Archive for December, 2011
The Obelisk: The Top 20 of 2011
Posted on Saturday, December 10th, 2011
This list is made up of my personal picks, not the results of the Readers Poll, which is ongoing.
It was an impossible task to keep up with everything that came out this year. I’ll say flat out that I didn’t. There are records that I just didn’t get to hear, and I should note at the outset that this list is mine. It’s based on my personal opinions, what I listened to the most this year and what I think 2011′s most crucial releases have been.
I’ve spent the better part of this week and last, if brain-time counts constructing this list, and I finally got it to a point where I feel comfortable sharing. Since last December, I’ve kept a Post-It of names, and all year, I’ve logged bands I’d want to consider for the final top 20. In the end, there were 78 bands and more that I didn’t get to write down for whatever reason. 2011 was nothing if it wasn’t overwhelming.But here we are, anyway, and it’s done. Let’s get to it:
20. Suplecs – Mad Oak Redux
Released by Small Stone / Reviewed Nov. 5, 2010.
This is nothing if not a sentimental pick.Last year, I put Electric Wizard in the #20 spot because the record wasn’t out yet, and this year, I’m putting Suplecs interview with bassist Danny Nick here in just because I couldn’t imagine this list without them. Until literally a few minutes before I clicked “Publish” on this post, there was someone else in this spot, but ultimately, it had to be them.
The New Orleans trio’s first record in half a decade wasn’t what I listened to most in 2011, it wasn’t the best album, or the most important, or career-defining, but when it came right down to it, god damn, I was just happy to have Suplecs back. It had been too long.
19. Elvis Deluxe – Favourite State of Mind
Released by Harmony Records / Reviewed June 14
After a while, I was kind of shocked to find myself continuing to listen to Favourite State of Mind, the second album by Polish rockers Elvis Deluxe. The record’s dynamics didn’t immediately open up to me, but once I dug into the songs, I was wowed by their balance of catchy hooks and substantial-sounding riffs.
The album was genre-relevant without being genre-minded, with vocal changes, organ, atmospheric shifts and a whole host of moods and turns. After hearing their 2007 debut, Lazy, I wasn’t expecting much out of the norm from Favourite State of Mind, and I’m still thrilled by just how wrong I was, and ‘Take it Slow’ is among my favorite single songs of the year.
18. 40 Watt Sun - The Inside Room
Released by Metal Blade / Reviewed Aug. 11.
The gloomy opening statement from former Warning guitarist / vocalist Patrick Walker turned heads around the world with its unabashed emotional conviction, which was so much the central focus of the record as to be made a novelty by those who don’t usually consider doom an emotionally relevant genre the widespread arguments against that notion I’ll leave for another time.
What most stood out to me about The Inside Room was how the sentimentality translated into a gorgeous melodic sensibility and resulted in a lonely mood that was engrossing. On that level, it was easily among 2011′s most effective releases. It made you feel what it seemed to be feeling.
Continue reading: The Obelisk: FEATURE: The Top 20 of 2011
Tags: 40 Watt Sun, Ancestors, Elder, Hull, JJ Koczan, Mars Red Sky, Red Fang, Rwake, Sigiriya, Sungrazer, The Obelisk, Weedeater, yob
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Album of the Day: Can – Tago Mago (40th Anniversary Edition)
Posted on Saturday, December 10th, 2011
Lovingly pinched from Pitchfork: Can have long been one of those bands that are more talked about than heard. They were enormously influential on certain kinds of forward-thinking rock artists (their fingerprints are all over Radiohead and the Flaming Lips, not to mention more more recent underground acts like Woods ...read more
Pentecostal Desert Glam Quintet The Saint James Society to Release Debut EP on February 7, 2012
Posted on Friday, December 9th, 2011
Austin, TX psychedelic garage rockers The Saint James Society have signed with NYC’s Tee Pee Records and will release their self-titled debut on February 7, 2012. Recorded at ATX’s Cacophony Recorders (The Black Angels, Explosions in the Sky, Roky Erickson), the four song EP delivers electric rock music that brilliantly connects the ...read more
Album of the day: Peaking Lights – 936
Posted on Friday, December 9th, 2011
As we move towards the end of 2011, here’s a worthy record that we overlooked the first time around earlier this year. Lovingly pinched from Pitchfork: It’s difficult not to be overly descriptive when talking about the kind of music that Wisconsin dub-pop duo Peaking Lights make. The band’s amoebic, ...read more
Transylvanian Hungerrr: Album of the Year – Syven’s Aikaintaite (by Stefan Raduta)
Posted on Friday, December 9th, 2011
2 0 1 1 A L B U M O F T H E Y E A R SYVEN – Aikaintaite Vendlus Records by Stefan Raduta Aikaintaite is not only an incredibly lyrical, melancholic and spellbinding achievement, but it is by far one of the most ...read more
Ancient VVisdom Unveils New Music Video The Opposition
Posted on Friday, December 9th, 2011
The Opposition, the new video from occult rockers Ancient VVisdom, can be seen below. The Opposition comes off the band’s debut full-length, A Godlike Inferno, which was released through Shinebox Recordings. The much talked about LP was recorded at Austin’s The Bubble Studio (Built to Spill, Explosions in the Sky, Mammoth ...read more
Album of the day: Otesanek / Loss / Orthodox / Mournful Congregation – Four Burials
Posted on Thursday, December 8th, 2011
Praise for Otesanek / Loss / Orthodox / Mournful Congregation ‘s Four Burials from San Francisco’s aQuarius Records: Originally released in 2008 on Battle Kommand, this crushing ultra doom four way split is available again, courtesy of local label The Flenser. Absolute heaven (or hell if you prefer) for the ...read more
Death Trip: Two Tracks Posted On Soundcloud
Posted on Thursday, December 8th, 2011
Finland’s Death Trip have released two tracks, titled ‘Chainsaw Goddess‘ and ‘Death Trip’ (culled off Pain is Pain – The Complete Death Trip 1988-1994), on their Souncloud pages. Death Trip is as uncompromising as it is hypnotic – an intense concentration of distorted guitars in the spirit of The Stooges, The ...read more
Ufomammut Complete Two-Part Neurot Recordings Debut
Posted on Thursday, December 8th, 2011
Ufomammut, Northern Italy’s sorcerers of supernatural and obliterating doom, have completed the recordings for their sixth full-length, and first as part of the Neurot Recordings family. This week we are beyond excited to announce the details of this highly anticipated, mammoth follow-up to their 2010 full-length Eve, the band’s most ...read more
Album of the day: Burial Hex – In Psychic defense
Posted on Wednesday, December 7th, 2011
Lovingly pinched from CVLT Nation: 21 minutes of darkened bliss is what you will encounter when you allow Burial Hex’s last/new album In Psychic defense, out now via Sound Of Cobra, into your universe. This record is a labyrinth of sonic caves, leading you into ancient rooms filled with your ...read more
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