Bostonian Glenn Jones isn't only one of the greatest modern acoustic guitar players of our time, but he's also one of the most genuine and open human beings who happens to be a musician. This release is a testament to both of these claims—and then some—with 11 fantastic and personal solo guitar pieces accompanied by an excellent booklet detailing stories behind each of the songs and even his own contact information! |
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Bostonian Glenn Jones isn't only one of the greatest modern acoustic guitar players of our time, but he's also one of the most genuine and open human beings who happens to be a musician. This release is a testament to both of these claims—and then some—with 11 fantastic and personal solo guitar pieces accompanied by an excellent booklet detailing stories behind each of the songs and even his own contact information!
13464 Hits
The change in sound heralded on the Silver EP is taken further on this new album. The melancholic ecstasy of the debut album has now taken on a more hopeful tone. Instead of the thick and syrupy atmosphere present before, Justin Broadrick has opened up the music of Jesu to a more expansive feeling of freedom. The shift in sound is mirrored in the artwork of Conqueror: stretches of sky dwarfing the industrial buildings below, a far cry from the agoraphobic view out of the window that adorned the first album, dominate the record. It takes a little more listening to get into than previous Jesu releases but is definitely worth the effort.
9663 Hits
Claudio Parodi is sitting in a room, different from the one you are in, and slowly dissolving the relationship between his instruments and the space they occupy. Alvin Lucier's famous I Am Sitting in a Room informs Parodi's recording, the natural resonance of a room used as an instrument just as much as the resonating instruments themselves. Parodi has complicated the process a bit, but the idea is the same and the outcome is captivating.
10038 Hits
The project's name may have instantly rang a bell in my head as a nod towards the band Total, but I’m not sure that everyone lives in a world where that connection would have been made; sadly Matthew Bower is not yet a household name. Actually playing this vinyl took a step further in revealing a moderate debt towards Bower's drone projects. This debut release from Kevin Doria's (half of Washington's weighty Growing) extra curricular pursuit has been rescued from the 2005's graveyard of cassettes revealing two heavily gorgeous slabs of fucked modern prairiescapes.
8656 Hits
This international release of the Swedish singer's 2005 debut (originally only released in the icy north of Scandinavia) is a joyous collection of gentle pop music. The music is quite retro sounding, harking back to the likes of Joni Mitchell but less cloying and with enough of an edge to set it apart from the thousands of other singer songwriters that have passed through my tired ears. Until Death Comes is not a perfect album but it is a perfectly good way to spend half an hour.
6712 Hits
This collection acts as a fantastic introduction to Sally's solo work and fronting the Sumacs. A versatile singer and talented composer with work in various genres, Doherty's name shouldn't be unfamiliar with Sol Invictus fans and those who trolled the World Serpent catalogs ages ago. This disc compiles music from her albums from 1996 through 2002, mostly originally distributed by World Serpent, along with some previously unreleased material.
7603 Hits
Over two years after becoming the first dubstep producer to drop a full length album on a high-profile indie label, Mark Foster follows up his unshakably steady stream of vinyl-only classics with a sophomore selection full of explosive exclusives.
10325 Hits
The duo of Manuel Stagars and Neil Carlill make strange but for the most part not very compelling music. This album has its genuinely great moments but there is a lot of dross to sift through first. Vedette may have the potential to make a truly brilliant album but they fall short on so many of the songs that it leads to a frustrating listening experience.
9383 Hits
Considering there are 14 different artists on this compilation it is surprising how little variation there is on offer. All the tracks are similar explorations of airy, glitchy, and formless ambience. Luckily, each contribution is quite good and the album flows nicely, which is not the norm for this sort of compilation.
6289 Hits
Anyone with a seemingly nuclear-powered sound system in their vehicle might consider this record handy to breach urban noise-pollution levels, while simultaneously getting a sleek dose of dub, paranoia, poetry and science fiction.
6352 Hits
Mike Kinsella's bedroom poetry has often perplexed me. I could never figure out why someone would present the barest of lyrics in the barest of settings. Though I had always enjoyed Kinsella's American Football project (a band which I have heard that he disowns somewhat these days), I had never really bought into Owen, partly for the natural discomfort it inspired in me and partly because I just didn't understand it. But I have trouble dismissing Owen's latest effort.
6012 Hits
Looking at the cover of this album, I imagined Selda's music to be run of the mill acoustic folk; little did I expect the huge and almost psychedelic extravagance of the songs on her self-titled debut from 1976. Some of it is surprisingly modern sounding and some of it sounds kitsch in its own old-fashioned way. Even at its most peculiar it is a remarkable sounding disc.
7925 Hits
Mix tapes or DJ mix releases are hardly a unique concept, but it's extremely rare that one isn't a 100% 4/4 techno mix, mildly forgettable, or posing as a commercial for some record label's other releases or a resume for DJ publicity. Get a Room defies all of that and reminds me of another significant mix that defied conventions, KLF's Chill Out.
7641 Hits
Christina Kubisch has been experimenting with sound, light and concrete/noise since the '70s, before most of the current crop of underground stopped messing themselves after a bellyful of milk. It feels like another circle has been completed with this latest aspect of her experimentalism, as it has been released by on a label co-run by a member of the experimental poster dudes Wolf Eyes (Nate Young's Aryan Asshole). As part of her Electrical Walks series this single track is a headphone record in more ways than one.
5613 Hits
The single song featured on this limited edition CD-R gives a nice taster of what is to come on the band's upcoming LP. Monarch are tight and the production here captures the immense power of their music. This is a great slab of no frills and no bullshit doom, something that is always welcome.
8276 Hits
After hearing the 15 minute digital pan-flute opener "Velvet Octaves," I knew exactly what this disc would be about. Most of the time this CD was playing, I was imagining myself in some little boutique shop filled with water falls and imported pottery from the more mystical countries of the third world.
11692 Hits
With the timing of this 7" single, this could be seen as a companion to this duo's recent and universally lauded The Radiant Mirror duo LP on Textile records. No less balls-out intense and exploratory, this rougher and more lively take on their musical pairing pins down the chemistry of this improvising drummer and Shaahi Baaja player.
7841 Hits
After their live performances and a brace of self released demo CDs caught my attention, I have been eager to hear this band's debut. The sludgy doom presented here is as good as I was expecting but unfortunately the sound quality of the album leaves a little to be desired, especially for an album that is backed by a label and being properly distributed. That being said, Wreck of the Hesperus have offered up a noble sacrifice at the altar of doom.
7580 Hits
One of the problems with having reached the pinnacle of composition on the album prior is that expectations are high, everyone is looking, and your songs can now be heard every Wednesday on NBC. But Explosions in the Sky marches onward, undeterred by such expectations.
8893 Hits
This latest Birds of Delay communication shows a steelier hide than recent releases, the fluctuating red-hot treble liquefying the layers into a shimmering coating. Like 24/7 road works in your jawbone, this slow burner begins at the harsher, more dissonant end of the spectrum only for familiarity to find a sort-of melody and a kind-of arrangement.
9193 Hits
