Deaf Center - Owl Splinters (2011, Type)

RIYL = Max Richter, Greg Haines, A Broken Consort

You get the sense that, when listening to Owl Splinters, the end really is nigh.  The ominousness of it all -- Deaf Center burrowing forever into a minor key.  What I can only imagine as being orchestrated in an ice-cold meat locker, the pieces presented on Owl Splinters inhabit the thick-aired space of time just before the death-scythe slides into your chest.  It's that piqued tension brooding in advance of imminent destruction.  Softly plinking pianos, like keys of ice, and madly swelling chamber strings -- and a heavy subwoofing anchor -- that's the course of this album.  Deaf Center have again, as appears to be their talent, created a beautiful, beautiful, black, sleet-rained horror.

Deaf Center - Owl Splinters by _type

Jefre Cantu-Ledesma - Love Is A Stream

Jefre Cantu-Ledesma
Love Is A Stream
(2010, Type)
RIYL = Tim Hecker, Belong, Fennesz

It feels like some time since I’ve listened to shoegazer droning this syrupy delicious. Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, of Tanaterel, The Alps, and the Roots Strata label, is set to eclipse the work he contributed to his bands and label with this, his second solo album, Love Is A Stream. The album suffocates with pure, noisy beauty. Cantu-Ledesma has conjured a deep, layered, grinding sound that burrows into the subconscious and lays hard against the pleasure centers of the brain, turning bristly edged drones into magnanimous plates of earth-shifting beauty. And with noise like this, it’s all about the undercurrent. Ledesma (Is that ok? Can I lop off the Cantu for brevities sake?) obviously has an aim here and its written in the title: love. Love or beauty or gorgeousness or whatever, that’s what sleeping at the bottom of these streams, snoring melodiously up into the babbling ether, kissing your ears. Listening to Love Is A Stream on headphones feels like dropping a knife into a thick, steaming pie – it’s sugary tasty as all get out. If you liked October Language, if you liked Endless Summer, if you liked Harmony in Ultraviolet then you will like Love Is A Stream. It’s in that company.

-Thistle

Stream Love Is A Stream on Soundcloud

Where I End & You Begin by Jefre Cantu-Ledesma

Geoff Mullen - Bongo Closet

Geoff Mullen
Bongo Closet
(2010, Type)
RIYL = Keith Fullerton Whitman, Belong, Dolphins Into the Future

Just and FYI, bongo closets don't of a necessity contain bongos. At least that doesn't seem to be a requirement on Geoff Mullen's latest. Though, admittedly, some of the closets represented here do (contain recognizable bongos). Mostly though, Mullen's closet music is of the sonorous sort - that space low in the sea where everything echoes deep and movement is slow but powerful. You can't simply swim through this stuff. Also, this underwaterness is outerspaceness. Alien waters as it were. Instead of barking dolphins and bellowing whales, we get scissoring lasers, zonk-out, underwater transportation systems and other, I don't know, alien stuff. It feels like it's been an eternity since Mullen's last full length release and Bongo Closet is a perfectly terrific return. And this one is on vinyl too. Really good murky drone type stuff. A little queezy uncomfortable, but in a darkly satisfying way.

-Thistle

Listen to the full album here.

Altar Eagle - Mechanical Gardens

Altar Eagle
Mechanical Gardens
(2010, Type)
RIYL = Broadcast, Peaking Lights, A Place To Bury Strangers

It’s amazing, sometimes, to see the breadth of influence a single band can have on everything that follows in its wake. My Bloody Valentine is undoubtedly among the most ubiquitous when it comes to their musical influence. It seems that any record with hazy, distorted, ethereal guitar noises demands an MBV name check, like the band is collecting royalties from its offspring. Still, others probably account for the perpetual MBV referencing as point of critical laziness. Whatever it may be, the band’s influence looms heavy and, as you’ve already guessed I’m sure, Altar Eagle’s Mechanical Gardens has no way of escaping this point of comparison. Fortunately, among the stale imitators, those who choose to wear the MBV tag like a dead carcass, as a marketing bullet point, there are those who use My Bloody Valentine as a jumping-off point, who manage, despite their nearly identical allegiance in terms of aesthetic values, to create a worthwhile space for themselves in a post-MBV world. As it turns out, when it is done correctly, the music My Bloody Valentine pioneered over twenty years ago is still as wonderfully vibrant and blissfully addictive as it’s ever been. On Mechanical Gardens, married duo Brad Rose (of The North Sea) & Eden Hemming-Rose have created an absorbing pool of noise-speckled pop built on drum machines, squabbling electronics and Kevin-Shield-esque guitar worship. Add to that the dreamy vocals of Eden (not to mention those contributed by Brad) and you have the complete package. It may not be the most original music to grace my ears this year, but that doesn’t mean it’s not one of the most enjoyable. A seriously top-notch album.

-Thistle

Black To Comm - Alphabet 1968

Black to Comm
Alphabet 1968
(2009, Type)
RIYL = Eluvium, Sean McCann, Mark Templeton

We live in an age where the construction of sustained, droning tones is no longer a difficulty. The market is flooded with pedals and laptop software and, well, I’m not really immersed in making drone music so I don’t have all the specifics, but suffice it to say, everyone and there mother seems to be making an experimental drone album (and half of them send them to the Forest Gospel inbox). Realizing this, I made the grave miscalculation of overlooking Black to Comm’s, AKA Marc Richter’s, Alphabet 1968. But that isn’t what this is at all – a drone record. Well partially. But really, Alphabet 1968 is much more than something so simple as a drone album - a subtle beat pulsing through the refrain. Alphabet 1968 is a hybrid of electronic and organic means settled in the most gorgeous and successful ways that I have perhaps ever heard. Sure, plenty of classical musicians or electronic musicians have melded the two worlds with exciting results, but never have they melted together so wonderfully as they do on this Black To Comm release. So, 1) it’s beautiful. And 2) It’s concise. Not too short, but (and this is the important part when dealing with experimental albums hinging on drone) not too long. You know how Prefuse 73 (or more recently Flying Lotus) meshes hip hop and electronica together at hyper speeds with terrific results? Black To Comm does the same here, just in a measured way that is more befitting of the “home listening” experience that these luxurious tones dabble in. Truly a marvelous record (and one, I suspect, many readers will already have listened to by now).

-Thistle

Yellow Swans - Going Places

Yellow Swans
Going Places
(2010, Type)
RIYL = Axolotl, Jan Jelinek, Tim Hecker

The final official Yellow Swans album is finally here. It took two whole years after Pete Swanson and Gabriel Mindel Saloman announced that they were going their separate ways for the thing to arrive. I don’t know why it took so long, but boy was it worth the wait. Going Places mines the same aural depths found in At All Ends and the CDrs and cassettes that surrounded that release; which is to say, Going Places is both transcendently gorgeous and muck-rakingly ugly. It’s a creative feat that the Yellow Swans seem to hold a patent on. While Going Places does share strong similarities to the band’s most recent work, there are subtleties on this record that stretch the Yellow Swans’ sound to heights they’ve never reached before. The muted pulse of rhythm on “Foiled,” the cantankerous electric bubbling in “Opt Out,” the cross faded bells on “Limited Space;” Going Places is the Yellow Swans pushing themselves just that much further to make arecord that is beyond satisfactory. This is absolutely the best thing they’ve ever done, I’m convinced of it. Perhaps these past two years have been used to ensure that that was the case. If so, it was well worth the effort. Lots of bands go out in flames, and rightfully so, but few manage the control and mastery of their sound that the Yellow Swans have exhibited here. The band has left us with their masterpiece. It’s as simple as that.

-Thistle

Hannu, City Center and Mountains

Hannu
Hintergarten
(2009, Kesh)
RIYL = Colleen, Deaf Center, Aaron Martin

Following closely on the heels of their digital EP released earlier this year, Hannu has recently unveiled their sophomore full length, Hintergarten. Following closely in line with their previous work, Hannu continues to traverse and master the magically broken world that is all their own. With a mix of über-lush chamber orchestrations combined with a glitch-laden hip hop undercurrent, Hintergarten creates a bizarrely satisfying headspace reminiscent of some of the weirder stuff coming out of European labels like Fonal. Hintergarten contains some of the most beautiful and thick music that you can nod your head to. Recommended.

Hannu on MySpace


City Center
S/T
(2009, Type)
RIYL = Animal Collective, High Places, Cloudland Canyon

The solo outlet of Saturday Looks Good To Me band member, Fred Thomas, City Center adds another fledgling project into the bubbling world of outsider pop. However, Thomas’s efforts here, though easily aligned with genre overlords Animal Collective, is actually pretty dang awesome. I’ve never actually listened to Thomas’s band, but City Center breathes some fresh, creative, poppy air into the Type label. Showing a penchant for glisteningly full electronics and reverby vocals ala Brian Wilson, City Center holds its own a deftly qualified operator in a market over crowded with AC imitators. There is definitely no way City Center is going to get out from under the shadow of Panda Bear and Avey Tare, but that doesn’t mean that Thomas's project here isn’t an incredibly enjoyable record in and of itself.

City Center on MySpace



Mountains
Choral
(2009, Thrill Jockey)
RIYL = Fennesz, James Blackshaw, Eluvium

The Mountains have quickly outgrown their small Apestaartje label, and it’s easy to understand why. The mountainous sound structures that the duo regularly produces are nothing short of pure gorgeousness. Moving slowly like an impending fault line, Choral continues the well trodden path that Mountains has been travelling since their self-titled debut, tracing only the most essential shifts in their sound in order to maintain a visceral pulse embedded in the wash of its predecessors. An absolutely immaculate record of master class ambience and tranquil acoustic guitar.

Mountains on MySpace

-Thistle

Koen Holtkamp - Field Rituals

Koen Holtkamp
Field Rituals
(10.2008, Type)
Verdict: Good for spacing out.

I rarely take baths. After the initial moments of relaxation settle in, I realize I'm just sitting in a pool of my own dirt. My first attempt at listening to Koen Holtkamp's debut took place in one of these rare bath taking moments. And to Koen's credit I was spaced out enough by the vibes of Field Rituals to make it through a good portion of the album before having to bail on my bath. Now that I've had several bathless listens to this gem, I think it's safe to say while Koen's not necessarily bringing anything new to the ambient-drone table he's defiantly holding his own in a genre's that's been pretty much exhausted by anyone who knows how to work a laptop. Field Rituals has a nice blissful dreamy quality that finds its self sharing time with tempo stretched guitars, ear panning bells, psyched-out synths, acoustic strums, and you guessed it, field recordings. The prime example of Koen's abilities to space out the listener without being overtly spacey is nestled between the 14 minutes of "Sky Flowers." The track opens with multi-delayed acoustics and bells sliding from speaker to speaker while a slowed down guitar chord ushers in a scene of wild children escaping their parent's grasp to run free with their playmates in a city park. The scene changes as the children are panned out and we are left with a wandering synthesizer and a new round of bouncing acoustics. One of my favorite tracks of the year fo sho. And while the whole album doesn't ride the same high that "Sky Flowers" produces, there are definitely no crap moments. If you've got a patient ear, I'm sure you'll be rewarded by this near hour long trip.

-Wooly Mammal

Koen Holtkamp on Myspace

Grouper - Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill

Grouper
Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill
(06.2008, Type)
Verdict = Dreamy and blissfully accessible

After last year’s maddeningly limited yet gloriously beautiful Cover the Windows and the Walls LP through the wonderful Root Strata imprint, Liz Harris’ Grouper project is back and this time around things are increasingly accessible in more ways than one. First off, as the second release this year from the rejuvenated Type label (he first being the incredible Float by Peter Broderick), you can rest at ease knowing that Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill (an amazing album title by the way) is by no means limited. In addition to a more standard, widely distributed release Grouper’s musical mysticisms are more approachable than they have ever been before. While her back catalog has always been shyly obfuscated by a heavy dose of Portland mist, Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill sees that selfsame mist receding into the background leaving Harris’ songs in the naked forefront. While the mist may be gone, the heavy, dreamy Grouper beauty that we have come to know, love and become lost in remains. Mostly just voice and guitar, Harris’ minimalistic approach still finds a way to fill every nook and cranny of the room, bleeding into every crevice like an unavoidable fog. Things stay pretty moody and gorgeous all the way through making Dragging a Dead Deer easy to digest. In fact, the album probably stands next to Stars of the Lid’s Tired Sounds as the next best thing to fall asleep to when restless. Completely disarming and gorgeous, Grouper created a haunting masterpiece that will resonate with you for days after you’ve listened to it…that is if you can go days without listening to it. Perfectly essential.

-Mr. Thistle

Grouper - Heavy Water / I'd Rather Be Sleeping

Peter Broderick - Float

Peter Broderick
Float
(05.2008, Type)
Verdict = classical minimalism perfected

Peter Broderick’s debut full length album, Float, operates like the spring thawing an immaculate morning frost. While classically composed albums from young upstarts seem to be popping up more and more nowadays (even a few on these pages), Broderick’s contribution to the burgeoning scene is unique. Broderick’s compositions still follow the same minimalist approach found across the board, but Broderick’s efforts always seem a little more divine. I have long guessed that depressing music is a lot easier to make than joyful, soulfully uplifting music, especially in concerns of classical music. Aside from the fact that just about all of the aforementioned parades of young, minimalist composers are soaking themselves in the somber, I have upon tinkering around on the piano always found it quite easy to fall into a simple minor key motif. Now I’m no classical pianist, but I did take a couple years of lessons in my elementary days and have always enjoyed tickling the ivories. This is where I feel Broderick is unique, where his minimalism plots him steadily in the minor key, Broderick always manages to pull his songs out of the dreary and into the divine. Broderick is also no stranger to composition in any method or with any instrument. Though Float is only preceded by ten inch piano solos, Broderick is a member of both Horse Feathers and Loch Lomond while also part of touring bands with Norfolk & Western, Laura Gibson and Efterklang. Broderick uses this experience to expand the instrumentation on the piano based Float, making it lush with instrumental gems. In the end Float is part of the growing number of albums that can been confidently deemed “the best albums of 2008” and even in that group, Float is among the best.

-Mr. Thistle

Peter Broderick on Myspace

The North Sea - Exquisite Idols

The North Sea
Exquisite Idols
(03.2007, Type)
Verdict = Perfectly Baked Free Folk

You have to expect that the first few months of any given year is going to be catch up time for any music missed the previous year. It seems that these early months have been particularly fruitful in this regard for me and The North Sea's Exquisite Idols is no exception. The most accessible album yet from free folk fixture Brad Rose is also his best. The songs are most often a convoluted mess of guitars buzzing, organs humming, bells tinkling and samples twittering and who knows what else doing any and everything, but this apparent confusion is always held together by some type supernatural glue that carries the happy chaos into some gorgeous territory. The album also contains a type of eastern twang that has become familiar in recordings from similar artists like Six Organs of Admittance or Sir Richard Bishop. Underneath the brush of soft noise, Rose's vocals emerge like an echo carried by the wind. Never fully connecting but always present, the heartfelt tone of the vocals feels hazy and dreamlike. The North Sea does a perfect job of varying between the more free free folk tracks and the more anchored songs creating a dynamic, full listening experience on Exquisite Idols. It's a year old now but just as vibrant and worthwhile as ever.

-Mr. Thistle

The North Sea on Myspace

Letters Letters - Self Titled

Letters Letters
Letters Letters
(10.2007, Type)
Verdict = Gritty, Sexy, Smart and Underappreciated

Quavering between grizzly, dance infected post-punk and sputtery, knob twiddling folk, the debut album from Letters Letters is dynamic, to say the least. The trio has somehow seamlessly integrated two apparently disparate sounds to create one that is wonderfully distinctive. To make a completely lazy, unfair comparison, Letters Letters really reminds me of some combination of Mahjongg with Gowns. There is the skittery electronics, strained male and female vocals and a wonderfully damaged drum machine. As a whole, there is just a generally liberal degree of experimentalism running throughout this stunning debut and yet it is still pop. It also contains a type of sexy vibe that is confirmed by some occasionally questionable lyrics. You won’t have to go too far beyond the first track to pick up on this. Even still, the tone of the record is simultaneously stark and menacing. To be honest, I keep listening looking for a catch – why haven’t I heard more praise of this thing? So spin after spin I search for the problem areas only to be further inundated by its druggy hooks. Letters Letters has flown much too far beneath the radar here and their self titled debut deserves to be blasted from the rooftops.

-Mr. Thistle

Letters Letters on Myspace