33 Words on 33 Albums from 2015 (Part 3)

OH MY GOD IT’S THE FINAL ELEVEN RECORDS CAN YOU HANDLE IT DO YOU EVEN CARE WHAT IS ALL OF THIS FOR ANYWAYS LIFE IS MEANINGLESS THE UNIVERSE DOES NOT KNOW YOU EXIST.

Pusha T – Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude (Unpurchased)

Instead of a review, I’d rather just quote King Push lines from this record, but we don’t have that kind of time. Pusha is the best rapper living and maybe of all time.

The Pinecones Arbor Labor Union – Sings for You Now (Black vinyl)

This was the best album of 2014, and now it’s the best album of 2015! My particular brand of snobbishness and windbaggery knows no bounds with this band, so let’s leave it alone.

  

Bitter End – Illusions of Dominance (White cassette)

Surprise record of the year? This might be as good as Climate of Fear. I’ve found it almost impossible to put this record aside for more than a week or two. It’s… great.

Turnover – Peripheral Vision (Clear green cassette)

I know I said I wouldn’t review an album already discussed on the blog, but I got it wrong the first time. This is quite possibly my favourite record of 2015. My emotions!

Grimoire – L’aorasie des spectres reveurs (Clear black cassette)

This is one of those records I ordered on a whim from a record label and it turned out to be an absolute delight. Black metal done to near perfection. Cold and beautiful.

Lustre – Blossom (Clear vinyl)

And this is the reason I happened to pick up that Grimoire tape! This is new age black metal; the soundtrack to a massage in the Scandinavian woods, a spa-day in corpse paint.

Crimewave – Collection II (Black cassette)

Really, I should be talking about all of the material Andy Gibbs released this year, but let’s stick with the only properly released one. A perfect blend of electronic noise, ambient, and drone.

The World is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die – Harmlessness (Vinyl unreleased)

Is it cheating if the vinyl doesn’t get released till January? Who cares! TWIABP have matured as songwriters so much since Whatever, If Ever, making this record absolutely wonderful. Emo will never die.

Ceremony – The L-Shaped Man (Sea foam green vinyl)

Leaving behind the suburban doldrums of the previous two records, the constantly evolving Ceremony embraces the new wave/post-punk ennui of the 80s as the band now confronts the emotional depths of nascent adulthood.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress (Black vinyl)

An album I had all but forgotten. Asunder is GY!BE at their noisiest and most dissonant. This is a massive and intense record that sounds absolutely unique when measured against contemporary post-rock records.  

Cloud Rat – Qliphoth (White cassette)

This is as dynamic a grindcore record as any I’ve ever heard. It almost sounds like it’s a leftover relic from the heydays of Magic Bullet and Robotic Empire. The new Pg. 99?

I know I broke the rules for Turnover and not for Keeper or K Dot or Deafheaven or Camera Shy, but that was to prove a point. Also, cassettes are totally back, baby.

33 Words on 33 Albums from 2015 (Part 2)

Here’s 33 more words on 11 more albums! Is a theme emerging? I can’t really tell. There are some albums in this list that are probably top-ten material. Can you guess which ones??

Thou / The Body – You, Whom I Have Always Hated (Black vinyl)

The follow-up to 2014’s Released from Love. It is wholly irresponsible to allow these bands to continue collaborating. We are but mere mortals, impotently plugging our ears against the unrelenting bellows of gods.

Sunn 0))) – Kannon 

I don’t know if a drone band can strip down, but it feels that way on the almighty Sunn 0)))’s Kannon. This is the organic confluence of roots and wires, the primal techno-body.

Cattle Decapitation – The Anthropocene Extinction (Compact Disc)

How this band went from a quasi-joke Locust side-project to the best death metal band to maybe ever exist is beyond me. Like Monolith of Inhumanity before it, this record is effectively flawless.

Expo 70 – Solar Drifting (Gold cassette)

A collection of singles from 2008-2011, Solar Drifting still manages to feel cohesive. This is what it sounds like when a guitar mainlines psilocybin and chills on the edge of a black hole.

Cold Waste / Burnt Hair – Burnt Waste (White cassette)

Burnt Hair / Ars Phoenix – Shinju (Black cassette)

Three bands! Two cassettes! One grand ol’ time! Burnt Hair’s murky, harsh bedroom synth mixes well with Cold Waste’s frigid post-punk and Ars Phoenix’s gothic euphoria. Solid representation of the 80s revival scene.

Moving Mountains / Prawn – Split LP (Blue vinyl)

This record makes me think Steven and I do control the universe, albeit unpredictably. Moving Mountains’ soaring post-rock emo combines with Prawn’s twinkly and sparkly ebullience in a celebration of heart and soul.

Torche – Restarter (White tape)

It feels like this album came out forever ago, and, checking the stats, it did. Steve’s vocals aside, this is the most Florche record since Meanderthal. Still poppy, but the riffs got bigger.

Jenny Hval – Apocalypse, girl (Black vinyl)

I read through a few Best Of lists and this album was conspicuously missing. Are we really letting this feminist dream pop gem fly totally under the radar? I’m disappointed in you, everyone.

Cult Leader – Lightless Walk (Black cassette)

It should come as no surprise that 3/4ths of the walking monstrosity Gaza continues to make music that can really only be described as painfully ugly. This is like a more straightforward Coalesce.

Senior Fellows – Shallow Grave for a Dying God (Red marble vinyl)

Oklahoma second-best export and certainly it’s evilest. Senior Fellows follows up an excellent 2013 debut with another offering of Thou-esque politically minded doom. This album consists of riffs and sacrilege. No complaints here!

Diat – Positive Energy (Black vinyl)

Sean is a good friend and told me to stop being stupid and listen to this album. “It’s this year’s Typical System,” he said. He’s not wrong! It’s like Joy Division with muscles.

If you actually want to hear something from Kannon, just search for it. If you don’t find that Peppa Pig video funny, I’mma pray for you. The final eleven albums get revealed tomorrow!