Lots and lots of them, but I was just talking about and listening to Solex
Low Kick and Hard Bop recently, so.....
If I was to revisit my Best of 2001 list today, this would be near the top. It strikes me much the same way that Cibo Matto did back in the mid 90s, but this Dutch record shop owner turned sample-crazed, avant-garde musician, Elisabeth Esselink, seems to be working in a world of her own and sounds very unique to my ears, even though the music flows mostly through obscure samples from her record shop. Kinda weird stuff that you don't hear everyday. Sometimes just plain amazing. Sometimes just plain weird. The opening title track comes on slowly with a blues harmonica and pounding drums driving a storm of shifting rhythms and sonic detours to its spoken rap centerpiece. The whole album is kind of mind boggling, but it can really get under your skin. At least it did for me. One of my top albums of the last few years and still sounds fresh with each new listen.
If ya wanna go back a couple years further, one I was just listening to this morning and love a lot is
Telegraph by Richard Davies. Really nice album. And the Moonbabies don't get enough love.
The Orange Billboard was one of my favorites last year. I've made a couple posts around here about Wayne Robbins & The Hellsayers
The Lonesome Sea and that's one that should be talked about much more, especially if you like the modern day Neil Young disciples like Built To Spill and Jason Molina and My Morning Jacket. Steve Wynn put out a brilliant double-LP in 2001 that didn't seem to generate much buzz.
Here Come The Miracles. I know that Magnet really liked it and named it one of their best of the year and it was at the top of my list too. Maybe too mature sounding or something, but it does rock pretty nicely in that Crazy Horse meets Velvet Underground kind of way.
But yeah, that Cat Power is a nice one. And so is that Head of Femur. Could use a little stronger singer, maybe. And a couple of the songs seem a little unfinished. But when they get on that XTC vibe, it's really good. Love their frenzied but still faithful cover of Eno's "The True Wheel". Brilliant! Simply brilliant!
And what about Sue Garner & Rick Brown
Still from 2000? Yeah, that's probably my favorite that seems to have gone unnoticed by most. Very diverse and eclectic mix of trip hop, indie pop/rock, avant-folk, Tortoise-like loopy electro-organica, and maybe even a couple nods to the Fall. Nice CD. Maybe too far reaching at times for their own good, but lots to like. Recorded with some of their friends including Chris Stamey of the DB's, Douglas McCombs of Tortoise, Tara Key and Doug Weiselman in the couple's home studio. A little along the lines of Yo La Tengo but with a more diverse sound. They even do a pretty cool and very minimalist cover of John Lennon's "It's So Hard" that's nearly a cappella with only a plucked bass as accompaniment. This is one that has really stood up well for me over the last few years. I don't think it garnered a lot of critical acclaim but I play it all the time and now it's like an old friend. Lots of very nice ambience on this one. Pretty nice and uncompressed sound along with HDCD encoding for those that care about these things. Recommended!
Oops, enough already! Sorry, that's what happens when you don't post very often
