Paedantic Basterd

I too just assume that if I've heard it, so have they.

It's a credit to them, if you think about it.

RVCA

13. Have A Nice Life - Deathconsciousness (2008, Shoegaze/Drone/Lo Fi/Post Punk/Industrial)



"There is gloom, and doom, while things go boom..."

What initially intrigued me about this album was the cover: I'd seen it before, in an Art History class that I took as a general education requirement at my school. It's called The Death of Marat and it's a late-1700's oil painting from France. And this is when Have a Nice Life transitioned from "just another small-name band" to "a pair of bona-fide, kick-ass artists" for me. There's something awesome about a band that is culturally aware enough to draw other mediums of art into their own, while at the same time molding these influences to their own liking. And perhaps even more awesome is the apparent fact that the physical copy of this behemoth double album comes loaded with a 70-page booklet about an ancient Christian sect. This album truly is the real deal; loaded with content on all fronts.

But yeah, enough admiration of the artists, what about the actual art? I'm not a big fan of Post Punk, and for the most part, Shoegaze isn't really my scene. And yet, here is a beautiful merger of both genres with a bit of Drone and and Lo Fi thrown in that simply makes my hair stand on end every time the atmospheric "Worms" segways into the gnarled and dirty bassline that kicks off "Bloodhail". It's like... My Bloody Valentine meets Earth meets some dude with all kinds of ****ed up ideas in his head and a depressingly melancholy voice. Just take a look at the... err... colorful song titles: "Waiting for Black Metal Records to come in the Mail" and my personal favorite "Holy ****ing ****: 40,000" being two examples.

If I were pressed to gripe about Deathconsciousness, I would say that it suffers from "double CD album syndrome". At just over 85 minutes, it takes a person better than myself to sit down and appreciate the entire thing, all the way through, in one sitting. I suggest you consume it as two separate albums; you'll find the heavy-heartedness quickly permeating your being, and you might need to stop for a breather.

Blarobbarg

Wow. That sounds absolutely delicious. Never heard of the band before. Downloading immediately!

RVCA

12. Opeth - Watershed (2008, Progressive Metal/Death Metal)



"Sings like an angel, growls like the devil, and plays guitar like a madman."

Mikael Åkerfeldt, the driving force behind Opeth's 10-album discography, is a God among musicians. He is one of those rare death metal vocalists who not only has an instantly recognizable growl, but a saintly singing voice as well. With a damn-near spotless discography ranging from genre-defining death metal to the softer side of progressive rock, Akerfeldt and his cohorts released perhaps their most instantly enjoyable album, Watershed, back in 2008.

Incorporating prog metal guitar riffs with delicate acoustic sections is a staple of Opeth's sound, and something they've ostensibly developed into a science. Their new drummer, Axenrot, knows he can't replace Lopez's amazing talent and legacy, and he doesn't try to; he's tight and technical in his own manner, and it spices up the Opeth formula in a perfectly pleasing way. The other new recruit, Akesson, layers keyboard rhythms over acoustic guitars that complement each other seamlessly. Their formula has never been executed in a more tightly excellent fashion, and the epic "Hessian Peel" is perhaps the best example of this-- showcasing every element in one orgasmic package.

Other highlights: the funky keyboard rhythm in "The Lotus Eater", the female backup vocals in "Coil"

RVCA

11. Jim Croce - You Don't Mess Around With Jim (1972, Singer-Songwriter/Folk)



Jim's story is certainly a sad one; after releasing three amazing albums that spawned two chart-topping singles, he died in a plane crash on his way to a gig, leaving his wife and two-year old son behind. In retrospect, Jim's fate gives his work an almost ominous feel (see the lyrics below); very personal but never syrupy, wistful and introspective without being petulant, occasionally upbeat and silly, but tactfully so... just an absolutely excellent mixture of compositions that make this my favorite singer/songwriter album of the 70's.

RVCA

10. Earthless - Rhythms from a Cosmic Sky (2007, Psychedelic Rock/Stoner Rock)



If you're a fan of Hendrix, Cream, Zeppelin, or Sabbath, you'll probably love this. Noodly psychedelic cock-rock at its finest, and there's not much else to be said.

simonbrew

LOVE cap n jazz

Euronomus

Great list so far, hadn't listened to Cap'n Jazz or Have a Nice Life (even though this isn't the first time they've been recommended to me) after listening to your links went and immediately downloaded both. hope you get around to finishing this list soon.

RVCA

Thanks, it's good to have someone breathe life into this sinkhole

9. Venetian Snares - Rossz Csillag Alatt Született (2005, Breakbeat/Drum and Bass/Modern Classical)



“What if, for just one day, we could both be pigeons? Sometimes one moment in time can take on such an important significance that it becomes an endless world unto itself and everything outside of that moment, past and future spots in time, become the folklore of the world. What if we could both fly over the Királyi Palota and see it just as these pigeons do? A beautiful culture of dissimilar angles as donkey angels above the city. But even in the world of the infinite moment, we cannot choose the feather of our bird and so on. Furthermore as our world blossoms out of this romantic flood of euphoric possibility and fascination, for the other an inferior life of ****ting on everyone from the sky, awkward and ashamed, resigning themselves to be the wretched nuisance they are painted as by those they **** on.
Ultimately, as quickly as our world blooms, our world is discordant, and our pigeons are wounded, and as our world dies, we die, and we are extinct. If only we could kill ourselves over and over until we get it right.

So just as an entire genre of music can be born out of one sped up ten second breakbeat, a full symphony orchestra can come together in harmonic unison to create that perfect moment in time, thus every moment can give birth to an entirely new world, and every world can house the recognition, that orchestra may combine to bring forth a dissonant barrage of colossal sorrow, and so the moment disintegrates its world and that world suffocates the moment under its collapse.

These are love songs and grief songs.”

-Liner notes to Rossz Csillag Alatt Született.

How could a bottom-dwelling miser like myself pass up such a tantalizingly dreary bit of art? Answer: I couldn't. If you've ever desired to witness the result of bastardizing Aphex Twin's ridiculous breakbeats and some classical Hungarian folk instrumentation, with a healthy dose of dissonance and despair mixed in for good measure-- this is your best bet, I'd reckon.

Highlights: Öngyilkos vasárnap, or "Suicidal Sunday" - contains an eerie sample of Billy Holidae covering a Hungarian composition that was banned by the BBC in the 1940's, as being detrimental to wartime morale
"Hajnal", or "Dawn" - string samples lead into brass that resembles jazz, eventually building imto a frenzied crescendo replete with a breakbeat panic attack
"Hiszékeny", or "Credulous" - perhaps the most uplifting track (not that any of it is uplifting... so most-not-depressing track) that leads into...
"Kétsarkú mozgalom", or "Double Cornered Movement" - a lonesome violin amidst what can be described as the summation of Rossz' "dissonant barrage of colossal sorrow".

RVCA

8. Toe - Book About My Idle Plot on Vague Anxiety (2005, Math Rock/Post Rock)



A four-piece Japanese rock band taking their stab at what might be best described as the second wave of Mogwai-inspired-post-rocking, Toe are unlike the shoulders on which they stand in that their music tells a vivid story instead of conjuring a murky atmosphere. You can clearly detail the plucked, dueling guitar melodies as they weave in and out of sync with each other. And the drummer-- by god, the drummer. He's jazzy and energetic, but never far from grasp. He titters on the cusp of wankery but never seems to overindulge. And on those rare songs where he takes the backseat-- simple, melodic beauty (see "C" below). But that's why I had to immediately replay certain songs when I first listened to this album: you tend to focus on one aspect of the music and miss out on what the other band members are doing, and more importantly, how the overall song is unfolding.

Every time I've relistened to this album, it finds a new way to send chills down my spine. That's a good feeling.