Land Of Talk - Some Are Lakes - 2008

So here we are; the proceeding is.

Land of Talk was essentially founded by Elizabeth Powell, a native of Montreal, in 2006 and has evolved since then. Replacing members and changing its sound, Land of Talk combines emphatic female vocals with minimalistic indie rhythms to create an energetic and gut-wrenching sound that keeps even a lunatic like me entetertained.

Short entry. what can I say? To make up for it I'll throw in this little gem...



Daolnowd

Hammock - Kenotic - 2004

"And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts, and I looked and behold, a pale horse and the name that said on him was death and hell followed with him." J. Cash

Done, lets dive right in.

As a bit of background, I've just gotten home from another night of work, kicked off my shoes and now I feel like writing.

To start, I love the Album Leaf - a sprawling web of ambient, post-rock, electronic sound that has been getting bigger and better since 1999. Granted, its been a while since their/his last album but Jimmy LaValle is most certainly working on new material.

Anywho, I just stumbled upon a duo similar to Album Leaf called Hammock and decided to give the debut album Kenotic [2004] a listen. I quickly realized that they were not only similar to AL but also built upon key themes laid down by them, themes including atmospheric rhythms and melodies and slow tempos.

I described this album to a friend just yesterday afternoon as being the soundtrack to a carefree dream that you can't quite remember in morning. I like the continuity from song to song and I like the laering of sounds - ie reverby guitar melodies with violin and cello. Thinking about it more, I think this album his similar to the Postal Service's "Give Up" and most of God Is An Astronaut's discography.

I'm tired and can't say much more. Listen and enjoy. Dwonolad

Om - God Is Good - 2009

Think for a second about where we listen to music and then about what music we listen to. The way I see it, there are quite a few categories: the subway, the bedroom, the shower, the bar, the city street - the list could go on for a while but you get the point. There is however one category I didn't mention because it is both out of place and out of the ordinary: meditation.

Om, a duo of the incredibly talented bassist and vocalist Al Cisneros and the wildly accurate drummer Emil Amos, form long threadlike meditative melodies that are in many ways hypnotic and drug-like. God is Good takes the raucous rhthyms of previous albums - Variations on a Theme - and tames them, making for transcendental aural experience. Call it stoner rock or drone metal or whatever you like; music is music.

That being said, candles out, lamps off and lighters at the ready folks.




Daolnwod

Disappears - Lux - 2010

I found this album yesterday and gave it a whirl; I was surprised at how much I loved it right off the bat. Using steady, percussive drums; fuzzy, reverb-soaked guitars; punchy, wet bass lines; the Disappears have gotten the stonegaze genre down. Whoa, I didn't even mention the distant vocals. Overall, if you like bands like True Widow, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Eagles of Death Metal, you'll love this album.

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Weedeater - Jason... the Dragon - 2011

Best case scenario: you're already au courant with Weedeater, you love this album just as much as the three before it, and I'm up late - or early, depending on how you look at it - for nothing. To start, I'm not the biggest fan of the vocals - those sort of growly, screamy metal voices. That being said, I enjoy the interesting, sometimes syncopated yet sometimes steady drums. The bass is overdriven and nasty and great - what more can I say, it drives the music in my opinion. The guitars are also, usually, heavily overdriven and always dronish. Bottom Line: This album is drone, sludge, stoner, etc and if you like music, you will most likely and hopefully enjoy it. Listen and, if you dislike it, you never have to hear it again.

Oh and PS, the vocalist blasted one of his big toes off while working on this album. He suffered to bring you this album? You are damn right.

daolnwoD

Wooden Shjips - West - 2011

I stumbled across this little gem yesterday. With trippy guitar effects, punchy bass lines and Doors-esque vocals, this band manages to make me move. Formed in San Francisco in 2006 and signed to Holy Mountain records (the same Holy Mountain that produces Six Organs of Admittance, Om, etc), Woodent shjips have released five albums with West being the latest. Check it out

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Novadriver - Deeper High - 2005

As a bit of background, I work as a bartender/bouncer at night during the the week in addition to having a bit of a green thumb. I also listen to some crazy heavy music from time to time. Recently I have been selflessly growing six Jalepeno plants whom I have dubbed "the Boys".

Now, I just got back from work and noticed that one of the 7 or so peppers hasn't been getting larger while all of its peers have. This troubled me, so naturally I checked the pepper's connection to the larger stem; at that point the pepper plopped off into my hand. Panicked and somewhat drunk, I took a bite of the pepper. Teary eyed and hiccuping, I withdrew to the kitchen and devoured the first collecton of lipids I could find: Yogurt. Upon recovery, I remembered that I had planned to write an entry about Novadriver's 2005 album "Deeper High"...

If you like a good amount of psychedelic effects - ie. flange, phase, wah, etc - you will love this album. Its wild and unpredictable with wah-laden screaming guitar solos and extended noise/indie-rock breaks.

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Black Sabbath - Live in Paris - 1970

There is not much I can say about Black Sabbath that hasn't already been said by someone else at some point in the past 40 years but What I can safely say is that they were one of the best live bands of their time. There are some videos of this show floating around but I ripped the audio out myself. Enjoy!

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Black Sabbath: Live In Paris 1970

Film School - Hideout - 2007

Stratified sound, punchy minimalistic drums, indie vocal styling - Film School is a perfect example of indie rock as well as shoegaze. Formed in the late 1990's by Greg Bertens and former members of Pavement and Fuck, the group released several albums with this being the third. There is the ever present "wall-of-sound" aspect all too common with shoegaze music but it's not overdone. The vocal style and lyrical content can be a bit depressing but as a bass player, I really don't pay too much attention to that aspect of the music. That being said, I think the vocals are very good and accomplish what they were designed to do, which is convey a grim mood. Overall, if you like any style of indie rock or shoegaze, you will get a kick out of this album.

Download
Film School: Hideout

Hum - Fillet Show - 1991

Sounding like a sonic Frankenstein monster, Fillet Show reminds me of contemporary bands like Dinosaur Jr, Helmet and Starflyer 59. This is the first album by the Champaign, Illinois group. This album is a bit more rough and tumble than later albums which feature more complex songwriting and syncopation. Overall, this is a great album by a band that had dropped off the edge of the world by 2000.

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Hum: Fillet Show

Om - Live at Amoeba Records

Om performs at Amoeba Records, Enjoy!

Autolux - Future Perfect - 2004

This isn't your typical overdriven, alternative rock/indie trio. Combining experimental rock themes with poppy chord structure and indie effects, Autolux's Future Perfect still melts my heart even after hearing it several hundred times. The trio formed in Los Angeles, CA in 2000 and played two shows at the Silverlake Lounge before releasing a five song EP entitled "Demonstration" which was recorded on an 8 track in their rehearsal space. I don't want to say much more, listen to this album, its what indie alternative should sound like.

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Autolux: Future Perfect

True Widow - True Widow - 2008

It seems like everyday I find a new genre. Branching off from shoe-gaze and noise, the Dallas, TX trio True Widow has been dubbed many things: stone-gaze, slowcore, sonic noir, etc. Their self-titled debut is a reverb-soaked, sonic wonder with menacing undertones and haunting melodies that conjure images in black and white. I just missed them in May when they played in NYC but I will not miss them the next time around.

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True Widow - True Widow

Om - Variations On A Theme - 2005

Tibetan-styled chanting, downtuned bass, and minimalistic drums make Om a formidable force in drone metal culture. Featuring Al Cisneros and Chris Hakius, bassist and drummer respectively, of the colossal stoner metal trio Sleep, Om is slow, and melodic and almost puts the listener into a trance with long, dynamic songs and re-occurring musical themes. Some of the only metal one can sleep to in my opinion.

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Om: Variations On A Theme

Electric Wizard - Come My Fanatics - 1996

Quoted as the "heaviest band in the universe", Electric Wizard is dear to my ears. Come My Fanatics is the followup album to the eponymous 1994 debut and features better composition and more use of chilling effects and subtle production value. Regular drone metal themes including heavy use of sustain and delay are combined with british heavy metal influence to make for a delicious drone record.

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Electric Wizard: Come My Fanatics

Boris - Amplifier Worship - 1998

Amplifier Worship is the second album to come from the japanese sludge trio Boris. Being one of only two full-length albums the band has released, this album is unique because it has more aspects of a pop sludge record while still having the elements of noise and experimentation remain the same. Overall, a monumentally bizarre, immensely enjoyable album.


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Boris: Amplifier Worship