#18
Boards Of Canada
Tomorrow's Harvest
Easily one of the most anticipated albums of the year, at least from fans of ambient and experimental psychedelia, the acclaimed Scottish duo returned with their first studio LP since 2005. For most if not all, it was worth the wait. This is a fantastic album, indeed arguably their best, and moving forwards it will be among the select few of this calendar year that will stand out as one of true exception. Frankly, looking at it now, I’ve probably placed it a little too low, but tough decisions had to be made so here it is.
Melancholy is probably the most appropriate descriptive term for this album as a whole, reflective another. These guys are renowned for the depth of their composition, and once again the sheer spectrum of sound that they work with is impressive. As usual it’s difficult to pinpoint individual tracks as this is best listened to in its entirety, but take a gander at the selections below anyway and it will give you a rough idea of where this album is going.
Reach For The Dead
White Cyclosa
Sick Times
#17
Kvelertak
Meir
I have to give credit to Anthony Fantano (of Needle Drop fame) for this one. I hadn’t heard of these guys before but I saw his review and thought I should give them a listen, and I’m glad I did. Their sound is... well... picture a group of Vikings, striding across the hills of Norway, guitars in hand and spitting fervent fury from their fingers with an axe in their teeth. Yup, that’s pretty much it.
If there is a detraction for me, it’s the characteristic screamo vocals that dominate the verses. The choruses are actually quite melodic, and I just wish they’d add a little more variety to the rest, but then it’s done in a tasteful way, and not just random indecipherable screeching that tends to ruin so many other black metal acts. The instrumentals are what make this sound, though, and they are awesome. With another singing style you could easily picture this record exploding in popularity, but maybe we should just enjoy this for what it is – Viking metal!
Kvelertak
Månelyst
Evig Vandrar
#16
Ian Pooley
What I Do
His name doesn’t sound German, but this genius producer is from Frankfurt, one of the world’s most influential cities in the evolution of modern electronic music. Essentially a tech house specialist, Pooley continues largely in that vein but does find room to branch out a little with some funky synth-pop beats that just melt beautifully into the script.
Vocals are scattered sparsely but effectively, with only a couple tracks truly driven by the words. The mood is mostly playful, funky and soulful, with Pooley’s signature percussion rhythms smoothing out the edges. This is the best pure house album of the year, and in a year dominated by pulsing electronic experimentalism, this one proves that the basics can still get the job done when they’re done right.
CompuRhythm
1983
Swing Mode
EP #6
Louis La Roche
Composure
UK based Brett Ewels is a French house master, and his bouncy style continues on this groovy five-track release, but this time with a bit more 80s disco feel to it, not unlike the sounds of Grum or Mylo. He plays around with tempo a bit, opting for a slightly slower, groovier sound, and even throws in a dubstep-type track for good measure. This isn’t an earth shaker, or one that critics will be fawning over, it’s just a nice 20 minute escape to fantasy funk, and that’s good enough for me.
Dance With Me Tonight
Let Go
Looking Up
Part 3 cominatcha tomorroooow!
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