More new songs you probably haven't heard
I'm working on the rest of my of HCIII coverage. Until then, here are more entertaining tracks that crossed my radar this year. Lots of locals in this batch, including one really famous one.
1. The Stills, "Don't Talk Down" Oceans Will Rise (Arts & Crafts): A bounce drives this vaguely sinister opener of the Montreal indie rockers' diverse third full-length, which at its most pedestrian reminds me of mid-era U2 (before they congratulated themselves up their own asses).
2. Falconer, "Vargaskall" Among Beggars and Thieves (Metal Blade): One of three songs with Swedish lyrics, this is the undeniable highlight of the folk/power metallers' latest, with the roiling Mithotyn-ish riff that kicks it off repeating to pleasing effect throughout.
3. Animal Collective, "Water Curses" Water Curses (Domino): One of the experimental outfit's most accessible songs to date, this EP track continues the splintered pop party begun on Animal Collective's justly celebrated Strawberry Jam.
4. The Haunted, "Faultline" Versus (Century Media): Anthemic catchiness is lacking on the sixth Haunted album, although the Swedes' characteristically jagged thrash/hardcore/grunge hybrid connects chillingly on occasions such as this.
5. Kanye West, "RoboCop" 808s & Heartbreak (Roc-A-Fella): Kanye eschews hip-hop in lieu of crooning weird Auto-Tune-abusing pop for depressed robots, leading to a series of jaw-dropping, "what the fuck?" songs with mesmerizingly bad singing over icy, sumptuous candyscapes.
6. Early Man, "Beware the Circling Fin" Beware the Circling Fin (The End): Tempering nostalgic thrash with obvious love for the New Wave of British Heavy Metal that spawned it, Early Man returns with a second guitarist and Mike Conte's vocals sneering like young Dave Mustaine's.
7. The Safes, "Greed" Sight of All Light (O'Brothers): Three Chicago brothers crank out short, catchy, punky power pop, here evoking The Queers and The Kinks at once.
8. The Atlas Moth, "Hope for Atlantis" Pray for Tides (Witch Trial): Tube-pulling, caustic doomsters from Chi-Town bearing a little of the old Mastodon pummel and weary submissions to color-drained melody.
9. Unicycle Loves You, "Dangerous Decade" Unicycle Loves You (Highwheel): Ending this little Chicago-tethered block is this ambitious kitchen sink indie pop act, who sound like they're having a ball on this swing/doo-wop/new wave confection.
10. Ihsahn, "Monolith" angL (Mnemosyne/Candlelight): The second solo disc by the former Emperor frontman is a bit more ferocious than the first, while upholding the Norwegian legend's standard of progressive refinement.
11. Dub Trio, "Regression Line" Another Sound Is Dying (Ipecac): Dropping trippy dub-influenced segments into sawed-off, Helmet-ish instrumental hard rock, Brooklyn's Dub Trio deliver an uneven but pleasingly off-kilter and multifaceted whallop.
12. Longwave, "Life Is Wrong" Secrets Are Sinister (Original Signal): Shoegaze is back, baby, and New York-based major label refugees Longwave ride its shimmering sonic crests to cavernous indie pop heights.
13. Týr, "Fípan Fagra" Land (Napalm): Another fine set from the Faroe Islands' peerless progressive/Viking metal act, this time relying heavily on traditional songs such as this rousing folk tale about a girl, a boy and a giant.
14. The Gravetones, "This House Ain't a Home" On the Edge of Madness (Little Heart): On their second album, increased diversity fits the Chicago horror-punks like a drab black suit fits The Tall Man, although they're still at their best on gloomy, riffy, high-octane numbers.
15. Withered, "...Reveal the Essence of Suffering" Folie Circulaire (Prosthetic): Refining their obsidian attack, Atlanta's Withered have inched closer to legend with an imposing blend of death, black and sludge metal, veins of scabrous melody pulsing angrily beneath the scorched crust.
16. Of Montreal, "An Eluardian Instance" Skeletal Lamping (Polyvinyl): Not as annoyingly bitchy as on his last set, Kevin Barnes and hired gang retain the shattered kaleidoscope approach to funky indie pop, shoving countless fragments into spontaneous-feeling "tracks."
17. Lunarium, "Sea Dragons" Journeys, Fables, & Lore (Farvahar): D&D/drama club geeky and proud of it, the Ohio heathens' DIY debut suffers from a thin mix and a few underdeveloped songs, but for Americans, they do spirited, mead-guzzling power/folk metal pretty damn well.
18. Enslaved, "Vertebrae" Vertebrae (Nuclear Blast): Bergen, Norway's finest return with their subtlest work to date, focusing their latest runic rumination on the core of the self, often by appropriately hovering amid a gray, Floydian drone.
19. Verona Red, "Marjorie" Side Effects (self-released): An admirably eclectic Chicago rock band with a jaunty sense of rhythm, Verona Red's swinging incorporation of bounce and jangle produces an intriguing dark cabaret effect here.
20. To-Mera, "Mirage" Delusions (Candlelight): Low-slung, off-kilter grooves bump shoulders with arresting female vocals and a touch of jazz on the Brits' second disc, a rich and complex stew of inscrutable prog metal.
1. The Stills, "Don't Talk Down" Oceans Will Rise (Arts & Crafts): A bounce drives this vaguely sinister opener of the Montreal indie rockers' diverse third full-length, which at its most pedestrian reminds me of mid-era U2 (before they congratulated themselves up their own asses).
2. Falconer, "Vargaskall" Among Beggars and Thieves (Metal Blade): One of three songs with Swedish lyrics, this is the undeniable highlight of the folk/power metallers' latest, with the roiling Mithotyn-ish riff that kicks it off repeating to pleasing effect throughout.
3. Animal Collective, "Water Curses" Water Curses (Domino): One of the experimental outfit's most accessible songs to date, this EP track continues the splintered pop party begun on Animal Collective's justly celebrated Strawberry Jam.
4. The Haunted, "Faultline" Versus (Century Media): Anthemic catchiness is lacking on the sixth Haunted album, although the Swedes' characteristically jagged thrash/hardcore/grunge hybrid connects chillingly on occasions such as this.
5. Kanye West, "RoboCop" 808s & Heartbreak (Roc-A-Fella): Kanye eschews hip-hop in lieu of crooning weird Auto-Tune-abusing pop for depressed robots, leading to a series of jaw-dropping, "what the fuck?" songs with mesmerizingly bad singing over icy, sumptuous candyscapes.
6. Early Man, "Beware the Circling Fin" Beware the Circling Fin (The End): Tempering nostalgic thrash with obvious love for the New Wave of British Heavy Metal that spawned it, Early Man returns with a second guitarist and Mike Conte's vocals sneering like young Dave Mustaine's.
7. The Safes, "Greed" Sight of All Light (O'Brothers): Three Chicago brothers crank out short, catchy, punky power pop, here evoking The Queers and The Kinks at once.
8. The Atlas Moth, "Hope for Atlantis" Pray for Tides (Witch Trial): Tube-pulling, caustic doomsters from Chi-Town bearing a little of the old Mastodon pummel and weary submissions to color-drained melody.
9. Unicycle Loves You, "Dangerous Decade" Unicycle Loves You (Highwheel): Ending this little Chicago-tethered block is this ambitious kitchen sink indie pop act, who sound like they're having a ball on this swing/doo-wop/new wave confection.
10. Ihsahn, "Monolith" angL (Mnemosyne/Candlelight): The second solo disc by the former Emperor frontman is a bit more ferocious than the first, while upholding the Norwegian legend's standard of progressive refinement.
11. Dub Trio, "Regression Line" Another Sound Is Dying (Ipecac): Dropping trippy dub-influenced segments into sawed-off, Helmet-ish instrumental hard rock, Brooklyn's Dub Trio deliver an uneven but pleasingly off-kilter and multifaceted whallop.
12. Longwave, "Life Is Wrong" Secrets Are Sinister (Original Signal): Shoegaze is back, baby, and New York-based major label refugees Longwave ride its shimmering sonic crests to cavernous indie pop heights.
13. Týr, "Fípan Fagra" Land (Napalm): Another fine set from the Faroe Islands' peerless progressive/Viking metal act, this time relying heavily on traditional songs such as this rousing folk tale about a girl, a boy and a giant.
14. The Gravetones, "This House Ain't a Home" On the Edge of Madness (Little Heart): On their second album, increased diversity fits the Chicago horror-punks like a drab black suit fits The Tall Man, although they're still at their best on gloomy, riffy, high-octane numbers.
15. Withered, "...Reveal the Essence of Suffering" Folie Circulaire (Prosthetic): Refining their obsidian attack, Atlanta's Withered have inched closer to legend with an imposing blend of death, black and sludge metal, veins of scabrous melody pulsing angrily beneath the scorched crust.
16. Of Montreal, "An Eluardian Instance" Skeletal Lamping (Polyvinyl): Not as annoyingly bitchy as on his last set, Kevin Barnes and hired gang retain the shattered kaleidoscope approach to funky indie pop, shoving countless fragments into spontaneous-feeling "tracks."
17. Lunarium, "Sea Dragons" Journeys, Fables, & Lore (Farvahar): D&D/drama club geeky and proud of it, the Ohio heathens' DIY debut suffers from a thin mix and a few underdeveloped songs, but for Americans, they do spirited, mead-guzzling power/folk metal pretty damn well.
18. Enslaved, "Vertebrae" Vertebrae (Nuclear Blast): Bergen, Norway's finest return with their subtlest work to date, focusing their latest runic rumination on the core of the self, often by appropriately hovering amid a gray, Floydian drone.
19. Verona Red, "Marjorie" Side Effects (self-released): An admirably eclectic Chicago rock band with a jaunty sense of rhythm, Verona Red's swinging incorporation of bounce and jangle produces an intriguing dark cabaret effect here.
20. To-Mera, "Mirage" Delusions (Candlelight): Low-slung, off-kilter grooves bump shoulders with arresting female vocals and a touch of jazz on the Brits' second disc, a rich and complex stew of inscrutable prog metal.
posted by SoulReaper at 10:45 AM
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