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Hey folks! Happy New Year everyone. Hope you had a rad holiday. 2012 is upon us now, but we'll ease into it with an in-between list, featuring our 2011 "Top Tens". That's right, it's THAT time of the year. So, below you'll find each AQ staffer's considered opinions as to their favorite releases of the past year. And no, not everybody stuck to just ten. But we tried. Check 'em out, could be some things you missed or meant to get but didn't, and should now... Thanks for all your support in 2011. We couldn't do what we do without you, nor would we want to. Here's to 2012 being a bigger and better year for all. Cheers! (See also the AQ customer favorites of 2011) |
| ANDEE'S Year End 2011 Lists: MY MOST LISTENED TO RECORD OF THE YEAR (that we've yet to review): WALTER SCHREIFELS "An Open Letter To The Scene" cd NEW MUSIC: PHURPA "Trowo Phurnag" (Editions Mego) 2lp YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN "YT // ST" (Psychic Handshake) cd/lp VERONICA FALLS "s/t" (Slumberland) cd/lp CRYSTAL STILTS "In Love With Oblivion" (Slumberland) cd/lp NEW LINES, THE "All That We See And Seem" (The Great Pop Supplement) lp VESSELS "Helioscope" (Cuckundoo / Make My Day) cd V/A "Wallahi Le Zein!!: Wezin, Jakwar, And Guitar Boogie From The Islamic Republic Of Mauritania" (Latitude) 2cd V/A "Bossa Jazz" (Soul Jazz) 2cd CRONIN, MIKAL "s/t" (Trouble In Mind) cd SPITS, THE "s/t" (In The Red) cd/lp ATELECINE "A Cassette Tape Culture" (Pendu Sound) lp TORLESSE SUPER GROUP "s/t" (Rebis) cd VILLALOBOS, RICARDO / MAX LODERBAUER "Re: ECM" (ECM) 2cd WILL OVER MATTER "Lust For Knowledge" (Freak Animal) cd WILL OVER MATTER "9 To The Moon" (Bestial Burst) cd WILL OVER MATTER "Might Of The Planet Eater" (Bestial Burst) 2cd TEETH OF THE SEA "Your Mercury" (Rocket) lp BLASTED CANYONS "s/t" (Castle Face) lp STOTT, ANDY "Passed Me By / We Stay Together" (Modern Love) 2cd NECKS, THE "Mindset" (ReR) cd HEBDAN, KIERAN / STEVE REID / MATS GUSTAFSSON "Live At The South Bank" (Smalltown Superjazzz) 2cd BLUE DAISY "The Sunday Gift" (Black Acre) cd GUM TAKES TOOTH "Silent Cenotaph" (Tigertrap) cd NECRO DEATHMORT "Music Of Bleak Origin" (Distraction) cd FASTEST "Theme" (self-released) cd-r DEMDIKE STARE "Tryptych" (Modern Love) 3cd WEEVIL SERIES, THE "Larva / Pupa / Adult" 3 x 12" HECKER, TIM "Ravedeath, 1972" (Kranky) cd TRUE WIDOW "As High As The Highest Heavens And From The Center To The Circumference Of The Earth" (Kemado) cd/2lp ZOMES "Earth Grid" (Thrill Jockey) cd/lp GRAVEYARD "Hisingen Blues" (Nuclear Blast) cd PRIZEHOG "Thought Nest" (Saint Rose) lp MEN, THE "Leave Home" (Sacred Bones) cd/lp CUT HANDS "s/t (aka Afro Noise I)" (Very Friendly) cd PRND "s/t" (self released) cd-r KIRBY, LEYLAND "Eager To Tear Apart The Stars" (History Always Favors The Winners) cd J.C. SATAN "Sick Of Love" (Slovenly Recordings) cd REISSUES: PANDEMONIUM "Heavy Metal Soldiers" / Hole In The Sky" / The Kill" (Retrospect) cds DEATH TRIP "Pain Is Pain" (Ektro) cd SUPREME DICKS "Breathing And Not Breathing" (Jagjaguwar) 4cd THORNS VS EMPEROR "Thorns Vs. Emperor" (Peaceville) cd 5,000 FINGERS OF DR. T, THE (MUSIC BY FREDERICK HOLLANDER) "OST" (Film Score Monthly) 3cd JAYHAWKS "Hollywood Town Hall" (American) cd/lp JAYHAWKS "Tomorrow The Green Grass (Legacy Edition)" (American) 2cd CRASS "Christ - The Album" (Crassical Collection) 2cd CRASS "Yes Sir I Will" (Crassical Collection) cd CRASS "Feeding Of The 5000" (Crassical Collection) cd CRASS "Penis Envy" (Crassical Collection) cd CRASS "Stations Of The Crass" (Crassical Collection) cd SEBADOH "Bakesale (Deluxe Edition)" (Sub Pop) 2cd BITCH MAGNET "s/t" (Temporary Residence) 3cd/3lp CONTRERAS, TINO "El Jazz Mexicano De Tino Contreras" (Jazzman) cd/lp SKULLFLOWER "Carved Into Roses / Infinityland / Singles" (VHF) 3cd DEMERLE, LES "Spectrum" (Get On Down) cd AFRICAN HEAD CHARGE "Off The Beaten Path" (On-U Sound) cd ARCHERS OF LOAF "Icky Mettle" (Merge) 2cd/lp TAZARTES, GHEDALIA "Diasporas" (Dais) lp GIANT SAND "Glum" (Fire) cd METAL: ASCENSION "Consolamentum" (WTC Productions) cd PESTE NOIRE "L'Ordure A L'Etat Pur" (Transcendental Creations / De Profundis / Rosenkrantz) cd RIDE FOR REVENGE "Under The Eye" (KVLT / Bestial Burst) cd/lp SPEEDWOLF "Ride With Death" (Hell's Headbangers) cd CHRYST "PhantasmaChronica" (Omniversal) cd CASTLE "In Witch Order" (Van) cd/lp SATURNALIA TEMPLE "Aion Of Drakon" (Ajna) cd FUNERARY BELL "The Coven" (Undercover) cd GENERAL SURGERY "Necrology" (Relapse) cd LOON "s/t" (Beta-Lactam Ring) cd ROYAL THUNDER "s/t" (Relapse) cd/lp DEAD REPTILE SHRINE "The Sun Of Circles And Wood" (Weird Forest) 2lp AND EVEN THOUGH THIS DIDN'T COME OUT IN 2011, IT WAS ONE OF MY FAVORITE DISCOVERIES THIS YEAR: HARPSICORPSE "Suite For Harpsichord" (Zhark-International) lp AND OBVIOUSLY I LOVED THESE MOST OF ALL: BLACK BUG "s/t" (tUMULt) cd MASTERY "Barbaric Usurpation Of The Hypereonic Black Metal Throne" (tUMULt) cd BOTANIST "I: The Suicide Tree / II: A Rose From the Dead" (tUMULt) 2cd ALLAN's TOP 22 New Releases & TOP 11 Reissues of 2011 + a few others New Releases::: BLACKWOLFGOAT "Dragonwizardsleeve" (Small Stone)* BLIZARO "City Of The Living Nightmare" (Razorback)* BLOOD CERMONY "Living With The Ancients" (Metal Blade) CUT HANDS "s/t aka Afro Noise 1" (Very Friendly) DANAVA "Hemisphere Of Shadows" (Kemado) DOPE BODY "Nupping" (Hoss) HIGH SPIRITS "Another Night" (self-released) HILLS "Master Sleeps" (Transubstans) INQUISITION "Ominous Doctrines Of The Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm" (Hells Headbangers) NEGATIVE PLANE "Stained Glass Revelations" (Ajna) PHARAOH OVERLORD "Out Of Darkness" (Ektro) PORTRAIT "Crimen Laesae Majestatis Divinae" (Metal Blade) RUINS ALONE "s/t" (Skin Graft) SATURNALIA TEMPLE "Aion Of Drakon" (Ajna) SLUG GUTS "Howlin' Gang" (Sacred Bones) SWIFTUMZ "Don't Trip" (Holy Mountain) THAI ELEPHANT ORCHESTRA "Water Music" (Mulatta) VEKTOR "Outer Isolation" (Heavy Artillery) WILL OVER MATTER "Might Of The Planet Eater" (Bestial Burst) / "9 To The Moon" (Bestial Burst) / "Lust For Knowledge" (Freak Animal) all 3 releases we reviewed in 2011 even though only one came out this past year ZEBULON PIKE "Space Is The Corpse Of Time" (Unfortunate Music) *technically, end-of-2010, but we didn't get and list until 2011. A few of the runners-up: Coh, Crock, Gentlemans Pistols, Nightsatan, Skull Defekts, Torlesse Super Group, Mika Vainio, v/a "Strade Transparenti", White Hills... New To Me Reissues::: AKA "Hard Beat" (Strawberry Rain) THE CRIMINAL MINDS "T.C.M." (Rephlex) PETER ELIZALDE "Winter Playground Mystery" (Riverman) DON GERE "Werewolves On Wheels (OST)" (B-Music/Finders Keepers) LIJADU SISTERS "Danger" (Knitting Factory) PANDEMONIUM "Heavy Metal Soldiers" (Retrospect) STARFUCKERS "Metallic Diseases" (Holy Mountain)* BOBB TRIMBLE "The Crippled Dog Band" (Yoga) various artists "Fairlights Mallets And Bamboo" (Tsukiji) YOU "Electric Day" and "Time Code" (Bureau B) *STARFUCKERS "Ordine '91-'96" (Sometimes) should/could be on here too, but it didn't entirely meet the "new to me" criteria. Special Awards::: Best Environmental Field Recording of Water Beetles of the Year: TOM LAWRENCE "Water Beetles Of Pollardstown Fen" (Gruenrekorder) Best 8-Bit Nintendo Retro Thrash Metal Album of the Year: LICH KING "Super Retro Thrash 8-Bit Metal Album" (Stormspell) Best Heavy Metal Album With a Song About a Snow Leopard On It: TWISTED TOWER DIRE "Make It Dark" (Cruz Del Sur) Best Seventies Norwegian Christian Jazz / Psych / Folk Various Artists Compilation: "Lukk Opp Kirkens Dorer" (Plastic Strip) Really, Really Looking Forward To In 2012: JOHN GALLOW "Violet Dreams" (Blind Men And Occult Forces) IRWIN's favorites of 2011 (no reissues * here is now!) albums: anika - s/t ayshay - "warn u" boris - "attention please" chancha via circuito "rio arriba" fennesz & sakamoto - "flumina" grouper - "alien observer" and "dream loss" harold budd - "in the mist" htrk - "work (work, work)" john maus - "we must become the pitiless censors of ourselves" kurt vile - "smoke ring for my halo" little dragon - "ritual union" mark mgguire - "get lost" noveller - "glacial glow" peaking lights - "936" robin guthrie & harold budd - "bordeaux" thee of sees - "castlemania" & "carrion crawler/the dream" thurston moore - "demolished thoughts" zola jesus - "conatus" zomes - "earth grid" songs: anika - "i go to sleep" from s/t beyonce - "run the world (girls)" from 4 bjork - "mutual core" from biophilia britney spears - "hold it against me" from femme fatale hercules & love affair - "my house" (and all its remixes) from blue songs jamie woon - "lady luck" from mirrorwriting jay z & kanye west - "gotta have it" from watch the throne jessica 6 (feat. antony) - "prisoner of love" from see the light jill scott - "so in love" from light of the sun junior boys - "playtime" from it's all true low - "especially me" from c'mon magnetic man - "i need air" from s/t marianne faithfull - "love song" from horses & high heels mary j. blige - "someone to love me (naked)" from my life II deluxe version miguel migs feat. evelyn "champagne" king - "everybody" from outside the skyline mykal cronin - "is it alright" from s/t peaking lights - "all the sun that shines" from 936 pj harvey - "all & everyone" from let england shake rihanna - "we found love" & "cockiness (i love it)" from talk that talk total control - "meds" from henge beats live shows: austra @ great american music hall dam-funk @ the new parish (oakland) hot chip @ the warfield (san francisco) john maus @ 285 kent (brooklyn) kings of convenience @ the fillmore (san francisco) roy ayers @ yoshi's (san francisco) thee oh sees - every single time they play!!! white magic - instore @ aQ zola jesus @ the independent (san francisco) JIM'S FAVES OF 2011: Alvarius B : Baroque Primitiva (Poon Village / Abduction) LP/CD Dome : 1-4+5 (Editions Mego) 5LP BJ Nilsen & Stilluppsteypa : Big Shadow Montana (The Helen Scarsdale Agency) LP HTRK : Work (Work, Work) (Blast First Petite / Ghostly International) LP/CD Chelsea Wolfe : Apokalypsis (Pendu Sound) LP Bee Mask : Canzoni Dal Laboratorio Del Silenzio Cosmico (Editions Mego) LP Slug Guts : Howlin' Gang (Sacred Bones) LP/CD Peterlicker : Nicht (Editions Mego) LP Wire : Red Barked Tree (Pink Flag) LP/CD Implodes : Black Earth (Kranky) LP/CD Peaking Lights : 936 (Not Not Fun) LP/CD Francisco Meirino : Recordings Of Voltage Errors, Magnetic Fields, On-Site Testimonies & Tape Tension (Misanthropic Agenda) LP Brighter Death Now : Very Little Fun (Cold Meat Industries) 4LP/3CD Cicciolina Holocaust / Sermonizer : Albeit Albeit / Sibelius Spiders (Forced Nostalgia) LP Sleep Over : Forever (Hippos In Tanks) LP Throbbing Gristle : 20 Jazz Funk Greats (Industrial Records) LP/2CD Mikal Cronin : s/t (Trouble In Mind) LP/CD Raionbashi / Krube. : split (Hronir) LP Chris & Cosey : Songs Of Love & Lust (Conspiracy International) LP Blouse : s/t (Captured Tracks) LP/CD Jim O'Rourke & Christoph Heemann : Plastic Palace People (Streamline) CD Demdike Stare : Tryptich (Modern Love) 3LP/3CD Rick Reed : The Way Things Go (Elevator Bath) 2LP Motion Sickness Of Time Travel : Luminaries & Synastry (Digitalis Recordings) LP Mika Vainio : Life (...It Eats You Up) (Editions Mego) 2LP/CD The Greys : s/t (Slaves Tapes) CS SCOTT'S 2011 (Best Of) New Releases: Lumerians - Transmalinnia Still Corners - Creatures of An Hour Holy Other - With U Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica Harold Budd - In The Mist Leyland Kirby - Eager to Tear Apart The Stars The Caretaker - An Empty Bliss Beyond The World Tim Hecker - Dropped Pianos / Ravedeath 1973 Peaking Lights - 936 Deaf Center - Owl Splinters Grouper - AIA: Alien Observer / AIA: Dream Loss Kurt Vile - Smoke Rings For My Halo Pure X - Pleasure Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact Clams Casino - Instrumentals Gillian Welch - The Harrow and The Harvest Date Palms - Honey Devash Maholy-Nagy - Like Mirage Sun Araw - Ancient Romans Thee Oh Sees - Carrion Crawler / The Dream Danny Paul Grody - In Search of Light Blues Control & Laraaji - Frwys Vol. 8 Ricardo Villalobos & Max Loderbauer - RE: ECM Zomes- Earth Grid Ernst Reijseger - Cave of Forgotten Dreams OST Fennesz + Sakamoto - Flumina Reissues: Kelan Phil Cohran & Legacy - African Skies Beach Boys - SMILE! V/A - Fairlights, Mallets and Bamboo Conrad Schnitzler - Ballet Statique Daphne Oram - Oramics / The Oram Tapes Vol. 1 Googoosh - s/t Blaze Foley - Clay Pigeons You - Time Code / Electric Day Harald Grosskopf -Synthisist Left Banke - Walk Away Renee/Pretty Ballerina / Too Shin Joong Hyun - Beaytiful Rivers and Mountains Supreme Dicks - Breathing and Not Breathing Talk Talk / Mark Hollis - Laughing Stock / s/t Jurgen Muller - The Science of The Sea Throbbing Gristle - everything! Ursula Bogner - Sonne = Black Box Heaven & Earth - Refuge Picchio Dal Pazzo - s/t Khansahib Abdul Karim Khan - s/t Patrice Sciortino - Chronoradial Elektriktus - Electronic Mind Waves Ghendalia Tazartes - Diasporas JD Emmanuel - Trance-Formations I: Ancient Minimal Meditations New Discoveries: Charles Tomlinson Griffes Alan Hovhaness Heitor Villa-lobos Laurie Spiegel Jacques Charpentier Skuli Sverrisson Stephen Scott and The Bowed Piano Ensemble Richard Feliciano Lily Greenham Lois Svard Ilhan Mimiraglu Peter Michael Hamel / Between Mario Castlenuevo-Tedesco ANDREW'S TOP 10 2011 dirty beaches - badlands iceage - new brigade peaking lights - 936 throbbing gristle reissues negative plane - stained glass revelations demdike stare - tryptych skull defekts - peer amid zomes - earth grid crystal stilts - in love with oblivion circle of ouroborus - eleven fingers MATT's TOP 10 2011 in no particular order: 1. Leyland Kirby-Eager To Tear The Stars Apart 2. Ricardo Villalobos & Max Loderbauer / Peverelist- Meet Tshetsha boys 12" 3. Pinch & Shackleton- s/t 4. Htrk- Work (work, work) 5. Alva Noto- Univrs 6. Tim Hecker- Ravedeath,1972 7. Mahmoud Ahmed- Jeguol Naw Betwa 8. Belong- Common Era 9. Laurel Halo- Hour Logic 10. Portable- Into Infinity Buncha others of course, but these stood out to me! NICK'S BRIEF BEST OF 2011 LIST: Kate Bush "50 Words For Snow" (Anti) PJ Harvey "Let England Shake" (Vagrant/Island) Tim Hecker "Ravedeath, 1972" (Kranky) David Lynch "Crazy Clown Time" (PIAS American) Marissa Nadler "s/t" (Box of Cedar) Thee Oh Sees "Carrion Crawler/The Dream" (In The Red) Tom Waits "Bad As Me" (Anti) Wooden Shjips "West" (Thrill Jockey) |