by: Sam Farzin, KUCI Music Director and Jason Pulaski
Dan Deacon - Bromst [Carpark]
This is the best album of the year and I really hope everyone plays this because it is so goddamned good. Woah, what an awful blurb! Check it out: this is Dan Deacon's finest work. No longer will you be able to call Dan a man-child or a wacky clown or whatever because Bromst is an mathematically elegant, tautly-constructed masterwork that manages to be both as fun and accessible as every Rihanna hit and as deeply layered and compositionally complex as a classic Romantic work. Though "Spiderman of the Rings" may have brought this not-so-goofy dude to prominence, "Bromst" allows Dan to forgo pure kitsch. Let me repeat: this is the best album of the year. This is of course my opinion. But holy shit, it is. SF
Elvis Perkins In Dearland - Elvis Perkins In Dearland
Hey Erin write this blurb: "Elvis Perkins makes really good music. It is often cute and pretty. You should probably play it." Puttin' that English degree to work, that Erin Johnson. SF
Fever Ray - Fever Ray [Mute]
The female half of The Knife makes songs that sound like The Knife but without as much of... that what that makes The Knife sound so distinct. That is to say it sounds a little bit more like human music and a little less like an alien about to ingest your ear drums. SF
WORLD
Extra Golden - Thank You Very Quickly [Thrill Jockey]
This band is composed of two Kenyans and two Americans and that is exactly what it sounds like. Psychedelic rock and roll imbued with fresh and invigorating African rhythms and scales. It works beautifully and you should play it even if you don't normally spin world type stuff. You might be surprised! PS. President Barack Obama helped the Kenyan dudes in this band obtain visas a couple years ago. So like, they are pretty 'spesh. SF
EXPERIMENTAL
Tim Hecker - An Imaginary Country [Kranky]
A slab of impressive and engaging ambient electronic soundscapes. Woah, check out Wikipedia's fantastic summary:
"His works have been described as 'structured ambient', 'tectonic color plates' and 'cathedral electronic music', however for the most part, have focused on exploring the intersections of noise, dissonance and melody, fostering an approach to song craft which is both physical and emotive. The New York Times has described his work as 'foreboding, abstract pieces in which static and sub-bass rumbles open up around slow moving notes and chords, like fissures in the earth waiting to swallow them whole'." SF
FUNK / SOUL / JAZZ
The Whitefield Brothers "In the Raw" (Now Again)
Reissue of the 2001 album originally on the now defunct Soul Fire label. This version released by Stones Throw subdivision, Now Again, contains 3 additional tracks. "Hitting harder than Cassius Clay at the Rome Olympics in '60, packing bass, guitar, drums & percussion into one funky punch -- pounding out a hard heavy groove all the way through their entire debut LP" - dustygroove. JP
Nostalgia 77 "Sessions feat. Keith & Julie Tippett" (Tru Thoughts)
Collection of original material that spans blues, jazz and soul, with experimental flourishes that defy categorization. Julie Tippett formerly Julie Driscoll who was the voice of Brian Auger's group Trinity in the 60's. JP
Shawn Lee "Soul In the Hole" (Ubiquity)
Shawn's tribute to favorite soul sounds through the eras. Featuring guest spots from Paul Butler (the Bees), Nicole Willis, Darondo, Karime Kendra, Fanny Franklin, and Kirin Lee the album is a homage to the sytles from the late 60's to 80's. JP
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