First proper studio in over a decade and it's wonderful. I don't think this band has ever made a record I really didn't enjoy. Haunting and beautiful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba4ajpn081M

When I try to make sense of all the great music that's come out this year and break it down into a list (a preliminary one, of course, as the year's only half over) I find myself getting lost after a few seconds in "wait, I forgot [ ... ]!!" And "ok that looks right- oh fuck, but that's just January!"

Still, it's not hard to think of the albums that, so far, simply MUST be in the top five. So far, the albums that I can couldn't leave out if I tried, are

Lips - Terror
Black Bug - Reflecting the Light
Ghostface Killah - 12 Reasons to Die
And Yeezus.

All albums that I've had plenty of time to digest, but still play a track from at least daily. Yeezus is the newest, but because I haven't been able to get it out of my head for a month now (not just some of be songs, but the whole album, which melds together into one massive song for me when I think about it) I think it's safe to say that it will land in the top five at the end of the year as well.
Possibly even above 12 Reasons..., which is a superior album musically and lyrically, but doesn't pack the emotional punch of Kanye's ridiculously titled half-album/whole masterpiece (gotta hear the other sessions tracks.)

But those are my gut response picks... I still have a hefty chunk of new albums to look forward to, so I may have a backwards and upside down list in December. Good thing nobody gives the smallest of shits.

good week for tunes, new hunx and his punx, locrian

 

Thrill Jockey have been on top form this year, they have released so many wonderful records. The new Date Palms is very nice and meditative. There are some beautiful soundscapes on this record, you almost feel like you are in a desert. It has been soundtracking the heatwave in the UK very nicely.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkW8OeYYSQA

Sounds nice!

I agree.

It's well worth checking out.

Got this in the post yesterday, Drag City has to be the best American labels of the last 20 years, they always release really cool stuff and i'm never disappointed. It's a wonderful komische ambient album, very hypnotic, a total 1 am stoned out of your mind record.

A little preview courtesy of Drag City.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_ciyUDlY0Q

Yes.




I dig the new Umberto (Confrontations) quite a bit. Also, Invisible Hands is great.

i dont really listen to many releases anymore. albums are archaic at this point.

i liked this

one of the FEW of the vaporwavers to make explicit the death and nihilism at the heart of the pure commodity worship. most vaporwavers just do the capitalism bit, but not the rest.

There are coming new releases from classic Finnish bands, who have been themselves without any commercial purposes since their beginning:
Kauko Röyhkä & Narttu: Pois Valoista coming 6.9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPqKDQJxetI
Radiopuhelimet: Ei kenenkään maa coming 20.9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDr9qRUOBfo

Coffins-The Fleshland
Mammothgrinder-Underworlds
Hatred Surge-Human Overdose
Ulcerate-Vermis
True Widow-Circumambulation
Christicide-Upheaval of the Soul
Fuck Buttons-Slow Focus
Hunx and his Punx-Street Punk
Palms-S/T (Isis dudes with Chino Moreno of Deftones, not at all shitty)
Scott Jackson-Distractions
David Lynch-The Big Dream

excellent year for music of all kinds, but hardcore/metal and hip hop seem to be winning so far.

Cosmic jams courtesy of Spencer Clark, Mark Mcguire & Matt Mondanile. Totally rad!

https://soundcloud.com/new-images/eg...network-leo-in

Some of the people involved in Emeralds are now apparently making very heavy music with a member of Puffy Areolas.

Really? That sounds ace, love both bands.

Got this yesterday, it´s really great! Adam is singing like an ancient God of Greece!

Here´s great new video from the album:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXcBd45mF8c

...so far...
1. The Dead C - Armed Courage
2. Dean Blunt - The Redeemer/Stone Island
3. MBV - MBV
4. Kanye West - Yeezus
5. Dirty Beaches - Drifters/Love is the Devil
6. Iceage - You're Nothing
7. The Knife - Shaking the Habitual
8. His Electro Blue Voice - Ruthless Sperm
9. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Push the Sky Away
10. Autechre - Exai

Shout outs to The Flaming Lips, Arca (https://soundcloud.com/arca-2/uenqifjr3yua) and ASAP Rocky/Ferg for putting out great shit too.

I don't know how I completely missed this!! I've been getting sloppy with upcoming releases and over the summer I was completely absorbed with all the great new hip-hop..

I didn't even know Chino from deftones put out yet another side project (so that's Team Sleep, Crosses, and now Palms) that came out in June.. Also, I think Chino fits the Isis sound a bit better than their previous singer, even though that dude could growl like no other..

Palms Self/Titled and its fucking great!!! I missed a a great fucking show not too far from my pad though :(

So between Koi No Yokan, Crosses II EP, and now Palms, I got essentially three new deftones related records in the past year. blissed out!!!

let's play this funky gamings.

1. my bloody valentine - mbv
2. autechre - exai
3. the dead c - armed courage
4. keiji haino, jim o'rourke & oren ambarchi - now while it's still warm...
5. body/head - coming apart
6. mainliner - revelation space
7. factory floor - s/t
8. huerco s - colonial patterns
9. daniel menche - marriage of metals
10. main - ablation

will inevitably change at some point tonight.

Yeezus
Long.Live.A$AP
MBV
You're Nothing
Random Access Memories

HOW THE FUCK IS THIS LISTENABLE? yeezus I can overlook because kanye being an egomaniacal cunt is somewhat alluring, irrespective of how shit I may perceive his music to be, but jesus christ, daft punk are the biggest hacks in the history of the music industry. I don't think I've ever been so angered by a musician (or indeed an artist of any kind, save perhaps that interminable bitch marina abramovic) as when they stated that their being absurdly rich did not mean that they were allowed to be comfortable. if their idea of 'challenging' themselves and exploring the boundaries of music's post-millennial fringe is by dredging up fucking disco and soft rock, done with far greater zest and vitality some 30 years beforehand, then where the fuck have you been for the last decade? music is not stagnant in any way; in fact, I would believe our current state to be among the most fertile in history, to which this thread can undeniably attest. so for these arseholes to have the temerity to not only feel the right to look down upon modern musicians whilst making primitivist disco but also to charge themselves with the responsibility of 'rescuing' it makes me want to stomp on some throats.

fucking frog bastards.