Albums
Through my teens and twenties, I spent a large portion of my income on music and consumed as much as I could. Sadly, I don't have much time to listen these days.
Here is a list of the albums I've taken the time to listen to thoroughly. These aren't reviews, just notes, and maybe a link to a clip.
I love 50s, 60s, and 70s jazz, but I struggle to find new jazz I can get into. I had high hopes for this album but ultimately didn’t like it much.
Still, Your Queen Is a Reptile has its moments. “My Queen is Anna Julia Cooper” is incredible. “My Queen is Nanny of the Maroons” is also good. But most of the songs don’t work for me. I couldn’t even get through “My Queen is Angela Davis”; it made me anxious.
I don’t like any vocals with jazz, and the ones on this record are particularly distracting.
The one thing that kills this record for me is the tuba. I didn’t realize how strongly I feel about tuba. There is just way too much tuba. A little tuba goes a long way. It’s like making a soup with nothing but bay leaves.
This record without vocals and tuba might be all right; as it is, I don’t expect to revisit it.
Brian Eno has been one of my favorite musicians for 30 years, so I’m shocked at how much I dislike this album. I’ve listened to it twice in the last week to ensure I didn’t miss anything on the first pass. It’s very dull, and I find the processed vocals seriously off-putting.
I can’t find much info on the record. 77 Million Paintings is a long-term generative visual project that is very interesting. I assume this album was part of the soundtrack, and it may have worked better in an installation context. I love the cover, but that’s it. I’ll never listen to it again. Listen Here
It’s been nearly 20 years since I’ve listened to The Sea and Cake. They were a massive part of my college soundtrack, but after spending a few years in Chicago in the early 2000s, I got really burned out on the Chicago post-rock sound and left them behind.
Any Day isn’t coming out until May, but they released the first single, and I love it. It’s less rocky than the bits I’ve heard of their last few records. The bass part reminds me so much of the Kings of Convenience. I’ve had it on rotation all week. It’s really good.
I’ve loved the last few Nils Frahm releases. Hungry for more, I’ve been going through his back catalog and collaborations. I listened to Tag Eins Tag Zwei for the first time while building some shelving in my garage. It didn’t grab me.
This a quiet album anchored by F.S. Blumm’s guitar work. His playing reminds me a lot of Doug McCombs, specifically the first Brokeback album. I loved that style when I first heard Tortoise, but grew tired of it by the mid-2000s. It sounds so Midwestern American to me it was surprising to hear it on a German album.
While I’m not in love with the guitar, I like F.S. Blumm’s other contributions. He adds a lot of texture with custom acoustic instruments and electronic treatments. It works beautifully with Frahm’s piano playing.
The guitar style was a turn-off at first. But, it pairs much better with electronics than standard post-rock drums and bass. After a few listens in a better environment than my garage, this album has started to grow on me. It’s not one of my favorite Niles Frahms albums, but it’s worth a listen.
I’m just going to say it, the band name, album name, and cover art on this record are all terrible. So bad I would have never given it a listen if Raster, one of my favorite labels, hadn’t released it.
Was it good? No. It sounds just as bad as it looks. Maybe worse. I barely made it through a single listen. Yuck.
FactMag: Errorsmith to release first album in 13 years, Superlative Fatigue
Wow. I didn’t like this at all. He certainly didn’t spend the last 13 years learning how to program drums.
There are some beautiful passages on this album. I really like the instrumental track “Another World” for instance. But, I’m just not a fan of the vocals. They are much too heavy in the mix, and the lyrics are just not very interesting. I couldn’t get through Summer Night (Bat Song).
Colleen is a very talented musician; I wish she would just focus on instrumental work.
I liked a song or two from Actress’s album R.I.P.. I made a point to see him at Moogfest 2016, and it was one of the most uninspired live shows I’ve ever seen. Dude looked like he’d rather be anywhere else.
AZD reminds me of that live show. It’s just not interesting. I was ready to turn it off when “DANCING IN THE SMOKE” came on. It’s another boilerplate IDM track anchored by a sample of someone saying “Dat Ass” triggered at the beginning of every bar. I made it 30 or 40 seconds in before I gave up. I think I’m over Actress.
Have you ever wondered “What if Jan Jelinek sold out and started making music for Banana Republic?” If so, have I got an album for you.
After reading about his new record out soon on Hyperdub I thought I’d give his back catalogue a listen. This record really didn’t do anything for me at all. Meandering.
Listened while cooking pasta alla norma with the first eggplant from my garden. I liked it quite a lot on first listen. Definately going to listen again.
The first album I’ve listened to on just Raster now that Raster and Noton have split. It’s a pretty laid back ambient album with some light rhythms and interesting, very organic, almost animal like sounds on top. I’ll probably listen again.
I listened to it twice.
It didn’t do anything for me.
