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User
Reviews 48
Approval 99%
Soundoffs 4
News Articles 5
Band Edits + Tags 13
Album Edits 52
Album Ratings 5250
Objectivity 66%
Last Active 12-21-19 12:44 am
Joined 07-07-13
Review Comments 1,851
| Underrated gems pt.2
Here's another list of albums that I hold in very high esteem that haven't had much exposure around here. Just like the last one of these, several of these albums may already be a little known for fans of the specific genres, but they all deserve more attention than they've gotten. All highly recommended 4.5's and 5's from me. | | 1 |  | The Sky Life
Caves
Big shoutout to Ponton for bringing this one to my attention. Really wonderful minimal indie/folk for fans of Bon Iver's debut or early Wilco. The singer has one of those voices that is just perfectly suited to the style of music played. The skeletal instrumental framework keeps the voice at the forefront, but still manages to put enough meat on its own bones to carry the songs where appropriate. It's also a 'name your price' release.
http://deepelmdigital.com/track/stop-thinking | | 2 |  | Steve Roach
Dreamtime Return
An absolutely monumental accomplishment for the electronic ambient world at the time. It's a huge 130min double album based on Indigenous Australian culture, and channels this concept through creative ethnic drumming, Aboriginal chants and even a didgeridoo. This of course all rests alongside more standard synths and ambient textures, but they all combine to form something that is incredibly diverse and engaging for an ambient album that runs for over 2 hours. For fans of Tangerine Dream, Robert Rich, all that good stuff. | | 3 |  | Mystery of the Yeti
The Mystery of the Yeti
Major recommendation for anyone who enjoys psychadelic goa/trance. Raja Jam and Posford (of Shpongle and Hallucinogen fame) are involved in the project, if that sells anyone on it. It has a much heavier tribal influence than their other works, and features far more progressive compositions and long ambient interludes, but it's worth taking the time to piece it all together. Important note: it wont make any new fans if you don't enjoy this kind of thing. They're not great as a transition band, that's what Shpongle is for. | | 4 |  | Nicolas Jaar
Don't Break My Love
Pretty much recommending this for the track "Why Didn't You Save Me". That track is a masterpiece. Really unique electronic/indie/I'm bad with genres when it comes to this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGwmNtiXd1Q | | 5 |  | Dopamine
Dying Away In The Deep Fall
One of my favorite examples of shoegazey bm/post-rock. Really strange that this never took off around here, because people seem to jump on top of anything with that label attached. Regardless, the reason this stands out from similar artists for me is that the songs are constantly shifting gears, they never rely heavily on a single jangly guitar line or tremolo. Vocals are harsh, but used sparingly and timed impeccably. Blasts are used sparingly, but hit hard when they do for that exact reason. Highly recommend this for fans of An Autumn for Crippled Children and Ecailles de Lune. | | 6 |  | Sleeping At Last
Storyboards
Quaint minimal indie with a wide variety of instruments and a great vocalist. Plugging my review for this instead of writing more, recommended for fans of Armistice or just generally pleasant music, this thing is calming. | | 7 |  | Haruka Nakamura
Twilight
This album absolutely floored me on first listen. Probably because I had the wrong expecations going in, his later works took too much inspiration from Nujabes and he couldn't work that style very effectively, but this is different. It makes use of a similar instrumental palette, but stripped down to the bones. There are ambient pieces, simple calming loops, angelic vocals and a beautiful interplay of different instruments. It's about as far removed from the descriptor "busy" as any album I've heard, and yet Nakamura experiments with a wide range of instruments and structures in a very small space. | | 8 |  | Matryoshka
Laideronnette
Electronic/ambient/post-rock in the vein of Kashiwa Daisuke, Worlds End Girlfriend etc. It's the organic, natural cousin of those artists masterpieces, with a greater emphasis on classical instruments and less focus on the electronic end of the spectrum. Another facet that seperates this is the everpresent, elusive vocals. They fade in and out all the time, rarely standing out and constantly evading the listener. It adds a huge appeal and replayability, and outside of Program Music I, it's definitely my favorite of its kind. Strongly recommend this to anyone with even a passing interest in the genre. | | 9 |  | Ataraxie
L'être et la Nausée
I guess as far as doom goes, this didn't exaactly "fly under the radar" since it has 60 votes, but it is my favorite doom album in years. It is absolutely crushing, and if it wasn't for Esoteric, it would certainly be my top pick of this decade thus far. They removed all the prettier emotional elements that attracted people to their debut, fixed the pacing issues from Anhedonie and released the best album of their career. Monstrous riffs, demonic vocals, you know the drill. | | 10 |  | Shape of Despair
Monotony Fields
While we're talking about doom, the new Shape of Despair has just been released. There's a strong emphasis on keyboards and an almost stately atmosphere - it's not as crushing as most doom, but it is incredibly well-written and a breath of fresh air. There's this aura of hope that pervades the release, but that means that when the weight comes crashing down, it hits hard. Some of the best clean vocals I've heard in the genre too. Tentative 4, but likely to go up to a 4.5 for me. | | 11 |  | yodaka
yodaka
The starting point for Kashiwa Daisuke. It's raw, underproduced post-rock that gets carried along by the guitar and static noise. Shares more in common with an artist like If These Trees Could Talk than it does with Daisuke's works, but the poor production gives it a sharper, unique edge that is often missing from similar releases. | | 12 |  | Vi Som Alskade Varandra Sa Mycket
Den sorgligaste musiken i varlden
Visceral screamo in the vein of Suis da Lune. The Swedish vocals aren't much of a barrier to overcome, because the raw emotion weighing down the singers voice is tangible. One of the best albums to come out of 2014. | | 13 |  | Rorcal
Heliogabalus
Punishing sludgy post-metal with a heavy doom influence. It's a straight descent into hell, enormous dissonant guitar riffs shatter the silences between cymbal smashes. Any time it gives you room to breathe, there's eerie electronic flourishes and constant rumblings that create an intense feeling of unease. Highly recommended for masochists. | | 14 |  | Kev Brown
I Do What I Do
A killer chill hip-hop album. Really relaxed vibe permeates every second, even when the lyrical content often strays to more depressing subjects. I admit I don't have a lot of experience with underground and lesser-known hip-hop, but this is definitely the best I've heard of its kind. | | 15 |  | The Tumbled Sea
melody/summer
Slow, pristine ambient that rotates between long ambient tracks and shorter piano pieces. There's not anything special that seperates it from the pack structurally, it just has some of the most gorgeous melodies and textures I've heard. Very similar to Eluvium, just less well-known. | | 16 |  | Johann Johannsson
Fordlandia
A powerful modern classical album with a unique concept and execution. There are some weaker moments but it's more than made up for by the incredible peaks. It's a bit downtrodden in parts but it adds a lot of tension of tracks like "The Rocket Builder" and makes the climaxes of the longer compositions that much more affecting. Recommended for fans of Max Richter. | | 17 |  | Unsane
Visqueen
Abrasive noise rock from the masters. People know them more for their shocking album art than the music, which is a shame, because they're one of the best at what they do. This is aggressive, noisy, sludgy, scummy rock at it's very best, and simply doesn't let up from start to finish. | | 18 |  | Carpenter Brut
EP III
This is a new kind of music that's been getting a lot of playtime from me lately. I've seen it referred to as synthwave, retrowave, outrun and a bunch of other things. Genre tags aside, it's an incredibly fun type of music that, while often lacking in diversity, makes up for it with energy and nostalgic effect. Carpenter Brut are one of the more adventurous artists, utilizing a grimier approach to songwriting while still managing to incorporate cheesy saxophone lines fresh from the 80's and some detestably sugary melodies. Recommended for fans of Megadrive and the "Kung Fury" soundtrack. | | 19 |  | Two Steps From Hell
Archangel
The kings of hype trailer music. These artists specialize in extremes, taking glorious symphonies (Archangel), tribal drums (All Drums Go To Hell), or even drones (All Drones Go To Hell) and pushing them to their most intense and dramatic limits. It can be exhausting to listen to a full album, but is a strong recommendation for anyone who needs a pick me up or quick burst of energy. | | 20 |  | Sorrow (UK)
Dreamstone
One of my favorites from 2013 that flew under the radar, and a big recommendation for fans of Swarms/iNTRiKeT/Phaeleh/Mimosa (no genre tags or Dev will crucify me, but that'll give a fair indication of the sound here). It has some incredibly intricate beats that manage to sound so smooth and maintain a mystical atmosphere, even when there's a lot going on at once. The title track is phenomenal, and easily rests in my top 5 songs from that year. | |
ComeToDaddy
06.20.15 | Hopefully this gives a few people some albums to check out. Once again, I can wholeheartedly recommend everything here, there's none of my 5's this time around but everything gets a 4.5 from me. There's a few that are a little niche but I tried to add plenty of variety to the mix so there's something for everyone (: | Psynuts
06.20.15 | cool list, gonna check some of this stuff out, 3 is grabbing most of my attention.
I have a soft spot for cringy cover art. | ComeToDaddy
06.20.15 | I feel that, colourful album art always gets quick listens from me. If you've delved beyond Shpongle and you're a fan of that sort of stuff you should definitely enjoy it. It's less trancey than the artists other stuff like Hallucinogen and Infinity Project, more tribal influence and psychadelic | Mort.
06.20.15 | im seeing Unsane get posted a lot more recently, great band
cool list | Psynuts
06.20.15 | Im actually a complete noob when it comes to trance music, but I wanna delve into it. The genre has always intrigued me but I never got around to explore it. Just listened to some shpongle and I'm already in love, any other bands u would recommend for noobs like me? | ShitsofRain
06.20.15 | bands in trance? | ComeToDaddy
06.20.15 | Shpongle falls more in line with psybient and psytrance, if you want to go searching then that's what you want to look for. There's honestly not much that's similar to Shpongle though, they're very unique, and your first order of business should definitely be listening through their discography if you are enjoying what you're hearing. | efk241
06.20.15 | 2 is brilliant | ComeToDaddy
06.20.15 | Try Infected Mushroom afterwards, they're pretty much the most accessible psytrance band out. Then just decide if you'd rather branch out to the psychadelic stuff, or the trance side of their music. | emester
06.20.15 | 9, 10 and 17 are awesome | Ryus
06.20.15 | 2 and 4 agreeeeed | Psynuts
06.20.15 | allright thanks, will try them out | JohnnyoftheWell
06.20.15 | The last track on 11 is incredible | Let
06.20.15 | 20 rules, even though it tends to sound just like clubroot. Have you listened to any of Djrum's materiel? He also produces some intricate and emotive dubstep. | Totengott
06.20.15 | Going to check some of these, sweet list man. | LotusFlower
06.20.15 | I think one of the big reasons no 8 is so unknown is because their band name is shared with a Hatsune Miku song that floods up the first few YouTube pages. | CalculatingInfinity
06.20.15 | Daddy list which fucking rules, yet again. Very hopeful for 3, since I love Shpongle's Psybient stuff so much. | GuanoBumbershoot
06.20.15 | Dopamine was actually one of the first posty blackmetalish band's I came across. Found em on youpube the same day I found Agalloch. Bookmarked them, then completely forgot about it. Big thanks for the reminder man. | hal1ax
06.20.15 | so far I've checked about 50% of these and they've all been awesome. great list man | KrazyKris
06.21.15 | 19 is really great stuff, if too long. The t/t is so damn epic | hal1ax
06.21.15 | fuck... 7 is absolutely gorgeous. | ComeToDaddy
06.21.15 | Sweet, glad you guys are enjoying these.
@Let, I haven't heard his stuff, is there a best place to start?
@hal1ax, 7 is my favorite find this year for sure. It's so pretty but unlike anything I've heard at the same time, was really happy I found it. | hal1ax
06.21.15 | ya 7 is unique sounding to me as well. 7 & 15 are exactly what I'm in the mood for today so this is exciting! thxx | ComeToDaddy
06.21.15 | You're welcome man, glad you're enjoying them (: | parksungjoon
05.29.16 | need stuff similar to 18? | ComeToDaddy
05.29.16 | I've actually gone and listened to the genre stacks since these days, but I'm always down for more recs. I pretty reliably enjoy anything in that style | parksungjoon
05.29.16 | check lazerhawk and dance with the dead
"I pretty reliably enjoy anything in that style"
yeah same |
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