Foxes In Fiction - Alberto EP (320)

Any regulars of 4chan's /mu/ might already be familiar with Foxes In Fiction, the Toronto-based project of Warren Hildebrand. It's a funny story, actually, as he gained his initial success through someone reposting his songs as alleged new material by Atlas Sound on, where else but 4chan. People quickly spread the songs around and he wound up getting a record deal and even a lovely pitchfork review in the process.

I can only say I'm extremely grateful for that. The man certainly knows what he's doing, and I'd honestly go as far as to say that his first LP, Swung From The Branches, was one of my most loved albums of last year. Seriously, if you like indie, shoegaze, ambient or any of that stuff you basically kind of HAVE to like Foxes In Fiction. Pitchfork described it as Warren making the follow-up to Logos that he wanted because he just couldn't wait. That's certainly a valid comparison, but it's not something he should be defined by. There's a lot more than just avid Bradford Cox fanboy-ism at play here.

So Alberto, his newest 2011 effort is his attempt at making slightly more structured, poppier songs, a direction I was kind of hoping he might take. His songs literally relieve stress for me.

So, I'm gonna dump a few links on you now.

First, download all of his music (for free) from his site. Swung From the Branches can be downloaded here.
You can get Alberto here, packaged by me.

You can listen to a personal favorite of mine, "Fifteen Ativan," here.

So when you're done gasm-ing all over, FINALLY support this man by buying his album here.

The Angelic Process - Weighing Souls With Sand (V0)

Hell, it may be an essential album, but it is by no means not worthy of posting.

For fans of Have A Nice Life, Nadja, and anyone who enjoys shoegaze, drone, ambient or noise. It is very, very harsh at times. They were incredible, passionate, emotional, and everything more. Do your soul a favor, don't let this one have been in vain.

Download here, buy it here.

Bibio - The Apple and the Tooth (FLAC)

Seldom do I come across an album that invokes a mix of different emotions from within inside of me. While listening, I feel as if I'm in a parallel universe, where there are no worries, there is no pain, and the only feeling that is allowed is a constant state of relaxation. The individual songs off of this album bring back memories of falling in love, being as carefree as a child, hopefulness, and innate happiness, among others. While an astounding eight of the twelve tracks are remixes of songs featured on earlier releases, I consider them an essential part of my enjoyment of this amazing piece of work. As for the highlights, I'd recommend "Rotten Rudd," "Bones & Skulls," and "All The Flowers (Lone Remix)." I can't really pinpoint an exact genre that I'd classify this album under, so all I can ask is that you give it a shot, and realize that you appreciate it as much as I do.

Do yourself a favor and download this.

Epic45 - May Your Heart Be The Map (V0)

*ahem* This little thing is unrelated to what's inside the album, but is how I've decided to describe the tone and mood this album portrays:

We came across the trees just then. Finally, everything would be alright again. Finally everything would be good. I could think happy thoughts, and think of them for a long time. But the trees ended, the day persisted and the sun rained heat upon our skulls. This was the rest of our night. This was every night.
My heart was the only map we had, and we were lost and never coming back.

Download because this isn't an album where anything can be taken out of context, so you'll just have to get the whole thing to find out.

Brian Eno - Small Craft on a Milk Sea (V0)

Brian Eno. One of the most influential musicians of the last five (yes, five) decades still hasn't stopped making music. Partially responsible for David Bowie's Low, Talking Heads, and Sonic Youth, Brian Eno is a legend in the music industry.

His latest album, Small Craft on a Milk Sea, was written in collaboration with Leo Abrahams and Jon Hopkins and features the heavy turntablism influence that listeners have come to expect from Warp Records labelmates. The first few tracks harken back to Eno's Music for Airports days – sedated and ambient – until the latter portion introduces tracked drums and backbeats.

Download.

Port Blue - The Airship (320)

Many of you are familiar with Adam Young, whether you know it or not. Adam is the multi-instrumentalist behind Owl City.

Before you disregard this post, however, let me tell you that The Airship is one of the most incredible ambient albums of the last decade. It sounds absolutely nothing like Owl City, but actually sounds more like a piano-laden Helios. Each song is layered with keys, piano, downtempo beats and rather than vocals, various audio clips of people talking. The quotes are often religious in context, but do not sway in favor or against any kind of religion. They are more philosophical in nature, and they compliment the music well.

Have an open mind and check out this amazing album. You will not believe it is by the same man who wrote "Fireflies," trust me.

Download here and buy it here.

Peter Broderick & Machinefabriek - Blank Grey Canvas Sky (320)

I had only had experience with Peter Broderick before getting this masterpiece. I think it should speak for itself, but I suppose if you had to put a tag on this you might call it ambient classical. There are hints of electronic influences throughout the songs but the whole thing is basically an ethereal wonderland. When you listen to this, try and listen with your heart, and let your imagination go crazy.

Download here, buy it here.

It's short, so just give it a shot.

Motionless - The Windmill EP (V0)

This EP was something I picked up from an old friend of mine in 2007, back when I was still going through my mainstream alternative rock phase. It sat on my shelf for about two years until more recently, when I discovered that I had neglected this unappreciated sliver of amazing post-rock for far too long. They are somehow still struggling to break free from popularity constraints and therefore they give their music away for free under a creative commons license, much like Andrei Machado's work, which I posted on this blog last Sunday.

The Windmill EP is simply post-rock with a touch of ambience, void of unnecessary crescendos, full of warm harmonies, delay-laden guitar and mellow piano sounds. They have a unique sound, at times delving into polyphonic rhythms and creating atmosphere upon atmosphere, and other times just letting the guitar say all that needs to be said.

The band seems to have stopped their creative output but they are still a part of Ericrock's label (along with The American Dollar, Gregor Samsa, Red Sparowes and Softer) so who knows what will happen in the future. They even played a show with Minus The Bear back in 2008.

Download here. Their music is free to share, but they have a very cheap merch store which can be found here. There are $2 posters, and for a dollar more you can get a FLAC copy of this wonderful EP.

Philip Glass - Koyaanisqatsi (V0)

Koyaanisqatsi is the soundtrack partner to the film of the same name. Now, I haven't even seen the film, although I've heard a lot about it. I found this soundtrack because I'm a huge fan of Philip Glass, and honestly this is my favorite work of his.

This soundtrack is an out and out masterpiece. Six tracks of some of the most excellent compositions I have ever heard. It stands up so well on it's own even without the film. You can listen to it while knowing absolutely nothing about the film, like I did on my first listen, and you'll still be driven through an experience like never before. It's honestly hard for me to try and find a way to describe the sound. It uses full orchestras, choirs, and then uses synthesizers as well. And boy they are used to their full extent. There isn't much I can say to paint a good picture as to what to expect, but going into it blind is half the fun.

I've discussed this soundtrack with others, and everybody agreed it was an experience like no other. Some went as far to say it was life-changing. This is one of those things you just have to experience to understand it... So I recommend anyone and everyone to listen to this. It's not the kind of thing to listen to many many times, but the experience of your first full listen is one that you'll never have again. Without words, this album will give you so much to think about, and to contemplate. It'll leave you speechless.

Highlights: Koyaanisqatsi, Pruit Igoe, Prophecies

Download here.

Ghastly City Sleep - Ghastly City Sleep (V0)

Ghastly City Sleep was something that also helped me get into post-rock at the end of 2008, which is odd, since Ghastly City Sleep is not your typical post-rock. In fact, it's probably not even post-rock. I picked this album up at a store for three bucks, and I still keep it in my car so I can listen to it whenever I want. And that's saying something, considering I only have about four CDs in my car. In Utero, Hospice, The Fruit That Ate Itself and this album. An odd collection, I know, but that's what I drive to, I guess.

To continue, this album might actually be an EP. It has four songs that all accurately portray the band's sound, incorporating several musical elements into all of their songs, ranging from ambient, alternative, post-rock, and at times shoegaze sounds. There are vocals on all the songs, sometimes whispery and light, and at other times impending like those of Dan Barrett from Have A Nice Life. In fact, the song Suchness gives me major Have A Nice Life vibes.

It's hard to describe the music in a small group of words, but if there's one feeling to take away from this description, it's ambient post-rock with vocals.

You can find the album here and buy it here.

Helios - Eingya (V0)

Upon first listening to Eingya, I immediately decided I wanted to write about it instead of what I originally had planned for today. That's how much I loved it.

Eingya is more calming than most anything I've heard before. None of the songs are particularly catchy or stand out a lot, but it seems like that's the intent, as weird as that may sound. It's very mood/setting specific. If you put it on at a party or while you're looking to get hyped up and excited for something, then you're on the wrong track, going the opposite direction. But put this on while you're in a calm and comfortable place with your eyes closed and you’re relaxed I guarantee you'll become completely absorbed in it, and love every second. So while this music isn't incredibly versatile, what it does it does amazingly well. This album takes great instrumental compositions and then adds in elements of electronic in such a way that will take you on a experience like no other. The layers of instruments and sound used here are put so beautifully well together it's nearly seamless.

This would be an amazing introduction to ambient music for anyone who wanted to get into the genre. Even for those already experienced with ambient, if you haven't heard this album, I'm highly recommending you do so. There's not much else I can say that listening for yourself wouldn't say so much better. So listen, relax, and enjoy.

Highlights: Bless This Morning Year, For Years and Years, Paper Tiger

Download here.

HṚṢṬA - Ghosts Will Come and Kiss Our Eyes (V0)

Ghosts Will Come and Kiss Our Eyes is the most recent release by Godspeed You! Black Emperor side project HṚṢṬA, founded by Mike Moya, who has also made contributions to A Silver Mt. Zion, Hangedup and Set Fire to Flames. HṚṢṬA features vocals from Moya, shorter song structures and less influence from the other founding members of Godspeed, like Sophie Trudeau and Efrim Menuck. It's interesting to see how much of the eeriness of Godspeed You! Black Emperor can be attributed to Moya, whereas the beauty and intensity are more as a result of the influences of Trudeau and Menuck, respectively. If your fan favorite is F♯A♯∞ or you liked the creaky, haunted ambience of Set Fire to Flames, this album is basically a direct relative of the two.

Download.

Bowery Electric - Lushlife (V0)

Bowery Electric have been said to defy easy definition, but Lushlife, the final release by New York City Kranky comtemporaries Lawrence Chandler and Martha Schwendener proudly advertises its dizzying and seductive trip-hop roots. Schwedener's voice is heavily reminiscent of Beth Gibbons of Portishead rapport, only softer and more breathy. As a whole, really, Lushlife could be compared to a softer, breathier version of Portishead's Dummy. Where the latter excels in industrialism, the former excels in fluidity. Songs veer regularly into ambience, drawing images of cities late at night, lit up but devoid of any life, of walking along a corridor by oneself with nothing but concrete in plain view.

Bowery Electric is, like most trip-hop outfits, not meant to be shaken up or danced to, but here they seem to take that ideology to an extreme, preferring instead to use hip-hop instrumentals in much the same way Boards of Canada did; to move the listener across landscapes of sound, to allow the listener to appreciate them rather than being forced to interact with them.

God's on both sides,
Thank God we make them try,
Don't wake when the camera's on you,
You, you'll go out like a freedom fighter,
You're gone like a freedom fighter.

The Future Sound of London - Dead Cities (320)

Put simply, Dead Cities is nothing short of a masterpiece of ambient techno. Taking cues from Aphex Twin and B12, FSOL create a convincing and intricate post-apocalyptic landscape unlike any other I've heard. Dead Cities rewards close listening, as many of the details, sound effects, and motifs may elude you at first. The album changes gradually and with purpose but every song is memorable and different. I literally have nothing bad to say about this: if you are even the least bit interested in techno or electronic music in general, I recommend this highly.

Everyone in the world is doing something without me...

Sky Flying By - How Much More Difficult Will This Get? (320)

I remember hearing this album for the first time. I was still getting into instrumental music and still reeling from my introduction to Skinny Fists. A whole new world had been opened up to me, and I was all but spamming the words 'post-rock' to everyone I could. After I started following some blogs (most notably Shoegazeralive) I realized that there was an incomprehensible amount of similar music that was all in the same vein and yet, in one way or another, different. Variations on a sound and style that I was completely enamored with. 3 months later I had already downloaded so much music that I felt overwhelmed.

I delved into literally about 50 different albums over the course of that month and even with the fascination I had for the genre this specific album stuck out in my mind. I don't think that I can do justice to this artist, so I'll let the last.fm artist description speak for itself.

"Sky Flying By is a solo music project out of Boston Massachusetts that employs the use of traditional rock music instrumentation to create all instrumental, ambient pieces that fuse electronic elements with what is typically referred to as post-rock."

The album is mellow but a masterpiece in my eyes. Although you might not develop the special love for this album that I did, I think you'll enjoy this, assuming you enjoy this style of music. It's not your typical crescendocore but regardless I think you'll find the atmospheric blends at the very least interesting, and hopefully captivating.

Download the album here.
Buy it here.