Tag: experimental

mary lattimore - silver ladders
Vinyl

Mary Lattimore: Silver Ladders (2020)

Some music haunts you. Some soothe you. It’s a rare album that can do both, and as I continue my search for serenity in the aftermath of, well…just life, I remembered this album from Mary Lattimore was sitting in my collection. A recommendation from my friend Erik (another one of those touchstones for new music I’ve never explored), Lattimore uses her harp on Silver Ladders to evoke ethereal waves of introspection that never creep into sentimentality or schmaltz. Spare and delicate, it lives in the empty spaces it creates.

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boduf songs - stench of exist
Vinyl

Boduf Songs: Stench of Exist (2014)

I was busy moving my Bob Dylan vinyl from the downstairs den/listening room upstairs to my office when, attempting to create some space in my shelf I saw the above album cover. I couldn’t remember it at all, which means I probably got it from my spiraling nightmare that was the VNYL subscription club (not linked because I don’t want you going down the same rabbit hole I did). But I’m a sucker for a sweet album cover, and something about Stench of Exist, the 2014 release from Boduf Songs must have stuck with me since I didn’t immediately stick it in the box of other records to get rid of, so rather than fulfilling the promise of copious prog reviews I set this on the turntable and gave to a whirl. I’m really, really glad I did.

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thundercat - drunk
Vinyl

Thundercat: Drunk (2017)

Day 10 of the #mayvinylchallenge is your favorite 10″, and that guideline makes it pretty easy for me, since I have only one 10″ in my record collection. It’s a doozy, though: the third full length from the Space Ace of Bass, Thundercat. Although I had heard his distinctive style of playing on projects from Flying Lotus, Kendrick Lamar, and even Suicidal Tendencies, Drunk was my first exposure to the man as a solo artist and composer, and it was on of those pivotal “aha!” discoveries on my musical journey.

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75 dollar bill - i was real
Vinyl

75 Dollar Bill: I Was Real (2019)

Day 2 of the #mayvinylchallenge is Dynamic Duos, and looking over my options there was never really an option. Much love to Suicide and Big Business and Simon and Garfunkel and my own beloved Darkthrone, but there is something magical that happens whenever I put on I Was Real, the 2019 release from 75 Dollar Bill. It’s one of a handful of albums I get completely lost in, an album where I feel like I’m inside the physical space of the music being created.

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arkheth - 12 winter moons
CD

Arkheth: 12 Winter Moons Comes The Witches Brew (2018)

I *think* this was the first “freebie” I got tossed as writer.  I’ve been a big fan of Transcending Obscurity as a metal label and tend to give their stuff a chance when it passes through the Nine Circles inbox.  Arkheth is a one-man black metal project (after my own heart) out of Australia, and 12 Winter Moons Comes The Witches Brew reaches levels of carnivalesque mayhem that have me admiring its audacity, even when it’s not something I can just randomly grab and listen to.  Anyway, they sent me the CD as thanks for a good review…completely unexpected but appreciated nevertheless. Continue reading “Arkheth: 12 Winter Moons Comes The Witches Brew (2018)”

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adrian belew - side two
CD

Adrian Belew: Side Two (2005)

Released about six months after Side One, Side Two finds Adrian Belew in a darker, more contemplative mood.  Handling all the instruments himself, the album shows just how formidable Belew is on all fronts: as a composer, instrumentalist, and vocalist.  Despite the lack of rockin’ hooks found on Side One find myself much more drawn to the compositions on this release. Continue reading “Adrian Belew: Side Two (2005)”

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