Some nine years ago I remember hearing much about this German industrial/power electronics band, mostly about their ultra limited LPs that fetched exorbitant amounts on the then-nascent eBay, so they instantly had cult appeal.  Dear reader, remember: this was before the days of widespread file sharing, commonplace CDRs, etc,...  So I was unable to actually hear what all the fuss was about until a friend recorded me (to MiniDisc, no less), a copy of the double live LP Remember, which I instantly remember loving.  Fast forward a few years and their entire discography is online, and I remember feeling let down once I heard these original albums.  They're not bad by any means, but they didn't quite live up to the hype that had been generated.  Now, ten years after its original release, Remember is reissued on CD, with 18 minutes of extra material recorded between 1997 and 2000.

Compared to the other releases in the ARC series, Junzo's work stands out as being one that is very different in style and approach. Rather than seeming overly experimental or esoteric, it instead goes for an acid tinged psychedelic approach to folk and blues that still manages to convey its own sound. It isn't as dark as some of the previous discs in the series, so it would seem that ARC releases are ending on a slightly brighter note. However, there is a great deal of emotion and passion felt in the minimal guitar strums and chords.

Noise and power electronics is always so often heavily entrenched in fascist imagery, serial killer worship, sexual depravity, etc. Not that there's anything wrong with any of that, it just gets trite after a while. Griefer instead opts to create a thematic work based around the Internet and hacking, and the imagery seeps in from the packaging and track titles into the overall sound, giving it a very cohesive feel. Although it doesn't break any new ground genre-wise, it does offer a fresh take on the established that fans will enjoy.

Before becoming Troum, Stefan Knappe and Martin Git, plus Helge Siehl, operated as Maëror Tri, releasing a slew of strange, dark albums in limited runs on cassette. Ambient Dreams first appeared in 1990 in an edition of only 18 copies but finally gets a wider release in its CD debut. Using only natural sound sources without electronics, the group crafts an eerie and gripping recording that still sounds startlingly fresh today.

This live performance was to originally pair Erikm with Luc Ferrari in France but due to health reasons, Ferrari was replaced by Thomas Lehn. The sounds were developed and researched prior to the performance by Erikm and Ferrari and a musique concrète improvisation was performed by Erikm and Lehn. The result is a chaotic but uncluttered sounding piece that combines Ferrari's fantastic ear with Erikm's turntablist approach (although in this case all the sources were played from CD as opposed to a traditional turntable).

 

Room 40

Albums like this quickly put me back in college radio music director mode. I skim everything quick, listen for hooks I can use for segues with the records I know well, and note which songs I think the other DJs will dig. But ultimately, this is one of those records that, aside from a couple good opening tracks, gets forgettable quickly, and would soon get lost in the new pile in the DJ booth.

 

Thrill Jockey

Better known for kicking ass with Thurston Moore as half of The Bark Haze, Andrew MacGregor's Gown project returns with a three-tracker of intangible blues. Cut from the same trad-quaked cloth as Christina Carter's solo material, MacGregor's twists and coils guitar lines between form and air.

 

Blackest Rainbow

Not comfortable leaving well enough alone, living legend Richie Hawtin's preeminent minimal techno label drops one final compilation at the end of a year where the imprint appeared reinvigorated with a ramped-up activity level implying a surge in newfound capital.  Contained within the eco-friendly packaging are all new tracks from seven dynamic artists on the roster, including one new high-profile addition.

Most of the discs that have been on Utech's ARC series have been consistently dark excursions in texture and noise.  Never full on harshness akin to Merzbow, but generally bleak, almost punishing works (in the best possible sense).  As it is drawing to a close, this seems to allow a bit of light to seep in, but only in the darkest shades of gray.  Former Boredoms/Zeni Geva player Mitsuru manages to take a unique spin on the series that has a greater warmth and somewhat less density, but it is by no means inferior.

Although ostensibly a remix album, there is no need to be familiar with the source material to enjoy the remix work here.  From what I gather, PureH are a successful electronic rock band out of Slovenia who invited a slew of electronic artists to rework a single track, "Signia."  Not being familiar with the original track, I purposely avoided listening to the initial song to fully appreciate the remixes, which all vary greatly and, as a whole, make for strong, diverse tracks.

Lithuanian conceptual artist and performer Gintas Kraptavicius manipulates minimal digital sources and acoustic vibrations in the service of narrative rhythms and electro-acoustic wand waving. Rather than merely barricading himself behind walls of atmospherics, Kraptavicius uses his tools to explore sound in ways that are both unpredictable and inviting.

The eyeballed-ones recent foray into storytelling and radio plays has been patchy to say the least. Tweedles was disappointing and the Timmy YouTube viral videos frequently seemed to be lacking something. However, it has never been written anywhere that The Residents had to placate their audience all the time (in fact, if anything should be written it is that The Residents should not placate any of their audience any of the time). That being said, this latest album seems to work far better than its predecessors as it melds a number of musical (and other) styles in that inimitable Residential fashion.

Roughly a year and a half after his prior album as Uusitalo, the prolific Sasu Ripatti returns with a new collection of reliable and sometimes engrossing tracks targeted for progressive underground dancefloors.  Though practically every one of its ten analogue cuts could keep a bespectacled Mutek crowd moving, his latest merely supplements his healthy catalog instead of strengthening it.

If you are happy to ignore the gynecological playing card cover art, this sonic clutter offers up a much tastier treat. Joey Chainsaw have been mentioned in the same breath as The Skaters offshoot Lamborghini Crystal, and they are kind of right but this is a much less retro and jokey project. Mainly built from 4-track explorations, this is what a man who completely lost his grip on reality instead of finding cult fame sounds like.

 

Bum Tapes

Coming in under the wire at the end of the year is this flawless EP from Rjyan Kidwell. While Sketchi on Temporary Residence was the most recently released full-length album by Cex, Exotical Privates is linked to his last release on Automation, last year's fantastic and underrated Actual Fucking with Nice Nice. Billed as remixes from that LP this EP stands on its own perfectly well.

Dark, brooding music from Norway usually involves corpse paint and an obscure relationship with Satan or other so-called dark forces; indeed, restraint and delicacy are hard to come by in the world of spiked gauntlets and troll vocalists. On the other hand, bands like Ulver write albums like Shadows of the Sun, demonstrating that fragile arrangements and understatement are often more oppressive than any heavy-handed guitar riff.

This is a reissue of a reissue, the original version of consolidated Burning Witch's two releases onto one CD. This new version splits them onto separate discs and includes other tracks recorded at the time that ended up on split releases with Goatsnake and Asva. Considering Burning Witch releases are now nigh on impossible to find, it is a good job Southern Lord have made this (rather lovely looking) package. The music is heavy beyond heavy; by the end of the two discs I am left with a feeling of having pushed a boulder up a hill for eternity and thinking that eternity is not long enough.

Back in 1993, Inade released Burning Flesh on two cassettes which immediately made an impression on the underground music scene, with its blackest of black dark ambient sketches and soul-crushing gloom, and established the reputation and credentials of the two protagonists René Lehmann and Knut Enderlein. The follow-up, Aldebaran, originally released in 1996 equally caused something of a commotion when news of its imminent reissue–in a new third, unlimited, edition–emerged earlier this year. For those of us who missed it the first time around, myself included, this has been something of a much anticipated release.

With Heather Leigh turning her pedal steel loose on audiences across Europe, this live disc is more sonically aggressive than her previous releases. In performance Heather might have usually sat static at her pedal steel tearing at the strings, but the sounds still have the ability to rear up and forward like some venom sluicing cobra. Her evolution towards something between the state of song and primacy continues, but this time with sinews motorized by force.

The phenomenal Trunk label keep up their unique work by giving Marc Wilkinson's score for a 1971 cult British horror movie its first ever release. Film fans, soundtrack aficionados, and addicts of obscure music will all be thrilled, as Blood on Satan's Claw is beautiful and disconcerting in equal measure.