Posts Tagged ‘album of the day’

Album of the day: Agitation Free – Malesch

Posted on Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

Agitation Free - Malesch

Praise from San Francisco’s Aquarius Records for Agitation Free’s Malesch: for those unfamiliar with Agitation Free, here’s the deal… They got their start as a hippie commune band, with ties to Guru Guru, Tangerine Dream, and Amon Duul. Their debut, Malesch (Arabic for “it doesn’t matter, take it easy”), is a true cosmic Krautrock classic, blending the spacey psych of Pink Floyd and fellow krautrockers Ash Ra Tempel and Popul Vuh with a flair for Eastern “exoticism”. Plus, in the intertwining guitars, you’ll find some hints of the American West Coast psych sound (yes, even a little Grateful Dead — but don’t let that scare you off).

The album was recorded in 1972 not long after the band was sent on a tour of the Middle East by the Goethe Institute, and incorporates field recordings (decades before the likes of Godspeed You Black Emperor!) from their trip: the bustle of Cairo streets, desert winds, calls to prayer, friendly airline pilots… These tapes are a key element of this record’s appeal (along with their sheer talent for jamming and their synth and electronic experimentation). Oh, and some great Hammond organ sounds too. Basically, this is a fantastic album of mostly instrumental psych / drone / ethnic rock, that’s generally mellow but powerful too. Whether to the Great Pyramids of Egypt (where the album cover was shot) or to inner space, Malesch portrays a true trip indeed. So recommended.

Tags: Agitation Free, album of the day, Aquarius Records, Krautrock, Malesch, SPV
Posted in 2010, Album of the Day, Roadburn Recommended | No Comments »

Album of the day: The Wounded Kings – The Shadow over Atlantis

Posted on Saturday, February 6th, 2010

Lovingly pinched from The Obelisk: Whenever I hear a record like the The Shadow over Atlantis, the jaw-dropping sophomore outing from UK doomers The Wounded Kings (and contrary to whatever hyperbole is yet to come, reason knows there are other albums that have provoked this reaction), I feel oppressed by ...read more

Album of the day: Earthless – Live at Roadburn

Posted on Friday, February 5th, 2010

Lovingly pinched from StonerRock.com: The trick of free-flowing instrumental jams is keeping it interesting for long stretches of time. If there’s a group currently out there that knows this better than Earthless, I’d like to know who it is. From my vantage point, Earthless is the cream of the psychedelic ...read more

Album of the day: Mondo Drag – New Rituals

Posted on Thursday, February 4th, 2010

Lovingly pinched from The Obelisk: With minds expanded and set to the key of retro, Davenport, Iowa — which for those in the know is called “the San Francisco of Iowa” (that’s not true) — the high toned Mondo Drag emerge bearing psychedelic sweets that seem to melt as soon ...read more

Album of the day: Rituals of the Oak – Hour of Judgement

Posted on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

Lovingly pinched from HellrideMusic.com: Rituals of the Oak issued a very promising two track demo less than a year ago so this full length has been eagerly awaited by many in the doom community. Very well done straight up doom metal is always a welcome thing round the Hellride board ...read more

Album of the day: Harmonia – Deluxe

Posted on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

Praise for Harmonia’s Deluxe from San Francisco’s Aquarius Records: A while ago we raved about the reissue of Harmonia’s first album Musik Von Harmonia and now Lilith has thankfully reissued Harmonia’s follow-up release from 1975, Deluxe. Although we loved Harmonia’s first album, Deluxe is, dare we say, even better!!
Made up ...read more

Album of the day: Harvey Milk – S/T

Posted on Monday, February 1st, 2010

Lovingly pinched from StonerRock.com: I’ve gone over my history with Harvey Milk in greater detail before, but for context’s sake, the condensed version is thus: Once upon a time, I was a no-nothing mainstream metalhead who had grown tired of the crap I listened to. Then I discovered Harvey Milk ...read more

Album of the day: Ihsahn – After

Posted on Sunday, January 31st, 2010

Lovingly pinched from About.com: Heavy Metal: After is the third solo CD from Ihsahn, and the ending to a trilogy. The former Emperor frontman’s solo releases have been more progressive and experimental in nature, while still being rooted in black metal. After pushes the envelope even more, with extensive use ...read more

Album of the day: Loop – A Gilded Eternity

Posted on Saturday, January 30th, 2010

Praise for Loop’s A Gilded Eternity reissue from San Francisco’s Aquarius Records: Contemporaries of legendary drug rockers Spacemen 3, Loop took the same sonic influences but rocked a little harder, opting out of the extended soporific drifts the defined the Spacemen, (although they were perfectly capable of blissing out with ...read more

Album of the day: Skullflower – Strange Keys to Untune Gods’ Firmament

Posted on Friday, January 29th, 2010

Lovingly pinced from The Obelisk: What starts out as a litmus test for how much drone punishment a listener can handle not so quickly becomes an encompassing ritual nearly religious in its scope. Skullflower’s Strange Keys to Untune Gods’ Firmament (Neurot) is a double-disc, 12 track excursion to the outer ...read more