1.12.2006

Pitchfork Albums: December 2005

>> Fri:12-16-05

- Ryan Adams: 29 Prolific singer/songwriter issues his third full-length of the year, a conceptual work on which each track portrays the singer, now 31, at a different year in his twenties. [Lost Highway; 6.8]

- Piano Overlord: The Singles Collection 03-05
Sixteen-track collection of Scott Herren work features remixes by Diplo and Adventure Time, among others. [Money Studies; 3.0]

- Soulwax: Nite Versions
Remix album greatly improves on last year's disappointing Any Minute Now. [PIAS; 8.2]

- Richie Hawtin: DE9: Transitions
Third and final entry in the DE9 series following 1999's Decks, EFX & 909 and 2001's DE9: Closer to the Edit. [Mute; 7.8]

- The Beautiful New Born Children: Hey People!
Retro garage-punk band fronted by Michael Beckett (Kpt.Michi.Gan, Schneider TM). [Domino; 6.0]


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

>> Thu:12-15-05

- The Clientele: It's Art Dad
Archival collection, originally sold on the Merge group's recent U.S. tour, compiles early demos recorded between 1991-96, when songwriting duties were split between current band leader Alasdair MacLean and former member Innes Phillips (the Relict). [self-released; 6.3]

- Various Artists: 1980 Forward: 25 Years of 4AD
The 25-year history of the influential 4AD label is compressed into this 18-track LP, which features the Breeders, Cocteau Twins, Throwing Muses, Mountain Goats, and Pixies, among others. [4AD; 7.4]

- Shooting at Unarmed Men: Soon There Will Be... EP
Debut release from former Mclusky guitarist John Chapple. [Beggars; 7.5]

- Milemarker: Ominosity
Fifth album from the shapeshifting post-hardcore band. [Eyeball; 6.8]

- Magnolia Electric Co.: Hard to Love a Man EP
Latest from Jason Molina's band includes three new songs and a cover of "Werewolves of London". [Secretly Canadian; 6.7]


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

>> Wed:12-14-05

- Sunn 0))): Black One
Sixth album from the doom metal duo nearly matches their ferocious live power, and features assistance from noise icon John Wiese and experimental guitarist and percussionist Oren Ambarchi. [Southern Lord; 8.9]

- Okkervil River: The Black Sheep Boy Appendix EP
Seven tracks that develop ideas suggested on its parent album and introduce some new musical motifs. [Jagjaguwar; 8.2]

- Boris: At Last: Feedbacker / "Sun Baked Snow Cave" With Merzbow / Akuma No Uta
Ahead of the early 2006 U.S. release of Pink, we round up three recent releases from the prolific Japanese band, including a collaboration with Merzbow. [Conspiracy / Hydra Head / Southern Lord; 7.7 / 6.5 / 8.2]

- Ocean: Here Where Nothing Grows
Three-song, 65-minute debut from the Maine metal band. [Important; 7.9]

- 31Knots: Talk Like Blood
Spacious, intricately polished guitar rock meets chorus-busting emo. [Polyvinyl; 7.0]


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

>> Tue:12-13-05

- "Walking With A Ghost" - The White Stripes
Jack and Meg White cover Tegan and Sara, and add a handful of live tracks to pad out this stocking stuffer. [V2; 6.1]

- Liars: It Fit When I Was a Kid EP
Four-track, three-video EP from the unfairly maligned Brooklyn-to-Berlin group. [Mute; 6.0]

- Friends of Dean Martinez: Lost Horizon
On its sixth album the indie pop band explores wide-open, arid spaces and increasingly darker territory. [Aero; 7.8]

- Blockhead: Downtown Science
Relatively sedate instrumental hip-hop from Ninja Tune. [Ninja Tune; 6.6]

- Growing: His Return
Now a duo, the band hides stacks of amplifiers and big guitar chords behind an extreme polish. [Troubleman/Megablade; 6.1]


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

>> Mon:12-12-05

- Beck: Guerolito
Track-by-track Guero remix album features nine previously unreleased mixes and contributions from Air, Boards of Canada, Diplo, Islands, and El-P, among others. [Interscope; 6.2]

- Xiu Xiu: Life and Live
Live album collects 15 solo, often acoustic performances culled from a tour with Devendra Banhart. [Xeng; 7.7]

- Jackie-O Motherfucker: Flags of the Sacred Harp
Portland-based collective builds on the lessons of The Sacred Harp and other traditional blues and gospel sources on this evocative yet deeply personal LP. [ATP; 8.1]

- Amandine: This Is Where Our Hearts Collide
These Swedes' Fat Cat-released LP is reminiscent of the windswept Americana of Sun Kil Moon, Songs:Ohia, or pre-Z My Morning Jacket. [Fat Cat; 7.6]

- Stunt Rock: This Is Stunt Rock Volume Three
Sixteen seamless, bizarrely titled pieces from William Flegal. [Cock Rock Disco; 6.5]


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

>> Fri:12-09-05

- Various Artists: The Complete Motown Singles, Vol. 3: 1963
Third volume in Hip-O Select's Motown series features every A- and B-side the legendary Detroit label issued in 1963. [Hip-O Select; 9.2]

- Robert Pollard: Zoom (It Happens All Over the World) EP / Music From Bubble EP
Two EPs from the prolific former Guided by Voices leader, one of which was written for a Steven Soderbergh film. [Recordhead; 6.2 / 4.0]

- Tujiko Noriko: Blurred in My Mirror
Japanese singer's sixth album blends the emotional resonance of pop with the challenges of the avant garde. [Room40; 7.8]

- Juelz Santana: What the Game's Been Missing!
Dipset member's latest studio album features highlights from his Back Like Cooked Crack mixtape series, plus previously unreleased material. [Def Jam; 6.9]

- Starsailor: On the Outside
Former NME hypes, still plugging along. [EMI; 4.7]


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

>> Thu:12-08-05

- New Order: Singles
Double disc collects every UK A-side from the dance/indie/pop band's legendary career. [London; 8.3]

- Shugo Tokumaru: L.S.T.
Second album from this Japanese artist is more song-based and less evocative than his intriguing debut. [Compare Notes; 7.0]

- Wooden Wand & the Vanishing Voice: Xiao / Buck Dharma / The Flood
Trio of recent releases from the unhurried NYC/Tennesse troupe. [Troubleman Unlimited; 7.3 / 7.8 / 8.2]

- Norfolk & Western: If You Were Born Overseas
On this tour-only, self-released album, frontman Adam Selzer comes across like a mix of Colin Meloy and Mark Kozelek. [self-released; 7.5]

- Explosions in the Sky: The Rescue (Travels in Constants Vol. 21)
Post-rock band contributes the latest volume in Temporary Residence Limited's mail order-only Travels in Constants series. [Temporary Residence; 7.2]


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

>> Wed:12-07-05

- The Drones: Wait Long By the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By
Australian quartet plays tight, working-class rock, creating vocal-shredding songs crammed with crammed with drunkenness, night sweats, and suicide notes. [ATP; 8.3]

- Ennio Morricone: Crime & Dissonance
Ipecac's 2xCD compilation digs beyond western scores and 1980s digital experiments to his music for 1960s and 70s Italian crime and exploitation movies. [Ipecac; 8.0]

- Jan Jelinek: Kosmischer Pitch
On his latest album, the German producer draws from the obsessed-over rock produced by his countrymen in the 1970s. [~scape; 8.0]

- Capillary Action: Fragments
Virtuosity, power, and guitar solos are on display on this Pangaea release. [Pangaea; 7.5]

- Landing: Brocade
Swans co-founder and former La Monte Young drummer delivers his solo debut. [Strange Attractors; 7.1]


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

>> Tue:12-06-05

- Eminem: Curtain Call: The Hits
Hip-hop legend frustratingly collects the hits, saves some of his best work for a tack-on bonus disc, and adds a few mostly insignificant new tracks. [Interscope; 6.9]

- Mindflayer: Expedition to the Hairier Peaks
Latest from Lightning Bolt's Brian Chippendale and Forcefield's Matt Brinkman is rawer and more cavernous than its predecessors. [Corleone; 6.0]

- Koenjihyakkei: Angherr Shisspa
Fourth album from this Japanese band featuring Ruins' Tatsuya Yoshida, godfather of today's blossoming art-rock-noise-pop scene. [Skin Graft; 8.3]

- Dengue Fever: Escape From Dragon House
L.A.-based band fold Ethiopian touches into a Cambodian style of pop heavily influenced by classic American surf rock and Nuggets-era garage-psych. [M80 Music; 7.7]


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

>> Mon:12-05-05

- Love Is All: Nine Times That Same Song
Swedish lo-fi indie pop group follows two singles of gritty heartache with a stellar debut for New York's What's Your Rupture? label. This is the first great band of 2006. [What's Your Rupture?; 8.7]

- Tarantula A.D.: Book of Sand
Debut LP from the prog-chamber trio combines classical instrumentation and techniques with elements of metal, flamenco, and various pan-global folk forms, and features appearances by Devendra Banhart and CocoRosie's Sierra Cassidy. [Kemado; 5.8]

- DJ Koze: Kosi Comes Around
Debut LP from one of Kompakt's more underrated producers is also the label's best artist album of the year. [Kompakt; 8.0]

- Chamillionaire: The Sound of Revenge
Sly, quick-tongued Houston emcee and former partner with Paul Wall trades candy paint for more serious subjects. [Universal; 7.0]

- Annie Hayden: The Enemy of Love
Merge issues the second solo album from the former co-leader of Spent. [Merge; 6.3]


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

>> Fri:12-02-05

- Various Artists: Music From The O.C. Mix 5
Latest compilation from the teen drama features Gorillaz, LCD Soundsystem, and Kaiser Chiefs, among others. [Warner Sunset/Warner Bros.; 3.5]

- The Orb: Okie Dokie, It's the Orb on Kompakt
Dr. Alex Patterson's first full-length for Kompakt is full of eerie polyrhythms and slurry dream-techno. [Kompakt; 7.3]

- As Mercenárias: The Beginning of the End of the World
Venerable reissue imprint Soul Jazz collects the best from this 1980s Brazilian post-punk group. [Soul Jazz; 7.8]

- Dead Can Dance: Memento
Compilation of the most memorable releases from the famed 4AD duo, which moved between soft, ethereal ambience and intense, ritualistic vocalizations and Wall of Sound production. [4AD; 7.6]

- Rosie Thomas: If Songs Could Be Held
This album from the Sub Pop songstress is her first since moving to L.A. [Sub Pop; 5.9]


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

>> Thu:12-01-05

- Patti Smith: Horses [30th Anniversary Legacy Edition]
New York poetess and singer's proto-punk classic is reissued with a live track-by-track recital of the LP, recorded this past June, tacked on as a bonus. [Arista; 9.4]

- Hot Chip: Coming on Strong
Long-awaited U.S. release from this at times perplexing electronic British outfit, who come across like a mellow, hip-hop-lovin' version of LCD Soundsystem. [Astralwerks; 8.0]

- Men's Recovery Project: The Very Best Of
5RC presents a 40-track comp from this post-Born Against, Residents-like group. [5 Rue Christine; 8.2]

- Metal Fingers: Special Herbs 9 + 0
Latest collection of MF Doom instrumentals-- some previously-released backing tracks from his or other's albums, some unreleased beat sketches or stand-alone compositions. [Shaman Work; 7.0]

- Amina: AminaminA EP
Promising EP from this Icelandic quartet and ancillary members of Sigur Rós. [The Worker's Institute; 7.0]

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home