89.

The Wind-Up Bird
Whips
(Music Fellowship, 2003)

Whips contains, perhaps, the most palpable emotional current of any record on this list. The significance of this is that Whips is also among the most avant garde recordings on the list, registering at most points in its time span as instrumental/electronic drone. Joseph Grimm, the individual behind The Wind-Up Bird, is an experimental multi-instrumentalist; however, the violin is his main device, or weapon for destruction, as well as creation. In the company of other avant garde violinists like Karl Bauer of Axolotl or C. Spencer Yeh, Grimm’s compositions find a much more accessible space with a more compositional tone that often breaks into glorious melodies to temper the more abstract, mostly gorgeous soundscapes that surround everything he records. Whips is conceptual in feel and absolutely successful in its ability to transport you as a listener into a vulnerable headspace that must submit to the beauty and utter chaos of its narrative.

-Thistle