Ok, the purpose of this thread... I thought it would be interesting to write a quick summary/recommendation of particular album(s) that you have come across over the years that should get more recognition than they get. Please think long and hard before posting, I know it's easy to get carried away on threads like this.
I'll start with one you might not have seen coming:
Roisin Murphy- Ruby Blue (2005)
The words 'forward thinking' get thrown around A LOT these days, particularly when it comes to EDM music. But here's one that truly deserves those words attached, Moloko vocalist Roisin Murphy's solo album...
I spent many
many hours that summer when this landed playing this album over and over- a fair change up from the usual
Tool or
Meshuggah that I'd blast my parent's faces off with. At first it was the singles that hit me, particularly the insanely catchy and meticulously constructed
Sow Into You:
It's sexy beat, delicate vocals and jazzy instrumentation were very fresh to me at the time and was what got me interested to start with. It was then that I bought the album and realised how amazing the entire package was. From its minimalistic yet highly complex opener,
Leaving the City, to its canival-inspired "
Night of the Dancing Flame", the album constantly challenges it's listeners to be as forward thinking as it is, but without being too alienating to newbies.
Through Time and
Dear Diary are extremely beautiful and the closest sounding tracks to
Moloko.
The real standout, mainly because it is so different to the rest is the title track
Ruby Blue which is almost a
rock song. Yet it still has that dancey vibe that the album never lets up on, a testament to how clever ingenuity can make such different genres blend naturally together.
It is then, a shame that Roisin went the safe route with her poppier/harder follow up "Overpowered" which while providing some real
Black Cherry/Supernature era
Goldfrapp style songs (that I dug), never stood as strong as her debut. I hope that Roisin will eventually go and tap into her experimental side again, if not, at least this great album still exists.
I highly recommend it to
anyone with any interest in EDM whatsoever. I still crank it out every now and then (I was lucky to locate the 2LP set recently) and every time think "why was this so overlooked?" Try it out!