33 Words on 33 Albums from 2015 (Part 1)

It’s really quite simple. I am going to offer short, 33-word reviews of 33 albums (33s) that came out in 2015. I will avoid reviewing any albums I’ve already discussed on the blog.

Violent Reaction – Marching On (White cassette)

Lace up your vegan Docs, grab your Union Jack, and head to the local footie match to stomp all over the opposition. Fast, oi-ish hardcore that’s full of the spirt of the 80s.

Virgin Flower – Absence of Essence (White cassette)

Claustrophobic and violent synth experimentation that courts power electronics but is ultimately too consumed by its own industrial lassitude to not soften up its frayed edges for moments of pleasant wanderings through darkness.

Enya – Dark Sky Island (CD)

The Emerald Empress is back with her first album in eight years. As angelic and ethereal as ever, Enya arrives just in time to assuage any holiday induced anxiety attacks. We need her.

Ufomammut – Ecate (CD)

The third offering since the unappreciated classic Eve, Ecate has everything Ufomammut fans want: riffs that weave around psyched-out spacy ambient interludes and then build into deluges of sound that could level cityscapes.

Blistered – The Poison of Confinement (Purple cassette)

Not necessarily my cup of tea anymore, but there’s always room for breakdown-centric hardcore in the annual playlist. Blistered plays dumb, brutish hardcore that somehow doesn’t seem dumb and brutish, just really heavy.

Decades/Failures – G00DBY3 (Black vinyl)

Not as danceable as the previous 002, this year’s offering from Decades/Failures’ finds the Richmond-based synth duo exploring the subtle moments and connections between their brand of throbbing post-punk and warm dark wave.

Beach Slang – The Things We Do to Find the People Who Feel Like Us (Purple marble vinyl)

The first full-length from punk rock’s most infectious and likeable band. The songs on this record are akin to those from the two EPs but with sleeker production and maybe even more heart.

Blacklisted – When People Grow, People Go (Smokey white marble)

Blacklisted returned from the outskirts of hardcore to deliver their fastest, most aggressive album in years. As isolated and full of self-loathing as ever, this album possesses a furious sense of emotional urgency.

Lightning Bolt – Fantasy Empire (Black 2xLP)

I bought this record when it got released and then forgot I owned it! Its inclusion here is really just an apology note to Geoff. I bet her jerks it to this album.

Ryoko Akama & Bruno Duplant – immobilite (Clear cassette)

One of four cassettes I happened to buy from Notice Recordings at a record shop in Portland. Pulsing, ringing minimalist noise textures that materialize and dissipate concomitantly. For fans of fractured empty spaces.

Myrkur – M (Cream vinyl)

A beautifully orchestrated enmeshing of black metal’s different forms from model/actress/classically trained musician Amalie Bruun. This is the album that Chelsea Wolfe has been trying to make for years but cannot. Sorry, Chelsea!    

I’ve eschewed any sort of numerical ranking of the albums, though it’s hard to avoid thinking about the three parts as three tiers. Just don’t think about it like that until Part 3.