Natalie Rose LaBrecht - Warraw (2007)

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"Psychomancy. My limbs are numb. Bits of knowledge
appear before me as iridescent creatures glowing
in a translucency - a translucent sea. Psychomancy. Air that
we breathe. Bubbles float down. Surreal sounds." ~ Natalie LeBrecht's Warraw: Track 1

Karl

Oneohtrix Point Never - Returnal (2010)

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For fans of: Emeralds, The Knife, Yellow Swans

Synths bounce near and far, up and down, left and right. The songs "Returnal" and "Peryouandi" add some creepy vocals that remind me of the best of The Knife. Oneohtrix Point Never have definitely created a sound of their own, and it's electronic synth drone/noise at its best. It's like traveling at the speed of light in a futuristic flashing light filled spaceship through the universe while gazing at the stars and planets whiz by. While maybe not something that will be easy to connect to and enjoy quite like a good pop album, it can provide a journey like no other, where what you know to be true is thrown into question. - Matthew Foster

Angelite & Huun-Huur-Tu - Fly, Fly My Sadness (1996)

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Tuvan Throat Singing is the most obscure genre I’ve ever came across. From some forgotten Balkan state come choir Huun-Huur-Tu and Bulgarian folkers Angelite whose culture-clash between the former’s melancholic drones and the latter’s experimental folk art intertwine and provide an interesting and at first challenging listening experience but soon becomes quite beautiful after repeated listens. The ideal behind this rare find is to capture emotion through complex vocal drones yet simultaneously layer this with overtones of ringing choral harmonies to evoke solemnity and ethereality as you lose yourself in these magical meandering vocal compositions. This album is highly recommended for the adventurous listener or someone wanting to hear something that they’ve most probably never heard the likes of before.

Karl

Sam Amidon - I See the Sign (2010)

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For fans of: Jack Rose, Vashti Bunyan, Sufjan Stevens

The first thing to hit me with this one was the off-kilter guitar playing. It's very avant-garde and beautiful in it's uniqueness. There's a male and female voice here, and both sound great with the music. Unfortunately, the songs near the end aren't quite as good as those near the start, but those near the start are fantastic. Also, some of the lyrics are a bit repetitive, but these are small qualms that only make it a 4/5 instead of a 4.5/5. Highly recommended. - Matthew Foster

Koss - Ancient Rain (2010)

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For fans of: Gas, Markus Guentner, Yagya

An ambient album you can dance to.  Like the  ambient artists of Kompakt,  Koss likes to add a tempo to his soundscapes.  It is most definitely  first and foremost an ambient album, and a very good one at that, but  the tempo keeps it from sounding like a Brian  Eno knockoff.  Rather than getting lost in a wash of hisses and  waves, here there is more of a sense of being grounded.  While that may  sound like it loses some of the beauty of ambient music, I don't think  it does; the rhythm just allows the music to be more active if you want  it to be.  The beats here are not too large or obtrusive and blend  nicely into the sound.  Certainly one of my favorite ambient albums of  the year, and I'm surprised at how little attention it's received. - Matthew Foster

Brendan Perry - Ark (2010)

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For fans of: Cocteau Twins, Scott Walker, Bel Canto

It's been more than 10 years since Brendan Perry's last album, and even longer since one from Dead Can Dance, but as Scott Walker's proved, it's better to wait and create a fully fleshed out album, then to rush through it and release something that's lacking in some way.  The former seems to be just what Perry's done here.  Several of the songs themselves are not really new, but were written throughout the last decade, some of which were created for Dead Can Dance's 2005 tour.  His singing is as ethereal as ever, and the instrumentation behind it really soars.  It's very orchestral with beautiful melodies that build with power as the tracks progress.  The album was created fully by Perry in isolation, which can explain why it sounds so "pure" or "full" to me.  I think this is close to as great as anything he or Lisa Gerrard have produced. - Matthew Foster

Balaclavas - Roman Holiday (2010)

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For fans of: Liars, Pere Ubu, Thee Oh Sees

Rhythmically complex and heavy, this is some noisy post-punk that reminds me of Pere Ubu. At many points I think the singing sounds a lot like that of Thee Oh Sees. There's also a saxophone thrown into the mix on "Night Worship." There are clearly some diverse styles being mixed here, but it all comes together very nicely and doesn't feel disjointed at all. I could name a bunch of great bands that come to mind when listening to this (Liars, Morphine, Wire), but Balaclavas don't really sound quite like any of them. Their unique mix of attractive sounds is a fantastic addition to 2010 that I will definitely enjoy hearing again. - Matthew Foster

Killing Joke - Night Time (1985)

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For fans of: Public Image Limited, The Cure, Mission of Burma

This is sooo good. This band really knows how to make a song soar. They can build up some energy with their quick riffing and rolling drums, and then redirect that energy like a person on fire running around looking for something to extinguish themselves with. All the while, the intensity of the flames keeps increasing until the person eventually finds the fire extinguisher after much searching and the song ends. Then another song starts! There's a real sense of urgency here that keeps me hooked. I also loved their self titled debut album, and while this one is a lot more poppy and accessible, it hasn't really lost any of the former's darkness or abstractness. This album is a great synthesis of moody anguish with ecstasy. This kind of Gothic dance is my favorite, exactly what I look for and love in music. - Matthew Foster

Sam Cooke - Live at the Harlem Square Club (1963)

Summertime is upon us which means (at least for myself) that sweating in the sunshine with no plans on the calendar for weeks has become routine. Listening to soul music is a remedy often employed to relieve these blues, but this album does much more. The energy of Sam Cooke's vocals holds strong throughout the entirety of the set and the gushingly-romantic lyrics combine to make twisting away in the living room unavoidable whether it be with or without your baby. The momentum that Cooke manages to maintain with the crowd throughout the entire show makes this an album that can be played straight through without a single dull lapse. So if you're a fan of greats like Al Green, Bill Withers, and the lot, or if listening to drone and dubstep isn't helping you get down this Summer, this album is for you.

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Konono N°1 - Assume Crash Position (2010)

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For fans of: Boredoms, Fela Kuti, Black Dice

A fast and non-stop percussion explosion! Though at the same time, it's very soothing in a way. Like good techno music, it'll make you dance and feel very "elevated." It also sounds a lot like the funky afro-jazz of Fela Kuti at times. I could just imagine standing in a circle of people stepping forward, back, and forward again while slapping our thighs and having the time of our lives. There are even some nice ethereal sounds to be found here, making it a relatively diverse album. With the popularity of extreme percussion artists like Boredoms and Dan Deacon, this album has a perfect place to sit in today's music. - Matthew Foster

City Center - City Center (2009)

Here's a great little album from last year that seemed to fly under the radar for the most part. Fans of Caribou, Grouper, Memory Tapes and other such bands should enjoy this a lot, although it's probably more chilled out than those artists. It's got a really cool dreamy ambient vibe to it but the melodies are all there, and occasionally it breaks from that drowsy swoopy feel and descends into some lovely noise and shoegaze movements. If you're into chillwave at all, get this.

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Hash Jar Tempo - Well Oiled (1997)

Hash Jar Tempo - Well Oiled (1997)

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Hash Jar Tempo is an experimental collaborative effort between psycho-delic quintet Bardo Pond and strings expert Roy Montgomery who produce hallucinogenic post-rock music and Well Oiled is their somewhat acclaimed drug-fueled improvisation sessions. These jams are driven by the extroverted and expansive sonic capabilities of a finely-tuned guitar (as curated by Roy Montgomery in his solo works) and glaze and weave in circles until the listener is lost and baffled in this revolution of strummed sounds, so much so that the music almost acts as a drug itself in terms of sitting perplexed and rapt in this labyrinth of foreign notes and noises. Well Oiled is collection of entrancing recordings that will leave you inspired and bemused.

Karl

Actress - Splazsh (2010)

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For fans of: Basic Channel, Autechre, Ricardo Villalobos

Wowzzers! This is the very tip of what I could imagine of music in 2010. I like that microhouse is the top genre on RYM, these beats are filled. I've always thought of microhouse as music that uses the space between beats to inject melodies, samples, or mini-beats to create what could be thought of as frames between each beat. Akufen and Moritz von Oswald Trio come to mind. Actress seems to be doing that do a certain extent, but what makes me love this album so much is the way the beats seem to bounce off each other and build, like each beat is trying to one up the last. I could be way off in trying to describe these sweet sounds, but that's an attempt. Like Scuba's Triangulation, this is really proving to me that electronic music has so much more to offer and has me on the edge of my seat to here the next. - Matthew Foster

Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - In C (2001)

Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - In C (2001) Download

Acid Mothers Temple’s In C is not what I’d call a cover or version per se of Terry Riley’s infamous original. Rather it is more of a tribute. Here, AMT has captured the essence of Riley’s work in one of their most tumultuous and raucous noise assaults yet. In homage to Riley, each of the compositions on In C open with repetitive and dense pulsations and melodies before a wall of hypnotic, whirling psychedelia hits and takes helm of the track. Be advised, this is not for the faint hearted but is rather for those looking to endure three invigorating injections of noisy euphoric mindfucking jams of great Japanese rock music.

Karl