A note from the editor: I’m getting kind of tired writing these notes. You know what’s happening here. Since Jakob & Kyle are apparently inseparable, they are posting their top 5 favorite local albums in the same post, right below, all at once. You get two for the price of one! For your health. Err…carry on.
First up is Jakob Battick!
5. A Severe Joy by A Severe Joy
Definitely the most accessible recording on this list, A Severe Joy sees ex-Spouse frontman Jose Ayerve completely reinventing himself as a dramatic, mask-faced musical lightshow. This is infectious, lewd, and heartbreaking stuff. Sure, some of the production could use a little tweaking here and there, but we’re still left with some excellent (and exciting) electronic songwriting and also with Ayerve’s spellbinding voice itself. Here’s to the future of A Severe Joy, and whatever blindingly awesome dance-pop it may bring us.
4. Ashram to the Stars by Herbcraft
This follow up to 2010′s Discovers the Bitter Waters of Agartha is at once more experimental and more accessible than its predecessor. It’s not music your grandmother would love, and perhaps nothing on my list is, but it is hugely rewarding and massively textural psychedelia from the next planet over. Local guru Matt Lajoie continues to expand his musical vocabulary ever outward, and here he attaches a deep and sullen doomy groove to his more third-mind guitar exploration work, making for a thoroughly enjoyable, and frightening, musical experience. Step in, sit down, turn it up, and start clinging to something nearby, this one’s a wild ride.
3. Big Blood & The Wicked Hex by Big Blood
Ah, Big Blood. Where can they go wrong? How can they misstep? They’re an always brilliant, always intriguing husband and wife duo from Portland, and they release all of their stunning recordings for absolutely free via the Free Music Archive online. This release pushes their sound further into a “rawk” territory, saddling their more psychedelic and freakish tendencies alongside a Sabbath-tinged, and perhaps Melvins-tinged, sound. The end result is both muscular and gorgeous (as evidenced by the 14 minute closer, “Water,” which never once begins to overstay its welcome) and warrants closer listens, both of the restrained “hmmm this is incredible” sort and of the “hell yeah fucking right let’s rage” sort. I’ll take it.
2. The Light that Dwells in Rotten Wood by Falls of Rauros
I had originally called this record as my 2011 pick back in our last print issue, however, it was just barely ousted by Altered Gee in the last few months. Nevertheless, this record is unbelievable. A fully conceived, self-recorded, and startlingly unique take on epic black metal form, The Light that Dwells in Rotten Wood is one of Maine’s most commendable releases in a fair while. Falls of Rauros are four young dudes from the greater Portland area who obviously could not give a damn what Maine thinks of their music, and they’re making subsequently bigger and bigger splashes out and about in the world. Here I am, still hoping they get the larger recognition they deserve. Now that one Maine band (Robocop) has made NPR’s 2011 metal year-ends, it’s only a matter of time until some of these other worthy contenders creep out there, too.
Purchase The Light that Dwells in Rotten Wood
1. European Gees by Altered Gee
A relative latecomer to this list, Altered Gee’s release European Gees on L’Animaux Tryst only made it onto my radar at the end of September, but boy did it take the cake. Laid-back and deeply listenable vibes pervade this release, built on soft and melty keyboards laid over the mellowest faux-Cal G-Funk rhythms imaginable. It’s like witnessing some self-taught keyboard virtuoso perform his own bizarre misinterpretation of The Chronic, while messed up on all sorts of supplements, and it’s just beautiful. You can listen to it over and over and over (and over) again but still be fascinated, and that’s the reason it takes my #1 spot.
Editor’s note: Annnnnd here’s Kyle…!
Though there were a handful of fantastic local EPs released this year (Sean Morin’s Mai, Mai, Rattlesnakes, Trails, Foam Castles, etc), my top five list is for full-lengths only. Though there may be something better out there that I have yet to sink my teeth into or something that my ears just never got around to, these are the local albums that kept bringing me back throughout the year.
5. Old Soul by Old Soul
This record came out of nowhere and knocked my socks off. There isn’t much that screams for your attention but that’s the beauty of it — the songs speak for themselves. I really hope that Old Soul either starts playing more or doing more because it would be a shame to have this project go to waste given the strength of this debut.
4. The Lucid by (Dominic And) The Lucid
I’ve always been a big fan of these guys and I thought this record really stepped it up. It really is an excellent album, and whenever I listen to it, I have to make it through the entire thing otherwise I start to feel guilty. It also really helped me get a better idea of what The Lucid (now back to Dominic & The Lucid) is trying to do as a band… and I like it.
3. Period Piece by The Baltic Sea
You aren’t likely to find many local records as ambitious as this. Top notch performances, terrific songwriting, and great production make this lofty record go down easy. Regardless of how technical a lot of it is, the real accomplishment here is just how listenable they’ve made it.
2. Inside the Haunted Cloud by Sunset Hearts
My iTunes sucks — or, I don’t know how to properly use a computer — because every time I listen to something outside of my iTunes music library, it starts playing Sunset Hearts immediately afterwards. And sometimes I just let it play, because for the most part, it’s a lot better than whatever else I’m listening to at that moment in time.
1. Contrast Eats the Slimey Green by Metal Feathers
This band is too cool for school to an almost obnoxious degree (yeah yeah, blah blah blah, integrity). Based on the number of times we’ve asked them to play with Grand Hotel and the numerous reasons they’ve come up with not to, I’ve come to the conclusion that they either don’t like me or my band, or both. It doesn’t keep me from listening to this record on a regular basis or admitting that this is, unquestionably, the best local record of the year.
Drop some knowledge.