Les Savy Fav - Emor (Rome Upside Down) (Frenchkiss, 2000)
Many recognize LSF for their work on 2007's Let's Stay Friends, which lead to the neglect of their earlier (and overall better) material.
Libraness - Yesterday ...and Tomorrow's Shells (Tiger Style, 2000)
Polvo frontman Ash Bowie seemed to have saved most of his best songs for this solo effort, an eerie and haunting album.
Oxes - Oxes (Monitor, 2001)
While this trio could have been one of math rock's poster children, they released two albums and an EP that rivaled For Respect-era Don Caballero.
Self - Gizmodgery (Spongebath, 2000)
Self were the only group with the audacity to record a pop album entirely with toy instruments, and succeed.
An Albatross - Eat Lightning, Shit Thunder! (Bloodlink, 2001)
Known for their more extensive material like Blessphemy, An Albatross' goofy 11-minute spasm used brevity to its advantage.
Erase Errata - Other Animals (Troubleman Unlimited, 2001)
I'd imagine that fusing The Raincoats with Teenage Jesus & The Jerks would give you something similar to Erase Errata's 2001 masterpiece.
Godzik Pink - Black Broccoli (5 Rue Christine, 2001)
Along with Zs, Little Women, and Normal Love, Godzik Pink brought jazz into obscurer territory and applied their own minimal mindset to it.
Jeromes Dream - Presents (Alone, 2001)
After the vocalist's damage to his vocal chords from screaming without a microphone, Jeromes Dream's final effort was looked down upon in authoritarian hardcore circles due to the lack of screaming. Come on, people.
Shiner - The Egg (DeSoto, 2001)
In the same league as Chavez and Jawbox, Shiner somehow didn't catch on.
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 - Bob Dinners & Larry Noodles Present Tubby Turdner's Celebrity Avalanche (Communion, 2001)
TFUL282's diversely quirky breed of rock is challenging to categorize and ignore, so how did this happen?
Tourettes Lautrec - Red All (Swami, 2001)
With this clever of a name, you can only expect the sharpest, most ferocious energy from this band-- perhaps what too many acts had aimed for in 2001.
Corn on Macabre - Chapters II & II + Deleted Scene (Magic Bullet, 2002)
Featuring members of pg. 99 and Darkest Hour, this quartet delivered high-octane metal coated with silly lyricism.
Forcefield - Roggaboggas (Load, 2002)
Forcefield's premier Load full-length consists of 17 tracks of the squiggles and beeps that later became the blueprint for noise from the likes of Black Dice.
Oneida/Liars - Atheists, Reconsider (Arena Rock, 2002)
Little did we know, Liars could play Oneida with more tact than Oneida.
Q and Not U - Different Damage (Dischord, 2002)
Q and Not U's sophomore album did receive decent coverage, but it could have been big. I mean, *big*. Surpassing its predecessor in variety, the loss of a member only led to more forethought and innovation. Swift drumming, grooving bass, and searing guitars are abound.
Ex Models - Zoo Psychology (Frenchkiss, 2003)
I suppose that Frenchkiss Records' fans weren't prepared for no-wave revivalism in 2003.
The Joggers - Solid Guild (Startime International, 2003)
I blame the record label.
Kaito - Band Red (spinART, 2003)
What may have prevented Kaito's noisily charismatic songs from getting noticed was identity confusion. (see: Japanese electronic artist Kaito)
The Natural History - Beat Beat Heartbeat (Startime International, 2003)
"I blame the record label."
Soiled Doves - Soiled Life (Gold Standard Laboratories, 2003)
Ex-Blood Brothers vocalist Johnny Whitney has found his way into many projects, but Soiled Doves is plausibly his most obscure foray.
Starlight Mints - Built on Squares (PIAS, 2003)
Starlight Mints' grand, baroque-like presence isn't unlike what you would hear from newer bands, but their keen ear for adherent melodies are at the root of their definition.
Zs - Zs (Gilgongo, 2005)
Zs' latest and greatest, New Slaves, has been given praise aplenty, but the outfit's back catalog hardly resembles that barrage.
Gang Gang Dance - Gang Gang Dance (Fusetron, 2004)
While GGD's later output gained accessibility, their first full-length consisted of two lengthy 20-minute jams, exploring every nook and cranny imaginable.
Gorge Trio - Open Mouth, O Wisp (Skin Graft, 2004)
Fronted by John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez of Deerhoof, Gorge Trio provided explosive vignettes of guitar squall.
Necronomitron - Necronomitron (Load, 2004)
Providence, RI trio Necronomitron are one of the most bizarre acts I've heard in metal. Multifarious African-like percussion aligns with dissonant noodling and horrific shrieks.
Yowie - Cryptooology (Skin Graft, 2004)
Strings are bent, pushed against pickups, and further tortured alongside elastic rhythms.
Hella - Church Gone Wild (Suicide Squeeze, 2005)
Divided into two solo ventures, Zach Hill's magnum opus seemed marketed as a companion piece than its own album.
Daniel Higgs - Plays the Mirror of the Apocalypse and Other Songs (Open Mouth, 2005)
Known for fronting Lungfish and recently collaborating with The Skull Defekts, Daniel Higgs presents a sparse Raga-inspired hour of recordings.
The Howling Hex - All-Night Fox (Drag City, 2005)
Neil Hagerty's Howling Hex project based all eight of this album's songs on instrumental repetition, making for an equally hypnotic and involving listen.
Tiny Hawks - Fingers Become Bridges (Coreleone, 2005)
This Rhode Island duo were as tumultuous as any hardcore five-piece, delivering their intense melodicism in under 15 minutes.
Axolotl - Way Blank (Psych-O-Path, 2006)
Karl Bauer's Axolotl moniker has amassed a hefty discography, but Way Blank strikes a euphoria that his other efforts cease to encompass.
Dmonstrations - Night Trrors, Shock! (Gold Standard Laboratories, 2006)
Dmonstration's idiosyncratic punk is filled to the brim with skronk and discord suited only for seizure-like dance moves.
Hototogisu - Chimärendämmerung (DeStijl, 2006)
Matthew Bower's Hototogisu and Sunroof! projects display versatility in volume from release to release, and this 2006 disc straddles both the spiraling psychedelia and blistering noise dispersed amongst his body of work.
Mikaela's Fiend - We Can Driving Machine (Strictly Amateur Films, 2006)
Mikaela's Fiend are simple in theory, yet the result is ear-splitting: an effect-heavy guitar-drums duo bursting through all conventional confines.
The Punks - Unanimous Bangers (5 Rue Christine, 2006)
To put it simply, No-Neck Blues Band-esque basement jams by way of irony-enthusiastic goons.
Skullflower - Tribulation (Crucial Blast, 2006)
Skullflower provide an indefatigable shroud of guitar feedback, progressively increasing its grate, track after track.
Fatal Flying Guilloteens - Quantum Fucking (A Fictitious Real Life Account of Young Love in the Streets) (Frenchkiss, 2007)
This Texan band cherry picked from the finest in noise rock and applied them with an unmatched precision.
True Primes - We Have Won (Locust Music, 2007)
True Primes are the only boy-girl duo that I know of that doesn't follow the route of indie pop. Much of this debut consists of dizzying vocal loops and distant drumming.
Winning - This is an Ad for Cigarettes (Ache, 2007)
If Al Johnson's shaky croons in U.S. Maple were ever alienating to you, Winning's deconstructed rock ballads may help you reconsider.
Bulbs - Light Ships (Freedom To Spend, 2008)
Like Mikaela's Fiend, Bulbs consist of the fundamentals-- guitar and drums, yet push the envelope even further. Featuring William Sabiston (of Axolotl) and Jon Almaraz, Bulbs' debut full-length comes closest to off-kilter electronics, while the resonant guitar tones maintain an organic element of their own.
Haust - Ride the Relapse (Fisysk, 2008)
Norway's Haust made hardcore fun again with driving rhythms and anger-inducing riffs.
volcano! - Paperwork (Leaf, 2008)
This trio's hook-smothered, fun-loving sophomore effort must have been too boisterous for its own good to have not been more revered.
Broadcast - Mother is the Milky Way (Warp, 2009)
In the midst of Broadcast's collaboration with The Focus Group being released, their equally odd tour EP was left unheard by many.
The Double - The Double (Thimbleful, 2009)
The Double were inches away from popularity with Loose in the Air in 2005, but since leaving Matador Records the group's mangled pop tunes haven't reached many ears.
Evan Miller - Transfigurations on Lap-Steel Guitar (Arbor, 2009)
Evan Miller's vinyl debut: a gorgeous offering of various guitar exploits. Side 2, track 2, "Asphodel" must be one of the greatest songs I've ever laid ears on-- imagine Eno's "Deep Blue Day" sans structure.
Grippers Nother Onesers - At Slimer Beach (Olde English Spelling Bee, 2009)
This is a reissue one of James Ferraro's earliest attempts at making a pop album under the Lamborghini Crystal guise, and it's undoubtedly the catchiest.
On Fillmore - Extended Vacation (Dead Oceans, 2009)
When not performing with Wilco, Glenn Kotche enlists the help of Darin Gray, creating subtle, percussive jazz experiments.
What's Up? - Content Imagination (Obey Your Brain, 2009)
This Sacramento duo's debut is fun of the foreign sort; punchy rhythms and melodies are transmitted through exotic filters and electronics.
No comments:
Post a Comment