As I have mentioned many times before, I somehow went a decade and a half without hearing Manchester Orchestra, despite hearing their name constantly. I decided to change this last year and instantly became a fan.
And just in time too, because shortly after that point, they released The Million Masks of God, a dazzling technicolor spectacular that is as catchy, aggressive, lush, heavy, and emotive as anything they’ve ever released.
Before the double-album pop masterpiece that was Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming brought them widespread acclaim, M83 was an obscure, mostly instrumental act that blurred the line between shoegaze, post rock, and electronica.
On paper, the transition from experimental instrumental band to Billboard Charting Pop Group seems like it would yield albums that sound like completely different bands. However, the group’s sense of composition gives Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts the same sort of emotional storytelling and cinematic soundscapes that made Hurry Up such a huge hit.
Since scoring the megahit “Loser” nearly thirty years ago, Beck Hansen has established himself as one of the most inventive—and inconsistent—musicians in the mainstream.
His prolific career has run the gamut from Technicolor hip hop to cartoon funk to sparse singer-songwriter ballads to trippy electronica to psychedelic ring leader to fuzzy alt-rock (he wrote all of the Sex Bob-Omb songs in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), grabbing elements from dub reggae, punk rock, jazz, and country music. The term “chameleon” is thrown around to a lot of artists, but Beck truly embodies that.
While he usually hits more than he misses, his extensive catalogue is not necessarily perfect. Identities are shed and revisited with varying success. But when he does it well, he really does it well.
For years, I’ve had a fascination with trip hop. I became a huge fan of Portishead when Third was released, and later got into acts like Emiliana Torrini, Telepopmusik, and Air when my wife and I started dating. I’ve been a fan of Gorillaz since the beginning of their career.
But somehow, I’ve ignored the rulers of genre, Massive Attack, and their most celebrated album Mezzanine. Of course, I’ve known how great this album is, but much in the same way that I know that I’m breathing: it’s happening all the time, but I don’t usually give it very much attention.
Recently, I decided to change that. And boy, am I glad I did.
Love ’em or hate ’em, there’s no denying that Radiohead is among the most celebrated outfits in musical history. Much of the talk of their work is centered around two of the five members—singer Thom Yorke and multi-instrumentalist and composer Johnny Greenwood.
However, there is a hidden gem in their shadows in Ed O’Brien. For years, he has been relegated to the background, getting even less attention than Phil Selway, often mentioned in conversations of the best drummers in the world, and even Colin Greenwood, whose bass lines are undeniably groovy.
But now, he has emerged with Earth, his first solo record. And it’s pretty quickly apparent that we need to be apologize for ignoring him all this time.
By the mid ’80s, mechanical, inhuman synthpop that Kraftwerk pioneered had gone from an avant-garde experiment to the main stream. Artists like the Human League, New Order, and even Madonna had already taken the same artificial instruments and turned them on pop music.
And so when Kraftwerk released Electric Cafe, it was in a world where electronic music wasn’t just made by robots anymore. The adjustment is a little difficult, but it’s more rewarding than not.
Read more at ayearofvinyl.com #kraftwerk #krautrock #electronica #avantgarde #synthpop #vinyl
From the moment For Emma, Forever Ago thrusted him into the public eye, Justin Vernon has been a glutton for collaboration. He’s spent the next decade rushing from the avant-garde Volcano Choir to the drugged up soft rock collective Gayngs to the blues rock Shouting Matches to multiple collaborations with Kanye West, James Blake, and many more.
And while previous Bon Iver releases have brought this genre hopping under the umbrella of his solo project, i,i (pronounced “I comma I”) fully captures that collaborative spirit.
Across their storied career, Mogwai have been no strangers to experimentation. Their sonic palette has stretched from cinematic post rock to Krautrock to heavy metal to indie rock.
But rarely do their experimentations last an entire record. But on 2014’s Rave Tapes, the Scottish post rock demigods decided to set aside their trademark bombast and spend an album practicing restraint.
Mogwai’s discography is a bit difficult to sort out. With an enormous catalog and the mythos to match, it can be difficult to get a handle on which records stand out from among the rest of their output.
But I’ve noticed two matters of consensus among the Mogwai fanbase. First, that Young Team is their best album. Second, that Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will is absolutely fantastic.
Sucker that I am for post rock, I’ve never given much time to Ireland’s God Is An Astronaut. I’ve heard the name plenty, and I had a couple of their albums on one of my work playlists, but I never paid close attention to it.
But when I saw that they released a new record, I made a note of it. I haven’t noticed many good post rock records this year, and I had a hunger.
And by God (who is an astronaut), this record satisfies that hunger.