50) Banque Allemande- Willst du Chinese sein musst du die
ekligen Sachen essen
I was championing this album to people since I first heard
it back in March. These German noise
rockers apparently had one album released before this, but this is the only one
I have heard from them. While they sing
in their native language, the sound is extremely accessible. Some place between 80’s rock, the Strokes,
and noise rock, Banque Allemande strike a nice balance of rocking out and still
being playable to your German exchange student friends.
You probably let this album slip by you this year, so take
the time to hunt it down now, as there are less than 100 copies left to
grab. Six tracks, 42 minutes.
Check out a track from it Here
Get it Here
49) Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement- Folklore Venom
Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement had two great albums come
out this year, this and the Plant with
Many Faces. Both are drone filled
ambiance focused heavily on atmosphere, and both received extremely limited
physical releases I was unable to get.
I first got into RSE after listening to 2012’s Black Magic Cannot Cross Water. In Folklore
Venom, however, gone is the sounds of field recordings of water; it is
replaced by a much darker tone. Even the
repetitious synth sounds are bleak. Some
of the best albums are those that can conjure emotions within the
listener. Folklore Venom does just that, focusing on creating a dreary,
burden-filled sound. The end result is a
hypnotizing album that stays with you for a few moments even after the album
ends.
If you are lucky and another print happens, you’ll want to
try and grab it Here: http://boomkat.com/vinyl/819714-rainforest-spiritual-enslavement-folklore-venom-vinyl-edition
48) Nohome-Nohome
This free-jazz album is focused on tension. While I own a copy (got it Here),
I never get the chance to actually play it through my speakers. The only time I did was with my ipod, and within minutes my one
cat tackled my other cat than ran to the basement and hid. Than the other cat kept clawing the carpet in
a panic staring at me. This, from cats
that usually are rubbing my leg when I play Sissy Spacek.
I think this sums up the album rather well though. At almost an hour in length, Nohome is a relentless assault of
feedback, with a barrage of drums which comes in endless waves.
Brotzmann’s kid is in this band, which makes a lot of sense,
as I would recommend this album to anyone who likes Machine Gun.
Listen to a
live performance Here
47) EyE-Cozzvo (Chill)
EyE, ex frontman of Boredoms, uses his Cozzvo albums to
create a strange, almost, downtempo sound.
This album is probably closest in style to some of the free improv
albums that came out this year, despite it not being an improvisational
album. Really though, it is hard to
restrict this album to any set genre.
Around 16 minutes in, the album is ambient. Before that, it was a chillwave sound similar
to Com Truise. By the time you are 30
minutes in, throat singing and glitchy static make up much of the sound heard,
creating a sound that is the equivalent of Yoshimi
and Yuka in a digital age.
I had not heard any of EyE’s stuff aside from Boredoms (and
some Hanatarash). Cozzvo (Chill) makes
sense as a next logical step if you know the journey of sounds Boredoms took
over the years. Hints of Vision Creation Newsun can be found, but
gone is the intensity that came with that album’s psychedelic tribal drum
sound; it is replaced by a calmer, more meditative sound.
I purchased Cozzvo
and Cozzvo (Chill) using Rinkya, but
by now, discogs may be your best bet.
46) Giuseppe Ielasi & Kassel Jaeger- Parallel//Grayscale
For a few weeks this was my album of choice before bed. Usually I prefer a little more intensity when listening to electronic drone music, however this album, while quite minimal in its approach to drone, is still very captivating.
Having tried both of Giuseppe Ielasi's other albums from the year, I firmly believe that this was his strongest output of the three. The soundscape it creates it almost meditative; the harshest of tones is handled in a way as to present them quietly and calmly to the listener.
Editions Mego is nice enough to host both tracks on their youtube, so listen to the whole album with these two links: One, Two.
Pick this album up Here
45) John Butcher, Tony Buck, Magda Mayas, Burkhard Stangl-
Plume
Plume is some
great free jazz. While only two tracks
long, this album clocks in at 1 hour and 10 minutes. It is very minimal at times, but that only
increases the potency of the buildups
The first track has a few 3 minute buildups, all of which end up
collapsing in on themselves and creating empty spaces filled only with cymbal
taps. The Saxophone on Plume really is what does it for me
though. It will begin crooning right
before the buildups, almost signaling their approach. Even after the ten minutes of space in
“Fiamme”, it is the saxophone at the 21 minute mark that brings the next swell.
Additionally, the sax is quite varied throughout. The end of “Fiamme” shows it chirping along
with the drummer, while at other parts it reminds me of Gustafsson’s playing.
The second track, “Vellum”, brings more piano into the
picture than the first. This track is
equally focused on dissonant bursts being lengthily spaced. It is this spacing and pacing that really
makes this album for me, as even after a few listens I find myself waiting in
anticipation for the next surge of musical energy.
44) Starfucker- Miracle Mile
I was a huge fan of Starfucker’s 2012 album, Reptilians. It is, in my opinion, one of the best modern
interpretations of synth-pop; everything mgmt initially strived to be. With Miracle
Mile I was less blown away.
Everything is toned down a bit, and where the mood of the previous album
was upbeat with more dubious undertones, Miracle
Mile places the somber mood much more in focus. Simply put, don’t expect the same style sound
as Starfucker was making when doing “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” covers, because
it just isn’t there.
Some may call this new sound a sign of maturity from the
band…but in my opinion, when I am listening to a band called Starfucker, I
don’t want (and am not expecting) maturity.
Overall, I agree, there sound has matured. And while it is still great, I guess I am
already nostalgic for their older sound.
If you liked Reptilians than
definitely check this out
Stream and purchase the album Here
43) Gabriel Saloman-Soldier’s Requiem
This year it seems that the lesser discussed half of Yellow
Swans made the better record. I really
liked Pete Swanson’s output, but Gabriel Saloman’s release went less noticed even
though I think it is better.
I’m going to begin by stating that until this year I had
heard none of the Yellow Swans member’s solo projects. This album caught me so off-guard at how
peacefully eerie it was. I remember
reading somewhere Pete Swanson said something about how Gabriel was trying to
capture the solemnness soldiers feel after battle (this description is almost
certainly wrong. If you find a link to
that article, please link it, so I can eat my own words). Regardless of what exactly he was trying to
capture, the drumming’s focus on snare drums coupled with the staticy hiss in
the fashion of rainfall works so well.
“Boots on the Ground” may be my favorite track. The guitar is so staccato and minimal at the
beginning, then suddenly comes back overdriven and distorted.
Finally, I love how this album is arranged. Four tracks: one long, one short, one long,
one short.
This album deserves attention from anyone wanting a concept
album full of guitar, ambiance, and drones.
Listen to it Here
This was an album that I heard just as I started trying to put together this list. The list had been all put together, but I ended up having to squeeze this in and remove Marsen Jules Trio.
This ambient/drone album creates an almost gothic/chamber sound, that is dark and mystic feeling. The album is 7 tracks long, six of which clock in around 7 minutes in length.
I have been finding more and more great music from Poland recently, and this album is no exception. If this sounds like your cup of tea, take a look at it, cause it is a real shame to see good stuff like this go unnoticed.
Listen to it and buy it Here
41) Oozing Wound- Retrash
Let’s start by having you watch a 57 second commercial for
Oozing Wound’s 2013 release, Retrash.
That commercial just sums it all up. They are the most brutal band on thrill
jockey, and this album attests to that.
If you watched that commercial and didn’t either smirk or have an urge
to head bang, than this album isn’t for you.
If either of those happened this album is 100% totally for you.
I usually am more of a noise rock guy than a metal guy
(hence why these guys got randomly added to my noise rock list for 2013), so I
don’t have too much to compare them too.
This is the type of band you listen to when you are using beer to making
a protein shake; when you are driving to an exam hung over. Overall, this is the hardest rocking thing I
have heard this year, and both nights I bonged beers this year I ended up
putting this album on at some point.
Links to audio previews and how to purchase are Here
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