Kyte - Dead Waves

Kyte are a relatively new band that create a mixture of post-rock and shoegaze. they lean on the poppier side of shoegaze, as there isn't a great amount of guitar distortion here. with electronics used throughout the album along with a lovely vocalist, this album doesn't fail to disappoint.

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Amen Orchestra - 17 Waves

Rossz Csillag Alatt Született part 2. classical music mixed with super fast breakcore. if you like Venetian Snares' adventures into classical music, you'll love this.

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Coughs - Fright Makes Right

so i'm pretty sure abrasive bands with saxophone players are one of the best things ever, and Coughs have all but confirmed that. this album is a headache waiting to happen, a mixture of punk / noise rock with two drummers, a keyboardist / saxophonist, a bassist, a guitarist and a girl screaming over the top of everything.

MP3 192 (most likely the highest quality link on the internet)

Ödland - The Caterpillar

i don't remember where or how i found this, but it's good french folk. songs range from lovely and upbeat (The Caterpillar) to gloominess, almost bordering on depressing (Les Yeux De L'Oiseau). this is a band that play music i'd consider cute, but it's not overboard obnoxious cuteness. the brilliant female vocalist helps too.

MP3 320

Sieben - Desire Rites

Sieben is a neofolk / neoclassical project created by Matt Howden, who has worked with many similar artists and bands. violin is the most prominent instrument here, with Matt's seemingly Douglas Pearce-inspire vocals scattered throughout the album, along with pounding drums and acoustic guitar melodies on a select few tracks.

MP3 320

The Pax Cecilia - Blessed Are The Bonds

brilliant mixture of post-rock / screamo (i seem to be posting a lot of this). much more focused on ambience, crescendos and breathtaking piano work with some heavy moments thrown in for good measure. to quote another review of this album, it sounds like Godspeed if they decided to take a metallic approach to post-rock. and gained a vocalist, too.

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Shitao - Lines

the DMCA is mad and deleted my Exploding Head post :( back to posting obscure music then!!

anyway. this is a trip-hop album with distinctly dark undertones. various samples, most of them in french, are scattered throughout this album, giving it a depressing and sombre feel. lovely album.

MP3 320

This Heat - John Peel Sessions

This Heat were one of the most bizarre and experimental bands of the last 70's / early 80's, and this peel session clearly shows it. including various songs from the band's two albums as well as some previously unreleased tracks (i think), this showcases the different styles of their songs, from the 7-minute bass-heavy math rock freakout Horizontal Hold to the frightening, demented Makeshift.

MP3 320

Gospel - The Moon Is A Dead World

these guys are similar to Funeral Diner, who i recently posted. however, The Moon Is A Dead World leans much more towards screamo than post-rock, and the songs contain more psychedelic elements. brilliant drummer as well.

this review is a bit underwhelming but this album is highly recommended!

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1980 - 1980

this is certainly unlike any metal album i've ever heard. 1980's self-titled is a bizarre mix of angular, constantly changing riffs and electronics that go from screeching, glitchy madness to soft and soothing in a manner of seconds. this album is like math rock meets Meshuggah meets jazz, and it works perfectly.

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Saltillo - Ganglion

this is my favourite trip-hop album. not that i listen to much trip-hop, but still. created by a multi-instrumentalist, this album is incredibly versatile and amazing, with haunting samples, viola and piano used throughout it. i don't really know how to describe it. but it is really good. get it.

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Serena Maneesh - Abyss In B Minor

Serena Maneesh are a relatively new shoegaze band, and this is their second album. it's damn good too, if a bit MBV-esque. first track is godly, love the bass. also, it was apparently recorded in a cave, which is a good enough reason as any to download this.

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Why? - Eskimo Snow

this album was recorded at the same time as Alopecia, yet the two couldn't be more different. while Alopecia was for the most part depressing and solemn, most of Eskimo Snow's songs are upbeat and full of piano melodies. this album is definitely a grower, and should definitely be listened to as an entire album. the songs by themselves aren't great compared to anything off Alopecia, but as an album they flow beautifully.

MP3 320

Funeral Diner - The Underdark

The Underdark is an album most likely inspired by Envy's adventures into post-rock. this album employs a build-up-to-climax approach for most of the songs rather than all out violence like some screamo bands. this basically has some of the best guitarwork in both post-rock and screamo and is one of the few albums that i would not hesistate to call 'epic'.

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Sightings - City Of Straw

certainly one of the most perculiar 2010 albums i've heard so far. Sightings are a noise rock band in every sense of the term - rather than simply playing loud rock music, they mix glitchy noise with rock music. lots of electronics are used as well as screeching guitars and a drunken-sounding vocalist who rambles on about nothing in particular.

MP3 320

Disasterpeace - Level

i've never listened to much chiptune before. but for some reason i had this bookmarked, so i gave it a listen and damn it is good. there are pretty much always multiple melodies throughout every song so it's never boring and ends up being a lovely, relaxing album. i really hope most chiptune is like this!

MP3 320

Galaxie 500 - This Is Our Music

...and again. this is their final album before they broke up, and while i don't think it's as good as the previous two albums, it's still well worth a listen.

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Galaxie 500 - On Fire

this is the album i was talking about. it can be argued that it is a bit same-y but i find that while they do follow a bit of a formula, it's pretty much the best formula ever and they do change things up.

if you don't like Decomposing Trees you don't have a soul.

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Galaxie 500 - Today

Galaxie 500 were a dream pop band with a singer that couldn't really sing. their guitarist wasn't that great at playing guitar, either. and they still made what is possibly my favourite album of the 80s.

this isn't that album, but it's still very good, especially considering that it's their first album.

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A Storm Of Light - Forgive Us Our Trespasses

A Storm Of Light are sludge band that in my opinion made a very boring 2008 album. it was basically a bad Neurosis ripoff (the frontman does visuals for Neurosis, which is probably why he decided to copy them). this follow-up album is... still kind of a Neurosis ripoff, but it's a huge improvement.

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BATS - Red In Tooth And Claw

despite the album being named after a song by Rosetta, an amazing sludge band, BATS play math-rock / post-hardcore. they have a vocalist who sometimes sings about SCIENCE. they're pretty great.

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Astronautalis - The Mighty Ocean and 9 Dark Theatres

another "hipster" hip-hop album, but this one couldn't be more different than Busdriver. i'd probably consider this an indie rock album with hip-hop influences, especially considering that it was apparently recorded after "a road trip of listening to almost nothing but shoegaze". there is the occasional rapping, and everything rhymes, but for the most part this is a slow and relaxing album.

standouts include Seaweed Sheets with its Modest Mouse-esque chorus (the vocalist is surprisingly good at sounding like Isaac Brock), the depressing Barrel Jumping (A Man Of Letters) and the 10 minute 'epic' Down and Out In The Bold New City of the South, which goes from an uplifting song about stalking to a positively sinister song with glitchy piano to a crescendo that wouldn't be out of place on a post-rock album.

MP3 256

Busdriver - Fear Of A Black Tangent

if you're big into hip-hop, you probably won't like this... Busdriver is a rapper who is known for his extremely fast delivery and lyrics that border on nonsense. i've noticed that he's often criticised in the last.fm shoutbox by people who listen to loads of hip-hop for things such as his lack of flow or whatever. i'm not bothered by anything like that, i just enjoy his voice and his super-fast, experimental approach to hip-hop.

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