:::Notable American Music:::

John Maus - We Must Become Pitiless Censors of Ourselves

(Ribbon Music, 2011)

Since my iPod broke, music listening has mostly be relegated to the internetz.  Thank you Altered Zones for upping this little bit of majesty:

John Maus: We Must Become The Pitiless Censors of Ourselves by alteredzones

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Apache Dropout - S/T

(Family Vineyard, 2011)

Some explosive, garage-burning bliss:



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Shabazz Palaces - Black Up

(Sub Pop, 2011)

Oh, and if you haven't already, believe the hype (or, "my bi-annual hip hop obsession"):

Shabazz Palaces Sampler by subpop

Alan Licht & Aki Onda - Everdays

Alan Licht & Aki Onda
Everydays
(05.2008, Family Vineyard)
File Under = albums by Alan Licht & Aki Onda titled Everydays

I did this last year as well I think. That is: tried to sneak in reviews of everything I’d left unremarked before the year-end listing came to a head. And in regards to Everydays particular, it has been a grave sin to keep it to myself. You can’t blame me totally, despite its title, Alan Licht and Akie Onda have created something that you don’t hear everyday – I don’t care who you are. Everydays isn’t the type of album you can pigeon hole. Only the broadest terms can be used to blanket the ideas of Everydays. So, using those tools, Everydays is first art, second music (this could probably be argued) and third experimental. After that you would probably have to follow this thing minute by minute to try and pin it down. Everydays is noise, drone, found sound, post rock, instrumental folk, jazz, electronic, avant-garde, doom, pfft – I don’t know. Everydays is everything, but it is also nothing like anything. Everydays is within itself an artistic statement of epic proportions. In fact, this is ridiculous because I just said that Everydays is “nothing like anything,” but it is probably most similar in my mind to The Kallikak Family’s May 23rd, 2007. Just so you are aware, I think that that Kallikak Family album is probably my favourite record, period. What the albums share is a narrative quality combined with an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach (though I wouldn’t be surprised of a kitchen sink was actually used in the recording) that is actually cohesive. As far as narrative goes, I really have no idea what Everdays is supposed to convey, but if you asked me to imagine a story to go along with the sounds it would no doubt be amazing. Well, how about if you asked someone who could actually write. I think a little bit of Faulkner mixed with Lewis Carol would be fitting. Alan Licht and Aki Onda have created a massively creative tour de force here that must be experienced from beginning to end. It is surely one of the most incredible records I have heard this year and one that I would recommend to anyone looking for something utterly unique, oddly poignant and perpetually confounding.

-Mr. Thistle

Sample from Everydays - "Tip Toe"