Albums of the Year: Eight Bells
Landless marks the almost seamless sequel to The Captain’s Daughter, and continues to tell the tale of a soul lost at sea, that has to discover that there is no place to return to, equally depressing as it is captivating. Melynda Jackson expands the paths her band Eight Bells are walking in various ways beyond that: as unpredictable the swell between etheric melodies, opressive doom and bursts of black metal may be, as homogeneously Jackson manages to weave them together. And not only did Landless make a strong statement for one of the best albums of its kind in 2016, but also established Eight Bells as exceptional representatives of their genre.
Oranssi Pazuzu – Värähtelijä
This is a favorite for me because they are combining styles that really can piss a true and pure metal head off. Well at least that is what kept me listening to it over and over without deciding that I am bored with it or even worse just not remembering it at all. To me this is much of what keeps me listening over and over. I like the sings and the tume signures and grooviness of these songs. Heavy trips.
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Worm Ouroboros – What Graceless Dawn
With each album, they just become more and more beautifully and tragically bleak expressing a type of yearning that is absent from most music since 4AD stopped putting out amazing shit. I think that is justification enough.
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Alcest – Kodama
I like that this album has more ‘rock’ guitars and a bit more aggression than the last one while not sacrificing the delicate and masterfully melodic and wistful pop qualities. We have blast beats and some shrieking here too. I am stoked on this vinyl.
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Voivod – Post Society
I can could see this band 30 or more times and still enjoy them. There are no duds on this EPAnd there is a cover of Hawkwind’s Silver Machine. Part of what I like about this album is the atypical note choices = NOT BORING .
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David Bowie – Blackstar
I have been thinking a bunch about the end of my life. Or even the end of life in general. Of dying and leaving a lover behind, of being left behind by a lover. That electrical impulse that gives rise to having experiences just …..stops. Fear of Death -only humans are afraid to die. Bowie did it with grace – and I am so stoked to have all the music he left for us. Space Oddity indeed.
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