New Album Log, 25th April 2009 Onwards

This Heat - This Heat [1978]
A krautrock-influenced mesh of tape loops and industrial noise; a few good tracks, though some throwaways too. Some of the songs seems outdated and boring while others sound bizarrely ahead of their time. I respect this work more than I enjoy it; there are moments of genius, and of stupidity. 7/10

TV On The Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain [2006]
Mildly impressive post rock/'experimental' rock, but nothing really special here. I can see why the critics dig it though, and in fact it reminds me of Radiohead in its bite size chunks of experimentation - verging on the avant garde but not really having the balls to try something unpredictable - Not that experimental music is better of course, but pseudo experimental really pisses me off. This is like a worse version of Battles' beautiful debut Mirrored. 6.5/10

Pearl Jam - Ten [1991]
Good pop songs, I liked Even Flow and Jeremy best. 6/10

Kaleidoscope - Beacon From Mars [1968]
Quite fun, quite weird. I don't know what to really make of this album, but it aint no 8/10 like Scaruffi seems to think. Title track is the best. 6/10

Li Jianhong - San Sheng Shi [2008]
Best new rock piece I've heard in a while, this beautiful 50 minute album is just one song. It is an expansive yet minimalistic journey of sound in its own dimension of noise, bridging the gap between spacerock, industrial and shoegaze (in many ways MBV's successor) in a beautiful and serene mesh of creativity. Really quite unheard of, this will most likely go overlooked by critics and certainly by the masses, just like Aglaia and Shit & Shine. The piece never loses interest of profundity, in a seemingly ever lasting buildup in the obviously arhythmical piece. Constantly evolving and changing, San Sheng Shi is sound in its purest form, I can't remember a single time I have been this profoundly affected by something without having an image of some sort evoked. This is second only to Klaus Schulze & Tangerine Dream. I strongly urge anyone who likes the work of Ligeti, My Bloody Valentine or Aglaia to get this album. 8.5/10

The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses [1989]
Not a great record, mostly just standard pop/rock stuff with a funky touch. I absolutely adore Fools Gold though, up there with the best songs of the 80s. 6/10

Fursaxa - Kobold Moon [2008]
More like Meredith Monk than the Rolling Stones, but I'll classify it under the ubergenre of rock (all music is like a huge venn diagram anyway). Like waves on a beach, the sounds lap to and fro, a complex ethereal atmosphere created by the choral brilliance delicately interjected with electronic sound effects. Very weird. Very wonderful. 7.5/10

Amadou & Mariam - Welcome to Mali [2009]
Utter shit, I felt sorry for them it was so bad. 4/10

Mountains - Choral [2009]
Very relaxing, I liken this to a cross between Spirit of Eden and 3 Organic Experiences - though not quite as good as either. Nice, but not that memorable. 7/10

Evangelista - Hello, Voyager [2008]
Ok, this is basically Roy Montgomery and Lisa Germano having a child together, so it was always going to be a formula I loved, and I do. Beautiful timbre, tone and song - everything is worthwhile, nothing is filler. This album may go up in rating with repeat listens. 7.5/10

Jay Z - The Blueprint [2005]
Stupid, stupid music. Ridiculously predictable beats and silly synths wave about while 'Jay Z' spits nonsense that nurtures his ego in a very purile manner. I don't care if some critics liked this one, it's no different from other stupid rap music like this. Best song was Renegade, which featured Eminem, and it definitely sounds like one of his tracks (production wise) but even that is bad. It isn't just the poor quality, it's how boring it is. 5/10

Pere Ubu - The Art of Walking [1980]
Another brilliant release from David Thomas, this record features the band leader of Red Crayola, Mayo Thompson, and the influence is obvious. The deconstruction and stripping down of the music is much more obvious here, with less of the new wave edge that The Modern Dance possessed. Great record.7.5/10

David Peel - Have a Marijuana [1968]
Meh. Ok, pretty boring.6/10

System of a Down - Mezmerize [2005]
I was very impressed by this album, and B.Y.O.B. is quite literally the shit. A very good song, if it wasn't for Cassandra Gemini and Ladybird (and Dubi Dam Dam?) then this would be the best of the year. Its dynamic changes and development are remarkably well formed for such a short song, and the interplay between the frantic shredding of the verses and hypnotic calm of the choruses is reminiscent of when Metallica made good music. Their wild eccentricity and odd take on standard Nu-Metal ideas are good fun to listen to, certainly more so than the most boring Nu Metal act in existence; Disturbed. Definitely worth getting. 7/10

Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction [1987]
Oh Kerrang, how disturbingly naive and idiotic you are, considering you actually claim to know things about rock music. Best album of all time? What? WHATT?! I doubt even fans of GNR would say that. Also this band's hard on for Led Zeppelin is a bit too much for a true LZ fan to handle, Slash being such a blatant rip off of Page and that silly singer Axl Rose mimicking Plant's iconic style. Anyway, I'm very familiar with nearly all of the material on here but hadn't before now viewed it in a critical way and doing so has been interesting. There are two songs on this album worthy of a listen, Sweet Child of Mine and Welcome to the Jungle. The former is no doubt a cliched, over the top pop song but it does its job well. The solo is slow and linear (just like Nirvana solos), but for some reason idiots seems to think Slash is some kind of guitar god (ironically, they think the same of Page), despite the fact he'd be shredded to death by any of the performers from the annual G3. The bombastic and more visceral Welcome to the Jungle is so overplayed and well recognised its hard to be objective but t is definitely their masterpiece, meshing their love of classic rock bands such as The Stones, Led Zeppelin with the more recent ones such as AC/DC and Aerosmith. Rose's voice reaches its most unique and aggressive potential, while Slash's limited guitar playing is still actually ok here, and the riffs sound good. A good album for those who value a powerful riff with a slick production value. 6.5/10

DJ Logic - The Anomaly [2001]
Awesome name, awesome music. This is a bridge between turntablism and jazz, and captures the mood of both perfectly, sounding neither pretentious nor obscure. The best track is the ten minute raga Drone which changes half way through, beginning like a jazz-hop song and finishing like a rap track being cut up by Kid Koala; it is a blend of superb bass hook and beat combined with mad saxophone that descends into scratching chaos complete with alien soundtrack and a female rapper. Hip Hopera is also very fun take on Dance of the Nights by Prokofiev blended with a hip hop beat. Fans of DJ Shadow will no doubt enjoy this album. 7.5/10

Shit & Shine - Cherry [2007]
When noise-rock goes wrong. 5/10

Klaus Schulze - X [1978]
I love Irrlicht more than nearly every other album and work ever made and so this was gonna have to be very good to live up to it; it is amazing, there is no doubt as to that, but it lacks the continuity that its predecessor possesses. It feels like six seperate tracks rather than a journey through time and space, but still well worth getting for anyone who's a fan of ambient. Awesome atmosphere though, and I particularly loved Friedemann Bach 7.5/10

Zu - Carboniferous [2009]
A very interesting and intense Italian metal group that fuse elements of experimentation and ambient noise with their set. The trouble is that the ideas just aren't that great, the timbre is predictable, the sound monotonous and the ambiance lacking. Almost like Tool with less creative talent but more experimentation. 6/10

The Fleshtones - Roman Gods [1981]
Cool! I loved this psycho surfer approach to the punk angst of the time. Fairly linear catch tracks, but each is quite special in its own way. It sounds like in a bizarre way Royal Trux was influenced by music like this. 7/10

The Pixies - Surfer Rosa [1988]
This brilliant debut LP from The Pixies is a joy to listen to on so many levels. The Pixies take quirky, surrealistic lyrics and mix them into their almost-atonal guitar riffs (inspired by the likes of The Dead Kennedys and Sonic Youth) and frantic drumming; on top of this, the vocals are erratic and spontaneous, stretching the convential structures the band favours to their very limits. The masterpieces are Where Is My Mind? and River Euphrates. 8/10

Dream Syndicate - The Days of Wine and Roses [1982]
Good, but not that good, this album is too samey, not having enough expansion of ideas or content. That said, the title track is awesome shit. 7/10

Carla Bozulich - Evangelista [2006]
Not quite sure on this one yet...has the potential to be one of the best of the decade. EDIT: Never since the hate of Miss Havisham has the wrath of a woman scorned been so ultimately and beautifully expressed, through her moans and whispers, through her shouts and screams and through the painful agony that hangs on to every note. This album brings both the expansive and the personal to the forefront, in a stream-of-consciousness homage to Diamanda Galas and Nico; avant-garde noises, powerful organs and violas, screaming vocals and structural insanity. Its introduction (and best song), Evangelista I begins with a mechanical overture harmonised by a deep organ, slowly paving the way for melancholy singing by Bozulich, which at first is a mere whisper to what will come. This manifests into a crescendo; her notes become screams, the violas begin to shreek until it suddenly all fades away. Her voice is all that remains, solitary and disturbed. Once again, the rise begins but the unhinged nature is even more powerful this time, resultings in the cacophonous and macarbre finale that sets the standard for the rest of the album. This ethereal and deeply emotional sound continues through the album, with sadness (Steal Away, How to Survive Being Hit By Lightning), confusion (Nel's Box, Prince of The World) and repression (Pissing) all expressed. The album finishes with a response to its opener with Evangelista II, which provides a sorrowful end to a beautiful album. I highly recommend this album. 8/10

Type O Negative - Slow, Deep and Hard [1992]
Not great is it, Piero? In honesty, claiming this to be the best metal album of all times(s) is about as sensible as labelling The River a 9. I think he just likes the pretentious track names and their long length (Misinterpretation of Silence and Its Disastrous Consequences, anyone?). The first track is the best, beginning very well, but descending into something quite convential and almost cheesy by the end, which is a shame. The rest of the album is ok, but next time I fancy some metal I'll stick to Slayer and Metallica 6.5/10

Pere Ubu - Terminal Tower: An Archival Collection [1985] (Compilation)
Amazing, just amazing. Reaffirms my belief these guys are one of the best bands of all time. 8.5/10

Arcade Fire - Funeral [2004]
What is good about this album? 6/10

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible [2007]
As bad as its predecessor. 6/10

Kiss Kiss - Reality vs. The Optimist [2007]
This prog/indie-rock album has plenty of good ideas present, they're just always in the shorter songs (30 second track lengths, eg. A Conch To The Ear). Maybe I place too much value in timbre, but their more linear songs just seem melodramatic and quite tedious. Best song is Cat's In Your House, blending sparse piano/violin combination with out-of-control sounds. 6.5/10

Kaddisfly - Set Sail The Prairie [2007]
No. 5/10

Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP [2000]
I'm very undecided as to what I think of this album, it has moments of comic genius, vulgar stupidity and profound emotional impact. I don't usually listen to song lyrics, but I always do with Eminem, seeing as the backing is usually very sparse (yet always recognisable) and the vocals dominate. Normally, this over-importance of lyrics annoys me, but Mathers' seem to always have a point to them, even when they talk of drugs and violence he is making a statement of purpose. Highlights are definitely Stan, The Way I Am and Kim. 7/10

Jan Jelinek - Loop-finding-jazz-records [2001]
Coooooool. Farben under a cooler pseudonym (his real name) unleashes some glitchy ambient masterpieces that are soothing and gentle, while still being, y'know glitchy. Recommended for all fans of electronic music. 7.5/10

Nine Inch Nails - Further Down The Spiral [1995]
Remixes of songs from the monumental Downward Spiral, this is a re-hash with glossy production effects done by some electronic artists (including Aphex Twin) and Reznor himself, but lacks a focus and thorough continuity and thus just can't really break the boundaries of a lower rating. 6.5/10

Suicide - Suicide [1977] (REVISIT)
Having originally dismissed this album, I now look at it as one of the most important and greatest of all time(s), inventing and hugely influencing what would later become EBM, Techno, Synthpop/Electroclash and so many other electro/rock styles in thes 80's and 90's. The album's sparse and minimalistic style allows such a great depth of field for Vega's vocals, epitomised on the profound Frankie Teardrop, the 70's answer to The End, having less atmospheric instrumental interplay but more spontaneous animal instinct. Other masterpieces include Ghost Rider, Rocket USA and Che; these on their own though hold nothing to the piece of music as a whole, much like Beefheat's magnum opus it is one entire work that only functions truly when listened to fully through. One of the most brilliant records in rock music. 8/10 (maybe more?)

Nirvana - Nevermind [1991]
I like this album, and it's not because of the awesome melodies or grunge overtones, it's Kurt's intense emotion, particularly on Smells Like Teen Spirit (maybe the best short song of the 90's) that really delivers. Easy to look over because of the amount of populist (read: Beatles' lovers) love for it (and yes I did that just to piss people off, but you won't know whether I'm being serious; ha), but well worth checking out for a grunge/shoegaze/punk influenced great album with moments of genius. 7/10

James Holden - Balance 005 [2003] (REVISIT/MIX)
Widely considered one of the best mix tapes of all time, Holden's Balance 005 is so much more than just a bunch of songs mixed into each other by a dj; it is his magnum opus, manifesto of a washed up scene and own personal statement. This is one of music's great industrial (used descriptively, not in the sense of music) wastelands, a bleak and melancholy look at the high-tech world we're now living in, and which is the centerpoint of EDM. Holden is addressing the now-gone golden age of electronic music, this being his way of affirming himself one of the major players in the underground counterculture of Minimal and 'neo'trance/techno, which spawned as a backlash from the increasingly commercial styles of conventional trance and house. The album's centerpiece is the triplet 'Outhouse/Fortune Telling Fish.../You Are Sleeping', a depressing and harrowing take on urban living and the isolation/alienation present within so many aimless souls. This is a fnantastic piece of music, but I am not counting it as an original record (much like a compilation). 8/10

Red House Painters - Down Colourful Hill [1992]
Avoided getting this album for a while, didn't know why. Now I know why. 6/10

Big Black - Atomizer [1986]
A really cool album on first listen that I think will only grow with future listens. I hear Suicide here a lot, reaffirming my belief in its utter importance for so much alternative music that came in the 80's and 90's. This album was a big influence itself on NIN, Pixies and Nirvana (Albini later producing In Utero). Scaruffi hits the nail on the head with his review, it is not a collection of songs, but shockwaves of dissonance and polyrhythmic terror that 'set the apocalypse to music'. Expect future rise in rating. 7.5/10

Devendra Banhart - Rejoicing In The Hands [2004]
Beautiful music that borders on Tim Buckley, Leonard Cohen and Joanna Newsom; sublime, weird and utterly brilliant. 7.5/10

Devendra Banhart - Oh Me Oh My... [2002]
His debut, which is beautiful as well, but not as good as Rejoicing.... 7/10

Primus - Frizzle Fry [1990]
Awesome funky metal, deserving of much more publicity than it gets. 7.5/10

Von Lmo - Cosmic Interception [1994]
Disappointing. 6/10

Stephan Micus - Implosions [1977]
Amazing. Literally breathtaking, very exciting that there's still so much good music to find! 8/9/10/who knows/10 - just amazing.

Sinead O'Connor - The Lion and The Cobra [1987]
Nothing compares, No-thing compares to yo- Urr, woops, no, serious album time now; Scaruffi 8/10. This album is so much better than I expected, but that's really not saying much. Best song was Jackie. 6/10

Kyuss - Blues for The Red Sun [1992]
Not great, but not bad, just not very noteworthy; murky guitars, simple percussion and averagey vocals. Good album name. 7/10

The Boredoms - Vision Creation Newsun [2000]
Good, but I don't really get this style of music at present, so I'll listen to it again soon. 7/10

Atari Teenage Riot - Delete Yourself! [1995]
Shocking(ly bad). Punk music wed with oldskool hardcore for ADHD ten-year-olds. 4/10

Earth - 2 [1993]
Currently undecided. Will return to later. ?/10

I'm going to stop rating the albums numerically now, it's a hard system to do, I only do it vaguely accurately for my favourites anyway.

Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss [1994]
I'm not a huge fan of black metal, but this one aint half bad, first track is best, and I like the finale too. Lead singer freaked me out a bit when I read up on him.

Igor Wakhevitch - Docteur Faust [1971]
Finally I got it, always looked interesting. A tense and intellectual attempt at making rock music from the eyes of a composer (a la Branca), with lots of great ideas and brilliant execution. Certainly reminds me of the devil and of hell itself, but it lacks a focus that its similarly named counterpart exhibits so brilliantly. That said, it is awesome in the extreme, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys avant garde rock music.

Jean Luc Ponty - King Kong : Ponty plays Zappa [1969]
Brilliant collection of some of Zappa's greats, including the title track, on one album played by virtuoso jazz violinist Ponty. Not as good as a Zappa original though.

Dalek - Gutter Tactics [2009]
One of the more interesting hip-hop releases, and one of the best of the year. One major problem is the near-monotonous atmosphere of most of the songs.

There are hundreds of songs from a multitude of genres at this point, but I'm only reviewing albums. If you're interested in genres, think: IDM, Glitch, Dubstep, Techno and Minimal; addressing my roots, if you will. The following albums sort of correspond to that:

Skream - Skream! [2006]
Fantastic. Atmospheric. Funky. Scary. What minimal is for techno, dubstep is for hip-hop and DnB.

Techno Animal - Ghosts [1991]
Kevin Martin is a mechanical genius; his songs are mantras of industrial production, his music is quite simply souless. I love it. It bridges the gap between the organic and a automated, cold, machine world, every song a behemoth that functions as an unchanging beast with a robotic heart. Thousands of years in the future when humans are but memories and their machines still power on (malfunctioning and near complete failure), Ghosts is the result. Truly an essential for any lover of industrial.

Autechre - Gantz Graf EP [2002]
Probably my favourite EP of the 00s, Gantz Graf is a beautiful, ever-changing sphere. This state of flux is to me an illusion though, as I hear a method to the madness; beyond the seemingly inpenetrable surface layer is some of the greatest stuff this band have ever made. NME write, 'Autechre records are purchased solely by bald men in expensive anoraks who would masturbate to a car alarm if it was re-mixed by a German.'. Oh dear. Piero describes it as, 'three pieces that are relatively upbeat and straightforward' which makes me wonder if he even bothered listening to this one.

Kode9 and The Spaceape - Memories of The Future [2006]
Another good dubstep album, albeit with too much rapping.

Burial - Burial [2005]
If dubstep has thus far made 'art', it is in the form of this and his later work Untrue (although this is slightly better).

Bauri - Everything Will Be Ok Again [2003]
Ishkur comes good; sparse, synthetic landscapes set to abstract patterns of rhythm.

Amon Tobin - Out, From Out Where [2002]
Amon Tobin once again triumphs above his peers of jungle music. The only artist who really rivals him is Spring Heel Jack, but those two really are in a league of their own. The album: shifting moods, sounds and styles provide Tobin's poetic trademark jazz-jungle style.

The Alchemist - Chemical Warfare [2009]
Best rap album of the year along with Gutter Tactics; he makes bad rappers sound good.

Amen Dunes - Dia [2009]
This sounds like the new Pop Group (fucking brilliant).

Lullaby For The Working Class - Blanket Warm [1996]
Mellow, interesting indie rock. That said, I was bored more than I was interested while listening.

Einstürzende Neubauten - Zeichnungen des Patienten O.T. [1983]
Pretentious.

YACHT - See Mystery Days [2009]
I respect his pirated software use... not so much his music.

Blind Idiot God - Blind Idiot God [1987]
Reeeally depressing, noisy and chaotic. That's a small warning to those who find those words off-putting for an album, which I know is the norm. However, for us audio-masochists out there, this self-titled debut is a beautifully textured and well-thought out lp which acts as a successor to Atomizer and a precursor to Isn't Anything. In fact, those three albums make three perfect years of noise.

Calexico - The Black Light [1998]
Humble, melodic and truly moving music. I know I've drawn lots of comparisons with recent albums to older ones, but this really is to me a Rock Bottom of the 90s (albeit if Morricone was producing).

What was I thinking, really? Shit & Shine suck! Eurgh.

NOTE: When all else of rock music burns to the ground, Lullaby Land will stand next to Beethoven and intimidate him.