CEASE UPON THE CAPITOL cease upon the capitol

extremely passionate and intense screamo with a post-rock influence. there are a lot of bands doing this sort of thing now, but this is certainly among the best. it's strangely really catchy to me, too - when i pop it in, i usually don't take it out for a few days. for fans of daitro, envy, orchid, jerome's dream, etc. 2006.

BOTCH we are the romans

THE definitive mathcore album. this monster will bludgeon you over the head. it's like if converge slowed down for a while. technical, dissonant madness. like dillinger? converge? all those other bands that ripped off those two? well, this band arguably started that shit, and they pretty much perfected it. and, interestingly, some of the lads in this group went on to form seattle indie/math rockers minus the bear. 1999.

SIGUR RÓS ( )

you probably have it, but i can't live without it, so neither should you. to me, it's the icelandic group's best album. 8 intensely beautiful tracks: the first four more on the low-key side, showcasing their penchant for making slow, drawn-out beauty. the last four tracks, though, are as brooding and intense and any music i've ever encountered (listen to the last piece on full volume and get mindfucked!). essential masterpiece, blahblahblah, etc. 2002.

PELICAN march into the sea

2 track ep from the chicago group. i know this band has their detractors ("they're boring" or "that guy can't fucking drum to save his life", etc), but there is no denying that they can make some very powerful music when they want to. and this is them at their best. the twenty minute title track appears on 2007's the fire in our throats will beckon the thaw, but in edited form. and to be honest, it's much better here in it's original version, and it works better for me outside of the context of that album. the second track is a throwaway jk broadrick remix of "angel tears", but this is sooooo worth it for the first song. truly the epitome of EPIC. 2005.

JAKOB solace

the third album from one of the most overlooked post-rock bands. think explosions in the sky if they took a bit more time and listened to more ambient music.

"Instrumental, slow and intense music made by the NZ trio Jakob. The music is built upon minimal rythms, delicate melodies and dilated echoings that develop into majestic and incredibly intense walls of sound. Amazing."

it's great. they need to make a new album. 2006.

HÜSKER DÜ zen arcade

duh. the seminal post-hardcore (?) masterpiece. if you don't have this, you need it asap. sounds brand new, even though it's getting close to being 30 years old. another classic album for all music fans. 1984.

ARVO PÄRT alina

possibly the most beautiful, fragile album ever recorded. minimalist classical from one of the masters. one note says one million things. totally essential in every single way. "an album for thinkers and one for lovers of beautiful music." 1999.

ELEND a world in their screams

amazing, ethereal, atmospheric, dark ambient/neoclassical music from france. this is another one of their masterpieces. 2007.

ALEXISONFIRE watch out!

one of the great post-hardcore albums of the new century. passionate, yet refined, pushing itself to the brink but never dismantling. dallas green's vocal melodies are something to behold--this album has one of the greatest vocal performances i've ever heard. these songs are so full of energy! if you can listen to the opening track "accidents" without cranking up the volume and opening all the windows then you do not have a pulse. the rest of the album is fantastic, too. one of my favorite, most listened to albums ever. 2004.

BETWEEN THE BURIED & ME between the buried & me

progressive metalcore from the masters. this is their first album, and as such it's a bit on the "rough around the edges" side, but that's why it's my favorite album of theirs. i think people like to give this album a bunch of flack because "colors is just so amazing!!!", but this thing fucking started it, baby. no one sounded like this when it came out, and when i heard it back when it came out, i was just flabbergasted by what i was hearing! there are a few bands that have tried to emulate the sound of this record, but no one can do it. awesome breakdowns, badass thrash riffs, iron maiden harmonies, grindcore blastbeats, piano breaks, lounge jazz, three-part harmonies - it's all hear, folks, with btbam at their roughest and best. 2002.

CAT POWER you are free

the best album from the lovely chan marshall. this actually has some of my favorite songs ever, the absolutely heartbreaking masterpieces that are "good woman" and "maybe not". marshall has never sounded better than she does here. she knows when to rock and when to be pensive, and this album is a nice balancing act between her more muscular tunes and her most low-key work. recommended for all folk/singer-songwriter fans! 2003.

DINOSAUR JR bug

another indie rock classic, this one from j mascis, lou barlow, & murph. i can't decide if this is my second or third favorite dino jr album (green mind is my favorite, actually, followed by either this or the seminal you're living all over me). guitar screeches, slacker vocals, rumbling bass and drums...they got the sound right. get it. 1988.

CITY & COLOUR bring me your love

probably my favorite album ever! the songwriting and arrangements are perfect, the instrumentation is perfect, the lyrics are perfect, dallas green's voice is perfect. so many beautiful moments, so many great songs. i can't begin to describe how this album makes me feel and how much i love it. a masterpiece of acoustic-based music, plain and simple. 2008.

BUILT TO SPILL perfect from now on

the indie rock classic. everything built to spill has done is great, and this is perhaps their finest work. doug martsch writes really weird but incredibly catchy and melodic guitar parts. every song is a gem of guitar-driven indie rock madness! essential. 1997.