2010 is just around the corner, which means exciting things here at the Rebellious Jukebox. Did I say exciting? I meant things. Hopefully our little gang of rebellion -- we need a name to call ourselves. The Jukes? Rebels? I don't know, one of you more clever ones think it up -- will find more inspiration than we did in '09. I know that there are a few things I would like to do in the New Year for the blog: I'd like to keep track of all the (new) albums I listen to on a weekly basis, because, as much as I like RYM, I think it's a bit clunky for that; I'd like to put some focus on Vancouver artists before and after the Olympics, where the focus of the world will be on the place I live; I'd somehow like to integrate this and my tumblr, which I would also like to put more effort into; and a whole host of other things. Let's see how well I follow through!

Since we are near the end of the year, lists have been popping up all over the place. What about ours? Not sure yet. We may all add our lists here individually, or there may be some combined list. Who knows! Expect more in January, probably, while the others touch up theirs. At the very least, my personal list will, most likely, be posted on my aforementioned tumblr and RateYourMusic account on January 1st. And since we're near the end of the decade, a top 100 albums of the decade list is in order, right? That will probably completed in April, I would imagine.

Oh, right, the point of this post. The leaks!

Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy) - Heartland

Genre: Baroque Pop

Year: 2010

Try.

Owen Pallett's a pretty neat guy. While he's now trying to move away from his jRPG influences, and rightly so as they were beginning to wear thing, he has in the past created two really good albums based around his ability to loop a violin and play it in ways in which I'm sure weren't intended. He's now stretched out quite a bit more. The new album is entirely orchestrated, references his past, and might be his best album yet. It sounds nothing like his former albums, but still sounds like Owen Pallett. That makes sense, right?

Los Campesinos! - Romance is Boring

Genre: Pop

Year: 2010

I haven't given this album too much attention yet, but it's every bit as fun as the first one was, with the added maturity of a few years that was hinted at on their second 2007 album, We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed. Everybody needs a fun band to bust out every now and then on their iPod/Zune/Achros/what-have-you, and Los Campesinos! fit the bill perfectly.

Try.

Two of the best.

as is evidenced by these two songs:

my friend played me this song the other day. blew my mind. seems like something icon might like.

Artist: Toro Y Moi
Album: Causers Of This
Genre: Glitch pop/Chillwave/Indie

Another album from the future here, this time both in release date and actual sound. I've been listening to this for the past few days now and the richness of the electronics and production have been blowing me away. No matter that I can pick out maybe a dozen words from the whole album, the music is gorgeous and scattershot, relaxed yet ready-made for a party. Layers of voices and hollowed out pads pulse throughout the whole album without stretching too thin. The chops and cuts made to the beat and instruments feel natural and serve to define the music through their own tasteful restrictiveness instead of by creating chaos. Depth of songwriting shows through the ambiance (not ambience) wells on tracks like Minors and Thanks Vision, the latter of which is an absolutely stunning drive of chilled beauty. Causers Of This is immaculately put together and an early favorite for the coming decade.



Well let's test it out!

Artist: Beach House
Album: Teen Dream
Genre: Dream Pop

Do I really need to go into Beach House? I think we're all aware of this Baltimore sweetheart. They, seemingly, came out of nowhere three years ago to rave reviews from Pitchfork, Your Official Music Publication, for a somewhat-unique sound at the time. Not many bands were creating a shoegaze, lo-fi, dreampop concoction like they are now. The simple yet elegant nature of their debut earned them many fans who would, undoubtedly, stick around. Beach House came back with Devotion two years later, which I felt was a bit of a letdown, though I appear to be in the minority. Most of what that album covered had been done on their debut in a superior fashion, but so it goes. Devotion had some solid tracks, but as a whole I didn't feel it was as strong as the first. Teen Dream responds to this in a large way.

Beach House have given us their more mature record yet, and we should be thankful. It's simply stunning how beautiful it is. The production is more crisp (thanks, Sub Pop!) than what I'm used to in a Beach House record, which is a good thing, and I think it lends the album a more intimate sound.

This album needs more listens, by you and me alike.


MU

Let's get some action here on Rebellious Shponglebox, shall we?


Artist: The Mercury Program
Album: Chez Viking
Genre: Post-Rock

I haven't had a chance to listen to this, as I just came across it. By all accounts (note: I have read no accounts), this album will be similar to A Data Learn the Language in style and in quality. Let's hope so! We really need some lush post-rock right about now.

Try.

gotta love that basssssssssssssss

I flew 3800 miles to be at this show, the first legitimate Shpongle live show ever. Worth it? hell yes.

This is merely the audio of the show; you can buy the actual DVD here. If you buy the Real Thing you can probably see me being assaulted by a bubble machine. So awesome.

Track Listing:

1. Ineffable Mysteries
2. Beija Flor
3. Dorset Perception
4. Periscopes of Consciousness
5. I Am You
6. Star Shpongled Banner
7. My Head Feels Like a Frisbee
8. When Shall I Be Free ?
9. No Turn Un-Stoned
10. Divine Moments Of Truth
11. Shpongle Interlude.
12. Nothing Is Something Worth Doing
13. Once Upon The Sea Of Blissful Awareness
14. Around The World In A Tea Daze

give it to me already

A fortnight without a single post? I guess we were all just Shpongled.

The Necks - Chemist
Genre: Avant-Garde Jazz
Release Year: 2006

A note first: for all the Necks will be described as "avant-garde jazz" pretty much everywhere they're mentioned, it's a misleading label if I've ever seen one. When jazz is described as experimental or, lord forbid, "free," it conjures images of the likes of Ornette Coleman and Peter Brotzmann's noise-fests. Not that either weren't wonderful musicians, but it's fair to say that the likes of them being the reference points for an entire description of music is gonna be pretty offputting to the majority of curious music listeners.

For what the Necks do is basically bring the fundamental tenets of minimalism to the traditional jazz trio base. Their albums almost exclusively consist of one slowly shifting, utterly entrancing hour-long opus, and since they started adding studio wizardry and overdubs to their box of tricks around a decade ago they've been one of the most utterly unclassifiable bands around. They've skirted with Arvo Part-esque ambience on Aether, krautrock on the pulsating Hanging Gardens, and on 2003's Drive-By they created one of the most menacing, futuristic yet ultimately accessible takes on jazz I've ever heard. And amazingly, despite their blatantly unorthodox nature, The Necks are a pretty damn accessible band. Unlike avant-garde jazz's standard bearers, they're not difficult to listen to at all; in fact, the difficult part is not getting utterly swept away by the subtle shifts in tone and timbre throughout. If genres were truly literal descriptions of music's effect on the listener, The Necks would be the best trance band ever formed.

Which brings us to Chemist, I guess. Their latest studio album (before the release of Silverwater this month, anyway) probably isn't their best, and the fact it has three twenty-minute pieces rather than one does slightly hamper its potential (Fatal and Abillera could both be stretched to an hour with ease) but it is still remarkably good and probably the best way for all of you people to start loving these guys as much as I do. Which, I have no problem in admitting, is the entire point of writing all this.

The three tracks that make up Chemist pretty much cover The Necks' sound as well as three tracks ever could. The straight out the box, almost dirty 5/4 groove of Fatal makes it the most immediate piece they've ever done, Buoyant is spooky, electronic and minimal and Abillera almost sounds like The Necks playing at shoegaze - it marks the first time they've ever used a guitar in their 20+ year career, and using it to write what basically sounds like a twenty-minute jazzy M83 song wasn't a bad move whatsoever.

So, uh, yeah. The Necks are almost certainly the best band you don't listen to. Change that ASAP (make it Skepticism or Ulver or something instead!)

Download link (~220 kbps VBR)

Shpongle - Ineffable Mysteries from Shpongleland (2009)
Genre: Electronic, Psytrance
Year: 2009

Nothing Lasts... but Nothing is Lost is the one album that people associate with me more than any other. I've probably turned 20-30 people onto Shpongle thanks to its awesomeness. I flew halfway across the world to see Shpongle live last year. Naturally, this is my most anticipated album in god knows how long. How is it?

Pretty damn good. As good as Nothing Lasts? Nah. But what is? Nothing Lasts featured 20 tracks that were all five minutes or less, while this album -- hereby referred to as Shpongle 4 because this title is stupid -- only has 8, many of which break 10 minutes. Each song is a lot more varied than your standard song, though, with each song featuring several musical ideas that blend together quite nicely. I often am like 'is this even the same song?'

Shpongle 4 features a good amount of vocal work, at least compared to previous albums. I Am You and No Turn Unstoned are the standouts here thanks to some nice choruses that repeat throughout the song. Even those without vocals tend to feature some sort of crazy chanting. My favourite song though is the vocal-less third track, Nothing Is Something Worth Doing. It's serene and features a hang drum, an instrument I've been obsessed with since I saw them play it live last year. Damn, those things are cool. I'd buy one if I randomly had thousands of dollars I didn't want anymore.

So yeah, Shpongle 4. It's real. It actually exists. Listen to it.

buy (releases november 2)
try

To celebrate the beautiful union of funk and psychedelia throughout the ages, I put together this weird little mix of stuff new and old. It's kinda trippy, I hope you enjoy it.

+ Toggle Tracklisting

SIDE A:
Intro (Chester P)
Shafiq Hussayn - Nirvana
Os Mutantes - Teclar
Staff Benda Bilili - Avramandole
The Natural Yogurt Band - Soft Cheese
Klaus Weiss - Research
Ananda Shankar - Dancing Drums (Edit 1)
The Village Soul Choir - The Cat Walk
Nacho Patrol - Mind World
The Upsetters - Dollar In The Teeth
Madlib - J's Day Theme 3
Egg - Fugue In D Minor
The Poppy Family - No Blood In Bone
Klaus Block - Slow Motion

SIDE B:
Os Mutantes - Tempo Perdido
Ananda Shankar - Streets Of Calcutta
Ananda Shankar - Dancing Drums (Edit 2)
Gong - Flying Teapot (James Pants Mix)
MRR/ADM - Untitled (Track 2)
Can - Halleluhwah (Edit)
The Soft Machine - Why Are We Sleeping?
Oh No - The Funk
Biddu - Qurbani Bonus Beats
The New Apocalypse - Junkshop
Lloyd Miller - Elude In The Iranian Mode Shur
Travis Biggs - Tibetian Serenity (Edit)
The Natural Yogurt Band - Chit Chat
Funkadelic - I'll Bet You (1969 Version)
The New Rotary Connection - I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun

.
.

Various Artists - Psych Funk 101: A Global Psychedelic Funk Curriculum
Genre: Psychedelic / Funk / World / Jazz / Arabic / All over the fucking place
Released: 2009

Recently released on StonesThrow, this bizarre compilation attempts to piece together a "global movement" of psychedelia and funk-inspired madness from the late 60's onwards to the early 80's. It's a round-the world journey which shows how far psychedelia travelled in a short amount of time. The destinations range from the far and wide, with Nigeria, Iran, Turkey, Russia and South Korea all helping to join up the musical dots. The sounds vary from acid-tinged traditional world music, to the truly ridiculous and experimental (tracks like "The Feed Back" and "The Big Search" are the main highlights for me). The chicken-and-the-egg question though is What hit their shores first: The music or the LSD?

The files are 320/VBR mp3, but I still can't vouch much for the audio quality because you have to consider these are songs taken from old, dusty and most likely quite hard to find records. They may sound fuzzy and crackled, but just be thankful you're able to hear them at all!

Try it
Buy it
.
.

Artist: Various
Genre(s): Dubstep/Electronic
Released: 2009

What exactly is dubstep? I'm not entirely sure. Wikipedia offers this:

"Dubstep is a genre of electronic music that has its roots in London's early 2000s UK garage scene. Musically, dubstep is distinguished by its 2step rhythm, or use of snare sounds similar to 2step garage and grime, and an emphasis on bass, often producing "dark" sounds, but just as frequently producing sounds reminiscent of dub reggae or funky US garage. Dubstep tracks are generally produced at a tempo of around 140 beats per minute and in recent years have developed signature half time rhythms, often heavily shuffled or syncopated, and usually, though not exclusively, including only one snare drum hit per bar, often on the third beat. Such factors make dubstep rhythms markedly different from four-to-the-floor rhythms used in other styles of electronic dance music such as house music, which usually have two snare hits accompanying the second and fourth kick drum. Often, the sense of rhythm in dubstep is propelled more by the bassline than by the percussive content."

That sounds very accurate based on what's offered in this compilation from London label Hyperdub. If you are unfamiliar with the label, you have probably at least heard of Burial -- a band I often confuse with Battles for reasons unclear other than similar names, 'cause lord knows they don't sound the same -- and possibly Tombs-favourite Zomby. Hyperdub was started two years ago by Kode9.

Unfortunately that's as much information as I, an outsider to the genre, can offer. Hyperdub release a shitton of stuff, mostly 12', and this compilation featuring 30 songs from artists such as Burial, Kode9, Darkstar, Zomby, Samiyam and much more seems to be an excellent introduction not only to the label Hyperdub but the genre of dubstep as a whole. It's a very solid comp that really flows well, beats and melodies chugging along to a brilliant conclusion on many of the offerings. So try it.

Artist - Felix Mendelssohn - Hebrides Overture (Fingal's Cave)
Genre - Classical
Release Year - 1827

- Felix Medelssohn, a musical prodigy and synaesthesite, was famously so struck by the strange and ominous rock shapes surrounding his visit to Fingal's Cave that it forced music into his genius little brain and he jotted down a sample of sheet music for it to send in a letter to his sister describing how instense his trip was. And now to describe how intense the Hebrides Overture is, I'm writing a blog entry with a link to a recording of it, because I was so struck by the strange and ominous shapes of it. This internet thing just makes it all come full circle, doesn't it?

(Note: This recording is by the Utah Symphony Orchestra, which to my knowledge has no official artwork - the picture above is actually Fingal's Cave.)

link

All Natural - Second Nature

Genre: Hip-Hop

Released: 2001

This album kinda brought Hip-Hop forward into the new decade for me, despite the fact that at the time, there were lots of albums coming out which were far more experimental and wide-reaching. It just seemed like Hip-Hop had suffered an indentity crisis somewhere around the new millenium, unsure whether it should be about Hype Williams videos and R&B singers on every chorus, or complex metaphorical madness over disjointed beats. In trying to be so many things at once, it pulled itself apart and needed something to sew it back up. I'm getting a bit too deep here though, because to be fair, Second Nature didn't exactly fix Hip-Hop by any means. At the time it just went somewhat ignored (except among a handfull of underground enthusiasts), and is now being touted about on ebay as a "rare" LP. What I guess it did do though, was prove that in the emerging information age of cross-breeding genres and bullshit sub-genres, it was still possible for some really fucking good, no-bullshit Hip-Hop to be made! There was a moment where if an MC were to craft some art into his wordplay, it would mean he was "consious", and if a DJ wanted to bring something new to the table, they'd need to smash two opposing genres together on some wacky mash-up mixtape.

Second Nature just gets straight to the point, refusing to bend over to a new emerging style on the basis that what it's already got is good enough to last, and no, it doesn't bore you with cheesy nostalgic tracks about how "boy I wish it was '86 again" either. Listening to it 8 years later, it still sounds just as refreshing and exciting. If you've accidentally overdosed on synthetic beats and velcro-texture vocals (we're living in a world of Love Lock Down and Flashing Lights here), i'd prescribe this album as the perfect antidote.

Tracks like Elements Of Style, Ill Advisory and Stellar are immensely potent in that mystical, most supernatural of forces they call dopeness. If these don't make you want to throw on a Kangol hat and start doing windmills in the street, then there's something wrong with you.

"The Stick Up" opens the album up with some straight rowdy shit,

"You keep your Nikon 'n Canon camera's

Focused on the icon cats that's slammin' ya

Over the banister, 

The B-Boy barrister, embarrass the, 

Phonies on Sony, Def Jam and Arista..."

...and the album pretty much continues in that vein, with almost every beat and every verse reminding you of why you love Hip-Hop.

Before I finish, I have to throw in a mention of that beat on Queen's Get The Money somewhere, just because it's amazing.

Second Nature (192kbps)

Keep it natural.

and now for something completely different

Manufactura - Precognitive Dissonance
Genre: Power Noise, Industrial
Year: 2003





This is about the most aggressive, unsettling, violent music I listen to. It is pulverizing and painful, the content is flat-out offensive and I often feel bad for listening to it. I can feel my blood pressure rise whenever I listen to this.

I have to be in the right mood for something this intense (I can only take so many samples of people getting killed and raped), but sometimes it's a nice change of pace. It's great for tuning out the world.

and not much else!

buy
try

Blog two, comin' with that ol' E-brew
Giggs-tical puttin' niggaz back in I.C.U.

Matt Elliott - The Mess We Made
Genres: Singer-Songwriter, Electronic
Release Year: 2003

Seeing as this is the exact type of thing that the likes of tranny and Seg in particular would likely eat up, it wouldn't especially surprise me if I'm reporting on old news with this one, but The Mess We Made is one of most awesome, moody albums I've heard in ages. Landing sonically somewhere between Boards of Canada, UNKLE and Low, with an dreary atmosphere best compared to Radiohead's Amnesiac, it's about as unclassifiable as it is effective. RYM has it tagged as Electronic, Slowcore, Singer-Songwriter, Post Rock and Folk, which just about sums up its uniqueness, I reckon.

The Mess We Made's eight tracks all tend to smudge together in a haze of unease, but the nine-minute centrepiece Cotard's Syndrome stands out simply because it takes the prize as the dreariest of all, and the brilliantly put together Spanish guitar-influenced closer Forty Days is also worthy of note and acclaim. Only The Sinking Ship Song really stands out at all for negative reasons - and even only then because as awesome as authentic accordion-laced sea shanties are, they're a little out of place on a record as ambiguous and grey as this one.

But if I know you guys at all, you love ambiguity and greyness, right?

Download Link (192 Kbps)

Link mercilessly stolen from http://aroomtobreathin.blogspot.com - check it out, or something.

Air - Love 2
Genre: Electronic, Indie
Year: 2009



I haven't heard this yet, but I get the feeling it might be popular amongst us so I threw it up early. I'll probably throw a review up later.

buy (available 10/5)
try

Micronaut - Europa
Genre: Electronic, Instrumental Rock
Year: 2005






Europa is not like most electronic music. Most electronic music is extremely synthetic, created in a small room on a computer. If something from the electronic genre sounds organic, it's usually sampled. There is nothing wrong with this approach to music at all, and indeed, many of my favourite records are created this way.

But not Europa.

Europa is the electronic sideproject of one Chris Randall, the creator of the seminal industrial rock band Sister Machine Gun. Chris Randall is a programmer first and a rock musician second, but that rock sensibility never goes away. There's loads of guitars and basslines and all that good old natural shit going on here. Sometimes I classify this album as instrumental rock over electronic just because it feels like something you could actually see a band playing instead of a guy letting the computer do all the work.

My favourite thing about Europa is its progression. The first four tracks plod along in a restrained, quiet way - you don't really notice that they're there, but you appreciate them nonetheless. They're pleasant. Then the album flows seamlessly into some glitchy IDM, then a brooding piece with a cello, then some loud guitar riffs, and then back to brooding again. All the while, Europa maintains its restraint, sounding like something that approaches the boiling point but never quite goes over. The second half of the album is just gorgeous songwriting. I have a hard time putting it into words, but it just feels like you're listening to something great.

And you are.

buy
try

A mix I put together whilst under the influence of orange juice. Enjoy.

+ Toggle Tracklisting

SIDE A:
1. The Heliocentrics - Distant Star
2. Quantic & His Combo Barbaro - The Dreaming Mind
3. Hypnotic Brass Ensemble - Sankofa
4. Afrique - Soul Makossa
5. The Heliocentrics - Joyride
6. James Brown - There Was A Time (Kenny Dope Remix)
7. Generoso Jimenez - The Phantom Bass
8. Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra - Go Je Je

SIDE B:
1. The Daktaris - Daktari Walk
2. Wareika Hill Sounds - Reggae Land Dub
3. Aiff - Let It Rock
4. A Race Of Angels - Just Begin
5. TM Juke - Knee Dee (Nostalgia 77 Remix)
6. Marlena Shaw - California Soul (Diplo / Mad Decent Remix)
7. Nostalgia 77 Octet - Nativeland
8. Nobody & Blank Blue - All The Shallow Deep

.
.

Kode9 - Black Sun (12")
Genre: Electronic / Dubstep
Released: 2009

Funky shit from Kode9. Always good to hear new stuff being done with dubstep instead of the usual mid-range wobble.

LINK(320kbps) (mediafire)
or
LINK (320kbps) (sharebee)

I'd recommend you do the right thing and pick it up on vinyl!

Sub Loam - Ohr
Ambient
Year: 2009

I'm sorry Boomkat. I'm not one to guard the genre boarder, but there is no way that this album is modern classical. And what the hell is home listening, anyway? That's more of a description, wouldn't you say?

I suppose I should stop talking to (at?) Boomkat and start talking about what this album is, rather than what it isn't. It is the latest release from Cotton Goods, a new ambient label out of the UK that makes gorgeous, handcrafted and limited covers for all of their releases. It is ambient, in that there is very subtle progression among the tape hiss and the drone. It is an EP. It is something to put on right before you go to sleep -- home listening, you might call it. It is quite good.

Albums without voices are possibly the music writer's wet dream. They can allow the writer to say anything s/he wants to with little fear of ruffling any feathers. How can your assertians be wrong? Easily, actually -- hello Boomkat. Or the writer may use several superfluous and exaggerated claims about the album -- hello Boomkat. I refuse to do this. I will, and I suppose am, going to note the following:

- This album is ambient, purely ambient. It is slow and builds to a very subtle climax.
- There are some well-placed found sounds used throughout the album, building a peaceful soundscape that is rarely interrupted.
- Ohr is Hebrew for light, nettle is a type of plant. Knowing this makes the imagery evoked in the track titles ("Nettle Mix", "Undergrown Path", and "Stones, Sunlight, Morning") more apparent and coherent.

My name is Jordan and I hope you enjoy this album.

Try

All Natural - No Additives, No Preservatives (Xtra Phat)
Genre: Hip-Hop
Released:  1998

Yeah, this one is strictly for the Hip-Hop heads. 

All Natural are a duo from Chicago who have released two of the most slept-on Hip-Hop LP's in recent times, and undoubtedly some of the best Hip-Hop to ever come out of the windy city. Everyone loves a bit of experimental Hip-Hop every now and then, but you know, sometimes... you just want to hear something uncomprimisingly pure. As their name suggests, All Natural make Hip-Hop which is exactly that. I believe they also run (or ran?) their own health bar (wtf?), as you can see from their album cover. Anyway, this whole album is packed with classics, with quality that matches the quantity (it's a big album!). For some reason, one of my favourite moments in Hip-Hop is just Capital D repeatedly stating "it's Windy City style!" on the intro to 'It's OK', and that flute sample... you could chill to that all day. There's not much else for me to say really except that this album is ridiculously dope and an essential part of your Hip-Hop collection. So yeah... refresh your mind with some healthy Hip-Hop.

LINK (256kbps) (megaupload)
LINK (256kbps) (mediafire)
Buy It!






I'll also be posting their follow-up LP Second Nature later which is as good, if not better.

Autechre - LP5
Genre: Electronica/IDM/Techno
Release Year: 1998

- Are my colleagues sick of this band yet? They will be.

I just yesterday finally got around to hearing the electronic duo's lessee uh...fifth long player and within the twenty four hours I've had since then, I've played the length of it about five, going on six times. It's rare for an album to take me over for even just a day, and here with no end to the addiction in sight. So I might as well blog about it.

The first thing I noted is that like most Autechre outings, LP5 is a monolithic yet foggy affair. By this I mean that Sean Booth and Rob Brown's mantra behind the music is "more is more", which allows for a sense of "bigness" but also forces, for better or for worse, a near irreducible complexity on it. In one light, the songs all develop and mature (or corrode), but trying to actively listen for the changes is like trying to detect the minute hand on a clock move around - it'll eventually come full circle but your mind can't consciously observe that kind of thing. Just doesn't have the capacity. But don't fret puny human, this is exactly where the might and magic of Autechre comes from.

LP5 in particular is probably their best work in making that magic happen without completely alienating the listener from the experience altogether. Later works like Confield and Quaristice ended up being so cerebral that anyone with two sober feet on the ground would be turned away at the gates of dissonance, and earlier stuff such as Tri Repetae and Amber, while great pieces of work by themselves, simply don't have the balls that LP5 has. And so in my mind it currently sits as the summit of two methodical sides of a mountain. After a day.

Next to the rest of music, it's some of the most psychotic, intelligent stuff there is.

And when compared head to head to another certain IDM flagship, Boards of Canada aren't even that good.

- Seginustemple

Top tracks - Arch Carrier, Rae, Drane2



>>> Link <<<

hello, my name is luke. i hope you're all doing wonderful





Mythematica - Mythematica
Genre: Electronic / Ambient / Psytrance
Year: 2009

There is a huge genre of ambient-y electronic music that is absolutely impossible to define with words. I find that it's easiest to say "it sounds like Boards of Canada", even if it sounds absolutely fucking nothing like Boards of Canada. Hell, Boards of Canada aren't even that good -- sorry Seg -- but at least people know what the hell you're talking about. I was just peeking around and found the term "neo-ambient". Neo-Ambient? Really? What does this even mean?

90% of the albums that fit the "fuck it, it sounds like Boards of Canada" label are decent albums that I'll never listen to again. They're usually good for background music but not for repetitive listening. Every once in a while, though, I'll find something absolutely amazing that just clicks on the first listen. I have no idea what it is but it's just musically interesting and keeps bringing me back for more.

Mythematica doesn't really sound like Boards of Canada at all, but fucked if I know how to pigeonhole them. Sometimes they've got beautiful soundscapes, sometimes they're playing some funky jazz, sometimes they can be pigeonholed into the psytrance genre, and sometimes they probably sound something like what a generic Boards of Canada fan would like. I don't fucking know. But it's really good, one of the best electronic albums I've heard all year.

buy

try

Giggs is in the house; represent, represent, 'sent
A Tribe Called Quest; represent, repre-

Oh right, this is a serious blog and so forth. My bad.

The Ruins of Beverast - Foulest Semen of a Sheltered Elite
Genre: (Avant-Garde) Black Metal
Release Year: 2009

One thing I have been enjoying the absolute shit out of recently, to make this post vaguely topical, is the new The Ruins of Beverast album. Rain Upon the Impure is probably my pick for best black metal album of the decade, and despite thinking it was a jumbled incoherent mess upon first listen, I'm beginning to think his new one, Foulest Semen of a Sheltered Elite, is almost as good.

As it's ridiculous name may imply, though, it's most certainly not for the musically faint of heart. 80 minutes of oppressive black metal interspersed with harsh death-doom sections, beautiful Gregorian chant-esque vocals and obscene amounts of feedback await. I'd say "enjoy" but it hardly seems appropriate.

Download Link (320Kbps)

The Gaslamp Killer - My Troubled Mind
Genre: Electronic / Psychedelic / Trip-Hop
Released: 2009

Heavy 10" EP released on a limited run of 2000 copies.


LINK (320kbps)

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