Happy ... er ... new year, it's the 2023 album recommendations thread!

[belboid]

New Yves Tudor out in a fortnight. Sounds areet

 

[SpookyFrank]

New Sparks. A complete U-turn from the last album but what else do you expect.

 

[hitmouse]

New Xiu Xiu out today, it's the catchy, upbeat, easy-listening pop you might expect, or something:


Is bandcamp Friday enough of a thing that bands deliberately release their albums then, do you reckon? Seems like a lot of new releases today.

 

[hitmouse]

Having now listened to Ignore Grief all the way through, blimey, it's definitely at the more "hard work" end of their output.
Here's how they describe it:

This is a record of halves.

Angela Seo sings on half of the record. Jamie Stewart sings on half of the record.

Half of the songs are experimental industrial. Half of the songs are experimental modern classical.

Half of it is real. Half of it is imaginary.

The real songs attempt to turn the worst life has offered to five people the band is connected with into some kind of desperate shape that does something, anything, other than grind and brutalize their hearts and memory within these stunningly horrendous experiences.

The imaginary songs are an expansion and abstract exploration of the early rock and roll “Teen Tragedy” genre as jumping off point to decontaminate the band’s own overwhelming emotions in knowing and living with what has happened to these five people.

What none of this record does and despite the oft repeated assertion, what Xiu Xiu has never done, is attempt to superficially shock the listener. Instead, Xiu Xiu has spent twenty years grappling with how to process, to be empathetic towards, to disobey and to reorganize horror; there is no other word for it other than horror.

The motivation for writing Ignore Grief to be about a child who was sold into prostitution by his mother, a junior high student who was kidnapped and murdered, incessantly choosing alcohol and cocaine over one’s family, becoming lost in the bleakest, darkest aspects of cultish spirituality and committing suicide as means to escape and protest a life of violent sex work is because the members of Xiu Xiu themselves are deeply shocked.

Old friend and new member David Kendrick (Sparks, Devo, Gleaming Spires) joins Angela Seo and Jamie Stewart through whatever this may be and whatever it may mean and why ever it may have occurred. The point of aesthetic examination is to see if there is any way to come out the other side or if there is even any reason. In either case there may not be but to simply turn away would be yet a further act of destruction.

“I had now lost all confidence in myself, doubted all men immeasurably, and abandoned all hopes for the things of this world, all joy, all sympathy, eternally. This was the truly decisive incident of my life. I had been split through the forehead between the eyebrows, a wound that was to throb with pain whenever I came into contact with a human being.”

-Osamu Dazai

 

[rutabowa]

ok I do know these people (black helium) but I've never posted an album on here before but they have made an AWESOME record here... stoner/krautrock/drone masterpiece

 

[Mattym]

Didn't he also release some drum and bass stuff - or am I thinking of another chilli pepper?

Yes, it was a while ago idm/dnb stuff.

 

[flypanam]

Efrim from Godspeed has a new one out




eta his solo efforts are generally pretty poor, but this one is much better I think.

 

[Indeliblelink]

My favourite of the year so far. Similar style to last years JK Flesh's Sewer Bait album, slo-mo brutal industrial techno, not sure what genre style of music you call this, I've seen it called dub techno but sounds harsher than that.
Gorgonn - Six Paths

 

[braindancer]

ok I do know these people (black helium) but I've never posted an album on here before but they have made an AWESOME record here... stoner/krautrock/drone masterpiece

This is mint! Thanks for sharing - I've a feeling I've seen them play before - but can't say for sure!

 

[stavros]

On first listen I wouldn't say it's his best, but Steve Mason's new one is very listenable, as you'd expect. This is title track:

 

[hitmouse]

New Protomartyr announced for June, one song out now:

Formal Growth In The Desert, by Protomartyr

12 track album

protomartyr.bandcamp.com

 

[braindancer]

Very nice bit of atmospheric black metal here.... lots I can take or leave in this genre but this one hits the ritualistic spot...

Severance by Returning

 

[Buddy Bradley]

New Fever Ray is out today, been looking forward to this - Plunge was such a great album, I still listen to it regularly:

 

[The39thStep]

To Tripps (the surviving half of what was Dead Combo ) has a new solo out. Exceptional Portugal guitarist

 

[stavros]

Oh yes. A full 14 years after the last SFA album, the debut from Das Koolies (SFA minus Gruff) is excellent. Lighter on vocals, as you might expect, I'd have thought Cian is probably doing most of them:



By the way, it's listed as an EP, but is 11 tracks and 54 minutes long.

 

[May Kasahara]

Crazy to think this is his debut album after such a long and awesome career in making and mixing music - Jerome Hill has just released Flow Mechanics

 

[The39thStep]

A Certain Ratio's 1982 release date March 31st

 

[hitmouse]

First track from the upcoming Kneecap album up now:

 

[May Kasahara]

Shana Cleveland (of La Luz) has released her second solo album. If you like La Luz and their mystic Cali surf stylings (which I do), you'll probably like this.

 

[May Kasahara]

On the subject of shoegaze I was put on this album by Winter by Norman Records who gave it album of the week last week....

It's really grabbed me and I've been caning it.

Quite enjoying this, despite (or perhaps because of) it sounding like an MBV/Cocteau Twins AI output.

 

[braindancer]

Quite enjoying this, despite (or perhaps because of) it sounding like an MBV/Cocteau Twins AI output.

Harsh but fair

 

[May Kasahara]

Gorgeous dreamy R&B stuff from Kali Uchis

 

[stavros]

Oh yes. A full 14 years after the last SFA album, the debut from Das Koolies (SFA minus Gruff) is excellent. Lighter on vocals, as you might expect, I'd have thought Cian is probably doing most of them:



By the way, it's listed as an EP, but is 11 tracks and 54 minutes long.

Is no one else loving this? It's a new Super Furry Animals album in all but name, for fucks sake.

 

[Part 2]

killer b seems to be missing from here lately so I'll post this. Brighde Chaimbeul. Album coming in April

 

[braindancer]

Is no one else loving this? It's a new Super Furry Animals album in all but name, for fucks sake.

I've never paid any attention to the Super Furry Animals. I don't think I've ever listened to one of their albums.... maybe I should?

 

[stavros]

I've never paid any attention to the Super Furry Animals. I don't think I've ever listened to one of their albums.... maybe I should?

Oh without doubt.

 

[stavros]

This is good, a series of Eno-esque soundscapes of Kyiv prior to the war, although the album was released last month.

 

[braindancer]

New deathcrash album out today.

It was flypanam who put me on to Returns, their album from last year which was high in my AOTY list - and this is sounding pretty great too.

The slightly annoying 'slowcore' tag is used a lot in reviews - but yep, it's very Slint, Codeine, early Mogwai. This one's more sparse and less dramatic than last year's but still has some intense moments.

 

[flypanam]

New deathcrash album out today.

It was flypanam who put me on to Returns, their album from last year which was high in my AOTY list - and this is sounding pretty great too.

The slightly annoying 'slowcore' tag is used a lot in reviews - but yep, it's very Slint, Codeine, early Mogwai. This one's more sparse and less dramatic than last year's but still has some intense moments.

Oh nice! I really like the single Duffy’s.

 

[braindancer]

Had another listen nice and loud - yes, it's fucking brilliant...