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Old 2013.12.10, 04:48 AM   #31
Tokyo Jihad
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Interesting. The only Jihen thing about her is the funny guitar. I am still trying to get over the "what the hell, what the hell, what the fuck am I doing here" outro

Thought for sure that if Reflektor was #5, the 1-4 woulda been each of Oomori's 2013 releases individually
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Old 2013.12.10, 02:15 PM   #32
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I like her raucous rock songs but HATE her ballads. But even her rock songs don't seem to offer much depth to me.
It's certainly promising but it's also like... you aren't quite there yet. Chimera doesn't even have as much songwriting diversity as Muzai Moratorium.
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Old 2013.12.10, 03:17 PM   #33
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3. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds- Push The Sky Away


Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds have been one of my favourite bands for many, many years now, and I always get excited when they bring out a new release. However, what I didn't expect was an album as great as this one. Superior to many albums of recent, it's their best since No More Shall We Part, and that's saying A LOT.

After the loud cacophony of Abattoir Blues and the Grinderman project, the Bad Seeds bring us this subdued, beautiful, intricate and sublime release. Despite its calm, it is also one of the most menacing releases Cave has put out to date, and close listening will bring out how disturbing some of these brilliant tracks actually are (song of gang rape and prostitution for example).

What I love the most about the album is that there always seems to be a sense of unrest, even in its most lulled moments. This brings a sense of suspense and makes the album utterly compelling to listen to. Infact, only a couple of times does the album ever get much louder than a low rumble, and when it does, it is truly something else.

Has anyone else had such a long career and can still deliver the goods like this as Nick Cave? Great stuff, and an album I love on a deeper, personal level. Seeing these songs played live at the start of the tour was a privilege too.

Anyway, my favourite track, a good example of that subdued unrest I'm talking about:
Water's Edge
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Old 2013.12.10, 05:45 PM   #34
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2. The Knife- Shaking the Habitual


The second double album (or triple album if you have the LPs) in my list, and my #2 pick of this year is the amazing, haunting, weird, indulgent, bloated, testing and fan dividing masterpiece Shaking the Habitual.

I had heard a bit of the Knife before this album, and they never really came off as anything interesting to me (going back to the albums later I now like them a bit more), but when Jihad mentioned this I was willing to give it another go. Man, was I surprised. This is something different, something important. The bravery and stick-to-your-guts attitude this album has alone is worthy of praise, there are few albums that can divide a fanbase so bitterly.

So how can I even begin to describe Shaking the Habitual? On one hand, it's an electronica/dance album, on the other hand its highly experimental and I dare say a game changer in years to come. Even it's tour divided fans, it was a purely visual affair and to my understanding, entirely playback... who the fuck does that???

The majority of its tracks are quite long, many reaching over 6 minutes and into almost the 10 minute mark. It is bridged in the middle with a near 20 minute ambient piece, Old Dreams Waiting To Be Realized. Its sounds vary from hard dance to pure noise. No song has a simple structure. The vocals are an acquired taste. The artwork supporting the album is as bizarre as the music itself. The cover is physically painful to look at for too long.

This is the type of album we're dealing with here. Unconventional is the name of the game. And I love every second of it. If you are truly serious about modern music at all, you should really consider this to be a listen you need to hear. I cannot guarantee you will love it, but at least I can guarantee you've never heard anything quite like it.

"Statement" album of the year.
Full of Fire


Tomorrow, my (not so surprising) number 1!!!

Hope people are enjoying reading this list btw :-p
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Old 2013.12.10, 06:31 PM   #35
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Hmmm. No Chvrches? I thought you really liked them, I was betting they were going to show up at one point.
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Old 2013.12.10, 06:39 PM   #36
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Originally Posted by TurtleFu View Post
Hmmm. No Chvrches? I thought you really liked them, I was betting they were going to show up at one point.
They'd definitely be in my top 21-30 if I was doing a top 50 list. I'll be mentioning them in my 'special mentions' that I'll write after I finish though.
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Old 2013.12.11, 04:20 PM   #37
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And, here goes, my number one album of the year:

1. Seiko Oomori- Mahou Ga Tsukaenai Nara Shintai (and special mention to the rest of her 2013 releases).


Oomori- what I took as a small recommendation from a last.fm user has blossomed into being a major favourite artist in the space of a year. She has had an abundance of EXCELLENT releases this year (which I will go into after my main review) but I feel Mahou Ga... is the release which affected me most out of the lot, and is the reason I chose it above the rest.

So let me try
to explain why I love this album so damn much. A lot of people who hear it for the first time only hear a 'normal folk' album. I admit, I was mainly attracted to the beautiful, catchy and rather cute songs at first (not to mention its album cover). But no, there really is much more to this than meets the eye/ear. It just needs some serious listening time to really appreciate, and that is it's true strength.

The whole thing has an air of freedom around it. Oomori is on her own record label (PINK Records) and you can feel the total creative control she has here. I still don't fully understand what she is trying to do, or what her agenda is, but it excites me a lot.

Her guitar work and vocals are from the heart, they may be imperfect, but they affect me much more than any other album this year. She means what she is playing, and you don't need to understand Japanese to feel it. Songs like I Love You are intensely personal, Oomori is bearing her soul to the listener, something that most singer/songwriters don't achieve until later in their career (be aware, Oomori is only 26 years old right now).

While it has is share of lighter tracks on here, the best ones are where its essentially just her and her guitar. The production is gorgeous and while not quite lo-fi, it still sounds raw enough to give you that truly intimate, "doing it for art" feel that people yearn for. Coming from a Japanese pop artist, this is becoming less and less common, and it's a refreshing release amidst all the over-produced cookie-cutter releases of late.

I take this album everywhere. It's on my phone, in our car, I listened to it in hospital, I listen to it at work. It is totally fascinating no matter how many times I play it. I cannot recommend any other album above this one in 2013. It is perfect to me.

There is hope for the future of Japanese music. Her name is Seiko Oomori.
Mahou Ga.... Preview


Special Mention: The OTHER Oomori Releases of 2013

Now Seiko Oomori is a very busy girl. She also releases a stack of other releases which are also great including:

Oomori Seiko Kuro Rekishi EP
Basically the rawest Oomori gets, comprised of demos and live takes of songs from Mahou Ga... and her debut EP, Pink. Also has demos of a couple of new tracks to appear on later releases. Good stuff. Raw and intimate. Digital only release.

2012Live 「Ongaku o suteyo, soshite ongaku e」
This year's main CD-R, sold at live venues. Comprised of songs from her 2012 tour. Beautifully recorded and performed, I love Oomori live.

Oomori Seiko at Fujimigaoka Church
This release is a personal favourite. Oomori brings her acoustic stylings to a church and it's recorded wonderfully, really capturing the acoustics of her surroundings. Offered in a HD download (DSD 5.6MhZ and 24 bit WAV) it's well worth the purchase. Comes with a very beautiful digital booklet too.

Zettai Shoujo
This release has just come out (yesterday to be exact). I have had the privilege to listen to it in full a couple of times, and it is just as great as the first album, possibly I will end up liking it more. The sound here is more varied, introducing idol pop, noise, harder rock and a focus on a 'band' sound. It has them beautiful guitar + voice songs too, so that's also great.

Poi Dol(with Lai Lai Lai Team)
This collab with Lai Lai Lai Team may be a better starting point for those more inclined to being impatient with intricate acoustic releases. Basically consisting of Oomori songs with a great indie rock backing band, as well as a great C-ute cover. Well worth anyone's time.

No Lie-Sense- First Suicide Note
This highly interesting collab between Keiichi Suzuki and KERA is a very disturbing release. Oomori does guest vocals on the last track, but only very briefly. Still, worth checking out if you are interested in the project.

DVD- Tsumaran Yoru wa Mou Yameta
Oomori's SECOND DVD (yes, she already had one (a DVD-R) with The Pink Tokarev in the previous year called "Over The Party") features footage from her 2012 tour on the first disc and on the second disc has a tour documentary.

Phew think I'm done. Of course there is the 2012 releases too, which are great.

Anyway. I hope you enjoyed reading my top 20 list as much as I liked writing it. I hope I introduced or inspired you to check out something you may have missed. Thanks for reading!

In a couple of days I'll write up some special mentions of stuff that didn't quite make the list.
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Old 2013.12.11, 04:47 PM   #38
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Holy cow, how can one person release that much in one year!? Crazy.

She's at the top of my list to give a full album listen to once I'm free during the winter break. Loved what I've heard so far.
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Old 2013.12.11, 05:38 PM   #39
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You've had since March, Turtlefu, no excuses! =p
I was on pins waiting for dg's Oomori write up. I wanted to see how big the fangasm was.

Of the Oomori full-length releases, here's how I'd rank em:

Kuro Rekishi: I'm a big fan of demos and demo-sounding releases, even if it did feel long in the tooth (which seems to be how Oomori packages her music.)

Poi Dol: Poi Dol is to Mahou as Heisei Fuuzoku is to KZK. (Except Poi Dol isn't as worthless.) Mahou with the edges rounded and baby-proofed. Lai Lai team is quite good, and it is an enjoyable listen. Just doesn't have quite the oomph.

Live at Fujimigaoka Church: The premise is amazing, the art is captivating. But the recording is shockingly ho-hum. Oomori's performance is fine, but I hear nothing special in this particular recording. The setting isn't used to any kind of advantage, the set is homogeneous, and just leads me to yearn for any of her other releases. For the hardcore fans, I guess.

I am super anxious for album 2.
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Old 2013.12.11, 05:43 PM   #40
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Hang on, lemme back up. Big ups, dg, for your end of year write up! Your writing is definitely improved, I read every word. Your list is far more varied than last year and feels well researched! Looking forward to 2014's list already!

Glad you to see The Knife place so high! I also liked the namedrops
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