I am really hoping this year ends with some strong releases, because compared to the last few years not much has really grabbed me this year yet. Last year I was pretty sure of my album of the year by February, I was that excited by Shallow. This year has been a bit 'meh', including releases from what are usually my favorite labels. Have I missed all the good stuff? I am starting to wonder if I'll be able to muster a year-end top 20.
I am really hoping this year ends with some strong releases, because compared to the last few years not much has really grabbed me this year yet. . . .
Really ?
This one is so seriously strong that it is bound to end up in my top 3.
- By all means, do check it out on Bandcamp and/or read about it here:
Most years, for instance, there are several 12k titles that are top 20 candidates, but the last few 12k releases have drifted apart from my tastes more than usual (not their fault of course). I love shuttle358 but am having a hard time getting into the recent shuttle358 release on 12k. Perpetual was a nice one in January.
One of my favorite artists, offthesky, has had a bunch of releases this year but is currently mining a dark ambient vein that is not quite my thing.
Alva Noto's Xerrox 3 was an important release and belongs on the list, but while Xerrox 2 blew me away (and still does), Xerrox 3 I just think is very good (though I should probably spend more time with it).
I am sure there is great jazz that I have not kept up with, and "world" music too, but in the ambient realm I can't think of a lot this year that has really made me sit up and take notice. There's stuff I've liked but not that much that has made me go "wow". In the last few years, Solstøv, Shallow, Faint, Spaces, Lektion III, Dysnomia, and some others have left me with a sense of utter magical glee and the desire to keep returning to them; this year I am having to check back to remember what was released.
Maybe I'm just too tired at the moment. There is a lot of work right now. And I might be a little burned out on big classical box set bargains of late.
A charity shop purchase for a band that I find now I have quite a lot of their albums. This happens to me with quite a few artists the extreme of which is John Martyn where I find I have almost most of his music he has recorded
1982 --- From the album cover, a shortened version
"About the age of 17) I made what was for me the single most important decision. I chose not to be guided simply by the example of other guitarists. While listening to a variety of music - Satie, Miles Davis,Rodrigo, Varese, music concrete - I found inspiration in the work of the players of other instruments. I wanted my guitar to sound like the organ of Mike Ratledge, the alto saxophone of Charlie Parker, or the double bass of Charles Mingus....
...among my abiding interests has been the possibility of making a guitar sound as unlike a guitar as possible"
An old Favourite album I'd almost forgotten. A drum machine and John Wetton's bass on one track and his guitars fill it out. Terrific!!
Oops! But Bowie and Eno worked together on the Berlin albums didn't they? I feel like Eno contributed a lot to those, Bowie just didn't share credit as well.
Comments
Craig
This year has been a really good one so far listening to this one
I'm in your Mind Fuzz by King Gizzard and the Lizard
Sounds a bit like Tame Impala before they hit the disco
LIL UGLY MANE - THREE SIDED TAPE VOLUME ONE
These are vinyl rips, from ubu, but for me the occasional vinyl static and pops goes really well with this music.
Craig