In this episode:

Brian.

Music:
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Idumea (Current 93)
Mastodon - March Of The Fire Ants
Tides - Resurface

Enjoy!
-Deniz

In this episode:

I Fucking Hate Noodly Arms

Music:
Sandpaper Handjob - Body Bag
Made Out Of Babies - Fed
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy with Matt Sweeney - Lift Us Up
Sepultura - Biotech Is Godzilla
Shalabi Effect - Mr. Titz (The Revelator)

Enjoy!
-Deniz

Tracks:
Mono - Yearning
TV On The Radio - Playhouses
Ben Allison - Tricky Dick
The Advantage - Metroid: Kraid's Lair
The Evens - Everybody Knows
Joe Lally - All Must Pay
Islands - Rough Gem
Maritime - People, The Vehicles
Latterman - 'Dozer Rage
These Arms Are Snakes - Mescaline Eyes
Subtle - Midas Gutz
Liars - The Other Side Of Mt. Heart Attack

Mono - You Are There

The only post-rock record on my list, so what? Mogwai's newest is absolutely brilliant and fatally flawed. Laura just doesn't interest me that much. Gregor Samsa is really damn good, but I don't feel like listening to it more than once or twice. Etc etc etc. Mono are glacial like for real, but when they blow up, they make you remember it. Their songs are all very, very long, but if you have the attention span they'll reward you. Also, they're from Japan, and that's cool, right?

TV On The Radio - Return To Cookie Mountain

You knew this was on here. Come on. This record is damn near perfect. Every song is edgy, anxious, and just won't let the fuck go of you, even if this was a conventional pop record it would be astounding how good the songwriting is, but the dense, noisy production takes it over the top. Oh yeah, and best vocalist in pop music today? Probably.

Ben Allison - Cowboy Justice

I like jazz! This is good jazz! Contemporary post-bop that isn't afraid to rock out, with sparse guitar-drums-bass-trumpet arrangements that bring some serious folk and rock influences in. Good times.

The Advantage - Elf-Titled

They play entirely covers of NES music. And it's good! Who would've thought? The drummer plays guitar for Hella, and his tight polyrhythms are what make this band work. Engaging, and danceable, and entirely worthwhile even if you've never heard any of the songs before. Fuck the Minibosses, this is the real shit. Much, much more than nostalgia.

The Evens - Get Evens

Hey, remember Fugazi? Ian MacKaye is older now, but he and his wife can still write great fucking songs. Sensitive but pissed off indie-pop duets with that elusive DC sound.

Joe Lally - There To Here

Hey, remember Fugazi? Joe Lally is older now, but he can still write great fucking songs. Sparse, almost ambient drum-and-bass tracks with great, great lyrics.

Islands - Return To The Sea

Nick Diamonds returns post-Unicorns in fine form. Musically, this is very upbeat and layered, with strings, horns, funky-ass bass, and an assortment of fucked little instruments contribute to a full and complex sound. Lyrically, this is absurd, abstract, and damn funny. As a package, it's one of the most fun record of the year. Bounce around like children! Do it!

Maritime - We, The Vehicles

This is probably only on the list because I have the biggest fucking boner for The Promise Ring, but it's a solid record nonetheless. Davey von Bohlen doesn't sound like his voice will break any second anymore, but he can still write upbeat pop songs that don't make you feel ashamed for liking them.

Latterman - ...We Are Still Alive

Lots of good punk rock records this year (None More Black, Lawrence Arms, Dead To Me, The Falcon, etc), but they all felt flawed or incomplete in their own little ways, and this record is so fucking consistent and solid. Sure, it sounds pretty much exactly like their last album, but their last album sounded really fucking good, so who cares? Driving and positive, this makes you feel like jumping on a bed and yelling, in a really, really good way.

These Arms Are Snakes - Easter

TAAS finally prove that they are worth knowing about for reasons beyond "members of Botch." These songs aren't abrasive at all, but are so fucking menacing. Sometimes their guitars and drums and vocals sound like clattering machinery. Good implementation of keyboards as well, that's very rare in menacing music. They usually just end up being cheesy.

Subtle - for hero: for fool

Doseone's voice on this record is fucking incredible. His usual nasal falsetto and stutter is in full form, but he's got a new deep, low, powerful growl that you just can't believe comes from the same guy. The production is so dense I have no idea what's going on most of the time, but really this is the Doseone show, let's be serious. And this is probably the best hip-hop vocal performance by anyone, ever, no joke. Lyrics are just breathtaking as well.

Liars - Drum's Not Dead

Tribal drumming and layered drones over obtuse vocals? Sweet! Liars have made a career out of spite for the listener, but now they've gotten accessible, and damn is it good! The first nine tracks lull you into a meditative state, and then they bust out the closer, which forcibly makes you believe that everything, ever, will be okay. Such a good feeling, this record.

Enjoy!
-Deniz

Tracks:
Russian Circles - Carpe
Made Out Of Babies - Proud To Drown
Isis - Wrists Of Kings
The Sword - Barael's Blade
Melvins - The Hawk
The Blood Brothers - Vital Beach
Genghis Tron - Dead Mountain Mouth
Converge - No Heroes
Daughters - Fiery
Harvey Milk - Love Swing
Mastodon - Capillarian Crest
Pyramids - Lucid
Dysrhythmia - Seal/Breaker/Void

Russian Circles – Enter

Very powerful music. Expansive, post-rock-ish metal in the vein of Pelican (sort-of) that is focused around the juxtaposition of ethereal melody and thick, driving riffs. I’ve never heard a band nail dynamic shifts like this one. Epic and beautiful while retaining that metal groove.

Made Out Of Babies – Coward

Creepy as all fuck. This is music that is honestly frightening. It’s easy to ignore everything but Julie Christmas’ entrancing and terrifying voice, impish and vile, but behind it is some incredibly solid post-hardcore. A challenging listen, and not for everyone, but if you’re looking for “extreme� music that actually offers something offputting, you’ve gotta hear this.

Isis – In The Absence of Truth

Isis are not physically capable of making a bad record. Although this record is a change in tone and style from previous releases, it is nevertheless relentlessly solid, by turns chilling, entrancing, and utterly intense. Their songs no longer have the light-to-heavy dynamic that attracted so many to them in the past, opting instead for songs that, while equally expansive, are mostly consistent in their trancelike groove.

The Sword – Age Of Winters

A debut record coming off of no hype, this one took everyone by surprise. Yes, the lyrics are silly D&D tripe, but do you really care? Accusations of being nothing more than a Black Sabbath clone are completely unfounded, while this band isn’t the most original they draw their influences from a wide variety of metal, and you’ll find just as many stoner and thrash elements as doomy grooves. Their riffs are like mountains, and I can’t imagine anybody not enjoying this unless they were really trying hard not to.

Melvins – (a) Senile Animal

I’ve never been into the Melvins very hard. Sure, Bullhead, Houdini, and Stoner Witch are great records, but the band’s output is way too haphazard and inconsistent for me to be a dedicated fan. So when I heard they had a new record out, I wasn’t particularly excited. Then I heard that Big Business had joined the band, giving them great bass, double vocalists, and two drummers. The sobering influence of their new members is obvious in the songwriting, the group’s most consistent and conventional in years. Usually I use conventional as an insult, but in this case it just means they eschew their usual noodling for some down-to-business shredding. Amazing riffs, amazing hooks and amazing beats is all you need to know about this record.

The Blood Brothers – Young Machetes

This band gets a ton of hatred, 100% undeserved. Yes, a substantial portion of their fanbase is teenage girls. Yes, they’re artsy and pretentious. Yes, they’re ridiculously talented. Yes, they know how to make their songs catchy as hell and genuinely disturbing. I had never heard a record that honestly freaked me out while making me want to dance at the same time until this one came around. Twisted, disturbing, and utterly brilliant. Naysayers, get your ears checked.

Genghis Tron – Dead Mountain Mouth

Genghis Tron’s debut EP, Cloak Of Love, was a fun but gimmicky combination of electronica and grind. Intriguing, but hard to take seriously. For their debut full-length, they’ve taken their style and made it into something fluid and strangely pretty, an unexpectedly mature record. I can’t really describe why it works, it just does. There are ridiculous tapping riffs, and long sections of melodic keyboards, and they work well together. I never would’ve thought.

Converge – No Heroes

Okay, did you seriously not expect this record to be awesome? Converge are consistently the singular most talented and creative songwriters in the hardcore scene, and with every record they’ve put out they’ve topped the previous one. This is no exception. It completes their three-album cycle of perfection beginning with Jane Doe and continuing through You Fail Me. This is pretty much as good as it gets. If you don’t already have this and love it, you’ve got some serious catching up to do.

Daughters – Hell Songs

I was unimpressed with Daughters’ debut record, Canada Songs. It had a bit of spark, but it was buried under uninspired spazz-grind, and for every piece of shining creativity, it suffered by unneeded adherence to genre conventions. When Hydra Head announced it was releasing their new record, however, I knew they would put out something worthwhile, and Hell Songs is it. I have no earthly idea why there is so much fan backlash against this record. To better suit their jittery, neurotic instrumentation, they’ve completely changed their vocal style, discarding their tired screams for a jittery, neurotic, bluesy drawl. You’ve gotta hear it to believe it.

Harvey Milk – Special Wishes

I have no idea how to even begin describing this band. Very few of the songs on this record sound similar, but they make sense together. The music is usually sludgy, but occasionally explodes into bursts of triumphant southern-rock riffing. The vocals are an uncontrolled groan like I’ve never heard before in my life. The passion and intensity behind this record are unmatchable. You, personally, should own this record.

Mastodon – Blood Mountain

I hated this record the first time I heard it. Like, HATED. It took me months to come to terms with the fact that this is the new Mastodon record. After producing the mountainous, crushing masterpiece Remission and the slightly disappointing but still vaguely huge and sorta heavy Leviathan, Mastodon have made a record that is, well, silly. And pretty stupid. That said, this record is positively bursting with inspired riffs, lightning-fast drumbeats, catchy hooks, and technical proficiency like you’ve never seen. So it’s not serious. So what? Sometimes it’s okay just to be fun.

Pyramids – Following The Tracks, Forcing Motion Through Phases

Usually, I don’t like “concept albums.� That tends to be code for ridiculous ballads and a bunch of claptrap about “characters� and “storylines� backed up by lyrics that sound like sixth graders trying to be “abstract.� That is not the case for this record. Detailing a semi-metaphorical introspective train ride with intelligent and deft use of language, this is one of the only records I’ve ever heard whose lyrics make sense when read as poetry. The music is wonderfully-composed as well, and though it is a scant 7 tracks, it functions as one coherent whole. Screamo with heavy emphasis on post-rock elements!

Dysrhythmia – Barriers And Passages

Entirely instrumental, and entirely engaging. Most instrumental bands drag at points, but Dysrhythmia just keep powering ahead, keeping you constantly engaged. Polyrhythms like you’ve never imagined! Six-string bass over guitar that sounds kinda like Steve Albini’s guitar in Shellac, if Shellac was an absurdly technical metal band, and great drums too.

More to come. Be afraid.
-Deniz

Tracklist:

Cutting Pink With Knives - Cosmic Explosion of the Velvets
Busdriver - Casting Agents and Cowgirls
Hot Cross - Turncoat Revolution
Minus the Bear - Dr. L'Ling
Erik Friedlander - Airstream Envy
The Snake The Cross The Crown - Cakewalk
Modest Mouse - Parting of the Sensory
Oxbow - Geometry of Business
Do Make Say Think - Bound To Be That Way
Explosions in the Sky - The Birth and Death of the Day
Dälek - Abandoned Language
Panda Bear - Bros

For a full album of the year list with brief reviews of each record and bonus year-end goodies like honorable mentions and outstanding disappointments, go here.

Enjoy!
-Deniz