Aphex Twin’s debut album Selected Ambient Works 85-92 might sound fairly vanilla to us now — and in truth it’s not Richard D. James’ most adventurous effort — but there’s no denying that it has a unique combination of rhythm and ambience that is utterly seductive. Though James’ follow up to this album, the appropriately [...]
Crystal Stilts – Radiant Door
28 May 2012 by Leave a Comment
Here’s that mid-century vibe everyone’s been crazed with since Eames chairs came back into style and the first seasons of Mad Men proved nostalgia was profitable. Ben-Day dots, Pantone colors, and minimal geometry abound, and the deceptively simple graphic pops from whatever distance you witness it, constantly shrinking and expanding while standing perfectly still. I’ve [...]
The Cure – Faith
16 April 2012 by Leave a Comment
The Cure is a confusing group to parse. They’ve always had a reputation for being all gloom and doom — an aesthetic likely informed by Robert Smith‘s black dandelion haircut and mousey stage persona — but the span of their career has been eclectic to say the least. Their first albums, for example, were filled [...]
Veronica Falls – Veronica Falls
13 February 2012 by Leave a Comment
I’m thinking of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. That shack that ol’ Leatherface called home — a house in the middle of a homestead riddled with bones and deteriorating corpses and bodies stuffed in iceboxes. I admit that I haven’t actually seen the film (horror movies are one of my chronic weaknesses), but the sentiment is [...]
Crystal Stilts – Crystal Stilts
31 October 2011 by Leave a Comment
Yes, the cover is minimal, but upon first sight, it’s really creepy more than anything else. Completely drowned in contrast until the only thing left is a couple of thick lines and a stencil cut-out of a small child, staring exceptionally… blankly. The image is something that gives me flashbacks to the second or third [...]
Beach House – Devotion
17 October 2011 by Leave a Comment
I have to admit that for the first few months I had this album, I listened to it almost non-stop, front-to-back and held it as a cherished selection of my music library, and that only after years of having it did I realize how bizarre the album art was. Two people, posed in perfect symmetry, [...]
A Sunny Day In Glasgow – Ashes…
19 September 2011 by Leave a Comment
Sometimes, what makes an album great is its ability to focus you instantly on the task at hand. Kraftwerk, Aphex Twin, New Order — with a strong, quick beat and under-the-radar vocals, it’s not just music to work to, it’s music by which to get work done. Now, for the opposite — the best music [...]
Jeff Buckley – Grace
7 February 2011 by Leave a Comment
The first time I heard the whinny and vibrato of Jeff Buckley’s voice, I had to think to myself, “Is this guy serious?” I appreciate the odd voices of the world having grown up gathering a second-hand legacy of Ian Curtis’ robot impressions, Tom Waits’ emphysematic hacking, and Billy Corgan constantly stubbing his toe for [...]
The Residents - Meet The...
Moon Duo - Circles
Deerhoof - Apple O
Packaging: Good/Bad/Horrifying
Low - Long Division