Best of 2016 - Re-Issues/Compilations/Live Albums
To Part 2 of the Top Albums countdown, this time the re-presses, re-issues, compilations and live albums. This gives me the chance to a. fit in more of my faves and b. recognises the work done by labels to re-press/re-issue past releases and giving them a new lease of life. Also, this year there have been 2 fantastic compilations, both musically and the standard of the curatorship. Anyway, on to the list......
1. The Band Whose Name Is A Symbol - 3xLP Boxset
A bit of a no-brainer this one....this box set, brought to us by Cardinal Fuzz, brings together three TBWNIAS LPs ('TBWNIS Vs. The Purveyors Of Conspicuous Authenticity', 'Scrappy Little Jaw' and 'Pathfinder') that had previously had very limited runs and housed them all in a lush foil stamped presentation box containing an 8 page A4 risographed hand stamped edition biographical document and a double sided A4 colour insert. As a product it is aesthetically pleasing to the eyes and the ears. Musically it is a wonderful collection of TBWNIAS's freaky krautrock and cosmic space rock....all improvised and all, without exception, of the highest quality. This is a box set that all of us who own it (that's only 148 people) will treasure. Brilliant, brilliant stuff!
2. Dead Sea Apes - Soy Dios
It is an inevitability of life that there will be a Dead Sea Apes record in any of my top tens...well, they one of my very favourite bands. They appear in this particular list by dint of the fact that 'Soy Dios' originally appeared some 5 or so years ago, but has been given a vinyl re-issue courtesy of Cardinal Fuzz and Sky Lantern records. It is four tracks (there were 3 in it's original guise) of DSA's trademark soundscapes and artful melding of psych with stoner riffs and windswept vistas of krautrock. It's all rather glorious and a wonderful musical document charting the start point of one of the best groups around.
3. Nudity - Is God's Creation
"'Is God's Creation' is a thing of wonder...for any band to produce such a breadth of output is impressive; encompassing blistering garage rock, protopunk blasts, brain melting psych and more meditative excursions into the void." (full review here). Former mainman of Tight Bros From Way Back When Dave Harvey's Nudity encompass the full range of all things fuzzy and psych and is an absolute belter of an album, ostensibly a retrospective of their back catalogue (thus it's place on this list)...it is a monster of an album.....and another Cardinal Fuzz record!
4. VA - Magnetic North
A wonderfully curated comp from the ace Drone Rock Records, bringing together 4 of the best bands in the UK, all located north of the Watford Gap: Dead Sea Apes from Manchester, Vert:X from Chester, Blown Out from Newcastle and Fleetwood’s finest, Earthling Society. It is a vital snapshot of the breadth of 'psychedelia' being produced - all four artists have their own particular take on psych/space rock etc and all four tracks are absolutely top notch...a fantastic compilation, musically and as a social snapshot of the scene.
5. E GONE - Advice To Hill Walkers
The second full length from E GONE appeared on cassette in 2015 on Zeon Lights, but this year it was given a lush CD re-issue via Sunrise Ocean Bender and Deep Water Acres. There are 2 extra tracsk and everything has been re-worked and re-mastered, all housed in a gorgeous Stumptown-printed cover with a foldout poster insert. Musically it was a tour de force.... E GONE utilising ethnic instruments and modern technology to produce exotic atmospheres. A very worthy follow up to his debut 'All The Suns Of The Earth' LP from last year.
6. Electric Moon - Zeiss Planetarium Bochum 2015 (live)
It's not often that I would contemplate putting a download only release into these lists but this live document from a mammoth Electric Moon gog last year is two and a half hours of sheer bliss. Just 6 tracks (do the maths...) it is an immersive digital record of a band at the height of their powers. Turn off the lights, spark up a big'un and zone out to one of the best bands around. It is available from their Bandcamp page here (all funds going towards the repair of a synth and an amp that blew mid-gig!)
7. The Band Whose Name Is A Symbol - Live 2010 Dominion Tavern
Second entry for TBWNIAS and also the second for Drone Rock Records. Live albums are notoriously hit and miss; there are some legendary live discs, and this should be up there with those. The recording is raw enough to convey the atmosphere (you can almost smell the crowd!) but good enough to capture this band in their full glory, and glory is the word. For lovers of all things psych/kraut a performance like this is the holy grail. The musicianship and art of TBWNIAS should come as no surprise to anyone who has heard them, but this gives a true indication of them live.....monumental, carved from Canadian bedrock.
8. VA - Paper Leaves - A Terrascope Celebration
Terrascope, that august organ for discerning music lovers, has turned 25 and it's online presence celebrated its tenth birthday also this year. To celebrate the anniversaries, the Terrascope crew, headed by editor Phil McMullen, have put together 'Paper Leaves' and, as befits it's reputation, it is a thoughtfully curated compilation of some of the very best artists working today. There are contributions from Black Tempest, Nick Nicely, Dead Sea Apes, White Hills, Ben Chasny, The Left Outsides, The Bevis Frond and Bardo Pond. Musically it runs the gamut from pastoral folk to fuzzed out, full on psych. 'Paper Leaves'is a lesson in how to put together a compilation with thought and love - the variety is outstanding and yet all fall neatly under the umbrella of 'psychedelia'.
9. Dreamtime - S/T
My first taste of Dreamtime courtesy of a re-press by Cardinal Fuzz.. a wonderful album of variety, imagination and no small amount of art..it showcases beautifully the willingness of the band to plow their own furrow and not follow 'accepted' lines. From the first to the last note it is packed with ideas, attitude and creativity.....after hearing this, the quality of their new album, 'Strange Pleasures', all makes sense...great stuff
10. Blown Out - Supernormal 2015 - Live Transmissions iii
If, like me, you've never been fortunate to catch Blown Out live, this is the next best thing....a live recording of their set at Supernormal 2015. 3 tracks of brain melting psych that take you higher than the stratosphere with the unearthly wailing of Mike Vest's guitar...raw, brutal, uncomprising and as trippy as hell...brilliant!
1. The Band Whose Name Is A Symbol - 3xLP Boxset
A bit of a no-brainer this one....this box set, brought to us by Cardinal Fuzz, brings together three TBWNIAS LPs ('TBWNIS Vs. The Purveyors Of Conspicuous Authenticity', 'Scrappy Little Jaw' and 'Pathfinder') that had previously had very limited runs and housed them all in a lush foil stamped presentation box containing an 8 page A4 risographed hand stamped edition biographical document and a double sided A4 colour insert. As a product it is aesthetically pleasing to the eyes and the ears. Musically it is a wonderful collection of TBWNIAS's freaky krautrock and cosmic space rock....all improvised and all, without exception, of the highest quality. This is a box set that all of us who own it (that's only 148 people) will treasure. Brilliant, brilliant stuff!
2. Dead Sea Apes - Soy Dios
It is an inevitability of life that there will be a Dead Sea Apes record in any of my top tens...well, they one of my very favourite bands. They appear in this particular list by dint of the fact that 'Soy Dios' originally appeared some 5 or so years ago, but has been given a vinyl re-issue courtesy of Cardinal Fuzz and Sky Lantern records. It is four tracks (there were 3 in it's original guise) of DSA's trademark soundscapes and artful melding of psych with stoner riffs and windswept vistas of krautrock. It's all rather glorious and a wonderful musical document charting the start point of one of the best groups around.
3. Nudity - Is God's Creation
"'Is God's Creation' is a thing of wonder...for any band to produce such a breadth of output is impressive; encompassing blistering garage rock, protopunk blasts, brain melting psych and more meditative excursions into the void." (full review here). Former mainman of Tight Bros From Way Back When Dave Harvey's Nudity encompass the full range of all things fuzzy and psych and is an absolute belter of an album, ostensibly a retrospective of their back catalogue (thus it's place on this list)...it is a monster of an album.....and another Cardinal Fuzz record!
4. VA - Magnetic North
A wonderfully curated comp from the ace Drone Rock Records, bringing together 4 of the best bands in the UK, all located north of the Watford Gap: Dead Sea Apes from Manchester, Vert:X from Chester, Blown Out from Newcastle and Fleetwood’s finest, Earthling Society. It is a vital snapshot of the breadth of 'psychedelia' being produced - all four artists have their own particular take on psych/space rock etc and all four tracks are absolutely top notch...a fantastic compilation, musically and as a social snapshot of the scene.
5. E GONE - Advice To Hill Walkers
The second full length from E GONE appeared on cassette in 2015 on Zeon Lights, but this year it was given a lush CD re-issue via Sunrise Ocean Bender and Deep Water Acres. There are 2 extra tracsk and everything has been re-worked and re-mastered, all housed in a gorgeous Stumptown-printed cover with a foldout poster insert. Musically it was a tour de force.... E GONE utilising ethnic instruments and modern technology to produce exotic atmospheres. A very worthy follow up to his debut 'All The Suns Of The Earth' LP from last year.
6. Electric Moon - Zeiss Planetarium Bochum 2015 (live)
It's not often that I would contemplate putting a download only release into these lists but this live document from a mammoth Electric Moon gog last year is two and a half hours of sheer bliss. Just 6 tracks (do the maths...) it is an immersive digital record of a band at the height of their powers. Turn off the lights, spark up a big'un and zone out to one of the best bands around. It is available from their Bandcamp page here (all funds going towards the repair of a synth and an amp that blew mid-gig!)
7. The Band Whose Name Is A Symbol - Live 2010 Dominion Tavern
Second entry for TBWNIAS and also the second for Drone Rock Records. Live albums are notoriously hit and miss; there are some legendary live discs, and this should be up there with those. The recording is raw enough to convey the atmosphere (you can almost smell the crowd!) but good enough to capture this band in their full glory, and glory is the word. For lovers of all things psych/kraut a performance like this is the holy grail. The musicianship and art of TBWNIAS should come as no surprise to anyone who has heard them, but this gives a true indication of them live.....monumental, carved from Canadian bedrock.
8. VA - Paper Leaves - A Terrascope Celebration
Terrascope, that august organ for discerning music lovers, has turned 25 and it's online presence celebrated its tenth birthday also this year. To celebrate the anniversaries, the Terrascope crew, headed by editor Phil McMullen, have put together 'Paper Leaves' and, as befits it's reputation, it is a thoughtfully curated compilation of some of the very best artists working today. There are contributions from Black Tempest, Nick Nicely, Dead Sea Apes, White Hills, Ben Chasny, The Left Outsides, The Bevis Frond and Bardo Pond. Musically it runs the gamut from pastoral folk to fuzzed out, full on psych. 'Paper Leaves'is a lesson in how to put together a compilation with thought and love - the variety is outstanding and yet all fall neatly under the umbrella of 'psychedelia'.
9. Dreamtime - S/T
My first taste of Dreamtime courtesy of a re-press by Cardinal Fuzz.. a wonderful album of variety, imagination and no small amount of art..it showcases beautifully the willingness of the band to plow their own furrow and not follow 'accepted' lines. From the first to the last note it is packed with ideas, attitude and creativity.....after hearing this, the quality of their new album, 'Strange Pleasures', all makes sense...great stuff
10. Blown Out - Supernormal 2015 - Live Transmissions iii
If, like me, you've never been fortunate to catch Blown Out live, this is the next best thing....a live recording of their set at Supernormal 2015. 3 tracks of brain melting psych that take you higher than the stratosphere with the unearthly wailing of Mike Vest's guitar...raw, brutal, uncomprising and as trippy as hell...brilliant!
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