I have sung the praises of the John Talabot album fin several times on this site. But two years on It’s still a staple of my collection. If you like electronica with a slightly alternative bent then you owe it to yourself to get the album and hopefully you will get as much from it as I do.
Oro Y Sangre demonstrates this blend of alternative and mainstream with its inovative use of sampling mixed with the clean edges and mathematical beats of dance music.
Rumours by Fleetwood Mac is one of the few albums I would categorise as perfect. From beginning to end every track is fantastically written and performed and the production is second to none.
Dreams is currently my alarm wakeup call so quite literally is the first thing I hear every morning. It never gets old no matter how many times I hear it:
Ennio Morricone is one of my Favourite film composers. He manages to blend both classical with areas of the avant garde to create wonderful music that has had a massive impact on cinema and our lives Culturally.
This is a Live rendition of Gabriel’s Oboe from the film The Mission:
Future Islands create a working mans synthpop which seems developed from a strong gigging ethic.
What puts them above the crowd is Samual T. Herring whose voice has a range of tonality somewhere between soul and death metal. His enthusiasm and honesty are conveyed perfectly in live performance.
He may dance like a loon but it’s a loon who is totally wrapped up in the music and this live performance on Letterman is a perfect example of what they achieve when firing on all cylinders:
Bellowhead are an amazing Live band. They manage to create a real party atmosphere with their folk based jigs that make you want to dance. Their clever arrangements of traditional folk tunes with a lyrical history that adds a weight and gravitas is complimented perfectly by the music. This video doesn’t do them justice but it does introduce their music to you.
Both these tracks are from their first album Burlesque which is great from beginning to end. Listen to them below:
If you haven’t heard this song I don’t really know what you’ve been doing with your life. Soul music is pretty damn awesome and this is one of the finest examples of the genre.
For me its a perfect record and the build from the intro to the first chorus is simply sublime. Time to refresh your memory:
I really like the work of The Antlers so the announcement of their new album comes with great anticipation for me. The first track released shows a slight change to their sound with focus on brass instrumentation that apparently carries through the whole album. Mix that with the bitter sweet sound the antlers are known for and you’re on to a winner.
Palace is the Teaser Track and is well worth a listen:
When I first heard Crystal Castles I was amazed by their sound. Abrasive in almost every way with its harsh production and vocals mixed with raw synth sounds they created something fresh and exiting.
Ten years and three albums later and they are still developing this unique sound and make it all worth listening to. Magic Spells is one of their more relaxed tracks from the first album, a favourite of mine and can be heard below:
I’ve been listening to a fair bit of squarepusher over the past few weeks and his new project with Z-Machines seems a rather interesting one. Namely composing music for a completely robotic band. In this video we get to see some of the music generated from this work. If you like what you hear the full EP was released this week:
After hearing the Patterson Hood of The Drive-by Truckers state Vic Chesnutt as a major influcne when being interviewd on the WTF podcast, I felt like i had to go out and listen to him and was blown away by his fragile voice mixed with powerfull, articulate and well constructed lyrics.
Flirted With You All My Life focuses on his struggle with death and suicide which unfortunately ultimately consumed him. I don’t want to talk more about the track then to say you need to listen to it and more of his work: