Excuse me a minute, I'm a little behind. I've been sick since New Years and have spent most of the last 3 days asleep. I'm mostly feeling better now and I'm not on call this weekend, so I'm going to try and get all my year end posts done. I like doing top 10 lists and end of year memes every year, as they're usually some of the most interesting entries to read when I come back to them later on.

Just like last year, I am embedding a single track from each album in the entry so that you can choose to either stream the track right here and now (by pressing the "play" arrow on the left side) or download the mp3 and listen to it whenever you want (by clicking on the "DivShare" link). Or you can do both.


#10
Tujiko Noriko - U

Sample Track: "12 O'Clock On The Highway"

Ever since I picked this disc up, it's been one of my go-to CDs for background music while either driving or working. It's not the most amazing disc she's ever done, but it's damn good from start to finish. Like everything she does, really.

#9
Jarboe & Justin K. Broadrick - J2

Sample Track: "Let Go"

As soon as I heard that these two artists were doing an album together, I knew it was going to be on this list. Jarboe, a former member of Swans (one of my all time favorite bands), is very amongst my favorite vocalists in music today. At times, her voice is beautiful. Other times, it's fucking scary. Justin Broadrick has been in dozens of bands, but my favorite is Godflesh. I've yet to hear anything he's done that hasn't been worthwhile thus far. Put the two of them together and it's fucking magick, baby.

#8
Kikuri - Pulverized Purple

Sample track: "That Which Will Rise From Death Here Tonight Will Go Hand In Hand With A Glittering Echo Burdened With The Sin Of Joy..."

Many is the time I'd sat and wondered why Keiji Haino and Merzbow seemed to have worked with everyone except each other. I need wonder no more. This collaboration from two of the biggest, most important and best artists in Japanese experimental music is just as fantastic as you'd expect it to be. Normally, listening to noise music is something I can only do at certain times, but this album is different. I really hope this isn't the last time they work together.

#7
Grouper - Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill

Sample Track: "Invisible"

Liz Harris, aka Grouper, is an artist that I think I found out about late last year when I downloaded an album she did with Xiu Xiu on a whim. I'm not entirely sure how you'd describe her music. Ethereal folk-y type stuff with some heavy vocal effects. Whatever. It's in the experimental section at Amoeba, ok? The music is beautiful. Since becoming a fan, I've acquired most of her catalogue and I can tell you with full confidence that all of her music is beautiful, and that this album is very likely her best yet.

#6
Ufomammut - Idolum

Sample track: "Hellectric"

I sure do loves me some stoner/sludge metal and this album was definitely the best one I heard all year. Slow and heavy as fuck. Ufomammut's previous albums have all been pretty good, but none of them are quite this good. This is currently the only album on this list that I don't own a physical copy of, but only because I haven't been able to find it.

#5
Spiritualized - Songs In A & E

Sample track: "Sitting On Fire"

I read somewhere that Jason Pierce had all but quit music when he met director Harmony Korine, who wanted him to do some music for his film, Mister Lonely. Working on the music for that movie gave him a renewed desire to make music. Thank christ.

#4
Ohgr - Devils In My Details

Sample track: "Eyecandy"

Ogre goes back in time a little on this record. Back to using distorted vocals and music that is much more identifiable as "industrial". As a result, this record is easily the best thing he's done since Skinny Puppy's The Process. To some people that's not saying a whole lot, but I say it as someone who has been a fan of everything he's done since then (to varying degrees).

#3
Mogwai - The Hawk Is Howling

Sample track: "Batcat"

Mogwai is yet another one of those bands whose entire catalog is quality, but this album stands out amongst what they've released as one that doesn't have a single bad track on it. Not entirely sure what's up with the cover, though.

#2
Portishead - Third

Sample track: "Silence"

How many other albums have you listened to that were actually worth waiting a decade for? Not very many, I bet. This one was. I hope Portishead doesn't make us wait so long for their next album, but if they do... it'll probably be worth it.

#1
Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard - The Dark Knight OST

Sample track: "Why So Serious?"

This album reminds me of a Grant Morrison comic. You know how when you read All Star Superman, it seems like half of it's brilliance is that each issue is full of a ton of little bits and pieces that would make fantastic stories all on their own? Like, Superman will just be walking down a hall and talking to someone about some stuff he's done and while you're reading it, you're thinking "fuck, that would be an awesome story", and Morrison does that dozens of times each issue? That's what this album reminds me of. Each and every track on this disc seems to have bits and pieces of different tracks that would probably make great pieces of music all on their own. Put together, though, they're something else. They're incredible. As good as the movie was, I'd be willing to bet it wouldn't have been half as awesome if the music had been done by lesser artists.


Honorable Mentions:
Opeth - Watershed
Laura - Yes Maybe No
Burning Star Core - Challenger
Lustmord - Other
Matt Elliott - Howling Songs

Most Disappointing:
Bauhaus - Go Away White
Alec Empire - The Golden Foretaste Of Heaven
M83 - Saturdays = Youth

Tags: music, top 10 list