ts hi-fi#11
Jul.26.07 Filed in: music
It's been a while I know! So what has been rolling
around on my music players as of late? Turns out in
the nearly two months (!) since I have last written
one of these I have found all sorts of amazing music.
Because there is so much I will hi-light my favorite
recent albums as well as list a few others that have
made their way into my head as of late. (You could
always check out my twitter feed which I use to post
songs that I may be listening to that catch me at
that given moment as being a standout.)
Gonzalez - Solo Piano
Who would have known that a hip-hop producer could release such a compelling album of classical piano pieces? I actually heard this music before his other releases and I am happy that I did because I did not really like other things I have heard from him. From what I understand there is a close tie between him, Feist, and Peaches. Something about how they used to be room mates or something of the sort. This album is really pretty amazing through and through and although most of the pieces are fairly short running they still manage to pull you in. I hope that he continues to explore this side of his music in the future. (itunes link)
_______________________
Mice Parade - Self Titled
In the past I have never really enjoyed Music by Mice Parade all that much. I have tried and tried but nothing ever really clicked in my mind. With this release I have found an album full of songs that I keep coming back to and it has quickly become my go to album over the past couple of weeks. There is a typical indie rock feel to the album as a whole but just enough diversity with the guest appearances to keep it interesting. (artist link)
_______________________
Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
I fell for Ryan adams first album, heartbreaker, a couple years ago and since then have been searching for music from him that hit me in the same way but have yet to find that spark in his more recent albums. From time to time I have found newer songs by him that pulled me in but nothing ever really stuck with me the way his first album did. From what I read around the web, a lot of people feel the same way. My favorite releases from him since Heartbreaker would have to be when he got together with The Cardinals for a couple of albums and while they were not as intimate as his solo work I did find that the collaboration produced some great music. So on comes his newest solo effort, Easy Tiger. When I first put on this I listened to it all the way through and was somewhat disappointed. It felt over produced like a little to much effort had gone into its creation. It was not until giving it a second chance that I had realized that many of the songs felt immediately familiar and it slowly began to grow on me somehow. At any rate, worth checking out if you enjoy a bit of americana here and there. (itunes link)
_______________________
Susumu Yokota and Rothko - Waters Edge
Discovering this album helped fill my need for something calm and ambient these past few weeks. Four tracks of wonderful melodic ambience. I will defiantly be looking for this on vinyl sometime soon. Thats about all I can say about this at the moment, just really beautiful stuff and you should definitely check it out. (artist link)
_______________________
White Stripes - Icky Thump
I have had a back and forth thing going on with the White Stripes for as long as I can remember. Their first album drew me in when I first heard it back shortly after its release. I can't even remember how I discovered it in the first place but I do remember getting sucked in by the catchy hooks and rawness of the recording. I tried getting into their other albums but they never really hit me in the same way as their first until I heard the song Icky thump. I was at first skeptical that I actually liked what I was hearing but quickly found that I was really enjoying the whole album. It was really unexpected and throughout the release you will find it taking all sorts of twists and turns through sound and ideas. Really great stuff... (itunes link)
_______________________
The Tuss - Confederation Trough / Rushup Edge
And the last thing I will write about in detail here is this amazing pair of EP's by the mystery group The Tuss. From what I have read they could very well be yet another secret release by none other than Richard D. James aka. Aphex Twin which would make sense because of the obvious similarities between the style of the music and recent RDJ releases. I really dont know what to think about all the speculation, all I know is that I really love these EPS. Amazing and solid all the way through. If your a fan of aphex dont pass this one up! (not so informative artist link)
_______________________
There are other releases that I have been listening to as well as of late, and for the sake of saving some time I am going to list what else I have been listening to below, the links will either take you to iTunes or to the artists website...
Electrelane - No Shouts, No Calls \ indie rock girl band, great album that grew on me with time
Emilie Simon - Self Titled (french site) / great french artist with a rough electronic edge to somewhat calmer songwriting
Julie Doiron - Désormais / beautiful somber album
M. Ward - Duet for Guitars #2 / m.wards first album was re released recently and although it is not as developed as his later material it has quite a few gems hiding inside
Matthew Herbert - Score / al sorts of varying ideas and styles here, classical to electronic
Mr. Oizo - Analog Worms Attack / brilliant head nodding beats
Puzzleweasel - Exo-Grid / my idm fix as of late, almost like the child of autechre and richard devine...
Skeletons and The Kings of all Cities - Lucas / wild experimenting indie pop like album that takes you places you may not have been while listening to music, really solid album
Tibetan Buddhist - Tibetan And Bhutanese Instrumental And Folk Music / strangely hypnotic and great for relaxing to something not so polished and modern
Tigerbeat 6 - Lets Lazertag Sometime / party mix album from tigerbeat
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Isis EP / im not a huge fan of the band but this ep has gotten my attention
Xela - Tangled Wool / wonderful peaceful electronic with acoustic guitar. everything on type records is so good...
Gonzalez - Solo Piano
Who would have known that a hip-hop producer could release such a compelling album of classical piano pieces? I actually heard this music before his other releases and I am happy that I did because I did not really like other things I have heard from him. From what I understand there is a close tie between him, Feist, and Peaches. Something about how they used to be room mates or something of the sort. This album is really pretty amazing through and through and although most of the pieces are fairly short running they still manage to pull you in. I hope that he continues to explore this side of his music in the future. (itunes link)
_______________________
Mice Parade - Self Titled
In the past I have never really enjoyed Music by Mice Parade all that much. I have tried and tried but nothing ever really clicked in my mind. With this release I have found an album full of songs that I keep coming back to and it has quickly become my go to album over the past couple of weeks. There is a typical indie rock feel to the album as a whole but just enough diversity with the guest appearances to keep it interesting. (artist link)
_______________________
Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
I fell for Ryan adams first album, heartbreaker, a couple years ago and since then have been searching for music from him that hit me in the same way but have yet to find that spark in his more recent albums. From time to time I have found newer songs by him that pulled me in but nothing ever really stuck with me the way his first album did. From what I read around the web, a lot of people feel the same way. My favorite releases from him since Heartbreaker would have to be when he got together with The Cardinals for a couple of albums and while they were not as intimate as his solo work I did find that the collaboration produced some great music. So on comes his newest solo effort, Easy Tiger. When I first put on this I listened to it all the way through and was somewhat disappointed. It felt over produced like a little to much effort had gone into its creation. It was not until giving it a second chance that I had realized that many of the songs felt immediately familiar and it slowly began to grow on me somehow. At any rate, worth checking out if you enjoy a bit of americana here and there. (itunes link)
_______________________
Susumu Yokota and Rothko - Waters Edge
Discovering this album helped fill my need for something calm and ambient these past few weeks. Four tracks of wonderful melodic ambience. I will defiantly be looking for this on vinyl sometime soon. Thats about all I can say about this at the moment, just really beautiful stuff and you should definitely check it out. (artist link)
_______________________
White Stripes - Icky Thump
I have had a back and forth thing going on with the White Stripes for as long as I can remember. Their first album drew me in when I first heard it back shortly after its release. I can't even remember how I discovered it in the first place but I do remember getting sucked in by the catchy hooks and rawness of the recording. I tried getting into their other albums but they never really hit me in the same way as their first until I heard the song Icky thump. I was at first skeptical that I actually liked what I was hearing but quickly found that I was really enjoying the whole album. It was really unexpected and throughout the release you will find it taking all sorts of twists and turns through sound and ideas. Really great stuff... (itunes link)
_______________________
The Tuss - Confederation Trough / Rushup Edge
And the last thing I will write about in detail here is this amazing pair of EP's by the mystery group The Tuss. From what I have read they could very well be yet another secret release by none other than Richard D. James aka. Aphex Twin which would make sense because of the obvious similarities between the style of the music and recent RDJ releases. I really dont know what to think about all the speculation, all I know is that I really love these EPS. Amazing and solid all the way through. If your a fan of aphex dont pass this one up! (not so informative artist link)
_______________________
There are other releases that I have been listening to as well as of late, and for the sake of saving some time I am going to list what else I have been listening to below, the links will either take you to iTunes or to the artists website...
Electrelane - No Shouts, No Calls \ indie rock girl band, great album that grew on me with time
Emilie Simon - Self Titled (french site) / great french artist with a rough electronic edge to somewhat calmer songwriting
Julie Doiron - Désormais / beautiful somber album
M. Ward - Duet for Guitars #2 / m.wards first album was re released recently and although it is not as developed as his later material it has quite a few gems hiding inside
Matthew Herbert - Score / al sorts of varying ideas and styles here, classical to electronic
Mr. Oizo - Analog Worms Attack / brilliant head nodding beats
Puzzleweasel - Exo-Grid / my idm fix as of late, almost like the child of autechre and richard devine...
Skeletons and The Kings of all Cities - Lucas / wild experimenting indie pop like album that takes you places you may not have been while listening to music, really solid album
Tibetan Buddhist - Tibetan And Bhutanese Instrumental And Folk Music / strangely hypnotic and great for relaxing to something not so polished and modern
Tigerbeat 6 - Lets Lazertag Sometime / party mix album from tigerbeat
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Isis EP / im not a huge fan of the band but this ep has gotten my attention
Xela - Tangled Wool / wonderful peaceful electronic with acoustic guitar. everything on type records is so good...
|