Albums
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The Mountain Goats — Days
Going to Fennario was written shortly after Bobby Weir’s death, and while John Darnielle never was part of the jam-band post-Dead circuit, he has paid tribute to them many times in performances and writing. It’s a beautiful song, that still brings tears to my face. I was lucky enough to catch the release party at Music Millenium for this album, and outside of the Bobby Weir tribute, it’s a solid late-era tMG album.
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Suss — Counting Sunsets
This is beautiful slow-motion Americana. It reminds me, in a rare way, of Boothroyd’s “Pure Country”, another twangy ambient work. Twangy reverberations ring out against vast rural soundscapes, and I imagine clouds drifting over western hills.
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Loula Yorke — Hydrology
I was unfamiliar with the artist, Loula Yorke, before this album and it was a fun synth trip through space. If you’re a fan of the works of Panabrite, or Motion Sickness of Time Travel, or many other synth heavy / minimalism adjacent artists, you’re in for a treat.
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Isabel Pine — Fables
I went in with no knowledge of the artist, or their past work, and this album was beautiful. Stoic and beautiful compositions reverberate with a nostalgic cabin loneliness. Layers and layers of acoustic recordings work together to create an album that feels intimate and familiar.
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British Sea Power — Disco Elysium
It’s the soundtrack for Disco Elysium. Brilliant work that is so far beyond an OST that is could only fit perfectly with such a gem of a game.
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Arca — XXXXX
Clean production work on an album I described to coworkers as “alien post-dubstep.” Rich soundscapes, broken beats, and incredible confidence.
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Akusmi — Terra Incognita
I had no exposure to Akusmi before a few weeks ago, and wow, dense & hypnotic jazz-inspired compositions. Incredible composition and production work make this a joy to hear. Mellow and complex, it’s thriving in a beautiful place between electronic music and jazz.
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Residue — Residue & Dust
Starts off as a competent, if slightly unimpressive, romp into some tech house, but grows and grows from there into a shimmering synthesis of a wide range of chill/downtempo/ambient/pop vibes. Notably cool album art! Standout track, “In My Soul (reprise)
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Ween — 12 Golden Country Greats (Deluxe Edition)
One of the all time greats. This album perfectly encapsulates one facet of Ween, with perfectly backed country (featuring a host of classic session musicians), combined with Dean Ween’s impeccable guitar work, all dusted with the magic that makes Ween so good. This packs in “So Long Jerry” which remains as one of the finest tributes to the Grateful Dead, rescuing it from b-side obscurity.
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traumprinz — life
Beautiful blend of deep house and dub techno. The standout track for me was “about leaving” which has some stellar production work that pairs perfectly with the sparse soundscape.
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Mahakala — Mahakala
Heavy dense drone. Not my love language, I usually go for the more ethereal ambient side of the genre.
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Jóhann Jóhannsson — IBM 1401, A User's Manual
One of my favorite recordings and composition, a rich swelling ambient wave, with peaking synths and swelling strings. Deeply moody, with sparse hints of nostalgia and optimism. I heard this album many years ago, and many years after hearing it for the first time ended up working somewhere with an IBM iSeries machine, a direct descendent of the IBM 1401.
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Floating Points — Falling to Earth
Floating Points is a visionary beacon of the past and future of electronic music, and this release is no exception. Emergent complexity and syncretic sounds have become emblematic of FP’s output, and this yet another extension of the artist’s talent.
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Akusmi — Fleeting Future
Beautiful, sparse layered jazz-adjacent arrangements. In all the best ways, reminds me of the kind of work that Triosk was doing in the past. Shimmering edifices rise and submerge, all the while the strong composition and clean production shine through.
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King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard — Alien Metal
A foray into dense psytrance and other heady electronica. Psychedelic to an extreme, as is the usual for KGatLW, and I’m here for it. I love the amount of experimentation an established band puts into this album, and how wide of a net is cast. Acid house, techno, heavy DSP use and more rule the day.
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Hello1103 — Cobalt
My first intro to Hello1103, and wow, what a listen. Breakcore nostalgia mixed with contemporary production, coming together beautifully. It’s not a breakcore album, but that love of genre exploration is here, as it danced between electronic tropes and themes and felt fresh the whole way. I listened while driving at 6 AM, and while I can’t tell you about any tracks specifically, I can say that it’s worth your time.
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Flox — Thing In Itself
Reggae with a modern flair. Some mild auto-tune adjustment on vocals. Not a genre I’m particularly familiar with, enjoyable listen that is unlikely to get further play time.
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⣎⡇ꉺლ༽இ•̛)ྀ◞ ༎ຶ ༽ৣৢ؞ৢ؞ؖ ꉺლ — ʅ͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡(̸̢̛̼̞̭͋ͅ)̸͚̰͛̔̾̀̿͒͂:̴͓̞̑̌̂̆̊͋̀:̸͎̟̯̂̓̌ ҉ ͡ ͞ ͞ ͞ ҉● ࿀ ● ࿀ ● ҉⃝ ⃝͢ ͞ ͘ ͞⃝̕ ͢ ̛ ⃝ ̸ ̡ ͢⃝̧ ͡ ͡ ̀ ̧ ̢⃝͜ ҉ ͞ ͞ ⃝͞ ͘ ͞ ͡⃝ ⃝҉҈҉҈҉҈҉҈҉҈҉ :̶̢͙͙͕̠̩͆(̷̮͍͚̫͚͂̍)̵̳̗̊( ̟̞̝̜̙̘̗̖҉̵̴̨̧̢̡̼̻̺̹̳̲̱̰̯̮̭̬̫̪̩̦̥̤̣̠҈͈͇͉͍͎͓͔͕͖͙͚͜͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢ͅ l̡̡̡ ̡͌ Ɵʅ͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡(̸̢̛̼̞̭͋ͅ)̸͚̰͛̔̾̀̿͒͂v̴̢͚͚͎ȯ̶̞̮͖̑̈́)̸̳̥̰̜̥̺̐ͅ)̴͎̜
I have been listening to Four Tet for 20+ years, and Four Tet is still making some of the most cohesive and enjoyable electronic music out there. Hilarious unicode glyphs aside, this is an incredible release that will get more play.
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Unknown Mizery — Paper Umbrellas
Dense lyricism, gritty production, and great production marks my first foray with Unknown Mizery. I listened to this while getting through work, and kept on remarking to my coworkers how much I enjoyed it. Very much a product of East Coast rap, with an unflinching artist at the helm.
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QB-1 — Slobberknocker
Hard techno hits, it may not be my favorite thing but I can’t deny on consistent and well produced this album is. YMMV, but I doubt I’ll give this another listen.
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Oneohtrix Point Never — Again (Blu-ray Edition)
This 2023 is an ethereal gem, like most of Oneohtrix Point Never’s output, with OPN exploring the world of vaporous synths, melded genres, and trope experimentation. The standout track on this listen was “A Barely Lit Path”, a meandering stroll through a natural yet inorganic garden. Rich synth work complimented by dense instrumentation, every voice comes through and nothing feels excessive.
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Nintendo — The Sound of Kirby Café -Jazz Style-
Surprisingly well-arranged and performed versions of classic Kirby songs. I put this on expecting something cute, and instead got a chewy and enjoyable album. This led to a bit of a research rabbithole, and turns out there are Kirby Cafe(s) in Japan with exclusive Kirby merch and food.
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GAS — November 89
My first listen to GAS in a longtime, to this collection of recordings from 1989. Fragmentary field recordings, drone, and noises dominate the sound. This is the side of ambient music far from New Age vibes, instead rooted more in music concrete than anything else.
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Galcher Lustwerk — Vestibule (Remixes)
An EP of remixes. I was unfamiliar with the original, and enjoyed the remixes while exercising. No moments stood out, for better or for worse, and an EP of competent work is a fantastic find. Good production, great vocal sample manipulation, and some surprising remixers.
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Creed Chameleon — Accolades
This felt like a classic Jurassic 5 kind of release; effortless flows, uplifting lyrics, and fun airy production. The early track “1UP” was a joy of well-executed videogame nostalgia, and the rest of the tracks felt in line. This was my introduction to Creed Chameleon and Jojo Flow and I’d be happy to hear more in the future
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Chanel Beads — Your Day Will Come
I came in expecting a more avant-garde and aggressive sound, and instead found myself listening to a compelling blend of a wide range of pop styles. Not everything hit; but that’s okay. An interesting listen, somewhat forgettable, and hopefully a stepping stone to more from Chanel Beads
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Batu & Donato Dozzy — Exhale
Beautiful, bouncy, flowy electronica. I love wandering in the indiscriminate rainbow haze of music like this. Touches of dub techno, downtempo, and everything else chill, mixed with modern sensibilities.
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Ween — Golden Wastes EP
The sound is so brown. Outtakes and demos from 12 Golden Country Greats. Even more glue-sniffing vibes than the album. There is no objectivity for me for Ween; they are the great weirdo rockers of the 90s and 2000s. The cuts on this album are rougher than the final album, and a joy to hear the prototypical versions of the songs that have been in heavy rotation for years. “I’m Holding You” continues to be one of my favorite ballads, and this barebones rendition (no chorus) works to show how good of a song it is.
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Nightmares on Wax & Adrian Sherwood — In A Space Outta Dub
Incredible dub music that floats around the periphery of recognition. Liminal dubs. I put this on during work, and kept on checking what I was listening to because this album is so deft at navigating the sonic canvas of dub music.
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Kelela — new avatar
Forgettable vocals layered on hit and miss production. There are some good moments here, but unfortunately the mixing doesn’t do artist any favors. The future garage beats are appreciated, and the vocals aren’t “bad” but it’s hard to pick anything out of this album that is memorable.
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Fly Anakin — (The) Forever Dream: Night Shift
This album sounds like a summary of the last 20 (30?) years of critically acclaimed hip-hop; the broken song structures of Madvillain, the dense personae exploration of Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Octagon’s esotericism, and so on. The standout theme of putting your heart into the art is timeless. A dream of an album.
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Dan Deacon — America
A well-worn album for me, another voyage through the technicolor vibrations of Dan Deacon. This is more in the minimalist inspired pop work by Dan Deacon, heavy on the harmonies, with music that captures the vast environments of America.
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Bop Alloy — Masters of the Artistry
It’s boombap retro style rap. The classic rock of rap. Solid beats, the instrumental inclusions are fantastic.
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Black Taffy — Six Arrows for Naydra
A love letter to the ambient music of Breath of the Wild. Black Taffy produces, at large, real hip-hop beats to chill/study/relax/sleep to. Dense soundscapes, ethereal ambient influences, and a wealth of analog noise defines their sound. This album is a meditation on the sounds of Breath of the Wild, with familiar snippets of in-game sounds flipped into abstract hooks and wonderfully disjointed beats.
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KiF Productions — Passiflora
Deeply hypnotic and verdant soundscapes, with an underlying slow and beautiful cycle of growth and decay.
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