Radiohead is not on this list. The Strokes are not on this list. Wilco is not on this list. The White Stripes are not on this list. Animal Collective is not on this list. WHATCHOO GON DO BOUT IT?
BOOKS
The Lemon of Pink (2003)
Of all The Books’ albums, Lemon displays the greatest depth by maintaining tonal and thematic consistency throughout. It is cohesive, meticulous, rich, and reveals something new upon each listen. The seamless intertwining of original material and bits culled from a vast library of found sounds makes Lemon, in my humble opinion, probably the greatest existing specimen of integrated sampling by any artist. One of the most striking elements of The Books’ idiosyncratic breed of electronic music is that it feels very organic; organic in the sense that its fluent structure comprised of tiny constructive units forms something which seems to mimic the process of ‘thinking.’ The Books’ aptitude for simultaneity and conceptual organization makes for music that is both listenable and literate.
BONNIE 'PRINCE' BILLY
BONNIE 'PRINCE' BILLY
The Letting Go (2006)
This was tough because Will is so prolific, but The Letting Go is just fucking majestic. I will wager that “Cursed Sleep” and “Love Comes To Me” are two of the best songs he’s ever written, with “Cursed Sleep” being the only folk song I could describe as “epic.” The semi-cinematic string arrangements escalate the emotional impact of the album without compromising Will’s quiet, acoustic fortitude.
BATTLES
ep-c (2004)
Battles’ prodigiously complex, guitar driven math rock conjures images of robots engaged in a heated chess match. ep-c was the first work of theirs I heard and it remains my favorite release, despite the studio polish and critical acclaim of their most recent record Mirrored. I have seen Battles perform three times, and I proclaim them among the greatest live acts operating today. Jon’s inhumanly muscular drumming on a tiny tiny kit is unfailingly impressive.
CARIBOU
Andorra (2007)
This album is en pointe. Dan Snaith is a truly deft songwriter, and Andorra is a glassy bouquet of sophisticated, shimmering pop tracks colored by dark, delicately shaded math and krautrock undertones.
BURNING STAR CORE
This album is en pointe. Dan Snaith is a truly deft songwriter, and Andorra is a glassy bouquet of sophisticated, shimmering pop tracks colored by dark, delicately shaded math and krautrock undertones.
BURNING STAR CORE
Challenger (2008)
Spencer Yeh might be better known for other products/projects, but I feel that Challenger
displays his most substantial sonic breadth to date. As it is not abrasive enough for harsh noise and not tedious enough for drone, Challenger is surprisingly accessible. It’s a rich and fibrous soundscape, and Yeh is smart enough to tease out the beauty in a tone by showcasing it rather than drowning it beneath an oppressive, angry legion of exploding bass cabs. Not that there’s anything wrong with Hair Police...
BLACK DICE
Creature Comforts (2004)
Broken Ear Record and Beaches and Canyons and even Repo are all pretty stellar, but Creature Comforts made me fall in love. The album is just so fucking quirky that if it weren’t so fierce I would be tempted to call it cute. Guitar and electronics prance around squealing, chirping, growling, howling in a curious anthropomorphic noise orgy. The album seems equally funny and dangerous. Whatever the fuck is going on, the great thing about Black Dice is that they obviously don’t give a damn what you think, what scene they fit into, and don’t seem compelled to adhere to any formula whatsoever. They’re just a great band with a fervently individual, passionately experimental sound. I suppose the placement of Creature Comforts here is really more about the group in general -- they might be the noisy exemplar of artistic integrity. And Noah Lennox agrees with me.
*this song is not from Creature Comforts, but it rocks.
PANDA BEAR
Person Pitch (2007)
And speaking of Noah Lennox, I readily confess that I had no idea who the hell Animal Collective was when I bought this album, and though it was released around the same time as Strawberry Jam I would argue that Noah’s solo effort is better, and in a lot of ways stylistically anticipates the AnCo of Merriweather Post Pavilion. The sopping wet vocal reverb, the cyclical structure, the parallel organum in perfect intervals of thirds, fourths and fifths which recall traditional chant; Person Pitch drifts along with dreamy, church-like languor. To say that it is transcendental music might be stretching it, but there’s definitely a comprehensive spiritual bent which lends Person Pitch a sweet and searching sincerity.
WHY?
And speaking of Noah Lennox, I readily confess that I had no idea who the hell Animal Collective was when I bought this album, and though it was released around the same time as Strawberry Jam I would argue that Noah’s solo effort is better, and in a lot of ways stylistically anticipates the AnCo of Merriweather Post Pavilion. The sopping wet vocal reverb, the cyclical structure, the parallel organum in perfect intervals of thirds, fourths and fifths which recall traditional chant; Person Pitch drifts along with dreamy, church-like languor. To say that it is transcendental music might be stretching it, but there’s definitely a comprehensive spiritual bent which lends Person Pitch a sweet and searching sincerity.
WHY?
Alopecia (2008)
Why? cultivates a sound which is compellingly ambiguous and seems to straddle a few different fences, but whether you choose to pigeonhole them into indie rock, freak folk, alternative hip-hop, etc., they sound absolutely sure of themselves, and the clarity of their distinctive vision makes pigeonholing irrelevant. Why?’s athletic backbone is Yoni Wolf, who’s oddly appealing nasally monotone slithers around between rap/spoken word and a tuneless singing of sorts. Wolf adroitly navigates dark lyrical territory with heartbreaking eloquence and self-deprecating transparency; I can’t think of any other ‘rapper’ who would dare explore desperate masturbation habits, lots of weeping, and ruminations on personal failure (all typically conducted in a toilet stall) and further, Wolf does so with an emotional disconnect and anecdotal bemusement which totally nullifies any indulgent self pity such topics would seem to propagate.
FENNESZ
Why? cultivates a sound which is compellingly ambiguous and seems to straddle a few different fences, but whether you choose to pigeonhole them into indie rock, freak folk, alternative hip-hop, etc., they sound absolutely sure of themselves, and the clarity of their distinctive vision makes pigeonholing irrelevant. Why?’s athletic backbone is Yoni Wolf, who’s oddly appealing nasally monotone slithers around between rap/spoken word and a tuneless singing of sorts. Wolf adroitly navigates dark lyrical territory with heartbreaking eloquence and self-deprecating transparency; I can’t think of any other ‘rapper’ who would dare explore desperate masturbation habits, lots of weeping, and ruminations on personal failure (all typically conducted in a toilet stall) and further, Wolf does so with an emotional disconnect and anecdotal bemusement which totally nullifies any indulgent self pity such topics would seem to propagate.
FENNESZ
Endless Summer (extra tracks version - 2007)
There’s really nothing I can say about this album to do it any justice, aside from this: if there’s anyone with the talent, insight, aptitude, and subtlety to construct an exquisite, unfurling, ambient response to The Beach Boys own Endless Summer– it’s Christian Fennesz
CONVERGE
Jane Doe (2001)
I’d been a fan of Jake Bannon & Co. for a few years before they released Jane Doe, and when it came out I listened to it incessantly. While hardcore is a genre that no longer particularly interests me, I maintain that Jane Doe is its most savvy constituent. Converge’s formula of rapid-fire, fever-burning tracks interspersed with down-tempo, melodic ones is at its best here, and culminates in the heroic title track, which alternates between soaring and sludge. The album is solid from start to finish, due in part to the technical virtuosity of the band. Drummer Ben Koller tackles the abrupt tempo shifts and polyrhythmic eccentricities like a fucking machine, and long-revered guitarist Kurt Ballou cuts up some ferocious riffs while coercing his instrument to emit a spectacular range of tones. And Jake Bannon’s bloody, feral, deaths-head howl is at its sharp and lacerating finest. What makes Jane Doe so raw and startling and mature is that Converge finally found a way to utilize their prodigious skill to aggravate and inflame emotional turmoil; where before Bannon shrieked indistinct suicidal mantras against a backdrop of bass, drum, guitar, on Jane Doe the separate components fall away and you don’t need to read the lyrics to know, because everything coalesces into a monstrous organism that angrily, despairingly expels from a back gaping maw the sound of suicide itself.
I’d been a fan of Jake Bannon & Co. for a few years before they released Jane Doe, and when it came out I listened to it incessantly. While hardcore is a genre that no longer particularly interests me, I maintain that Jane Doe is its most savvy constituent. Converge’s formula of rapid-fire, fever-burning tracks interspersed with down-tempo, melodic ones is at its best here, and culminates in the heroic title track, which alternates between soaring and sludge. The album is solid from start to finish, due in part to the technical virtuosity of the band. Drummer Ben Koller tackles the abrupt tempo shifts and polyrhythmic eccentricities like a fucking machine, and long-revered guitarist Kurt Ballou cuts up some ferocious riffs while coercing his instrument to emit a spectacular range of tones. And Jake Bannon’s bloody, feral, deaths-head howl is at its sharp and lacerating finest. What makes Jane Doe so raw and startling and mature is that Converge finally found a way to utilize their prodigious skill to aggravate and inflame emotional turmoil; where before Bannon shrieked indistinct suicidal mantras against a backdrop of bass, drum, guitar, on Jane Doe the separate components fall away and you don’t need to read the lyrics to know, because everything coalesces into a monstrous organism that angrily, despairingly expels from a back gaping maw the sound of suicide itself.
AKRON/FAMILY
Love is Simple (2007)
Akron/Family make very special music which is both beguilingly insouciant and earnestly adventurous. Most indie outfits approach the americana genre with a palpable ironic sensibility, but Akron/Family are disarming in their sincerity and obvious appreciation of the roots of american music that manifests as a rather baroque tapestry of pitch-tent gospel chanting, dixie riffage, ragtime, sweet acoustic folk, appalachian mountain melodies, and free jazz improv. Love is Simple presents a sophisticated alternation between blissful abandon and whip-smart self-containment, but always threatens to burst with tenderness. Listeners weary of the self-reflexive irony and stylistic appropriation which is so prevalent in today’s alternative movements should find Akron/Family to be a wonderful palate cleanser; their authenticity is infectious and, quite frankly, pretty adorable.
Akron/Family make very special music which is both beguilingly insouciant and earnestly adventurous. Most indie outfits approach the americana genre with a palpable ironic sensibility, but Akron/Family are disarming in their sincerity and obvious appreciation of the roots of american music that manifests as a rather baroque tapestry of pitch-tent gospel chanting, dixie riffage, ragtime, sweet acoustic folk, appalachian mountain melodies, and free jazz improv. Love is Simple presents a sophisticated alternation between blissful abandon and whip-smart self-containment, but always threatens to burst with tenderness. Listeners weary of the self-reflexive irony and stylistic appropriation which is so prevalent in today’s alternative movements should find Akron/Family to be a wonderful palate cleanser; their authenticity is infectious and, quite frankly, pretty adorable.
JUSTICE
Cross (2007)
I’m going to get a lot of shit for this choice. After a long period of ambivalence, I am ready to confess that I think Cross is pretty brilliant. Obviously there’s a brazen, distinctively French douchebaggery afoot, but sonically Cross ploughs through the rigid tenets and delicate sensibilities of preceding French electronica with cheeky, unapologetic fervor. It’s loaded with catchy, ironic hooks, and it flows like one monster current of electricity - but it’s also really fucking noisy. Listening to songs like “Stress” on a good set of headphones reveals a mid-level so loud it actually hurts – one of the really curious aspects of this album is the very narrow sonic envelope, which sits centrally and doesn’t bother much with either the hi or lo shelf – quite unusual for electronica. Something like five hundred samples ranging from 50 Cent to Hall & Oates have been condensed, stretched, and fucked with to the point that they’re completely disguised as nearly pure waveforms or bitcrusher distortion walls. Blatant rips of italo-disco are not disguised, but are, once again, totally unapologetic. The enormous ratio of appropriated material on Cross tugs at the concept of originality, but Justice’s subversive angle on appropriation is indeed original and unmistakably theirs, as is the big fat middle finger directed at venerated electronic acts such as Daft Punk. I love this album. Bite me.
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