Top-10 albums of 2014 (part.2)

Let's dive straight in to the remaining 5 albums that made my year a tad bit better. Remember that these are all my personal opinions and favourites.



#5 BADBADNOTGOOD - III

I've been into BADBADNOTGOOD (BBNG) for about a year and a half with my first touch to them being the cover of Limit To Your Love from their sophomore album BBNG2. They continue to amaze me with every release and song they put out and I seriously cannot name a bad track by them. BBNG's sound is so distinguishable even among the vast genre of jazz. 

III is a step out from the last two cover-filled albums and features only original material written by the trio. And that's the key-thing in this album. There is no playing around with other people's material like in the previous albums - improvisation and solos are left out almost completely. To me this album focuses more on developing the sound of BBNG; what the band can achieve with a setup of drums, keys and bass. And this is where they succeed! Vibrant pianos, the mix of both acoustic and electric bass and somewhat lo-fi drum sounds are all featured perfectly. The trio is accompanied with their longtime friend and collaborator Leland Whitty a couple of times playing saxophone and some strings. Some guitar-work and other instruments are also utilised in making backgrounds more layered. 

Every song on this album takes me to a whole new world. The track Can't Leave The Night is filled with a hazy feeling of a club. It even features some sub bass to accompany the beat and feel of the song. On the other hand the track Kaleidoscope starts with a mystical feel which then breaks out to the theme of the song which somehow almost reminds me of something out of a Miyazaki film's soundtrack. Follow this up with an amazing bass solo and you have me hooked. 

Different, Still is a straight up jazz song with an old-time's vibe. Brings memories of Kind Of Blue to my mind. The song features an utterly beautiful piano solo of which is just out of this world. The last three songs Since You Asked Kindly, CS60 and Sustain feature more of BBNG's experimental side with weird synth sounds and other tidbits that create a really moody and otherworldly feel.

Over all, III is a solid album and a great jazz-experience for those interested in what happens in the world's jazz-scene these days. 

Favourite track(s): Kaleidoscope; Eyes Closed; Hedron; Differently, Still






#4 Night Lives - Shadow Of Man

Being a HUUGE post-metal fan I had to check out Night Lives' debut album the day it was released. Though the album is mostly melodic hardcore with just a hint of post-metal and metalcore influences it got me hooked from the start. The sheer emotion mixed with aggression is the driving force of this album. 

You can read my deeper thoughts on this album in this earlier post: http://bit.ly/13kPbOL

All in all Shadow Of Man is a great album that made me take a closer look at the hardcore genre. 

Favourite track(s): Vows, Shadow Of Man, Dawn 







#3 ∞ - Emme Näe Elämää

First of all a link to my review of this album: http://bit.ly/1z3YBHc

Emme Näe Elämää has definitely been playing constantly through these last two months on my iPod. I've grown to love this album even more than I did at first. The album just has this feel of sadness and longing all over it but also a thin veil of arrogant attitude in the mix. The lyrics and the sounds are somewhat romanticising too (the song Aarresaari particularly in my opinion has a feel of young desire in it). 

Eight's sound is something that I have yet to hear in any other band. Their delicate playing is so emotional it almost always gets me all goose-bumped. Eight definitely doesn't get the attention and respect they should be getting already with Emme Näe Elämää being their third full-length album. They've polished their sound through the years from almost a straight hardcore band filled with Converge-influence to a post-rock-ish post-hardcore band with beautiful lyrics and utterly amazing songwriting. 

Favourite track(s): Every single song







#2 Cassie - Old Light

My earlier thoughts track-by-track on this album from last March: http://bit.ly/1H5cF7C

I've been listening to this album for over a half a year already and it still gives me all the emotions it did the first time listening. All the little things that made this album great: the beautiful strings, post-rock crescendos, delicate vocals, feature by Jani Ala-Hukkala. It's all there. Even though Old Light is only three songs it features a ton more than a lot of albums did this year. Great compositions with versatile sounds. 

I'm so saddened that Cassie has come to an end after the release of this album. Would've loved to hear them live.

Favourite track(s): All three







#1 Totorro - Home Alone

Now where do I begin with this album...a perfectly solid piece of 8 songs that I can't find anything bad to say about. Great sound design, all the instruments sound amazing, clever writing, energetic playing, rhythmic playing of this world and all around dynamic and playful album that gets me joyful every time I listen to it. Post-rock and mathrock at their finest.

Home Alone starts with the title track that builds up really fast to a fast-paced phase. When the vocals kick in they are left almost as an effect in the background of the song. The song ends as fast as it starts and continues perfectly to the next song Chevalier Bulltoe (the first single off of this album that got a music video also). The song is a bit more calm than the intro track but it still keeps its big and energetic sound throughout the song. After the 1:40 mark the song takes a turn to up the tempo. The song then ends to a perfect state of calmness which then carries to the intro of the third song Tonton Alain Michel. This song features a great rhythmic guitar arpeggio in the beginning which then grows to yet again a great energising theme that keeps on growing and growing until a break near the two minute mark. The song then picks up the pace again to bring up the potential energy even more. The second break then slows the song down again and brings the dynamics to the ground again where it can start growing once more to a huge climax. The ending then hits you hard in the face and you're left with a perfect experience of the first three songs of the album. 

The fourth song Festivalbini starts out sounding like a calm post-rock song but it has an ace up its sleeve. Not much can be said but the song is once again a huge display of emotions and talented songwriting mixed. The latter half of the album begins with the song Motte-rock which develops around a bass pattern repeated for almost the whole song. The sounds around the bass-line make the song interesting and intelligent. The song then traces to a polyrhythmic mathrock part which ends the song. 

The next track Osao San features once again some clever rhythms once it gets trough the intro. After a break the background vocals are once again thrown in the mix..Just beautiful. The second to last track Eric Colson brings immediately some Explosions In The Sky to my mind with it's melodies and carefree vibe. The last song Tigers & Gorillas wraps the album with a last bang which fades to a noise-like outro. 

This album is an experience from start to finish and it doesn't leave (at least not me) anybody cold. 

This concludes my year of 2014 and I have to say that this year has brought me a LOT of great albums that didn't make the list, so I made a little list of some honourable mentions:

Mastodon - Once More ‘round the sun

Rosetta - Flies to flame

Mid-American - Ancillary Colors

Maybeshewill - Fair Youth

MNTTT - Menetetyt

Whirr / Nothing - split 12’’

Skyharbor - Guiding Lights

The Algorithm - Octopus4

Pat Metheny - Kin

Periphery - Clear

Pallbearer - Foundations of Burden

Kiasmos - s/t

Botanist - VI:flora

The Chant - New Haven

Code Orange - I Am King

Tiny Moving Parts - Pleasant Living

I'm anticipating some great albums next year like the new Lapko, Callisto and Periphery albums. I also cannot wait to get my hands on some new bands while also working with my own bands upcoming release. Cheers to everybody and have a great end of the year.

Peace and Love 

- Matti

Top-10 albums of 2014 (part.1)

It's that time of the year again.. time to list my PERSONAL top-10 albums of the year. These are all albums that have had an impact on me as a music listener, a fan and as a musician. Once again I will release the list in two parts. I will exclude re-releases, re-masters, live sets, compilations etc..and focus only on new material released within this year. So, without further ado...Lets begin!


#10 Talons - New Topographics 

Talons was a new find for me this year. They're an UK-based instrumental post-rock/post-metal outfit who've been around since 2008. New Topographics is their third full-lenght album. It uses a lot of experimentation with chilling strings and noisy guitars. All the songs stand out from the mass of post-rock material released these days with their brilliant compositions. A lot of the timbre's bring Godspeed You! Black Emperor to my mind with a little bit more of pop-like parts thrown in the mix, yet keeping the songs diverse and emotional. 


Favourite track(s): Monuments, The Wild Places






#9 Pianos Become The Teeth - Keep You

Yet another band I found just this year, Pianos Become The Teeth is one of the bands from "the wave" of screamo/post-hardcore bands of the 2000's and 2010's along with bands like Touché Amoré and La Dispute. I came across their earlier material and noticed that their new album "Keep You" was being released this fall. I got myself familiar with PBTT's older material just in time for the new album to drop out and I got to say, at first I didn't enjoy it a lot. But Keep You kept growing on me during the following weeks. I guess that's what this kind of music a lot of times does with me. Keep You is filled with emotional lyricism and features a lot more softer side of the band than their earlier material. Sticking only with clean vocals was a bold but awesome move from PBTT. 

If you are a fan of emo and/or post-hardcore, then give this album a listen and let it grow on you. 

Favourite track(s): Lesions, Repine, Late Lives, Enamor Me







#8 DJ Kridlokk - Mutsi 

Ah..The first rap album of the list. The Finnish Dj Kridlokk is a rap artist/producer who's part of the KC/MD Mafia and is infamous for his Finnish Memphis sound. Mutsi is Kridlokk's follow-up to his album UG-Solo which was released in 2011. The album has a really grim sound and lyrics that are both critical and badass. Kridlokk rhymes about real life and how he's fed up with the world. But to me, the album is more about the sound, feel and atmosphere than taking the lyrics seriously. The two feature's of the album are by Kridlokk's colleagues Tuuttimörkö and Eevil Stöö and they both perform their verses just right. 

Favourite track(s): Lokin Ipsum, IDKFA, Stö & Lok 







#7 La Dispute - Rooms Of The House

I had great expectations for the new La Dispute album after their masterpiece Wildlife from 2011 which in my books is a solid 10/10 album. Rooms Of The House continues fluently with just about the same style as Wildlife. Sounds are just as raw and the lyrical themes are just as depressing as they were last time. Once again I had to listen to "Rooms" a little more than a few times to fully understand it's grace and all the emotions it emits. 

Once again the band utilises bits and sounds outside their live band with the inclusion of for example the glockenspiel. But I love how all their songs are played just as they are live - raw and hard-hitting. The guitar sounds are full of vibes which just give me the chills every time they hit a chord. Vocalist Jordan Dreyer's vocal performance is  heartbreaking and the emotions he is capable of producing with his voice are amazing. 

Favourite track(s): Hudsonville MI, 1956; 35; Scenes from highways 1981/2009

#6 Swans - To Be Kind

When this monster of an album hit everybody in the face in the alternative music scene I was really ignorant and left it without a listen (except for the song Oxygen which was released as a single before the album) until well into the fall. Upon revisiting To Be Kind I was really surprised when I found out how elaborate and powerful it was. I guess I just wasn't ready to listen to it when it released. I just had to have a right state of mind to sit through this 2 hour greatness. To Be Kind feels like such a flowing album that the time just flies by and it feels amazing.

I am in no position to compare To Be Kind to Swans' earlier material as I have almost no experience of their albums before it (apart from a couple of listens of The Seer). I guess I'm fairly new to experimental music in a scale of this big. In To Be Kind I fell in love with the atmospheric building structures and the contrast of delicate timbres of clean guitars painting the soundscape to the crushing aggressive pounding of the bass and drums accompanied by Mr. Gira's menacing vocals.

Swans uses their instruments extremely diversely and create sounds out of this world. Every song on the double LP is a journey through the bands collective mind which seems to write every bit out amazingly naturally. Even though a lot the time the songs are very static the little nuances of for example sudden guitar harmonies or vocals that surprise the listener keep the journey interesting throughout the album. Not a single song feels too repetitive or too long (even though there are a lot of songs that surpass the lengths of typical rock songs). 

I can see To Be Kind being the "Skinny Fists" of the 2010's in the future being an experimental masterpiece and I can already see it getting a same kind of recognition throughout fans of alternative music listeners. 

Favourite track(s): Just A Little Boy (For Chester Burnett), Bring The Sun/Toussaint L'Ouverture, 





This concludes the first 5 of my top-10 albums of 2014. I will finish the list during these few days (within a week at most). 

Leave a comment if you agree with me on the list or have your own favourites.


Peace and LOVE
- Matti

Top-10 albums of the year (part 1.)

Joo eli vuosi alkaa häämötellä loppuaan ja ajattelin listata vuoden parhaat ja eniten soittossa olleet levyt. Valmistautukaa henkilökohtaisiin mielipiteisiin. Pahoittelen jo valmiiksi pitkää postausta.

--

So the year ends soon and I thought to list the best and most listened albums of the year. Get ready for some personal opinions on the albums. I apologize in advance for this long post.


#10 Northlane - Singularity 

Australialainen Northlane luo jotain uutta koko metalcore genreen heittämällä mukaan progressiivisuutta. Tahtilajit eivät aina ole helpoimmasta päästä ja äänimaailma on kokeellinen ja leikittelevä. Uskomattoman hyvin tuotetun kuuloiset soundit ja laulaja Adrian Fitipaldesin puhtaat ja "epäpuhtaat" vokaalit soivat hyvin yhteen. Yksikään kappale ei kuulosta samalta ja välillä tunnelma osataan jopa rauhoittaa ajatuksia herättävälle tasolle. Albumin nimikkokappale Singularity hakee vaikutteita post-rockista asti aina Terence McKennan puheen sämpläämiseen asti. Yhtyeen viimeisin musavideojulkaisu Masquerade taas kuuluu albumin energisimpiin kappaleisiin. 

Lempikappale albumilta: Quantum Flux

--

The Australian Northlane brings something new to the whole metalcore genre by throwing in some progressive elements. The signatures aren't always the easiest to follow and the soundscape is very experimental and even playful. Amazingly well produced sounds and the singer Adrian Fitipaldes' clean and "unclean" vocals play well together. None of the songs sounds too much alike and sometimes the atmosphere is calmed down to a thought provoking level. The albums title track Singularity draws influence from post-rock all the way to the speech sample of Terence McKennan. On the other hand the band's latest music video release Masquerade is one of the more energetic songs of the album.

Favourite track: Quantum Flux



#9 Von Hertzen Brothers - Nine Lives 

Taso on korkealla, kun pitää VHB ränkätä vasta yhdeksänneksi. Nine Lives (ironisesti yhdeksäntenä listalla) ei aluksi oikein iskenyt, mutta muutaman kuuntelukerran ja kahden live-keikan jälkeen albumin kappaleet ovat iskostuneet päähäni VHB klassikoiksi. Yhtyeen kaikki muutkin tähänastiset julkaisut ovat olleet tasalaatuisen täydellisiä; vivahteikasta progea sopivalla pop/rock -asenteella ja uskomattomalla soitto- ja laulutaidolla. Ei voi kuin fiilistellä. 

Albumi alkaa energisesti kolmella sinkkujulkaisunsa ja musavideonsa ansainneella kappaleella (Insomniac, Flowers And Rust ja Coming Home), jotka ovat kuuntelijaystävällisiä uusillekin progekuuntelijoille. Neljäs kappale Lost In Time on aluksi yllättävän synkkä ja raskas, mutta kasvaa lopuksi uskomattoman mahtipontiseksi. Sitten kuuntelijan sykähdyttää Separate Forevers, joka esittelee laulaja Mikko Von Hertzenin uskomatonta lauluääntä. Kappale kasvaa hiljalleen lisäten aina uusia synapadeja ja -efektejä luoden maagisen tunnelman. Myös viimeinen kappale Prospect For Escape nousi omalla kohdallani kestokuunteluun. Siitä huokuu VHB:n nerokkuus sävellyksen - etenkin kitarasoolojen - kannalta.

Kokonaisuutena Nine Lives on todella miellyttävä kuuntelukokemus autentisine soundeineen eivätkä livesovitukset häviä albumiversioille, vaan jopa ylittävät albumin rajat. 

Lempikappale albumilta: Separate Forevers 

--

The standards are high when I have to rank Von Hertzen Brothers only as number nine. Nine Lives (ironically on the ninth spot) didn't blow me at first but after a few listens and two live-shows the tracks have instilled in my head as VHB classics. All of their earlier releases have been evenly perfect; highly nuanced prog with just the right hint of pop/rock attitude and amazing instrumental and vocal skill. A must like.

Nine Lives starts energetically with three single- and music video-releases (Insomniac, Flowers And Rust and Coming Home) which all are easy to listen even for new prog-listeners. The fourth track Lost In Time starts out surprisingly dark and heavy but grows into a greatly pompous climax. Then the listener is thrilled with Separate Forevers which shows off the singer Mikko Von Hertzen's unbelievable singing voice. The song grows slowly by adding new synthpads and effects creating a magical feeling. Also the last song of the album, Prospect For Escape, rose in my case to a state of everyday listen. It flows with the band's ingeniousness in terms of songwriting - and especially guitar solos.

In its entirety Nine Lives is really pleasant as a listening experience with its authentic sounds. The live-arrangements even surpass the album versions. 

Favourite track: Separate Forevers

#8 Minä Ja Ville Ahonen - Mia 

Tutustuin Ville Ahosen tuotantoon tänä kesänä Ilosaarirockissa ja se valtasi mieleni välittömästi. Uskomaton taiteellisuus ja kauneus sekä näkyy että kuuluu Minä Ja Ville Ahosen toisella albumilla vielä enemmän kuin vuonna 2011 julkaistulla nimikkoalbumilla. Jokainen kappale Mia-albumilla on pakattu täyteen suomalaista melankoliaa. Ehdottomasti vuoden paras suomenkielinen levy. 

Lempikappale albumilta: Mia

--

I was introduced to Ville Ahonen's productions the past summer at Ilosaarirock-festival and it captured my mind instantly. Unbelievable artistic quality and beauty both shows and sounds on Minä Ja Ville Ahonen's (Finnish for Myself And Ville Ahonen) second album even more than in their debut self-titled released in 2011. Every song in Mia is filled with Finnish melancholy. Definitely the years best album sang in Finnish. 

Favourite track: Mia

#7 Katatonia - Viva Emptiness (10th year anniversary)

Joo joo... tiedän että tämä ei ole varsinainen uusi julkaisu vaan remasteroitu uudelleenjulkaisu, mutta pakko se on lisätä listaan, sillä Viva Emptiness oli ensimmäinen kokonaan kuulemani Katatonia-albumi ja iski noin viitisen vuotta sitten niin kovaa, ettei siitä ole ollut paluuta. Uudelleenjulkaisu antaa albumille uuden elämän parantamalla kaikilla osa-alueilla. Kitara- ja rumpusoundit ovat saaneet make-overin ja ohjelmoidut syntikat ja pianot on nostettu enemmän esille. Albumin kokonaiskuva tulee paremmin esiin re-masteroidulla tuotoksella. 

Uudelleenjulkaisulle on lisätty ennejulkaisematon Wait Outside -kappale, joka omalla tavallaan eroaa muista albumin kappaleista (voi johtua myös siitä, että alkuperäiset kappaleet ovat muodostuneet klassikoiksi mielessäni ja uuden kappaleen lisäys joukkoon tuntui oudolta), mutta on silti tunnistettava Katatonian tuotokseksi. Lisäksi Inside The City Of Glass -kappaleeseen lisätyt vokaalit syventävät kappaletta.

Re-release:lta erityisesti esiin nousevat omasta mielestäni kappaleet Wealth, One Year From Now ja Comlicity, jotka on saatu kuulostamaan aivan uskomattomilta uudelleenjulkaisulla. Jokin alkuperäisessä Wealthissä jäi nakertamaan korvaani ja sai karttamaan tätä kappaletta, mutta re-masteroitu versio kuulostaa paremmalta kuin koskaan. 

Jonas Renksen ääni ei petä minunlaistani synkistelijää koskaan. Renksen äänen herkkyys luo täydellisen kontrastin musertaviin kitarariffeihin. Yksi parhaista Katatonia-albumeista!

Lempikappale albumilta: Criminals

--

Yea, yea.. I know it's not a real new album but a remastered re-issue but I had to add it the list as Viva Emptiness was my first Katatonia-album and it blew my mind in such a way some five years ago there was no return. The re-issue gives new life to the album by improving on every aspect. The guitar and drum sounds got a great make-over and the programmed synths and pianos have been lifted up more. The whole album and its general view is better on the re-mastered issue.

The re-release has a unreleased track Wait Outside which in its own way differs a lot from the original tracks (may be because the original songs have become classics in my mind and adding a new one felt weird to me) but is still a recognizable Katatonia piece. Also the added vocals to the outro-song Inside The City Of Glass add a new depth to the track. 

The songs Wealth, One Year From Now and Complicity stick out to me from the re-release as they sound absolutely superior to the original ones. Some thing in the original version of Wealth made me stay away from it but the re-mastered version sounds better than ever. 

Jonas Renkse's voice never deceives a melancholic person like myself. The sensibility makes a perfect contrast with the crushing guitar-riffs. One of the best Katatonia-albums!

Favourite track: Criminals

#6 Daft Punk - Random Access Memories 

Koko alkuvuosi meni tätä levyä odotellessa, ja ilmestymispäivänä oli pakko heti saada levy haltuun. R.A.M taisi tulla kesän toisiksikuunnelluimmaksi uudeksi levyksi omalta osaltani. Koko albumi on täyttä laatua - yksikään kappale ei jätä kylmäksi. Daft Punkin laatutuotanto ei petä. Ensimmäinen singlejulkaisu Get Lucky kuitenkin jäi albumin heikoimmaksi lenkiksi. Vaikkakin nakutuskitara ja tyylikäs disco-biitti kuulostivatkin hyvältä, Get Luckyn ärsyttäväksi piirteeksi nousi rasittava melodia. 

Lempikappale albumilta: Doin' It Right [ft. Panda Bear]

--

The whole beginning of the year went waiting for this album and I just had to buy it on release-day. R.A.M was probably my second-most-listened album of the summer. The whole album is perfect quality - not a single song leaves one cold. Daft Punk's quality production does not deceive. Though, the first single Get Lucky was probably the weakest link of the album. Even though the funky percussive guitar playing and stylish disco-beat sounded great, Get Lucky annoyed me with its nagging melody. 

Favourite track: Doin' It Right [ft. Panda Bear]

Julkaisen loput 5 toisessa postauksessa myöhemmin joulukuussa 

--

 I will give you the rest of the list in a later post