Believe it or not, the Clash office is already booming to the sound of opinionated sorts arguing the toss over what is and isn’t worthy of being considered one of the best albums of 2008. It’s carnage, believe.
Since we’re rarely ones to overlook the opportunity for debate, we figured it’d be a good time to remind Clash readers of some of the more leftfield releases of the year – or simply to make them aware of their availability, full stop. So: five albums that’ll most probably not factor in any end-of-year lists, anywhere (because they’re that niche), and five more that might just creep in somewhere…
Vessels, ‘White Fields And Open Devices’
(Cuckundoo, released August)
There can be no argument about it – much of what’s presented as post-rock is barely past any sort of post, including the one at the starting line of ambition and creativity. But Leeds-based Vessels (pictured) – sometimes seen live with two drum kits, attacked in perfect unison – play against type by balancing Battles-y vibes with 65daysofstatic urgency of a dot-dash-dot variety, all ones and zeroes but definitely danceable. Then, just as you start to suss their shtick, they go and deliver a heartbreaker like ‘Yuki’, a track so aching in melancholy it as good as snaps in two at the midway mark. See its video above.
A selected quote from elsewhere: “…a band whose mere existence seems to be built upon continuously confounding and subsequently exceeding any kind of pre-conceived expectations…”
Pyramids, ‘Pyramids’
(Hydra Head, released April)
Not to be confused with the Archie Bronson Outfit spin-off act of (almost) the same name, these Pyramids are from Denton, Texas… and theirs is a sound completely at odds with the comparably traditional rock of the Archies. A four-piece shrouded in no little mystery – their MySpace page reveals next to nothing about their identities – Pyramids’ self-titled is a collection of drifting drones, tonally rich sweeps and textured moans; it’s a record that’s both dreamy and nightmarish, as intense as anything Justin Broadrick has ever concocted yet, when the mood takes, as blissful as the finest Panda Bear chill-out. There are no critical pigeonholes, at least of a widely recognised variety, for music like this – some have toyed with metal-gaze given the toying with My Bloody Valentine atmospherics, but such a comparison anchors this in the realms of reality – surely a mistake when it’s so very otherworldly.
A selected quote from elsewhere: “…a cloud-scraping vocal ballet… totally fucking beautiful…”
Hammock, ‘Maybe They Will Sing For Us Tomorrow’
(Darla, released May)
If the more serene passages of Pyramids are tuned to your tastes, and you’ve admired Stars Of The Lid’s slowly-shifting aural dynamics in the past, make Hammock’s ‘Maybe They Will Sing For Us Tomorrow’ a near-future purchase. Hailing from Nashville, Marc Byrd and Andrew Thompson might be natives of the heart of country and western lore and legend, but their music touches the cosmos with a greater ease than it does any dusty bars or banjo-pluckin’ porches. ‘Maybe…’ is, essentially, a live set – it’s a studio recreation of the duo’s first-ever live show, for an art exhibition curated by a member of Sigur Ros. That last sentence should, hopefully, give you some idea of what to expect, if you hadn’t already. If a better impression is needed, check out the video below (older material, but still great).
A selected quote from elsewhere: “…you could put this on a loop and go blind to the sight of falling stars all night long…”
2562, ‘Ariel’
(Tectonic, released June)
The Hague isn’t the first place you think of, geographically speaking, when dubstep’s mentioned; like grunge has its home in Seattle, dance music’s latest and greatest sub-(sub)-genre to rise to mainstream prominence has its roots deep beneath London’s grimy streets. Yet 2562, aka a Belgian-born fellow by the name of Dave residing in the Netherlands, channels the movement’s essence from a core untapped by column-inch-gathering sorts, crafting hypnotic masterpieces of luxurious low-end twitch-glitch, beats and pieces zipping like flying (Lotus?) shrapnel. ‘Ariel’ collects a series of tracks that flit between the rain-lashed stylings of Burial and Skream and the rather more eccentric tendencies of Squarepusher circa ‘Go Plastic’ – out-there but certainly not so avant that those moved by the field’s high-profile protagonsists can’t indulge.
A selected quote from elsewhere: “…2562 he has fed a focused techno guile to the London-bred bastard genre’s blanket of comatose beats, dragged by the collar towards something less vacant…”
Pluxus, ‘Solid State’
(Kompact, released May)
Swedes with dials set to dancefloor optimisation, Pluxus’ vintage equipment fetish sets them at a level comparable to Simian Mobile Disco, but where the Brit dup went for the throats with their high-BMP pieces, this trio allow their arrangements to bleed out slow from speaker cones pulsating to an arousing rumble. Initially released in 2006, Kompact’s re-issuing of ‘Solid State’ saw it receive critical blessings from a myriad of publications, many outside of conventional dance-orientated circles. Crossover potential’s there in spades – the track ‘Transient’, the album’s opener, was used by Ford for a Fiesta commercial. Watch it below.
A selected quote from elsewhere: “…it reeks of considered craft and carefully wrought edifice, its overall sense of creative unity not far from the gooey, happy feeling that hearing the dying seconds of a completely listened to Autechre album evoke…”
And five that just might creep into the equation(s)…
Fuck Buttons, ‘Street Horrrsing’ (ATP)
Rolo Tomassi, ‘Hysterics’ (Hassle)
Zombie Zombie, ‘A Land For Renegades’ (Versatile)
This Will Destroy You, ‘This Will Destroy You’ (Magic Bullet)
Errors, ‘It’s Not Something But It Is Like Whatever’ (Rock Action)
And that’s just the surface – what about Deerhunter, and The Week That Was, and Vivian Girls, and Why?, and Gang Gang Dance? The discussion – the argument – rages on ’til December…
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Related: look out, soon, for details on how you, the reader, can get involved in our vote for the ClashMusic.com track of the year!
