be played simultaneaously. The first disc is the sludge disc, while disc two is experimental ambient noise tracks. And while it may seem slightly pretentious to release an album this way, conceptually it's pretty cool. The album tells the story of a (possibly French) "space man" who grows weary of the Earth and decides to find a better place to call home, but eventually returns when he realizes he left behind all he loved. The story of the first disc is enhanced by the second, because all the tracks are named after stars, and they exude the feeling of floating through space. When combined (as they are here), the sum becomes greater than it's parts, creating a massive, white giant of an album that sucks you in and won't let you go.

01 Departe/Deneb
02 Europa/Capella
03 Absent/Beta Aquilae
04 Itinérant/Ross 128
05 Au Pays Natal/Sol

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Ulver: Svidd Neger (4.5/5)

Year: 2003
Label: Jester
Genre: Epic Experimental Film Score
TRT: 32:39

Generally this release gets criminally overlooked among the host of other releases by the Wolves of Norway. Originally i had downloaded a bogus copy with a bunch of weird and awful crap spliced in to the rest of it. When I finally realized I didn't have the real deal and aquired it, I was blown away with it's beauty. I've never seen the film, but it better be gorgeous enough to do this soundtrack justice. It really leaves you wanting to hear more.

01 Preface
02 Ante Andante
03 Comedown
04 Surface
05 Somnam
06 Wild Cat
07 Rock Massif pt. 1
08 Rock Massif pt. 2
09 Poltermagda
10 Mummy
11 Burn the Bitch
12 Sick Soliloquy
13 Waltz King of Karl
14 Sadface
15 Fuck Fast
16 Wheel of Conclusion

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Coaltar of the Deepers: Yukari Telepath (4/5)

Year: 2007
Genre: Experimental Shoegaze Post Rock
Label: Musicmine
TRT: 67:23


Over the years, this group of Japanese musicians has explored a host of genres. From death metal, to techno, and many things in between. They have a massive discography that I have barely touched. But this was my introduction to the band, and I think it's a good one because they don't go too far off the deep-end with their genre-bending tendencies.

Yukari Telepath gets off to a furious start, with several parts that have almost a Meshuggah-esque feel to them. But after a few songs they begin to really mellow out into a Mew reminiscent brand of down-tempo shoegaze beauty. Very fun to listen to, and a great album to put on when you've got nowhere to go and nothing to do but drive for an hour.

01 Introduction of Zoei
02 Zoei
03 Wipeout (Retake)
04 Waterbird
05 Hedorian Forever
06 Aquarian Age
07 Automation Structures
08 Interlude
09 Lemurian Seed
10 AOA
11 Yukari Telepath
12 Carnival (Oumagatoki Mix)
13 Evil Line
14 Ribbon no kishi
15 Deepless

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Sparrows Swarm and Sing: Untitled #2 (4.5/5)

Year: 2005
Label: Self Released
Genre: Experimental Post Rock
TRT: 27:26

I brought these guys down from Massachusetts to play a show a couple years ago. They arrived early in their 15 passenger van, with trailer in-tow. As they began piling out of the vehicle and unpacking their instruments and gear, I started to get just a tiny inclination of what was in store. At that time, there were 8 or 9 members playing a host of instruments. From cello, to xylophone, to musical saw to random percussion and violin, along with your standard bass guitars and drums. The lights went down, a projector they had brought along began to play old reel-to-reel home movies on the back wall, and Sparrows Swarm and Sing began to play.

What ensued was one of the most beautiful, emotional and powerful things I've ever experienced, and if you pass up the chance to see these guys, you're seriously lacking for intelligence.

They've released this EP multiple times with multiple artwork. This is the MacRock 2006 edition that came in a completely hand made package consisting of a piece of backing wood with a harp burned into the back, and the number burned on the front (27/50 here), and then tied together with hemp and another wood chip sporting a design unique from all the rest. The cd it's self is contained in a vellum hand-folded sleeve, and has a pattern pressed on it in red wax.

Now, whenever a band is willing to go the extra mile with the packaging, I've always found that they're willing to do the same with their music. So it should come as no surprise that Untitled #2 is my favorite release from these northerners.

01 Part I
02 Part II
03 Part III

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Bat For Lashes: Fur & Gold (4.5/5)

Year: 2006
Label: Parlophone
Genre: Dark Indie Dream Folk
TRT: 45:16

Born in Pakistan and raised in England, multi-instrumentalist Natasha Khan dreamed a dream one night. Bat For Lashes was born of this night wandering, and it's no wonder. Fur & Gold is an atmospheric and haunting journey that settles in to your ears and refuses to leave. Whether it's a hypnotically repeated vocal line or a whimsical harpsichord run, you'll be humming it for days.

01 Horse and I
02 Trophy
03 Tahiti
04 What's a Girl to Do?
05 Sad Eyes
06 The Wizard
07 Prescilla
08 Bat's Mouth
09 Seal Jubilee
10 Sarah
11 I Saw a Light

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65daysofstatic: The Fall of Math (4.5/5)

Year: 2004
Label: Monotreme
Genre: Post Rock Electro Glitch
TRT: 43:45

These Englishmen know how to rock. Taking the Post Rock formula of crafting songs with constantly building tension and intense climaxes, and intensifying it with some very interesting electronics and glitchy static. Sort of sounds like Mogwai's doppelganger patching it's music though The Matrix. Or, imagine The Sound of Animals Fighting playing a Pelican cover show, with a sound system possessed by Autechre.

01 Another Code Against the Gone
02 Install a Beak in the Heart That Clucks Time in Arabic
03 Retreat! Retreat!
04 Default This
05 I Swallowed Hard, Like I Understood
06 The Fall of Math
07 This Cat Is a Landmine
08 The Last Home Recording
09 Hole
10 Fix the Sky a Little
11 Aren't We All Running?

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The Heuristic: Parapraxes (4/5)

Year: 2005
Label: Black Box
Genre: Chaotic Mathcore
TRT: 16:41

I saw this band when they were on tour with Swarm of the Lotus, and they brought a lot of intensity to the floor. This short cd dosen't quite match their performance, but there are still some very good moments, and I look forward to seeing what direction they take in the future.

Recommended if you like Daughters, The Locust, or other similar artists.

01 Max Planck vs. The Army Of Darkness
02 There Is No Square Root of Negative One in Team
03 Speed Lemur Houses Ex-Endurance On Account Of Perspicacity
04 This Is First Manassas
05 Second Manassas
06 Jack Ruby Tuesday
07 The Transylvania Lottery
08 E: Redheaded Stepchild Of The Non Repeating Decimals
09 Mississippi Delta Force

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Black Castle: Silver Demo (4.5/5)

Year: 2003
Label: Self Released
Genre: Electro Hardcore
TRT: 10:57

After seeing their furious live show, I spent my last five bucks at their merch table on this recording. Very short, but brimming with the same energy displayed live. Imagine what Converge would sound like if they didn't take themselves seriously and collaborated with HORSE The Band. Something that set Black Castle apart is their lack of guitar, and being driven by the bass and keys equally. They released a full length in 2004, but it dosen't quite match the intensity of this release, and the band broke up shortly thereafter.

01 Oh No! Oh No! Oh No! Oh Yeah!
02 ...And the Boneless Phoenix...
03 The Wall of Infertility
04 Godspeed You Black Castle!
05 Battling the Dark Knights Armor
06 Zombie Brain-Eating March

Black Castle on MySpace

Yeti: Yeti (5/5)

Year: 1998
Label: Skaught Productions
Genre: Atmospheric Doom
TRT: 38:40

Possibly my very first exposure to doom metal back in 1999 or 2000. I didn't know what genre it was back then, I just knew that it was the heaviest thing I'd ever heard up to that point in my life. Even after all these years, I absolutely love this short little EP, and rue the fact that the band drastically changed their style on their following (hard to find) full-length, and then just sort of vanished. Sure, they have a myspace page, but it hasn't been updated since 2004, and nothing they ever do could match the enchantment this eponymous recording evokes.

01 (Intro)
02 Foretold Gathering
03 The Awakening
04 I Walk Among the Dead
05 When Darkness Fails to Fall

Yeti on MySpace

Spitfire: Self-Help (5/5)

#1 Album of 2006


Year: 2006
Label: Goodfellow
Genre: Chaotic Mathcore
TRT: 33:31

This album was released in February, and it did not move down on my Top 10 for 2006 list for a second. The full on assault of chaos and fury are the perfect juxtaposition of previous Spitfire and Scarlet styles. John Spencer is one of the best vocalists in the genre, period. His writing and lyrical prowess have improved greatly since his time in Scarlet, and his placements are spot on throughout the record. I believe this album will stand the test of time, and remain a favorite for years to come.

01 Meat Market
02 Go Ape
03 Life and Limb
04 Dear John
05 Leap of Faith
06 U.V. I.V.
07 Great White Noise
08 Comfort (The Iceman Cometh)
09 Suicide Cult Is Dead
10 Kings of the Food Chain
11 Ohm Driver

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Daughters: Hell Songs (4.5/5)

#2 Album of 2006


Year: 2006
Label: Hydrahead
Genre: Experimental Grindcore
TRT: 23:08

No harsh vocals. That’s right, daughters has done the unthinkable, and I’m honestly surprised by the somewhat negative reaction from many fans. What else would you expect but something even stranger and weirder…and more disturbing than their last release? The music is every bit as intense as Canada Songs, but with longer songs comes more depth, and that’s always a good thing. I applaud Daughters for maturing their sound and not shying away from experimentation. And even though this record is sans screaming, the drunken Elvis style utilized is creepy as hell...songs...

01 Daughters Spelled Wrong
02 Fiery
03 Recorded Inside a Pyramid
04 X-Ray
05 First Snake Woman
06 Providence by Gaslight
07 Hyperventilation System
08 Crotch Buffet
09 Cheers Pricks
10 The Fuck Whisperer

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Genghis Tron: Dead Mountain Mouth (4.5/5)

#3 Album of 2006


Year: 2006
Label: Crucial Blast
Genre: Ambient Electro Grindcore
TRT: 31:29

When I first heard cloak of love, I was intrigued by it’s mashing together of ambient electronic beats, and digi-grind music. It was interesting, but more of a novelty item to amaze my friends with than an album to really listen to. Well that’s changed. With this release Genghis Tron has made the transition from "novelty act" to "force to be reckoned with". This band has created a genre all their own, bridging the gap between the The Number Twelve Looks Like You and Boards of Canada. This is an album to listen to all in one sitting, at high volume.

01 The Folding Road
02 Chapels
03 From the Aisle
04 Dead Mountain Mouth
05 White Walls
06 Badlands
07 Greek Beds
08 Asleep on the Forest Floor
09 Warm Woods
10 Lake of Virgins

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Mouth of the Architect: The Ties That Blind (5/5)

#4 Album of 2006


Year: 2006
Label: Translation Loss
Genre: Atmospheric Post-Metal
TRT: 66:07

You know those times when you’re listening to a cd, and the band does something so remarkably good and unexpected, you can’t help but grin like an idiot? The Ties That Blind is absolutely chocked full of such moments. I truly look like a moron, because I can not keep a smile off my face. Mouth of the Architect has gone above and beyond with this release. Cannot imagine how they can top this record, but dammit, I have a feeling they'll pull it off.

01 Baobab
02 No One Wished to Settle Here
03 Carry On
04 Harboring an Apparition
05 At Arms Length
06 Wake Me When It's Over

download part 1
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mewithoutYou: Brother, Sister (5/5)

#5 Album for 2006


Year: 2006
Label: Tooth & Nail
Genre: Modern Progressive Rock
TRT: 45:24

mewithoutYou just keep building higher and higher upon the foundation they started with A to B Life. The music is what you would expect from the band, but somehow it’s more layered and complex than anything else they’ve done, and new things will continue to be discovered upon multiple listenings. The same goes with the lyrics. Aaron Weiss is a brilliant writer, and delivers more thought-provoking idea’s and intricate word pictures that require several listens for meaning to emerge. This album is a virtual collection of epiphanies waiting to happen.

01 Messes of Men
02 The Dryness and the Rain
03 Wolf Am I! (and Shadow)
04 Yellow Spider
05 A Glass Can Only Spill What It Contains
06 Nice and Blue (Part Two)
07 The Sun and the Moon
08 Orange Spider
09 C-Minor
10 In a Market Dimly Lit
11 O, Porcupine
12 Brownish Spider
13 In a Sweater Poorly Knit

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Cursive: Happy Hollow (3.5/5)

#6 Album for 2006


Year: 2006
Label: Saddle Creek
Genre: Progressive Indie
TRT: 47:34

Writing a follow up album to such a landmark cd like the ugly organ is no easy task. Especially when one of the defining features of the cd, the cellist, parts ways with the band. But have no fear. To fill the gap left by Greta Cohn, Cursive adds a five piece horn section to the mix. And the result is quite satisfying. The music is solid and instantly likable, with lyrics that are deeper and more thought provoking than anything else this band has put out, chronicling life in a fictional somewhat backwards mid-western town called, yup, Happy Hollow. What will they think of next...

01 Opening the Hymnal / Babies
02 Dorothy at Forty
03 Big Bang
04 Bad Sects
05 Flag and Family
06 Dorothy Dreams of Tornados
07 Retreat!
08 The Sunks
09 At Conception
10 So-So Gigolo
11 Bad Science
12 Into the Fold
13 Rise Up! Rise Up!
14 Hymns for the Heathen

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The Knife: Silent Shout (4.5/5)

#7 Album of 2006


Year: 2006
Label: Mute
Genre: Dark Experimental Dancepop
TRT: 48:33

I discovered this gem late in 2006, and became obsessed. This is by far one of the most infectious albums I’ve heard in the last few years, and provides hours of deliciously catchy and quirky electronic beats with sinister overtones.

01 Silent Shout
02 Neverland
03 The Captain
04 We Share Our Mothers' Health
05 Na Na Na
06 Marble House
07 Like a Pen
08 From Off to On
09 Forest Families
10 One Hit
11 Still Light

EDIT: Apparently Blogger received a complaint regarding the download link in the post. it has been removed, and replaced with a link to google. sorry for any inconvenience.

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The Fiery Furnaces: Bitter Tea (4.5/5)

#8 Album for 2006


Year: 2006
Label: Fat Possum
Genre: Experimental Indie
TRT: 69:03

A delightfully experimental album. You never know what to expect from this brother and sister collaboration, and this album is full of surprises. This cd is more cohesive than 2004’s release Blueberry Boat, and there is not a single song on here that I skip while listening.

01 In My Little Thatched Hut
02 I'm in No Mood
03 Black-Hearted Boy
04 Bitter Tea
05 Teach Me Sweetheart
06 Waiting To Know You
07 The Vietnamese Telephone Ministry
08 Oh Sweet Woods
09 Borneo
10 Police Sweater Blood Vow
11 Nevers
12 Benton Harbor Blues
13 Whistle Rhapsody
14 Nevers Again
15 Benton Harbor Blues Again

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Norma Jean: Redeemer (4/5)

#9 Album of 2006

Year: 2006
Label: Solid State
Genre: Chaotic Hardcore
TRT: 41:42

Fans who felt let down by Norma Jean’s abrupt change in style from Bless the Child, Kiss the Martyr and last year’s O’ God the Aftermath shouldn’t write them off just yet. Redeemer is a masterful combination of catchy lyrical runs reminiscent of the former, and the technical skill and composition of the latter. A solid album through and through.

01 A Grand Scene for a Color Film
02 Blueprints for Future Homes
03 A Small Spark vs. A Great Forest
04 A Temperamental Widower
05 The End of All Things Will Be Televised
06 Songs Sound Much Sadder
07 The Longest Lasting Statement
08 Amnesty Please
09 Like Swimming Circles
10 Cemetery Like a Stage
11 No Passenger : No Parasite

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Kayo Dot: Dowsing Anemones With Copper Tongue [4.5/5]

#10 Album for 2006


















Year: 2006
Label: Robotic Empire
Genre: Experimental Progressive Post-Rock
TRT: 60:16

On this release, Kayo Dot combine post-rock sensibilities with elements of jazz and experimentation to create a lush and breath-taking journey through soundscapes that are as crushing as they are soothing. They have put together an album that, with a little patience, will enthrall you with it’s complexity.

01 Gemini Becoming the Tripod
02 Immortelle and Paper Caravelle
03 Aura on an Asylum Wall
04 _on Limpid Form
05 Amaranath the Peddler

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P.H.O.B.O.S.: Tectonic (4/5)

Year: 2005
Genre: Dark Atmospheric Blackened Doom
Label: Candlelight
TRT: 57:56

Pounding, cold, mechanical and utterly crushing. If Meshuggah made a doom album, it would resemble this release. There is little else to say, so close your mouth before you drown in the swirling tides destruction.

01 Nietzschean Dynamics
02 Gregarious
03 Wisdoom
04 Monochrome Red
05 Engulfed in Subduction
06 Nihil Credo
07 Inseminator / Matrix
08 Dormant / Dead End

download part I
download part II

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Emilie Simon: Végétal (Japanese Import): 4.5/5

Year: 2006
Label: Barclay
Genre: Sextronic Dance Rock
TRT:


A classically trained musician, Emilie Simon tried her hand at jazz and more tradition rock music until finally finding her niche in the world of electronica. What you'll find on Végétal is a cute French girl singing in both her native tongue and English, while playing her compositions about plants and flowers with flawless grace and undeniable appeal. Imagine Bjork doing an album with Air. Fun, catchy and sexy, with just a hint of a darker side. You'll keep coming back for more.

This special Japanese edition contains two bonus tracks and different artwork than the original French release.

download part I
download part II

01 Alicia
02 Fleur de saison
03 Le vieil amant
04 Sweet Blossom
05 Opium
06 Dame de lotus
07 Swimming
08 In the Lake
09 Rose hybride de the
10 Never Fall In Love
11 Annie
12 My Old Friend
13 En Cendres
14 Papillon*
15 Ferraille*

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Eyvind Kang: Athlantis (4.5/5)

Year: 2007
Label: Ipecac
Genre: Dark Atmospheric Classical Chant
TRT: 41:48

Eyvind Kang has a very impressive body of work, ranging from string arrangements for Blonde Redhead's Misery is a Butterfly, to working with Secret Chiefs 3 on their album Book M. Yet I had never heard his name, and I must admit I never would have picked up this album if Mike Patton's name wasn't blatantly posted on the cd cover along wit hthe names of the other collaborators.

Athlantis falls somewhere between Dead Can Dance's medieval opera and Elend's sinister orchestrations, creating a sense of floating down a river draped in dense mist, trying to paddle towards the sound of the choir. Who happen to be chanting your elegy. And praying for your demise.

01 Ministers of Friday
02 Vespertilones
03 Andegavenses
04 Rabianara
05 Inquisitio
06 Ros Vespertinus
07 Conciliator
08 Iupitter
09 Repetitio
10 Lamentatio
11 Athlantis
12 Aquilas

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Merzbow & John Wiese: Multiplication (4.5/5)

Year: 2004
Label: Misanthropic Agenda
Genre: Harsh Noise/Power Electronics
TRT: 61:14

I was addicted to noise as a genre for a period of time, and it changed my perspective on many things, not all of them music related. I had been deeply entrenched in noise for about a year when I picked up this cd. I bought it because I knew of Merzbow, and had tried to crack open his massive discography to no avail. Also, the sweet digipack had a hand in convincing me to drop the $10.

I was a bit aprehensive, having been let down by previous material, but Multiplication sucked me in from the start. Furious sonic assault and swirling stridency combined with immense texture and the mass of a black hole converged on my senses, pushing me past the point of resistence, and into the warm pool of numb wonder beyond the wall.

John Wiese & Merzbow collaborated through the internet to create this masterpiece, with the former covering the first five tracks, and the latter the sprawling closer. I don't listen to noise on a regular basis anymore, but when I do, this is one of the handful of albums I go to for my cacophonic fix.

01 Bonanza
02 Luxor Skyship
03 Spell
04 New Wave Dust II
05 Erotic Westernscape
06 Multiplication

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God is an Astronaut: Far From Refuge (4/5)

Year: 2007
Label: Revive
Genre: Post Rock
TRT: 43:02

Post Rock has been stagnanting over the last few years as more and more bands try to emulate the founders of the genre. God is an Astronaut must have missed the memo, because they've only been improving. Far From Refuge is a sweeping collection of songs with a wonderful brooding shoegaze atmosphere. Similar to This Will Destroy You, they find it unnecessary to draw out their compositions to make a point, with not a single song hitting the seven minute mark.

Recommended if you're just getting in to the genre, or are looking for a fresh approach to it.

01 Radau
02 Far From Refuge
03 Sunrise in Aries
04 Grace Descending
05 New Years End
06 Darkfall
07 Tempus Horizon
08 Lateral Noise
09 Beyond the Dying Light

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Tomahawk: Anonymous (4.5/5)

Year: 2007
Label: Ipecac
Genre: Experimental Tribal Rock
TRT: 43:30

This album didn’t really strike me as anything special when I listened to it in 2007. How I could pass over something so innovative and (paradoxically) original is beyond comprehension. But a few months in to 2008 a track came up on shuffle and I was mesmerized. Immediately I gave Anonymous another chance, and have been entranced ever since.

Like many, I initially laid all credit at the feet of Mike Patton, which I came to find out was wrong of me. Duane Denison is the mastermind behind this, the one who did the research and found the material. I say “found”, because every song here was written hundreds of years ago by Native Americans who’s bones have turned to dust along with their names (hence the title of the album). The one exception to this is the short closer Long, Long Weary Day, which is of the same time period, but not Indian in origin. While Patton’s vocal performance is one of his best, the musical interpretations and arrangements are all Denison.

Anonymous is dark and haunting, like an ominous thunderhead approaching. There are however enough rays of light shining through to keep it interesting and supply enough melatonin to stave off depression. Patton’s signature sound is present in full force, with most of his vocal acrobatics centering around tribal chants.

There is nothing else like this in the world of music. Truly a unique experience, one worth repeating time after time.

01 War Song
02 Mescal Rite 1
03 Ghost Dance
04 Red Fox
05 Cradle Song
06 Antelope Ceremony
07 Song of Victory
08 Omaha Dance
09 Sun Dance
10 Mescal Rite 2
11 Totem
12 Crow Dance
13 Long, Long Weary Day

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Tantrum of the Muse: ModernMu$ick(2000)! (5/5)

Year: 2000
Label: Takehold
Genre: Experimental Post-Hardcore
TRT: 44:01

This album was one of my first tastes of truly chaotic music back in 2002, and eight years after it's release, ModernMu$ick(2000)! still holds it's own.

This sophmore (and ultimately, final) release from Stephen Mark Sarro's brainchild delves further into the realm of off-time dissonance than the 1998 debut The Heart is a Two-Headed Sperm, while simultaneously maturing and refining their signuature sound into a cohesive monstrosity.

Both albums deal with the darker side of humanity, but this album is far more subtle in it's attack. Once in an instant messenger conversation, Sarro expressed to me how he hardly refers to himself as a Christian anymore, because of the Church's misdirection and inconsistancy in our day and age. The reluctance of TotM to migrate to Tooth & Nail records once Takehold went under is surely a testament to that. Even if thay had though, I doubt T & N would have kept them for long, as the chorus for 10-10-99 / $Screw the Christian Industry$ would have probably struck a little too close to home:
"...Liars, whores, hypochrites, theives, all in the family of God.
Try and sell this...try and sell this...try and sell this"

01 Bowels of Elkton
02 Went to Hell
03 Chicks W/ Guns
04 Eunuch (The Sinai Orgies)
05 Happy As a Lark
06 Conestoga Cougars
07 10-10-99 / $Screw the Christian Industry$
08 Milk & Meat
09 Victoria Has a Secret
10 Caught With Your Halo Around Your Knees
11 I Bury the Living
12 Chiroptera Armada
13 Send Them the Cow

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Mago: Definition of Raw Moments From a Different Perspective (4.5/5)

Year: 2002
Label: Ad Noiseam
Genre: Atmospheric Steller Dreamscapes
TRT: 71:29

Another album I took a chance on based off the meticulously beautiful packaging and artwork. Again I was rewarded. Definition... really takes you on a trip, a soujourn really, through the spaces between time and space. Delicate a caressing, sometimes pushing sometimes floating but always well thought-out and perfectly executed. After falling in love, I found out that one of the individuals involved is also Sanctum and half of Azure Skies. Go figure.

Pick a copy if you are able to do so, this is the sort of album to pass on to your kids one day.

01 Tumbling Down the Rabbit Hole
02 Like Sand Slips Through My Fingers
03 Your Mind Blew Across the Grass in Ripples
04 Enlaced by Ropes
05 Spaceships and Piles of Mud
06 Thought There Was More to Come
07 Sing Me to Sleep
08 Inbetweenworld
09 Infinite

Purchase this album from Ad Noiseam Records