The Head and the Heart - been awhile since we’ve heard from this great band.
Aperture
http://open.qobuz.com/album/gnezhysxrqzwa
2 Likes
This is one of the best albums of the year, for me, so far. I keep getting drawn back into it. It’s superb.
7 Likes
I’m surprised by how much I enjoyed Instant Holograms. Stereolab albums were always bloated with filler for my tastes, and I couldn’t tell you the last time I played a post-Dots and Loops album, but this one clicked right away. Really glad I gave it a chance.
1 Like
Opinion: should this thread be split out as NEW by month & year perhaps?
What’s considered new now doesn’t really apply to the previous 300+ posts going back to good ol’ 2023.
Basing it off this thread’s first rule:
Rules:
- Any recommended album must have been released in the last month.“
——-
I was going to post a new release but thought I’d check first. Otherwise I’ll just continue in the “what are you listening to tonight?” topic.
Cheers!
1 Like
This album, coupled with the recent live release, Live Rope, constitutes my final foray (as producer / impresario) into the all-consuming sound worlds that have been my obsession for years. We’ll do a final tour in this mode towards the end of 2025, then that’s it.
After that, Swans will continue, so long as I’m able, but in a significantly pared down form. Hints of that direction can be found in a few moments on the current album. In the meantime, my hope is that the music provides a positive and fertile atmosphere in which to dream.”
– Michael Gira / Swans
SWANS BIRTHING ALBUM CONTRIBUTORS: Michael Gira – acoustic guitar, voice, producer; Phil Puleo – drums, hammer dulcimer, flute, melodica, percussion; Kristof Hahn – lap steel guitar, electric and acoustic guitars, loops, backing vocals; Dana Schechter – lap steel guitar, bass guitar, loops; Christopher Pravdica – bass guitar, Taishogoto, loops, sounds, keyboards; Larry Mullins – Mellotron, keyboards, piano, synthesizer, drums, vibraphone, percussion, backing vocals; Norman Westberg – electric guitar, loops… Guest Musicians : Jennifer Gira – backing vocals, cameo vocals; Laura Carbone and Lucy Kruger – backing vocals; Andreas Dormann – soprano saxophone; Timothy Wyskida – drums on The Merge; Little Mikey – cameo vocals.
2 Likes
If you were a fan of the MN band, Low, you will want to give this a try. A collaboration between an awesome bluegrass band and the lead singer from Low.
2 Likes
1 Like
From the accompanying notes by the label, Raster in Berlin:
»ostranenie« is a collection of digitally manipulated, impressionistic piano miniatures – each named after blockbuster films and TV series. improvised late at night as a reaction against passive media consumption, these pieces function as both homage and critique, navigating the space between classical impressionism and contemporary digital manipulation. they don’t just deconstruct traditional piano expression; they interrogate the emotional stakes of sound in an era where immersion culture flattens meaning and algorithmic logic erodes agency.
the album’s title references the russian formalist viktor shklovsky’s concept of “ostranenie” (estrangement/defamiliarization), a term he introduced in the early 1920s to describe art’s role in resisting the indifference of habitual perception.
