09 January 2011

Administrator

Albums and Singles

I haven't been paying too much attention to Acid Mothers Temple for quite some time, as their formula of tripped-out, burbling maximalism started to yield rapidly diminishing returns for me after a few albums.  Still, I often find Kawabata's periodic departures from his core sound to be pretty enjoyable and this is one such case: a pair of hypnotically repetitive and largely acoustic solo pieces.  It is always enticing to hear what Makoto can do when he is not rocking out beneath an electronic maelstrom of bloops and whooshes.

Blackest Rainbow

The first half of this album is devoted to its 20-minute title piece, which is based upon an unexpectedly languid and melodic finger-picked acoustic guitar loop.  As it lazily unfolds, something that sounds like a distant and forlorn-sounding French horn emerges to weave a sad and simple melody while a number of other distant moans and whines begin to drift in and out to provide color and passing harmonies.  Shortly after the 7-minute mark, Kawabata steps in to accompany the lonely moans with his own wordless vocals, but soon launches unexpectedly into a half-sung/half-chanted actual verse (aided by a heavy dose of reverb).  At some point during his vocals, the underlying guitar part is surreptitiously (and seamlessly) reversed and a sitar-like buzz becomes more prominent, which is a pretty neat trick.  Soon after, Kawabata's vocals cohere into a lazily repeating refrain of sorts, which he artfully doubles with some sarangi to make it sound like he is being accompanied by a delayed and higher-pitched second vocalist.  The sarangi doppelganger gradually subsumes Makota’s own voice and lulls the song to a fading close.  It's ultimately a likable piece, but it hard to put my finger on exactly why it works, as it is rather amorphous and Kawabata's brief singing interlude seems both anomalous and puzzling.  Even so, it manages to be sleepily mesmerizing and the interplay between the various elements is inventive and well-arranged.  It certainly feels somewhat sketch-like, but the sketch is a promising one.

The second side consists solely of the similarly epic "The Looking Glass Love," which begins with a tense and endlessly repeating acoustic guitar loop and essentially sticks with that as the backbone of the song for its entire duration.  It's a gambit that works quite well, as the endless looping guitar quickly sucks me into the song's pulse and provides a solid foundation for whatever Kawabata feels like throwing at me for the next 20 minutes, which in this case sounds a lot like an darker, unplugged version of AMT's signature spaced-out mindfuckery.  Well, not entirely unplugged, as there is some unrecognizably processed electric guitar involved, but Makoto also employs an eclectic array of other instruments ranging from hurdy-gurdy to tambura.  He seems especially fond of creating buzzing discordant harmonies between multiple droning notes, which nicely enhances the already ample tension and evokes a palpable sense of dread as well. Gradually, the drones threaten to steal the foreground from the guitars and drag the piece towards something that resembles a submerged and warped bagpipe ensemble, but they never quite succeed.  The endless tug-of-war between the song's central guitar motif and the queasy droning and late-song electronic burbling keeps things pretty compelling and makes for a somewhat nerve-jangling but satisfying composition.  Of the two pieces, it is by far my favorite, largely due to its unsettling edge and more engaging pace and structure.

White Summer of Love Dreamer is a pretty likable and unusual release for Makoto, but it is also a somewhat minor one.  However, the album art is quite stunning (a photograph of a particularly desolate and rocky stretch of beach) and fits the music perfectly, so I am happy to keep this around despite its mixed success.  I would love to hear some more work in this vein, but it ishopeless to try to anticipate what Kawabata will do next: this could be a stage in an evolution towards a fruitful organic and drone-informed future or merely a temporary digression.  I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.

• White Summer of Love Dreamer
• The Looking Glass Love

 

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09 January 2011

Administrator

Albums and Singles

This unique husband-and-wife duo only existed for a few short years, but during that tragically brief window, they managed to record and release such a staggering avalanche of material that even Masami Akita might raise an eyebrow at their tireless pace.  As such, navigating their sprawling discography of mostly limited edition releases is a daunting and complicated task, particularly since the difference between great minimal drone and not-so-great minimal drone is very blurry and difficult to articulate.  Thankfully, this (one of their rare few vinyl releases) provides an excellent starting point.

Blackest Rainbow

The works here were culled from recordings made by Will Long and Dani Baquet-Long over an 18-month period ending in July 2008, about a year before Dani unexpectedly died from heart failure.Althoughpresumably absent from the mixing and assembling of the finished album, Baquet-Long's presence remains quite prominent, as she posthumously provides many of the album's most vibrant elements through her field recordings from Nepal and her perversely festive cover art. Also, of course, she is responsible for a lot of the music, though it is nearly impossible to tell which instruments are being played at any given time (or by whom), as the Celer sound is heavily blurred and processed.  Their closest stylistic kin is probably Disintegration Loops-era William Basinski, as both artists have a propensity for repetition, haziness, and slow-motion drifting, but there are some considerable differences as well.

In characteristic Celer fashion, each side of this release is essentially comprised of just one lengthy piece, but given multiple titled sections that are quite difficult to isolate. The music itself is essentially drone in the most "drone" sense possible, as the pair employ their arsenal of pipe organs, strings, and tapes to create a vaporously shifting bed for a host of swelling and shimmering other indistinct sounds to emerge from and disappear back into.  Such an aesthetic has the potential to be a bit on the dull side, but Celer wisely intersperse their narcotic reveries with untreated field recordings of boisterous crowds from Dani's stay in Kathmandu (as well as a particularly poignant old movie snippet).  The overall effect is like being in an alternately warm and eerily desolate dream, but sometimes drifting back into semi-consciousness to find a somewhat unfamiliar world.  It can be a bit disquieting and sad, but it can also be quite absorbing.

While some of this material was recorded as much as four years ago and has mysteriously avoided being released by a duo that that has historically had no problem in hitting double-digits for releases within a single year, Long has succeeded in shaping the orphaned pieces into a very coherent and satisfying whole.  I am by no means a Celer completist, but Vestiges of an Inherent Melancholy does not fall far short of my current favorite Celer release (2009's Capri) and offers the added perk of not being out of print (also, the glossy cover art is rather striking too, for people who like pretty things).

• One
• Two
• Three

 

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09 January 2011

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Albums and Singles

Former Slowdive drummer Simon Scott has been building up to releasing his debut solo album for quite some time and his meticulousness and deliberation were decidedly not in vain.  Despite Scott's percussionist roots, Navigare is a glacial and often beatless dose of soft-focus sonic heroin that seamlessly integrates his shoegazer past with recent inspiration from ambient experimentalists like Fennesz and Tim Hecker.

 

Miasmah

Since leaving Slowdive in the early ‘90s, Simon Scott has been a fairly busy fellow: he has founded a record label (Kesh Recordings), collaborated with folks like Machinefabriek and Jasper TX, and been a member of two other bands (Seavault and Televise).  Nevertheless, he basically fell off my cultural radar and I almost slept on Navigare as a result, as I basically only remembered him as a guy who played drums very slowly (but well) in a band I liked more than a decade ago.   Upon hearing this, however, it seems that either his talents were grossly underutilized in Slowdive or Simon has undergone a stunning creative evolution over the last decade and a half.  Most likely, the truth lies somewhere between the two.

While it is certainly difficult to completely pin down Miasmah’s aesthetic, Navigare is nevertheless a bit of an aberration from the spectral neo-classicicism with which the label is generally associated.  Scott is certainly akin to many of his label mates in cultivating a haunted and shadowy atmosphere, but is unique in both the considerable density of his work and the incorporation of heavier, more “rock” influences.  The most successful and obvious example of the latter is “The ACC,” which artfully melds hazy shoegazer guitars with a bass-heavy dub influence and murky repeating loop that reminds me strongly of some of Scorn’s better work.  “Flood Inn” also mines quite similar territory, but shifts the emphasis from the rhythm section to the crackling, amorphous haze that surrounds it.

Simon employs a wide arsenal of instrumentation on this album that includes sitars, flutes, and strings, but it is all so warped and heavily processed (in a good way) that it is quite difficult to identify them.  Of course, when a recognizable sound does surface from the billowing fog of warmth and hiss, it can be quite striking (such as the melancholy cello loop that eventually emerges in “Under Crumbling Skies”).  Much more obvious is his fascination with warped field recordings, ruined and degraded loops, and tape hiss (though Scott himself sees Navigare as a “guitar album” in the Kevin Shields/Christian Fennesz sense).  The shimmering, roiling ambiance of “Spring Stars” makes an excellent case for his treated guitar prowess, but his wider masteries of mood, sound-shaping, and layering are what truly make the album memorable.

The overall tone of the album is decidedly one of enveloping, drugged warmth mingled with a ubiquitous lurking disquiet.  One of the conscious objectives for Navigare was to seem simultaneously fluid and scorched, a daunting feat that was largely accomplished (though some individual tracks occasionally plunge too strongly into dissonance or bleakness to maintain the delicate balance).  Despite those very narrow aesthetic confines, Scott has achieved an impressive degree of variety and emotional depth, making Navigare a very strong and self-assured first album.

Samples:

• Under Crumbling Skies
• The ACC
• The Night and the Artificial Light  

 

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06 January 2011

Matthew Amundsen

Albums and Singles

Liam Singer’s second album overflows with beautiful piano playing and the album’s tone is frequently gorgeous, but he doesn’t do much new with his classical style and his efforts have little overall effect. The album works best as dinner music, albeit the type that’s forgotten as soon as the meal is digested.

Tell-All

Most of the instrumentals would work as the soundtrack to some melancholy film, but they aren’t differentiated enough on their own to be particularly engaging or memorable. "The Hero, the Cube, and the Flower" as well as "Left Ventricle/Tone Clusters" are nice, but take so much from the Philip Glass playbook that all they need is some chanting in Hopi to make them complete. While earnest, Singer’s voice is a little too precious and naïve for my taste and becomes annoying after a while. He has guest operatic vocals on three travelogues spread throughout the disc, the latter of which is my favorite, but there’s not enough of an implied narrative to make these as worthwhile as they could be.

Although abounding in talent, this album lacks the drama implied by the title and the secret, whatever it may be, lies forever in its watery grave.

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06 January 2011

Administrator

Albums and Singles

This set of superficially disassembled songs has its roots solidly planted in structured rock genres, but the production lifts it into a gorgeous leftfield. The fake brown paper bag artwork and the abandoned camper van on the cover give the album a discarded look, which is partially true. This lost 2005 debut from San Francisco's Sic Alps (in their trio incarnation) has been thankfully pulled from limbo and abandoned in plain view for the world’s listening pleasure.

Animal Disguise

Swimming through thick and thin psychedelic atmospheres, these songs come to the fore of the record like rediscovered field hollers and wan white-boy blues. The majority of these twelve tracks come in too short, eagerly grabbing attention and then leaving too soon. These cooling furnace blasts of fuzzed distant verse and chorus music are buried way back in spluttering drums and wrenched warped guitar. Rooted in simple song configurations, the production keeps the bare bones afloat in wobbling hissy waves and scalped psychedelic guitar drones.

The opening "Battle of Breton Woods" is a cavernous Jandekian sounding minute long intro, bashed and trashed guitar leaking all over the place. Some of the music here skims the looser edges of NY noise rock, the best example of which is "Surgeon and the Slave" with its paint-flaying notes and mumbled vocals. The wind tunnel vocals of "Reconnection Land"s lethargic stomp open up the higher frequency channels for some Mary Chain buzz-pop white-out. There’s evidence of a lighter touch too in songs like "I Know Where Madness Goes", the fumblingly distant acoustic guitar and abandoned vocals summoning up broken hearts and strings. The simplicity of the vocal and piano (and hiss) cut "I am Grass" opens up a path for Sic Alps to sign up for some weird folk action in the future.

Not being aware of where they are now, this is a good place for a beginner like me to jump aboard the Sic Alps train. Time to hunt down the rest.

samples:

• Battle of Breton Woods
• I am Grass
• Morning Waltz

 

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06 January 2011

Matthew Amundsen

Albums and Singles

This improvisatory freakout featuring Nels Cline and Zach Hill was recorded in one day in Chicago. The four long tracks comprising this album consist of drums, electronics, and guitar in fairly equal doses. As cathartic as it may have been to perform, some of its intent gets lost in the recording.

Temporary Residence

These songs get pretty abstract, as can be expected with improvised music, but they’re really more effective when the group heads in the same direction. Carla Bozulich had a hand in editing these tracks in post-production, but for the most part the edits seem arbitrary because each song’s elements are so similar, particularly on the first two, "Enduring Freedom" and "Fork-Fed." The most engaging and enjoyable song is also the album’s longest, "Deathwatch on the American Empire," which builds to a fairly straight but heavy finale. The electronics, while always present, take the foreground on "Space Needle," which is nice change.

While each of the tracks has some decent moments, sometimes the album seems to prefer chaos for its own sake. That’s not necessarily a bad achievement in itself, but it doesn’t always make for a compelling recording.

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06 January 2011

Administrator

Albums and Singles

Completed shortly before his untimely passing earlier this year, Nikki Sudden's last album is also one of his strongest. While his songwriting and lyrics are as tight as ever, the backing musicians play as if the songs are their own and lend them a distinctive urgency. Sudden will be sorely missed and this album, with its bittersweet mix of melancholy and exuberance, proves why.

 

Secretly Canadian

Sudden remains faithful to his glam and blues rock influences, styles he's perfected over the years. The blistering opener "Seven Miles" sets the tone for this album with its searing dual guitars and buoyant rhythm section. "Don't Break My Soul" continues the momentum before things get a little slower and a little darker on "The Ballad of Johnny and Marianne" and "Talking to the Wrong Guy." He's never complacent, either, injecting an unexpected moment of bliss on the otherwise rocking "Empire Blues." "Green Shield Stamps" finds him reminiscing about his youth, mentioning friends he hadn't seen since those days, his profound discovery of T-Rex, and the bands formed by him and his brother Epic Soundtracks. While Sudden may have strayed a bit with maturity from the anarchic impulses of his time in the Swell Maps, "Black Tar" isn't too far from that sound with its loud, heavy distortion. Yet the closer, "All This Buttoning and Unbuttoning," is a contemplative instrumental with Sudden on piano, highlighting the range of his songwriting abilities.

Sudden also handled the production duties on this album, augmenting tracks with keyboards and complementary backing vocals in all the right places to round out the compositions and give them proper depth and warmth. The songs themselves, with their faded angels, unfulfilled promises, and haunted loves, showcase Sudden's strengths and versatility to the very end.

samples:

• Seven Miles
• Jet Star Groove
• Black Tar

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05 January 2011

Administrator

Albums and Singles

A gaggle of faceless musicians toting horns, keys, and a secondhanddrum kit shuffle into a practice space and start tuning up. Over thenoise, a disembodied voice intones, "This... is supreme understanding."A sitar player accompanied by an army of other Hindustani classicalinstrumentalists show up. Without a word, the collected players beginto play, with the mysterious spiritual presence guiding the session.Gurus in the background occasionally drop nuggets of knowledge andteases of enlightenment in between sets.

Mush

That is S.E.V.A., a joint project between Gone Beyond and one-timeteenage hip hop prodigy Mumbles. After making his mark with productioncredits on A Book of Human Language (with Aceyalone on the mic),Mumbles spent several years exploring mysticism and religioustraditions, studying spirituality with gurus in the US and abroad. Whathe found—enlightenment, total consciousness or maybe just some reallygreat hash—S.E.V.A. itself is a New Age double entendre: a Sanskritword meaning "selfless service," and an acronym for the credo "spiritevolves via awareness." And luckily, that's the only bit of what somemight label "New Age bullshit" to pop up on the entire record.

Whateverthe music's intent or holier-than-thou bent, Mumbles and Gone Beyonduse their production skills to more or less faithfully emulate theaforementioned uncommon jam session, with numerous other sounds andmoods included in the scope. Jazz and R&B drum breaks anchorcascading strings and otherworldly flutes. Sparsely arranged meditativeand moody moments suddenly give way to sonorous rises, and there arelight-hearted moments of whimsy, accompanying the spoken mumbo-jumboand keeping it palatable. However, these moments are like lush fertilehills in between long desolate valleys. Far too much of SEVA is emptylike this, as if the lead player forgets his bit while his backingband faithfully plays along waiting for him to remember—or if someoneforgot to include the vocal track in the final mix of a hip hop joint.Such tantalizing but ultimately empty (maybe it's a spiritual message)vestiges are all the suffering patient ears left thirsty from A Book ofHuman Language Days get. It almost seems as if Mumbles is torturingthem, stringing them along with drum sequences and killer loops thatany fool could lay a rhyme over, and then pulling back to themeditiative grooves, leaving the hip hop set blueballed while offendingjazz cats with the empty spaces' wasted potential.

Maybe there'ssomething I'm missing—I might not be on S.E.V.A.'s spiritualconsciousness trip. For my part, I'll remember Carl Spackler'swords—"Gunga-gulunga"—while I wait for Mumbles to return to the fold ofMCs. They miss him, and if Mumbles' search for consciousness can't findthat out, he's meditating under the wrong tree.

samples:

• Spirit Evolution
• Suspended Animation
• Soul Surgery

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05 January 2011

Administrator

Albums and Singles

Most of Edward Ka-Spel's mid-'80s China Doll albums have beenunavailable for many years.  The songs themselves have appeared onvarious compilations, but sometimes in a modified form, rarely with theoriginal track listings, and never with the original artwork. Anal-retentive fans have been drumming their fingers patiently,waiting, waiting...
Beta-Lactam Ring

With Laugh China Doll, Beta-lactam Ring Records has begun thewelcome process of re-releasing these works in their originalform.  As an added bonus—or annoyance, depending on your pointof view—the coupons included with the albums can be redeemed for adisk of previously unreleased music (be careful when you pull the CDout of the cool "mini vinyl" gatefold sleeve; the coupon is small andeasily lost).

Due to the liquification of the original master tapes, Laugh China Doll (and the included Dance China Dollmaxi-single) could not be properly remastered.  But thanks tometiculous clean-vinyl restoration the sound quality is incredible andthe album has never sounded as dynamic (though there are occasionalpops, cracks and moments of slight distortion).  As for the songsthemselves, the majority of them are classics.  Some do sufferfrom dated, repetitive, and frankly annoying drum programming ("Lisa'sFuneral," "Eye Contact") or fail to come together in a coherent way("Find the Lady"), but the bulk of the album covers Ka-Spel's strongpoints: the haunting melodies of "Requiem" and "Lady Sunshine," theepic war story "Atomic Roses," and "Lilith's Daughter," a voodoo taleof easy sex told through a traumatized child's eyes.  Thehighpoint for me is "Even Now," a duet with the mysterious Lily AK, andit remains a perfect example of Ka-Spel at his most effective: just asimple keyboard line and some heartbreaking lyrics.  Two livetracks from 1988 are also included, just so you'll know what it soundslike when a guy with a hammer bashes the heck out of a concrete block.

Laugh China Doll is a unique slice of early-'80s budgetelectronics.  The keyboards may be creaky and the effects a littlecheesy, but it starts off the China Doll series with a bang, and itmeets my single criteria for aural goodness: "I like how it sounds."

samples:

• Lilith's Daughter
• Requiem
• Even Now

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03 January 2011

Administrator

Albums and Singles

Thanks again to all for the participation in the annual Brainwashed Readers Poll. Everyone helped nominate and everyone voted. Here are the results, with some comments from the staff.  All the Best for 2011!

 

Album of the Year

1. Swans, "My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky"
   
   
   I hope songs like "No Words / No Thoughts" and "You Fucking People Make Me Sick" are sign posts for where Swans might go on the next album. Seeing the band live was much more exciting to me than listening to the album, mostly because the album felt a little predictable and the live show was stupendous, exhausting, and volatile. In fact, Swans at the Middle East Club was easily the best concert in Boston all year long. The bonus disc is the direction I think Gira will eventually head, and I look forward to hearing him apply his talents to longer songs and more abstract ideas.  - Lucas Schleicher
   
   
   This threatened to be a let down, hugely influential band coming back at a time when everyone seems to be scrabbling for a cut of the reunion market. However, all fears were unfounded as Michael Gira and comrades made an album every bit as classic as any other Swans album. - John Kealy
   
   If it weren't for Swans, 2010 may have been the year that music turned narcoleptic. Gira sounds just as angry and vital as ever. - Matt Spencer
   
   
   While not a perfect album by any means, and not my favorite in their discography, the simple fact that Gira resurrected Swans with same intensity he finished it off with over a decade ago makes it my favorite of the year. While some of the songs sound more like they'd fit better on an Angels of Light album, the intensity of "No Words/No Thoughts" and "Eden Prison" are clearly Swans, and bode well for the next album. - Creaig Dunton
   
   
   I can't say that I was especially blown away by this album, or that I am entirely on-board with Michael Gira's "apocalyptic bluesman" vocals, but hearing these songs live damn near caved my head in.  Gira remains a primal and vital creative force.  -Anthony D'Amico
   
   
2. Current 93, "Baalstorm, Sing Omega"
   
   Each new album from Current 93 is like an epistle received from a good friend who has been on a long voyage. David Tibet visits places most people feign away from, which is the vocation of a true poet, and is what makes his lyrics remarkable. I'm quite thankful for his frequent updates on conditions in the spiritual realms he spends his time in.  - Justin Patrick
   
   The final part of David Tibet's Aleph trilogy is all kinds of awesome. I couldn't pick a favorite out of the three albums but this has definitely finished off this chapter of his back catalog in style. - John Kealy
   
   
3. Yellow Swans , "Going Places "
   
   Goodbye Yellow Swans, we hardly knew you.  - John Kealy
   
   I've had the good fortune of hearing the Yellow Swans since the very beginning and I can't think of another noise group  who has remained so consistently engaging. "Going Places" is the best possible finale. - Matt Spencer
   
   
   I ignored this until the very end of the year. With close to 30 full-length albums released in the last eight years and another 15 or so EPs, knowing when Yellow Swans were making great music and when they were spewing forgettable noise was almost impossible. "Going Places" is awesome, but blogs must have done a lot for its popularity. - Lucas Schleicher
   
   
4. Grinderman, "Grinderman 2"
   
   The beauty of Nick Cave's twisted fantasia lies in his recklessness. Grinderman is a project based solely in wild fits of rock and Cave's dirty crew delivered a second helping as sweaty and uncontrollable as the first. There was a time when fearless bar bands would be the cause of strung out patrons dropping hard cash to pour poison down their throat--now Grinderman allows excessive consumption flourish within the privacy of your own home.  - Justin Spicer
   
   Like Chicken Soup for the Scum Rock Soul, Nick Cave and friends serves up another album of sleaze and innuendo, and very little subtlety, but I don't think any of us would have wanted him to do it any other way.  Nothing new, nothing groundbreaking, but a lot of fun nonetheless. - Creaig Dunton
   
   While the Bad Seeds have become a Las Vegas cabaret caricature of themselves, Grinderman has been more successful at taking Nick Cave's tongue-in-cheek ideas and making them work. This is not as good as the debut but there were some great moments on it for sure. - John Kealy
   
   
5. Oneohtrix Point Never, "Returnal"
   
   This is the year Daniel Lopatin shed his underground tatters from some regal clothing thanks to a bevy of mainstream supporters and vocal online fans. Returnal is not the apex of Lopatin's work as 0PN but it does find him doing what all experiment-driven musicians must do to remain relevant: grow.  - Justin Spicer
   
   Daniel Lopatin manages to stand out in a field crowded by imitators and trend-hoppers.  His music evokes a very real sense of futuristic ruin. - Matt Spencer
   
   There was a crazily disproportionate amount of excitement surrounding this, but it definitely seems like the most consistently good album that Lopatin has released to date.  -Anthony D'Amico
   
   
6. Brian McBride, "The Effective Disconnect (Music Composed for the Documentary Vanishing of the Bees)"
   
   To expect anything less than stunning from McBride would be foolish and this certainly met my expectations. Absolutely wonderful music from a thought-provoking documentary. Show you care, hug a hive. - John Kealy
   
   
7. Autechre, "Move of Ten"
   
   I've bought every Autechre album at its release since Chiastic Slide back in '97, and none have measured up to that disc in my eyes.  Yes, I know, LP5 is the shit, but it's still not my favorite.  I'd been largely underwhelmed since then, but I found both of the albums they put out this year engaging.  Of the two, this is my favorite one, mostly because it seemed like they delved back in to fractured '80s techno beats more than they had in quite awhile, and actually crafted a few songs that can get stuck in one's head.  The two albums are definitely siblings, but this is the better one. - Creaig Dunton
   
   People still like Autechre?  Wow.  Do they sound different now or something?  -Anthony D'Amico
   
   
8. The Legendary Pink Dots, "Seconds Late for the Brighton Line"
   
   Another strong album from a group who is now entering their fourth decade. - Jon Whitney
   
   This album rekindled my interest in Edward Ka-Spel's career.
   -Anthony D'Amico
   
   
9. Philip Jeck, "An Ark For The Listener"
   
   I've always felt this warm, inviting haze of noise on Jeck's records, but on here it's engulfing a multitude of hidden melodies and tones that make it the most compelling of his work that I have yet to hear.  The use of turntables and other people's records is done in a way that is completely different than any other artist, and the album sounds like no one else at all. - Creaig Dunton
   
   Nice, but a little disappointing after his last album, which was a defining moment for Jeck in my ears. This continues on from it, but doesn't push my buttons as hard. - John Kealy
   
   
10. Sun City Girls, "Funeral Mariachi"
    
    A surprisingly simple and hummable final release by Sun City Girls with a decidedly spaghetti Eastern flavor. My favorite record of the year by miles. - Duncan Edwards
    
    The passing of Charles Gocher left a celestial-sized hole in SCG but the group's last effort not only pays its highest respects to the memory of Gocher, it is an open armed bearhug to longtime fans and new converts alike. Blending the melancholic black of a funeral procession with the festive celebration of life in death akin to the Dia De Los Muertos, Funeral Mariachi makes us weepy that SCG is no more, but ecstatic that a lengthy catalog of triumphs awaits those who continue to discover SCG's immeasurable contributions to modern music.  - Justin Spicer
    
    I wish they'd been this focused and melodic when Gocher was still alive. Impressive end to a very strange and compelling career. -Anthony D'Amico 
    
    
11. Pan Sonic, "Gravitoni"
12. Emeralds , "Does It Look Like I'm Here?"
    
    An amorphous blob of a record; difficult to describe but pretty and accessible - Duncan Edwards
    
    The Cleveland threesome not only won fans over with a vast expansion of their textured sounds, their first big tour only lent credence to the idea that the band has yet to fully realize their potential. Bringing warmth and creativity to their compositions live only makes one wonder what lies next for Hauschildt, Elliott, and McGuire but Does It Look Like I'm Here? serves as a readymade testament to the band's potential.  - Justin Spicer
    
    Another brilliant album from a brilliant band. - John Kealy
    
    I finally accept that Emeralds is a pretty great band.  -Anthony D'Amico
    
    
13. James Blackshaw, "All Is Falling"
14. Cyclobe, "Wounded Galaxies Tap at The Window"
    
    Genius. Perfect. Manic. - John Kealy
    
    This was completely worth the wait- definitely one of my favorites of the year.  -Anthony D'Amico
    
    
15. Michael Gira, "I Am Not Insane"
    
    A fantastic introduction to what was to come from Swans, the DVD on this is particularly great as I had always wondered how Gira cut his grass. - John Kealy
    
    
    Funding for the next Swans album should come from reissues of out-of-print Swans records. Acoustic Gira is cool, but great Swans records are better. - Lucas Schleicher
    
    I would have tried harder to track one of these down if I had known that it addresses Gira's lawn maintenance ritual.  -Anthony D'Amico
    
    
16. Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra, "Kollaps Tradixionales"
    
    Album of the year for me. I still get shivers listening to "I Built Myself a Metal Bird...", serious violin playing! - John Kealy
    
    
17. Barn Owl, "Ancestral Star"
    
    This album has more almost-good songs than probably anything else released this year.  Exasperating. -Anthony D'Amico
    
    
18. Flying Lotus, "Cosmogramma"
    
    
    Overrated in the extreme. I still can't fathom how Warp got this uninteresting. - Lucas Schleicher
    
    
19. JG Thirlwell, "Manorexia: The Mesopelagic Waters"
    
    Best Manorexia album yet. Great memories of seeing Jim Thirlwell and his ensemble play some of this at Brainwaves 2008. - John Kealy
    
    As visceral and disquieting as classical music can get. - Anthony D'Amico
    
    
20. Current 93, "Haunted Waves, Moving Graves"
    
    A good companion to Baalstorm but not sure this will have the long-term interest as a standalone album. - John Kealy
    
    
21. Demdike Stare, "Liberation Through Hearing"
22. Demdike Stare , "Voices Of Dust "
23. Keith Fullerton Whitman, "Disingenuity/Disingenuousness"
    
    
    Keith is always great, but this is stupendous stuff. It's electro-acoustic/analog craziness filtered through new age Emeralds shine and the 2001 soundtrack. Just wish it was easier to keep up with him! - Lucas Schleicher
    
    
24. The Fall, "Your Future, Our Clutter"
    
    As always: uniquely poetic, crabby, and humorous. - Duncan Edwards
    
    
    My issue with the Fall is that I have such love for their debut through Perverted By Language that any new albums seem to not measure up. I must say that of their mid/late '00s output, this one has been the most memorable, which has to account for something.  Best album this year by a 50 year old alcoholic with a band young enough to be his children, that's for sure. - Creaig Dunton
    
    
25. Eleh , "Location Momentum"
    
    
    Eleh is clearly among the top of the "new school" of minimalism, creating vast landscapes of tone that are very sparse and arid, but never dull.  While so many artists try their hand at this sort of thing, the results are usually an abject failure of sixty minutes of sine waves that no one, including their mothers, want to listen to.  Here it is the most subtle of variations and structure that elevate it towards greatness.  I still think having a bit of vinyl surface noise is an extra treat for us, but even on a pure digital format, it's brilliant. - Creaig Dunton
    
    Gorgeous, the true definition of dream music. - John Kealy
    
    
26. Jefre Cantu-Ledesma , "Love is a Stream"
    
    Even though devoting an album to the idea of love makes me cringe a little, this was in pretty heavy rotation at my place for many weeks.  Isolating the blurred guitars from shoegaze and discarding all the less-awesome stuff seems like such an obvious idea in retrospect that I am surprised no else thought of it (except for maybe Lovesliescrushing). -Anthony D'Amico
    
    
27. Caribou, "Swim"
    
    Dan Snaith's best album to date: a brilliant pop masterpiece. I'm thankful some people can still write catchy songs. - Jon Whitney
28. Actress, "Splazsh"
    
    This would have been massive if it had come out in 2002, as it reminds me of all the best Mille Plateau stuff from that era.  I'm glad someone is still kicking sick old-school minimal electronic dub jams.  -Anthony D'Amico
    
    
29. Deerhunter, "Halcyon Digest"
    
    Deerhunter have always had a knack for pop-rock songwriting, but this was the album that brought that talent out. A great reminder that artistic vision and popular music don't have to stand on opposite poles. - Matt Spencer
    
    Kurt Vile was playing the other day on the radio and I thought it was Deerhunter. There's too many bands who sound exactly the same right now and this album was completely unremarkable. I can see why Kranky dropped them. - Jon Whitney
    
    
30. Loscil, "Endless Falls"
    
    Yup, Scott Morgan is still quietly putting out great albums.  -Anthony D'Amico
    
    
31. Liars, "Sisterworld"
32. Foetus, "Hide"
    
    Another classic from Jim Thirlwell. I don't know who he's sold his soul to but it's paying off. - John Kealy
    
    
33. Four Tet, "There Is Love in You"
34. Autechre, "Oversteps"
    
    Starts off strong but meanders into beige territories. What happened, Autechre? - John Kealy
    
    
    The brooding, gothy older brother to Move of Ten's electro love, I wasn't quite as enthralled with this one at first listen, but its layers of pseudo harpsichord and analog synth sounds stand well on their own, and lacks the "lets hit random buttons and call it a track" feel that a lot of later period Autechre is based on. - Creaig Dunton
    
    Autechre again?  What the hell?  - Anthony D'Amico
    
    
35. Benoît Pioulard, "Lasted"
36. Gil Scott-Heron, "I'm New Here"
    
    Only 28 minutes long but these defiant and loving fragments mixed with four well-chosen covers add up to a powerful emotional statement on mortality from a legend. - Duncan Edwards
    
    
    Such a weird, fractured record. I'm not surprised it showed up on this list, but it feels incomplete and haphazard. I'd love to hear him do even more spoken word stuff with a different producer and other musicians. - Lucas Schleicher
    
    
37. Stereolab, "Not Music"
    
    Not interesting. - Jon Whitney
38. Wooden Shjips, "Vol. 2"
39. Master Musicians Of Bukkake, "Totem 2"
40. Max Richter, "Infra"
41. Sun Araw, "On Patrol"
    
    Turd-wave. - Matt Spencer
    
    
42. Keith Fullerton Whitman, "Generator"
43. Dead C, "Patience"
    
    Still gnarled and ugly, still awesome.  -Anthony D'Amico
    
    
44. LCD Soundsystem, "This Is Happening"
    
    WTF? Only about half of this album is listenable. - Jon Whitney
    
    There wasn't anything here that was nearly as awesome as "All My Friends," but there were a handful of pretty killer singles anyway.  I had to immediately delete "Drunk Girls" from my iPod before I could enjoy them though.  -Anthony D'Amico
    
    
45. Baby Dee, "Book of Songs for Anne Marie"
    
    The original EP was good but this is by far and away a major improvement. The songs have truly come alive with the new arrangements and recordings. Seeing Dee play these songs on tour afterwards was also a real treat. - John Kealy
    
    
46. Mark McGuire, "Living With Yourself"
    
    The proliferation of McGuire's solo material should leave him barren at this point but Emeralds' venerable guitarist continues to mine the stringed instrument for all its worth. Living With Yourself is a culmination of a few years work, playing as the final act of the current McGuire while serving as an invitation to view the future McGuire.  - Justin Spicer
    
    Fuzzy, warm and inviting, this is a fantastic album. How he has the time to put out so many good solo albums on top of Emeralds is beyond me. - John Kealy
    
    Am I the only one who thinks he looks like he could be Thirlwell's lost son? - Jon Whitney
    
    
47. Mogwai, "Special Moves"
48. The National, "High Violet"
    
    I do not understand why people like this band so much. - Anthony D'Amico
    
    
49. Wovenhand, "The Thrashing Floor"
50. Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso UFO, "In 0 To Infinity"
51. The Fun Years, "God Was Like, No"
    
    Kind of like a warmer, friendlier Philip Jeck.  I'm not entirely sure that particular niche needed to be filled, but I dug this anyway. -Anthony D'Amico
    
    
52. Antony & the Johnsons, "Swanlights"
    
    Even Bjork's gurgles and burps couldn't vault this album into the top 50. - Jon Whitney
    
    
53. Boduf Songs, "This Alone Above All Else In Spite Of Everything"
    
    The darkest yet strangely most accessible thing Boduf Songs have done, this was a real surprise. I love what Mathew Sweet has done with his music and can't wait to see where he goes from here. - John Kealy
    
    
54. Demdike Stare, "Forest Of Evi"
55. Jana Winderen, "Energy Field"
56. Pantha du Prince, "Black Noise"
57. TwinSisterMoon, "...Then Fell the Ashes"
    
    This was my favorite album of the year by a landslide- best thing to come out of the Natural Snow Buildings camp yet.  -Anthony D'Amico
    
    This monumental record makes me quiver. I'm ashamed the Brainwashed readership hasn't rated this much, much higher. - Jon Whitney
    
    
58. Xela, "The Divine"
59. Anbb (Alva Noto & Blixa Bargeld), "Mimikry"
60. Nurse With Wound & Larsen , "Erroneous: A Selection Of Errors"
61. Oval, "O"
    
    I liked this album and was quite pleased about Markus Popp's return, but it made almost no impact on me at all.  I imagine it is pretty hard to consistently redefine music though.  -Anthony D'Amico
    
    
62. BJ Nilsen, "The Invisible City"
    
    I usually don't care for music this austere, but Nilsen is in a class by himself as a sound architect.  -Anthony D'Amico
    
    
63. Burzum, "Belus"
    
    I liked him more when he was burning churches.  -Anthony D'Amico
    
    
64. The Black Angels, "Phosphene Dream"
65. The North Sea, "Bloodlines"
66. Xela, "The Sublime"
67. Charlemagne Palestine, "Strumming Music For Piano Harpsichord And Strings Ensemble"
68. Rene Hell, "Porcelain Opera"
69. Robedoor, "Burners"
70. Ufomammut, "Eve"
71. Fennesz - Daniel - Buck, "Knoxville"
72. Killing Joke, "Absolute Dissent"
73. Rhys Chatham, "A Crimson Grail"
74. Bardo Pond, "Bardo Pond"
75. BJ Nilsen & Stilluppsteypa, "Space Finale"
    
    While I felt it was a bit overlong at around 90 minutes, the strong points of this collaboration definitely made up for its shortcomings. - Creaig Dunton
    
    
76. Ceremony, "Rocket Fire"
    
    Why this album didn't get love from all around the world mystifies me. The perfect encapsulation of noise rock, and especially the best moments of the Jesus and Mary Chain, it was chock full of distortion, feedback and rigid drum machine beats, which makes anything a winner in my book. - Creaig Dunton
    
    
77. Jack Rose, "Luck in the Valley"
78. Jon Mueller, "The Whole"
79. Koen Holtkamp, "Gravity/Bees"
80. Nicholas Szczepanik, "Dear Dad"
81. Altar Eagle, "Mechanical Gardens"
    
    I am the target demographic for lazily melodic electro-pop.  This was a thoroughly charming album.  -Anthony D'Amico
    
    
82. Little Annie & Paul Wallfisch, "Genderful"
    
    Fun and instantly likable.  Annie is one step closer to becoming the world's reigning chanteuse.  -Anthony D'Amico
    
    
83. Locrian, "The Crystal World"
    
    After a few years of eps and splits, chicagos Locrian focused on two albums that were their most consistent yet. While Territories was more "rock" focused with a slew of guest vocalists, The Crystal World was a bleaker, darker set of tracks that emphasized their ability to create taut, dramatic menace. - Creaig Dunton
    
    
84. Magic Lantern, "Platoon"
85. Natural Snow Buildings, "The Centauri Agent"
86. Rangda, "False Flag"
    
    Pretty decent album, but not nearly as great as it should have been.  -Anthony D'Amico 
    
    
87. These New Puritans, "Hidden"
88. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, "Before Today"
89. Beach House, "Teen Dream"
    
    Nothing new but high-quality dreamy psych-pop with the accent on beauty: mainly female voice and lovely electric guitar tones. - Duncan Edwards
    
    
90. Eleh, "Radiant Intervals"
91. Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, "The Road soundtrack"
92. Warpaint, "The Fool"
93. Black Keys, "Brothers"
94. Eluvium, "Similes"
95. High On Fire, "Snakes For The Devine"
96. Joanna Newsom, "Have One on Me"
97. Organum, "Sorrow"
98. Svarte Greiner, "Penpals Forever And Ever"
99. Taylor Deupree, "Shoals"
100. The Knife In Collaboration with Mt. Sims and Planningtorock, "Tomorrow In a Year"

 

Single of the year

1. Zola Jesus, "Stridulum" (& Stridulum II)
   
   Bold and epic, this EP (which ended up as an LP before the year ran out) has made a believer out of me. - Jon Whitney
   
   Sounds like Pat Benatar fronting an '80s goth band in the best possible way.  -Anthony D'Amico
   
   
2. Zola Jesus, "Valusia"
3. Forest Swords, "Dagger Paths"
   
   I think Forest Swords have a great idea going, but I want to hear it executed better. The songs were often beautiful, but over-long and sometimes tedious. Their next album could be great if they just shaved off some fat. - Lucas Schleicher
   
   
4. Grouper, "Hold/Sick"
   
   Liz Harris' talent of covering music in a heavy veil of frost continues to expand over the course of her latest 7-inch. What's to be said that hasn't about Harris' work other than she's an original whose best attribute lies in subtle change.  - Justin Spicer
   
   
5. LA Vampires meets Zola Jesus, "s/t"
   
   I like Zola Jesus as much as the next guy, but this was instantly forgettable. White people dabbling in dub almost always ends badly.  -Anthony D'Amico
   
   
6. Oval, "Oh"
   
   ORLY? - Jon Whitney
7. Keith Fullerton Whitman, "Variations for Oud and Synthesizer"
   
   Whitman's 2010 was monumental as he shook his noised funk for concise musical movements and renewed vigor. Amidst the pile of his worthy releases to be praised, the 7-inch that found Whitman combining an ancient Persian instrument with a tricked out synthesizer not only was daring in concept but in execution. The two instruments, rather than providing a night-and-day paradox, married well and provided the Western world with a renewed sense musical history. Whitman had a praiseworthy 2010 and Variations may well be his statuette commemorating his Achievement in the Arts & Sciences.  - Justin Spicer
   
   
8. Sun Araw, "Off Duty"
9. Grinderman, "Worm Tamer"
10. Moon Duo, "Escape"
11. Nurse With Wound, "Rushkoff Coercion"
12. Flying Lotus, "Pattern+Grid World"
13. Antony / Fennesz, "Returnal"
14. Ceremony, "Leave Alone/Walk Away"
15. Cyclobe, "The Eclipser"
    
    I am startled that anyone even managed to hear this- I don't think I have ever seen a record sell out as fast as this one.  -Anthony D'Amico
    
    
16. Grails, "Black Tar Prophecies, Vol. 4"
17. Andrew Liles, "Where The Long Shadows Fall"
18. Ceremony, "Someday"
    
    Loud waves of sweet guitar noise and euphorically miserable vocals. - Duncan Edwards
    
    
19. Seefeel, "Faults"
20. Fovea Hex, "Hail Hope!"
21. Jack Rose & D. Charles Speer and the Helix, "Ragged and Right"
    
    Loose and raucous fun.  Also, I am a sucker for Merle Haggard covers. - Anthony D'Amico
    
    
22. James Blake, "Klavierwerke"
23. Bill Orcutt, "Way Down South"
24. Four Tet, "Angel Echoes"
25. The Bug, "Infected"

 

Vault/Reissue

1. Einstürzende Neubauten, "Strategies Against Architecture IV"
   
   A vivid recap of a prodigious decade for Neubauten, listen to this and weep at what you have missed (unless you've had the sense to get the dozens of releases it draws from while you could). - John Kealy
   
   I'm not arguing that the music on this album isn't awesome, but I'm highly suspect if any of the people who voted for this actually own it. - Jon Whitney
   
   
2. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, "Tender Prey"
   
   I honestly have only been a sporadic Nick Cave listener over the years and I just recently heard this album for the first time, but I can see why it gets so much love.  I get a little bored at the overindulgence in the blues and Americana sounds, so the more singular "The Mercy Seat" and "Deanna" go a long way with me. - Creaig Dunton
   
   
3. Slowdive, "Pygmalion"
   
   I think I still have the price sticker on the original version I bought that was so hated the US label refused to put it out, Creation dropped them, and the band split up. It's still better than any Mojave 3 release, however. - Jon Whitney
   
   "Blue Skied an' Clear" is quite possibly the greatest song ever. -Anthony D'Amico
   
   
4. Emeralds, "Emeralds"
   
   It's puzzling why these tracks were considered out-takes but I'm glad Hanson took pains to rescue this from limited-edition purgatory. - Matt Spencer
   
   
5. Galaxie 500, "On Fire"
6. Thomas Köner, "Teimo"
   
   I tried extremely hard to get into this year's Thomas Köner reissues, but I cannot escape the fact that early '90s dark ambient does not age particularly well.  -Anthony D'Amico
   
   
7. Thomas Köner, "Permafrost"
8. Kevin Drumm, "Sheer Hellish Miasma"
9. Thomas Köner, "Nunatak"
10. Nurse With Wound, "Automating Volume 3"
11. Jesu, "Heart Ache & Dethroned"
    
    
    Can Jesu's Heart Ache and Dethroned be seen as anything other than a signal that Godflesh is coming back?  Nearly all of Jesu's slow-burning beauty was replaced by bleak riffing. - Matthew Jeanes
    
    

    Essentially documenting Justin Broadrick's earliest and most recent output as Jesu, one can hear his progression from sprawling improvisations into concise, pop-focused songs.  Considering Godflesh is all but officially resurrected and Pale Sketcher is there for the electronic tracks, I hope this stays as the Jesu "sound". - Creaig Dunton
    
    
12. Tim Hecker, "Haunt Me Haunt Me Do It Again"
13. Wire, "Send Ultimate"
    
    Reissuing the band's full length debut after a long period of silence in 2002, the supplimental disc wisely includes the otherwise forgotten tracks from the first two Read & Burn EPs, the long out of print Twelve Times You 7" and a few unreleased tracks and demos fleshes out this return to form, which became an odd bit of aggression followed by the very pop Object 47 a few years later.  How this fits into the new Red Barked Tree is something I'm quite curious to hear. - Creaig Dunton
    
    
14. Earth, "A Bureaucratic Desire for Extra Capsular Extraction"
15. Alva Noto, "For 2"
    
    
    Even though it's a compilation of commissioned pieces, this still feels like a thematically unified album.  It has that distinctive Noto sound, but even here it sounds like Nicolai went out of his comfort zone and tried new approaches to tracks, and manages to succeed at every turn. - Creaig Dunton
    
    
16. Hildur Gudnadottir, "Mount A"
    
    Hildur is pretty great and all, but this album was way too monochromatically bleak for me.  -Anthony D'Amico
    
    
17. Les Rallizés Dénudés, "Heavier Than A Death In The Family"
    
    One of the best album titles ever for some of the most psychedelic and troubling rock music committed to tape. - John Kealy
    
    Takashi Mizutani is an absolute supernova of a guitarist.  I don't know why he even bothered having a backing band.  -Anthony D'Amico
    
    
18. Robert Wyatt, "Rock Bottom"
    
    One of the best and most poignant examples of very English whimsy; with added Ivor Cutler and Mike Oldfield. - Duncan Edwards
    
    
19. Godflesh, "Streetcleaner Redux"
    
    I love this album now, but when I bought it as a teenage metal head, I thought the guitar playing was absolutely horrible and could not understand how this could possibly appeal to anybody.  -Anthony D'Amico
    
    
20. Crass, "Stations of the Crass (Crassical Collection)"
    
    This was a massive album for me, but I still can't figure out if Penny Rimbaud's drumming is utterly ridiculous or totally brilliant.  -Anthony D'Amico
    
    
21. Mark McGuire, "Tidings/Amethyst Waves"
    
    I don't think Mark McGuire can go a single day without recording something worth hearing.  -Anthony D'Amico
    
    
22. Master Musicians Of Bukkake, "Visible Signs Of The Invisible"
23. Neurosis, "Enemy of the Sun"
24. King Crimson, "Lizard"
25. Les Rallizés Dénudés, "Blind Baby Has It's Mothers Eyes"
    
    This one's great too- now can someone please reissue December's Black Children and Flightless Bird?  -Anthony D'Amico

Various Artist Compilation

1. Deutsche Elektronische Musik Volume One: Experimental German Rock and Electronic Music 1972-83 (Soul Jazz)
2. Nigeria Special: Volume 2 Modern Highlife, Afro Sounds & Nigerian Blues 1970-6 (Soundway)
3. Wierd Presents Cold Waves and Minimal Electronics Vol. 1 (Angular Recordings)
   
   A wonderful curating job as it's an incredible selection, I'm anxiously awaiting more volumes. - Jon Whitney
   
   
4. Fabric 55:Shackleton (Fabric)
5. Missing Deadlines: Selected Remixes by Ulrich Schnauss (Rocket Girl)
6. The World Ends: Afro Rock & Psychedelia in 1970's Nigeria (Soundway)
   
   One of the most solid and varied Africa compilations that Soundway has ever released.  -Anthony D'Amico
   
   
7. Viva Negativa! A Tribute To The New Blockaders: Volume III: USA (Important Records)
8. We Are All One In The Sun - Tribute To Robbie Basho (Important)
9. Auteur Labels: Factory Records 1987 (LTM)
   
   This has absolutely no business being on any "best of" list anywhere.  1987 was a terrible year for Factory Records.  - Anthony D'Amico
   
   
10. Fabric 52: Optimo (Fabric)
11. In Search of Hawkwind (Critical Mass Records)
    
    I am not sure we needed two Hawkwind tributes in one year. This one doesn't even have "Orgone Accumulator" on it!  -Anthony D'Amico
    
    
12. Les Filles du Crepescule (LTM)
    
    This was such an eclectic assemblage of dissimilar artists, but it definitely turned me onto to some very cool bands.  -Anthony D'Amico
    
    
13. Saigon Rock & Soul: Vietnamese Classic Tracks 1968-1974 (Sublime Frequencies)
    
    I had absolutely no idea that Southeast Asia produced so much great music until this year.  Bang Chan's "Nhurng Dóm Mat Hoa Châu" floored me. - Anthony D'Amico
    
    
14. The Sound of Siam: Leftfield Luk Thung, Jazz and Molam in Thailand 1964-1975 (Soundway)
    
    I will be forever indebted to Soundway for exposing me to Chaweewan Dumnern.  And forever frustrated at how hard it is to find anything else by her.  -Anthony D'Amico
    
    
15. Angola Soundtrack (Analog Africa)
    
    I always look forward to more tales of Samy Ben Redjeb's record-scavenging misadventures.  -Anthony D'Amico
    
    
16. Baby How Can It Be? (Songs of Love -  Lust & Contempt from the 1920s & 30s) (Dust To Digital)
17. Foundation Stones: The Stunned Box (Stunned Records)
18. Kode9 DJ-Kicks (!K7)
19. Martyn: Fabric 50 (Fabric)
20. Nigeria Afrobeat Special: The New Explosive Sound In 1970's Nigeria (Soundway)
    
    It was revelatory to discover that: 1.) there many other excellent Afrobeat artists besides Fela Kuti, and 2.) some of them actually wrote tight, structured songs that ended in under ten minutes.  -Anthony D'Amico
    
    
21. Of Spectres and Saints ii (elseproduct)
22. Tradi-Mods Vs. Rockers - Alternative Takes on Congotronics (Crammed)
23. Worth The Weight - Bristol Dubstep Classics (Punch Drunk)
24. Jon Savage Presents Black Hole Californian Punk 1977-1980 (Domino)
25. Bellyachers Listen: Songs From East Africa 1938-46 (Honest Jon's Records)

Boxed Set

1. Coil, "Colour Sound Oblivion"
   
   Almost as good as being there. - John Kealy
   
   
2. Current 93, "Current 93"
   
   The most ridiculously expensive music purchase that I have ever made, but an absolutely beautiful object.  I think I want to be buried with it. I just wish I loved early Current 93 as much as I love more recent Current 93.  -Anthony D'Amico
   
   
3. Neu!, "Vinyl Box Set"
   
   Overpriced cash grab. I'm sticking with my CDs thanks. - John Kealy
   
   
4. Current 93, "Like Swallowing Eclipses"
   
   I am not the biggest fan of early Current 93, so the prospect of Andrew Liles reworking it all was a very appealing one for me.  His feats of alchemy were not as spectacular as I had hoped they'd be, but this was certainly enjoyable and crazily ambitious.  Maybe it will continue to grow on me, as I still don't feel like I have fully processed it all.  -Anthony D'Amico
   
   
5. Sun City Girls, "330,003 Crossdressers From Beyond the Rig Veda"
6. Merzbow, "Merzbient"
7. Robert Wyatt, "EPs"
8. Kevin Drumm, "Necroacoustic"
9. Sun City Girls, "Dante's Disneyland Inferno"
10. Orange Juice, "Coals to Newcastle"
    
    Blissful, shambling, literate, wry attempts to blend the sensibilities of Chic and Noel Coward. - Duncan Edwards

 

Artist of the Year

1. Current 93
2. Zola Jesus
3. Swans
4. Keith Fullerton Whitman
5. Emeralds
6. Grinderman
7. Sun City Girls
8. Nurse With Wound
9. Kevin Drumm
10. Autechre
    
    Again with the Autechre?  I am in disbelief.  - Anthony D'Amico

 

Label of the Year

1. Domino
2. Mute
3. Type
4. Important
5. Ectopic Ents
6. Thrill Jockey
7. Young God
8. Kranky
9. Warp
10. Touch
    
    

New Artist of the Year

Rene Hell

I bet Jeffrey Witscher will be pretty surprised to learn that he is the best new artist this far into his career.  It was certainly very cunning of him to strategically change his moniker in a year with so few exciting debuts though.  -Anthony D'Amico

Lifetime Achievement Recognition

Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson

It is impossible for any reader of brainwashed to have not encountered an album cover he photographed, watched a music video he directed, listened to a recording he participated in, or a musician he influenced. In all aspects of the term "lifetime achievement" he has defined.  - Jon Whitney

Very few musicians influenced my musical sensibilities as much as Peter Christopherson did. First, he turned me off with Throbbing Gristle and all the obtuse, weird noise he made. I hated it, but I couldn't stop listening and thinking about it. Then, he and Jhonn blew me away with Coil. For years, I spent all my time searching their records out at the record stores in St. Louis. The seasonal EPs changed my life entirely, and hearing Horse Rotorvator and Love's Secret Domain for the first time were two of the most exciting musical experiences in my life. Along with just a couple other people, Peter opened the universe up for me and made it far more awesome than I thought it could be. That might sound corny, but I say it with absolute confidence. Through Coil and Peter, I found Current 93, Nurse with Wound, Foetus, Meat Beat Manifesto, Clive Barker, Derek Jarman, and many others. I finally got to meet him during Brainwaves '08. I don't know what I expected, but what I found in our brief interactions was a kind, funny, immensely humble person that obviously cared about music and the people around him. I feel very lucky to have met him, and even luckier to have found his music. - Lucas Schleicher

Peter Christopherson's role in Throbbing Gristle and Coil were unmeasurable, both groups eliciting transformative experiences at various stages of my life. His work in the visual spectrum of the arts whether it was commissioned videos for MTV or artwork for albums close to his heart were a cut above the rest. His final years showed a personal and creative edge that threatened to push beyond his more renowned works. He has left behind a rich body of work which will no doubt still be beautiful, challenging and upsetting for a lifetime to come. - John Kealy

Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson was an angel of electricity cast in human form. He retained his teenage lightning until the very end and will be dearly remembered for expanding the vocabulary of electronic music, for his magisterial photographs which are essays on the interplay of shadow and light, and his legacy of video work which captured soul in fluid motion. He was a gentleman who upheld the integrity of his artistic vision, which was fertile and prolific. He tantalized and delighted his fans not only with all that he managed to deliver in the span of time he spent here on Earth, but also with all the projects he had in mind. These remain as seeds left behind to inspire the living. The body of work Sleazy left behind is exemplary. - Justin Patrick

It is hard to think of another person that has had as much impact on my cultural development as Peter Christopherson, as Coil was my gateway to a whole new subterranean world of other aberrant musicians, artists, and writers.  Equally important is the fact that Sleazy never stopped being relevant, a near impossible feat after more than 3 decades of music-making.  I am heartbroken that there will never be another Threshold HouseBoys Choir album and that I will never get to hear X-TG.  He will be missed. - Anthony D'Amico

Worst Album

1. Vampire Weekend, "Contra"
2. Smashing Pumpkins, "Teargarden By Kaleidyscope 1: Songs for a Sailor"
3. Titus Andronicus, "The Monitor"
   
   I like these guys, but I'm afraid that I am unable to overlook the fundamental ridiculousness of an indie rock Civil War concept album.  -Anthony D'Amico
   
   
4. Herbie Hancock, "The Imagine Project"
   
   I am impressed at the spectacularly unfortunate assemblage of artists involved in this album.  Also, it is amusing that celebrating peace seems to be the fastest and most effective way to elicit an avalanche of ill-will.  -Anthony D'Amico
   
   
5. Wolf Parade, "Expo 86"
6. Hot Hot Heat, "Future Breeds"
7. Liz Phair, "Funstyle"
8. Squarepusher, "Shobaleader One: d'Demonstrator"
9. Dimitri From Paris, "Get Down With the Philly Sound"
10. Dr. Dog, "Shame Shame"

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