Jac's First Half 2016
Well it's that time of year again where I'm a week and a bit late to post half yearly list after everyone raced to post theirs a week and a bit early. I ain't got time to waste time. |
| 70 |  | Akio Suzuki
a i sha
Musique concréte / field recordings |
| 69 |  | Be'lakor
Vessels
Melodeath - This is honestly one of the most palatable death metal albums I've ever heard, and I mean that as a kind of backhanded compliment. I can see this being an excellent gateway album for people looking to get into the genre, but for my ruined ears I need something a bit more gruff. |
| 68 |  | Throwers
Loss
Hardcore punk |
| 66 |  | Nadra
Allir vegir til glötunar
Black metal |
| 65 |  | Massive Attack
Ritual Spirit
Trip-hop |
| 64 |  | Eucharist (AUS)
Endarkenment
Black / death |
| 63 |  | Munchener Kammerorchester
Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 8 and 9
Classical period / concerto - Not the best interpretation I've ever heard: Tame performances and somewhat dodgy recording quality on the piano, but Mozart's music is delightful enough to overlook these minor qualms |
| 62 |  | Kendrick Lamar
untitled unmastered.
Hip-hop |
| 61 |  | Lycus
Chasms
Funeral doom - See my review. |
| 60 |  | Autumns
Das Nichts
Noise / post-punk |
| 59 |  | Ritual Chamber
Obscurations (To Feast On The Seraphim)
Death metal |
| 58 |  | Aes Dana and Miktek
The Unexpected Hours
Downtempo |
| 57 |  | Setentia
Darkness Transcend
Death metal - Iffy drum production aside, this is some good Ulcerate worship. |
| 56 |  | Kashiwa Daisuke
Program Music II
Neo-classical post-rock |
| 55 |  | Stefan Thut
un/even and one
Lowercase - This was actually quite difficult to get into at first, due to the fact that you miss so much if you let yourself get distracted. But lowercase is as lowercase does. |
| 54 |  | Stillborn Fawn
Norn
Black Metal |
| 53 |  | Valerio Tricoli
Clonic Earth
Electroacoustic |
| 52 |  | Oren Ambarchi, Kassel Jaeger, James Rushford
Pale Calling
Field recordings |
| 51 |  | Grave Miasma
Endless Pilgrimage
Death metal |
| 50 |  | Mats Gustafsson
This is From the Mouth
Free Improvisation |
| 49 |  | Arashi (jazz)
Semikujira
Free jazz |
| 48 |  | Valerio Tricoli
Vixit
Dark Ambient |
| 47 |  | First Fragment
Dasein
Tech-death |
| 46 |  | Felicia Atkinson and Jefre Cantu-Ledesma
Comme un seul narcisse
Musique concréte / ambient |
| 45 |  | Abhomine
Larvae Offal Swine
Black / death |
| 44 |  | Clouds (CAN)
Timeslip Roadmender
Techno |
| 43 |  | Kassel Jaeger, Stephan Mathieu, and Arika Rabelais
Zauberberg
Ambient / field recordings |
| 42 |  | Vile Intent
Machine Into Flesh
Powerviolence |
| 41 |  | Fire! Orchestra
Ritual
Experimental big band |
| 40 |  | Jason Crumer
Stare at the Devil
Harsh noise / musique concréte |
| 39 |  | Reptilian
Perennial Void Traverse
Death metal - Blatantly rips off Obliteration but hey, just about everything in metal is an appropriation of something else at this point so w/e |
| 38 |  | RIAS Kammerchor
Schnittke: Penitential Psalms
Modern classical / choral |
| 37 |  | Puce Mary
The Spiral
Death Industrial / Dark Ambient - I hoped for more of the explosive viscera of "Night is a Trap II" to capitalise on all the suspense building, but the suspense building is pretty awesome in and of itself anyway so I can't complain. |
| 36 |  | Vektor
Terminal Redux
Tech-thrash - Yes, it's not #1, get over it. |
| 35 |  | France Jobin
Singulum
Ambient / lowercase |
| 34 |  | Le Concert des Nations
Les Elements: Tempetes; Orages; Fetes Marines
Baroque music |
| 32 |  | David Bowie
Blackstar
Art rock - RIP |
| 31 |  | Chthe'ilist
Le Dernier Crépuscule
Death metal - Slightly-flat production aside this is about as enthralling as I expected it to be. |
| 30 |  | zeitkratzer / Keiji Haino
Stockhausen: Aus den sieben Tagen
Modern classical |
| 29 |  | Matmos
Ultimate Care II
Musique concréte / IDM - A dense and disorienting exercise in sound design. Requires a very specific listening setting as it's easy to get lost and feel disconnected but ~ |
| 28 |  | Venetian Snares
Traditional Synthesizer Music
IDM - See my review. |
| 27 |  | Svartidaudi
Hideous Silhouettes of Lynched Gods
Black metal - Almost irritatingly good in light of being only two damn tracks long. Full length pls. |
| 26 |  | Sarah Neufeld
The Ridge
Post-minimalism |
| 25 |  | Destroyer 666
Wildfire
Speed / black / thrash |
| 24 |  | Christophe Rousset
Bach: Das wohltemperierte Klavier 1. Teil
Baroque music - I was hesitant to check this as I've never been partial to solo harpsichord (too bright, lacking in dynamics and expression) but somehow this has hooked me for two hours at a time, without intermissions. |
| 23 |  | Funebrarum
Exhumation of the Ancient
Death / doom - Devastating tunes with Infester-esque vocals |
| 22 |  | Deviant Process
Paroxysm
Tech-death - High-octane tech-death with progressive tendencies that is reminiscent but not an imitation of American styles that were prevalent in the 90s. |
| 21 |  | Fire!
She Sleeps, She Sleeps
Avant-garde jazz |
| 20 |  | Clara Iannotta
A Failed Entertainment: Works 2009-2014
Modern Classical - A compilation of dynamic, textured and suspenseful pieces consisting of sparse soundscapes in which the instruments almost seem to chatter with each other, occasionally erupting but only for the most brief of moments. |
| 19 |  | Inverloch
Distance | Collapsed
Death / doom - See my review. |
| 18 |  | Michael Formanek
The Distance
Avant-garde jazz / Experimental big band - Takes a long time to get into the swing of things but once it does I'm hooked until 71st and final minute. |
| 17 |  | Voidnaga
Demo MMXVI
Black / death - Absolutely fucking gnarly, ever so sloppy demo with astounding production quality (for a demo at least), do check if you're into all things black-y and death-y. |
| 16 |  | RIAS Kammerchor / Akademie fuer Alte Musik Berlin
Johannes-Passion
Baroque music / oratorio - This is the first rendition of Bach's St. John Passion that I've heard and I'm impressed (duh), but I'm gonna check some other recordings as this one is a little sibilant and peaky in places. Performances are impeccable, notwithstanding. |
| 15 |  | Tim Hecker
Love Streams
Ambient / Glitch - Bit of a shame this has gotten the worst reception of any Hecker because it's one of his best. Yes, it's reminiscent of Oneohtrix Point Never, but still far in excess of anything Lopatin's done anyway. |
| 14 |  | Howls of Ebb
Cursus Impasse: The Pendlomic Vows
Death metal - Definitely Howls' densest album, musically speaking. Though I think it lacks the fun-factor of the debut and the expansiveness of the EP, it's another jewel in the band's now rather lavish looking crown. |
| 13 |  | Jachna / Mazurkiewicz / Buhl
Dzwieki ukryte
Avant-garde jazz - Unbelievably methodical for something that - from what I've read - is improvised. "Nie Wiem, Mysle" feels sculpted from the ground and up, and "A Ya" is a superb bout of organised chaos. Whatever, it sounds good to these ears. |
| 12 |  | Autechre
elseq 1-5
IDM - See my review. |
| 11 |  | Szilard Mezei Sextet
Lerakat / Depot
Avant-garde jazz - Not for casual listening, but extremely rewarding if you're willing to put in the time to flesh it out. Can feel like a mish-mash of everything but the kitchen sink at time but it's a beautiful mess no less. |
| 10 |  | Abchordis Ensemble
Stabat Mater: Italian Sacred Music
Baroque music - Joyful but surprisingly undramatic tunes from a few composers in whose work my interest has been piqued. |
| 9 |  | Immune (UK-LON)
Breathless
Outsider house - Okay, yes, the second track is by far the best one but that still counts for quite a bit when probably in my top 5 of the year so far. The others are nothing to sneeze at, hiding their subtle beauties beneath a blanket of iridescent fuzz. |
| 8 |  | Myriam Alter
Cross/Ways
Jazz - Undemanding, concise arrangements that cover a broad range of emotions from jubilation to melancholia. Has a bit of Klezmer vibe to it. |
| 6 |  | Dorisburg
Irrbloss
Ambient Techno - Simple but sublime and surprisingly malleable beats that invoke a palpable atmosphere. Only complain is that I wish it was longer. |
| 5 |  | Akademie fuer Alte Musik Berlin
Handel: Water Music
Baroque music - Just a superbly recorded and produced rendition of three seminal suites by an ensemble that's quickly establishing itself as one of my favourites. |
| 4 |  | Matthew Revert / Vanessa Rossetto
Earnest Rubbish
Musique Concréte - Without trying to sound like a complete dilettante, I haven't even bothered scrounging for some narrative structure to this album, even if I'm sure it's present. I'm not even too sure what Revert's role in the arrangements and sound manipulation is, all I know is the result is oddly soothing. Maybe it's the presence of Australian accents, who knows? |
| 3 |  | Zealotry
The Last Witness
Death metal - See my review |
| 2 |  | Hesperion XXI / La Capella Reial de Catalunya
Granada Eterna 1013–1526
Medieval / Renaissance classical music - My infatuation with this album might have something to do with my unfamiliarity with this period of music; it all just sounds so fresh and lively. The Arabic-style vocals and instrumentation give the whole thing a sort of mystical vibe without sounding gimmicky or inauthentic. |
| 1 |  | Gorguts
Pleiades' Dust
Death metal - After hearing the preview tracks I was reasonably excited but each of this album's constituents are so much more affecting when heard in context. Definitely better than Coloured Sands, having trimmed the fat while simultaneously taking the "DM-as-movements-rather-than-songs" approach to a whole new level. I know it's ~cool~ to hate on Gorguts for whatever reason now but for people who aren't total retards this will hit like a tonne of bricks. |
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