COURSE OF EMPIRE course of empire

course of empire were a relatively obscure group from dallas, tx in the early 90s. their debut had some success, and was picked up by zoo entertainment (who at one point tool was also signed to). it didn't sell too well, and neither did their follow-up, so the band was dropped. they released one more album on another label in '98, and then faded away from the music scene. interestly, the band no longer recieves compensation from their records, because they are all out-of-print. luckily for us, they have all their material hosted on their website, free to download. lucky us. but why should you waste your time on this album, among all the other countless free ones out there?

'cuz it's fucking awesome. CoE play with a sorta 90s alt metal sound, but they bring in some distinct industrial influences into play to give them a unique sound. they have a great vocalist, really cool lyrics, and they incorporate a lot of cool ideas into their sound that other 90s bands did not (like the near-7 minute closing track that consists solely of birds in the background and an eno-esque guitar playing a beautiful requiem for the world). it's kinda hard to describe their sound without sounding ridiculous, so i'll stop. just give a listen to a total lost gem from twenty years past! 1990.

SLOWDIVE pygmalion

the 3rd and final album from this british group. call it shoegaze, call it dream pop, call it ambient, call it whatever you'd like, but the operative word here is BEAUTIFUL. dreamy and otherworldly, dripping with atmosphere, pygmalion is one of the most original and interesting pieces of art to come out in the last 20 years. for fans of talk talk and my bloody valentine (of course, even though slowdive is like 231 times better than mbv, whatever). anyway, brilliant masterpiece here. HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION. 1995. FLAC.

CRYPTOPSY none so vile

brutal technical death metal from one of the original leaders of the style. this album is worth it for the drumming alone, which is absolutely retarded awesome. the rest of this rocks, too. 1996. FLAC.

JUNIOR WELLS hoodoo blues man

simply put the best blues album i've ever heard. popping with energy, this is electric/chicago blues at its finest. totally recommended! 1965. FLAC.

STEREOLAB emperor tomato ketchup

The typical (and extremely unique) Stereolab hallmarks are all here. The sweetly delivered, (Socialist) French lyrics, the steady rhythms, and the amazing array of synths and musical textures. You can hear the Silver Apples, Young Marble Giants, Neu!, Suicide, Francoise Hardy, but also the distinctly Stereolab. So...the ketchup's great, hop in!

amazing experimentalkrautpostrock! one of the grooviest albums i own, and indeed a favorite. highly recommended! 1996. FLAC.

JORGE BEN a tábua de esmeralda

A Tábua de Esmeralda (together with Jorge Ben's 1976 album África Brasil) could be said to represent the creative culmination of his astonishing '70s. The music that Ben recorded during this period had tremendous influence on Brazilian musicians at that time and to a great extent helped to ignite the creative explosion that took place in the Brazilian samba rock and samba soul scenes during the '70s. The sound on this particular album is very simple, with the songs being driven by Ben's characteristic acoustic guitar playing together with a bass guitar and percussion. Floating in the background on several tracks are also some nice string arrangements and a double bass. The melodies are magnificently crafted, managing to be catchy and free-flowing without ever feeling banal or predictable. One of many great songs on this album is the upbeat opening track, "Os Alquimistas Estão Chegando," with its funny lyrics about alchemists. Other especially fine moments are the space-themed "Errare Humanum Est," "Zumbi," with its Africa-inspired lyrics, "Cinco Minutos," and "Magnolia." A Tábua de Esmeralda belongs in the record collection of any fan of Ben's music and is also a great starting point for someone who wants an introduction to his work.

awesome, enchanting album. definitely recommended, especially for those with a taste for more exotic sounds. 1974. FLAC.

WILLIAM PARKER the peach orchard

Highly diverse in its compositional parameters, this double-CD reveres jazz's colorful history as much as it soars to new heights of improvisational glory, all while unfolding from the beautiful compositions sketched by bassist William Parker.

a jazz cornerstone of the last few decades. 1998. FLAC.

FAUST iv

duh. one of the krautrock touchstones, and for a reason. if you don't have this, you suck and need to remedy that real quick. 1974.

THIS HEAT deceit

So this is what forward thinking music is all about. The very spirit you can hear flowing in and out of these songs is equaled by only the most groundbreaking and thoughtful bands. What a clusterfuck of noise, chaos, atonal melody, pulsating tribal rythym, chords that cut across your face like freshly sharpened blades, sounds whizzing in and out, abrupt changes, a message as dark as that ominous record cover...this band was in total control of what they were doing and what they wanted this mass of angst to sound like. So unbelievably essential in an industry (and blog) that probably uses that word to much. Though made in a different time, it sounds as fresh and urgent as any band still trying to push the proverbial envelope. You need this.

1981.

LADDIO BOLOCKO the life and times of

well, might as well just re-port what AQ says about it:

NYC's Laddio Bolocko were borne of the ashes of classic early 90s post-rock. Formed in 1996 by members of Dazzling Killmen, Mars Volta, Panicsville, Craw and Chalk, they began as the next logical step for hardcore bands wanting just a bit more to chew on than shards of metallic noise and haphazard speed-beat. However, where most musicians with the cumulative pedigree of this quartet would either be playing straight jazz or make a nice livings as mercenary session men, LB channeled their muso energies into a tightly wound ball of steel rods.

As a group, they effortlessly converged at the service of drive and trance, occasionally jutting out unpredictably into harsher realms. Live, they were a powerhouse (perhaps drummer Blake Fleming learned a few things during his tenure with Zeni Geva), and though their recorded history is brief, it demonstrates a remarkable range of expression, precision and raw power. I've read comparisons to This Heat, Can and Albert Ayler, and while dropping names is usually a quick, cheap way to avoid describing music, in this case I think it really does pay tribute to the quality of their stuff. In short, Laddio Bolocko were fucking awesome.

And now, they're gone. Sorry, you missed them. The guys are still playing (Fleming and Marcus DeGrazia in Electric Turn to Me; Drew St. Ivany and Ben Armstrong in The Psychic Paramount), but if you want to see LB now, you'll have to check out the video clip for "As If By Remote" on Life & Times of Laddio Bolocko. This two-disc set collects the entire recorded legacy of a band that might very well have become the premiere representatives of the noise/prog/kraut/jazz legacy as put forth by the aforementioned legends, and host of others currently receiving mega props (Flying Luttenbachers, Lightning Bolt, Ruins).

The first disc of Life & Times contains 1997's Strange Warmings of Laddio Bolocko, and is the more rambunctious of the two. "Goat Lips" opens on a pseudo-fanfare of guitar and drums, sun-beaming riffs reaching toward the sky like a bizarro universe prog band that didn't realize they were supposed to insert a keyboard solo in the middle of all that commotion. Before things get too stagnant-- and they never do; one of LB's strengths was they were able to play repetitive music that didn't seem redundant-- they launch a kinetic, jackhammer groove that might fit well on a new Boredoms CD if it was just a tad less funky. They change again, playing an emergency-siren guitar riff while Fleming slams anything in sight. It's a beautiful sound, and they're just getting started.

"Call Me Jesus" and "Nurser" emphasize the pure noise aspects of LB's sound, though still with enough a sense of pulse as to grant them post-rock membership on a technicality. Again, though they tend to hit a beat and stick with it, the small details-- DeGrazia's horn interjections in the right speaker, or the vaguely King Crimson-esque "chorus" blasts-- make very little go a long way. This pays major dividends on the unthinkably massive "Y Toros", which finds a few hundred ways to play the same three notes during its 34-minute tour. In much the same way This Heat played with rhythm on "Repeat", LB very rarely let a phrase go by the same way twice. Furthermore, they take almost ten minutes to climax; that may sound gratuitous, and I'm sure some folks are going to run screaming from the room during parts of the second half of the piece, but if extended foreplay with a messy peak is your game, this band wants to love you.

The second disc collects 1998's In Real Time and 1999's As If By Remote, documenting the band's considerable growth over its short lifespan. "As If By Remote" is exotic drone, full of disparate sound-bites, jungle bounce and a Middle Eastern guitar riff that leaves a dreamy haze over the entire tune-- a state perfected on the practically untouchable "The Going Gong". "A Passing State of Well-Being" serves up the sunny organ chords, similar to the vibe of the first tune on the other disc, but adds flute and a metronomic funk beat to transform what would be run-of-the-mill Chicago post-rock into muscular psychedelia. Similarly, "Laddio's Money (Death of A Popsong)" takes two chords and half a riff to construct what should be the world's most inept attempt at a Ted Nugent song into avant-garage greatness.

Obviously, if instrumental freak-outs of any variety aren't your bag, Laddio Bolocko might induce migraines. Yet this is rarely "noisy" music: where their would-be peers are going for the loudest and fastest riffs imaginable, pushing boundaries of sound into thresholds of pain, LB seemed to have been heading in a more textured direction. It's too bad we won't get to hear where they might have ended up, because bands that can craft delicate stones as well as rocky rave-ups aren't terribly common. In any case, Life & Times comes very recommended for those in need of a jam.

2005.

PARSON SOUND parson sound

an all-time classic in the kraut/psych style. "Ooooh boy. This one is a monster. A big, scary Scandinavian, doomy, drone-happy monster. Insanely stunning for the time it was recorded (1966-68) and equally perplexing that virtually no one got to hear this until this very decade. I can't say enough good things about these sessions and this band. It's a shame they didn't stick together for the long run but I'm fucking elated with what we've got and I'm betting you will be too."

much to enjoy here. 2001.

HOMESICK FOR SPACE ...please continue

the sophomore album from the brilliant, underknown band homesick for space. not available to purchase ANYWHERE (and initially only available via the band's myspace). no artwork, no label, but the best album of 2007. amazing band from NYC, mixing sounds of radiohead, jeff buckley, and mogwai into a kaleidoscope of sounds and textures. amazing lyrics, too. THIS IS LITERALLY THE MOST UNDERHEARD ALBUM EVER.

ANDROMEDA MEGA EXPRESS ORCHESTRA take off!

really cool third-stream/big band jazz album from this collective out of germany. really fun and listenable! recommended. 2009.

YNDI HALDA enjoy eternal bliss

probably the best post-rock album not released by a band called godspeed or explosions. totally brilliant stuff here, blending the style styles of post-rock together seamlessly, replete with all the epicness and beauty you would expect from such a release. exhilarating and intense. this album changed my life a little bit when i first heard it, and it's equally as impressive years later. pretty much perfect. 2006.

CYNIC traced in air

the follow-up to the brilliant and highly influential focus. i think this album sort of flew under the radar because no one was sure if the band could capture the magic of the debut 16 years after the fact. well, they did, and this album is just as brilliant and their first work.one of the best metal albums of the decade, probably. don't overlook! 2008.

THE INNOCENCE MISSION birds of my neighborhood

lovely folk music. smooth and relaxing with lovely female vocals. makes me feel fuzzy inside. delicate and simple. :-) 1999.

MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND a thousand shark's teeth

the female jeff buckley. if you don't like this, the world is broken. 2008.

TED LEO & THE PHARMACISTS shake the sheets

awesome, super-catchy indie rock/power pop from ted leo and his crew. very fun stuff. if the opening track "me & mia" doesn't make you feel alive, then you suck and you should not read this blog or listen to music. 2004.

THE COUP genocide & juice

politally conscious hip-hop from oakland. one of my favorite hip-hop albums of the early 90s! great lyrics and lots of cool, funky beats. intelligent, clever stuff. if you like your hip-hop that way, you gotta get this. sort of a lost classic of the 90s west coast scene. 1994.

LYE BY MISTAKE fea jur

probably the best metal album released last year. aynone familiar with their first album, 2006's arrangements for fulminating vective, knows the penchant this band has for technical, progressive, experimental metalcore. with fea jur, they toss aside quite a bit of their -core tendencies and focus a lot on their ridiculous chops and instrumental interplay, sounding almost like some amazingtechnical jazz-fusion/-rock group, like arcana (only heavier, intense, and even more technical!). i'd even go so far as to say that this album sounds like some amazing mixture of gordian knot (the atmosphere and songwriting, while having a top-notch prog/fusion aesthetic) and yowie (super-tight, super-technical muscianship). this album is a trip, and one of the best i've heard in this style of music. 2009.

DISILLUSION back to times of splendor

progressive metal from germany. lots of relatively unique elements to the genre. they have a sound all their own. epic and essential to any fan of this style of music, especially opeth (whom they do not really sound like, but frequently draw comparisons to). their follow-up, gloria, is vastly different (but equally as awesome), going into experimental electro-rock territory (a la ulver, kind of). awesome shit regardless. 2004.

AGALLOCH the mantle

one of the finest metal albums around. if you're into metal, you probably already have this, but i thought i'd post it just in case. atmospheric folk/black metal with post-rock leanings from the orgeon group. perfect from beginning to end. less gybe-influenced than their (almost as good) follow-up, ashes within the grain. 8 years later one can see how influential this album is on certain bands and sub-gengres. an epic masterpiece. 2002.

OSTROVA ostrova

really awesome, epic post-metal/screamo from spain. kinda like envy mixed with buried inside. riyl those bands, circle takes the square, any european screamo, or any post-metal. nice ep. 2009.