malaria

Pretty solid year. My favorites: 1. Jefre Cantu-Ledesma -- Tracing Back The Radiance [LP] 2. Lanark Artefax -- Live at No Bounds Festival [Live Set] 3. Ssaliva -- Unshielded [EP] 4. Wild Nothing -- Blue Wings [Single] 5. Boy Harsher -- Careful [LP] 6. Daniel Lopatin -- Uncut Gems [LP] 7. Ernest Hood -- Neighborhoods [Reissue/1975] 8. June Chikuma -- Les Archives [Reissue/1986] 9. Oren Ambarchi -- Simian Angel [LP] 10. Andy Stott -- It Should Be Us [EP] 11. Raveena -- Lucid [LP] 12. Lanark Artefax -- Corra Linn [EP] 13. Kelly Moran -- Origin EP 14. Lee Gamble -- Exhaust EP 15. Topdown Dialectic -- Vol. 2 [LP]

Yeah I liked the movie a lot when I saw it in theaters, but listening to the Good Time soundtrack on its own doesn't do much for me. A bit too noodle-y, IMO. Still really enjoying this one though.

Wow, this is great. I wasn’t super into the Good Time OST, but am really digging this. Dangelis is now bae.

that live set is big bonkers

Just getting to this now, but very fun indeed. Feel like it's a sincere effort, situated between PC Music, Kelela's last LP, and Sophie's last LP. Drawn in by the sound design, stayed for the depth of ideas.

what in tarnation

"Alexa, why is Ssaliva so good?" Thanks for the heads up!

You’re not alone. I’ve noticed this a lot lately with younger artists - pretentious nonsense used to cover up absolutely abysmal music. A lot of Holly Herndon's peers and shitload of post-dubstep post-grime stuff falls in this category but I'd be hard-pressed to put her in this critique, even though it's one I share. A lot of 'avant-garde' stuff with heavy PR and hyperbolic write-ups often end up sounding like 90s era MIDI music piss takes. And that's the "experimental" stuff - synthpop and art pop is even more eye roll inducing, especially bands of art students just rehashing post-punk and art rock that's all style and no substance. She's up there with 0PN and Arca and other experimental artists who I find sincere even if their music is hit or miss or me personally. This is am interesting track regardless of the art installment fluff - personally I dig it - and let's be honest if this was presented as some kind of mysterious bedroom IDM project or obscure Japanese experimental release from the early 00s or some other contextually appealing scenario half of you would be all over it. +1

Very stoked to snap this up in a US shop.

Appreciate the heads up! Been waiting to hear that Rian Treanor.

Loving this band

That Bandcamp piece really isn't that bad.. I've seen much, much worse. And totally cool with Lee's thoughts; kind of lame to fault an artist for providing a conceptual framework in an interview setting. Listening to the EP now; sounds dope! Interested to hear how this will morph over the next two.

ahaha so great. luv u, mark

Probably missed a lot this year, but made a top 10 for myself: t1. Anna Burch - [Quit the Curse] t1. Tourist Kid - [Crude Tracer] 3. Grouper - [Grid of Points] 4. Amnesia Scanner - [Another Life] 5. Snail Mail - [Lush] 6. Loidis - [A Parade, In The Places I Sit, The Floating World (& All Its Pleasures)] 7. Oneohtrix Point Never - [Age Of] 8. Wild Nothing - [indigo] 9. Skee Mask - [Compro] 10. Clouds - [Heavy The Eclipse]