Staff Picks for 2011
SIMON
Overseas
1. Russell Haswell - In It LP/DVD-A
Possibly one of the greatest home listening experiences of my life the night I brought this beast home with me. Haswell's best record - an all analogue live noise document in surround sound (audience taunts and all; these tracks are recordings of his support slots with Autechre on their last European tour). Dude wields this shit like Satan wields Hades, everything in the room belongs to him. If you have a trillion dollar turntable you can enjoy the UHJ surround sound capacity of the LP, but it comes with a 5.1 DVD-Audio version for the slightly less nerdy. Can't remember pumping my fist with such frequency whilst listening to anything else this year.
2. Zomby - Dedication CD/LP
3. Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica CD/LP
4. John Maus - We Must Become CD/LP
5. Bibio - Mind Bokeh CD/LP
6. True Widow - As High As The Highest Heavens And From The Center To The Circumference Of The Earth CD/LP
7. Peterlicker - Nicht LP
Australian
1. Matt Bailey - Book Of Illumination LP
I enjoyed Bailey's first solo disc from last year, 'The Three I's', but 'Book Of Illumination' leaves it behind in the dust. No guitars, all wurlitzer and lashings of other collectable keyboard sounds playing in the next room, as well as crucial contributions from saxophonist Adam Simmons (Embers, Bucketrider) and vocalists Raquel Solier (Fatti Frances, Ancients), Monica Sonand (Magic Silver White) and Nicole Hurtubise. Contrary to the title, this piece of black plastic is a puzzle and I'm trapped beyond the surface - the faded stardom, wasted potential, casual lust, psychic mediums and tarot cards have locked me into a slow journey, I'll have plenty of time to figure it out whilst crossing miles of black tundra.
2. New War - Ghostwalking 12"
3. Bowcaster - Taun Taun/Thermal Detonator 7"
4. Francis Plagne - Tenth Volume Of Maps LP
5. Harmony - Harmony CD/LP
6. Dick Threats - Meat Cash CASS
SPIRO
1. James Blake – James Blake CD/LP
Beautiful voice, equally soulful and cool. Also does a great cover of Feist's ‘Limit To Your Love’. But I'm guessing he could cover the Macarena and it would sound great.
2. Hercules and Love Affair - Blue Songs CD/LP
Criminally underrated sophomore effort from these House loving New Yorkers, minus Antony but I'm still listening.
3. Beirut - The Riptide CD/LP
Never a huge fan but this album turned me onto Beirut, also has one of the best songs of the year on it, ‘Goshen’.
4. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For My Halo CD/LP
Beautiful, world weary voice, how can someone so young sound so tired!
5. Nicolas Jaar - Space Is Only Noise CD/LP
Great electronica that seemed to come out of nowhere. A bit of the David Sylvian about it, not a bad thing.
Tied with;
Wooden Shjips – West CD/LP
Terrible spellers but a great, fuzzy wall of sound, from beginning to end.
ED
Australian
Dick Diver - New Start Again CD/LP
Panel Of Judges - Moods On The Move LP
Lost Animal – Ex-Tropical CD
Oscar & Martin - For You CD
Twerps – Twerps CD/LP
Overseas
Omar-S - It Can Be Done But Only I Can Do It
Terror Of The Deep - Permanent Weekend
Colin Stetson – New History Warfare: Vol. 2
Arthur Russell - let's go swimming
Sun Araw - ancient romans
CHRIS
Australian
HTRK - Work (Work, Work) - 1,000,000,000,000 shades of wet-grey smoldering eternities. An album that's truly its own universe.
Lost Animal - Ex Tropical - Probably the best songwriting of any Australian record released in 2012. Nothing's forced and it ticks like a goddamn German clock.
Laura Jean - A Fool Who'll - A prickly, lovesick, very Australian (in its own inimitable way) album that reminds me of the marvellous intangibles of Bridget St. John, the Raincoats, the Dirty Three, & Mary Timony.
Rowland S Howard - Teenage Snuff Film (Vinyl Reissue) - Unbelievably charismatic, hilarious, nasty, gut-wrenching. His masterpiece & one of the best records you'll ever hear if you fully surrender to it.
Twerps - Twerps - Blah Blah Blah Go-Betweens. But when was the last time you heard any approximation of that striped sunlight sound in a way that didn't feel formulaic, plastic and, let's face it, shit? These folks walk the line, tiptoe the tightrope & humbly land on their feet with Olympic Gold Medals (TM) & fists in the air Tommie Smith & John Carlos styles.
Dick Diver - New Start Again - Like a roundabout (Rimbaud on cough syrup in Geelong, etc.) take on Television's 'Adventure'. Golden, rambling, with excellently stoned dueling guitars.
Books
The Ballroom - Dolores San Miguel - Thrilling and quite sad memoir from the lady who seemed to almost single-handedly foster the live explosion of late 70s/early 80s Australian underground music. A must for anyone interested in or of the era.
Le Freak - Nile Rodgers - Long awaited (& well worth the wait) autobiography from the surviving 1/3 of the unbelievable rhythm machine that was/is Chic.
The Third Reich - Roberto Bolano - A killer from the vaults that finds the best novelist of the last 20 years starting to head into the genius outer realms of 2666 and Savage Detectives.
The Marbled Swarm - Dennis Cooper - New fiction from the fantastic transgressive writer & spiritual heir to Jean Genet & Kathy Acker.
It Chooses You - Miranda July - Brand new from everyone's favorite polymath. Typically ignores genre & smears together narrative, interviews & photography. Unique & compelling as usual.
ANDREW
Overseas (In no particular order)
Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for My Halo
"This record's so good you will:
Continue listening to it even after you spend all year talking about how you think he's the 'best dude in music!', only to hear that he sold the first track to the Bank of America..."
James Blake - James Blake
"This record's so good you will:
a. Burn out on it from listening to it too much.
b. Not be able to to like it once everyone's done ripping it off.
c. Form memories of all that occurred in your life while you were doing 'a.', that will remain indelibly linked to any and every listening experience you may wish to have with it in the future (for better or for worse)."
Com Truise - Galactic Melt
"This record's so good you will:
Think about about rubbing all your J Dilla and Boards of Canada albums together really fast in the hope that they might produce more offspring!"
John Maus - We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves
"This record's so good you will:
a. Book studio time for a new project where you pretend to be a photocopy of a photocopy of Ian Curtis' ghost singing karaoke to your keyboard's cacophonous demo mode.
b. Find yourself aggressively muttering 'pussy. is. not. - matter. of. fact.' in the street and at your mum's house, without even really worrying about it too much."
Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol. 2
"This record's so good you will:
Play it on your iPod’s last charge after the world collapses around you. (While pushing a shopping cart full of the only things you have left to keep you and your son alive.)"
Australian (In no particular order)
Lost Animal - Ex Tropical
"This record's so good you will:
Not fully understand why you like it as much as you do. But you do. So just listen to it all the time; it somehow continues to get better..."
Dick Diver - New Start Again
"This record's so good you will:
Begin to second guess that joke about yoghurt and Australia and culture or whatever."
Total Control - Henge Beat
"This record's so good you will:
Get a Southern Cross tattoo under your mandatory Black Flag tattoo."
Matt Bailey - Book of Illumination
"This record's so good you will:
Grow a beard.
HTRK - Work (Work, Work)
"This record's so good you will:
Forget all that stuff about beards, The Southern Cross and yoghurt and just move to Europe.
NATE
Overseas
PJ Harvey – Let England Shake
I love it when you think you’ve heard everything an artist can do in 20 years and then they release an album that smacks you over the head and calls you an idiot.
Destroyer – Kaputt
I don’t usually go for the schmaltzy soft rock but the Destroyer album is so irresistibly smooth you can’t deny it.
Nicolas Jaar – Space Is Only Noise
I’ve been listening to this album almost every day for months now. Intelligent electronica that sounds like a different album everytime I listen to it. Magic!
Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues
Amazing follow up to an amazing debut. There’s nothing “hip” about what these guys do, but they know country rock and they do it better than anyone.
Real Estate – Days
The breezy pop soundtrack to this summer. Trust the hype on this record.
Australian
Twerps – Twerps
The Twerps often get compared to the Go-Betweens etc. Truth is The Twerps sound just like The Twerps. Forster/McLennan couldn’t write a song like “Who Are You” and the Twerps are all the better for it.
Laura Jean – A Fool Who’ll
Seriously incredible album which probably won’t ever receive enough recognition. It’s a bold and beautiful statement from one of this city’s finest songwriters.
Oscar & Martin – For You
It’s like a TLC album! Crazy Sexy Cool!
Dick Diver – New Start Again
Dick Diver often get compared to The Twerps but they don’t sound like the Twerps they sound just like Dick Diver. Four of my favourite songwriters in one band! BAM!
Lost Animal – Ex – Tropical
I love everything about this album, I love that it’s dangerous, I love that it’s sinister, It’s like lying on a sun lounge on the dance floor of a seedy club.
RICH
Overseas
Leyland Kirby - Eager to Tear Apart the Stars
Time, memory, space, loss etc: if Chris Marker directed Vertigo this would be the soundtrack.
Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges
http://cultoftrash.tumblr.com/post/13704413045
PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
Clear and direct in its candour; a work of singular beauty.
Demdike Stare - Tryptych
Three albums of dark minimal electronic music.
Lee Noble - Horrorism
Wandering through post-apocalyptic suburbia.
Australian
Lost Animal - Ex-Tropical
Ace songwriting...beats, keys, horns, synth tempered by an Australian gothic sensibility.
Twerps - Twerps
Gracefully ties together gossamer threads of indie pop, garage rock, punk, grunge and slacker et al.
New War - Ghostwalking 12"
Chris P said he'd cut me if I didn't include it.
Dick Diver - New Start Again
Terrace house poetry and just the right level of smart-assery.
Geoffrey O'Connor - Vanity is Forever
Atmospheric new wave from the man breaking hearts in this town and the next.
RAQUEL
Overseas
Oneohtrix Point Never- Replica
Shabazz Palaces– Black Up
Peaking Lights - 936
Tyler The Creator - Goblin
Australian
HTRK – Work (work, work)
Lost Animal - Ex-Tropical
Geoffrey O’Connor – Vanity Is Forver
Dick Threats – Meat Cash
New War – Ghostwalking 12”
Pearls – At Home With You 7”
HAZEL
Overseas
1. Shabazz Palaces - Black Up
2. Arthur Russell - Lets Go Swimming
3. Hercules and Love Affair - Blue Songs
4. Gillian Welch – The Harrow & The Harvest
5. Motor City Drum Ensemble - DJ Kicks
6. Nicolas Jaar - Space is Only Noise
Australian
1. Teeth and Tongue - Tambourine
2. Lost Animal – Ex-Tropical
3. Oscar and Martin – For You
4. Geoffrey O'Connor – Vanity Is Forever
5. Twerps - Twerps
6. Laura Jean – A Fool Who’ll
We’d love to hear what your top 5’s of the year were and we’ll include some in the next newsletter, so send them through!
Christmas Trading Hours – Both stores will be closed on Christmas day, Boxing day and New Year’s Day & closing at 6pm on New Year’s eve. Opened as normal all the others.
