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Our Panelists Make Their Choices...
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Round 1
Andy Beckerman's #3 -
Of Montreal Satanic Panic In the Attic
Easily the best thing they've ever done. Even though it includes usual
too-cutesy kinds of songs ("Chrissy Kiss the Corpse?" Ugh.), it is still
an amazing pop album from begining to end. Trademark themes borrow
heavily from dada and surrealism which is totally sweet. Like the
soundtrack to Exact Change.
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Pete Baumann's #3 -
Keith Fullerton Whitman Antithesis
Keith Fullerton Whitman takes another break from his
Hvratski project and produces probably his most
straight-forwardly ambient-type record to date. With
excellent results.
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Adam Strohm's #3 -
Hair Police Obedience Cuts
This is a tough one. There are lots of albums I could slide into this third slot, but, for some reason, this one seems right. Kyle Bruckmann, Henrik Rylander, and some others made albums that I enjoyed just as much, and perhaps listened to more than this.
A real missle from three guys who have squahsed all contention that they're simply a noise jock/noise shock trio with an album that places as much importance on atmosphere as it does sheer ferocity. To say they've matured musically would do Hair Police a disservice, but it's undeniable that Obedience Cuts has taken Hair Police's music to the proverbial next level.
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Brad Rose's #3 -
Leighton Craig & Eugene Carchesio Leaves
Obscure CDR from Australia recorded outdoors with organ, clarinet,
guitar, etc. Totally beautiful. It's like Jewelled Antler stuff, but
better.
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Bryan Colesby's #3 -
Stereolab Margerine Eclipse
Awesome return to form after the death of a member.
Seeming to rejoice in life rather than despair in
death, these veterans have made a bubbly happy
sounding record that is vibrant and effusive. I think
this album is right up there with their best efforts.
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Robin Renzoni's #3 -
Amps for Christ The People at Large
I think there is something on this for everyone and also a lot of
significance. Some of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard are on
this record.
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Sean Hammond's #3 -
Sonic Youth Sonic Nurse
Mainstays of THE LIST. More energetic and exciting than I would have ever
expected them to be at this point (the most energetic they've been since
their Goo and Dirty days). Were Comets on Fire and Wolf Eyes the best
thing to happen to Sonic Youth since Branca?
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Daron Gardner's #3 -
Sufjan Stevens Seven Swans
This was a difficult choice with so many great records coming out this
year from so many great bands that haven't been listed yet on THE LIST
(Blonde Redhead, P.G. Six, Modest Mouse, Hototogisu, Hot Snakes,
Anomoanon, Pan American, Acid Mothers Temple, Mouthus, etc...), but I had to go with
something I have listened to over and over. With this record, Stevens
really wrote an amazing record that got under my skin and still hasn't
gotten out of my head after all this time.
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Cory Rayborn's #3 -
No Neck Blues Band Dutch Money
This is my favorite release of theirs in the last couple of years. It
really works, grooves, and hits all of the places that a NNCK record should.
A great, great purchase.
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Nick Hennies' #3 -
The Married Monk The Belgian Kick
Totally unique from everything else that's come out this year.
Biting lyrics, amazing musicianship, and songwriting.
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Jefre Cantu's #3 -
Albert Ayler Holy Ghost
Granted, most of you on this list probably didn't throw down the bill that
this 9 CD box set cost... so take my word for it: it destroys.
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Gil Gershman's #3 -
Pan Sonic Kesto
When Panasonic pinched their name and logo from a certain Japanese electronics colossus in 1994 and debuted their wryly literal take on said company's claim to "the sound of life," it didn't take an oracle to forsee the inevitable lawsuit. But who could have imagined that the static pulses and airless machine hum of the first Sähkö 12" and the Vakio LP augured for a decade of astonishing creativity and reinvention? And who could have guessed that those ten fruitful years of "horsemeat rockabilly" permutations would culminate in a nearly four-hour (234m:48s:4ms) 4CD opus as mesmerizing and diverse as Kesto? A neuromantic ode to electricity that encompasses nasty beat lashings executed with glam-rock panache, laser-cut electro, decayed dead-machine dub, and fluttering excursions on the verge of silence, Kesto impresses as much for its music as for its magnitude.
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Bill Preest's #3 -
Richard Youngs River Through Howling Sky
A truly musical four-part ode to the natural world avoiding Finnish
forest fiddling/Jewelled Antler tweeting/NWA freestyling. A
wonderful release from an inspired artist, despite what Daron may
think. We in the UK ought to shout out a bit more for our own
outsider superstars.
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Jim Laakso's #3 -
Sterling Roswell Psychedelic Ubik
Ex-Spacemen 3 drummer does too-short solo record with lotsa filler, but when he's on he's really really on in the best early-90s P Kember tradition.
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Steve Rybicki's #3 -
Kemialliset Ystävät Alkuhärkä
File this one under "Finnish Forest Folk" and you miss at least half
of the point. Ingenious, clear production shines the light on
brilliant off-kilter songwriting, group interplay and improvisation
often all co-existing in two minute miniatures. Alkuhärkä could be
the Chemical Friends' best yet, and given their stature, an argument
could be made for it being the place to start in a genre that can
melt even an Arctic winter.
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Jeff Penczak's #3 -
Mushroom Glazed Popems
A genuine heroic effort and the missing link between the psychedelic
experimentation of After Bathing At Baxters and the communal hippie
lovefest of The 5000 Spirits, or The Layers of The Onion. Perhaps
their most cohesive release, Glazed Popems features the tightest
personnel that drummer/producer/leader and sole constant member Pat
Thomas has ever worked with. The refreshing breath of cool, smooth
jazz coupled with occasionally soft proggy vibes on the "Oakland"
disk and the psychedelically tinged, slightly purpled haze of acid
folk on the "London" disk combine to deliver one of the best
releases of the year.
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Round 2
Andy Beckerman's #2 -
The Robot Ate Me On Vacation
Often something like Animal Collective comes off to me as
self-consciously weird, even if it really doesn't matter to the music.
However, this album is actually genuinely fucked-up. A strange pop
concept album about genocide (at least disc one). As ironic as Stella
without the silliness.
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Pete Baumann's #2 -
Black Forest/Black Sea Forcefields and Constellations
The best of the recent crop of new (dare I say weird?)
folk projects. The best elements are salvaged from
the wreckage of the Iditarod and crafted into an
unforgettably beautiful album that combines
perfectally delicate folk with acoustic drone.
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Adam Strohm's #2 -
Scatter Surprising Sing Stupendous Love
Scatter's folk-jazz was perhaps the most refreshing thing I heard this year. Tons of people have attempted to channel Ayler in their playing, but I think Scatter are one of the first groups to really succeed in the same way, tapping the worlds of both everyman melodies and rhythms and the more austere world of serious improvisation. This was the party record of the year.
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Brad Rose's #2 -
Animal Collective Sung Tongs
Oh yeah.
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Bryan Colesby's #2 -
Fripp/Eno The Equatorial Stars
Two masters reconvene. Man, this is freaking
good. The sounds are timeless and overwhelming.
Headphones ON!! BRING ON THE TRYYPS!! So incredibly
good. There's a reason that these guys are on the top
of the ambient pile, and this album proves it.
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Robin Renzoni's #2 -
Six Organs of Admittance Octavio Paz
Octavio Paz makes me thankful I have ears. This is as close to a
religious experience as I'll ever get.
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Sean Hammond's #2 -
Sunn O))) White2
The cover art alone earns it a mention. The music however, earns my
nomination. Heavy, droning, distorted guitars haven't felt this good since
Dylan Carlson's heroin habit wrecked his body and mind.
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Daron Gardner's #2 -
Bonnie "Prince" Billy Sings Greatest Palace Music
He can do no wrong. At first I liked this because it was fun and a
great idea. Now I love this record because it is wonderful and brilliant.
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Cory Rayborn's #2 -
Wooden Wand Harem of the Sundrum
A prelude to full-length "solo" cd by just the Wooden Wand, this cassette
perfectly boils down the essence of the Wooden Wand and the Vanishing
Voice experience. Cryptically proto-spritual, totally emotionally bare,
and completely entrancing. It might only be five songs, but they are five
classics.
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Nick Hennies's #2 -
Deerhoof Milk Man
Smartest, most clever, and well-composed record of the year.
Deerhoof is one of the only bands who can combine "smart" and "fun"
so well.
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Jefre Cantu's #2 -
Fly Pan Am N'Ecoutez Pas
A top notch turn of events for these guys. My Bloody Valentine goes music
concrete with a little 70s disco to boot. Love it.
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Gil Gershman's #2 -
The Bevis Frond Hit Squad
Well-nigh 20 years after first lifting the floodgates on one of the Western world's deepest fonts of sparkling psychedelia, the imperator of the Terrascopic Nation graces his subjects with one of his finest albums. Hit Squad! is a classic Bevis Frond joint, in all the sprawl (nearly 80 minutes!), songcraft, and self-deprecating humor those words have come to imply. Thank heavens 2000's Valedictory Songs has proven to be an empty threat, and that King Saloman sounds as thrilled as ever to be doing what he does so well. This one's every bit as good as New River Head, the classic Frond opus it most closely resembles, and adds enough new wrinkles to be justifiably classic in its own right.
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Bill Preest's #2 -
Legendary Pink Dots The Whispering Wall
A welcome return to pristine form for my favourite emmigrant
troupe. If this had been the band's first record, the praise might
have been a touch louder; after nigh on 25 years, it's just another
mighty notch on the laden Dots bedpost.
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Jim Laakso's #2 -
Oneida Secret Wars
Not their finest alb', but still kickin' it good.
Steve Rybicki's #2 -
Birchville Cat Motel Beautiful Speck Triumph
Campbell Kneale astounds with two discs of glacial, palatial drone
that range from pastoral ambience to exhilarating full throttle heavy
guitar washes in drum-thundering ascendence with the sounds of
domesticity tossed in between. On a record where one entire track is
based on floorboards creaking, you wouldn't expect to find a simple
yet seductive piano and violin melody that soothes like a lullaby.
But it's all part of the deft tapestry Kneale weaves on a
surprisingly accessible set.
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Jeff Penczak's #2 -
Dungen Ta Det Lugnt
The fourth album from this Swedish multi-instrumentalist/one-man
band known as Gustav Ejstes is one of the best psychedelic blasts of
fresh air I've heard all year. It's more pure pop for now people,
with a decidedly rough and exciting exterior couching incredibly
catchy hooks within. There's a little something for everyone to
like, no matter what your taste in music, whether it be acid-fried
psychedelia, smooth-groovin' jazz, heartpounding prog or just plain
old mellow acoustic folk. While this kitchen sink variety may be too
overwhelming for some, it kept this listener on his toes always
anxious to hear what was coming next. A great introduction to
Dungen's work and a fitting incentive to seek out his earlier
releases.
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Round 3
Andy Beckerman's #1 -
Joanna Newsom The Milk-Eyed Mender
Everyone is going to have this on their list. Do I even have to write
anything? You'd have to be a douchebag not to like this.
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Pete Baumann's #1 -
The Dead Texan s/t
Takes the depth and the drift of Stars of the Lid and
adds to it some directness and immediacy. Ranks up
there with the best of Brian Eno's ambient
work—ambient music that doesn't forget about details.
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Adam Strohm's #1 -
Wolf Eyes Burned Mind
Though there's enough of a steady stream of minor Wolf Eyes releases to keep anyone happy, this monster of a full-length was probably the most anticipated release of the year for me, and it didn't disappoint. Putting out a disc on Sub Pop, touring with Sonic Youth, and doing European festivals hasn't sterilized these boys a bit.
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Brad Rose's #1 -
Hala Strana These Villages
Not as good as the brilliant Fielding two-disc, but pretty fantastic
all the same.
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Bryan Colesby's #1 -
Interpol Antics
Everything about tells me not to like these guys.
They're indie hipsters so concerned about what they
wear, they have loads of MTV2 fans, they're
derivitive... but I love it. A band hasn't hit me
this hard since The Cure did in the mid 80s. Running
from the Joy Division tag, they managed to make a
brilliant album filled with left turns and beautiful
crescendos. Lovely to the MAX. Go ahead and take
this off right now though, it'll never make it.
Fakejazz sucks.
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Robin Renzoni's #1 -
Jack Rose Raag Manifestos
Rose is a true virtuoso and Raag Manifestos seems to build and expand
from where Opium Musik left us. Raag Manifestos is evocative and dazzling.
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Sean Hammond's #1 -
The Ivytree Winged Leaves
Glenn Donaldson's second solo record (after the incredible album under the
name The Birdtree). This one takes the Jewelled Antler world of
stream-of-consciousness folk and drone and carries it deep into the heart of
the woods where it's crystallized, offering a glimpse of Glenn's world with
stunning clarity.
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Daron Gardner's #1 -
Black Forest/Black Sea Radiant Symmetry
This album shows the band at their very best. Each record gets better
and better. I really didn't think they could out do Forcefields and
Constellations, but they did, and I couldn't be happier about it. This
is taken from their best live moments from their European tour. Great
guest musicians. An amazing experience. A completely beautiful record.
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Cory Rayborn's #1 -
Mission of Burma ONoffON
This album just shouldn't exist. How does a band take nearly 20 years off
after having recorded a completely kick-ass and classic album and then
come back and put together a record that sounds like it could have been
released immediately on the heels of the predecessor? Damn. Each of
ONoffON's sixteen songs are complete and perfect punk anthems, especially
the "new" recordings of songs that they performed as demos in the early
1980s (albeit with slightly more "mature" sounding vocals). As a friend
said to me, these are the songs that will be stuck in my head for the next
few years.
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Nick Hennies' #1 -
Mountain Goats We Shall All Be Healed
The closest thing to a perfect album he has ever done. Recovered
from Tallahassee disaster and now is fucking awesome.
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Jefre Cantu's #1 -
Wolf Eyes Burned Mind
Gives me that feeling that I had when I was a little boy and I first heard
Slayer. Scary as fuck. Heavy as fuck. The only thing I wanted to listen to
after November 2nd.
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Gil Gershman's #1 -
Sir Richard Bishop Improvika
Speaks for itself, really.
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Bill Preest's #1 -
One Ensemble of Daniel Padden The Owl of Fives
To repeat, we in the UK ought to shout out a bit more for our own
outsider superstars. Volcano the Bear get precious little coverage, Daniel
Padden even less, and this second One Ensemble release is a flowing
and inspired blend of Euro-folk-tinged instrumentation and vocals.
The Owl of Fives is title of the year if nothing else.
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Jim Laakso's #1 -
Lockgroove Calm Right Down
Best of both ends of the spaceshit spectrum: brutal rock attacks and sweet fuzzed-out pop. A great record from start to finish with luv-lee production sheen.
(Aside: even if listmembers saw 'em 4 or 5 years ago live and hated 'em, please don't eliminate the record on the basis of that. Rilly!)
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Steve Rybicki's #1 -
Davenport Owl Movement
Picking just one of the onslaught of primordial ur-psych that
Davenport unleashed this year for the list is a tough call. In less
than half an hour, "Owl Movement" displays howling fury, tribal
shredding beats and delicate duets in a masterful display of why this
collective is a legtimate heir to the tripped out thrones of SHOTM
and NNCK. Plus, the cover art is a mythic mind bending sketch by
Uton. With enough clamor, maybe those scoundrels at 23 Productions
will consent to a second pressing of more than 50 copies of this bad
boy.
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Jeff Penczak's #1 -
Livingroom Legends Honeymoon
Suffice it to say that if you're into gorgeous harmonies, stoney,
good-time country-rockin' vibes and jingle-jangle mornings, you'll
want to join me in annointing Honeymoon as one of the Top 5 albums
of the year. Add this to that Desert Island Disc collection that
includes the first NRPS album, Soul Asylum's Grave Dancers Union,
The Traveling Wilburys Volume 1, Dylan's Blood on the Tracks, 5
Chinese Brothers' Singer, Songwriter, Beggerman, Thief, Blue Rodeo's
Five Days In May, and your favorite Byrds, Wallflowers, Wilco, and
Jayhawks albums. It's not only that good, in some cases, it's better.
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continue to the elimination round
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