Will Schaff on the artwork for Songs Ohia's Magnolia Electric Co.
For many listeners this was their favourite Jason Molina album»
Articles
spawk has written the following articles:
Jenny Hval, Apocalypse, Girl (Sacred Bones), July 8th
A more complex album than on first impression»
Torres, Sprinter (Partisan Records) May 10th
Torres' debut was one of the finest of the decade, and while her follow-up enlists PJ Harvey and Portishead associates, it manages to evoke Swans as well.»
Colin Stetson & Sarah Neufeld, Never Were the Way She Was (Constellation)
After a triad of acclaimed albums that enacted a 'New History [of] Warfare' in a range of styles, where could Colin Stetson go but to the rebirth of the planet?»
Brian Eno - The Shutov Assembly, Nerve Net, Neroli, The Drop (expanded editions)
None of the Enos we knew and loved ever went away.»
*Pink Floyd**, The Endless River
The message seems to be that Pink Floyd were (are?) a band»
Puzzle Muteson, Theatrics (Bedroom Community), Sept. 29
On a label where Gorecki, Penderecki, Ligeti, Boulez, Glass, and Reich are reference points, Muteson is that unlikely thing - a piano balladeer with crossover potential - but also surprisingly true to its ethos.»
Alt-J, This Is All Yours
More inventive than the work of 90 percent of young bands.»
Moonface, City Wrecker EP (Jagjaguwar)
So anyway: thanks.»
The Afghan Whigs, Do to the Beast
It’d be damning with faint praise to say that Beast is a masterful record from a songwriter entering his third decade, and inaccurate to call this a comeback; in the Don't Look Back era, this is the proof it's possible to burn on without dying or fading away.»
EMA, The Future’s Void (City Slang)
Sure, the future's void but at least the past's present.»
Shearwater, Fellow Travelers
Fellow Travellers is a missed opportunity for a great covers album, but as a shout-out to friends, it epitomises everything that’s endearing and admirable about Shearwater.»
Moonface - Julia with Blue Jeans On
If you’re not in love right now - an album to fall in love with, until then. »
Ben Frost: a quadruple review and retrospective
On August 27, Ben Frost released not one but FOUR scores for films and contemporary dance pieces...»
Tim Hecker - Virgins
Another essential release, but a step towards theory-over-content that Tim Hecker never really needed. »
Julianna Barwick - Nepenthe
This is the exquisite album we were promised, and perhaps an important one. »
Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol. 3 : To See More Light
Volume 3 is essential listening and another triumph.»
Jason Molina: Farewell Transmission
I keep wondering if I’m broken. It’s not that I don’t react; it’s just that it never seems to be quite the way we’re supposed to. In popular culture, someone gets bad news and they throw up. They sink to the ground. Their face crumples. Cue the strings»
Where to start with... Jason Molina, Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co.
If you’ve ever seen Songs: Ohia live, you’ll know there’s time to anticipate every note in your head, and savour it when it’s struck, or strummed, and sung; time enough to realize that everything’s deliberate, every line is crafted with care. Every slight change in delivery, too, reminds us the songs are living things, and every change in the words (a He to a She, say) is a matter of including someone else in these archetypal narratives...»
Marnie Stern - The Chronicles of Marnia
A sad chapter, but it’s an epic story. Keep reading. »
Mogwai - Les Revenants
Like Zidane, Mogwai’s second soundtrack is one of their most vital releases in years; a collection of fully realized pieces that could be the closest they’ll come to an unplugged album.»
Frightened Rabbit - Pedestrian Verse
Pedestrian Verse continues the trajectory of its predecessor, but whereas the charm of the first two Frightened Rabbit albums was an urgency that didn’t allow for polishing, and the third sounded more expansive, the impact of the fourth comes from the quality of the songwriting. »
The Joy Formidable - Wolf's Law
Sounding big may be a pretty good way to get a support slot with the biggest bands in the country and, in time, the world, but after a point you need more to say. »
Guided By Voices - The Bears for Lunch
Guided by Voices's third record of 2012 re-unites the line-up who made Under the Bushes, Under the Stars (1996). »
The Mountain Goats - Transcendental Youth
If Transcendental Youth is the best thing The Mountain Goats have ever done, it’s only because it’s about five per cent tighter and better-played.»
Swans - The Seer
Michael Gira: “The Seer took 30 years to make. It’s the culmination of every previous Swans album, as well as any other music I’ve ever made…”»
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Ease Down the Road; Master and Everyone; Greatest Palace Music (reissued)
Bonnie “Prince” Billy, RE-ISSUES: Ease Down the Road (2001), Master and Everyone (2003), Greatest Palace Music (2004), “Now Here’s My Plan” EP (Domino, Jul. 23 / 30)»
David Lynch - Crazy Clown Time
Over the course of 70 minutes and 16 tracks, David Lynch’s combination of lap-steel, processed vocals, and subliminal synths is genuinely captivating, and varied enough that even if 'Mr Lynch' were a complete unknown plucked from the slushpile, he’d get favourable notices somewhere.»
EDM - Night People
Early Day Miners were the great slowcore / post-rock crossover band of the past decade. Now re-branded as EDM have they truly re-invented themselves, or simply re-shuffled with a few new cards to play?»
Stephen Duncombe - White Riot: Punk Rock and the Politics of Race
Make your own argument what punk is, was, and should be. The materials are all here. »