Monday, December 31, 2012

Best of 2012 Part 6

Making good progress now, on we go!

#6
Marbert Rocel
Small Hours


Another hidden gem of the past year is this tidy little release from German trio Marbert Rocel. This is a side project of sorts for all three members, and it almost feels like a bit of an artistic release with its light, carefree tone and soothing moodiness. Experimental cabaret might be an accurate description. The production is very clean, almost minimal in parts but there is a subtlety to its depth that can sneak by unnoticed.

Vocalist Antje Seifarth's voice is soft and seductive, melding beautifully with the jazz pianos and acoustic guitars amidst recurring saxophone themes. It's jazzy, quaint, reserved yet ambitious. It could well be the year's most under-appreciated effort.

Whether The Night


Small Hours


Song For You


#5
Zammuto
Zammuto


The self-titled debut solo album of Nick Zammuto will take you by surprise if you are unfamiliar with his previous works with The Books. Even then, while there are certainly similarities between the two, the new material has a distinctly more effervescent feel to it. Piled on top of the little glitchy percussion samples are thick layers of synth organs, effected guitars, and a heavily processed vocals that give a strange, oblique feel to otherwise whimsical lyrics. While vocoders aren't always a good choice, Zammuto achieves a very particular sound with them that just seems to work seamlessly.

Featured among the tracks are a couple that had been previously released on the "Idiom Wind" EP, including an absolute monstrosity of a song that is probably my favorite track released all year. I don't really have any idea what "F U C-3PO" is supposed to be about, though just like the rest of the album the lyrics are captivating not just in content but in construction. It's a bit crazy, in a good way, and illustrates once again that the medium is indeed the message. Just what that message is I can't say, but I'm more than happy to listen to it over, and over, and over.

F U C-3PO


The Shape Of Things To Come


Idiom Wind


#4
Fiona Apple
The Idler Wheel


For whatever reason, excessively long song and/or album titles really grind my gears. Maybe it was because it made labeling needlessly difficult, but I just don't see the point in trying to make a statement within a title. If one must do so, do it succinctly. Nobody is ever going to call this album anything other than "The Idler Wheel", so why put a short essay on the cover? Thankfully Miss Apple had the decency to abstain from repeating the process with the song titles, which could have annoyed me to the point of disregarding the album completely. Well, probably not, but still. I digress...

Fiona has always been among the more talented singer songwriters around, and her emotional intensity is at its fever pitch on this album, her first in seven years. It's not the type of record you can throw on halfheartedly and enjoy on the first sitting, it requires a certain level of commitment to absorb all of its intention, and even then I must admit there are elements here that feel too uniquely feminine in their experience for me to properly appreciate. It's teeth-gnashing gut-check stuff in the form of musical theater, and it's utterly spellbinding at times. This is arguably her finest work, and certainly her most refined. Worthy of all the plaudits and one of the year's most memorable albums.

Every Single Night


Valentine


Daredevil


EP #2
The Prize Fighter Inferno
Half Measures


While I am a fan of Claudio Sanchez, I have not, to date, been big on his side project, The Prize Fighter Inferno. This new EP, however, is far more accessible than anything else to come out under the moniker. The electronic backdrop remains, but the guitars are predominantly acoustic this time and the song writing more cohesive. Sanchez' writing style is unique and easily recognizable, though the melancholic themes that have imbued his work thus far remain, they take on a much more upbeat tone this time around. 

Elm Street Loverboy


Half Measures


Simple Fix


Next up, the grand finale!

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