37. High Wolf – Atlas Nation: There were a lot of bands that made some surprising changes to their sound this year, and High Wolf is definitely in that category. The guys have proved themselves as absolute drone masters over the course of a catalog that is impossible to follow. Looking at the cover of this I assumed I was in for some long tracks of sitar drone, maybe some distorted finger instruments, some sort of spiritually enlightening meditative drone (don’t get me wrong, some of that I really like, but am kind of growing a bit tired of the sameness). Instead what I got was some kosmiche version of a Muslimgauze, Dead C, and Vibracathedral jam session. The low end here, largely provided by some effected tablas, is just fucking nasty. The signature drones (yes, some from sitar) lay over the top of it though just enough to allow that bass to float and shimmer even. The best example of this is my favorite track on here “Raagini” which opens with some blown out raga buzz which just sort of bounces along to this muted percussion line into some sort of third world dream. The album closer “Haiti” is the other real high point on here for me. The dream pop/shoe gaze guitar just keeps elevating for what seems like forever, unbelievable patience and sustain, before the whole thing crackles and explodes into a mess of clangs and chimes and elegantly controlled distortion as it ends the record in a haze of smoke and color. Awesome stuff.





36. Hubble – Hubble Linger: This is another NNA Tapes entry that I actually received the same day as that Ken Seeno. That was a good day. This is from Ben Greenberg of Zs (who are one of the best and most underrated bands in the world if you ask me) and features two sides of mesmerizing looped distressed ambience. There’s something very organic that happens on this record in spite of the guitar often sounding like a synth or a percussion instrument, it doesn’t feel excessively processed. The result is an intimacy that isn’t even close to approached by any other album this year. The initial loop played here starts simply enough, but through the repetitions it starts to climb and shriek and move at differing rates, it’s powerful stuff for sure. Especially when it all just comes to an abrupt stop (albeit momentarily), only to reenter blasting in stereo as the dude solos some of the headiest work I have ever heard all over the top of it just sending you skyward. By the time the whole thing ends in some decayed wash of static and steel droning exhaustion a certain release has been achieved and you’ve been safely brought back down.

Dude explains his intent as such:



Based on that, I certainly think he succeeds here. Just a killer tape (still in stock over at NNA’s site, support those dudes as they consistently put out some of the most interesting cassettes out there) that has me madly excited about the next Zs and future releases on his own.

35. Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto – summvs: From what I understand this is the last record these two are doing together and it is easily their best. It’s a Sakamoto record so you know the piano is genius here. Compared to their other releases together Noto has tamed a lot of the glitch and thump of his parts here and traded them in for harmonic accompaniment that really accentuates not only Sakamoto’s playing, but also those spaces of decay in between the notes. This is most evident on “Naono” which plays like a Ben Frost outtake in all of its early morning bleary eyed wonder. That being said, Noto is a bass master, and tracks like “Pioneer IOO” and “Halo” have his fingerprints all over them and beg for a great set of speakers. The difference is again, it is tamed here and just kind of either propels Sakamoto’s playing along or offers a sort of conversational counter point between the minor keys and their low end cousins. The other major standout here is the nod to Eno with their cover of “By This River”. Accomplishing the same feeling that Eno and Roedelius had prior, there is a density to the track in spite of the surface minimalism, which is again a result of that odd minor playing leaning on beautifully sculpted structure. At this point in both of these guys’ lives they could probably do anything they want, but it is clear that both are still willing to evolve and try some new things within their craft, I like that. It is unfortunate if this is the last we hear from them as a pair, but it’s hard for me to imagine a better album for them to end their partnership with.





34. Cut Hands - Afro Noise I: Drinky turned me on to this and I am pretty sure it is landing in his top ten this year. As such, hopefully he will write a review of it and you all can read his since he (along with most of you) write way better than I do anyhow. However, if he opts out of doing write-ups this year I will throw one up here.



33. Fourcolor - As Pleat: This is a beautiful blend of dream pop, manipulated drone, and digital processing. All you need to know about this you can really grab from the album opener “Quiet Gray 1” where the spliced up and reformed guitar and background drones are tightly woven into Moskitoo’s ethereal vocals creating these immense stretches of barely conscious dreaming. This basic idea is repeated with uncanny precision throughout most of the record and it succeeds every time. My personal favorite here however, is the almost ten minute long anchor piece “Carmine Fall” where Sugimoto introduces a delicate reverb to his guitar that seems to add dimension and shape to the glacially paced guitar work. There are layers upon layers of sound to explore here and through the digital splicing fragmented rhythms are created to ground all of the floating swells. As the album ends with “Quiet Gray 2” I am reminded of that Akira Kosemura record from a couple of years ago or Eluvium’s Accidental Memory where revisiting or fragmenting earlier pieces from the album provided a sense of completeness—you started, you went away, and now you are back and slightly changed—almost perfect record.

I don't mean this to sound as sarcastic or mean as it sounds, why would someone listen to Cut Hands - Afro Noise I?

what genre of music fan can make it through one of those songs?

A noise music fan.

"Can't you see, what this craaaaaaaaaazy life is doin' to meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee???"

Summvs will be in my top 20 for sure. Gentle and austere. It was the year of the piano for me. Half of my favorite music was acoustic piano treated or surrounded or simply left alone.

I love noise (and find it interesting as I have started making this list how many well established noise artists have left the PE/Harsh side of things and ventured into more chill territory the past couple of years) and that is a remarkable noise record. If you listen to a lot of harsh noise this record will really jump out you. It has a sort of movement that is missing in a lot of stuff and tonally it is great. The use of different instruments (partly because it uses real instruments as opposed to contact mics and bent shit) still comes through even after all of the processing. It is something new in the noise realm and for a type of music that a lot of people will say all sounds the same, to have something that sounds this distinct come out, especially now when as I said a lot of guys seem to be leaving the power electronics and harsh noise realm, it just feels like an important record.

That being said, if you're not a noise fan, then no you aren't going to like this, but I don't know, maybe there are some drummers or world music fans out there that can hear this and recognize what this dude is doing to some old world percussion to pull this noise out and at at least appreciate the process and craft involved here. I don't know.

Glad you are at least checking this stuff out though dude. Very cool.

following this thread closely. thanks for it, and the links.

so far,

kinda underwhelmed by the thundercat release, to be honest. a little too scattershot and forgettable for me. i'm not sure i'll return to it, but maybe i should...?

enjoyed the fourcolour enough to return to it a second time, which expectedly should reveal more.

and thoroughly enjoyed the john luther adams pieces.

bump

And thanks already for the rec of this other John Adams.. that I thought was sort of a lightweight, but I've got three of his releases now.... sounds like a combo of Phillip Glass and Mahler's adagios.

Sorry, I am way behind on this. Will try to get caught up with the links as I have time the next couple of days. Until then, a few super quick reviews here.



32. Lee Noble – Horrorism: Bathetic has really started to put together an amazing bunch of like-minded artists. With this, Grouper, and McCann this year (all of which are sold out I believe?) they had a great year. This is very much akin to Grouper. It is droning and washed out, but there is such great melody and really pretty drifts throughout that there is enough “pop” in what he does to lure in people that aren’t normally into stuff from way out. I think what impressed me most here is that he leaves no question there is a songwriter underneath all of that sound. His voice is surprisingly good, and though he throws wall after wall of reverb at it, it still quietly breaks through. This is something different, a little bit spacier Atlas Sound, a stronger/more masculine Grouper—something accessible and pretty, but manages to be so without sacrificing any sense of adventure and craft. This is one that more than a few people here might like.

31. Julia Holter – Tragedy: This record had every chance possible of failing miserably, and it succeeded in every way. This record to me is the evolution of composition. This is hundreds of years of music thrown together and updated/elevated to a point that unless you are looking for the references you aren’t likely to find them. Source recordings crackle and pop and wash out under kosmiche synth and drone. Strings burst in and out playing combinations that I can’t even fathom trying to piece together. Her voice moves the pieces along, but rarely compete for attention and often seem inseparable from the samples and sound collages that build around them. I really can’t say enough good things about this album, anyone who is a fan of Steve Reich, LaMonte Young, Kraftwerk, maybe even Joanna Newsom, should definitely give this a listen as this girl establishes herself right alongside any of the boys-club composers as an amazing talent for years to come.

30. Peter Broderick & Machinefabriek - Mort Aux Vaches: These guys are fucking stars as far as I am concerned. Seriously. At this point anything Broderick touches is golden. This is all improvised, recorded live back in 2009, and it sounds better than most composed neoclassical/post-rock. Little electronic splashes on Session Two, Broderick’s playing, spacing, and unbelievable tone throughout, and Kleefstra’s voice (might be on par with Robert Wyatt if I were to make a list of my favorite vocalists of all time) all work so well together. The build for almost twenty minutes on Session Three leading to that huge release is so graceful and probably one of my favorite things that all of these guys do, it goes somewhere. There is variation in the sequences and the instruments lay across each other in different spaces throughout creating a tension and anticipation all the way through that huge moment at the end. This is what sexy music is to me. Stuff like this just strikes a chord that very few things do. It should probably be way higher honestly and for me kind of suffers from the fact that I expected it to be great—it is—but because it was exactly what I was expecting it kind of suffers from a lack of surprise. Necessity for fans of these guys, highly recommended for fans of GYBE! and Stars of the Lid, good quiet listen for any one else.

29. Sleep ∞ Over – Forever: I love this album. It’s feedback loops and tape saturation, gorgeous female vocals and industrial grit, a synth record and a guitar record, this album just combines it all. Plus, the cover reminds me of New Order which is a bonus. Seriously, just an awesome record, might appeal to Beach House fans, not sure.




28. Stare Case – Vague Terms: Wolf Eyes were one of the few “harsh noise” bands that were just as good when they scaled back and went a bit dreamy as when they were just unleashing havoc on eardrums. This is John Olson and Nate Young of Wolf Eyes putting out something that stays in that slower, headier, realm. It works great if you ask me. The growling vocals are still there, and Olson pulls some monster tones out of his sax. There is definitively more rhythm here, even if obscured, some shattered blues guitar, and tons of feedback—everything stays reigned in for sure though. I think this is the record Wolf Eyes should have made for Sub Pop, it would have worked out better for them maybe—regardless still awesome noisy, creepy stuff from a couple of greats.



27. Eternal Dreamer – Splintered Sunlight: Very cool tape here from the good people at Calypso Hum. This thing is chocked full of fractured strings, voice, and chilling winds. The instrumentation has the elements of a normal neo-classical record, but the tape loops and effected voices make this thing just unsettling. It’s not as dark as Shiflet or Collins’ efforts this year, but definitely leaves a sort of haunting effect. This one has me looking for me to come from this little label for sure.





26. Panda Bear – Tomboy: This thing seems to have gone a bit overlooked this year to me. I don’t know, maybe it’s some sort of AC hangover after the blitz of Person Pitch and MPP. For me this is just as good as either of those records. The repetition and humility here take me back to the best parts of Young Prayer (which I still prefer to Person Pitch and recommend anyone who hasn’t played that record in a while revisit it), just very simple, very pretty loops. It works for this guy. “You Can Count On Me” is just as strong a statement as "My Girls", if not more so, and the piece-by-piece release of this I absolutely loved—it reminded me of hunting down Stereolab 7” releases in high school. The dude is crazy talented, has an amazing voice, and an equally amazing ear. Nothing too unexpected, but every bit as good as anything else that has come out of the AC camp.





25. Ninni Morgia & Marcello Magliocchi - Sound Gates: The best improvised record of the year (beautiful LP sleeve to boot). Similar to Daniel Carter (who both of these guys have played with), Corsano/Flaherty, the Qbico catalog. Not noise, not jazz, not kosmiche, but somewhere in between. There is a metallic quality throughout both sides, from the guitar, to the massive use of cymbals, and the tinny electronics. It is never squealing and harsh in any way though, it’s kind or pretty, even in its dissonance. Magliocchi is the star for most of this with his percussion never content to remain in the background, but never competing against the guitar. Morgia gives him his space and really lets the assorted instruments get your full attention—something lacking in a lot of improve stuff. That being said, the few moments that Morgia gets to let loose with the guitar are just mind-blowing free music moments that haven’t been approached since Sunburned's best days. Harry—this is one you need to own.

A few I still need to upload. Will try to get to that later this week.

24. Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Unknown Mortal Orchestra: This is a fun little record that completely caught me by surprise. I love the dude’s voice--it has an easy cool to it, a certain soul that comes off completely natural. Pair that with some simple guitar, breakbeats, and some catchy bass lines, and you have a great rock and roll record in my opinion. Much like the Callahan record from earlier in this list, I don’t need a lot like this. I have read the comparisons to Cults and other bands and really have no desire to really give them a real proper listen—this is enough for me. I will play this for countless summers to come for sure.
Not my link:





23. Eternal Tapestry – Beyond the Fourth Door: A lot of people I have talked to say that Eternal Tapestry sound like every other psych band out there right now. I completely disagree. There is something so easy in the playing on this record, it’s hard to tell what is improvised and what is written. Everything from bass drones to screeching blues guitar are thrown into the mix, which for the first time on this record also includes some really great sax work. What impressed me most on this record is the range they show here. Everything from really gentle floating atmospherics ("Time Winds Through a Glass, Cleary") through to loud as fuck Boris/Earth rock ("Galactic Derelict"). This still doesn’t match seeing them live, not even close…but I think the move to Thrill Jockey will serve them well (packaging is killer on this, in both LP and CD formats). They are still a young band, but here they don’t seem to be imitating Schintzler or Popol Vuh in any way, they have finally put their own spin on that classic sound. Look forward to where these guys keep going for sure.

Gonna hafta check out that Stare Case since I really liked the solo record Nate Young put out this year that was a mellow step back from the Wolf Eyes stuff as well.

Yeah, I need to hear Stare Case as well.

Surprised to see Panda Bear and UMO so relatively high on your list. Agree that the Panda Bear is at least as good as Person Pitch, but it's not on the same level as MPP.

I just can't stomach the vocals on those Panda Bear records.

I still haven't listened to that Nate Young. I like that NNA is venturing into vinyl now though.

22. Stephen Molyneux - Cambodian Field Recordings: Buy this tape!!! I think it has been reissued twice now, original edition was 40, I think second edition was 50, I don’t know how many are out there now. Really, a few tapes on this list are physically great (packaging, paint, etc…) but this is the music that is made for cassette—just mind blowing field recordings and sound collage work. From the label:

Given his reputation from work with Horsehair Everywhere, this is the last thing I expected from the dude and hope he explores more work in this vein. It’s not a release that is going to grab your attention immediately, it might just be something that you play in the background, but sooner or later you are going to hear something on this tape that is going to make you stop what you are doing and listen, and maybe acknowledge that there is a certain contentment that comes with listening to this—similar to letting a Buddha Box just loop and loop for hours. Brilliant tape, the first classic and necessary field record I have heard in a long time.





21. Leyland Kirby – Eager to Tear Apart the Stars: Fuzz, what a wonderful thing. Where artists like Hecker tend to soak their art in reverb Kirby instead uses loads and loads of fuzz and through that has created something akin to watching one of those old Olan Mills portraits turn red—only instead of it taking ten years he does it in six tracks. This record (and really just this guy, as (spoiler here) more albums of his rank as my favorites of the year) is just stunning. Awesome piano and string work, even if the strings aren’t the most challenging or original arrangements out there, where the string drones evolve just enough to keep a certain backing dynamic to the keys. My favorite track on here though is easily “They Are All Dead, There Are No Skip At All” which brings in a really simple vibraphone and plucked and strummed harp that he sets in front of this massive crackle of interference. It is just an amazing piece of contrast that honestly makes Broderick’s work on “Duets” seem more than pedestrian. This record is something that I constantly revisit, try to break down, and understand the process here, and I just can’t—the guy is thinking and composing on a completely different level right now—this is really the sound of a brilliant artist who has been around for a long time, really hitting what may be his creative peak, and it is an awesome thing to see.

Ever since I started listening to that Caretaker album, I've been interested in hearing the Leyland Kirby album, too. Gonna have to snag that.

Kirby's "The future isn't what it used to be...." is one of the best things released in the last decade, to my ears. I thought this Kirby was nearly as interesting, but I also haven't heard the Caretaker.... one more thing I have to hear from 2011 I guess.

20. David Andree - In Streams: There are people in the world that are just blessed with an aptitude for art in all forms and David Andree is one of them. A glimpse at his site gives a brief look of his painting and installation work which are just beautiful in my opinion (I particularly love the string installation/cobweb stuff. Check it out here: http://www.davidandree.com/index.htm). This tape from the highly underrated Sunshine Ltd. could probably serve as a companion to a lot of his visual stuff. It’s a tape of nothing but quiet, understated, slowly evolving loops in short form. The obvious comparison is to Basinski or maybe even Gareth Hardwick’s recent work—the apparent repetition with minor changes, insane tape manipulation (all live, no overdubs on this record) which moves the songs to not only melody changes but rhythmic shifts as well, and an ability move instruments in and out at will with no effect on the atmosphere of the record. The electronic pieces don’t sound out of place against the acoustic sounds. There is always a sense of melody and harmony, and some dissonance, though it is washed out, this is anything but a drone record. It’s fluid in its movement in spite of some murkiness in its sound—which works, it provides an edge here that is missing in so much music like this. The overall effect on me is quite strange. What should be a very cold and isolating record, comes off as very soothing, even heartwarming—perhaps this is the feeling of euphoria one gets immediately before drowning—only in this case you don’t drown, you get to take in the underwater light and the dampened sounds and still emerge. I can’t recommend this enough for fans of Basinski or Stars of the Lid, and hope that on future releases Andree explores the long form of minimalism, I would love to hear some of these tracks play out for 20 or 30 minutes, but they work remarkably well in the time allotted here. I am hooked just from this tape, and can’t wait to hear anything else this guy puts out.



19. Celer – Menggayakan: I don’t know how Will Long has kept going as Celer the past couple of years, but I am glad he has. To say his work has taken on a bit darker feel is an understatement, but it works. He is a master of using found sounds and water drenched drone to express where he is, and has been, in his life. This, similar to the Molyneux record, is a lot of field recordings from Jakarta that Long has laid over his extremely well crafted drones. In contrast to the Molyneux record however, where there is a kind of celebration, the choices of recordings here are a bit unsettling. Song titles (though fairly useless as the thing plays as an uninterrupted single piece) such as “Circular Square, Exhaust, Anti-American Protest” and “Feigned Ignorance And Dissimulation” give an indication of the quiet anger/disillusion that is present throughout this whole thing. The drones are uneasy minor sounds which provide a backdrop tension to these stark recordings. There isn’t a whole lot of processing, the field sounds are recognizable and unique, and almost serve as a type of vocals—it’s an interesting approach, ballsy for sure, and it works. I don’t know that I would choose this as an entry point to Celer, but for anyone who is familiar with the older works, this is a good one to get back into the project with as it really shows the change in work over the past two years.

Thanks for this thread.

I find much of this music fascinating but rarely have the time to give it the attention it deserves. I have a very short work commute and can't really listen to music at work (at least not yet, I may be getting my own office soon).

Still, I'm every bit as intrigued by a piece of music that can move one emotionally and viscerally through minimalism as I am of a wonderfully sleazy hook filled rock song.

For me, this stuff falls more in with my cerebral, intellectual pursuits of music.

The one time of the day I really enjoy it is after I've worked all day, I've been to the gym for a good workout, and am driving home. I'm relaxed, my brain isn't going in a hundred different directions, and I'm just listening with focus.

Much of "this music" that K's so well informed about, isn't cerebral for me at all. Just the opposite; it pulls me out of my mind into my body and the immediate present moment. There is great and infiinite darkness in time all round which is barely lit by the spark of the present moment. The best minimalist/ambient/electronic/drone music is the sountrack to that spark for me.