Top Albums of 2013

Its been awhile since I posted a "Best Of" list but there were alot of great new releases in 2013 (and some late 2012 albums also.)  Here they are in no real order except for Comaduster which was by far my favorite album of the past year.

 Comaduster - Hollow Worlds
http://tympanikaudio.com/artists/comaduster/

 Comaduster's follow up to the fantastic "Slip Through" EP really blew me away with its driving deep bass and awesome sound design. This is what I have wanted from the modern electronic / electro / industrial genre for years. Every track on Hollow Worlds is layered with amazing sonic textures and great rhythm. The vocals are also just as fantastic with a great mildly glitchy edge to them on certain tracks. Overall I think that Comaduster's solo creator Réal Cardinal has gone and made something absolutely unique and intelligent with just his first major release.

 Also go play Mass Effect & Dragon Age Origins and check out Réal's sound design in those games!
Vogel - Night City (single)

 Holy shit Rob, I love this. His album is not even out yet, but Rob Vogel has been working on some amazing stuff. I used to follow him on LJ waaaaay back in the day and he has come a long way. This is my most anticipated album for 2014 so far.


Pertubator - I am the Night I for one welcome our new Electro Retro-Futurism overlords! But really, this album is great fun and I like this new retro 80's video game sounding ish stuff coming from artists like Pertubator, Kavinsky, Vogel, and Power Glove.




Nine Inch Nails - Hesatation Marks I have really been liking this album the more I listen to it. Its like a modern Pretty Hate Machine with its pop like song / vocal structures. I was never expecting Trent Reznor to keep the same old angsty formula for his whole life, and I'm glad that he has evolved and still makes great music. Also the live NIN shows have been some of the best looking concerts I have ever seen. Say what you will, but Trent Reznor knows how to put on a good show in the second "era" of his life.




Skinny Puppy - Weapon Meet the new Skinny Puppy, same as the old Skinny Puppy. I wasnt sure what to think about this album at first but the more I listened, the more I like it. I really dig that they went back to the Remission / Bites era synths for this album. (I should have kept my ESQ-1, oh well...)




Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - The Heist I don't like hip hop or rap, but this album I feel was really well done. Macklemore has some intelligent commentary on modern society wrapped up in some catchy tracks. Also a big win for him being an independent artist. 




How to Destroy Angels - Welcome Oblivion Again, Trent Reznor can do no wrong. I was really really worried when I heard he was forming a band with his wife, that never ever goes well. Except here, where HTDA shows what TR's style of electronic can be when mixed with female vocals. Great music, and the live HTDA shows were off the charts amazing. 




Zinovia - The Gift of Affliction http://tympanikaudio.com/artists/zinovia/ Tympanik audio, why are you so amazing? Another great artist from Tympanik. Zinovia is my favorite relaxed dark ambient album from the past few years. Beautiful piano work mixed with an ambient glitchy soundscapes. Win.
 

 Kavinsky - Outrun What is it with the french electro artists? Kavinsky is another of what I call the Electro Retro-Futurism artists. Great 80's sounding electronic beats. Awesome retro look. I love it. 




Front Line Assembly - Echogenetic FLA can also do no wrong. The I.E.D. was great, the Air Mech soundtrack was good, and Echogenetic is wonderful. I only hope when i'm as old as Bill Leeb I can write music as half as good as this. This album has been my drive fast album of the year.





Chelsea Wolfe - Pain is beauty  This came out of nowhere to me, but this is a hauntingly beautiful gothic album that still gives me chills when I listen to it. I really want to see her live now. 




Tesseract - Altered State  Djent / Prog Metal awesomeness. 




More Machine Than Man - Dark Matter This was such a fun show. More Machine Than Man is one of the best industrial bands that I went to see live not knowing who they were before hand. Great catchy songs, interesting visuals, and super nice people also. I shot this video of them here in NM along with the lovely Nyree Nyx performing burlesque during one of their songs.






Honorable Mentions
  • Daft Punk - Random Access Memories - Daft Punk finds a time machine and ends up in the '70s again.
  • r.roo - innerheaven - Ambient Glitch Heaven is more like it.
  • Combichrist - No Redemption (Devil May Cry Soundtrack) - Combichrist as a metal band. Still good.
  • Neurosis - Honor Found in Decay - dirty, grungy, post rock awesome.

Want to check out some new music? Go hit up my friend Tommy T at DSBP records! http://dsbp.cx/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Roland Juno-6 Repairs

Image
A while back at Music Go Round I saw something propped up in the corner behind the counter. It was a Roland Juno-6 in what looked to be good shape with just a broken ARP mode select switch and a key with a broken end. They just got it in and didn't want to fix it so they were selling it as it really cheap. Like really really cheap. So I bought it instantly and went home and found a key and switch on ebay for about $10 each. Replacing the key was a fairly simple, but the switch was a little more involved. Roland Juno 6 with broken key and switch. Roland Juno-6 key replacement 1. Remove the two upper screws on the left and right side of the wooden side panels. 2. Remove the screws on the bottom of the synth that attach the keys to the frame. There will be two rows of screws aligned with the front and back of the keys. 3. Gently flip up the metal control panel lid. Removed 4 side screws to open control panel. 4. Remove the spring attached to the top rear of the ke
Read more

JP-8000 Battery Change

Image
The Roland JP-8000 I have come into possession of needed a new battery in it, as it was displaying the "Low Battery" message. So after finding a good video on YouTube on how to change the battery I noticed the pitchbend wheel and the ribbon controller stopped working. I was thinking I broke something until after stumbling around google I found a very helpful post from Andy T over at Roland Clan. After the battery is changed, sometimes you need to re-calibrate the pitch and ribbon controllers. Resetting the Mod / Pitch Bend Wheel and Ribbon Controller: Found at: http://forums.rolandclan.com/viewtopic.php?t=27112 After you replace the battery in the JP,you will need to perform the following steps to get the bender & ribbon controller to work. 1. Before turning the JP on, hold down the SYNC, 12db/24dB and TYPE buttons. 2. Keep holding the buttons down and turn on the JP. It will take awhile but eventually the screen will show 1 midi test . 3. Press 3, display wil
Read more

Best Albums of 2021

Image
As usual this list is super late. I actually started writing this in 2020, and just didn't get around to posting or editing it until the end of 2021  2022. Oops... Well i gave it a shot at least. I also did not do a breakdown of each album since i just want to get this published; In short Actors continues to be amazing, and Trent can do no wrong when working with other musicians.  For 2021 - The pandemic continued, but I did manage to get out a bit more this year and there were a few concerts that I even made it out too as well. Here is a quick list, and Ill try to have the 2022 list out "soon."  Top albums of the year, in my opinion for 2021: Actors - Acts of Worship Halsey - If I Can't Have Love I Want Power Devin Townsend - The Puzzle / Snuggles Pertubator - Lustful Sacraments Wingtips - Cutting Room Floor Cutting Room Floor by WINGTIPS Chvrches - Screen Violence Kat Von D - Love Made Me Do It Fortitude - Gojira
Read more