PinkTank

Yay, another boring “best of” list
I know there’s still one more month to go before 2006 can just roll over and die already, but because this blog is due this afternoon, I have no choice:

10. Ammoncontact - With Voices (review posted below)
9. Barbara Morgenstern - The Grass is Always Greener
8. Burial - Burial
7. Mono - You Are There
6. Phelan Sheppard - Harp’s Old Master
5. Junior Boys - This is Goodbye
4. Grizzly Bear - Yellow House
3. Ryan Teague - Coins and Crosses
2. Xela - The Dead Sea (review posted below)
1. Joanna Newsom - Ys

(All of these except, maybe, the top 5 will change.)

I was a little surprise when the press release for Tidwell’s mini album described her music as “gothic country.” I was taken aback by the description and started to wonder if there was a plethora of underground avant garde bands making leftfield country music. Perhaps this shows my ignorance about country music (and I’ll admit that), but who knows, the alternative country revolution might exist….wherever they are. Fortunately, Tidwell doesn’t allow herself to be pigeonholed, and her full length album is a varied mix of gentle electronics, jazz and acoustics. The most common comparisons are Bjork and Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins. But honestly, Tidwell sounds like neither of the two and it’s mostly the attitude of the music that stems the comparisons, not the music itself.

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Well, it’s about time.

Various Production has made a name for itself for releasing rare 7″ records. Although the copies were always out of stock or under “limited time only,” the praise was always the same: “You’re going to die if you don’t hear this. This is the future of dubstep music.” Since most people don’t own record players, we just had to take their word for it.

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The title of Ammoncontact’s new album is like the label on a bottle of kitchen cleaner. New and improved! Now with lemon! Now with faster grease fighting action! Well, this is Ammoncontact’s “new and improved” album, now with voices!

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After a 14 year hiatus, Icelandic indie super group The Sugarcubes reuninted for one night only in Iceland on November 17. I unfortuantely wasn’t there (obviously), but many others were there and took plenty of awesome pictures and videos for the less fortunate.

Pictures!!

I don’t let lyrics boss me around. I can easily grasp the meaning of an album on the flavor of the music alone. While listening to “The Dead Sea,” I had images of wrecked ships and black waters eerily existing in the dead of night.

Well, I was half-way right.

“The Dead Sea” is actually about a ship attacked by zombies. I guess songs like “Dry Bones” and “Sinking Cadavers” should have gave it away. Xela said he was inspired by Romero zombie films and used horror soundtracks for inspiration. I honestly have a hard time spotting the homage. Yes, the music contains an aura of creepiness, but there’s less of a horror film soundtrack here and more of a eloquent experimental take on boating music.

Well, whatever Xela was going for, it’s brilliant. Just keep the light on.

Karie’s new album “Nunki” was released a week ago and her new video gives a glimpse into what her new sound is like. KK seems to be taking herself a bit too seriously with this album, relying on drawn out, spoken word ballads instead of experimental electronic pop. I’ll wait before I cast my final judgment.

(Note: “Catch Up” are items released earlier this year.)

Music has always been a form of escapism. People want to relax, take off their shoes and sit back. They don’t want to think about the summer heat, global warming and the other millions of ways the human race is slowly dying. Wouldn’t it be nice to just forget for a little while?

At first, “Sonorapid” appears to be an odd album to be released in the dead middle of summer. It’s more of a typical wintery album. Even the cover is blue tinted and gives off the vibe of coldness. It’s not until the first track that it’s clear where Aus’ purpose is coming from. Precious escapism! Or perhaps a cheap, mental air conditioner?

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Sure, the whole pop/synth thing can get a little old, but The Blow is able to make music that doesn’t sound exasperating and redundant. “Pile of Gold” is light and humorous, while tracks like “The Long List of Girls” gives an experimental homage to band music without sounding hilariously campy. Experimental pop, here we come.

This might sound a bit strange, but the first thing I thought of when listneing to Huge Ep was Legend; you know, that ’80s movie starring Tom Cruise. Not to say this album is overflowing with unicorns and pixie dust like the film, but the music here reminded me of the soundtrack done by Tangerine Dream.
Although currently Tangerine Dream is taking a dive into the world of New Age (ugh), they used to be pioneers in ambient music and did some stunning soundtracks in their heyday. In a way, Fovea Hex (a collaborative band that fuses electronics, film compositions and ambiance) sounds like what the current Tangerine Dream should sound like. So pardon my strange comparison, but ask any Tangerine Dream fan and they could probably spot the similarities, too. But trust me, this is all a good thing.

Fovea Hex is a collaboration between Brian Eno, Roger Eno, Andrew McKenzie of Hafler Trio, composer Carter Burwell and a trio of talented singers. With so many heads crammed into this project it would be easy for an album like this to feel cluttered and eclectic, but Huge Ep is the opposite. Huge Ep manages to stay quiet, restrained and burrowing with subtle brilliance. It’s modern, but has an old ancient soul; it’s electronic, but also traditional folk.

“Huge (The Joy of Trouble)” is a trembling atmospheric opening that is accompanied by Clodagh Simonds’ striking voice. The song could easily be on the soundtrack for a nameless dramatic film. After the strings kick in on the second half, the song stops building and simply marinates for a while and dissolves into “A Song for Madga.” This is the shortest track, but the most pensive allowing electronics to swell and shrink beneath the gentle vocals. Last track “While You’re Away” is where my Tangerine Dream reference sprouted from. It reminds me of a moodier “Love By The Sun” and the vocals sound alike, too.

The ambient genre flourished in the ’80s, so it’s easy for modern ambient music to somehow awaken memories of older music. But Huge Ep is actually a forward stepping album, but is able to disguise itself from that. It’s quiet brilliance.

Siciliano never gets enough credit. Sure she’s mostly known for loaning her voice to Matthew Herbert’s music, but Siciliano is as talented a producer as she is a singer. When first popping in Slappers, many will roll their eyes at the amount of Herbert’s influence flowing from the tracks. True, there are slight traces of Herbert here, but then again, there are slight traces of Siciliano in Herbert. The two influence each other, so it’s logical for this to happen. But Slappers doesn’t sound like a Herbert album, which is probably what most are expecting.

Siciliano is dynamic, personality wise, and exerts herself on every track with cocky sassiness and humor. One of the most amazing “things” about Siciliano is how her voice transcends genre. Slappers mostly relies on electronics, but often wanders into country and hip hop territory. Siciliano’s voice never sounds out of place and is always reigning the track, barking out the lyrics often coyly or Peaches-esque.Opening track “Slappers” fittingly opens the album with a dynamic hip hop beat and then hops (pun intended) to “Didn’t Anybody Tell You,” a track that is fun to listen to, but easily forgettable. Stand out track “They Can Wait” is sinister and whisper-y one second and then assertive the next. Apparently all the beats on this track were taken from a recording of a high school and then fed through a drum kit. “Why Can’t I Make You High” borrows a country beat and a catchy hook, while “Frozen” is a quiet, throwback trip-hop track.

“Think Twice” is easily one of the best tracks, bursting into an array of bleeps and bloops and then shrinking back inside itself. “Wifey” is a glitch explosion that chops Siciliano’s vocals in interesting ways. Closer, “Be My Producer,” is an inside joke between Siciliano and Herbert. The track, which was entirely produced by her and uses only her voice to supply the beat, openly mocks the sexual relationship between singer and producer. Slappers is a surprisingly accessible album and could easily be a club hit if she was, ya know, Britney Spears. Although she might not get the credit, Siciliano’s talent is hard to brush over.