e-stone Wrote:

califone -
roomsoundto think that not even 2 years ago i had never even heard anything by this band...the last album i listen to by them is my current favorite. they are that good.
Yeah,
Roomsound is awesome, easily one of their best records... along with all of their other records.
So... a few things I think still haven't have been mentioned yet:
Tortoise -
StandardsTortoise rocks the fuck out. A fun, quick, refreshing listen and kind of an anomaly in their catalog as such. I mean, their last couple of albums kind of followed in this same direction, but they lost the fire that they had here. I saw them when they toured for this, and it was a great show. Probably my favorite album of theirs although I do also love
Millions Now Living and that
Lazarus Taxon box set.
Mouse on Mars -
Idiology &
Agit Itter It It (EP)
Mouse on Mars were on a serious hot streak from 1995's
Iaora Tahiti all the way up through these two releases in 2001. I didn't like
Idiology initially. It has vocals on several tracks and features generally more straightforward "pop" compositions compared to the relatively spastic and schizophrenic
Niun Niggung (still probably my favorite album of theirs). But eventually I got into it in a big way, and like the Tortoise album above, my opinion of it was boosted considerably by seeing them perform these songs live. The EP makes for a great companion piece, and together these comprise the last great recordings MoM have put out, unfortunately.
Circulatory System -
s/tI'm in the minority in preferring this to the Olivia Tremor Control stuff, but this was my intro to Will Cullen Hurt & Co., and it will probably always be my favorite. To me the OTC albums suffer from having some really tedious stretches, but this one somehow manages to sustain its 22 tracks and considerable running time amply. Packed full of great melodies and hazy, enveloping psychedelic textures and arrangements.
Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. -
In CReining in AMT's sprawling psyche jam and amplifier-and-eardrum-destroying tendencies to perform a Terry Riley piece might have been the best idea they ever had. This is my favorite album of theirs and my second favorite thing I've ever heard of Makato's next to Mainliner -
Mellow Out.