'If what's expressed isn't real, it sucks'

‘Abyss’ is the epochal album of a growth in intense, metallic graphed ethereal presence in the musical expression of Chelsea Wolfe. Whereas Wolfe’s earlier works (Such as 2011 classic ‘Apokalypsis’) leaned heavily on a tenuous folk style to slightly mask the greater fragility present in each album ‘Abyss’ is symbolic of a descent into disorder and, consequently, Wolfe’s growing solemnity and acceptance of this. This is perhaps no more prominent than in ‘Iron Moon’ where the haunting softness of Wolfe’s vocals are often sinking beneath the sludge metal stylistic droning feedback of heavy guitars (courtesy of Russian Circles Mike Sullivan) and slow, temperamental yet incisive drumming from the returning Dylan Fujioka.

As a result, ‘Abyss’ thrives as an indicator of progress and versatility which has only previously been explored as a curiosity on albums past (an example being ‘Feral Love’ from the 2013 album ‘Pain is Beauty’). The most prominent effect of this progression is that ‘Abyss’ engages listeners by concocting a unique soundscape for each song, the aforementioned sense of clashing in ‘Iron Moon’, for instance, is starkly different to the morose sincerity of the murky ballad-esque ‘Maw’.

However, what is most captivating about ‘Abyss’ is that the atmosphere of haunting minimalistic lyrics (‘like the morphine’/’you take it all away’/’pretend it’s okay’ – ‘Grey Days’) contrast the slow building resonating nature of the albums instrumentation – with the effect being that listeners are slowly falling deeper into the isolating world Wolfe has unveiled to us. What this results in an album which stands as Wolfe’s strongest release yet, expressing a sense of musical versatility – ranging from the heaviest sides of metal to the most resonating parts of electronic – while, also, maintaining the dark folk lyricism which earned Wolfe such a dedicated following in the first place.

In 2013, My Bloody Valentine made their long anticipated return to the fray of the music world with their sudden release of ‘mbv’, which was fittingly heralded as one of the year’s best albums and a more than worthy return for the undisputed kings of shoegaze. ‘Ujubasajuba’ is better than ‘mbv’. Admittedly, this does seem to be an absurd suggestion – a band hailing from Kaustinen, Finland (population: 4,294) releasing an album with a nonsensical title (which seems to have no official translation – if indeed it can be translated) releasing a better shoegaze album than the very band which invented the genre? The need for questioning this, however, soon becomes irrelevant upon hearing the opening track ‘Valorians’ (which does derive the opening drumming from My Bloody Valentine song ‘Only Shallow). What Kairon; IRSE! offer is a harkening back to the early days of shoegaze, where ‘Loveless’ roamed as king, with a modern post-rock driven spin. However, it’s the ingenuity of the process behind the music which stands out most prominently – the blending of shoegaze and post-rock is an idea which has been shockingly relatively untouched despite the popularity of both genres and ‘Ujubasajuba’ is a perfect means of demonstrating the perfection the genres can achieve, where post-rock makes up for any subtle limitations of shoegaze and shoegaze provides an emphatic new aspect into post-rock by making a genre not normally known for being overtly active into one which is dynamic, enthusiastic and entrancing. What’s more, every track from ‘Ujubasajuba’ reaches incredibly diverse boulevards – ‘Valorians’ being more shoegaze heavy and post-rock insertions while the following track ‘Tzar Morei’ being post-rock with significant elements of shoegaze pedalling, to name but a few examples. ‘Ujubasajuba’ is an album which encompasses the glories of modern day music, that a band hailing from a small Finnish town is capable of unleashing upon the world an album of true unexpected splendour is akin to fairy tales – and it cannot be stressed enough (and has been suggested) that Kairon; IRSE! could very well currently be the worlds most underrated band.

Controversies be damned, it’s always a special occasion when a new Electric Wizard album is released. Released following a tumultuous 2013, which was mired by a row with their long-term record label Rise Above records and resulted in the formation of their own record label Witchfinder Records, ‘Time To Die’ is a welcome return to normality for one of the last surviving bastions of English Doom metal. Of course the term return can be taken fairly literally in this sense; ‘Time To Die’ isn’t exactly a boundary pushing album, nor has it been made more accessible for new time listeners, it is simply an Electric Wizard album – which means there’s no shortage of heavy, groovy, guitar riffage, maniacal drum pacing and glorious drug-laden satan-praising vocal work. The vocals, courtesy of Jus Oborn, are a point of particular interest – never truly sung, more akin to a murmur and very often difficult to make out and yet there is an underlying sense of necessity in their existence. This suggests cohesion behind ‘Time To Die’, with every element being as important to the total sum as any other. There is also a sense of unity behind ‘Time To Die’ – former drummer Mark Greening (last seen on 2002 album ‘Let Us Pray’) returned (briefly, given he left again prior to the albums release) to provide a veterans touch for ‘Time To Do’ while new bassist Clayton Burgess (of Satan’s Satyrs) performs solidly as a bassist, a role in which Electric Wizard have had regular instability since the departure of Tim Bagshaw in 2003. The most prominent thing which should be taken away from ‘Time To Die’, however, is also a simple one; it is a genuinely great album which doesn’t attempt anything special because there is no need – especially when you’re Electric Wizard.

Sometimes all that’s needed for creativity to shine through is a little independence. Released on their own record label Nostromo Records and funded through pledgemusic.com, Esben and the Witch have curtailed something truly remarkable with ‘A New Nature’.  With Shellac frontman Steve Albini behind the engineering process, the newest Esben release is the biggest demonstration of evolution in music which can be derived from any album released in 2014 – where there was fragilities and shyness in their previous releases, ‘A New Nature’ is a fitting title given that the seemingly sudden ascension in achieving magnificence Esben have undergone. The Brighton-based three-piece opus is an album which is clad in somberity and oozing mystique, elements of quieter parts of ‘A New Nature’ are characterised by slow-building drum tempos, haunting shoegaze-esque guitar-manship and the deceptively hazy and, at times, soulful vocals of Rachel Davis. It would be remiss, however, to suggest ‘A New Nature’ does not have an aggressive side to it. This aggressive side is the forefront disparity which serves to define the new Esben and the Witch; with the song ‘No Dog’ serving as a culmination of the build featured in the previous song ‘Dig Your Fingers In’, with heavy drumming, rhythmic guitars and Davis vocals even taken on a harsher tone in her proclamation ‘I/AM/NO/DOG’. What makes ‘A New Nature’ truly special is the ability it has to highlight the contrasts between the ethereal post-rock Esben are known for with the abilities and experimentation on display – where in both avenues Esben have gained a confidence in themselves to leave their comfort zone, with a necessity to succeed and a dogged persistence which has resoundingly succeeded with a record which not only sounds unique, but is also a true sign of progression and sees the rising of one of Britain’s best new bands to the levels they are undoubtedly capable of reaching.

27 year old San Francisco based musician Ty Segall has been making garage and psychedelic rock albums like clockwork since the release of his self-titled LP in 2008, releasing at least one major album every year since. His latest release, ‘Manipulator’, is very plausibly the best release Segall has made yet. The reason for this is that ‘Manipulator’ is the first Segall album which has been formulated and recorded with a precise care appropriated to it – the writing process for all the albums 17 tracks took up to a year and recording alone took up the entirety of a month. With such care taken, ‘Manipulator’ only serves to demonstrate what has long been theorised – Segall, as well as being enduring and possessing of a high work ethic, just so happens to be an excellent, versatile, musician. ‘Manipulator’ isn’t particularly testing to fans of his previous works – indeed it tends to follow its garage and psychedelic roots quite religiously and isn’t all that experimental in its execution. However, ‘Manipulator’ isn’t the kind of album to require an experimental niche to stand out as it is keen on delivering one simple goal; to be an album which is infinitely likable and has an admirable ecstatic aesthetic. Subsequently, there is very little wrong with ‘Manipulator’ musically; nothing feels like a burden nor does anything seem like it is out of place – it can be argued, in fact, that Manipulator is a ‘perfect’ album in its simplest form. This is due to the fact that ‘Manipulator’ is a very loaded album; Segall has gone to such lengths to ensure that the album has no weak songs. A result of this is that Segall not only has created one of the albums from 2014 which will endure throughout the rest of his career, but has also attained a sense of maturity he can build upon to finally explore new avenues and broaden his potentially all-encapsulating horizons.

Fire! Orchestra do not aim to make sense, Fire! Orchestra do not aim to fall under the umbrella of terms used to define normality, Fire! Orchestra are the kind of band to ‘Exit’ (their 2013 debut) before they ‘Enter’. With a loaded cast full of members, totalling up to 28 as a whole, and being prominent believers in the limitless potential of experimental jazz, it would be fair to say ‘Enter’ is one of 2014’s more unique albums. There is, at least, the good grace of Fire! Orchestra which allows listeners to not be immediately cast away in all the gloriously extravagant sea of harmonies which awaits them. Indeed, the albums start is quite modest and simple, with catchy refrains, harmonious vocals and a relaxingly slow tempo. The welcoming face is only temporary, however, given that by the first parts mid-point all sense of structure which had been presented at that point has begun to disperse, allowing the free jazz sensibilities which are paramount to ‘Enter’ to take shape and begin to form the cohesive album as a whole. Surprisingly, there is little sense that ‘Enter’ ever feels truly disjointed in spite of its overwhelmingly experimental nature – of course there are sudden transitions (most notable during the movement from part one to part two which swashes the scenery with heavy feedback and distortion) but all movements are never without purpose and, perhaps most satisfyingly, these transitions never feel disappointing and yet still are able to truly surprise constantly. ‘Enter’ is a reminder of the true essence of what an album is; merely a collection of ideas, thoughts and creations made in a moment of brilliant spontaneity. Given that Fire! Orchestra have now both entered and exited respectively, it leaves a great deal of questioning asking where could they possibly go from here? Of course, with 28 members (and the potential to grow even further) the true answer to this may be that they’ve only just embarked on a journey which promises to be spectacular.

Gargantuan. If ever the works of Ben Frost needed to be described with just a single word then there would be very few more appropriate descriptors than a word which alludes to the Goliath tendencies of Frost’s music. ‘A U R O R A’ is the first singularly album-led release by Ben Frost since 2009’s ‘By the Throat’ – during which time quite a lot has changed. For one, ‘A U R O R A’ is quite a great deal lighter instrumentally, gone are the guitars and strings prominent in ‘By the Throat’ leaving only a core of droning industrial electronic music. Such a design is appropriate, however, given that ‘A U R O R A’ is a truly dark album, distortions are unnerving, percussive samplings underlay the album in rhythmic repetitions and electronic shrieks are as sinister as string instruments were graceful in previous releases – and this is just by the albums second track ‘Nolan’. ‘A U R O R A’ is an album which wears its dark tendencies on its sleeve, it’s brash in its intensity, uninviting to the daunting and out right terrifying to those used to something with a greater deal of obvious clarity. The moment from the album which shines the most, however, is the figurehead song ‘Venter’ – which unites the elements of ‘A U R O R A’ prior to it with a perfect finesse to the parts which feature after it by encompassing them all, from a gradual slow build, haunting synthesising and an enthralling collapse of drumming and ominously harmonious electronic humming which characterises the songs later parts. ‘A U R O R A’ is not an album for the faint heart, nor is it particularly ‘easy’ listening – but it never once fails to be fascinating and it is truly hard to resist its temptations.

‘Ruins’ is not, at heart, a particularly demanding record. Indeed, Liz Harris (who goes under the pseudonym Grouper) stated that all she used to record ‘Ruins’ was a portable 4-track, stereo mic upright piano, and ‘a lot of political anger and emotional garbage’. Despite its simplistic set up, however, ‘Ruins’ is anything but a cheap and basic album. It is an album which moves with a sense of sophistication and poise, never being interrupted but also maintaining an alluring air of secrecy. ‘Ruins’ is, also, a fairly unusual change in movement from standard Grouper releases – with songs having a greater sense of structure and coherence. This only serves to accentuate the personality and depth behind the album, Harris opted to leave every song untouched in its recording which allows for all scenic factors to be heard in the recordings, with the most obvious being the sound of a microwave beep which occurred in a storm-induced blackout at the end of ‘Labyrinth’. The effect of the design is subtle but defining, in its simplicity, secrecy and serenity ‘Ruins’ yields an album of as perceptive and shy as Harris is herself. What this means is that ‘Ruins’ is an avenue of relatability and personal conversation, it’s an album at peace with itself and the listener, never once prodding but always to answer eloquently whenever asked. ‘Ruins’ is by far the deepest insight we have been given into the inner workings of Liz Harris and her musical sirens, with immensely patient and likable personality it may quite possibly the greatest at achieving a personal link between listeners than any other from 2014.

One of the forefathers of black metal has returned once more! Following on from 2010’s emphatic debut ‘Eparistera Daimones’, Thomas Gabriel Fischer’s latest project Triptykon have posited an album which delivers a stylistically appropriate heavy doom metal, providing a heavy edge to a year which had seemed to be lacking in that regard somewhat. Unsurprisingly, given that ‘Melana Chasmata’ is the work of a man who was the figurehead of the renowned Celtic Frost and Hellhammer, Fischer has managed to create an album which balances perfectly the brutality of instrumentation with the dark potential of growled and morose vocals. This sensation of balance is integral to ‘Melana Chasmata’, as it allows for the creation of an atmosphere which reeks of sinister and malice thoughts but is also introspective and fairly more subtle in its execution than its predecessor. The main benefit of this sense of balance is that ‘Melana Chasmata’ never feels forced, it is a seamless natural sounding album – albeit, with a great deal of dark undertones and sheer unparalleled ferocity. Musically, Triptykon follow a similar pattern from ‘Eparistera Daimones’, guitars (courtesy of Fischer and V. Santura) are crunching at times and harmonically haunting at others, percussions are near constant in their dictation of pace and the vocals are most prominent in their variety in demonstrating the true depths ‘Melana Chasmata’ has. With this in mind, the latest Triptykon album is a swansong for a new era of Fischer’s 30 year long career, showing in perhaps the best manner possible that time hasn’t yet deterred the fire which still runs inside of him.

Annie Clark has often touched greatness under her St. Vincent guise; often critically revered but underappreciated in the mainstream, St. Vincent has always sought to offer a unique and quirky side to pop, stemming all the way from her debut in 2007 with ‘Marry Me’ and even, during this time, teaming up with the legendary David Byrne in a duet album in 2011. Her latest self-titled offering builds upon this in great strides; with the albums starting track Rattlesnake arising an impression most eloquently stated as entertainingly alien. For all the albums entertainment, however, there is a great depth to ‘St. Vincent’, with every song being a journey into different avenues of living, be it the mundane mixed in with the crude (‘take out the garbage, masturbate’ from ‘Birth in Reverse’) or relatable personal experiences such as the entirety of ‘Every Tear Disappears’. This is all grounded firmly in common pop tropes; often catchy and often harmonious. However, there is a sense that there’s no restraint to where Clark could take ‘St. Vincent’ – with earlier songs in the album predominantly presenting Clark’s versatility not only as a capable vocalist but as a guitarist, while later songs delve in the more melancholic and soothing side of ‘St. Vincent’, allowing the album to have perfect pacing in which to guide listeners. ‘St. Vincent’ is the attaining of the greatness which Annie Clark has so often been compared to, gaining traction at an increasing rate to the extent that she is now the de-facto queen of modern art pop.

Some things just require a little patience. ‘Sines’ represents the first release by New Zealand post-rock artists Jakob following a lengthy, injury plagued, and mostly silent bar a few social media posts, eight year absence. Nonetheless, ‘Sines’ would’ve had a great wall of expectations to overcome had it been released any sooner – such is the task of overcoming Jakob’s last pre-hiatus album ‘Solace’. With ‘Sines’ truly gallant start, all fears that time has rusted the Jakob aesthetic are cast aside, such is the euphoria experienced at the resurrecting refrains and string led builds. It should be stated, however, that Jakob haven’t extended too far beyond the post-rock genre for influences, with most experiments outside the genre being purely atmospheric factors, though this is no bad thing as the intrinsic focus has allowed for the composition of an album which has elegance, purity and beauty in abundance and is an album which can, at times, make listeners feel a sense of honour at hearing something so eloquently said with no words at all. What is surprising about ‘Sines’, however, is its ability to command imposingly – every atmosphere has an emotional purpose and every dizzying Jeff Boyle guitar piece is harmoniously intertwined with the serene drum and bass work of Jason Johnson and Maurice Beckett respectively. To be empathically blunt, ‘Sines’ is the most purely beautiful album of 2014, and is a very welcome return befitting the phoenix-esque revival of Jakob.

With one subtle action ‘The Ape of God’ became one of 2014’s most controversial releases. In an effort to curb piracy and the leaking of the new Old Man Gloom album, measures were taken to ensure that the inevitable ‘leaked’ copy of ‘The Ape of God’ was, in fact, an amalgamation of the then unannounced double album which would later become the official versions of ‘The Ape of God’. Unsurprisingly, this move was met with a divisive response, with some taking amusement at the act where as others, chief amongst them being journalists whom had reviewed the leaked copy under the guise it was the real deal, were slightly less amused – to say the least. Somewhat lost in all of this, ironically, is the album itself, which is a shame given that it is a set of truly quality records exuding their talents prowess proudly on its musical skin. The albums multi-disc nature is utilised to full force – the first record is chaotic, crunching and resolutely hard-hitting while the second record delves further into the atmospheric side of Old Man Gloom. While this can create preferences, the need for pedantry in this case is unwarranted as both records are seemingly more complete when listened to one after the other than listening to either in a single duration. This is due to in no small part to the impressive repertoire Old Man Gloom can claim amongst their members, Aaron Turner was the figurehead of post-metal icons Isis (the band) while Converge’s Nate Newton offers an insight into the versatility of his skills outside of his typical metalcore rapidity. The result is an album which rises above the mire of controversy imposed upon it, though one that also never truly reached the level of respect it deserved due to said controversy.

With ‘Ótta’ is the ending of a gradual metamorphosis, where Sólstafir have moved away from their past successes in Black and Progressive metal and have truly settled on their new path into the peril filled world heavy post-rock. The perfection of the concept first introduced in 2011’s ‘Svartir Sandar’ has reached its culmination with ‘Ótta’, with the main instance of this being the complete abstraction of all elements of metal from earlier albums. With this in mind, ‘Ótta’ essentially offers something truly unique – in a world where sludge or drone based instrumentation has come to define post-rock there is an album which, as if in defiance, is littered with coherent, if echoed, vocals (sang brazenly in Sólstafir’s native Icelandic) and heavy rhythmic, but still patient, guitars and a continuous, though never enveloping, drumming. Though, that said, ‘Ótta’ is not short on the metal mentalities – often carrying an aura of cold darkness. However, this works in favour of the album as the aura never truly feels threatening despite its nature – instead, there’s a feeling of rousing, that what Sólstafir have given to us is not just another ‘woe is me’ album, nor an album with a figurative plastic grin attached to it, but an album which chooses both to accept the existence of anxieties and solemn emotions which define us as humans and to proudly wear such emotions through each harmonious note, making ‘Ótta’ one of the most personal and, surprisingly, uplifting albums of the year.

No album of 2014 could conjure as sobering a serenade as the latest, and greatly status elevating, Twilight Sad album. ‘Nobody Wants to Be Here…’ is not an album which hides its anxieties or seeks to fit in amongst other, happier, albums – instead, it wears its prominent differences with a sense of unyielding, and most deserved, pride. Maybe it’s to be expected, given the name ‘Twilight Sad’ doesn’t quite lend itself to irony, but the Scottish group has managed to convey melancholy in a manner which is feasibly the most elegant of any album this year. James Alexander Graham offers accented vocals are solemn arrows which pierce the often haunted musical base provided for him, with a great deal of ‘Nobody Wants To Be Here…’ demonstrating through subtleties the pure talent-led edge Graham provides. Most prominent, however, is the great deal of genres tapped upon, there’s the indie rock basis for which the Twilight Sad are notorious for, but these are laden with shoegaze-esque instrumental wonderings and all culminate to support the dark post-punk atmosphere. This is all to create an album which is easy to get lost in, and it truly is incredibly easy to become fully immersed. As such, ‘Nobody Wants to Be Here…’ is a success in attempting to create an album which both offers perceptions into personalities, but as a self-reflection to act as the record for all personal thoughts. The latest Twilight Sad offering, therefore, isn’t particularly heavy hitting, nor will it ever be uplifting, but is instead an inviting open space in which to think and reflect for a moment’s silence – and is very likely to be the platform for the Twilight Sad to achieve greater success (having been compared to The Cure in their rise in some sectors).

There is an underlying sense of humanity lying beneath the skin of ‘More Than Any Other Day’, whether it’s the ecstasy felt in describing mundane activities in the albums titular track or the poignantly named ‘Clarity!’. This humanity is, namely, expressed in the most fitting manner of all; with the differing of all that is lackadaisical and a soothingly causal approach which seems to belie the true depth Ought have achieved on ‘More Than Any Other Day’. For one, Ought have little regard for their ‘art punk’ status and prominently delve to a great degree into both indie rock and post-punk, with the result being marked in how seamless and well-fitting the experiment is in its successes, nothing seems out of place and, almost definitely fitting, there’s no remarkable single part – instead relying on a well-crafted cohesive whole for pure quality. This is in no small part due to the often spoken vocals of Tim Beeler, which perfectly conveys the albums sense of contradicting euphoria and coherent confusion. What can be derived the most from ‘More Than Any Other Day’ is that it’s an album which functions as a typically atypical album, a contradiction with no real flaws but has a heavy rearing sense of absolute determination of togetherness and solidarity – essentially being the statement which is to propel humanity into becoming what it is more than capable of becoming. Given that this is Ought’s first LP release, we can only assume that Constellation’s latest prodigal outfit can only go further from here.

Mehdi Amezian and Solange Gularte, the duo behind the droning psychedelic folk outfit Natural Snow Buildings, have been unashamedly open over the years. With an astounding 20 LP releases in the last eight years, there can be perhaps be an argument they are open to the point of absurdity, choosing to leave nothing to chance and, often, include every composed thought on to every album. ‘The Night Country’, the band’s first excursion since 2012’s ‘Beyond the Veil’, is one of the shorter albums in their vast repertoire, being a ‘modest’ 82 minutes long. However, this works in favour of ‘The Night Country’ as there is a far greater display of pacing, with the long drone phases being well padded out with seamless transitions. As is always the case with Natural Snow Buildings, however, is that atmosphere takes precedence when listening to their music, ‘The Night Country’ delves into an atmosphere which is dark, haunting and mysterious but never threatening and, instead, often entrancing to listeners, extending to them the harmonious folk acoustic guitar strumming and shy rhapsody-emanating vocals. Where ‘The Night Country’ succeeds the most is in its intricate balancing of accessibility for those who are curious but have been put off by the daunting lengths of older LPs (such as the five hour long ‘Daughter of Darkness’) and those who desire an album which seeks only to be graceful as it is striking. Perhaps the most comforting prospect which can be taken away from ‘The Night Country’, however, is that it indicates that there are still realms which Amezian and Gularte feel have yet to have been uncovered, eagerly raising anticipation for the next, if slightly inevitable, album.

Toby Driver has long been the definitive archetype for just what Avant-garde musicians are capable of achieving. Be it with maudlin of the Well, Vaura or even his solo projects such as 2005’s ‘In the L.. L.. Library Loft’ Driver has never failed to test the very foundations which music itself is built on. ‘Coffins On Io’, therefore, serves to segue the explorations of Driver’s most prominent project Kayo Dot into the realm of synth-laden gothic rock. The transition is a marked departure from the extremely harrowing behemoth of peerless brazen brutality which has defined the discography of Kayo Dot greater than any other aspect – acting more akin in nature to the final maudlin of the Well album ‘Part the Second’. However, instead of disorienting listeners, ‘Coffins On Io’ is quite possibly the most accessible Kayo Dot album to date, showcasing with grace the vast array of talent in the band as well as offering fans an expedition into the hazy world of ethereal synths, reverbing bass guitars and haunting voices which form the musical face of an album that wouldn’t seem out of place as a soundtrack to a 1980’s sci-fi film – a fitting example, given that Driver has stated the inspiration for ‘Coffins On Io’ has a significant root in the early 80’s cinematic masterpiece Blade Runner. Impressively, this is the least significant of the achievements derived from ‘Coffins On Io’ – for every segment of noir fog, there’s a carefully guiding voice and for every moment of harsh exhilaration is the sensation of grounding, be it provided by Daniel Means saxophone or Keith Abrahams comprehensively all encapsulating drumming. As such, Kayo Dot’s latest is also, appropriately, one of its greatest in its execution, immaculate structuring and, overall, musical content.