| REZN Solace | 4.0 |
| Sun Blood Stories Twilight Midnight Morning | 4.0 |
| Very strong semi-experimental pysch rock debut. They would go on to refine and build confidence in their sound with every release but this has a nice rawness to it. Misery Is Nebulous still is probably their best song. Palace Mountain Mirage, Found Reasons Found Out and Nightremor are also highllights. |
| Sun Blood Stories Haunt Yourself | 4.5 |
Wow, these guys are really something special. So much more than stoner/desert/psych bands
that Spotify/Last.fm etc. list as their similar artists. It's really hard to categorise
their sound exactly. Certainly blends in some psych/desert/stoner influences, but they
really pick and choose from them lightly and forms their own sound. Every song seems to
shift genres completely organically from the last one. It's kind of progressive psychedelic
rock that dabbles in stoner & shoegaze.
Like many I think, I found them through the amazing Misery Is Nebulous with the Spotify
algorithm, have known that song for a few years and assumed it was just a (stunning)
shimmery closer to a stoner rock album. But just delved deeper into them and have been
devouring all their albums. Each one is a belter and shows a fantastic degree of variation.
This one might be their best so far. Hard to pick favourites as every track has its place
and they flow into one another almost like a continuous piece, but See You On The Other
Side, No One Can Hear You Dream, Approaching Shadow definitely stand out.
It's absolutely criminal how unknown they are. |
| Vulgar Unicorn Jet Set Radio | 4.5 |
Probably about a 4.2 but am 4.5'ing this because it's absolutely criminally unknown. It's a
really unique little gem of an album, hard to categorise but kind of early 2000s
progressive/indie rock meshing together a bit of XTC, Radiohead, Massive Attack but
completely with its own sound.
This was the band Bruce Soord was in before he formed The Pineapple Thief, but
he wasn't actually the primary songwriter. Props for this goes to Neil Randall who is
clearly a powerful voice in his own right (his more recent band Niederrad 16 is
worthwhile) and the two of them are a perfectly matched combo. It's such a shame they
stopped working together - arguably I'd say this is stronger as a whole than most of The
Pineapple Thief's releases apart from Little Man, Someone Here Is Missing, What We Have
Sown...
Looks like this is completely out of print as well apart from on YouTube. Would love to see
them remaster and re-release it (and their other albums) so it finds a new audience. Best
tracks on here are This Is Where It All Began, Powder, Groom, Hardpack, I Saw The Messenger
Of The New God There and Secret Spot.
Really recommended. |
| Pharoah Sanders Karma | 4.0 |
| Steve Roach Structures from Silence | 4.0 |
| Fripp and Eno No Pussyfooting | 3.5 |
| Robert Fripp Exposure | 3.0 |
| Vangelis Blade Runner Soundtrack | 4.5 |
| The atmosphere here is unparalleled, by anything else anyone has made or even anything else Vangelis himself did. |
| Pauline Oliveros / Stuart Dempster / Panaiotis Deep Listening | 4.0 |
| Few albums have managed to capture such a vast sense of 3D space, which Oliveros and co created by recording in a massive underground cistern. The result is arresting and hypnotic. It puts a spell on you. |
| Thumpermonkey We Bake Our Bread Beneath Her Holy Fire | 4.0 |
| Very niche guitar-focused avant-garde rock from one of the UK's finest and most unique little modern progressive bands. This and the more rounded Sleep Furiously are probably their best work. If you like one you shouldn't miss the other. There's almost too many good ideas per song here so that you wish you could hear more of each little riff and harmony before they move onto the next one. |
| Michael Stearns, Lisa Gerrard & Marcello De Francisci Samsara | 4.0 |
| Michael Stearns Baraka | 4.5 |
| Michael Stearns Planetary Unfolding | 4.5 |
| Simply sublime. "Planetary Unfolding" is such a perfect encapsulation of how this sounds. Some of the most expansive, immersive, awe-inspiring ambient music I've heard. Like floating through space in bliss. |
| King Crimson Three of a Perfect Pair | 3.0 |
| Motorpsycho It's a Love Cult | 3.5 |
| Solid transitionary album. Standouts: Uberwagner, This Otherness, Carousel |
| Motorpsycho Roadwork Vol. 5: Field Notes | 4.5 |
Another wondrous addition to the Roadwork series. Most of these tracks might even be their
definitive version. Especially Taifun. |
| Motorpsycho Roadwork Vol 4: Intrepid Skronk | 4.5 |
| Stunning stuff, about everything you could hope for from a live album. Every single one of these songs has been reworked into an improvisation of epic proportions. |
| Gazpacho Night | 4.0 |
| Gazpacho Tick Tock | 3.5 |
| Steven Wilson Insurgentes | 3.5 |
| Karmic Juggernaut Phantasmagloria | 3.0 |
| Mother Tongue Ghost Note | 3.5 |
| Elder (USA-MA) Innate Passage | 3.5 |
| Karmic Juggernaut The Dreams That Stuff Are Made Of | 3.5 |
The highs of this album (Krokodil, Frunobulax, Moving) truly show something special and make
it worth the listen, but for every fantastic moment, they can't resist the urge to throw in
a purposely abrasive/jarring moment that dispels some of the magic. For me, you could
probably stop listening to the album after On Your Mark - the length of the album makes it a
slog and the next few songs don't add that much. I found just Goons, Buffoons, And Carnival
Barkers and Psycho Billy's Downtown Adventure a bit irritating.rBand overall shows serious
potential though - they're at their best in the jammy sections with the rhythm section,
guitar effects and brass instruments running wild. Excited to see where they go and hope
they can refine it all a bit and give us a masterpiece! |
| Kingston Wall Kingston Wall II | 3.5 |
| Mahoney You are the Big Bang | 3.5 |
| Reminds me of the Amplifier of old, you can see exactly what they're missing without Mahony. These are simple songs, but you can really hear that there's something in there. It's a shame he hasn't done much else since this! 'Sides' is the standout here, would recommend checking that one out |
| Ulver The Assassination of Julius Caesar | 4.5 |
| Motorpsycho Kingdom of Oblivion | 3.0 |
| Motorpsycho Ancient Astronauts | 3.0 |
| Guapo Black Oni | 2.5 |
| Cardiacs A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window | 4.0 |
| Bendik Giske Cracks | 4.0 |
| Amplifier Trippin' with Dr. Faustus | 2.0 |
| Moster! Dust Breathing | 3.5 |
| Philip Glass Koyaanisqatsi | 4.0 |
| Swans The Seer | 3.5 |
| Swans The Glowing Man | 3.5 |
| King Crimson Lizard | 4.0 |
| Agitation Free 2nd | 4.0 |
| Pure Reason Revolution Eupnea | 4.0 |
| Matthew Halsall Fletcher Moss Park | 4.0 |
| Riverside Shrine Of New Generation Slaves | 3.0 |
| Riverside Anno Domini High Definition | 3.5 |
| Swans Leaving Meaning | 4.0 |
| Andrew Hung The Greasy Strangler | 4.0 |
| dundundundundundun dun dun dundundundun dun dun dun |
| Talking Heads Remain in Light | 4.5 |
| Motorpsycho The All Is One | 3.5 |
| Leonard Cohen You Want It Darker | 4.0 |
| Elder (USA-MA) Omens | 3.0 |
| Leon Vynehall Nothing Is Still | 4.0 |
| Isaac Hayes Hot Buttered Soul | 4.0 |
| Gentle Giant Acquiring the Taste | 4.0 |
| Bushman's Revenge Jazz, Fritt Etter Hukommelsen | 4.0 |
| The guitar textures on this album are just stellar. It's a crime these guys aren't better known. Listen to Contemplation and you'll be hooked |
| Santana Caravanserai | 4.0 |
| Somali Yacht Club The Sea | 3.5 |
| Wo Fat Midnight Cometh | 3.5 |
| The RIFFS are weaker than Conjuring (their best imo) and Black Code for sure, but a few nice baby-steps towards something different with Of Smoke and Fog and Le Dilemme de Delenu.. they really need to change up the formula next time round though. |
| Samsara Blues Experiment One with the Universe | 4.0 |
| Ancestors Suspended in Reflections | 3.5 |
| Grails Burning Off Impurities | 4.0 |
| King Crimson Islands | 4.0 |
| Easy winner of most underrated KC album. Kind of feels important that in their discography is a more atmospheric, less abrasive jazz-fusion album amongst all the deep dives into dissonant Frippery |
| Elder (USA-MA) The Gold and Silver Sessions | 4.0 |
| Magma Mekanïk Destruktïẁ Kommandöh | 4.0 |
| The Flaming Lips Embryonic | 4.0 |
| Steve Hillage Rainbow Dome Musick | 4.0 |
| The Comet Is Coming Trust in the Lifeforce of Deep Mystery | 3.5 |
| Avantdale Bowling Club Avantdale Bowling Club | 4.0 |
| Motorpsycho The Crucible | 3.5 |
| Ramases Space Hymns | 3.5 |
| Motorpsycho Phanerothyme | 4.0 |
| Soul Coughing Ruby Vroom | 4.0 |
| All Them Witches ATW | 3.0 |
| Morphine Cure for Pain | 4.0 |
| Curtis Harding Face Your Fear | 3.5 |
| Camel Moonmadness | 3.5 |
| Nektar Journey to the Centre of the Eye | 3.5 |
| Weedpecker III | 3.5 |
| King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard Polygondwanaland | 3.5 |
| Kevin Morby Singing Saw | 4.0 |
| The Cinematic Orchestra Ma Fleur | 4.0 |
| Bon Iver 22, A Million | 4.0 |
| Arctic Monkeys Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino | 3.5 |
| Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds Let Love In | 4.0 |
| Benjamin Clementine I Tell A Fly | 4.0 |
| Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds Skeleton Tree | 4.5 |
| Shabaka and the Ancestors Wisdom of Elders | 4.0 |
| Wo Fat The Black Code | 3.5 |
| Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds Push The Sky Away | 4.0 |
| Elephant9 Silver Mountain | 3.5 |
| Beardfish The Void | 3.5 |
| The Drones I See Seaweed | 4.0 |
| The Cinematic Orchestra Live At The Royal Albert Hall | 4.5 |
| Damn. Other than To Build a Home, this might be the best versions in existence of all the songs performed here. |
| Motorpsycho And Jaga Jazzist Horns In the Fishtank Vol. 10 | 3.5 |
| Pink Floyd The Piper at the Gates of Dawn | 4.0 |
| John Martyn Solid Air | 4.0 |
| Dwight Trible Inspirations | 4.0 |
| Zara Mcfarlane Arise | 4.0 |
| All Them Witches Sleeping Through the War | 3.5 |
With that title, All Them Witches seem to be reacting to this time of political turmoil by...
completely ignoring it and delivering another solid album with some excellent carefree blues rock
tunes. Bulls, 3-5-7, Alabaster and Internet are essentials for fans, though the album definitely doesn't fit together as well as their stellar two previous outings and a few of the tracks are pretty
routine at this stage. |
| Fire! Orchestra Enter! | 4.0 |
| Ghostface Killah and BADBADNOTGOOD Sour Soul | 4.0 |
| Wartime Sweethearts So Long Sparta | 4.0 |
| Motorpsycho The Tower | 3.5 |
| The Drones Havilah | 4.0 |
| Angel Olsen My Woman | 4.0 |
| Santeria House of the Dying Sun | 4.0 |
Excellent, soulful and occasionally transcendent blues rock. This band is so painfully under-
known. |
| Led Zeppelin Houses of the Holy | 4.0 |
| Alfa Mist Antiphon | 4.0 |
| Elder (USA-MA) Reflections of a Floating World | 4.0 |
| Elder (USA-MA) Dead Roots Stirring | 4.0 |
| Aphrodite's Child 666 | 4.0 |
| Madvillain Madvillainy | 4.0 |
| Talk Talk Laughing Stock | 4.5 |
| Motorpsycho Timothy's Monster | 3.5 |
| David Bowie Hunky Dory | 4.0 |
| David Bowie The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars | 4.5 |
| Mammal Hands Floa | 4.0 |
| Santana Santana | 3.5 |
| Talk Talk Spirit of Eden | 4.5 |
| Pink Floyd Animals | 4.0 |
| Doomsquad Total Time | 4.0 |
| Brilliant display of sounds and experimentation on here. |
| Spidergawd Spidergawd | 3.5 |
| The Necks Open | 4.0 |
| Nosound A Sense of Loss | 4.0 |
| Astrosoniq Son Of A.P. Lady | 3.0 |
| Funkadelic Maggot Brain | 4.0 |
| Hawkwind Warrior on the Edge of Time | 4.0 |
| Focus Focus II | 3.5 |
| Camel The Snow Goose | 4.0 |
| Biblical Proof of UFOs Time To Join The Human Race | 3.5 |
| Biblical Proof of UFOs Biblical Proof of UFOs | 3.0 |
| Kendrick Lamar DAMN. | 3.0 |
| Atomic Rooster Headline News | 2.5 |
| Motorpsycho Black Hole/Blank Canvas | 3.5 |
| Terry Callier What Color is Love? | 4.0 |
| This should have at least 100 votes, You Goin' Miss Your Candyman is legit one of the best songs of all time |
| Camel Camel | 4.0 |
| Camel Mirage | 4.0 |
| Brontide Artery | 4.0 |
| Amon Tobin Supermodified | 4.0 |
| Monster Magnet Dopes to Infinity | 3.5 |
| Mister Ott Single Shot | 4.0 |
| A cliche to say but, this is what a modern jazz album should sound like |
| Submotion Orchestra Fragments | 3.5 |
| Tumbleweed Dealer Tokes, Hatred and Caffeine | 3.5 |
| Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin III | 4.0 |
| Mouse On The Keys The Flowers of Romance | 3.5 |
| Astrosoniq Speeder People | 3.5 |
| Some of their best tracks on here (Red Glow, Grifter, Cold Hearted Guys, Quadrant) but far too long for its own good. Red Glow though is one of their most majestic, emotive moments. |
| Stig Of The Dump Kubrick | 3.5 |
| Stig is a very likeable guy and this record has some quite enjoyable and touching moments in the second half, but the braggadocio and weed-worship of the first half is quite monotonous. There's definite potential here |
| Lupe Fiasco Tetsuo and Youth | 3.5 |
| Run the Jewels Run the Jewels 2 | 3.5 |
| Earthless Meets Heavy Blanket In A Dutch Haze | 4.0 |
| Fucking banger of a jam album, you forget how long you've been listening to it it's so good |
| My Brother The Wind I Wash My Soul In The Stream Of Infinity | 4.0 |
| This band cannot be beaten in atmosphere. Their longer songs are amazing |
| Jehst Falling Down | 3.5 |
| While the lyricism doesn't stand out as brilliantly as High Plains Drifter, this is definitely a step up in production. This is a lot more interested in just making music that sounds cool rather than the almost poetic stuff in HPD. Brimstone Rock, Give it Here and ESP are highlights |
| GoGo Penguin Man Made Object | 4.5 |
| Amon Duul II Yeti | 4.0 |
| 35007 Phase V | 3.5 |
| If Liquid was a journey deep into dark space, this is the voyage home. Losing some of their spacey theme for more upbeat, proggy jamming and solos, this doesn't have the same amazing atmosphere as Liquid but is solid nonetheless. |
| Nils Frahm Spaces | 4.0 |
| Colour Haze Tempel | 4.0 |
| The Cinematic Orchestra Motion | 4.0 |
Like every Cinematics album, it just keeps growing on you...
Swinscoe's composition would hit peak form on their next album but each track here has something
different to offer |
| Animal Collective Sung Tongs | 4.0 |
| Jehst The Return of the Drifter | 4.0 |
Air poured, my thoughts shrouded by cloud forms
The land ravaged in the wake of this ground war
The quintessential outlaw
Eye of the storm, my tears fall as a torrential downpour |
| Kendrick Lamar untitled unmastered. | 4.0 |
| The Flaming Lips Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots | 3.5 |
| J Dilla Donuts | 4.5 |
| Kaytranada 99.9% | 3.5 |
| The Machine Calmer Than You Are | 3.5 |
| Completely identical to Kyuss but it's good so hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhuuuuuuu |
| Little Simz A Curious Tale Of Trials + Persons | 3.5 |
| The Flaming Lips The Soft Bulletin | 3.5 |
| All Them Witches Dying Surfer Meets His Maker | 4.0 |
| Perhaps not quite as good as Lightning at the Door because it's less cohesive, but that's because ATW are continuing to experiment with their sound and become more unique, which is exciting for the future... |
| All Them Witches Lightning at the Door | 4.0 |
| One of the best modern psych bands out there, no question. |
| Anderson .Paak Malibu | 3.5 |
| The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble Here Be Dragons | 4.0 |
| David Bowie Blackstar | 4.0 |
| Terrace Martin Velvet Portraits | 3.5 |
| Ethereal Riffian I AM. Deathless | 3.5 |
| Roots Manuva Bleeds | 4.0 |
| While falling slightly short of greatness because not all of the album's potential feels like it is fully reached, every song on here has powerful moments and the production is fantastic. The atmosphere on tracks like Hard Bastards, Crying, Cargo and Stepping Hard comes close to Roots' defining moment of dark melancholy on All Things To All Men... |
| Mouse On The Keys An Anxious Object | 4.0 |
| Motorpsycho Here Be Monsters | 4.0 |
| Clearly a step down from their incredible last few albums - this doesn't break any new ground and feels a little bit samey, but there's a enough solid material here to make it worthwhile to any Motorpsycho fan. Lacuna/Sunrise and the doom-rock of Big Black Dog are highlights. |
| Popol Vuh Hosianna Mantra | 4.0 |
| The Roots Things Fall Apart | 4.0 |
| Submotion Orchestra Finest Hour | 4.0 |
| Run the Jewels Run the Jewels | 3.5 |
| Orange Goblin Healing Through Fire | 2.5 |
| Bohren und der Club of Gore Black Earth | 4.0 |
| Trophy Scars Holy Vacants | 3.5 |
| The War On Drugs Lost in the Dream | 3.5 |
| GoGo Penguin v2.0 | 4.0 |
| Samsara Blues Experiment Waiting For The Flood | 4.0 |
| The Cinematic Orchestra Every Day | 4.5 |
| Flying Lotus You're Dead! | 3.5 |
| Gazpacho Molok | 3.5 |
| Casualties of Cool Casualties of Cool | 3.5 |
| Motorpsycho Trust Us | 4.0 |
| The Avalanches Since I Left You | 4.5 |
| CunninLynguists Oneirology | 4.5 |
| Busdriver Perfect Hair | 3.5 |
| Mother Tongue Streetlight | 4.0 |
| Mother Tongue's first album after their reunion is heavier, faster and more streamlined than their debut but still captures their signature wily sound and nihilistic lyrics. CRMBL, Tides and FTW are particular standouts. |
| Ocean Towers Archives Vol. I | 3.5 |
| Causa Sui Summer Sessions Vol. 3 | 4.0 |
| Engineers Three Fact Fader | 3.5 |
| Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin | 4.0 |
| Kendrick Lamar good kid, m.A.A.d city | 4.0 |
| Blues Pills Blues Pills | 3.5 |
| DJ Shadow Endtroducing..... | 4.0 |
| Elder (USA-MA) Lore | 4.5 |
| Deadpeach Aurum | 3.5 |
| Electric Six Zodiac | 4.5 |
| An Electric Six album with a 3-minute saxophone solo that fades out to the sound of falling rain. No you did not read that wrong. |
| Ocean Towers Chapter 2 | 3.0 |
| Karnivool Asymmetry | 3.5 |
| Nosound Clouds | 3.5 |
| Jay Electronica Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge) | 3.5 |
| Swans To Be Kind | 4.0 |
| Mother's Cake Off The Beaten Track (Live at Propolis 2014) | 3.5 |
| Perhaps let down a bit by a flat mix which obscures their live energy, the way they change up their songs is awesome, particularly with I Like It and Soul Prison. |
| Flying Lotus Cosmogramma | 4.5 |
| Charles Mingus The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady | 4.5 |
| Kendrick Lamar To Pimp a Butterfly | 5.0 |
| Yawning Man Rock Formations | 3.5 |
| Motorpsycho The Motorpnakotic Fragments | 4.0 |
| Zee Khattak Blue Folk | 3.0 |
| Firebird Firebird | 3.0 |
| Black Willows Haze | 4.0 |
| Black Willows have a fairly original and refreshing take on stoner rock, going for a massively fuzzy, hypnotic and slow pace with progressive elements. The only things lacking are the horribly mixed bass (which would clearly make the album a whole lot better if you could hear it), some lacklustre riffs and a bit of overlength. Fixing these problems, this band has a killer record in them. |
| Anubis 230503 | 4.0 |
| Pure Reason Revolution The Dark Third | 3.5 |
| Monkey3 Beyond the Black Sky | 3.5 |
| Milo Cavalcade | 4.0 |
| Anathema Distant Satellites | 3.0 |
| Bjork Homogenic | 4.0 |
| Colour Haze Colour Haze | 4.5 |
| Milo Things That Happen At Night | 4.5 |
| Ampacity Encounter One | 3.5 |
| Farflung A Wound In Eternity | 4.0 |
| At its finest, this is some of the best space rock of all time, especially Endless Drifting Wreck, Like It Has Never Been, Ix and Silver Shrooms. |
| Kyuss Welcome to Sky Valley | 4.0 |
| Von Hertzen Brothers Nine Lives | 3.0 |
| Amplifier Mystoria | 2.5 |
| Journey to Ixtlan Journey to Ixtlan | 2.5 |
| Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes | 3.5 |
| Anathema Falling Deeper | 3.5 |
| The Darcys Aja | 4.0 |
| Streetlight Manifesto Somewhere in the Between | 4.0 |
| Milo Things That Happen At Day | 4.5 |
| Supervoid Filaments | 3.5 |
| More space + less growls please |
| Methadone Skies Eclectic Electric | 4.0 |
| A definite improvement on the debut in terms of production, and the band have progressed their sound by adding post rock elements. The bass and drum-work is also much improved, helped by being more audible. However I'm not a big fan of the slightly out-of-place vocals on Dichotomic Equity, and this may not quite reach the heights of the songs 'Enter The Void' or 'Long Day's Journey Into Night.' Mirra and Tatabong are brilliant though. |
| Causa Sui Summer Sessions Vol. 2 | 4.0 |
| Crippled Black Phoenix I, Vigilante | 4.0 |
| Solterra Future Man | 3.0 |
| Solterra lose their lead guitarist and with it, most of the cohesion in their song-writing and individuality in their sound. |
| CunninLynguists A Piece Of Strange | 4.5 |
| All Them Witches Effervescent | 4.0 |
| A 25-minute long atmospheric journey through a dark and murky swamp on a warm summer's night. |
| Anubis A Tower Of Silence | 4.5 |
| Somali Yacht Club The Sun | 4.0 |
| Sleep Dopesmoker | 2.0 |
| Schizoid Lloyd The Last Note In God's Magnum Opus | 4.5 |
| What the... |
| Electric Six Human Zoo | 3.0 |
| Seven That Spells The Death And Resurrection Of Krautrock | 3.0 |
| If this kept up the quality of the first two tracks it'd be on a par with IO but it deteriorates after, namely with the 19 minutes of amplifier feedback that is 'Zero.' |
| Stoned Jesus Seven Thunders Roar | 3.0 |
| Electric Six Fire | 3.0 |
| MUST'VE BEEN A DANCE COMMANDER MUST'VE BEEN A DANCE COMMANDER MUST'VE BEEN A DANCE COMMANDER rMUST'VE BEEN A DANCE COMMANDER |
| North Atlantic Oscillation Fog Electric | 3.5 |
| The Pineapple Thief Magnolia | 3.5 |
| Ocean Towers Distractions | 4.5 |
Basslines as heavy as hell but an atmosphere as cold as the Canadian Arctic Circle. Who needs
complex song structures when you have basslines that groove this hard, vocals this smooth and
production this good? Atmospheric psychedelic rock doesn't get much better than this. |
| The Grand Astoria La Belle Epoque | 3.5 |
| While a step down from Punkadelia, not entirely unexpected after being so prolific, La Belle Epoque shows a lighter, more upbeat and compressed side to The Grand Astoria with light blues-rock tunes such a Henry's Got A Gun and slow-burners like The Answer, showing further how versatile they can be with their sound.rHowever, it suffers from the recurring problem of thorny vocals and could have done with a better-flowing structure, possibly being longer. Including more elements from the lead-up to its release like awesome single Blessed, Cursed and Crucified, plus acoustic tunes from 'Who's In Charge' and the atmosphere of 30-minute epic 'The Body Limits' could have made for a killer record. |
| Anubis Hitchhiking to Byzantium | 5.0 |
| One of the best progressive albums of 2014. While at first it may seem like a lengthy, classic-style prog rock album, each song is unique and has subtle developments in the lyrics, rhythm section, keyboard-led atmospherics and of course the phenomenal guitar-work that make Anubis as fresh and exciting as they are. |
| Motorpsycho Heavy Metal Fruit | 5.0 |
| The Grand Astoria Omnipresence | 3.0 |
| Not as good as Punkadelia, mainly because of the sometimes-jarring vocals but tracks like Hungry & Foolish, the two intrumental tracks Omnipresence/absence and 13 minute epic Something Wicked This Way Comes are some of their best work. Stoner-punk-metal-s hard |
| The Grand Astoria The Body Limits [From Montenegro Split] | 4.0 |
| Just one, brilliant, 30-minute long song here, the band at their finest in terms of chilled-out atmosphere, instrumentation and Sharapodinov's vocals in particular are much improved to the point where they uniquely add to the music instead of possibly detracting. A mini album in its own right. |
| Radiohead OK Computer | 3.0 |
| Villagers of Ioannina City Riza | 4.0 |
| Seven That Spells The Death And Resurrection Of Krautrock: IO | 4.0 |
| The Stranglers Rattus Norvegicus | 4.0 |
| Hawkwind Hall of the Mountain Grill | 4.5 |
| Hawkwind Doremi Fasol Latido | 3.5 |
| El Paramo El Paramo (2014) | 3.5 |
| Another brilliant instrumental stoner-rock album, not sounding too derivative of Kyuss, Colour Haze et al, with some prog & post-rock influences in there, and nice use of a delay pedal to create the kind of atmosphere of that wonderful artwork. |
| Motorpsycho The Death Defying Unicorn | 4.5 |
How this is so horrifically underrated I don't know. Using a jazz orchestra and a
keyboardist, Motorpsycho have create an 84-minute sprawling masterpiece following a story rooted
firmly in Homer's Odessey. Some of their best ever work, and that's saying a lot. |
| Fjodor St. Anthony's Fire | 4.0 |
Two twenty-five minute tracks of evolving progressive, spacey rock. Despite the length, there is
not a single weak idea and the three musicians are incredibly tight, playing a distinctive blend
of Pink Floyd, krautrock, Hawkwind and Ozric Tentacles. |
| Queens of the Stone Age ...Like Clockwork | 4.0 |
| Dwellers Pagan Fruit | 4.0 |
| Strong contender for blues rock album of the year, it's fantastic. |
| The Atomic Bitchwax The Atomic Bitchwax II | 3.5 |
| Awesome onslaught of stoner-rock riffing, like Monster Magnet's little brother. The album flows nicely but it's held back by not embracing their more interesting, psychedelic/spacey side and relying too much on constant shredding. Tracks like Smokescreen and Solid are extremely promising though. |
| Tumbleweed Dealer Western Horror | 3.5 |
| Worldengine Dark Matters | 3.5 |
| The first of a new generation of 'post-prog' rock bands influenced by bands like The Pineapple Thief (and even guesting their frontman on the first track), Anathema and Porcupine Tree, using modern airy post-rock ambience and clean guitar tones. Huge potential here but they need to find more of their own identity and give songs more content. |
| Motorpsycho Behind the Sun | 4.5 |
| Wo Fat The Conjuring | 4.0 |
| More of the same, but their tightest yet. Dreamwalker is their masterpiece |
| Rx Bandits Mandala | 4.5 |
| Cosmograf Capacitor | 3.5 |
| A bit of a disapointment after The Man Left In Space. Musically it's all there with Spock's Beard's drummer Nick D'Virgilio and Porcupine Tree's Colin Edwin guesting among others and Armstrong's guitarwork is at its finest - especially on the last track - if a bit too Gilmour-esque. The main problem is how the promising concept of spirits being captured is completely wasted by basic, all over the place lyrics. "Will you hate me, if I freak out your cat?" |
| Siena Root Different Realities | 4.0 |
| This album is in every sense of the word a trip, as those song names would have you believe. Starts off as fairly familiar retro stoner-blues but then morphs into an Eastern-influenced, sitar landscape, finally pulling together for one last jam. I'd love to see this band produce a masterpiece. |
| Ocean Towers Chapter 1 | 3.5 |
| Much rawer (especially the vocals) and less ethereal than their later LP, and with less of a unique identity but Ocean Towers are still groove-y and psychedelic as |
| Los Natas Ciudad de Brahman | 3.5 |
| Los Natas were Colour Haze-ing hard while Colour Haze were still in nappies.rBrilliant mostly instrumental stoner rock, especially the t/t, Paradise and Alowahaii, suffers slightly from weak vocals and a meandering second half. |
| Umor Held Us Silent For A Moment | 3.0 |
| A big disappointment from a band with HUGE potential. Their debut was a perfect stepping stone to something amazing, and everything looked right with this record - brilliant artwork, name, track titles, killer vocals, drums and atmosphere. But every song moves at a plodding pace and relies way too heavily on slow dissonant guitar-strumming, failing to actually go anywhere. Hopefully next time they'll perfect their songcraft. Cotton Rose and Vinous Red are the standouts. |
| Lionize Jetpack Soundtrack | 4.0 |
| IQ The Road of Bones | 4.0 |
| Greenleaf Trails And Passes | 3.5 |
| The Whirlings Beyond The Eyelids | 4.0 |
| A very high 4 right now. A very diverse and distinctive-sounding and varied instrumental record blending Samsara Blues Experiment-style stoner rock, progressive song structures and post-rock emotion and atmosphere. This band could go far. |
| Clutch Blast Tyrant | 3.5 |
| Mother Engine Muttermaschine | 3.5 |
| Great riff-filled, bluesy, instrumental, stoner-rock that slightly suffers from monotony. The last track Weltraumwolf however is an absolute killer. http://motherenginerock.bandcamp.com |
| Ozric Tentacles Jurassic Shift | 4.0 |
| The title track transcends. . |
| Mars Red Sky Stranded in Arcadia | 3.5 |
| MRS step up the fuzz, mostly dropping their indie-rock leanings (courtesy of the vocals) for an album that is colossally heavy and shows a development in groove-making and instrumentation. Sadly after the awesome instrumental 'Arcadia' the album becomes a bit repetitive with most riffs sounding fairly similar and songs following similar structures. Despite this, tracks such as the 8-minute opener and Hovering Satellites are absolute killers and will quench your taste for groovy bass. |
| Gazpacho Demon | 5.0 |
| Haken The Mountain | 4.0 |
| Monster Magnet God Says No | 3.0 |
| JUST SET THAT PLASTIC SWORD ON FIRE, AND WATCH IT MELT |
| The Darcys The Darcys | 4.0 |
| All this band's albums are so close to 4.5s, and they're still growing. |
| The Main Squeeze The Main Squeeze | 3.5 |
| The whole post-funk thing they've got going with alt/hard rock influences will funk the crap out of you. The 9-minute I'll Take Another, and Grow are definite standouts. |
| Ozric Tentacles Become the Other | 4.0 |
| Litmus Aurora | 2.5 |
| This band describes themselves as the "most innovative spacerock band in the world" which is laughable. What they really are is the best Hawkwind knock-off in the world. EVERY SINGLE SONG has the same 3-chord structure, thrashy drumming and slightly shouty vocals (with pretty terrible lyrics). Despite this there are some enjoyable tracks, notably Beyond The Sun and Ma55oN Rift, even if it drags on for far too long at over an hour. |
| Mars Red Sky Mars Red Sky | 3.5 |
| Loving the indie-rock influences, they're definitely developing their own unique stoner-rock sound, setting up perfectly for the next one to be a killer. Falls and Saddle Point are awesome. |
| Mother Tongue Mother Tongue | 4.5 |
| There's something joyous about finding a hidden classic. And here we have Mother Tongue's self-titled debut. They once had a chance of being huge but the record failed because it was too unconventional for radio, and that is it's greatest merit. The guitar playing is sometimes slightly jarring, but always sublime and the drumming stands out above it all, bursting with emotion. Vesper, Damage, Entity and the closer Using Your Guns are particularly intense. |
| Messenger Illusory Blues | 4.0 |
| Perfectly combining modern 'post-prog' sound with ethereal folk guitar and vocals, plus a touch of the psychedelic, Messenger have an instantly distinctive sound. The drumming is brilliant and centrepiece Midnight is a breathtaking song. |
| Tumbleweed Dealer Tumbleweed Dealer | 3.5 |
| While the post/math rock influences aren't as obvious as they'd make out, this an awesome groove-laden instrumental stoner-rock LP and the band are developing a fairly distinct style for themselves. With track names like "How To Light A Joint With a Blowtorch" what's not to love? |
| Wolfmother New Crown | 2.0 |
| I'm actually quite a fan of the first two but this just feels half-baked. They've gone for a much rawer sound than before with pretty dirty production but the actual songs aren't that good. Tall Ships and Enemy is in Your Mind on the first half are actually pretty good but the second half contains some major bummers like 'Feelings' which just sucks. |
| Wo Fat Noche del Chupacabra | 3.5 |
| Spiritual Beggars Ad Astra | 3.5 |
| I'm sure Spiritual Beggars are the most badass band in the universe. |
| Black Rainbows Holy Moon | 3.5 |
| Almost long enough to be a full length but for some reason they decided to release an EP. Seriously good stuff, these guys know how to groove, man. They've got an awesome mystical spacey feel going on here. Chakra Temple is incredible and if it doesn't make you want to listen to this you suck |
| Wishbone Ash Blue Horizon | 4.0 |
| Rush Moving Pictures | 3.0 |
| Atomic Rooster Death Walks Behind You | 4.5 |
| They've definitely got something special going on here. As Gershatzer shows, they're all incredible musicians and there's a unique eerie atmosphere to the album. The beginning of Nobody Else is mesmerising |
| Spirit Caravan Jug Fulla Sun | 3.5 |
| Pretty much a Sabbath worship but there are some awesome tracks here, namely Powertime, Dead Love and Fang, plus Wino's vocals are awesome |
| Nightstalker Dead Rock Commandos | 3.5 |
| Astrosoniq Quadrant | 4.0 |
| Astrosoniq have carved out their own niche within stoner rock, producing some excellent grooves with Hawkwind's spacey atmospherics and Tool's aggression.rThe 14-minute 'As Soon As They Got Airborne' is a definite standout. |
| Oceansize Frames | 4.0 |
| Hot Action Cop Listen Up! | 3.5 |
| Solid collection of songs, nothing spectacular though. It's actually quite a similar sound to their debut, unlike the 2009 EP which was much more mature, and insanely good.rHopefully this is a transitional album - I get the feeling a lot of these songs have been around since their early days but weirdly the album's only 30 minutes long so you feel a little un-satisfied at the end.rHouse of Pain is a definite highlight. |
| The Visit Between Worlds | 4.5 |
| Mahavishnu Orchestra The Inner Mounting Flame | 4.0 |
| The Egocentrics Mystic Initiation | 4.0 |
| A belter of a demo, these two 10+ minute tracks prove that this band were going on to great things, even on their very first release.rFree here: https://egocentrics.bandcamp.com/album/mystic-initiation-demo |
| Ethereal Riffian Aeonian | 4.5 |
| Ethereal Riffian Shaman's Visions | 3.5 |
| Not nearly as bad as a 1.5, this is a high 3.5 for me. While it does take influence from Kyuss (what stoner band doesn't?) there's quite a lot of difference here. Ethereal Riffian's music is slow, lengthy and heavy as s*** and all for the best - some truly excellent soloing and atmosphere around the concept of a shaman's visions (obviously) make for some proper awesome headbanging. |
| Thumpermonkey Sleep Furiously | 4.0 |
| A very high 4, this is a serious grower and is still growing on me now. Thumpermonkey manage to be innovative, dissonant, melodic and brilliant all at the same time, with some At the Drive-In, Oceansize and King Crimson thrown in there. rAn absolute hidden gem of a band, just listen to Wheezyboy for proof. |
| Caravan For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night | 4.0 |
| Hawkwind In Search of Space | 3.5 |
| The Moody Blues Days of Future Passed | 3.5 |
| Brother Dege Folk Songs of the American Longhair | 4.0 |
| Hawkwind Hawkwind | 3.0 |
| ...But The Planes Are Not Made Out Of Paper This Wolf Is Afraid of A Crowd Of Sheep | 3.0 |
| Ridiculous name aside, there's some really interesting and promising stuff here - 'In The Rays of Your Light' is a lot of fun and the brilliantly named 'No Beer = No Lyrics' shows they have the potential to create something unique.rWith better production and vocals plus an actual bassist, BTPANMOOP could go far. |
| Gazpacho Missa Atropos | 4.5 |
| The Mars Volta De-Loused in the Comatorium | 3.5 |
| Pink Floyd Meddle | 3.5 |
| The Darcys Warring | 4.0 |
| Humanfly Awesome Science | 4.5 |
| Motorpsycho Still Life With Eggplant | 4.0 |
| Massive Attack Mezzanine | 4.0 |
| 65daysofstatic Wild Light | 3.5 |
| Pyramidal Frozen Galaxies | 3.5 |
| The 24-minute title track is killer. |
| Methadone Skies Enter The Void | 4.0 |
| Mark McGuire Nightshade | 3.5 |
| The Grand Astoria I | 3.5 |
| Some great, promising songs here, especially The Man, The Sun, The Desert but as usual, the vocals bring it down at some points. |
| Airbag The Greatest Show On Earth | 3.5 |
| Monkey3 The 5th Sun | 4.0 |
| The Egocentrics Love Fear Choices And Astronauts | 4.0 |
| An unrelenting assault of endless killer riffs... hell yes. |
| 35007 Liquid | 4.0 |
| Quite easily the spaciest space rock album of all time. |
| Schizoid Lloyd Virus | 4.5 |
| Mike Oldfield Tubular Bells | 3.5 |
| Hawkwind Blood of the Earth | 3.5 |
| Wishbone Ash Argus | 5.0 |
| One of, if not THE best classic rock albums of all time. |
| Organic Is Orgasmic As We Speak of Space and Wisdom | 3.5 |
| Really chilled-out space/stoner-rock band from that dude outta The Grand Astoria. Starts with a 12-minute saxophone-led jam, what more could you need? |
| Hawkwind Onward | 4.0 |
| Lionize Superczar and the Vulture | 4.5 |
| Joe Bonamassa Sloe Gin | 4.0 |
| Amplifier The Astronaut Dismantles HAL | 4.0 |
| The Grand Astoria Punkadelia Supreme | 4.0 |
| Plini Other Things | 4.0 |
| I would say the last track is the best one :/ short soundoff |
| Cosmograf The Man Left in Space | 3.5 |
| Brilliantly atmospheric album, some very interesting themes here, perhaps could've been explored at a bit more depth with better lyrics but ah well, Aspire, Achieve, The Vacuum That I Fly Through, t/t and When The Air Runs Out are damn good. |
| Nosound Lightdark | 3.5 |
| A bit of a disappointment after Sol29, but there's good stuff here (see Someone Starts to Fade Away and Lightdark) but also some fairly average stuff (i.e. Places Remained) |
| Causa Sui Summer Sessions Vol. 1 | 4.5 |
| The Pineapple Thief Show a Little Love | 3.5 |
| Airbag All Rights Removed | 4.0 |
| The Pineapple Thief What We Have Sown | 4.0 |
| Black Sabbath Paranoid | 4.0 |
| Head Like a Hole Blood Will Out | 3.5 |
| Bruce Soord with Jonas Renkse Wisdom of Crowds | 3.5 |
| Rush 2112 | 3.0 |
| King Crimson In the Court of the Crimson King | 4.5 |
| Santeria Year of the Knife | 5.0 |
At once accessible, heartfelt and unique, every song has something to offer and takes you on a
trip from the straightforward rocker to the psychedelic swampsong to the post-apocalyptic epic.
Listen to HWY of the Morning Star or the title track for proof. |
| Oceansize Effloresce | 4.0 |
| Samsara Blues Experiment Long Distance Trip | 4.0 |
| The Pineapple Thief Build a World | 3.5 |
Third track isn't brilliant and is let down by rushed production but everything else is
great, especially You Drew
Blood, which is TPT at their best prog/acoustic, and the title track remix. |
| Amplifier Amplifier | 4.5 |
| Pirate Left Of Mind | 3.5 |
| Promising debut with heavy King Crimson influences. It's too short, some tracks don't mesh together particularly well and get a little repetitive but this band could go far... |
| Nosound Sol29 | 4.5 |
Such an amazing atmosphere, like you're floating through the trees in the artwork, in the
white air...The Moment She Knew and the title track are unmissable. |
| Mother's Cake Creation's Finest | 4.5 |
Hell yes. Virtuosity of Mars Volta meets vocals and bass style of RHCPs = mindblowing debut. Runaway,
Realititricked Me, Nobody and Soul Prison are the tits. Soul Prison part 2 is orgasmic. |
| Sea Power Do You Like Rock Music? | 4.0 |
| Mestis Basal Ganglia | 4.0 |
| Projected Twin Earth To World | 3.5 |
| Not necessarily a boundary-breaker, but an impressive debut of emotive alt-prog. |
| Amplifier Sunriders | 3.5 |
| Engineers In Praise of More | 4.0 |
| Electric Sorcery Electric Sorcery II | 3.5 |
| Awesome funk jam-fest for all your listening pleasure. |
| Electric Sorcery Electric Sorcery | 3.0 |
| Amplifier Echo Street | 3.5 |
| Electric Sorcery Book Of Lies Part One | 3.5 |
| American Wolf Myriad | 4.5 |
| Anathema Alternative Future | 3.0 |
| Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine | 3.5 |
| The Pineapple Thief Tightly Unwound | 4.0 |
| Karnivool Sound Awake | 4.5 |
| Sigur Ros Valtari | 3.5 |
| Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here | 5.0 |
| The Black Keys Attack & Release | 3.5 |
| Aerosmith Pump | 2.5 |
| Audioslave Audioslave | 3.5 |
| Solterra Soul, Earth, Sun | 4.0 |
| Soundgarden King Animal | 3.5 |
| Porcupine Tree Stupid Dream | 4.0 |
| Anathema Eternity | 3.0 |
| Anathema Alternative 4 | 3.0 |
| It Bites The Tall Ships | 3.5 |
| Amplifier Fractal | 3.5 |
| Muse Absolution | 3.0 |
| Amplifier The Octopus | 4.5 |
| The Darkness Hot Cakes | 2.5 |
| Eagles Hotel California | 2.5 |
| Pendulum Immersion | 3.0 |
| Linkin Park A Thousand Suns | 2.5 |
| Linkin Park Hybrid Theory | 3.0 |
| Linkin Park Meteora | 3.0 |
| Hot Action Cop Nutbag EP | 3.5 |
| Rise Against Appeal to Reason | 3.0 |
| Black Rebel Motorcycle Club B.R.M.C. | 3.0 |
| Gazpacho March of Ghosts | 4.5 |
| The Pineapple Thief Little Man | 5.0 |
| Solterra Umbra | 5.0 |
| Porcupine Tree In Absentia | 4.0 |
| Porcupine Tree On the Sunday of Life | 2.5 |
| Anathema Weather Systems | 4.0 |
| Anathema We're Here Because We're Here | 4.5 |
| Thirty Seconds to Mars This Is War | 3.0 |
| Three Days Grace One-X | 3.0 |
| Tenacious D Tenacious D | 3.0 |
| The Smashing Pumpkins Rotten Apples | 4.0 |
| Skillet Awake | 1.5 |
| Rise Against The Sufferer and the Witness | 3.5 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers I'm With You | 3.5 |
| Pink Floyd The Wall | 3.0 |
| Pearl Jam Vs. | 3.0 |
| Pearl Jam Ten | 4.0 |
| Nickelback Silver Side Up | 2.5 |
| Madina Lake Attics To Eden | 3.0 |
| Foo Fighters Wasting Light | 3.5 |
| The Black Keys El Camino | 3.5 |
| The Black Keys Brothers | 4.0 |
| Lostprophets The Betrayed | 3.0 |
| Lostprophets Liberation Transmission | 3.0 |
| Anathema Judgement | 4.5 |
| Anathema A Fine Day to Exit | 3.5 |
| The Pineapple Thief All the Wars | 4.0 |
| Linkin Park Minutes to Midnight | 3.5 |
| Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin IV | 4.5 |
| Skillet Comatose | 3.0 |
| Lostprophets Weapons | 2.5 |
| The Pineapple Thief Someone Here Is Missing | 4.5 |
| The Darkness One Way Ticket To Hell And Back | 2.5 |
| Wolfmother Wolfmother | 4.0 |
| Anathema A Natural Disaster | 4.0 |
| Green Day American Idiot | 3.5 |
| Green Day 21st Century Breakdown | 3.0 |
| Pink Floyd The Dark Side of the Moon | 5.0 |
| Hot Action Cop 2009 EP | 5.0 |
| Wolfmother Cosmic Egg | 3.5 |
| Hot Action Cop Hot Action Cop | 4.0 |
The one word to define this album is fun. Forget its derivativeness and sometimes moronic
lyrics and just enjoy Tim Flaherty's excellent guitar work and Rob Werthner's catchy
vocals.rSome tracks really stand out, such as the Chili-esque Why Judy with social
commentary of Busted, and funky The Special and acoustic closer In A Little
While. They are quite an unusual little band, successfully merging nu-metal and funk
rock as Beebe said and while having a sexual theme, are not pulled down by the spitefulness
of Limp Bizkit and not becoming to moronic or misogynistic to be enjoyable. HAC's not for
everyone but there's no doubt it's entertaining. |
