First, a quick note on the also rans.
The new Deafheaven should be on here but the fact they got me into dealing with a black metal vocal has meant that I’ve been running off listening to other Blackgaze bands I’ve been missing over the years instead of giving it the time it deserves.
The American Dollar released a new album a bit too late for me to listen to it enough for this list, but it sounds lovely.
Teeth of the Sea’s new album is 33 minutes long. It’s good but feels too slight to put on the list. The more I listen the better it gets but not enough to get on here yet.
He Whose Ox is Gored. Despite having one of the shittest names I’ve come across, are amazing and if I had more time to listen to it I’m sure it’d in the top ten. They just don’t sound like anyone else I’ve heard, they’re a math rock, a bit hardcore but at times the backing singer makes it sound like Lush have crept in to the studio. One song even turns into something that resembles an R&B track for no reason. It still works…..
Now, in no real order…
A Swarm of the Sun
The Rift
The only thing that this album has to do with the sun is the title. It runs the sort of bleakness that would make a fragile listener curl up in a ball and pop a thumb in their mouth.
But that’s not us. Oh no.
We’re made of stronger stuff.
I’m pretty sure I’ve seen this album described as a prog album but that name seems to be getting thrown around a lot there days. This is closer to a post rock / alt rock hybrid.
There’s quite a few instrumental tracks on this album, some of them whittle down to just a piano, giving the album an almost classical feel in places. That’s not to aSotS they don’t make a big noise when they feel like it, the album certainty has its own share of effect pedal abuse, but the album works best when it strips down to it quietest moments.
If I had one criticism of this album, it would be that the sequencing of the second last track, a 10 minute long monster, makes the rest of the album sound like it was all just a build up to this song.
It is an amazing song though, so maybe it was intentional.
These Depths Were Always Meant for Both of Us
So Hideous.
Laurestine.
The blog that I can across this band on described them “Blackened, symphonic, post metal”. Now there are 3 reactions to that description. Scratching your head and wondering what the fuck the person is talking about, horror at such an ungodly mix of genres or running to Bandcamp to listen to it because you needed to hear just what the hell that sounds like.
It sounds amazing.
The first track, Yesteryear gives a very clear introduction to the album.
It starts with a heartbeat, because if “Blackened, symphonic, post metal” wasn’t pretentious enough for you, this is a concept album depicting the seven minutes of brain activity between life and death, of all things. After some gentle classical styled build up there is a sudden pummelling of drums and full on Cookie Monster bellowing which very intentionally drowns out the 30 piece orchestra, it’s pretty jarring when it happens but it’s a really effective shock to the system that says that this is an album you’re going to have to deal with on its terms.
And that’s how the album goes for its surprisingly easy to listen runtime.
It’s such a pretty album there will be people who lament the dark vocal but without that and the sheer gallop and drive of the metal drumming, the album wouldn’t stand out in a genre filled with pretty, kinda metal albums.
This is the real deal and so much better for it.
Relinquish
Caspian.
Dust and Disquiet
In 1998 both Mogwai and GSYBE! broke out of the more obscure end of the indie ghetto and in a very small way changed the world. But then a load of copycat bands cropped up. Some of them forged their own ways but others just sounded like a copy of a copy.
Caspian were one of these bands. A band who crammed their delay pedals into an over saturated market and said “Us too!”, and as far as I was concerned, that was it for these guys. I listened to them and just didn’t care.
So much and thanks for the all reverb.
But something happened to Caspian on the recording of this album. Something lit a fire in there belly and lifted them above the post rock also ran.
There is a country twang running through the album, which sounds like a terrible idea but is more than enough to make songs stand out, Ríoseco benefits the most, with what sounds like a steel guitar lifting the track to a light place most post rock songs only aspire to. The big change is the acoustic track Run Dry which marks the half way point with a low and sorrowful southern lament. It’s such shock amidst the walls of distortion and couldn’t be more welcome as a place to draw breath and reflect before the onslaught of effects pedals resumes.
The highlight has to be Darkfield, a 7 minute post rock epic, packed with filthy bass and all the overdriven guitars a person could ask for.
Dust and Disquiet was an unexpected gem this year, it’s always great to see a band that have been kicking about for so long step up and deliver an amazing album.
Darkfield
Fort Romeau
Insides
Michael Greene has been producing music under the Fort Romeau name for a few years now, and on his second album the confidence he’s built up for years of touring and DJing are becoming more and more obvious.
There is a large Four Tet influence on this album but there nowhere that it becomes a negative, building on Hebdon’s work and keeping it focused works brilliantly on the opening tracks.
It opens strong with some great, downtempo techno. As you would expect from a man who espouses what he calls “Slow Listening” the tracks take their time and never really explode, just moving on at their own pace, building atmosphere and keeping the head nodding, delivering what I’d call a warm
hug of an album.
And while the later part of the album may descend into an ambient wash, the last track, Cloche digs itself out of the Tangerine Dream that the album falls into, resets the tone and lifts the album to a great uplifting finish.
All I want
Leftfield.
Alternative Light Source
There is a certain kind of dread amongst music fans. I mean, at this point, people are used to reunion gigs, and in some ways it’s great to see bands like Pixies and Slowdive get the acclaim they deserved in the first place, maybe you even get to see them for the first time.
But when one of these bands decides to release another album? Well that’s the kind of thing that can destroy a legacy.
Factor in that out one of the 2 members of Leftfield didn’t come back for the reunion gigs and the world really was asking if we needed another Leftfield album, it’s not like people went nuts for Rhythm and Stealth.
But holy hell was it worth it. In an album that, while nowhere near as ground breaking as Leftism (and it couldn’t be) we got an absolute stormer.
I was worried about all the guests on the album, as I find that too many guests can drown out the voice of a band, but with a sound this big, nothing will flatten it. Channy Leaneagh of Poliça, especially, does a great job on the two tracks she provides vocals on.
The only thing that has to be overlooked is the absolute shite of Head and Shoulders, a track dragged down by the Sleaford Mods. A band who’s one trick pony of a sound brings the track down to a level of having a tramp shout at you at in the middle of a rave. But in a digital world the delete button is never far away and bang! You have a great album.
Little fish
Death Cab for Cutie
Kintsugi
Death Cab got slammed for their last album, which to be honest, wasn’t great. When Chris Walla left the band, well, a lot of people thought the writing was on the wall.
So imagine the happy surprise that this was up there with some of their best.
The Death Cab that we all know and love is still here, the warm indie songs about heartbreak and loss, the wildly tortured metaphors and the melodic rocking out that they do so well.
As always there are some nice lyric ideas, the track “Little Wanderer” being the first song dealing with 21 century long distance relationships which without a doubt is the first song I’ve ever heard that deals with Skype being shit.
But the highlight for me is the lead single, Black Sun, which is a perfect snap shot of everything they do so well.
They maybe the kings of the rather horribly named “bed wetter indie” but they are still the best at it.
Black Sun
Paradise Lost
The plague within
I gave up on Paradise Lost a very long time ago. It was pretty much as they were ditching the guitars and sounding more like Depeche Mode. While I love One Second, Host was a step too far for me.
I’d heard a few people saying that the new album was great so I decided to give it a go.
This was one of my better decisions this year.
The album opens with “No hope in sight” at the first thing you hear is the unmistakable mournful guitar sound of the Lost. It feels like home.
There are some big changes in this album, while they had moved to different sounds over the last 10 years this album has some throwbacks to the days of Gothic, which while unexpected is more than welcome. With Nick’s clean vocal working really well as a counterpoint to his death growl.
It really is a joy (if you can use that word to describe something this doomy) to hear PL back on the top of their game, and with some surprise, straight up death metal making an appearance.
It’s good to have the Lost back.
Victim of the past
HEALTH
Death Magic
I hadn’t listened to HEALTH to before this album; all I knew was that they had been mentioned as the successors to Atari Teenage Riot, so I knew they were going to be abrasive if nothing else.
What I wasn’t expecting was an electro pop album, but from what I can work out, neither was anyone else.
That’s not to say that there aren’t abrasive moments on here but this is mostly softly sung, mid-tempo music, but only if you’re listening to it quietly, turn it up and the mix punches hard.
This kinda reminds me of Crystal Castles at their most accessible. That’s not to say there isn’t a lot of darkness going on here, but if you’re not listening carefully, or are used to your music being more obviously bleak you could miss it.
The track NEW COKE has one of my favourite drops, just after the one of the most relaxed deliveries of the line “life is good” I’ve ever heard. What it took me a few listens to notice that the full lyrics go “Let the guns go off. Let the bombs explode. Let the lights go dark. Life is good” so, it’s good to pay attention.
While it’s not for everyone, I’d more than recommend this for people who like the darker end of the synth/electro pop side of things.
Stonefist
Rolo Tomassi
Grievances
These are an odd band and probably the most Marmite band on my list.
They mix hardcore, post rock, prog, a little jazz, electronica and indie together, sometimes in the one song. And while that sounds like an unholy mess to me as well, it all works so much better than it should.
The albums starts off with a crushing 3 minute blast of disjointed rhythms and stop start riffing with some full on Screamo vocals ripping over it. Its only on the second track do we get a slowdown, with the introduction of the electronics and the first clean female vocals of the album. The effect is brilliant, creating a whole depth that albums in this genre rarely have.
Opalescent is the only non hardcore song on the album, built on Jazz keys and drums before shifting into an indie tune with clean vocals. It’s quite a sweet song and makes a great break to all the hardcore madness but it’s made so much better for me by the drummer, seemingly deciding on the way out that he’d metal the song up and goes double time, then into blast beats as the song fades out.
It’s the little things than make me happy.
It’s unusual that every time I go back to this album that I find something new, a detail here or there I missed or a quiet lull that got missed in the chaos. That alone makes this a great album to re-listen too.
Opalescent
Blanck Mass
Dumb Flesh
Benjamin Power is better known (to some people) as one half of the charmingly titled Fuck Buttons. His first album, while not an ambient album was mainly a dense fog of synth washes and very definitely not my bag.
Since then he has realised a few tracks that sounded more in the same vein of Fuck Buttons, a sort of Noise Techno, which to my ears sounded far more interesting.
And while this album opens with a drone track, it’s the sheer explosive intro of track 2, Dead Format, with is cut up vocal and propulsive drums that kick its way into your attention. This is no ambient chill out; this would go down a storm in any techno club that had the balls to play it.
And while the album doesn’t hit that hard again, that album is a great mix down tempo, moody electronica with more than a little John Carpenter influence.
Dead Format
Dead to a Dying World
Litany
DtoDW like to think big. As a monster 7 piece band they like to move through genres a lot and don’t really like settling on one for too long. Moving through Doom, Black, Post and Symphonic metal, using clean male and female vocals, along with the traditional bellowing and Blackend screaming, Dead to a Dying World swing between extremes without pause and few jarring jumps in style. The whole album hangs together like a perfectly woven tapestry of epic metal.
Yes that description got flowery but this album fits it and fits it well.
Songs tend to be on the huge side, while the shortest song is 4.58, it seems more like a peaceful choral interlude compared to the four 14:00 minute plus behemoths that surround it.
The sheer size of the album makes it hard to zone in on one part to pick out. There are beautiful parts where the songs are led by a mournful violin, there, the band the relax for 5 minutes at a time just building atmosphere, letting the tone of the piece build to its most epic before the full on metal assault begins.
What sets them apart from a lot of bands who use this approach, neither side, quiet or loud come across as more important, it’s all about the song rather than holding off blast beats as long as they can.
So yea, this album is a full on melodrama, I’d advise it only for those who like their metal Epic and their songs meandering and demanding of your attention.
Beneath the Loam
I decided to add two albums that were new to me as I’ve been enjoying the hell out of them.
Queensryche
Operation Mindcrime.
This is a fucking terrible album. Its jaw dropping, just how bad one album can be.
This is Queensryche’s defining album; an 80’s prog metal concept, so staggering in its pretention that even Jim Steinman would blush.
The high concept is this, Romeo and Juliet in a quasi-Cyberpunk world crossed with the Manchurian Candidate.
Where boy is brainwashed by Doctor X (no really) and starts killing people to clean up the streets and put Doctor X (still, really) in control of the city.
With guns, hookers with a heart of gold, heroin and more religious imagery than is needed, even in something this over the top, the ‘Ryche throw everything and the kitchen sink at this opus.
Everything about this album is awful (apart from the musicianship, but don’t forget, this is a prog album ), the lyrics are so on the nose it’s startling and the sorrowful voiceover that intones “Even in death she still looked sad” will never stop being hilarious.
Seriously, watch the live video for Suite Sister Mary, it’s so 80’s its painful, from the lady with the white dress billowing in the wind machine to the spandex trousers and ponytails.
This album is shockingly bad.
I fucking love it.
It’s right up there with Manowar’s Kings of Metal as an album that is so amazingly bad it comes out the other side, a testament to hubris at its finest.
These guys should have received medals for this madness; instead they just got gold records. If one note had been less than sincere this would have fallen flat on its face, but holy shit, these guys mean it and that makes all the difference.
Suite Sister Mary (live version)
Aoria
The Constant.
This was released in 2013, I only discovered it because they share a singer with A Swarm of the Sun.
This is the kind of what used to be alternative rock that you don’t see about much there days, or at least not in the places I’ve been looking.
Their sound is a mix of the Deftones at their most melodic with a touch of Radiohead on the vocal and in the almost shoe gazing guitar attack that fills out this album, while it’s not metal it’s definitely a rock album with single, The Black Heart really reminding me of the noisier side of The Bends, which is not the worst comparison for someone to make.
It’s a short album, coming in at just over 32 minutes but at the same time it never gets to over stay its welcome. It has such a huge sound, the guitars crunch but are also able to carry the light, high tones when needed. The bass is low and fills the songs with a warm roar, all carrying Erik Nilsson’s sweet voice. Without gushing too much, this is the best sounding album I’ve heard in ages.
It is worth noting that the mix is important, the more you turn it up the more the subtly in the tracks becomes evident and the guitars really come into the space they need to lift the album.
I’m not sure it counts as a throwback but I wish there were more albums like this about, emotional but with enough kick on the rock side of things to make life interesting.
You really gave it everything, didn’t you?
The ways of exile 