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User
Reviews 62
Approval 98%
Soundoffs 51
News Articles 15
Band Edits + Tags 40
Album Edits 176
Album Ratings 1863
Objectivity 66%
Last Active 02-18-20 4:44 am
Joined 01-12-04
Review Comments 4,016
| Pickups, Digs And Electric Sounds
I've been on a downtempo/ambient/psytracne/minimal kick lately, so heres alot of stuff I've picked up as well as some older albums so yall can get into the mood if you want to. | | 1 |  | Ladyhawke
Ladyhawke
I'm usually pretty skeptical about alot of electro-pop, but Ladyhawke's debut actually has substance! It's both smooth and dancable, AND she's from New Zealand. Who'd have thought? | | 2 |  | Blue Sky Black Death
A Heap Of Broken Images
Late Night Cinema has been one of the year's best for me, so I was sorta inclined to check out BSBD's earler works, and this is pretty damn awesome as well. Two discs in this one, one of instrumental hip-hop and another filled with guest rappers, a definate check out if you liked LNC. | | 3 |  | Ohana
Dead Beat
Shortly after reading Andrew's review I found out some frineds of mine were opening for this band, so I went to the gig and picked up this CD. Easiest label I can probably give it is minimal screamo, but that dosn't even begin to cover it. | | 4 |  | Soulwax
Any Minute Now
These guys were one of the highlight of the Parklife music festival which I caught, so I had to pick this up. It's catchy, fun electro with a mix of instruments and software, if you guys want a taste check out ther BBC1 Hotmix, which is easily one of the best dance mixes this year: ://criticalacclaim.wordpress.com/2008/10/10/download-soulwax-bbc-essential-mix-91908/ | | 5 |  | Black Flag
Damaged
So I finally picked this up, Damaged is supposed to be a Hardcore classic, and it's good - a little dated - but still good to give a spin once in a while. | | 6 |  | The Teenagers
Reality Check
Some of you will loathe this album. It's shallow French indie-electro-pop, accents and all, dirty lyrics and lyrics like 'I f'ucked her, it was wild, shes such a slut/I f'cuked an american c'unt'. Great driving music though. | | 7 |  | Feist
Let It Die
Feist has got the most mesmerizing voice ever. Truth. ALthough it's never quite been caught properly on record (watch her live, its spellbinding), Let it Die is still as stylized and interesting as The Reminder. | | 8 |  | Broken Social Scene
Feel Good Lost
Completely different to BSS later albums, this is staright up ambeint post-rock, meandering guitars and soundscapes. It's pretty, but it get boring quite quickly. | | 9 |  | sgt.
Stylus Fantasticus
Post-rock that dosn't sound like every other post-rock album out there. It's alot less 'epic', but still manages to keep it interesting, with a violin thrown into the mix just for good measure. | | 10 |  | Oceans Of Sadness
The Arrogance of Ignorance
Another of of this years most solid metal records. The instruments are really sparely laid out compared to alot of it's contemporaries, which says alot about the quality of songwriting here. | | 11 |  | Saves The Day
Through Being Cool
Mmm, straight up pop-punk, there are moments when music like this is just absolutely needed, whether you like it or not. | | 12 |  | 1200 Micrograms
1200 Mics
This is straight up, relentless psy-trance in the vein of Hallucinogen. It's not as interesting and varied, but it gets the job done. | | 13 |  | Younger Brother
A Flock Of Bleeps
Iai took the words straight out of my mouth when he said everything Simon Posford touches turns to gold. This man is a f'ucking amazing at what he does, and on A Flock Of Bleeps we're looking at downtempo psytrance, laid back, but it's still got the trancy energy in there to make it exciting. All hail Simon Posford. | | 14 |  | Entheogenic
Spontaneous Illumination
Probably one of the best ambient Psytrance albums out there, it just screams out GOA. Filled with 'ethnic' samples and tribal beats and electronics, this is a rippin' album. | | 15 |  | The Future Sound Of London
Lifeforms
A classic. This isn't exactly trancy, but one of the finest early ambient albums out there. Solw, brooding and atmospheric, it's almost perfect. | | 16 |  | Hallucinogen
In Dub
Hallucinogen (Simon Posford's main project, along with Shpongle),
have always been at the forefront of the psytrance scene. So when Ott (who mixed this album) came along and decided to remix a selection of songs with a Dub spice, you get... Psy-dub? Steel drums, echoy beats and Bob Marley Basslines with all the sharpness of Hallucinogen's knife-edge production, this is a unique and amazing album. | | 17 |  | Bluetech
Sines and Singularities
I was slightly disappointed by this, again, it's ambient psy, but the trance part of this is really lacking, so it loses alot of it's excitement value, but its a good listen if you want some chill-out easy listening. | | 18 |  | Shulman
Soundscapes and Modern Tales
Isreal's answer to Shponge? THIS is a masterpiece. Although the trance again is slightly obscured here, the sheer creative use of sampling and sounds make for a sonic landscape like nearly nothing out there. | | 19 |  | Solar Fields
Extended
This is the most straight up, modern, ambient album on this list, its quite literally just slow, wondering music, very very few beats, just electronic soundscapes abound. Good sleep music. | | 20 |  | Prefuse 73
One Word Extinguisher
YoPrefuse's best, there?s a mix of hip hop, slow DnB, and sampling a la DJ Shadow. This still fits with the downtempo vibe of this list, so while nothing's too intense here, its still immersive. Solid album. | | 21 |  | Tim Hecker
Harmony In Ultraviolet
Tim Hecker is an ambient God, and Harmony in Ultraviolet is another in a string of amazing albums by him. Slowslowslow, but utterly experimental in his use of sounds, some of this even borders on Drone, rather than simple electornica. | | 22 |  | Emiliana Torrini
Love in the Time of Science
Picked this up while browsing though Amazon recommended lists, and some of you will probably know her from the song on th Ending Credits of the Two Towers. She sounds like a slightly less interesting Bjork, but her voice is smoother and like honey like, and probably much more accessible. Songwriting is solid, a bit trip-hop, a bit electronica. | | 23 |  | The Orb
U.F.Orb
So The Orb pretty much defined the downtempo genre when they came out, and U.F.Orb is supposed to be way up there. It's... OK. Perhaps more revolutionary when it came out, now its still interesting, minimal and dancy, but doesn?t quite live up to expectations. | | 24 |  | Tangerine Dream
Phaedra
Another landmark album, listening to Phaedra is like putting you head underwater for about half an hour and just swimming around while listening to the ocean floor. No dancing to be done here, just immersive listening. | | 25 |  | MewithoutYou
Brother, Sister | | 26 |  | Converge
Jane Doe
I've been listening to both for ages, but I finally picked up physical copies of Brother, Sister and Jane Doe at a CD sale yesterday, feels good to not a pirate every once in a while. Both are brilliant albums and should need no deion. If you haven't heard them yet, GOGOGO! | |
StreetlightRock
10.12.08 | I'll probably end up reviewing a few of these eventually. | Electric City
10.12.08 | Well if you do, could you kindly not do 9 as I will be reviewing it this week?
btw, nice list. 3 is very good. and his name's andrew, not brad. | StreetlightRock
10.12.08 | Haha, thanks man. Don't worry, I've got no intention of reviewing 9 =) | AggravatedYeti
10.12.08 | awesome
7 is her best, by a fucking mile
and 8 become less boring and significantly more pretty/serene/awesome upon repeated listens I've found.
and I dunno bout ladyhawke... | Mikesn
10.26.08 | I may review 15, eventually. It's pretty sweet. |
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