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Old 2013.12.06, 06:22 PM   #11
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Hmm... was gonna do 3 each day, but this is addicting, so like an addict would say "just one more"....

14. Scud Mountain Boys- Do You Love the Sun


When I first heard news of a new Scud Mountain Boys album, I was at first excited, then afraid, then excited again. Their 1996 album Massachusetts is one of my all time favorite albums and I didn't want to see the band release a midlife crisis album like so many other bands that come back after 10 years or more. Luckily then, that they delivered the goods. Joe Pernice (one of the few male vocalists I adore) is on the top of his game, and the band (the original lineup of Pernice, Bruce Tull and Stephen Desaulniers) sound like they haven't aged a day.

So what about the album itself? Well, it's a quiet, meditative affair. But it is also very intricate and requires multiple listening to really appreciate. If you are familiar with any of Scud Mountain Boys previous work, or any of Pernice Brothers, you will know that all their work needs time. It's certainly not for everyone, the country elements may be a turn off for some, but for those willing to put time in (or those who are fans of Scud Mountain Boys earlier work) this album is an understated blessing.

I love it quite a bit, and it deserves its place on my Top 20 of 2013 easily.

No youtube clips, buy you can listen to 3 tracks here
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Old 2013.12.07, 09:28 PM   #12
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Here we go, another day, a few more albums to reveal. Almost half way now!

13. Sam Phillips- Push Any Button


Sam Phillips to me is the true underrated/undiscovered songwriter. Every album she has released has been wonderfully rich and developed. Push Any Button is just as brilliant as ever, and may be my favorite album by her since Fan Dance.

Her style of understated, acoustic rock is quite unique and she has mastered it, particularly over the last decade. Her approach of purposefully short all killer-no filler has worked, and this album clocks in at under 30 minutes. And my god, what a perfect, wonderful 30 minutes.

The production here is second-to-none- its wonderfully analog and deep. The songs themselves will warm up your soul with their utter charm, from the cheerful When I'm Alone, the rich, warm ballad See You In Dreams to the "rocker" single Things I Shouldn't Have Told You; everything here works both together as a whole and alone as songs. It's near perfect.

I highly recommend this album (and artist) to anyone

Things I Shouldn't Have Told You
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Old 2013.12.07, 09:53 PM   #13
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12. Sa Dingding- The Coming Ones (International Version)



Wait, WHAT? Wasn't this my number 1 last year???

That's right. But this year, we got a new version of the album for us international folk. What's different you may ask??? Well, pretty much EVERYTHING. All these songs have been remixed from the ground up, with different melodies, different track order and even 2 new songs.

So how does it compare against the original (an album I deem a masterpiece)? Well... it's not as good. But... that said, it's still an excellent listen. If I hadn't already heard the more exciting original version, I woulda probably creamed my pants over this one.

Some remixes are better, some are not as great, its a bit of a mixed bag in that regard. What is nice though, is that this version is far more beat heavy, so it can fit easier on a playlist than the original version (which mainly needs to be listened to as a whole). The strong beats come with the sacrifice of a lot of the traditional Chinese instrumental work that made the original so damn great (it's still there obviously, but not so in your face). This may actually appeal to people who find the original too wanky- (HEATHENS!!!)

Still, the 2 new tracks are great, it's also awesome to get the DVD with newly added English subtitles, it makes the whole concept of the album even MORE fascinating when hearing it from Dingding herself.

Best to be taken as a counterpart to the original and seen as a whole, this album certainly is worth your time if you dug the old one. If you didn't, it may still be of interest to people who are into more 'western' style electronica, it's more Bjork-y than the original (to put a cliche generalization for a reference point :-p)

I may sound quite negative on the whole, but don't get me wrong, I still love this version of the album a lot, I just don't think it's quite on par with the original. It still would be a sin to not include it on my top 20.

Coming Ones- International Version Album Sampler
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Old 2013.12.08, 12:53 AM   #14
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11. Mariko Goto- m@u



After considerable listening to this album and making sure it wasn't just 'new album excitement'- I feel this album is very deserving of its place in the top 20 list. I feel that it's release time is very unfair; if I had more time with it this year, it may have ranked higher, but I feel I would have regretted not giving it a mention if I'd left it off the list.

So anyway, Mariko Goto's m@u- an album that truly seems to be more than meets the eye. Sure, it's got everything I love about Mariko Goto- short, snappy pop songs, amazing vocal delivery (both in her cute yet pained singing voice and crazed screams), great supporting instrumentation and the fire and passion that she burst onto the scene with. However, this time round, it seems less playful and has a much more bittersweet tone.

The introduction of electronic elements courtesy of Serph and HARCO (and no, not the typical "Nakata" bullshit that's in EVERYTHING from Japan these days) is a welcome addition, they add a new layer of depth unheard of from any Mariko related works. We still get the blazing rock tracks and the kawaii-death crush ditties, but there seems to be a bite, or a sting behind everything on this album. It's very intriguing and its a great reason why people will feel and urge to come back over and over (as well as it being one of the best pop rock albums of the year without any doubt).

I'll never be certain what Mariko was intending to convey here (is it meant to be as bittersweet as it sounds? Is there more to it or am I simply reading into it too much?), and that's what makes it such an interesting listen to me. The more you listen, the more it will get you thinking... a surprising feat for an album such as this.

On first impressions, I said that I probably prefer the first Mariko Goto solo album to this one, now I'm not sure. I may even go as far to saying that I prefer this album to a lot of Midori material.

Which also brings me to the absolute best part of the album, the song m@u itself: While I love Midori a lot, they only ever once (in my opinion) took that 'sound' they made so famous to higher places. That was with the outstanding masterpiece single, Swing, which still blows me away to this day. I feel m@u is ON PAR with this single. It shares the same 'huge' buildup quality as Swing and feels just as mature and confident as that mighty single. If that's not saying how much this album is worth your attention, then I don't know what else to say.

Don't be an idiot, listen to m@u.

No youtube clips, but here is the PV for m@u

Up tomorrow: The top 10 starts!
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Old 2013.12.08, 02:28 PM   #15
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You've mentioned rock and electronic influences, are there any jazz-y stuff left other than m@u, which as you mentioned is very Swing-esque (though still, not very jazzy). I'm worried Mariko got that part of herself surgically removed or something...
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Old 2013.12.08, 03:31 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by TurtleFu View Post
I'm worried Mariko got that part of herself surgically removed or something...
Pseudoscience is often characterized by the use of vague, contradictory, exaggerated or unprovable claims, an over-reliance on confirmation rather than rigorous attempts at refutation, a lack of openness to evaluation by other experts, and a general absence of systematic processes to rationally develop theories.
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Old 2013.12.08, 04:42 PM   #17
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Originally Posted by TurtleFu View Post
You've mentioned rock and electronic influences, are there any jazz-y stuff left other than m@u, which as you mentioned is very Swing-esque (though still, not very jazzy). I'm worried Mariko got that part of herself surgically removed or something...
I'm not sure what you mean, the jazz elements are still there, they're just not as important in the scheme of things on m@u. She certainly hasn't had it 'surgically removed', she's just trying new things. Besides, it seems every Japanese pop band in the industry needs to add jazz to their music nowadays. Blame Ringo for starting the trend :-p

Speaking of Jazz however, that brings me to begin my top 10:

10. SOIL&"PIMP"SESSIONS- Circles


It should come as no surprise that Circles managed to make its way on to my top 10 of 2013. When it was first released, I listened to it daily for about 3 months. Now, while not on such heavy rotation, it's still a frequent album I spin.

It's a pretty atypical album release for SAPS. Every song has a guest and it's far more "poppy" than usual. The structure and songs often remind me of Sanmon Gossip more than anything *please don't kill me hardcore SAPS fans* but this doesn't bother me in the slightest- infact, I appreciate this setup greatly. The multitude of guests allow for a wider variety in sound throughout- something that may or may not be welcomed by seasoned SAPS fans- but highly welcomed by myself.

On the whole, there isn't really a dull moment- whether you like a song really depends on whether you like the guest on it. Favorite tracks (apart from the obvious Koroshiya Kiki-ippatsu feat. Ringo- and it's counterpart DEATH JAZZ Version) are Summer Love (feat. Jose James), Iceburn (feat. DJ KENTARO)and Bon Bon Villa (feat Fukuhara Miho). Ultimately, the best track here (IMO) is not the aformentioned Shiina Ringo song, but the Bonnie Pink featuring-song Hey Tagger, I'm Here, which is absolutely gorgeous.

I highly recommend this for a listen if you like Sanmon Gossip, the SAPS fans I have talked to seem divided on it. For me, the sheer amount of hours of enjoyment I have taken from this album are what put it right in the top 10. Check it out!

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Old 2013.12.08, 05:39 PM   #18
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Wait, Mariko Goto came out with another solo album? I'm so slow on new music.

DG, I already know your number 1 or 2 album is going to be Seiko Oomori.

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Old 2013.12.08, 05:55 PM   #19
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9. Boris- Präparat


Boris, a band never to do things traditionally, released their main album of 2013 on extremely limited vinyl only, thus meaning that this album has not had heavy exposure worldwide, most people that have heard this are listening to so-so rips. A shame really, because it is one of Boris' most interesting works to date.

After 2011's trilogy of albums (New Album, Attention Please and Heavy Rocks 2011) which are well documented for their exploration of pop, fans were craving more of what Boris have made theirselves known for, heavy fucking rock. Präparat delivers. Big time. But it also explores new territories too, making this sonically similar yet refreshingly new at the same time.

It's hard to explain the album to people who may have not heard it, but lets say it has as much drone as it does hard rock. It touches on sludge, shoegaze and even pop throughout its run time, and always feels like a whole piece. Indeed, I found it hard finding song splits when ripping it for myself, it all seamlessly melts together to create its own entity. One minute you'll be relaxing to an ambient section to be awakened by huge, massive Wata guitar shredding. It's fucking great. I highly recommend listening to this, straight from LP if you have the means/can hunt one down. Essential in any Boris catalog.

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SPECIAL MENTION: The OTHER Boris releases of 2013.

Boris, being Boris, never are ones to just release one album. This year they also released 3 other (excellent) releases: The Thing That Solomon Overlooked Chronicle, Vein and Flood Live

The Thing That Solomon Overlooked Chronicle
is actually my favourite of the lot, but I decided not to include it because it is an anthology of mainly previously released material. Those being the 3 DRONE EPICs The Thing That Solomon Overlooked 1, 2 and 3. All are prime examples of Boris at their drone best. It also comes with Solomon Extra, which basically is a completely NEW album that is also excellent. (It even marks the first time Boris touch on Death Metal!!!).

Vein is a kind of reissue of the two Vein LPs, but remixed into a new version for CD. Comes with 2 CDs, meant to be played simultaneously. Intense noise/crust metal. Great to freak out neighbors.

Flood Live is an album only released in limited quantities at live shows. The title says it all, Boris playing their masterpiece Flood, live :-p Worth every penny.

A great year for Boris.

A new track from Solomon Chronicle
Kemono Peak

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Old 2013.12.08, 06:06 PM   #20
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Originally Posted by FadedSun View Post
Wait, Mariko Goto came out with another solo album? I'm so slow on new music.

DG, I already know your number 1 or 2 album is going to be Seiko Oomori.
It's not your fault you hadn't heard of Mariko Goto releasing a new album... it's promotion has been next to none (compared to her first solo album)- and you're not that late to the party, it's only just come out.

As for Seiko Oomori... well, it's pretty much a given she'll rank high :-p
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