Noveller: SWF old age ambient guitar loops, dusty tumbleweeds skipping across baked clay, hazy mirages, droplets in a well, muted sea glass shard kaleidoscope
Burning Star Core: solo rumpled silk violin drone, empty checkered floor kitchen freakout, Zorn farm animal smash, Patton porpoise whirlpool, high speed alien cartoon sputtering nonsense, Jupiter wind, scratchy atonal Burning Disco Core
Fennesz: it was fucking Fennesz, live, shiver inducing LOUD guitar drone perfection, a walking masterpiece, not enough words for that kind of beauty
So 2008 is gone and my Top 10 list has been made. But I never stop listening to music. Just because something came out 2 weeks ago doesn't mean I'm never gonna listen to it. I'm a fucking colossal squid, man. Always probing the depths of the music ocean. But contrary to how it may seem, just because I have a music blog doesn't mean I get to listen to everything ever recorded ever. So sometimes things slip by me and '08 is no exception. There were some solid records that may (or may not) have made it onto my Top 10 list had I heard them in time. If, like me, for some bizarre reason you slept on some of these, now's the time to get off your ass and listen because they're totally fucking worth it.
Zomes is a fucking given. Did you see my "review?" This obviously would've made my Top 10 list.
Fennesz - Perfume For Winter Link removed. Black Sea by Fennesz is another one that clearly should have made my list. This record is so epically beautiful and possibly my favorite Fennesz record yet. Although, this is also an album that I probably would desecrate by trying to review it. So that's the bright side.
El Guincho was something I thought I'd never like so I just kinda ignored Alegranza! I mean, it's crazy tropicalia that you'd see silly hipsters jumping around to in gigantic club that never has any good shows. Not exactly up my alley. But, uh, it's actually really good. Not sure if it would've made my list, but maybe if it'd had more time to simmer... you never know.
Hauschka totally caught me off guard. With a name like that, I was kinda expecting Ferndorf to be mostly electronic based. Hardly. This is acousticky stuff. Pianos, violins, and other stringy things. Totally awesome. Now I know why Eluvium put it on his Top 10 Everything list for 2008. It's wonderful music to be productive to. Cleaning, cooking, all those chores just seem so much more fun when listening to Hauschka.
Just like Fennesz, I have no real excuse for showing up late to Max Richter's 24 Postcards In Full Colour. I love Richter's previous albums, (I'd certainly consider The Blue Notebooks a Staple) and I knew he had a new one out. What happened? Slacking off, I guess. 24 Postcards is to Richter what Miniatures is to Eluvium: fantastic little bits of beauty that showcase a different side of the respective creator.
I knew I'd like the new Music Tapes album, For Clouds And Tornadoes. I mean shit, I even saw Koster play some MT stuff in a mansion. It's as great as I expected it to be (I fuckin love "Freeing Song By Reindeer," which he ended his set with when I saw him) but for some reason I just didn't have it in my top priorities last year. So sad.
I Want To Review Your Music If you make music and you want it reviewed on my blog, just send me an e-mail. I would love to hear what you're making and give you a little more exposure in the process.
Disclaimer All of the music on this site is for promotional and sampling purposes only. If you enjoy it, please consider buying the record or going to see the band live. They will appreciate it, I promise. If you own the rights to a song on this site and you would like it removed, please contact me and I will do so as quickly as my tiny paws allow.