Fu Manchu - The Action is Go
Fu Manchu makes music perfect for skating and hanging out with buds. Fuzzy stoner tunes that seem less worried about sounding perfect and more about being fun. Really groovy and fun to jam out and headbang to.
>stoner rock, fuzz, skate music
Ed Masuga - Let Me Tune My Heartstrings
Acoustic folky stuff. Ed’s got a real authentic feel about him. Sometimes has kind of a 50’s vibe to it. Themes touch mostly on relationship stuff and have a sort of innocence to them.
>Folk, acoustic, “indie”
Sleep Party People - We Were Drifting on a Sad Song
Sleep Party People’s second release is as dreamy as the first. The difference this time is a more pop oriented approach and more driving beats. It’s a wonderful ride through a dream land that’s trying to put you to sleep. My album of the year thus far.
>Dream pop, indie pop, electronic
Autechre - Tri Repetae
Autechre is an electronic duo. Crafting experimental IDM, the group has been progressing musically since they first started releasing, becoming more and more experimental, and arguably, better. Lots of unique sounds and timbres. Something about this album feels very machine-like, but very musical at the same time.
IDM, experimental, oohprettysounds-core
Swans - Filth
This one is a doozy. Swans is one of the seminal no-wave bands. Chaotic and crushing, this is a difficult album to get through. Any one of the tracks on their own seem sort of terrible and laughable, but listening to the whole album is totally different. It’s sort of like they crafted the album so that you would get about 4 tracks in and say “well, I don’t think I can take much more of this”, and then you have 9 tracks to go. Not for the faint of heart. If you manage to make it through, you’ll probably end up feeling a bit numb, or physically ill.
No-wave, noise rock, Ican’ttakeitanymore-core
Bongzilla - Amerijuanican
Bongzilla is a Stoner Doom/Sludge band. It’s not hard to guess what the lyrical themes are, but the sort of obsession with the herb shouldn’t deter you from the album, the band is still musically one of the best in the genre. Bluesy and harsh, this is quite a dense album, as a Doom album really ought to be. Vocals take a little getting used to, even if you’re used to harsh vocals, but it’s not hard to love them once you’re accustomed.
Stoner, Sludge/Doom, Weed4life420smokeweedeveryday-core
Deer Tick - Divine Providence
Nice alt-country/rock. Interesting song-writing and just a general sense of being carefree, although some tracks conflict with that, which is good really. The soundtrack to a drunken night with your buds.
Alt-Country, Rock, let’sgogetdrunkandwreckstuff-core
Josh T. Pearson - Last of the Country Gentlemen
I’ll talk a little more about this than most albums because I listened last night and I liked it quite a bit. Pearson writes some very different country music. Really mellow and drawn out, if you go into this album expecting “country”, you’re going to be disappointed. Most tracks are around 10 minutes long and they can get somewhat repetitive. Oddly though, it works really well. The instrumentation is mostly just Josh, his guitar, and a string quartet, although the last track adds in some other elements. He touches on some difficult and unflattering subjects, such as loving a woman who isn’t his wife. Ver melancholy and touching, the record feels very authentic and personal. Quite recommended.
Alt-Country, Acoustic, Thisisreallydepressing-core
A-1 - After School Special
Nostalgia rap from A-1. He takes the music from old T.V. shows and lays a beat under them. Pretty nice flow and a really creative idea. You’ll be smiling throughout.
Hip-Hop, Sampling, Nostalgia-core
Aquabats make really fun, really happy third-wave ska. Mostly quick tempos and a good sense of humor make this album a really fun, addictive listen. I mean, how can you not love that music video.
Ska, Rock, Superhappyfuntime-core
