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Soundoffs 22 News Articles 14 Band Edits + Tags 584 Album Edits 850
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Last Active 06-29-22 11:36 am Joined 06-19-18
Review Comments 39,079
| Trif's 2023 โ Records I Love So Far
It's March! Time to start cataloguing all of 2023's records that I 1) have heard; and 2) gave a 3.5 or higher (equals LOVE). Last year's edition was a little airy, entirely because of me. Will this one be any different? We'll see in ~9.5 months! | 1 | | Weval Remember
Electronic
4.5
The Netherlands
Probably my fave Weval full-length. Right now at least (November EDIT: still is!). For sure better than The Weight, debut is super good so I don't know how those two end up. Check if you like techno with a hearty dose of melancholic trip-hoppy goodness. They're a little hard to define. Super glad Changed For The Better was included here!
[Reviewed] | 2 | | The Necks Travel
Jazz
4.0
Australia
Oh yeah, more Necks! Yet another good one. How could it not be with this super The Gathering-esque title! Jammy, explorative jazz which never fails to mesmerize. | 3 | | Orbital Optical Delusion
House
3.5
UK
So this contains some very nice tracks (opener, many early-half ones) and some which are not really for me (The Rat, some others). That's exactly how I've felt about most of their latest ones. | 4 | | Little North Wide Open
Jazz
3.5
Denmark
Acoustic jazz trio. CHECK. Drums, double bass and piano: CHECK. Happy me. | 5 | | Mais Uma Rosa do Deserto
Folk/Bossa Nova/Cantigas
3.5
Brazil
Very weird. Be warned. Some of this is super goofy, her vox are always super lovely. Nice melodies and some just-over-the-edge moments. | 6 | | Oceanic (NED) Choral Feeling
Electronic
3.5
The Netherlands
Club-atmosphere, with some weirdly placed spoken words (in Dutch) here and there. Nice one! | 7 | | Tigeroak Living and Living
Soul/Jazz
3.5
Denmark
Very smooth, cute and melodic. Think Georgie Sweet/Erika de Casier. Yet different enough for sure (that sudden velvet-D'n'B explosion!)! Sounds very good too. | 8 | | Altin Gun Aลk
Turkish Psychedelic
3.5
The Netherlands
Once more, these Gรผns show that we all should be checking more Turkish psych from the '70s!!! Try to sit still during this!!! | 9 | | Pitou Big Tear
Folky Poppy Chambery Goodness
4.0
The Netherlands
Her first LP sees Pitou explore a denser sound with a more diverse and extensive set of instruments backing up her melodic and clear vocals. As enchanting as ever! | 10 | | Mioclono Cluster I
Tribal/Ambient Techno
3.5
Spain
Lovely tribal infused, hypnotic techno from Spain. Press play and let it wash over you! Avoid this if you do not like repetition. | 11 | | Craven Faults Standers
Techno/Minimal
4.5 (growth happened!~!!)
UK
OK so Craven Faults remains as hypnotic, relaxing, and introspective as ever. Loving this one. Repeating cycles of slowly evolving, brooding techno wash over you for well over an hour. What else could one possibly want? Also that Sun Vein Strings and Idols & Altars combo!!!!
[Reviewed] | 12 | | Jungle Volcano
Soul/Funk/Pop
3.5
UK
Need to get used to the less soulful and more dancy side they went for here. Still a nice record for sure! | 13 | | De Staat Red Yellow Blue
Rock/Alternative
4.0
The Netherlands
As WHOS GONNA BE THE GOAT already promised, this was going to rule. Silly, ugly, overblown, and insanely addictive. Grin on your face and 'gaan met die banaan'. | 14 | | Anna B Savage in|FLUX
Art Pop
3.5
UK
Singer Songwriter is too narrow a term for Anna B, yet it still is applicable in a sense. Her haunting, deep voice sets her apart of many of her peers, and this is chock full of musical ideas. And that t/t! Good disk! | 15 | | Sam Goku Things We See When We Look Closer
Ambient/House/Tribal
3.5
Germany
Very organic, with lots of dripping and misty forest type of sounds. Nicely diverse, with very tasty, cyclic beats.
Cycles and Mangrove Railways are stand-outs for me. | 16 | | Session Victim The Intangibles
House [EP]
3.5
Germany
Old school sounding, great flow, Motivation especially stands out. | 17 | | Detalji Truly
House/Techno/Electro pop (some Trance and Drum'n'Bass too!)
4.0
Finland
Very catchy, danceable, often employing sweet vocals: very good for those approaching (?) Summer days. Occasional Moby-esque vibes, but then through steady House/Techno eyes. Super diverse and fun! | 18 | | Captain Planet (US) Sounds Like Home
World/Funk/Disco
3.5
USA
Nice one. Wish it had some more ultra funky moments, but it does have more than enough for me to come back to it. Nice mix too! | 19 | | Wet Velvet The Spaces Between
Post punk/Gothic/Dream pop
3.5
USA
Nicely dreamy and rough-around-the-edges post-punky goodness. Think drum machines and twinkly guitar washes. Made by a fellow Sput-friend no less! | 20 | | Urfaust Untergang
Black metal/Doom metal
3.5
The Netherlands
Reminds me of Im Wald-era Paysage d'Hiver occasionally. Great record, nicely diverse, knows when to stick to a groove and when to introduce something new. Vocals buried nicely deep in the mix. | 21 | | Slowdive Everything is Alive
Shoegaze
3.5
UK
Shanty is suuuuuuper good, the rest is less interesting and a bit too sweet for me. I guess this is exactly the Pygmalion-effect. | 22 | | Follakzoid V
Techno/Krautrock(...kind of)
4.0
Chile
Just like its predecessor, V is a journey into Krautrock-flavoured Minimal Techno land that is just to die for. Loooooooooong hypnotic stretches slowly grow and evolve to sloooooooowly fade away again after 15 minutes have gone by. Wouldn't have it any other way! | 23 | | You Can Can You Can Can
Musique concrรจte/Ambient/Folk
3.5
Canada
Sounds pretentious, doesn't it? But it's a nice little record, with some great atmosphere and it never goes too far into over-the-top-brain-music land. | 24 | | Maya Ongaku Approach to Anima
Psychedelic/Folk/Ambient
3.5
Japan
I'm glad I checked this despite that poo-like cover. There's some super sweet, slow, quiet, bossa/lounge stuff here, lovely choice of instrumentation and with suitably mumbly dreamy vocals to top it all off. | 25 | | Namian Sidibe Namian Sidibe
Griot/Wassoullou
4.0
Mali
A perfect record for those who, like me, cannot ever get enough of these Malian traditional music styles (think Oumou Sangarรฉ). Very very very nice. | 26 | | Anna St. Louis In The Air
Country/Americana/Indie folk
3.5
US
A bit on the syrupy side, but still very enjoyable, perhaps mainly because Anna's honest, clear, and full vocals. | 27 | | Oma Totem Exercicis Ritmics
Tribal/Electronic [EP]
3.5
Spain
EP totally built around rhythm. Very satisfying debut, would love to hear more from this Barcelonan. | 28 | | Tinariwen Amatssou
Tuareg/Folk/Blues/Rock
4.0
Both sides of the border between Algeria and Mali
Still as lovely as ever. Saw these guys live a couple of years ago, they are still as mesmerizing as back then. | 29 | | The Colorist And Emiliana Torrini Racing The Storm
Rock/Trip hop
3.5
Iceland/Belgium
As lovely as one would expect, based on the previous collaboration of these two lovelies. Emiliana's semi-whispered, colourful vocals and Colorist's diverse instrumental approach make for a great combo! I totally get why they decided this collab needed to happen again. | 30 | | Anthony Napels Orbs
Electronic
3.5
US
Subdued and hypnotising. Some BoC-worship, but in an expanded way. Like it! | 31 | | Maria BC Spike Field
Folk/electronic
4.0
US
Wonderful iteration of MBC's calm, soothing vocals and quiet instrumentation. Watch this one grow from a cute and introspective folk-driven first half into a more diverse, open-ended and out-there second half! Very lovely work, better than her debut LP! | 32 | | Peter Fox Love Songs
Dancehall/Reggae/Pop
3.5
Germany
I think PF will be sick of hearing this by now, but here goes: not as good as the phenomenal debut (2009!), but this one still is a very enjoyable and diverse and wonderfully produced album that makes you want to DANCE. And: German is suuuuuch a good music-language, he proves that once more. Listen to Vergessen Wie and be hypnotised! | 33 | | Bokantรฉ History
World/blues/funk/jazz/etc.
4.0
US
Superb album, probably needs a rating bump already! Diverse, alive, danceable, with influences taken left, right, and centre, and lots of soul and delicious rhythms! | 34 | | Kabeaushe Hold On to Deer Life There's a Blcak Boy Behind U
Hip hop/Electronic/Pop/Experimental
3.5
Kenya
OK so this type of sound often is totally not for me, but this wonderful Kabeaushรฉ just knows how to keep things interesting and alive and like a whirlpool of ideas that for some reason work together beautifully. Certainly a weird record, but certainly wonderful too!
Also, no, that is no typo. | 35 | | Sign Libra Hidden Beauty
Ambient/Electronic
3.5
Latvia
Often, this record sounds like Super Mario 64 in a good way. It also sounds a bit like a combination of Cocteau Twins' more ethereal side, of Enya (?!), and of 90s (or late-80s) new age stuff. Kitschy, yes, but certainly nice! | 36 | | Helena Deland Goodnight Summerland
Folk/Indie
4.0
Canada
Gorgeous. Her first EP was absolutely wonderful, the releases after that one were a slight step in the wrong direction for me, yet this is another super gorgeous record. Hellelellelalallalalaa Dellallalanananaanad!!! | 37 | | Mason (NL) Chroma Panorama
Dance/Soul
3.5
The Netherlands
Ultra-accessible dancey goofy happy music. Very radio-friendly, also often nicely weird in a small way. Puts a smile on the face and makes the feet move! | 38 | | Skalpel Big Band Live
Nu-Jazz/Big Band [Live album]
4.0 (4.5???????!!!!)
Poland
Oh... my!!!!! Never thought this would happen, but oooooh my is it good! These Polish nu-jazz legends are joined on stage by a 17 piece big band and boy do they swing and groove and how good does it sound!!!!! Late-year highlight for sure, and already one of the best disks I've heard this year. | 39 | | Emil Amos Zone Black
Hip-Hop/Experimental/Rock/Kraut-influences
3.5
USA
Very diverse, all of it cool. Some slow, expansive, and quietly evolving, meandering tracks, all of it wonderfully produced. Can't really pinpoint this one, and it's all the better for it! | 40 | | Arutani Oblique
Techno/Breaks
4.0
Germany/Venezuela
You can hear this guy hails from a South American country originally, and you can hear he moved to Berlin later. Very nice combo of South American percussion and rhythms with the rigidity and coolness of German Techno. | 41 | | Benjamin Gisli Line of Thought
Jazz
3.5
Iceland
OK so these guys name Bill Evans as an inspiration. I hear this in their work. They're a jazz trio. Love it. The trio consists of bass/drums/piano. Love it. They use acoustic instruments. Love it. Very sweet record, albeit veering a little too much into the Sims Buying Music direction sometimes... They could do with some less pronounced melancholy/bittersweetness. | 42 | | Dada Joaozinho Tds Bem Global
Tropicalia/Hip-Hop/Samba
3.5
Brazil
Super strange, weird yet wonderful mix of styles, huge warm production, and so many ideas carried out beautifully. Never goes into ear shattering territory either, it's a very nice sort of calm weirdness! | 43 | | Bebel Gilberto Joao
Bossa Nova/Downtempo
4.0
Brazil
Of course, we're discussing some delicious bossa nova, so feelings of warm, sunny weather are everywhere on this album. Some nicely mysterious sounding songs too! Undiรบ for instance! | 44 | | Sofia Kourtesis Madres
House/Dub/Latin American
3.5
Peru
Thanks Pan, for bringing this to my attention. It's a very diverse and very danceable record! Those Rhythms are super nice as well, oh my! | 45 | | Deadbeat Kรผbler-Ross Soliloquies
Minimal Techno/Dub
3.5
Canada
I like this more than the only other Deadbeat I heard (Eight). Perhaps it's time to give some others a go! | 46 | | Titanic (MEX) Vidrio
Minimal/Jazz
3.5
Mexico
Loose, nicely dissonant but also sweet in its vibe. Lovely late entry for me! | |
Trifolium
03.08.23 | Did anybody notice? 2023 started! | Demon of the Fall
03.08.23 | I have barely noticed to be fair, at least music-wise, although...
WEVAL! And yes, I might agree with it being their best.
heard 5 new releases all year, as I'm only checking 'Demon's essentials' at this stage / this time around, so we'll see how long that lasts | Trifolium
03.08.23 | Yeah that was my approach last year. Needed to spend some time with old friends (record-wise) and checking that ever-growing/never-shrinking backlog. Oh my. So many oldies to check still ๐
Thinking of doing the same thing this year, checking only the most appealing new ones.
"WEVAL!" [2] | Mythodea
03.08.23 | Hello you beautiful man, you! Passing by to suggest listening to "in|Flux" by Anna B Savage, and keep a tab on your list for the gems you are going to dig out ;) | someone
03.08.23 | I am so looking forward to the new Weval | DadKungFu
03.08.23 | Anna B Savage [2] | Trifolium
03.08.23 | Yipppeeee party people!
Long time no see Myth (๐ญ), thanks for the rec (DKF too!), looks super promising.
And YES it is gooood someone. Hmmm. My fave so far this year. | ArsMoriendi
03.09.23 | Hi Trif | Storm In A Teacup
03.09.23 | Trif I know they probably dont say it but these records also love you! | Trifolium
03.09.23 | Hi Ars!
That's so nice to know Stormy thanks ๐ฅฐ | SlothcoreSam
03.09.23 | Trif, check the new album by GEZAN, it's my fav of the year so far. | Trifolium
03.09.23 | Will do Sam! Thanks! Keep those recs coming!
Listening to Everything Went Well (from 1) right now and that is another HIGH from that album oh my. Super lovely stuff. | Egarran
03.09.23 | Woah is it 2023 already? Only now do I realize.
My half-bro the jazz sax player keeps releasing songs but I don't like any of them. It's very unfortunate.
I guess this is ok: https://youtu.be/RQxWjf6CJU8 | Trifolium
03.09.23 | I will check tomorrow that sounds interesting. Also poor you is this where your hate for saxophones originated? | Egarran
03.10.23 | No, I was born with that hate. | Trifolium
03.10.23 | There's that nature vs nurture thing again, always popping up.
๐คฎ๐ท๐ฅ
| Trifolium
04.04.23 | Added 8 and 9!!! Lovely stuff.
9 might be my next review............. ๐ค | someone
04.04.23 | Oh, new Altin, might check at some point, if I'm ever in the mood for quirky throwbacks | Trifolium
04.04.23 | Yeah it was pretty sweet once more! As you would expect from them, really. They've managed to be very consistent over their five LPs I'd say! So you know exactly what kind of mood you'll have to be in. | Pangea
04.04.23 | pitou!! ๐ will check sone of the others! | Trifolium
04.04.23 | Yeah it's yet another gorgeous release by her! Was a little worried that by choosing to make things more complex the LP would be less appealing to me than her super soothing and calm and clear EPs, but she did it very well and I love it. | DadKungFu
04.04.23 | Calling Pitou folk is a stretch tbh, also Pitou is really good | pizzamachine
04.04.23 | Ty for list, I am behind teehee | Trifolium
04.04.23 | I'm open for suggestions DKF! Discogs lists all her stuff as Pop, Folk, World, Country, Rock, Classical so there's lots to choose from. | pizzamachine
04.04.23 | Yo Trif, stop being a good user dude it makes me look bad | Trifolium
04.04.23 | No no NO! It does NOT!
The entity that makes a pizzamachine look bad has not been invented yet.
Also we all love you! | pizzamachine
04.04.23 | Haha thanks bro | Trifolium
05.04.23 | Added some new stuff, also some stuff I look forward to.
1 is still my Number 1 of 2023. | Demon of the Fall
05.04.23 | new De Staat?! Excellent news! | Trifolium
05.08.23 | Yeah I'm happy there finally will be a physical release for those many many individual tracks from the Red/Yellow/Blue project. Looking forward to it!
Also 17 is nice, loving it a lot. | Demon of the Fall
05.08.23 | Anna B Savage sounds like it maaaaaay be my thing, your comments coupled with the review sounds promising! | Pangea
10.05.23 | put on Mioclono because i need good reading music and the opener is SO NICE | Demon of the Fall
10.05.23 | 'Shanty is suuuuuuper good, the rest is less interesting and a bit too sweet for me. I guess this is exactly the Pygmalion-effect.'
pardon? Pyg has a distinct sound quite separate from their new album. Yes, Everything is Alive has influences from throughout their discog, but the general feel is different, for me | Demon of the Fall
10.05.23 | check Stimming - minimal techno / house | Trifolium
10.05.23 | Oh yeah same, they do not sound anything alike, but I meant my enjoyment of the albums is similar: I only like the openers of both of them, the rest doesn't do much for me.
Stimming is on my radar indeed, although I am kind of unsure about their latest output.
And agreeeeeed Pan!!! It's a lovely album! | Trifolium
10.12.23 | FINNALYYYYY hit 30 albums for 2023. Wholly due to a lack of being in the mood from my side. | Demon of the Fall
10.12.23 | Emiliana Torrini's collab was decent yet I was slightly underwhelmed. Nice enough if a little nondescript at times
well done on 30, I'd probably struggle in hitting that mark | Storm In A Teacup
10.12.23 | Ima try Shanty | Trifolium
10.12.23 | Cool I liked it curious for your take on it!
Agreed about the Torrini one, but then slightly more on the positive side. I get what you mean though, it could have been a little bit 'more' perhaps.
Really enjoying the Naples one Demon, I think you might like it too! | Demon of the Fall
10.12.23 | BOC-worship is definitely encouraging! | Trifolium
10.12.23 | Yeah that's what I thought. I enjoyed it a lot. Pity I can't find it on CD. It's horrible to be fan of a dying medium. | Pangea
10.12.23 | don't tell me cds are dying ๐ญ๐ญ๐ญ๐ญ๐ญ | someone
10.12.23 | okay look, the new De Staat was fun at times, but c'mon it's some of their most obnoxious (not in a good way) songs to date
Who's Gonna Be the GOAT included. hate that song | Storm In A Teacup
10.12.23 | On 1st listen Shanty is a solid 4.1 but might be a 4.256 on further listens. Def a great car song for me while working. ๐ | Demon of the Fall
10.12.23 | yeah, latest De Staat didn't tickle me fancy either. I enjoyed the previous album | Trifolium
10.12.23 | Omg no GOAT is still in my head on a weekly basis. Really loved R,Y,B.
They are Pan, especially for Bandcamp-artists. So sad! ๐ญ
And yeah Shanty is suuuuuuper good, would have loved that album to be more akin to that type of sound, but it sadly isn't. | Trifolium
10.20.23 | I did not even colour-coordinate this list on purpose but it is kind of happening anyway!!! ๐ฅณ๐คญ๐ค๐๐๐
So yeah this new Maria BC is very very lovely. Perfect accompaniment for the current unleashing of autumn rain and storm (FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). | Trifolium
11.17.23 | 38 WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! | Demon of the Fall
11.17.23 | Skalpel good, so me check | Pangea
12.15.23 | love the sofia love ๐๐
43 looks very nice as well | Demon of the Fall
12.15.23 | maybe if I'd heard a few more from this list I wouldn't be as underwhelmed by 2023 as I currently am | bighubbabuddha
12.15.23 | Plenty of artists I'm not aware of, will be sure to check them out, thanks trif | Trifolium
12.15.23 | You're welcome buddha! Enjoy ๐คฉ๐ซ
There were some lovely disks this year but I'm not that impressed overall either.
43 might very well be your thing Pan! |
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