...which you might not have heard of. In no particular order.
I'll open with Флёр's latest, Эйфория ("Euphoria"), though unlike the bands to follow, I have no MySpace link for this fabulous pair of Ukrainians. Usually classified, when classified, as "ethereal wave", the new disc takes something of a departure from that, incorporating harsher and more aggressive themes and music while maintaining the vocal and melodic forms distinctive of Флёр. Check out "Новое матное слово" ("New foul word").
Though the frequently daft nuts at Wikipedia list this album's release as '07, the artist's official site and my copy of the disc itself both say 2008, so it's going here: Anna Maria Jopek, Id (Amazon
). This Polish artist's latest release has taken on an international flavor, a new direction for her work heretofore, with contributions from the Brazilian Oscar Castro Neves to Norwegian pianist Tord Gustavsen, Branford Marsalis' saxophone work to Richard Bona's bass, to Mino Cinelu's percussive talents and Dhafer Youssef's singing and oud, etc., etc., etc. Quite a mix, and I think it works quite well for her. The new direction and the particular combination of styles—often in the space of a single song—surprised me the first time I heard this disc, and I'm jaded enough at this point to make that surprise factor one of the key requirements for putting an album on this list. One of the standout tracks for me: "To, Co Nienazwane", "What goes unnamed":
Tyle było chwil dla których nie znalazłam odpowiednich słów. A przecież to, co nienazwane – gubi się. To, czego język nie ocali – traci sens. Bezdomne, bezpowrotne, zmierza wprost do nieistnienia. Zwinny mój język jest posłuszny mi. Pieści Cię słowem, stwarza Ciebie i ocala Cię.
Jakich trzeba słów, abym opisać mogła oczu twoich żar? Jak przetłumaczyć pojedyncze drżenie warg tak, aby rysy twe nie pozostały już tylko moim wspomnieniem. A więc czymś zupełnie innym...
Roughly,
There are so many moments in my life for which I haven't the right words. Yet what goes unnamed fades from memory. What you can't capture in language loses its meaning, becomes lost, irrevocably; heads for oblivion. So let my tongue obey me; caress you with words; frame you in them and save you.
What are the words that can describe the passion of this look in your eyes? How can I capture this fleeting tremor of your lip, just so, that it remain for me a living thing, not just a fading memory or something else entirely...
Arkan, Hilal (Amazon: CD
or MP3
). This is a fantastic debut from this Tunisian group, incorporating traditional Middle Eastern instruments and vocals into modern metal forms. Representative tracks: "Defying the Idols"; instrumental, "Amaloun Jadid".
Haale, No Ceiling (Amazon: CD
or MP3
). This Persian New Yorker offers up an interesting mix on her debut, lyrics switching between English and Farsi, the latter usually with a Sufic theme, and music ranging from Middle Eastern influence to American psychedelica. Example of the mixed styles: "Ay dar Shekasteh".
Ad Ombra, Rites of Genesis (Equinox Tremendum). And I don't say this just as a return pat on the back for Stanciulescu's earlier complimenting of my own work; I think this is a genuinely good album. There are a few places where I'd like to hear the work performed on the physical, traditional instruments as the synths occasionally fail to do the music itself justice but overall I'd still recommend this to anyone interested in so-called "dark" ambient orchestrations. Suggested sample track: "Heart Sermons".
Dark Dark Dark, The Snow Magic (Amazon: CD
or MP3
). My first and most immediate impression is to think The Decemberists' and DeVotchKa's love child. From the energy of these tracks and the band's performance, I can't help but feel that perhaps they would be best experienced live, but be that as it may I have quite enjoyed this disc on its own merits. Hopefully I'll have a chance to see them live at some point to see if my feeling's accurate. Go and listen to the "Ferment in D minor".
Punch Brothers, Punch (Amazon
). This may surprise some, as this and the primary instigator, Chris Thile, tends to be more "country" than my typical interests incline me, but this is a brilliant album and I love the direction it's taking. Thile has assembled a crew of talented improv players on traditionally country and bluegrass instruments and has orchestrated them after the fashion of more traditional string quartets and quintets, smashing two previously disparate musical traditions into a singular fusion, then sprinkled a generous dusting of spice from modern compositional forms and theories such as atonalism, discordance and such. (Though the disc has a few other tracks, these comments refer primarily to the core of the album, tracks 2 through 5, "The Blind Leaving the Blind" in four movements.)
Jóhann Jóhannsson, Fordlândia (Amazon: CD
or MP3
). This is a brilliant disc. It's a concept album, so, naturally, much more could be said of it, much analysis made, but it's all unnecessary; my first sentence suffices. Go, buy this and enjoy. I don't dislike any of these tracks, so picking a standout is difficult, but if I must, I would say "The Rocket Builder (Io Pan!)".
Scar Symmetry, Holographic Universe (Amazon: CD
or MP3
). An excellent representative of modern technical metal, and a well put-together theme album. A little more of the growly vocal than I tend to prefer, but all the other elements, I think, make up for it. On a down note, as there's a change of vocalists for this group after this album, we might not be able to expect more of the same in the future. Representative, for the mix of styles, rhythms, vocals: "Prism and Gate".
Honorable mentions:
Eleanoora Rosenholm, Älä Kysy Kuolleilta, He Sanoivat (Amazon
). Though I must confess I am perhaps still more partial to her last disc, this sophmore release is more than worth having a listen to. Try, "Vladimir Grutšov".
Arborea, Arborea (Amazon
). Not at the top of the list, but a charming first offering none the less. Listen to "Red Bird".
Balmorhea, Rivers Arms (Amazon
). There are truly some great moments and works on this album, and I would recommend giving it a listen. It only falls short of the top list, above, by virtue of some of the fourteen tracks being a bit too similar or repetitive to my ear. It's a good album, but perhaps could have used a little more editing/pruning.
Strangers Die Every Day, Aperture for Departure. Again, many nice moments on this album, but on the whole the tracks are either too long or too repetitive for the material they're working with. There are several tracks here where you can randomly move the slider back and forth to other parts of the track and not sound like you've changed the music much if at all. They do sound like skilled players, so I hope we can expect more and better from them in the future, but they really need to work on developing their material—as unfortunately, for this album, development means more than repeating the same melodic material for several minutes while occasionally adding or removing percussion or haphazard pizzicato plucking of strings.
Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend (Amazon
). It seems there's some kind of magic to this album that I have so far been unable to find. "Oxford Comma" caught my attention when it was circling through some of the science blogs, and I gave it a few listens at the time, and though it was a little disappointing to discover that the song, to quote the singer, was "more about not giving a fuck than an oxford comma", it was oddly catchy—before it was played to death by every blog and station—so on its basis I bought the disc. If everyone's permitted a mistake once in a while, this was one of mine. I still see praise for these guys and this disc everywhere, so apparently, as above, it has a magic that has eluded me. The honorable mention is for that elusive magic that has captured the hearts of so many; the reason it doesn't show up above in my actual list is that I have not been so enchanted: me, I would have been disappointed in this music if it were being done by a high school band. That it's a professional release with innumerable fans simply boggles the mind.
