Ok...on more I forgot! The Low Anthem "Smart Flesh". Can't see why so many critics ripped this. I really love it. Great mood and passion. Pretty darn similar to "Oh My God, Charles Darwin" if you like the first.
I'm overwhelmed by all the great music being made. I think this is a wonderful time to be a music lover and feel so bad for all those guys stuck in the 70's + 80's.... |
I have a bunch to list but for now I'll throw out The Unthanks "Last", keeping in line with the twangy folk girls listed above, this one with Celtic roots. Jax you'll dig that one! |
Jax...Emily Barker + the Red Clay Halo have a 2011 release titled "Almanac" which I actually prefer to that one. Good stuff. Agree with the Martha Tilson recommendation. "Of Milkmaids and Architects" from 2006 being my personal fave. Of all the Nu Folk ladies, Laura Marling is my favorite. Another from 2011 for the twang chicks, Rachel Harrington "Celilo Falls". Any fan of Gillian Welch will love this one. I sure do!
As for 2011, James Blake's self titled debut sits on top for me. Just a masterpiece from start to finish. Enjoying Josh T. Pearson "Last of the Country Gentleman" a lot and Burial's "Street Halo" EP. One thats coming that I love is Gorillaz "The Fall". Been listening to a prerelease copy and to my ears + brain, this is by far his best effort. Great stuff.
Some disappointments so far in 2011...Iron & Wine "Kiss Each Other Clean", he may have set the bar to high with his last 2. It's good but wanted better. Robbie Robertson's new one. It just sounds dated to me. I do love the title track but as a whole it lands kinda flat. The Decemberists. Can't see why so many love this record. Not a bad album but just does no move my spirit. |
And....
Hiss Golden Messenger (M.C.Taylor) "Bad Debt"...Fantastic folksy americana. Beautify written and played with heart. |
Another 2011 gem to add!
The Mountain Goats "All Eternals Deck"
Brilliant!!!!! |
Yes....yet another great 2011 release...
Bill Callahan "Apocalypse"
So far this has been a great year for music. |
Dgarretson....Maybe so but it is really a record that encompasses all of what is special about him...stripped down and poetic, reminiscent of his finest stuff like 1997's Smog "Red Apple Falls" or 2005 "A River Ain't Too Much To Love"...all with more maturity, confidence and in a way, more gentle. Folks will get him or they won't I'd guess. I just wanted to put it out there because it is not something that many of these guys would be exposed to without digging a bit. |
Yea Marco, I think you will really like that one but of all the nonsense I spew on this forum, I cannot recommend the new Mountain Goats, All Eternals Deck, highly enough. Especially knowing you....this is one I would say rush out and buy it tonight then listen to it over and over again. I have it on as I type and just can't stop loving it more and more. I really do think it's brilliant. It got me from track 1.
I have 2 old Talk Talk albums but never really followed them after that. I'll do a little sampling of the Mark Hollis stuff, thanks for that! I love these threads. |
In have an add, one I find truly special.
The Antlers "Burst Apart"
This is not "Hospice" nor will anything ever be like it but it does have the layers of swirling, rich and difficult intensity. With lyrics like "...Prove to me/that I'm not gonna die alone...." this is not a simple record, yet I felt connected to it from the first play and find myself wanting to start it over each time the closing song fades. This is going to be on my years best list for sure. |
And another that is headed for my album of the year list....
Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi "Rome"
Rather than try to explain this myself, this is the description from Amazon. Amazing piece of music unlike anything I've heard and also a way cool recording using vinatge gear, live to tape:
"Some five years in the making, the conception of Rome actually dates back even further, to the 2004 meeting of Brian Burton a/k/a Danger Mouse and Italian composer/arranger Daniele Luppi. Burton was emerging from the aftermath of the media storm around his Grey Album and beginning work on Gorillaz now multi-platinum and Grammy winning Demon Days. Luppi was amassing acclaim for his album An Italian Story, which paid tribute to the cinematic sounds that shaped his childhood, while writing music for the screen (Sex In The City, Nine, etc.) and soon thereafter contributing arrangements to Burton projects including Gnarls Barkley, Dark Night of the Soul and Broken Bells.
United in their shared passion for classic Italian film music, Burton and Luppi have created a record like no other: Intense songwriting periods both together and apart and travels to Rome during which Luppi reunited for the first time in decades original musicians from the scores of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West including the legendary Marc 4 backing band and Alessandro Alessandroni's 'I Cantori Moderni' choir laid the groundwork. Recording took place in Rome's cavernous Forum Studios formerly Ortophonic Studios, founded, amongst others, by the great Ennio Morricone -- employing vintage equipment, for which Burton and Luppi would pay with bottles of wine, and making every effort to replicate the recording practices of the 1960s/70s golden age, recording live to tape, with no electronics, computers or 21st-century effects.
Crucial to the completion of Rome has been the enlistment of two lead vocalists who not only do justice to but complete the three songs each written for a man and a woman. While on tour with Gnarls Barkley, Burton met Jack White and a year later, White recorded his contributions The Rose With The Broken Neck, Two Against One and The World in Nashville. White s counterpart, in a revelatory turn, is Norah Jones, who flew to Burton s L.A. studio from New York to sing on Season's Trees, Black and Problem Queen.
With acclaimed director and photographer Chris Milk brought in as "Visual Director", half a decade of hard work and unstinting perfectionism would draw to a close as the album and package were completed.
From Rome's opening with soprano Edda Dell'Orso's dramatic voice (the same haunting vocal presence from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 44 years ago) gracing Theme of Rome to the closing strains of The World, Rome -- for all its cinematic qualities -- is not the soundtrack to an imaginary movie, but rather a complex, nuanced pop record rife with counterpoints of intensity and darkness as well as uplift and light. (Luppi calls it "a small window on human life, touching on love, death, happiness, desperation, and the visceral connection of a man and a woman".) It's an ambitious work with a uniquely modern sound achieved through traditional, vintage means. It is, above all, a fully realized album, perfectly formed and hauntingly beautiful.
Welcome to Rome." |
Hbarrel....I'm sure many of the forum members here feel the same way about James Blake (not Jeff...Jeff Blake was a QB from ECU who went on to be an NFL bust although showed potential here and there....!). Dubstep, UK Garage, Grime... whatever it is, it's music thats hard to classify and it certainly is unlike most of what is written about on this forum. I try to recommend things that are a little different than the typical audiophile album. I enjoy discovering new artists/music and figured others on here do as well. I also realize that, as you wrote, one mans great is another mans terrible! I'm glad you gave it a go and at least you have a shiny new coaster! I love that album and think he is brilliant. I've since gotten every EP/single he has released. |
Sarabeth Tucek "Get Well Soon" |
James Vincent McMorrow "Early In The Morning"
A highly recommended singer/songwriter effort from this Irish artist I think we will be hearing a lot more of. He recorded this by himself over 5 days in a cottage by the sea. Fans of Bon Iver + Iron & Wine will likely connect and find great joy in this music. Check out track 7, Follow You Down To The Red Oak Tree and track 8, Burning Down the Ropes. This album has become a favorite of mine, I cannot recommend it highly enough.
On the complete other end of the spectrum, some rap and R&B. 2 free mixtapes available for download at these artists websites:
The Weeknd "House of Balloons" - Very cool indie R&B stuff.
Big K.R.I.T. "Return Of 4Eva" - Laid back southern rap with big time mix talent.
Both of these are only available in mp3 format (free download) but sound pretty damn good. I found them in Pitchforks recommended new music and fell for them both right away, especially KRIT. I do realize there are many rap haters here but some fans linger amongst us too! I don't get most of the stuff thats out there these days but a rap artist will come along here and there that just hits me right. My wife loves this one too. |
Thanks to Marco and the other folks that suggested Sarah Jarosz new release. Fine fine record. What a young talent! Watched her youtube vids of the Austin City Limits performance and just loved them. That is one heck of a band. She sounds much like the second coming of Gillian Welch. The girl can flat out play guitar + banjo.
On the twangy side.....have a listen to Zoe Muth & The Lost High Rollers "Starlight Hotel". Throwback to Dolly and the classic Nashville ladies. Sweet pedal steel playing, gets me everytime. This album makes me wanna put a gunrack and confederate flag in my pickup. |
Wow Marco, thanks for the word on Gillian Welch. Didn't know she had one coming out. I'll keep an eye out for a pre release copy. As for Omar, many a Pimp has worn a pony tail. Don't be fooled...he's a bad mofo. Your boys Cassius and Captain do look like muscle so not too much I can say there. I did give E your regards. There is not doubt about his brawn. A true OG Mack Daddy.
On Sara Jaffe...I watched that youtube vid of Clementine you posted and she is a total clone of Laura Marling. Check out some of the live videos on yoututbe of Ms Marling. Every tone, voice inflection, facial expression...it's wild. No doubt Sara Jaffe admires Laura Marling. That chick is brilliant. Maybe a little depressed, but still brilliant. Certainly in my top 5 female artists.
Zoe Muth http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqvp27uUQTU&feature=fvst |
Bon Iver - Bon Iver
Been listening to a pre release copy of this for 2 days straight. My wife is about to strangle me. If you liked his other record and ep, you will love this. More complex, not nearly as dark but still very similar in structure. Justin Vernon has oddly become a super star. Great interview with him on Pitchfork too. I expect them to give this record a rare "10" and rightfully so. |
Have fun at the show old man. Thought you gave up live music? I agree 100% with your take on her new album. I do enjoy it and grateful she is making music...not her best though. Unfortunately, she is not coming around the Ohio way so we'd have to travel to make her tour. We did talk about it. |
Glad you enjoyed it too Marco. The album is a wonderful recording too. Tremendous bass and cool ambient detail in Hopkins field recordings. All of this creates an eerie contrast to the traditional Scottish folk style of King Creosote. This one is really becoming a favorite of mine. |
King Creosote & Jon Hopkins "Diamond Mines" |
The War On Drugs "Slave Ambient"
If you liked Kurt Vile's solo album, you'll prolly like this. I think it is actually much better although he is not on this one. Great record! |
A nice article about Diamond Mine (posted just above) from NPR:
"If the year ended right now, I'd know my favorite record of 2011. Out May 24, Diamond Mine does what audio does best: It takes me far from the here-and-now.
This labor of love, seven years in the making, opens on a café terrace in a Scottish town. Jon Hopkins sets his field recordings, rich in regional accents and casual conversation, against a lovely, spare piano. It's a few minutes before these soundscapes give way to the quivering vocals of King Creosote, at which point the scope of this collaboration becomes clear. This is storytelling through sounds and with song — bring your own pictures.
Creosote, a.k.a. Kenny Anderson, and Jon Hopkins describe this unusual record as the "soundtrack to a romanticized version of a life lived in a Scottish coastal village." Hopkins is a sharp musician: Electronics are his tools, dance music is how he fills nightclubs and textures are how he fills songs. Creosote is a prolific songwriter based in Crail, a small fishing village in the northeast of Fife, Scotland.
There's acoustic guitar and melodic-yet-ambient accordion holding these tunes together. The words to the songs seem to reflect big dreams — perhaps unfulfilled — set against the wonders of the everyday. This is a record for your late night or your quiet Sunday. Put it on when you when you need calm or you're prepared for a mental journey, and be grateful that in a fast-paced world, King Creosote and Jon Hopkins stopped and took their time." |
Keith the new Girls album is fantastic. Glad you mentioned it in this thread because it belongs for sure. It's got it all...great rock songs (Die), Lennon-esque emotional ballads (My Ma), blistering power ballads (Vomit)....it's a must have. |
Tatw....thanks for posting those. Never heard of any of them but loved the samples I found, particularly The Deep Dark Woods. Pure and timeless music. Thanks!! |
Obrown - It's very hard to comment, a very subjective topic. I can only say for myself, I listen primarily to newer music with the exception of jazz and classical where I tend to prefer older material (50's + 60's). Those records you have in your cart are quite far from the artists you listed so it's hard to say if they will fall within your taste. I don't know if you enjoy electronic music but James Blake is VERY far from Joplin, Cocker and Redding so that one you may want to sample first. Again, it's so subjective but I think he is brilliant, just not too much like artists from our youth (I'll be 50 in May).
Maybe getting a little off topic but I do not really enjoy older rock/pop music. Classic rock, all the stuff I listened to as a young guy, most of it bores the hell out of me. If I had to listen to DSOM or Eric Clapton one more time I think I'd crack ( a few exceptions...Dylan, Joni, Laurie Anderson among them. Still in heavy rotation and always will I'd bet). I was just talking to another friend from this site about how we used to spend hours, days really, digging through bins at the record store looking for interesting music. It's how I'd spend my Saturday and Sunday afternoons...searching, learning, discovering that next hidden musical gem. I knew way too much about music. Always had stack of strange records piled all over my room and went to a ton of shows. I'm kinda the same way now and find that there is much more interesting music being made today then there was on our day. Prolly because of the internet and how the industry has changed...artists can now produce and distribute their own stuff from their couch so gifted, creative talent that would have gone unnoticed before is accessible today. I could go on and on about the evolution of musical art, the how's and why's as well as the results. Anyway, kinda rambling now but I guess I'm trying to say have fun with your quest and there is gold in them there hills! |
16 Horsepower "Yours Truly"
Wouldn't normally consider a "best of" or compilation for this list but gotta add this one. One of my all time favorite bands (thanks Marco....). Yours Truly is a 2 disc set, the first a list voted on by fans, a sort of fan favorite best of, and the second a collection of B sides and rarities. Overall it is a great introduction if you are new to 16HP and a nice add for long time fans. Highlights for me are the version of Bad Moon Rising, The Partisan, Alt version of Black Soul Choir + American Wheeze as well a remix of Clogger. Disc one include a great mix of classics with Splinters and Hutterite Mile making the list to my delight.
Highly recommended. |
Loomisjohnson....Love that Richard Buckner album. The best I've heard from him. Great album! |
What's a annual "best of" list without Will Oldham in some form or another...
Bonnie "Prince" Billie "Wolfroy Goes To Town"
Love this one. It's on the starker side of his stuff, think "Masters & Everyone" if you are familiar with him. For me, this is his best in many years.
I seriously think Will Oldham is the hardest working dude making records. He's gotta be closing in on some sort of world record for releases in a career. Between Palace, Palace Music, Palace Brothers, BPB, his self titled stuff....I counted 15 in my library and I'd have more but just can't keep up with him! The man has a lot to say!
Marco, this one's for you. |
This one comes with a disclaimer:
95% are going to be deeply disturbed by this record but the 5% that dig bass music, dub techno, tribal, minimal, glitch stuff are going to freak on it. If you love Shackleton, Burial, Deadbeat, Scuba, Raime or even some of the Raster-Noton stuff like Senking (brilliant!)then eat this up...
Andy Stott "We Stay Together"
Equally as brilliant is his last, "Passed Me By"
Very heavy rotation here. |
Kate Bush "50 Words for Snow"
Thanks Ian, you were right..."it's amazing"....! |
Another from the fringes:
Shackleton & Pinch (ST)
UK bass super-union. Sam Shackleton, whose Skull Disco label, may it rest in peace, is to me the most interesting segment of that whole scene (always in heavy rotation here) while Rob Ellis aka Pinch has a near equally impressive resume as founder of Tectonic and his own list of Pinch releases.
This record is full of murky deep mountains of bass, tribal rhythms and sparse dubby grooves. To me, Shackleton sets himself apart from all the other UK bass artists with his use of percussion. Plenty of shakers, bells, cymbal crashes and hand drums weave in and out with eerie precision. As you can tell, I love this record. Shackleton has become a favorite of mine in general so I was pleasantly surprised that this album appeared a month before it's scheduled release.
Highly recommended. |
Thanks Bongo, appreciate the encouragement. It's always been a joy to share music ideas with like minds, I enjoy your suggestions as well. I say it all the time here but this era is a special one for music. There is way more incredible stuff out there than I'll ever have the time to hear and even with the stuff I do, I post a pretty small segment of my faves. It's hard to gauge how far guys around here are willing to move off the mainstream. Heck, there are a bunch of great new rap albums I've been into lately but I don't think I have ever seen any rap recommended on this site. When it is brought up, sadly it's bashed and guys start to sound exactly like my Mom circa 1975!
Anyways...keep your recommendations coming and if you enjoy that Shackelton/Pinch record check out Shackelton's Fabric mix (I think it's Fabric 55 but not certain), his album titled 3EP's or the harder to find Soundboy Get's His Nut's Ground Up Proper EP (Skull Disco 3)...a personal fave. Another cool artist just a step beyond that is Senking, his album Pong being a good starting point (on Raster-Noton, a very interesting label). Senking gets much play in my home. If you do give them a go, let me know what you think. |
Bongo...much closer to the University of Kentucky than United Kingdom! I'm in Ohio. I pretty much spent the 70's and lord knows how long wasted digging through record bins looking for interesting music. It's just always been a passion and now I'm a grown as man with the same passion. Times have changed quite a bit and the internet has become the record bins to dig through. Instead of hanging out all weekend in record stores I jump on line after the wife goes to bed and listen away. There are endless amounts of blogs and music sites for every genre. Lately, I've really connected with the whole UK bass music stuff but that also has led me to German/Eastern European minimal and on and on. I still enjoy folk, americana and that whole thing but love me some variety.
That whole UK electronic scene is fascinating. It's really crossed over and now there is dubstep in a lot of the pop music being made in the US. Radiohead has been doing it longer than most mainstream artists and Thom Yorke is pretty much as much a part of UK bass music as he is indie rock. If you like Burial, he did some remixes and EP's with Thom Yorke as did a bunch of other guys from that scene. I think there is 8 or 9 EP's. Some from the last Radiohead record and some from Yorke's solo thing. There is also a single, Ego/Mirror, that's Burial/Thom Yorke/Four Tet on Hyperdub.
Gotta run but I could go on and on.... |
Drubin...thanks for that, was not aware. |
The year ain't over yet!
If you have a chance, listen to the new soundtrack to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo from Trent Reznor & Attica Ross. It opens with Karen O joining them for a remake of Zepplins The Immigrant song and it's wicked. Many of you will say this is sacrilege but fella's...blows the original away. Serious intensity....I recommend turning it up as loud as you are physically able. It's not a real indicator of whats to come as the record is mostly drone/ambient stuff but so so well done. This is a good one people.
I really enjoyed The Social Network OST, a very good record, but they obviously learned something from doing it and this is taken to a new level. |
and...while I'm on the subject of soundtracks, I should mention the hauntingly beautiful soundtrack from The Cave Of Forgotten Dreams (Ernst Reijseger). Gorgeous cello performance with choral and piano. Very highly recommended. I have not had a chance to see the film yet but understand it is magnificent. |
OBrown...never heard of Audra Mae, gotta check her out. Glad we have all spent your money:) !
Since you like James Blake, he has a new EP and it's very very good, particularly the title track "Love What Happened Here" [R&S Records]. He also released a deluxe edition of the self titled album, a 2 disc set that contains his Enough Thunder EP and a few other odds and ends. I don't know what this whole "deluxe edition" trend is but it gets confusing for us music nerds. |
Mike60...I have that along with another of the Audrey's albums. Very cool band. Apparently they are pretty popular in Australia but don't get much play in the US. I learned of them through Radio Paradise and ironically love the song Paradise City. Cool video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n86v6T5IvRs
Gotta add .... their singer is a sexy thing. |
Obrown...I paid around 20 for it. Give me a few and I will see if I can dig up where. Thats ridiculous. |
http://store.theaudreys.com.au/
Amounts to about $25 shipped. I noticed they have a newer one so I think I may have to order one too....ugh. |
Bongo...did not know those AZ boy's had a new record. I'm straight off to buy it, thanks for the post. Not a minute of Calexico music that I have not enjoyed and I think I have all of their albums. Supremely talented guys and one of my all time favorite drummers. |
Ok...I looked around and can't find a new Calexico? Were you referring to the anthology box set? |
