Recent Sounds

Here's what I have been listening to lately. Some new, some old. I think I listen to a wide variety of stuff and I go through cyclical phases. My taste definitely intertwines through themes that I tend to enjoy. This year has begun to pick up a bit for me in terms of new releases, but I still have been less than impressed. So here it is, sorry for it being long:

The Knife - Silent Shout

Ok I totally slept on this and I am late to the party. I only started listening to this when it was finally issued here in the US and Rhapsody had it. Probably some of the best electronic music I have heard in some time and it is the only thing I have heard yet that could challenge Liars for album of the year. Pitchfork called it 'haunted house' and I think that describes it ok. It is dark, moody, atmospheric and minimalist in it's sound. Each song has at times a very creepy vibe to that is made more so by singer Karen Dreijer Andersson's vocals being layered and run through a pitch shifter. At times this remnds me in a very good way of some of the industrial stuff, like early Skinny Puppy, that I loved (still do some) back in the day. I highly recommend this as the finest electronic album you find this year.

Aloha - Some Echoes

Thanks to We Shot J.R. and Sam M. I gave this a try... or really, I accidentally hit 'download this' on eMusic and got the album whether I wanted it or not. But they inspired me to check it out nevertheless. I have to say this seems to be really overlooked and is clearly one of the best records I have heard this year. Not sure what all the influences are, but you will hear a post rock thing mixed with a 70's prog thing, but not in a bad way because I hate a lot of that prog stuff. The vocals are great and the production is outstanding, especially for the drums and these really cool drum fills and flourishes like on opener "Brace Your Face" and the use of a vibraphone on several songs. I could write a few sentences about how cool "Brace Your Face" is, but I won't. Highly enjoyable of a listen.

Kraftwerk - Minimum-Maximum

Finally picked this 2 cd live set up because Rhapsody doesn't play in my car. Plays like a great remastered greatest hits and this the best thing you can get by them right now until the delayed remasters of their albums are finished. Crowd noise is minimal and the sequencing and mixing is almost perfect. I had never really heard the "Tour de France" songs before and their driving trance sound is cool along with the long, updated version of "Radioactivity" and the pounding electro of "Elektro Kardiogramm" which I don't remember ever hearing before. Tour the US, please?

Oneida - Happy New Year

I really like just about everything these guys have done and this is another strong album. While it doesn't hit as immediately as The Wedding or Secret Wars, it still is a fine album. I like the quieter almost folky vibe to a few of the songs like the opener "Distress." You still get the nice drone, krautrock, avant garde sound and repetition that we all love them for. This is highlighted on "Up With People," one of the best songs of the year with that long length almost unnoticable due to its driving rhythm and near-funk beat. Worth repeated visits.

Thom Yorke - The Eraser

When compared with the Knife, this seems like middle of the road IDM/techno. It's not bad, but it's not stellar or that interesting considering Radiohead's output. I enjoy certain songs: the title track, "Harrowdown Hill," "The Clock," but some are just boring and repetitive in a bad way. It's stark and minimal and Yorke's voice actually sounds good without all the reverb but it feels like it is missing something... the band maybe? Cool packaging for the cd though....

Midlake - The Trials of VanOccupanther

I really enjoy this album, despite the fact that it could win worst album title of the year award. The sound is a mixture of 70's rock and some modern touches of keyboards and production. The warmth of the record is great and it has a definite feel of autumn or winter to it so I think it will sound even better when the temps drop. The vocals are a bit CSNY meets Fleetwood Mac and the song structures shine on tunes like "Bandits," "Young Bride," "Head Home" and of course that monster song "Roscoe" which has failed to get old for me.

A few short takes:

Finally got a copy of disc one of Chris' Pere Ubu - Datapanik In the Year Zero box set which covers '75-'77. Wow, that shit is good. Ohio man... Devo, Pere Ubu... early post-punk... some of the best with cool guitars, noisy bits and electronics. "30 Seconds Over Tokyo," "Cloud 149," "Final Solution" that's what I'm talking about.

Man Man - Six Demon Bag. Yeah I slept on this too, but by god this is really fun to listen to. Eastern-Gypsy-Folk music meets Captain Beefheart. Can't wait to see them live.

That's about it for now... Like Chris said, those Talking Heads re-issues are fantastic and he made a copy of the Radio One Stereolab sessions which is a fucking great collection of songs. Man, I love me some Stereolab. Oh and I just downloaded that Nobody & the Mystic Chords of Memory that won't leave the Good Records charts... dumb name, cool music from one of the founders and singers of the late, lamented Beachwood Sparks. Tasty psyche-folk-broke-down-electronic.