Description
I love listening to new music and usually listen to several albums I haven't heard before each day. These are the albums I've fallen in love with over the years, the ones I keep coming back to, the cream of the pie, call it what you will.
Criteria
* Must be moderately unknown, everyone knows (if) they love The Beatles, Dire Straits etc.
* Must be albums I keep coming back to, not just the ones I really like the first time around and then get tired of.
* Some of these might not fit everyone's definition of an album.
* Limited to one album per artist.
Noe Venable -
The Summer Storm Journals
Tags:
, 2007,
indie folk,
singer-songwriter,
female vocalists
Description: Noe Venable have grown to be one of my favorite songwriters. Her voice is softer and more mature than ever in this album. (Meaning you might want to listen to all her albums chronologically to build up for this)
Track picks:
Prayer for Beauty,
Ice Dragons,
Army of Nows
Alcest -
Souvenirs d'un autre Monde
Tags:
, 2007,
metal,
shoegaze
Description: This album defies the usual restrictions of the Metal genre and blends it with Shoegaze (eventhough Neige claims never to have heard any Shoegaze prior to this) . The result is the maybe most melancholic Metal recording ever.
Track picks: Doesn't matter, just listen to any random track if you don't have the time to listen to all the 6 tracks
Beirut -
The Flying Club Cup
Tags:
, 2007,
indie folk
Description: From Wikipedia
Beirut is the band of Zach Condon who dropped out of school at the age of 16 and travelled Europe where he was first exposed to Balkan gypsy music. That reshaped his musical vision and this is the result.
Track picks:
Nantes,
A Sunday Smile
Steve Reich -
Music for 18 Musicians
Tags:
, 1978,
minimalism
Description: I get lost in the complex Rhythms every time I listen to this. Production quality is sublime. You could say the music is alive (listen to it and you'll know what I mean).
Track picks: It's too continuous to pick out tracks
Boris -
Pink
Tags:
, 2005,
shoegaze,
doom-metal,
heavy-metal,
stoner-rock
Description: Don't be fooled by the shoegaze opener, this will soon turn into the awesomest and heaviest metal you have heard.
Track picks:
Pink,
Woman on the Screen,
Just Abandoned My-Self
Mono -
You Are There
Tags:
, 2006,
post-rock
Description: While including all the standards of post-rock; long build-ups and staggering heights, this band also has influences of Classical music (There's string and piano arrangements). This album will blow you away with it's fragile quiet parts and overwhelming loud parts. Being produced by Steve Albini as well this should be irresistible.
Track picks:
Yearning,
Moonlight
World's End Girlfriend -
dream's end come true
Tags:
, 2002,
experimental,
electronic
Description: Katsuhiko Maeda's music blends Jazz, post-rock, Electronic, Classical and any other genre you can think of and creates a truly abstract world. This might not be very accessible, I for one thought this was very weird the first time around. I blame that mainly to the music changing so often that you can't really keep up with it and start to like it if you haven't heard it before. Once you're used to it though, the raw emotions will get to you.
Track picks: The 25minute epic that is
All Imperfect Love Song should be a good introduction to the artist.
Mono & World's End Girlfriend -
Palmless Prayer/Mass Murder Refrain
Tags:
, 2006,
classical
Description: I think of listening to this album as taking a long dive in the deepest ocean.
Track picks: (Not needed, it's all one composition)
Deaf Center -
Pale Ravine
Tags:
, 2005,
dark ambient,
electronic
Description: This was the album that introduced me to Ambient (and possibly Electronic) music some years ago. It has a very dark winter mood while not being depressing.
Track picks:
White Lake,
Stone Beacon
Max Richter -
The Blue Notebooks
Tags:
, 2004,
classical,
electronic
Description: Often repetitive fusion of Classical and Electronic music, carrying a very blue sound as indicated by the title. The simple Violins of
On the Nature of Daylight, heavily supported by dynamics, the bassline of
Shadow Journal and the splendid piano arrangement that is
On the Nature of Daylight is so eminently composed that I would find it hard to believe if someone told me they didn't like this album.
Track picks: (Mentioned in description)
Eluvium -
Copia
Tags:
, 2007,
ambient
Description: Kind of like an ambient Max Richter. No need to make a lengthy description here, just listen.
Track picks:
Indoor Swimming at the Space Station,
Prelude For Time Feelers
Ryuichi Sakamoto -
1996
Tags:
, 1996,
classical
Description: This is a compilation from Ryuichi Sakamoto's 1996 tour. Since his world famous soundtrack for the movie Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, he has been widely regarded among the world's best producers and composers.
Track picks:
Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence,
1919,
Rain
Joe Hisaishi -
Spirited Away
Tags:
, 2001,
classical,
soundtrack
Description: I had trouble deciding which Joe Hisaishi album to include here, having explored a big amount of Hisaishi's work. Every melody this man/god has composed since he got his breakthrough with Hayao Miyazaki's second feature film has been like heaven to my ears. While this perfectly conveys the passages of the movie, it's also highly listenable without watching the movie. Track picks consists of melancholic piano melodies of the style I love Hisaishi so much for.
Track picks:
One Summer's Day,
The Dragon Boy,
Day of the River,
The Sixth Station
Almost made it A.K.A. notable mentions:
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole -
Facing Future
Jeff Wayne -
The War of the Worlds
Funkadelic -
Maggot Brain
Flowers From the Man Who Shot Your Cousin -
Hapless
Philip Glass -
The Photographer
Sketch Show -
Tronika
Goat Horn -
Threatening Force
Flowers From the Man Who Shot Your Cousin
