EVP's 100 Favorites of 2009: #20 - #1

#20
Julie Doiron - I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day
(Jagjaguwar)
"While Doiron has dabbled in layered psychedelia, largely in part to her days as bassist for Eric's Trip, she plunges head-in during the highest moments I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day. The likes of "Blue," "Spill Yer Lungs," and "Je Le Savais" bring a bit of a tie-dyed edge to Doiron's grounded-in-reality stories, providing an invigorating soundtrack to what could otherwise just be interpreted as half-thoughts scribbled in a journal." [FULL REVIEW]





#19
Mark McGuire - Solo Guitar Volume Two
(Vin Du Select Qualitite)
Each side of the LP is a different glimpse into the creation process of McGuire. Side A falls in line with more traditional ragas and airs, finding McGuire delving into little to no effect in pursuit of guitar playing in its purest form. The three songs, “At First Sight,” “Vitamins,” and “Second Thoughts,” are bare—only McGuire’s energetic strumming. Some may be surprised at how poppy and full the sound is but the steely ringing of flesh striking string is a welcomed reprieve from McGuire’s indulgent loops and effect. Side B begins to delve into McGuire’s electronics, yet the results remain true to Side A’s stripped approach.



#18
Richard Swift - The Atlantic Ocean
(Secretly Canadian)

"...Swift choose to put his kraut, electronic, garage, and pop chops into one potent batter. With the help of vintage analog tape machine purchased from Jeff Tweedy and the use of Wilco's Chicago-based Loft, Swift has now defied our expectations once more by NOT doing something different but rather expounding on his past releases." [FULL REVIEW]






#17
Bosque Brown - Baby
(Burnt Toast)
"Images of lifeless highways, fruitful ditches, lazy horses, and piercing mountains play up the notion of Miller as the road weary veteran of hard livin' and harder choices. Nothing backs up these projections quite like "Went Walking." It speaks of a life lived always on foot, whether it be the walk with family, with a wedding party, with throngs of cityfolk or with oneself. The scenario is repeated through "Whiskey Flats" and "This Town." Miller captures her view and gives it to us, letting us see the world through her eyes." [FULL REVIEW]




#16
Kellen Shipley - Deep Breaths
(Roll Over Rover)

“Old Birds, New Nest” could do no more to cement the overtones of Kellen Shipley (Bats in the Belfry)’s solo debut. Rich drones mirroring the echo of submarine sonar blend with the raw sounds of Dave McPeters’ organ and bird chirps. The atmosphere is one of morning fog, blanketing the damp earth after a night of unrest as if to signify a new beginning—for Shipley and for the listener.





#15
Andrew W.K. - 55 Cadillac
(Ecstatic Peace)
The idea of nothing but instrumental piano bolstering an Andrew W.K. creation seems nothing short of laughable--that is until you hear 55 Cadillac. It's boundless simplicity and reliance on W.K.'s grounded talent breeds an album equal amounts of party (albeit chamberesque) and beauty. For all his attempts at branching out, 55 Cadillac is the album that will forever cement Andrew W.K. as a true avant artist rather than an arty joke.






#14
Steve Gunn - Boerum Palace
(Three Lobed)

The idea that Gunn, known for his blistering work in GHQ, would create an album that has more in common with Southern blues and backporch improv will leave many fans searching for their bearings. The fact of the matter is Boerum Palace finds Gunn flexing his guitar muscle without the roided up riffs that have been Gunn's calling card.






#13
Loren Connors & Jim O'Rourke - Two Nice Catholic Boys
(Family Vineyard)

"Two Nice Catholic Boys finds O'Rourke and Connors riffing on electric guitars. Much of the album's 47 minutes juxtapose biting bends and feedback walls with hushed strums and quiet reflection. Each track plays on the soft/loud aesthetic ever-present in popular music--of course in this setting, it's not in the usual chorus/verse/chorus format we've grown so accustomed to through years of radio pollution." [FULL REVIEW]





#12
Rameses III - I Could Not Love You More
(Type)

"This is a work of tenderness, and the faint hints of sweeping guitar notes and mellow atmospherics that sound like warm summer breezes and cool fall rain lend themselves to fits of vivid daydreaming; visions of carefree flight from a bustling world that demands every ounce of your attention and effort to navigate." [FULL REVIEW]






#11
Bardo Pond - Peri
(Three Lobed)

"Bolstered by the sexy snarl of Isobel Sollenberger’s vocals and the Gibbons brothers’ dual psychedelia, Peri combines the stoner malaise Bardo Pond has long used as a calling card with lengthy bouts with fuzz to create an album more akin to the best days of Jefferson Airplane rather than the stack of carbon copy modern psych acts lining hole-in-the-wall establishments." [FULL REVIEW]





#10
Matrix Metals - Flamingo Breeze
(Not Not Fun)

Unlike the smooth subtropical breezes of the current beach pop crop, Matrix Metals is a non-stop dance party complete with changes in tempo and mood at the flick of an unpredictable switch. Each song is an entity unto itself, with one groove abruptly being switched over to a completely different vibe. The result is a boom box of magical trips, each more potent and engaging than the last.






#9
Clint Mansell - Moon OST
(Black)

Mansell's compositions have long captured the anguish and isolation of film's loneliest characters. Throughout Moon, Mansell not only reclaims his rightful place as master of sad ceremonies, he ups the ante by basking in the dark surroundings of the industrialized satellite and the dubious future it houses. Outside of the film's confines, Moon's soundtrack is as weighty and affecting, making it a must for brooding beings.





#8
Ethan Rose - Oaks
(Baskaru/Holocene)

Ethan Rose is a rare breed: musician, artist, and intellectual. Yet Oaks, or any of Rose's works and installations for that matter, fail to come across as pretentious or high brow. Oaks is one electronic atmospheric high after the next. Why hasn't blown up the indie underground after his music was featured on Gus Van Sant's Paranoid Park is anyone's guess but we'll continue to cherish him as our little secret for a little while longer.





#7
Sean McCann & Dave McPeters - Rover Encyclopedia #1: "Fishing"
(Roll Over Rover)
Just short of 50 minutes, the three long-runners from McCann and McPeters blend synth and guitar into a foggy drone, a drowsy kin to Alan Sparhawk’s 2006 solo opus. With Sparhawk, it was boats creaking into harbor; with McCann and McPeters, it happens to revolve around the idea of fishing — the ripples of water caused by a perfectly thrown cast; the bubbles from mouthy trout and bass hoping to gulp a safe morsel of food; the gentle sway of an aluminum boat heavy with bait and ore.




#6
Silver Bullets - Free Radicals
(Stunned)

Blending Mediterranean melodies with psychedelic riffs, Free Radicals is another notch in the ever-expanding belt of global music eating our over-ripe and preserved waste, then regurgitating it as organic, unprocessed splendor. Silver Bullets exist on a plane where the talents of Group Doueh, Tom Zé, Richard Bishop, and Rick Tomlinson coalesce on a never-ending trip.






#5
Akron/Family - Set 'em Wild Set 'em Free
(Dead Oceans)

"Set 'em Wild Set 'em Free is not only a return to form in the studio, it may very well be the band's strongest recorded output to date. The range of the album is astonishing, pushing the now-trio further than they ever dared to travel--and imagining those scant few uncharted areas remaining untouched by Akron/Family is a daunting proposition providing a whole new adventure." [FULL REVIEW]





#4
Driphouse - Sewer Mist
(GEL)

Sewer Mist exists somewhere between space and time, the sort of anatomically incorrect sequence that would raise the ire of the Starship Enterprise. Ho’s blend of black hole ambience and hypnotic synth drone pulsates in the distance like a dying star. The formula rarely changes, yet the ability to continuously rethink the approach is what separates Driphouse from his many like-minded peers.






#3
To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie - Marlone
(Kranky)
Each track of Marlone develops as if a chapter, the song titles acting as primers of what is and what isn’t to come. Rather than trampling through noised-out big band jazz that often cleans up the messy crime dramas and twisted love affairs of irrational old Hollywood, McGee and Wilhelm tap into the seedy underbelly of noir. It’s a closet full of Don Draper’s dirty secrets, not the star-crossed hellos and goodbyes of Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund — though, you’ll find yourself murmuring ‘Play it again, Sam’ as To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie continuously break your heart.




#2
Emeralds - What Happened
(No Fun)
"Molding the 70s and 80s electronic sound in their own image, Emeralds have taken the dated space-age technology of synth and reconfigured the sound to match the dark pall that hangs over all of us as money is stretched thin and global crises grow by the thousands. However, What Happened is not the soundtrack to 1984 despite its futuristic tones. What the album is happens to be an oasis from the dirt devils and rising tides." [FULL REVIEW]





#1
Super Minerals - Clusters
(Stunned)
The beauty Super Minerals captures through two lengthy piano pieces leaves me at a loss for words — something I’m sure leaves a lot of friends and readers laughing. Clusters provides two anthems for those of you looking to bridge the gap between the precision of classical works and the boundless freedom of modern avant composition. “Oxygen Bombs” occupies the width of Side A. For much of its runtime, the track takes on a “Chariots of Fire” attitude: prideful, bombastic piano fills as much space as allowed by the low-end production, while fingers transform into the pitter-patter of feet racing to an uncertain goal. The track’s final three minutes transition the thrill of the race into the heated pants of tired runners clumsily looking to catch their breath, as syncopated bells and twisted strings replace the twinkle of ivory. The B-side is filled by the cassette’s namesake, which dazzles with raindrops of piano keys that often blend to mimic the tone of a harp. Around the 14-minute mark, the track begins to strip away the layers, first unveiling a whirling dervish of buzzes and bends. It never finishes its second thought before leaping into a lo-fi music box, melding together the first half with the middle interruption.

EVP's 100 Favorites of 2009: #40 - #21

#40
Infinity Window - Artificial Midnight
(Arbor)
"The album captures the bleakness of being alone in the still of the night; vulnerable to the elements and the whims of the starless evening. The 9-minute "Sheets of Face" is a ghastly spectre, sinking its doomed, monotone drone into your neck like vampire fangs as a distant funeral march is slowly dialed deep within a dense haze." [FULL REVIEW]





#39
Group Doueh - Treeg Salaam
(Sublime Frequencies)
"Treeg Salaam may represent a slice of life we are not privy to, but in the grander scheme it is a daring piece of anthropological evidence that the Western world, for all its preconceived evils, can be a provider of hope, inspiration, and celebration. Treeg Salaam is a bright, shining olive branch that we all dare to grasp in a show of friendship." [FULL REVIEW]





#38
The Gift Machine - Good Bye/Good Luck
(Knw-Yr-Own)
"There's just something about Good Bye/Good Luck that leaves you wanting more: the country cool of "(I Fell) Off the Map," the fuzzed nonsense of "Get Out in It," or the beat poetry pop of "In the Middle." Every song offers something different and exciting in what should otherwise be just another in a continuing line of machine-produced pop recordings." [FULL REVIEW]





#37
Sir Richard Bishop - The Freak of Araby
(Drag City)
"The Freak of Araby finds Bishop exploring his love of his now-signature solo sound with a full band of well versed musicians--and that's beyond their obvious affiliation with the Middle East by name. Switching between self-penned tunes and re-envisioned takes on traditional and not-so traditional Middle Eastern musicians, the addition of percussion and bass adds a new flavor to the often demure tunes of previous Sir Richard jaunts." [FULL REVIEW]




#36
Flower-Corsano Duo - The Four Aims
(VHF)
"Flower is careful to keep the metaphorical stream moving in one swift direction as Corsano provides the many forks in the riverbed, looking to take the water to destinations unseen. Look no further than the album opener, “I, Brute Force” to find the mission statement of the time-tested duo. With steely strings swiftly plucked while skins and cymbals are determinedly pounded, there is no better name than the one given." [FULL REVIEW]





#35
Bobb Bruno - Dreamt On
(Vosotros)
"Bruno’s latest EP happens to explore the poppy visions of his sizable canon and the results are jaw-dropping. Many of Bruno’s fans gravitated toward his sound because of its intensity (the fuzzed throwback and thundering bass of Blood Venus) and its sensitivity (the soothing drones of Black Pentagon). Dreamt On follows another path: one of sparking synthesizers, dreamy melodies, and raucous pop." [FULL REVIEW]





#34
Sonic Youth - The Eternal
(Matador)

In the same vein as their earlier-mentioned Matador brethren, Sonic Youth keep on truckin' with a formula as tried and true as Honest Abe. The Eternal lacked a powerful standout track but as a whole is far more cohesive and concentrated as Sonic Youth has been since the departure of Jim O'Rourke (not that O'Rourke was the reason for that perceived concentration).





#33
Ducktails - Acres of Shade
(Arbor)
Matt Mondanile incorporates synthesizer in his latest pastique, transforming his Beach Boy dream jams into the calling card of Southern California’s mysterious side. Side A (“White House with Green Shutters) is the stuff of Marshall Applewhite, as Mondanile hops aboard Comet Hale-Bopp for a transcendent ride into heaven and space. The B-side (“Surfs Up”) continues the galactic love, but keeps the locale Earth-bound, allowing us to gaze upon the night sky with a slow drone and twinkling shifts of knob and key that rolls like the moon-drawn tides.



#32
Julian Lynch - Garden is Adventure
(Buffalo Songs)

Lynch creates a pop hybrid that brings old and new weird to middle ground. Garden is Adventure, the third release in Lynch’s series with earlier offerings Born 2 Run and Birthday, expounds on the first two’s more warm offerings, though it leans more toward buddy Matt Mondanile’s palm tree serenades.





#31
Ducktails - Ducktails
(Not Not Fun)

The idea that a compilation of Ducktails vinyl and cassette goodies from '07 and '08 should count in '09 is a little cheap but it serves a great introduction to all those blog enthusiasts who were pushed Mondanile this year (usually in the guise of Real Estate) while helping early collectors to finally own some of those OOP tracks in a lustrous, remastered collection.





#30
Magik Markers - Balf Quarry
(Drag City)
"Elisa and Pete maintain their laissez-faire attitude throughout the album, from the swamp cool of album opener “Risperdal” and its candor talk of muscle car freedom straight through follow-up “Don’t Talk in Your Sleep,” which finds the idealized damsel of “Risperdal” left cold by her man’s two-timing. Even in chastising tone, Elisa keeps calm through the layers of threat." [FULL REVIEW]




#29
Mount Eerie - Wind's Poem
(P.W. Elverum & Sun)

"Elverum is quick to note that this album was a two year labor of love--the final product of listening to the forest of nighttime from the edge of his backyard. Clearly the gnarled trunks, scratchy bark, and trickling pine needles had something to say that only Elverum could interpret and regurgitate." [FULL REVIEW]





#28
Loren Connors - The Curse of Midnight Mary
(Family Vineyard)
"The story goes, if one is caught at the grave of Mary past midnight, they will die the very next day. It's a nightmarish tale borrowed from worldly folklore and spread across the great wide pastures of Americana to frighten heedless children and ambitious grave robbers but it did not deter a foolhardy Connors, who brought along his guitar and a tape recorder and wailed in the face of Midnight Mary, only to live to see another day." [FULL REVIEW]





#27
MV + EE - Barn Nova
(Ecstatic Peace)
"The groovy blues and catchy drum beat of “Get Right Church” feels like a new creation in the hands of Valentine and Elder. “Wandering Nomad” has all the crunch of “Down By the River” but filters it through a slow jam; the announcement that the party’s winding down but the good times are still to be had. “Fully Tanked” is a dusty back porch anthem thick with greasy slide and rustic folk leading us to rapture." [FULL REVIEW]





#26
Jim O'Rourke - The Visitor
(Drag City)
"Comparisons have flown left and right around The Visitor: many honing in on its similarities with the orchestral pop complexities of Eureka, many hearing the lighthearted plucks of Halfway to a Threeway. They are all right, as O’Rourke’s singular 40 minute construct is everything we’ve come to embrace about his previous pop albums all the while keeping with the tradition of pushing the envelope further." [FULL REVIEW]





#25
Noveller - Red Rainbows
(No Fun)
""Brilliant Colors," just as "Rainbows," draws heavily from the Honey Owens (Valet) playbook--forcing Charlie Manson's children and 60s Frisco kids to marry in front of a firing squad of shotguns. The distortion is brutal and raw, and though Lipstate's cunning riffs and bends are decipherable and enjoyable through the raucous, she clearly enjoys manipulating her knobs, pedals, and boxes to form flames eager to pop their embers onto unsuspecting bystanders." [FULL REVIEW]




#24
Tiny Vipers - Life on Earth
(Drag City)
"[I]t is not an album for casual listening nor will it fit any mood considering its winding prose and demure tones--but when you reach for it in those times of need, your heart will feel lifted just by its presence in your hands. Fortino's trembling, exposed voice, the forlorned clangs of E and D strings, and the empty spaces that are sparsely peppered with slowburns will instantly smack you across your pathetic face." [FULL REVIEW]





#23
Group Bombino - Guitars from Agadez Volume 2
(Sublime Frequencies)

Akin to the folk explosion that occurred during the '60s, Group Bombino are keeping their own folk traditions alive in the face of injustice—and though the plight of Agadez is far more sinister than the less than civilized clashes between flower power and '50s conservatism, it is an energy that any listener with the slightest amount of soul can relate to with each listen.





#22
Chris Zabriskie - The Dark Glow of the Mountains
(Self-Released)

"In a world where layer upon layer of music is iced on to create a genre of din, Zabriskie truly keeps his vision grounded to what one man can do and not only does it make him a fascinating figure to root for, it makes us more appreciative to how uncomplicated music can be great music." [FULL REVIEW]





#21
Peaking Lights - Imaginary Falcons
(Not Not Fun/Night People)
"Sparks fly in the form of warm fuzz and soft melodies when Aaron Coyes and Indra Dunis work through marital bliss. Existing in the open space between the parallel of primordial instinct and the delicate creation, Peaking Lights call on psychedelia’s most potent qualities as it floats through 7 mysterious tracks." [FULL REVIEW]

EVP's 100 Favorites of 2009: #60 - #41

#60
Black Eagle Child - Kite Excursions
(Blackest Rainbow)
Kite Excursions is dripping with buzzes, clicks, and steel to disturb [Michael Jantz's] once-mellowed din. Much of the CD-R sounds as if it were coming from an out-of-tune HAM radio — the distance dialogue beaming through opener “You and Me and a Dragonfly” just missing a ‘Niner’ or ’10-4’ — creating space between BEC’s melodious guitar playing and his descent into frayed electronic madness.





#59
Svarte Greiner - Kappa
(Type)
"Kappe, Skodvin's sophomore effort as Svarte Greiner, will tease and torture with every creak, gash, and stab. It's the soundtrack to your worst nightmares; the soundtrack Hollywood would dare not attach to its disposable horror flicks because the associations involved would dwarf the caricatures portrayed by masked boogeymen and villainous VHS tapes." [FULL REVIEW]





#58
The Dead Weather - Horehound
(Third Man)

Scoffing at Jack White from our dirty underground lairs seems easy but Horehound finds White--joined by sultry Alison Mosshart (of The Kills, who kick ass on their own time)--giving us the filthy, no frills rock he has often teases with The White Stripes and could never deliver with the pappy pop of Brendan Benson in The Raconteurs.





#57
I.U.D. - The Proper Sex
(The Social Registry)

"The Proper Sex is a study of music and sex in its most basic forms. It's pure attraction; the lure of one person to another. Those butterflies and tiger claws that come with adult sex. The Proper Sex's expands and contracts to fit those moments, tapping into the kink Liz and Sadie are happy to peddle without the props of video and circumstance." [FULL REVIEW]




#56
Mr. Gnome - Heave Yer Skeleton
(El Marko)
"Heave Yer Skeleton may subsist on a backbone of ball breaking fuzz slightly dampened by downtempo rockers but it was nothing but full throttle rock and roll this evening. The relentless, if repetitive "Cleveland Polka" kicked off the set informing the gathering crowd of what was to come. Just like natural entertainers and great lovers, Mr. Gnome slowed their roll down briefly with "Spain" before blowing up the stage and causing the crowd to violently orgasm." [LIVE REVIEW]




#55
Sundog Peacehouse - Brosound
(Digitalis)

Rather than capture the tough exterior of the Three Rivers area, Chris Mucci, Sal Farina, and Austin Redwood borrow their inspiration from the shimmering waters, blankets of snow, and warm woolen coats of Pittsburgh’s winter months.






#54
Joshua Emery Blatchley - Solo Guitar Volume One
(Vin Du Select Qualitite)

The idea behind Steve Lowenthal's Vin DU Select Qualitite is to display solo guitar prowess at its most bare, so the first contribution from the hands of Joshua Emery Blatchley display the simplistic idea to near perfection. There isn't much to say aside from fans of Robbie Basho, John Fahey, and Roy Harper will lap this up.





#53
Magik Markers - Shame Mask
(Arbitrary Signs)
Pete and Elisa have had a quiet year. Perhaps Pete's new union and Elisa's recent move have kept them at bay, but Shame Mask reminded fans and followers that when the Markers do it themselves, we're all guaranteed a surprise. The days of the jagged romanticism that found the band bashing, screaming, and clawing at every inch of machinery are gone but the mature band standing in is hardly containable.





#52
Noveller/Aidan Baker - Colorful Disturbances
(Divorce)
"Baker is bare bones; the sound of gear wheels, cogs, and grit that yields results after much hard work whereas Lipstate is an architect consciously building a piece of art that is both beautiful and practical. Colorful Disturbances not only displays the success that results when differing points of view come together in cohesion but how the world of processors and pedals have transformed the guitar landscape once more." [FULL REVIEW]





#51
Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs
(Matador)
In the face of fads, Yo La Tengo keeps trucking along always putting out high quality hybrids of pop, rock, and art. Popular Songs may not match the band's most inspired moments but those sentiments are the ploys of the lazy looking to dismiss Yo La Tengo for blog flavors of the year. But like a coiled snake hiding in the grass, should you turn your back on YLT, they will strike and you will be sucking the pop from bite marks with glee.





#50
Oneohtrix Point Never - Zones Without People
(Arbor)
"These new creations weren’t just looking to capture the grandiose feel of their 1970s influences but were also tapping into that 1950s fantasy of the future. Modern technology has allowed us to take those visions of our elder kin and breathe renewed life into them, which exactly why Oneohtrix Point Never’s Zones Without People is a rousing success." [FULL REVIEW]





#49
The Savage Young Taterbug/Ryan Garbles - "Teenagers from Afar" b/w "Seven Minutes in Heaven"
(Detrivore)
Taterbug produces a disenchanting psychedelic wave not far from the chants and trips of Pocahaunted. Side B belongs to Ryan Garbes (Raccoo-oo-oon), and it couldn’t be more humble. Much of the jam is swallowed by a looping effect that sounds like a busted Casio keyboard, but it’s the reprise in the midst of the kinetic chaos that is the true stunner.




#48
Emeralds - Emeralds
(Gneiss Things/Wagon)

"Hailed as the proper follow-up to last year’s Solar Bridge, Emeralds is less an album trying to build on past achievements and more a trek to spiritual well-being. Emeralds create a thunderstorm of guitar, synth, and effects that baptizes listeners with a summer deluge." [FULL REVIEW]





#47
Bugskull - Communication
(Digitalis)

Sean Byrne's return is everyone's gain. Nearly a decade past its initial due date, Communication is still an album no one dares to make. It's the sort of hodge podge crafting that is unrivaled no matter the scene or style. It's one of those rare albums that commands you to hear it to understand it.





#46
Expo '70 - Psychosis
(Peasant Magik)

"Psychosis, Justin Wright’s latest for Peasant Magik, has more scorched earth left behind in its path than William Tecumseh Sherman ever dreamed of producing. Each side of Psychosis is its own complete thought, only disturbed by slight changes in the personality of the track." [FULL REVIEW]





#45
Pink Priest - Cold Rock
(Kimberly Dawn)

Pink Priest delivers a thunderous smack of reality to your face throughout the four songs of Cold Rock. Each song is a prickly finger from the soil, reaching through the mud, dirt, and worms to grab you by your legs and drag you down to the darkness below.





#44
Sam Goldberg - Echoing Department
(Gneiss Things)

It seems talking about Sam Goldberg's wintery synth jams would grow tiring. That may be the case just a bit but sometimes its best to just shut up and listen....






#43
Social Junk - Born Into This
(Digitalis)
"Born Into It, for all its junkyard antics, is the man that collects recyclables from rubbish bins in the hopes of accruing enough to save a retirement nest egg. The more you sit and watch Born Into It grow under its ever increasing stash of reuse, the happier you’ll become and the easier you’ll breath." [FULL REVIEW]





#42
Fruit Bats - The Ruminant Band
(Sub Pop)
"Happily, The Ruminant Band isn't recycled nor challenging. Rather, it's eleven chugging pop tunes from pillar to post, one just as polished and polite as the next. Amidst all the giddy politeness and akimbo albino limbs lies a deeper truth: The Ruminant Band is as traditional a pop album as Fruit Bats have ever made." [FULL REVIEW]





#41
ES - Kesamaan Lapset
(Fonal)
"Sami Sänpäkkilä may have labored over Kesämaan Lapset for three years, yet it sounds natural and organic — as if it sprouted from the enriched fertilizer provided by Sami’s constant thoughts. The five tracks of Kesämaan Lapset twinkle like nightly stars (”Kesä ja hymyilevät huulet”); gently sway in calm ocean waters (”Kesämaan Lapset”); smell of pine and mud like the first heavy Spring rain (”Säteet sun sielusta”)" [FULL REVIEW]

EVP's 100 Favorites of 2009: #80 - #61

#80
KTL - IV
(Mego)
The album intertwines the short with the long, complimenting 3-5 minute spurts with near 20-minute oozes of mud. As one would expect, the shorter tracks get to the point immediately with blistering guitar wails, labotomized drones, and pulsating static. They draw no line between metal and noise, often combining the two into bastardized versions of one or the other--bastardized used as a high compliment due to the plethora of harsh metal and noise tracks inundating the scene. [FULL REVIEW]




#79
Sparkling Wide Pressure - Time Travel Melody
(Kimberly Dawn)

Baugh's great gift is hiding soothing melodies underneath jerky, pulsating, and unnerving movements of guitar and drone. Time Travel Melody, much as its title implies, bends and warps Baugh's creations into case studies on pacing and flow. [FULL REVIEW]





#78
Six Finger Satellite - Half Control
(Load)
The album hits fast and hard with the exception of "Artificial Light," "Bored Oracle," and the LP's title track--which are Half Control's standout tracks. While the peppered punches of "Live Legs" may leave the uninformed thinking Death from Above 1979, and "Thrown Out" is the sort of condensed explosion associated with The Stooges or Black Flag, it's the lengthy passages that find Six Finger Satellite as relevant and reared in eight years of quietness. [FULL REVIEW]




#77
Lars Horntveth - Kaleidoscopic
(Smalltown Supersound)
Hints of Jaga Jazzist, as well as Horntveth's 2004 pop-oriented solo work Pooka, invade Horntveth's swashbuckling composition, letting "Kaleidoscopic," swish and sway with the quietiest hush and the subdued clatters of percussion and cartoon music. The piece is versatile, fitting into any scenerio you wish to thrust upon it. [FULL REVIEW]





#76
Ducktails - Landscapes
(Olde English Spelling Bee)

After the success of Matt Mondanile's early cassettes and the influx of retrospectives from Not Not Fun and Release the Bats, Landscapes served as a palate cleanser, showing glimpses of the subtle changes in the Ducktails ethos. The beachy breeze of Mondanile's past releases remain but the tone--evident by the album's dark purple sky--is slowly changing.





#75
On Fillmore - Extended Vacation
(Dead Oceans)
Toss out your traditionalist ideas about drum and bass duos because neither instrument takes center stage for Kotche and Gray. Rather, Extended Vacation is a collection of whistles, chimes, found sounds, and field recordings that are gently propped by deep rhythmic strings and hushed snares and toms. The results find refuge in a niche all their own. [FULL REVIEW]






#74
WAND - Born Bad
(Mad Monk)

Buoyed by the album's title track, the first half of Born Bad rips through 15 minutes worth of music with reckless passion. It's the sound of a guitar and a whiskey bottle being passed around the porch, each contributor pulling a swig and telling their story as the chaser. [FULL REVIEW]





#73
C. Spencer Yeh & Paul Flaherty with Greg Kelley - New York Nuts and Boston Beans
(Important)
New York Nuts and Boston Beans is as maddening as it gets. Squalls of violin strings and saxophone burst from the silicone grooves of the duo's latest live incantations. During the breadth of 5 untitled tracks, Yeh & Flaherty dissect and destroy their instruments of choice, throwing in a bit of razzled gibberish from the lips and tongue of Yeh. [FULL REVIEW]




#72
Chll Pll - Aggressively Humble
(Porter)

Nelson’s brand of glitch pop collides with Hill’s beastly rhythms to create an album heavy in sound, rich in texture, and ignorant of polish. Aggressively Humble is rough around every edge, but music should never carry a gleaming sheen. Hill and Nelson roll around in the primordial muck of prehistoric rock and futuristic materials. [FULL REVIEW]




#71
Area C - The Planetarium Project
(Sedimental)

Erik Carlson, with the help of the likes of Mudboy, transformed his already translucent drones into the essence of spaced cool. Often, the idea of space is explored for its cold, isolated exterior but Carlson finds the warm, expanding interior over two lengthy discs. No speck of the unexplored frontier remains untouched by the album's end.




#70
Bad Drumlin Grass - Live at Timber Cove
(Milvia Son)
The latest blip on the Bad Drumlin Grass scene finds the mysterious group delving into darker tones. “The Expanding Universe” envelopes Side A with spacey, near operatic timbres. Gone is the jam, replaced by a man in an ominous cape and an organ played at the low scale. The track borders on minimal, with only the demure notes as clues to an actual tune. Side B’s “DMT Elf Blues” is even creepier, blending some of the band’s earliest drone tendencies into a slow-burning mind melt. [FULL REVIEW]



#69
Talbot Tagora - Lessons in the Woods or a City
(Hardly Art)
Where Talbot Tagora separate themselves from the pack of no-wave bands past, present, and future is in their exuberance. The trio's youthful energy and fear of conservatism drive every syncopated beat, every looped riff, and every drawn out chord. These were once the sounds of Siltbreeze collectors and bargain bin divers in search of the great outlandish 70s post-punk album. [FULL REVIEW]




#68
Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle
(Drag City)

Sometimes, while not quite stripped bare, is a bit more understated and calm. It's the album to join Callahan with your favorite bourbon and the day's newspaper (though in this technological age, that ancient device is replaced by iTunes and The Huffington Post). [FULL REVIEW]




#67
Pete Fosco - Autumn Fire Blues
(Digitalis)

Much like the populace of cold metropolises in the grip of Old Man Winter, Fosco takes a bit to warm up and get going. The A-side is dominated with ether, as Fosco works to shake off the blustery winds and cold fog of his imagined fall. The B-side doesn’t stoke a fire to thaw out the frozen visages of Autumn Fire Blues, but it does begin to breed smoke within the embers.




#66
Le Loup - Family
(Hardly Art)

"Forgive Me," with an African tribal beat running throughout is all well and good until I realized--to my horror--that this was all very much akin to the Thompson Twins/Howard Jones post-new wave, Genesis inspired pap of the early to mid '80s. Suffice to say, the blandness is what attracts me. I quite like it. [FULL REVIEW]



#65
Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse - Dark Night of the Soul
(Self-Released)

Once thought an album more about its controversy and ancillary participants rather than its actual content, the movie poster imagery and David Lynch creepiness permeate Dark Night of the Soul's recesses to produce an album that exceeds hype while remaining true to the aesthetic of its marquee creators.





#64
Matta Llama - The Witch Channel
(Black Dirt)

Matta Llama were an enigma when their self-titled LP dropped a few years ago but its homely psych-rock pastiche would never be enough to prepare followers for The Witch Channel. The band has gone dark, exploring the recesses of the Black Velvet Fuckere territory with a brooding, monstrous album that appears out of nowhere and disappears just as quickly.





#63
Mist - Certain Expansion
(Pizza Night/Wagon)

Mist happens to be the creation of Sam Goldberg and the forgotten Emeralds member, John Elliott. Thanks to Certain Expansion and a recently released self-titled LP, it's safe to assume fans of the Cleveland 'hypnagog' scene will gladly dump such a pretentious title while hinging on Elliott and Goldberg's every drony whim.





#62
Tyondai Braxton - Central Market
(Warp)

Central Market had album of the year qualities--in fact, the first half's inventiveness and carefree pop may serve as a road map for future explorers ready to delve into pop at its most infantile. Braxton is allowed to showcase an ear for melody and substance throughout Central Market, hopefully teasing more solo goodness and perhaps a shift in the Battles dynamic.





#61
Long Legged Woman - Nobody Knows This is Nowhere
(Pollen Season)

Rather than rely on a host of psychedelic-based tricks to ramp up the volume, LLW crank up the fuzz and the classic rock licks. These are boys who, despite existing in the land of R.E.M. and Elephant 6, create a brand of distorted rock bliss that would have everyone from Skynyrd to Crazy Horse smiling ear to ear. [FULL REVIEW]

EVP's 100 Favorites of 2009: #100 - #81

#100
Art Brut - Art Brut vs. Satan
(Downtown)
What Frank Black does bring to Art Brut vs. Satan is a bit of his old edge. Much of the album consists of the post-punk wallop of Art Brut’s debut, Bang Bang Rock & Roll, though why Frank Black was needed for this to happen has yet to be determined. Clearly the band had this in them—the formula of cheeky lyrics and fast rock melodies isn’t new to Art Brut—so the real reason behind Frank Black producing is name value and buzz. It is what Art Brut does best. [FULL REVIEW]



#99
Oneida - Rated O
(Jagjaguwar)
The Lee Perry/Gang Gang Dance/M.I.A. mash-up of “Brownout in Lagos” sets the table for the shift in direction that Rated O catalogues, especially in comparison to Preteen Weaponry. As the first disc moves along, elements of the classic psychedelia familiar to longtime Oneida fans — the repetitive acid riff of “10:30 at the Oasis” or the Comets on Fire rock take-off “Story of O” — begin to weave their way into the mix. However, the first disc is dominated by dance rhythms, often influenced by a combination of reggaeton, noise, and drone. It’s an interesting mix from a band once so beholden to the ideals of a bygone era.


#98
Meercaz - Meercaz
(Gulcher)
Rarely are we given the chance to scoop out the raw power that was 60s and 70s garage and punk without it being filtered through a retro sieve or force fed to us in a beer funnel. Meercaz's self-titled debut is punk, hard rock, and faint noise pulsating with the frenzy and unpredictability that punk pioneers clung to near three decades prior. [FULL REVIEW]





#97
Eyal Maoz & Asaf Sirkis - Elementary Dialogues
(Ayler)
As jazz grew and transformed out of Chicago speakeasies and Mississippi Delta juke joints, it found a larger audience ready for the challenge of gyrating brass and nimble fingers. It’s from this grand tradition that guitarist Eyal Maoz and drummer Asaf Sirkis mold Elementary Dialogues—an album rich in tradition and yet no regard for it.





#96
Phosphorescent - To Willie
(Dead Oceans)
Consider To Willie as not only tribute, but a chance for Houck to proclaim his love of the music he grew up hearing in department stores, dank basements, and car stereos. To Willie also finds Houck revisiting some of the territory his first breakout, Aw Come Aw Wry, mined. Houck doesn’t reinvent Willie’s vision so much as filter it through his own musical vision. [FULL REVIEW]





#95
Lightning Dust - Infinite Light
(Jagjaguwar)

Black Mountain side projects may seem a dime a dozen but isn't that ten cents always worth more than the zinc-copper-aluminum it's printed upon? Lightning Dust's Jagjaguwar debut didn't wow like Black Mountain or tease like Pink Mountaintops but it delivered a shot of demur rock and roll for the indie set. There's something to be said about enjoyment.




#94
Blackout Beach - Skin of Evil
(Soft Abuse)
Mercer's concept is loose but in the best sense. Rather than try to cram ten tracks about an obtuse subject, we're given ten short stories in the realm of Edgar Lee Masters or Sherwood Anderson. Skin of Evil is literature for music lovers, and though it will never reach the heights of the best short story/one book novelists, it does allow Mercer to shed his Frog Eyes and Swan Lake duds for the musical abstract. [FULL REVIEW]




#93
Black Dice - REPO
(Paw Tracks)
It may very well be the band's most mellow output, but don't confuse mellow for boring or quiet. Imagine the world as Super Mario Bros. A land of 8-bit pixelation and little more than the objective of fighting off simplistic creatures with one singular goal: saving a princess. Think long and hard about its immortalized soundtrack. Now imagine that world inverted--you as Bowser, looking to warp, con, and steal your way to your desires. You'll destroy this cartoon world and this puny plumber by any means necessary. [FULL REVIEW]



#92
Super Minerals - The Gooh
(Housecraft)
The Gooh mimics the two-long runners of Clusters, but gone are the atmospheric pianos pieces, replaced with two distinctly differing interpretations of drone. Side A dons a hat similar to Pete Nolan’s Spectre Folk dalliances, combining goosebump-inducing puffs of midnight wind with foggy, distant moans and ghostly plucks of string. Side B is a bit lighter —leaning heavily on production and sound akin to Roy Montgomery’s Temple IV — before being swallowed once more by the darkness of the unknown.




#91
Lights - Rites
(Drag City)
While there will be plenty of stones thrown at the pop-rock throwback and how it mines the same stripped hills as David Vandervelde or Richard Swift, the threesome deliver their visage in the guise of disco-tinted tales of love and sex. The songs never trail into the dance-dominated genre--though "Fire Night" comes dangerously close--but the lyrics get the same points across. [FULL REVIEW]




#90
Hexlove - Pija Z Bogiem
(Dreamsheep)
Nelson dives head first into the loony bin, collecting every bit of dumpster scrap to fashion his music visions. There are times where it will find you rubbing your forehead in anguish, but more often than not Nelson’s ritualistic recordings will create involuntary loss of motor skills in the most delightful and organic way. [FULL REVIEW]





#89
Akira Sakata & Chikamorachi - Friendly Pants
(Family Vineyard)
For the few moments of unrestrained bombasity, there are far more focused movements to discover. "That Day of Rain" is a bebop delight, keeping the pace quick but the melody mellow. It's James Dean or Steve McQueen—always unflappable while the shitstorm rains down around them. "Un" is 12 minutes of cigarette smoke and cheap bourbon in a 1950s Greenwich. Sakata pays tribute to Kind of Blue with drawn out notes and a slow roll.




#88
Talibam! - Boogie in the Breeze Blocks
(ESP-Disk)
For those who fear modern jazz and it’s often extravagances of run-on thoughts and large-lunged torchbearers, the stick and move strategy of Talibam! will be the sort of rabbit punch you’ll gladly absorb. Boogie in the Breeze Blocks is one thought moving into another without a breath, yet each is clearly defined and never weighed down by philosophical ennui or the uptight professorial tone that has led to too many 15-minute solos without a purpose. [FULL REVIEW]



#87
Green Blossoms - Whiskey Leaves
(Digitalis)
Whiskey Leaves is the perfect blend of summer’s warmth and fall’s cool touches, which mimics the balance inherent in its traditional Japanese strokes and adventurous Westerner pop. This highly functional blending is the product of Aiko Koga and Anthony Guerra, whose work is a welcome deviation from the wear and tear of daily life. [FULL REVIEW]





#86
Tickley Feather - Hors D'oeuvres
(Paw Tracks)
Annie Sachs is a lo-fi firecracker, containing powders that--when lit--combine to produce metallic smells and magnificent colors. Hors D'oeuvres served as a true coming out party for Sachs, yielding to her oddball whims with a carefree attitude lacking from her debut. Hopefully this devil-may-care attitude continues to progress.



#85
Exercise - Field of Dreams
(Arbor)

The battlefield is littered with drone, ambient, and electronic releases from the underground that pays tribute to the synth in ways no 80s musician could dare reach. Exercise's cassette, Field of Dreams, may be one more plastic reel-to-reel covered in blown flesh and dried blood but upon its chest, medals of honor and rank make it glow amidst the mud and black of smoke.





#84
Black Motor - Vaarat Vastukset
(Dreamsheep)
These vividly stark wails of brass and jangling tears of percussion, however, don't begin to size up the Finland trio's walk through the remains of 'old' jazz and the skeletal frames of 'new' jazz. Vaarat Vastukset is a mirror to the eras of Western jazz stylings. [FULL REVIEW]






#83
Locrian - Drenched Lands
(At War With False Noise/Small Doses)
Opener "Obsolete Elegy in Effluvia and Dross" is a darker, stranger interpretation of the lazy strums of Grizzly Bear's "Deep Sea Diver." But don't mistake Locrian and the recent indie phenomenon as kindred spirits, for "Obsolete" slowly morphs into a thick, synthesizer-heavy piece before abruptly calling it quits, as if to keep you from getting comfortable. [FULL REVIEW]





#82
Goliath Bird Eater - Blood Generation
(Caligulan)
After a recent trip to warped pop and dark drone, Bruno returns to the lengthy shreds that made Goliath Bird Eater’s Blood Venus such a charred masterpiece of underground rock. “Tatsumaki” engulfs Side A with a slow stoner rhythm not unlike Dylan Carlson.







#81
51717 - Sch
(GEL)

Sch is just a mystery in synth, as is the solitary femme fatale that hides behind the 51717 moniker. The East/West hybrid at work on the scratchy, but not irritating Sch keeps the mystery alive and no one likes a perfect ending to be spoiled.

A few of EVP Staff's Favorite Things

This year found EVP expanding its staff (giggles at the innuendo welcome), so in the spirit of not hogging the spotlight for next week's impending countdown of our favorite releases of 2009, we thought we'd give the stage to some of our staffers who would like to share a bit of their own personal reflections with our gracious audience.



J.P. Sutcliffe

1: Shit And Shine dvd filmed at Bloomsbury Bowling Alley.
2: ChartPimp - Part Chimp.
3: Happy Birthday - Hey Colossus.
4: Health Gig - Deaf Institute, Manchester 07/10/09 (I was so pissed it was sommat and nowt).
It's beena Anus Horriblis ...I cant even think of anything that has moved me.......
5: The Rabbit Song - Shit And Shine.
6: Portishead - 3rd.
... Shame on you music world... you cant even produce momentous moments in abundance...



Carter Mullin

1. Sunn O))) – Monoliths and Dimensions (Southern Lord)
I never took Sunn O))) seriously, and I really don’t think you’re supposed to. But I did when hearing this. That first riff just immediately takes you into the gates of hell. Guitar strings as loose as spaghetti, vocals lower than the cookie monster himself, etc. But that’s not what made this album so great. It’s Sunn O)))’s attention to atmosphere and variety. Floorboards creaking, orchestral vocals, broken violins; it’s all over the place, yet it doesn’t become a mind-boggle to listen to. Now, it is repetitious compared to other albums, but if you compare this to another Sunn O))) album, this has a lot of musical variety. No other album of this year sounds like this or will give you the same listening experience as other albums, there’s just one thing you need to remember before listening; this is Sunn O))), know what you’re getting yourself into.

2. DOOM – Born Like This (Lex Records)
In relation to the album in the #1 slot, I never did take rap or hip-hop seriously. DOOM, however, completely turned my tastes around. The beats are amazing, just catchy as all hell. They aren’t just “boom-boom-tap” with a single keyboard note droning over it. DOOM’s whole aesthetic and lyrical abilities are just great. I was honestly expecting poor lyrics but no; you get rhymes that are completely nonsensical and don’t depend on the relevance of today’s media. His style is great too, focusing on the idea that he’s a supervillain out to destroy… rap, possibly? I don’t know.

3. Julianna Barwick – Florine (eMusic Selects)
Julianna Barwick has one of the most diverse styles in today’s generation of music; her music is a cappella, with the exception of the track “Anjos”. Though it may seem a bit gimmicky, Florine is full of beautiful harmonies, lush vocals, and it showcases ambience in its prime.

4. Mount Eerie – Wind’s Poem (P.W. Elverum and Sun)
With Phil Elverum, it’s no surprise that a concept album was to appear in his extensive discography, but I don’t think people were suspecting this. Never mind Sunn O))), Wind’s Poem is the darkest release of this year, hands down. Black metal, piano “ballads?”; this album goes in many different directions, yet still maintaining the same atmosphere.

5. Grooms – Rejoicer (Death By Audio)
In the same case as Girls’ debut album Album (though I’m not comparing their sounds), the idea or aesthetic of the music may not be completely original, but Grooms most certainly added their own hints of originality onto their nostalgic, noisy 90’s alt-rock presentation. Their song structure is one thing to point out; there’s nearly no chorus in any of the songs. The sounds constantly change, which gives the album replay power. Am I saying the songs are forgettable? No. As a whole, the songs are hard to remember and require frequent listens. However, there are catchy parts that occur throughout that will have you humming. A truly underrated 2009 release indeed.

6. Calories – Adventuring (Smalltown America)
Like Grooms, Calories are influenced by various bands from the 90’s as well, though they steer in a more straight-forward direction. Calories are very skilled with melody and technicality. Not so much technicality in instrumentation, but more in the way of how the songs progress. Adventuring is just a chaotic, 23-minute rollercoaster.

7. UUVVWWZ – UUVVWWZ (Saddle Creek)
After the breakup of We Versus The Shark, I was near certain that fans could never be graced by quirky post-punk anthems ever again. I was wrong. Dead wrong.

8. Derek Rogers/Rambutan – Street Secrets (Existential Cloth)
I’m floored. I recognized Rambutan from his Broken Infinity release on Stunned, but was curious as to who Derek Rogers was. Little did I know, he plays in al Qaeda. Surely enough, both artists gave equal elements of harsh and soft soundscapes that demanded to be played at maximum volume. Looks like Southern Lord’s motto applies to more than just their releases.

9. Holiday Shores – Columbus’d The Whim (twosyllable Records)
Though many bands have the new lo-fi sound, Columbus’d The Whim is much more sophisticated in comparison. With the ghostly reverb of Women, and the pop sensibilities of The Shins and Built To Spill, this is a highly underrated album that’s undeniably catchy to any listener.

10. Bygones – by- (Sargent House)
Zach Hill is not one to disappoint, and with his collaboration spree this year, I was worried. But when you bring Nick Reinhart from Tera Melos into the picture, you can only expect the best from Bygones. by-‘s complex rhythms and melodies are sure to get your foot tapping to those catchy 5/4 time signatures.



Joseph Hydoski

I like these ones, maybe you will too. Or you already do, or you hate them. Either way, subjectivity is complete bullshit, and these are the best albums from 2009. Its the last year of the decade, and that much further from the 60s. Time to man up and embrace the abrasive.



Wolf Eyes -- Always Wrong (Hospital)

Perfect beat heavy metal-destroying noise. Most assaulting musical brutality from Wolf Eyes yet. Get it on wax, scare the fuck out of your neighbor/roommate/grandmom.

Kane Pour -- Cat on a Paisley Shawl (Housecraft)

Tapes haven't been, and never will get, any prettier.

Animal Collective -- Merriweather Post Pavilion (Domino)

This carried me through the winter. Not their most interesting, but it did its job.

Fuck Buttons -- Tarot Sport (ATP/4AD)

Late in the year, yea, but fucking good. See them live if you can.

Sean McCann -- Frame of Mind (Stunned Records)

One of many gorgeous outings for Sean McCann. Probably his most involved and ecstatic tape to date, especially the b-side.

Xiphiidae -- Waning in Archaic Color Sequence (Vanishing Hour Revival)

Weird, euphoric. Best album sleeve of the year to boot.

The Savage Young Taterbug -- Boys of a Feather (Night People)

This dude has gotten plenty of attention, but will get more and more. Finally, someone doing something with lo-fi that isn't "drone", "punk", or "Indigenous Peoples rip-off with White-Man-twist."

Emeralds -- Emeralds (Wagon/Gneiss Things)

Straight beautiful. I'm glad they're changing their sound, because too many "drone" acts have started coming up sounding just like Emeralds circa-2006. Go team!

Mark McGuire -- Solo Acoustic Volume 2 (Vin du Selecte Qualite)

Incredibly emotional guitar work by 1/3 of Emeralds. Do yourself a favor and buy this--try not to listen to some bullshit computer audio-card rip. Whole new layers come out on the record player.

Mount Eerie -- Wind's Poem (P.W. Elverum & Sun)

Heavy as hell. Parts dragged a little for me, but the head-thrashers totally made up for the bores.

Monopoly Child Star Searchers -- Aqueducts of Channel Island (New Age Tapes)

Same old Spencer Clark, same old Casio SK-1, whole new bongo n' flute zones to dip in to. Skaters covers are half of the experience for me, and this one's really captured the music therein.

Black Eagle Child -- Seeds that Sprout in Summer (Stunned Records)

Stunned hasn't stopped pushing gems down my earholes yet. This and Sean McCann (if I remember right, they dropped in the same batch) made my summer that much more summery. Beautiful guitar work, quite transient.

Peaking Lights -- Imaginary Falcons (Night People)

I would say the NNF tape, but vinyl is better. And Night People is better. So buy it from Night People, and be whisked away to late-night plunky keyboard jams from a rural barn.

Dialing In -- The Islamic Bomb (Music Fellowship)

Incredibly, incredibly disturbing. Using field recordings of Middle Eastern religious hymns and some homemade vinyl loops, Dialing In makes long, droning, spiritually engaged gems, then bakes them in crackle and feedback.

Secret Abuse -- The Immeasurable Gift (Arbor)

Wow, Jeff Witscher. This wrenches my heart when I'm sad, and makes me scream the melodies when I'm happy. Guitar loops, feedback, and abrasive electronics. This dude could teach a lesson or two to just about every other guitar-noise act.

Ducktails -- Ducktails (Not Not Fun)

Just fun stuff. Yea, its a compilation, and yea, it sounds like Ariel Pink on Palm Beach, but its warm and nice. Not super engaging, but pretty good background sounds for doing just about anything outdoors.

D.A. -- Odeon (Olde English Spelling Bee)

I don't know why this hasn't gotten more love. Great analog synth work, and actually manages to transcend the cold, robotic voice of other synth acts. Reminds me of seeing the most beautiful woman in the world.

James Ferraro -- Star Digital Theatre: Movies for P.T. Cruisers (New Age Tapes)

Other Skater. Sweet, happy, doesn't need analysis. Another good one for zoning out.

Yellow Swans -- Mort Aux Vaches (Mort Aux Vaches)

Brutal. More power-electronic sounding than many other albums of the two. I wish they would just suck it up and keep spitting out jams (they're calling it quits, if you somehow hadn't heard.)

Husere Grav/Meditations -- Split (Anathema Sound)

This is what I want in tapes--heavy beats, metal guitars, and head-bopping jams. Buy it.

Ajilvsga -- Burnt Offering (Dial Square tapes)

My favorite Ajilvsga offering, hands down. People will disagree, but fuck 'em. This shit has melody and just the right amount of murk. Stoked for Ajilvsga's current metamorphosis in to Indian Weaponry.

Tricorn & Queue -- Perennial Language (Offices of Moore & Moore)

Jeff Astin and Kane Pour are my artists of the year. This, their duo form, is no exception. Just really great, pretty, contact-microphoned ambient lulls. Housecraft, Vanishing Hour Revival, Rotifer Cassettes--buy everything you can from any of these labels, as their releases will inevitably be influenced by Astin or Pour (or one of the two will be on the release). Just fucking great music, and a needed addition to the "DIY" scene.

REVIEWED: Slushy Guts

Slushy Guts
5 Songs Forgotten
(Self-Released)


Similar Sounds: Daniel Johnston, Spaceman 3, Jason Pierce
File Under: bedroom experimentalism, lo-fi, avant folk

by J.P. Sutcliffe



Well, I ain't gonna go too deep into a meaningful or convoluted review of a one man band dedicated to the furtherance of musical artistry via payment in pizza.

When I put this on the hi-fi I thought I heard some garbled Paul McCartney excursion into avant-garde artistry. Paul McCartney? Yes, that's what I thought I heard...but perhaps not. For a LP recorded on a mere tape recorder this is a worthy listen. I can hear Spaceman 3 here – the band must certainly be an influence… Then again… I always think any band, south of the Watford Gap, must be influenced by Blur.

“So, you’re gonna come and play up here, in the North?”

“I only seem to be paid in pizza”

Or so a tedious conversation legendarily went but I digress…

This is a brave statement of intent with evidence of self-belief (always a plus in my book). It’s a two-fingered attack upon the stuffed shirts of record buying commodity culture. But such are the spurious notions of the old music hack.

Lo-fi excellence; it sounds as though Steven’s mother was doing the hovering in the background. Slushy Guts obviously has something to impart. I haven’t heard anything worthy of the old CD player (from a D.I.Y perspective) for a long time. Steven, you’re not insane but I think a duet with Daniel Johnston is in the offing.