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Staff
Reviews 397
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Album Edits 725
Album Ratings 4829
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Last Active 01-01-70 12:00 am
Joined 01-01-70
Review Comments 63,075
| DIG these DIGS
Discovery highlights from the last couple of months gettem boppem slidem ZAP | | 1 |  | Robbie Basho
The Seal of The Blue Lotus
1965
American primitivism
Glad I finally made an effort to peep some more Basho -- as befits a debut, this tos and fros and barks up a few of the wrong trees, but it delivers a handful of instant classics (t/t and "Dravidian Sunday"!!) and packs so much virtuosic soulful fingerpicked goodness that a boi simply cannot complain. That t/t really is drenched in mysticism (perhaps to a fault - awkward contrast with the rustic "Mountain Man's Farewell") and I need m o r e
3.7 | | 2 |  | Harmonium
Les Cinq Saisons
1975
Progressive folk
Old news to a lot of you, but the two epics on this French Canadian shireland sunbeam album are just wonderful. Gentle, patient spirit nourishment, and from a genre/time/country combo that seemed a high kitsch risk at that. Shoutout to MeatSalad for putting this on my radar
3.9 | | 3 |  | Erina Uozumi
ISO1600の花嫁
2021
Folk
This record was a revelation to me -- Erina Uozumi is easily one of the most exciting new(ish) voices I've heard from Japan from the last few years, and her blend of contemplative expanse, plaintive balladry and the occasional show of teeth is at once exactly in keeping with contemp J-folk's strongest suits and confidently realised in a way that feels entirely her own. The longer tracks here tear up structure, pivot unexpectedly and treat songwriting as her plaything without sounding the least insincere for it, but she proves repeatedly that she can find her away around established formulas. Easily one of the best folk records I've heard from this decades, will be following her closely.
4.1 | | 4 |  | Flowchart
Cumulus Mood Twang
1997
Psychedelic
Everything appealing about that featherweight dreamland sound Darla Records made their name on (FFO early Sweet Trip etcetc) turned into one album-long lysergic spaceout for the ages. This thing flows fantastically, stretches reverb and haze into disarmingly creative shapes, explores moment-to-moment tension to great success ("Another Word Explodes") and is **highly** replayable. Slept-on treasure.
4.1 | | 5 |  | Tempalay
((ika))
2024
Psychedelic pop
This is one of those long fucking albums that packs a generous amount of shrapnel and false-starts (including the opening pairing, alas) but is so full of highlights and neat ideas that it's hard to get hung up. These guys take a very technically adroit mix of styles from funk to noise pop and use them to endless reinvent the airy psych pop styles and impeccable vocal hooks+harmonies that stand as this song's core appeal -- and it sounds mostly great! "遖(あっぱれ)!!" has one of the most infectious and well-constructed pop choruses I've heard this year, and there's a ton of keepers across the rest of it. Do not sleep on it!
3.8 | | 6 |  | Honeydip
Portable Audio Science
1999
Shoegaze
Pure noisy syrupy coursing gazeouts that cater 100% to those who dig that fix and gives zero fucks for anyone else. Feels perhaps a tad sluggish to me at point, but there's a lot here that catches that overwhelming blitz of granular comatose fuckage that sums up shoegaze as-it-was-and-might-have-remained to me ("Jesus & Mary Jane", "Niji"). Fuck you and your nu-gaze etc.. FFO Walrus, Astrobrite, Coaltar of the Deepers
3.7 | | 7 |  | yonige
Empire
2024
Indie pop / power pop / pop rock
Always thought this was a song-band and very much not an album-band, but this one has brought me to think again. Sweet, wistful guitar pop across the board here -- that fantastic opening trio is all about the hooks, but Yonige shine in their downtime and dish out increasing swathes of it. Record as a whole holds up as long as you follow their change of pace, very high replay value.
3.7 | | 8 |  | Tiny Yawn
Paddle Ship
2024
Math rock / indie pop / midwest emo
Fuck me up the opener's twinkly guitar lick and the opener's vocal hook and the opener's lovely shifts of pace made for an instantly highlight of this entire year, and most of the remaining tracks on this frankly wonderful EP are barely behind. This could have held up as an instrumental math rock release, but the vocals and songwriting are just impeccably tight all round. Lovely dynamic spread of ideas adorable band will be checking more love this a lot
4.0 | | 9 |  | Juniper Moon
El Resto De Mi Vida
Punk pop
2002
Harvey rec'd me a Spanish girlvox punk pop record from the early 00s, and yknow what? This thing bops for days
4.0 | | 10 |  | Denver
Musica, Gramatica, Gimnasia
Indie rock / synthpop
2010
Vibrant Chilean bangers yes. Very inconsistent album to my ears, but the highlights here are so high that it doesn't matter at all. Perfect gal/guy vox pairings, lovely pushy synth tone, hooks LOUD and IRRESISTIBLE as they damn well should be. Plenty of playlist fuel to be scouted here.
3.5 | | 11 |  | Javiera Mena
Esquemas juveniles
Indie pop / synthpop
2006
I know Javiera Mena is supposed *the* icon for queer Chilean synthpop (which her follow-up Mena and a handful of songs here do attest to), but I was disarmed by how much better this lands as an acoustic ballad album. The middle run of tracks here in particular is pure moonlit heartache, supported by her palpably tender delivery. This is the kind of debut you want to wrap in your arms (not in a weird way, you pig) before someone inadvertently breaks it. Lovely album.
3.9 | | 12 |  | Kitty
FROSTBITE
2014
POP / house / all the secret sauces
Slid so easily into my Doss/Yeule/Yune Pinku canon of untouchable moody bedroom pop w/ banger factor that I found it hard to believe I hadn't been listening to it for years. Essential release for anyone who cares for that niche.
4.2 | | 13 |  | Kylie Minogue
Fever
2001
Pop Pop
thank you kylie very cool
4.0 | | 14 |  | Yu Zhen
造梦日记
2023
Mandopop
Overlooked by Western music press and online fandom alike, and tfw temperamentally (if at all) internationally marketed as it is, it's a heavily overlooked fact that **no country in the world does cheesy melodramatic SWOON pop quite like China** -- this thing's immaculate opener is proof enough of this, and if the rest isn't quite as individually memorable, then it sure af do be mighty palatable (and impressively fat-free jfc this is a tight album). Prod never gets complacent either, appreciate how many different looks these songs flit between. Will be following her closely.
3.7 | | 15 |  | Isabella Lovestory
Amor Hardcore
2022
Neoperreo
Serves cunt for days, packs spades of personality and will step. on. ur. face. Been waiting to hear a neoperreo release that really hits it for me, and this is apparently the one (sry Rosalia). Not sure how consistent it, but the highs ("Fashion Freak", "Sexo Amor Dinero") are mountainous and the rest gets a pass on raw fucking swagger. Not overlong!
3.9 | | 16 |  | Miranda!
Es Mentira
2002
Synthpop/electropop
Sublime Argentine bops with sensuous masc/fem vocal harmonies galore, winning hooks, an impeccable knack for diversity, and one of the most stacked opening trios of any pop album I've heard full-stop. Shame this never broke it big outside of Latin America -- it's an easy highlight among this era of synthpop and has aged mostly excellently. Get!
4.0 | | 17 |  | Kaleidoscopio
Tem que valer
2003
Liquid drum and bass
go Brazil festa drumnbass party girl yeah. t/t on this is a perfect calling-card, rest is a steady delivery on its promise. Very fun record.
3.9 | | 18 |  | Nia Archives
Silence is Loud
2024
Liquid drum and bass / soul / R&B
This has been a bit of a Minor Event album this year and I'm sad that it didn't get picked up on Sput -- the highlights here are absolutely huge, and there's so much personality, backstory and Identity at work here that it easily stands out among the million DnB revival acts popping up all over the year. Helps that it feels extremely British and mostly offline. Consistency is definitely not what you sign up for here, but with bangers as huge as the t/t and "Unfinished Business" (easily one of this year's strongest anthems) there's not too much to whinge about.
3.5 | | 19 |  | GENDEMA
sassy things
2024
Atmo drum and bass
lol I have so little to say on this that my rev doesn't already cover, but it really does feel like a balanced pairing of old school thrills with contemp production, and it is defs a genre highlight for this year.
3.8 | | 20 |  | Seba
Planetary Funk Alert / Camouflage
1998
Atmo drum and bass
...and with that GENDEMA blurb in mind, let's blitz through a couple of heyday standouts from atmo dnb. These two tracks are lush/bllissed/bouncey/melodic/slick as anything, and I love everything about them! Enjoy!
4.2 | | 21 |  | Source Direct
Secret Liaison/Complexities
1996
Atmo drum and bass
Took me a while to warm to Source Direct -- their take on the atmo dnb blueprint is a little beat-centric and frenetic compared to the c h i l l I normally look for, but both these tracks do fantastic work bringing a mystical twinkle to complement that harsh edge. Classic status = well-deserved
4.0 | | 22 |  | Yoshinori Sunahara
Take Off and Landing
1998
Downtempo tropical techno cocktail of everything vibe
This is a long ol' seamless odyssey of perfect chill vibes, and I still have no idea how I feel about the whole thing (beyond it flowing marvellously and tiding over many a good time) because jfc can I not stop coming back to the highlights in the early run. Cool shit
4.0 | | 23 |  | Ryuichi Sakamoto
Smoochy
1995
Downtempo
Underdiscussed + underrated Sakamoto joint! This record sees him play hard into 90s downtempo/sophistipop trends while exploring his distinctive approach to composition as you'll instantly recognise from YMO/earlier solo records. The opener "Bibi no Aozora" is more famous for the version that appeared on his iconic record 1996 the (duh) following year, but the version here is a pretty fair representation of how this album navigates its time-specific production leanings and its idiosyncratic compositional tendencies (those motifs are just too distinctive!) The next few pieces are a bit of a patchwork, but this thing its its groove *hard* on the midway highlight "Poesia" and is just one creative, lounge-friendly winner after another until the final HUGE BOP "A Day in the Park". Very intelligently crafted, but also pure 90s catnip for those who dig such things. Ace record.
3.9 | | 24 |  | Miki Nakatani
私生活
1999
Art pop / downtempo / ambient pop
...and if Smoochy wasn't enough of a 90s Ryuichi fix, hit up this artsy downtempo singerlady whose work he produced across the back portion of the decade (her debut includes its own version of "Bibi no Aozora" (as "Strange Paradise")). This was her last record, and comfortably the stronger of the two I've checked -- it plays fast and loose stylistically, and if it's a little incohesive at points, it makes up for it with a fae mystique, ready to disappear into background for entire songs before landing a pop highlight.
3.7 | | 25 |  | Bent
Ariels
2004
Downtempo / indie pop
This had been on my downtempo checklist for ages, but I was absolutely not prepared to find that it was secretly one of the tightest, warmest, slide-guitar-basedest indie pop albums of its time! This is pure comfort music in the way downtempo nails nothing else, but the way this is paired with a bittersweet acoustic marks it out as something special... at its best, that is. Some of it is a little too fluffy or cheese-adjacent, but the winners here are wondrous.
4.0 | | 26 |  | Round One to Round Five
I'm Your Brother
1994
HOUSE
exactly what you should imagine and crave whenever you see the word 'house' yes this is it fucking go get it
4.1 | | 27 |  | Underworld
A Hundred Days Off
2002
House/trance/techno/Underworldthings
Underrated album! This is less rave-ready and much more lounged out than their '90s run, but with highlights as ecstatic as "Two Months Off" (top 10 UW right there) and as lizardman-cool as "Sola Sistim", can one complain? Prefer this to Beaucoup Fish by a decent margin, very rad album
3.9 | | 28 |  | Topdown Dialectic
Topdown Dialectic (2013)
2013
Dub techno
This act has a bunch of album and all of them are s/ts so, uh, uh, uh, fuck your ma. This is the first one and probably the best one and it makes its own mark on the classical dub techno liminal refractedthings in a way I found at first subtle and vague, and then borderline irresistible across subsequent listens. Perfect late-night alb, one of the fresher takes I've heard on the sound post-00s
4.0 | | 29 |  | Uusitalo
Tulenkantaja
2006
Microhouse / dub techno
This Sasu Ripatti (Vladislav Delay/Luomo) alias mainly gets attention for its debut Vapaa Muurari Live, which is, uh, fair, given how absurd the highlight sequence and monster fucking groove on that record are. But! This is kinda as good as an end-to-end album? It's much more traditionally structured (hello, individual tracks), but everything here bops, bounces, glitches and dissipates in that manner that Ripatti was uniquely, historically, untouchably on top of throughout the best part of the '00s? Could see this appealing a ton to Luomo fans in particular, thicc fucking album
4.0 | | 30 |  | Intrusion
The Seduction of Silence
2010
Dub techno
Conventional dub techno done exactly right. And? Uh. Dunno what to rate it yet, but I can tell you that each of the 4 times I've fallen asleep to it has gone exactly as intended
idk | | 31 |  | Loidis
A Parade, In The Place I Sit, The Floating World
2018
Microhouse
The new album (from this year! leans much more dub techno) is *good* but jfc this is surely some of the freshest shit to come out of microhouse since Nic Jaar's Nymphs? The patience and subtlety with which this chews over robust central ideas over who cares however minutes is time-defying. Spellbinding. Get lost in it. Get lost forever. Forget everything. Ugh these tracks (well, the first and last one) are so perfect!
4.0 and would be like a 4.5 if the middle song were better | | 32 |  | Romeo Poirier
Hotel Nota
2020
Ambient
Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou serving up the best Radio Amor b-sides I've heard in a hot minute
Deny thy father and fucking cook on for me forever, you French champ
3.7 | | 33 |  | Hiroshi Minami and Eiko Ishibashi
GASPING_SIGHING_SOBBING
2021
Jazz / ambient / ~glitch
Tried and failed to review this deeply compelling lonesome blend of trad piano jazz and new-world dissociation, we are floating in space no one has been in this cafe for seven years please enjoy your time look at those dead faces on the walls
4.1 | | 34 |  | Nala Sinephro
Endlessness
2024
Progressive electronic / [chamber/third stream] jazz
yeah this has got be AOTY i guess
4.3 | | 35 |  | Nubya Garcia
SOURCE
2020
Spiritual jazz
Checked this en route to the new one (still have not heard drat!) and was mostly very impressed. Lovely organic developments and soulful performances across the board here, definitely pulls its weight in the technical dept too. Suffers slightly from a lack of memorable refrains (the charm here is much more flourish than foundation), but still a very engaging record and I get why it's apparently a current-decade jazz benchmark.
3.7 | | 36 |  | Ill Considered
Liminal Space
2021
Bitching jazz
...speaking of current-decade jazz benchmarks, this fucking thing stomps and skronks all over my face. Incredibly fun record, very accessible in its approach, very fucking loud in execution. Casual-friendly lfg
4.0 | | 37 |  | Yazz Ahmed
La Saboteuse
2017
Arabic jazz
...aaaand one more for the current crop, here's a nice coolthing that winds those slinky phrygian motifs around shapes and vibes that literally anyone could learn to love yay
3.6 | | 38 |  | Gato Barbieri
Fénix
1971
Latin jazz
This thing pops off and never lets off, so much colour and joy and energy throughout its runtime, and even when it drops the tempo it still hits straight home runs (that sax on "El Dia Que Me Quieras" jfc yes). Overlooked-ish cult classic
3.9 should probably be a 4 | | 39 |  | Freddie Hubbard
Ready for Freddie
1962
BOP
no notes here this is a textbook bop record and belongs in every genre guide ever. I am sad it took me long to hear it but also very glad??? whole album is aces, but "Weaver of Dreams" is next-grade delectable. yum!
4.0 | | 40 |  | Sonny Criss
Sonny's Dream (Birth of the New Cool)
1968
Black Saint and the Sinner Lady -core
IMPORTANT CATCH-UP for any philistines who have not been following the trademarked Butkuiss JazzPooSwag List Series, this is an absolute barnstormer that album matches Mingus at his own game and does howling swaggering soulful epic things with a big band that you'd never have known were possible. DO NOT MISS!
4.3 | | 41 |  | Keith Jarrett
Expectations
1972
Lots of jazzes (mostly fusion ifg)
Very disparate record cooked up by Jarrett with his American band (being an enterprising chap, he was juggling a European group at the same time, but they were never quite as exciting). This group would eventually make his landmark experimental-ish megaopus The Survivor's Suite, and *some* of the potential for that record is evident here. As is a lot of other stuff. It's a real make of it what you will record, and I think this is a good thing! It has a very short song that is very good! It has a very long song that is very good! The bass on the title-track is lovely. And so-
3.7 | | 42 |  | The Necks
Silverwater
2009
Minimal / jazz
Already said my piece on the new album, but I hit this one soon after. It's pretty great! Even for a 67-minute song, it certainly spends a lot of time scraping its dick against a woodblock!
3.8 | | 43 |  | Uboa
Impossible Light
2024
Industrial / noise / ambient
Powerful fucking record that I must come back to more, jaw-dropping feature from Otay:onii on the closer. Easy year highlight.
4.0 possibly higher | | 44 |  | Soul Scream
The Deep
1996
Japanese boom bap
Man this record is blissed ty drifter
3.9 | |
JohnnyoftheWell
11.02.24 | tl;dr FOLK / DOWNTEMPO / DnB/ TECHNO / JAZZ / INDIE and a bunch of other stuff
all of these albums are at least great fucking deal with them | NexCeleris
11.02.24 | Ctrl+F, "death", one-dimensionality not catered to, x. | Hawks
11.02.24 | 2, 5, 20, 21, 24, 29, 35 and 37 look sick. Gotta check asap.
Wasn't a huge fan of 44 tbh. :[ | neekafat
11.02.24 | Oh goshhhhh lots of great lookin shit, need to not skip that Underworld record | JohnnyoftheWell
11.02.24 | no riff november lfg
"24"
defs hit 23 first imo, scratches all the same itches (with a couple of killer vocal features, esp on that closer) and isn't nearly as diffuse or frustrating. highlights on both are fab though
"goshhhhh"
10 thru 12 is what you've spend most of this decade trying to fit your vibe into and uh they can probs carry you an extra couple of years lfg | robertsona
11.02.24 | Love I’m your brother, one of my favorite tracks | cylinder
11.02.24 | Absolutely loved 19, 31, and 33, thank you for those. As well as the Loidis album from this year. Excited to hear more of these | someone
11.02.24 | whichever one sounds like snark and cynicism wrapped in a package of love, i'll take
recommend me one, Johnny kiddo | JohnnyoftheWell
11.02.24 | hit 3!
also 23 and 38 but defs 3! | Dedes
11.02.24 | Where are the metals!!! I don't understand!!!
Bookmarked | Butkuiss
11.02.24 | JazzPooSwag, Johnward? What did I do to deserve this??? Please explain! | Butkuiss
11.02.24 | Anyway nice inclusion of Basho, Minogue, Hubbard, Barbieri, da Necks and Uboa too (!) | neekafat
11.02.24 | "10 thru 12 is what you've spend most of this decade trying to fit your vibe into and uh they can probs carry you an extra couple of years lfg"
shit yeah ill take it, gonna jam those and scrape all the electronic recs i can from this | JohnnyoftheWell
11.03.24 | hat did ANY of us to deserve this huhhhkuiss -_- lfg | Drifter
11.03.24 | glad you enjoy 44. 26 looks intriguing | JohnnyoftheWell
11.03.24 | 26 just goes, git it! and get 29 while you're there, surprised you haven't dipped that project | Hawks
11.03.24 | "defs hit 23 first imo"
Turning it on shortly! | SlothcoreSam
11.03.24 | Check Osmiini- Estruendoso Fulgor
| widowslaugh123
11.03.24 | Damn nice lots to check thanks | Drifter
11.03.24 | im a bad ripatti fan. ive meant to check his other stuff for so many years now. def gotta get on 29 | Hawks
11.03.24 | 23 rules nice. On to 24. | bellovddd
11.03.24 | 13 do be slapping | Gyromania
11.03.24 | 43 crazy good | JohnnyoftheWell
11.04.24 | it is time to revisit 43 help | Icebloom
11.04.24 | Which of these would appeal to me you think? Purely looking at genres, I feel 8, 23 and 25 might be in my wheelhouse | JohnnyoftheWell
11.04.24 | 8 since you dug the new Toe, 34, 25 and maybe 42 (perhaps not that album specifically) for you I think | BallsToTheWall
11.04.24 | A Slew of these im gonna check out. Especially 10
And 43. | brainmelter
11.04.24 | nice list, going to check out 8, 36, and 43! | Zac124
11.04.24 | Gonna need to check these jazz digs | pizzamachine
11.05.24 | Good job Deviant, nice list | Trifolium
11.06.24 | Good A Hundred Days Off text thoughts Johnny.
A lot here looks interesting. | VlacDrac
11.07.24 | 16 Is amazing. The music video for Bailarina used to get aired in Locomotion. | FurtherDown
11.07.24 | Wow that Flowchart album is killer, reminds me of Vision Creation Newsun by Boredoms somehow, even though this one is less chaotic and more electronic. Gonna check some others, thanks for the rec! | JohnnyoftheWell
11.07.24 | Ah yeah, fucking A — that's a great comparison, defs reminds me a lot of what I found so appealing about VCN (which I haven't spun in way too long) re. psychy tone bliss longplayer. Glad you dug! | Demon of the Fall
11.07.24 | damn, where to start? Nala AOTY and Uboa v strong also (YES to the Otay:ooni closer!)
Some of these seem essential, yet apart from maybe 20 (should check more atmo d&b) & DEFINITELY 40 I'm struggling to narrow this down. More than a few enticing looking morsels here! | JohnnyoftheWell
11.07.24 | 22 + 23 are both pretty obvious musts for you I think | Demon of the Fall
11.07.24 | oh, yeah I've not heard that Sakamoto. Sakamoto v good. Downtempo v good. Logical conclusion
will add 22 also, ta! | myri14
11.09.24 | Topdown Dialectic debut and Ready for Freddie on the same list? Epic vibes. Also, good reminder for me to finally check out Uusitalo. Liked and subbed | Icebloom
11.09.24 | Checked the Yawn EP, instrumentally top notch indeed but the vocals haven't really clicked with me (yet). Skimmed the Nala Sinephro record when it came out, will return when I'm feeling jazzy | Purpl3Spartan
11.09.24 | 35 slaps glad you found it | Calc
11.11.24 | a lot of these digs were dug thank you | someone
12.05.24 | Okeydoke, 3 was as tight as it gets.
Gimme more. Gimme that divorced parent type beat. Gimme that behind on alimony type beat. Gimme that had to learn there are no hot singles in my area the hard way type beat. |
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