The Sword - Warp Riders (320) (2010)

"But I don't want any more Heavy Metal!" SHUT YOUR GOD DAMN MOUTH! You're going to listen to it and like it.

This album is pretty awesome. The lyrics tell a classic sci-fi/fantasy inspired tale (which the cover reflects) about an archer on another world. Or something. It's less grounded story than 2001: A Space Odyssey, but not as "out there" as something like The Integral Trees.

In terms of sound the riffing is thick and stoner-metally (new adjective?), and the drumming and bass work are an excellent fit. Having never listened to the band before this album, it was a bit of a shock. Expectations being completely surpassed can do that.The only semi-negative thing I can mention is that the vocals put me off for about ten seconds. This random twitter update can give you an idea of the sound.

To be fair, the initial "This album is fucking awesome" feeling may still have a hold on me. But after three complete plays, there isn't a track that needs to be skipped. Seems to be the same story for Age of Winters, but that is a story for another post.

Everything from Texas is just a little bit better than everything else.

Why? - Alopecia (V0) (2008)

This is probably the closest I'll ever come to posting a hip-hop album. I don't even really know where to begin in describing this album. Calling it a blend of indie rock and hip-hop doesn't really seem to do it justice. Every song on this album still seems incredibly unique and original to me two years later, from the deservedly popular tracks These Few Presidents and Fatalist Palmistry to the incredibly catchy opener The Vowels Pt. 2 to the irresistible laziness of Good Friday. Every song on this album is good, and the main reason is Yoni Wolf's brilliant lyrical abilities. Describing the lyrics as abstract would be an understatement for the most part, and yet Wolf's witty one-liners (I sleep on my back because it's good for the spine...and coffin rehearsal), cheeky but honest self-reflection (If I'm not raw, I'm just a bit underdone) or his attempts at channeling love through his pen (I'm lucky to be under the same sky that held the exhale from your first breath) seem to flow naturally throughout the course of the album. It seems like every single song has a lyric or two (or three or four) that just make you stop. Even now, two years after it was released, I'm still marveling at them.

Don't think that this is simply a lyrical masterpiece. The music itself is near quality. Wolf definitely has one of the more unique voices I've ever heard, but I found myself instantly in love with it, whether he's rapping or singing. The hooks are very catchy without obviously standing out, which is a plus for me. The transitions between the more hip-hop orientated tracks and the indie-rock tracks are seamless.

Yours is a funeral I'd fly to from anywhere

Slowdive - Just For a Day (320) (1991)

Now that I'm finally getting over the loss of my wisdom (or did I gain wisdom? I haven't quite figured that out yet, I guess), I hope to be able to post a lot more. And I feel like this is a pretty damn good album to kick things off with.

Slowdive often gets lost in the shuffle of the 90s British shoegaze movement, which is a damn shame because they may well be the most pure representation of the genre. Masterpieces such as Ride's Nowhere and MBV's Loveless are given considerable praise, and rightly so, but Just For a Day, released the same year as Loveless and only one year after Nowhere, is criminally underrated and underappreciated. Even among Slowdive fans, preferential status is often given to their second album, Souvlaki, which was released two years later. And while Souvlaki is a damn fine album, for me it's never been able to top their debut.

This album conjures up all of the metaphorisms for shoegaze: dreamy, hazy, lush, ethereal. But whereas Ride is sometimes just a little too poppy and MBV sometimes is just a little too harsh, Slowdive's debut doesn't do anything terribly fancy. You have your layered, delayed guitar washing over the tracks, giving each of the tracks a very tranquil, almost lazy sensation--at least to start with. Slowdive very carefully manipulated the dynamics of each track, breathing life and individual spirit into each song without overdoing it. The crescendo on the final track (Primal), for example, is different from, say, your average post-rock crescendo, in that it gradually builds from soft to loud in a way that very few bands, even great bands, are able to do. It's the subtleties such as these that complete the album: the rhythmic, hypnotic drumming of the opener Spanish Air, the triplets throughout Ballad of Sister Sue, the simple but chillingly melancholic piano line softly repeated throughout Erik's Song.

If you're a fan of shoegaze and haven't heard this yet, you owe it to yourself to give this a listen.

Catch the breeze

Sun Kil Moon - Admiral Fell Promises (2010) (320)

Sun Kil Moon's Admiral Fell Promises is a solo album from Mark Kozelek. Not to be confused with the solo work put out under his name. But this one actually IS a solo album, with most of the songs being absent of anything but Kozelek and his nylon stringed guitar. As always, I'm keeping this description brief. I'm really enjoying this album. Third and Seneca and Half Moon Bay are my favorite tracks so far. As for the albums sound, it sounds like Mark Kozelek and a classical guitar. The lyrics and vocals are more calm and reflective, and don't get melodramatic. I imagine that many people will probably not be as fond of this album as others, but if your a fan of a acoustic guitar-based music and Kozelek's work, you'll probably find something to enjoy in this album.

Drowsy Idaho, an accurate description.

Electric Wizard - Witchcult Today (320) (2007)

HP Lovecraft. Wiichcraft. Occult crap. Drugs. That about covers the lyrical content.Sonically, they earn their genre label, "Drone Doom." Taking that dark, slow sound of drone groups like Sunn 0))) and the doom metal of Master of Reality-era Black Sabbath. Crackling amplifiers and booming base with a heavy groove is the M.O. here. They are loud.


It's not quite as engrossing as Dopethrone or Come my Fanatics...but's a good album if you're in to the genre, or are looking for something dark and heavy to try out.

Edited on (08/30/2010).


Who doesn't love H.P. Lovecraft?

Alabama Thunderpussy - Staring at the Divine (2002) (320)

Awhile ago, fellow poster postshoegaze made remark that now that Mandatory Metal Monday is over, the blog can get back to "real music." I treated it like a joke, but it reflects a sentiment that many people have towards heavy metal/hard rock influenced music.

I find my self coming back to these Stoner Metal bands for my "loud and heavy as fuck" fix. I think there's a certain comfort to be found in those heavy down-tuned riffs. And ATP does that flawlessly. Motor-Ready has to be one of the best Metal riffs I've heard, and the rest of the album is equally as awesome. Tracks like Hunting By Echo have an unexpectedly melodic side while simultaneously maintaining that relentless heavy riffing and powerful vocals, and even a mellow(er) track like Twilight Arrival doesn't seem out of place. To make it even better, the album isn't compressed to the point of sounding like complete shit, like many modern metal albums.

tl;dr version - I like this album. I will buy it if I find it. Edit

Great album cover, or greatest album cover?

Cherry Ghost - Beneath This Burning Shoreline (320) (2010)

I haven't as of yet heard Cherry Ghost's debut record, but after listening to this one I won't be wasting any time in checking it out. This is a very mature-sounding record, similar in sound to a band like Tindersticks or The National: an indie, post-punk tinged chamber pop record. And it's very awesome. Simon Aldred's voice fits these songs like a glove, and the production brings everything together--not lo-fi, but definitely not clean, either, a bit raw. Definitely one of the top albums of the year, and I have a feeling this one will continue to grow on me as I delve deeper into the songwriting.

Been kissing strangers

Bill Hicks - Relentless (1992)

Bill Hicks is often described as an angry comic, and while I suppose that's an accurate description of the nature of his material, to me it doesn't describe the full breadth of what his comedy was about. An angry comic like Lewis Black (as an obvious example), to me at least, embraces that label of an "angry comic" and specifically searches for material that will be a catalyst for that rant-style performance ("WE CAN'T FIND OSAMA BIN LADEN?!?!?! IT'S BEEN NINE YEARS AND WE CAN'T FIND AN ARAB ATTACHED TO A DIALYSIS MACHINE!!!). I don't get that same feeling from Bill Hicks. To me, it seems as if Hicks starts talking casually about things like smoking, war, Christianity, pornography--almost as if he were just talking to himself--and then naturally gets angry at the realization of how fucked up the world and our society is sometimes. It's a subtle difference, but to me it's always made Hicks much more of a believable comedian.

However, don't let this scare you into thinking Hicks is simply a social commentator: he's incredibly skilled as a comedian and is funny as shit. All I'm pointing out is that it's not just the rants themselves that are funny for their own sakes: the truths he brings out will make you laugh, but will also make you think.

Pull up G12