Underground Listmaker

 One of the most unique voices in experimental music, Galás is a cult legend. This album is absolutely her finest work. Experimental  ||  April 1, 1991 The concept behind "Plague Mass" is anti-religious in nature, specifically targeting Christian religions' contempt and disregard for those affected by the AIDS virus. Her own brother died of AIDS four years before the recording of this album, and the pain Galás has suffered is clearly evidenced in the tortured sound of her singing. The sounds on this album alternate between spoken-word segments and high, ululating, torturous wails, backed by slow, thudding drumbeats and occasional ambient atmosphere. "Disconcerting" doesn't even begin to describe it. "Terrifying", "surreal" and "disturbing" might come a little closer. " This Is the Law of the Plague " begins with 30 seconds of sparse drum beats. And then, Diamanda's vocals begin. Her voice is like a hot knife slicin...

 As someone who's been a fan of Ulver for a long time, this album was quite a letdown.                                                            Synthpop  ||  Released August 28, 2020 For a band who started out as black metal and later changed on-a-dime to an experimental electronic band with very few inhibitions, "Flowers of Evil" is completely tame, with no bite to it whatsoever. From the raw and engaging "Bergtatt", to the experimentation of "Blood Inside", the deathly beauty of "Shadows of the Sun", we've...progressed...to this. Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised...after all, the band's previous effort, "The Assassination of Julius Caesar" wasn't exactly what you would have called "innovative", but at the very least it marked a distinct shift in Ulver's everchanging musical style. This album feels like no more than c...

 Sometimes we take music for granted. Even I am guilty; I listen to  a lot , and things tend to blur together when you listen to as much music as I do. Every now and again though, there comes a piece that stops you in your tracks, challenges your perception of what matters in music, and edifies your soul. Though it  just  misses out on my top 100 records list, "Born Into Trouble as the Sparks Fly Upward" is one such album. The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band - Born Into Trouble as the Sparks Fly Upward  ||  Post-Rock  ||  Released 2001 A band that has undergone many variations on its name, most know them as simply "A Silver Mt. Zion" (the name they started with). ASMZ are an offshoot of the best and most influential post-rock outfit of all time, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, featuring many members of the band. While the stylings of GSY!BE bleed through in this band's work (how could they  not ?), there is something enti...

Kid A  is commonly regarded as one of two absolute masterpieces created by the English band Radiohead. A lot has been written about this album; musically, it's a huge shift from their 1997 album,  OK Computer . It leans much more into an experimental electronic direction, a change that, at the time, was not welcomed by all fans, but is now regarded as an important development in rock history. As I said, it's been written about  a lot . One possible interpretation of the album, however, really hasn't been explored as much as it could (or should) be. In my view,  Kid A  is not only a brilliantly experimental, musically challenging (and ultimately rewarding) listen, but is also a very well written concept album about nuclear apocalypse. Again, this is just my opinion, and Radiohead haven't specifically mentioned this interpretation in interviews, but it makes sense on a narrative and musical level. Radiohead - Kid A  ||  Released 2000  ||  Exper...