19.
Border Ballads comes as something of a shock, featuring some of Skelton’s most concise and melodious work to date, perhaps waymarked by his one-off track ‘Cresserelle’, released earlier this year. This album is a rich cartography of cello and viola contours, gentle piano streams that patter forth and dry up, all eddying and surging like a shaft of light piercing ragged clouds to illuminate, however briefly, a landscape in flux. The result is a deeply melancholic, reflective, evocative album that yet again shows the bizarrely marginal Skelton is in a class above and beyond the trite mundanity of most of the modern classical types doing the rounds at the moment, showing them up as the sonic lifestyle accessories they are.Richard SkeltonBorder BalladsAeolian Editions
18.
The Reeling is an album of mostly Gaelic tunes, that is both a tribute to the well of cultural history from which Chaimbeul draws, and a fresh, exciting take on a music that is not nearly as widely appreciated as it deserves. A couple of Bulgarian tunes are sonorous and reflective, not as airborne as the Hebridean music, but equally suited to the style. The four musicians on The Reeling have produced a unique, exciting and forward-looking album that set the bar for 2019 very high indeed, and strongly suggests that Scottish folk music is both living and thriving. Brghde ChaimbeulThe ReelingRiver Lea
17.
This isn’t an easy listen, or at times even an enjoyable one – Arrow grabs you by the back of the neck and proceeds to electrocute you from inside out, hissing “do you see?” in your ear every 30 seconds. From the artificial heartbeat and shattered, sinuous vocals of opener ‘Chrome Cold Hearts’ to the outer-space metallic maelstrom of ‘House Built On Fire’, Gum Takes Tooth make sure that this is not escapism, but a shackling to the Hellmouth that we have all helped to create. Gum Takes ToothArrowRocket
16.
There is plenty of air and swing and human physicality expended, beyond the twitching of a mouse pointer on a digital audio workstation. Deerhoof drummer Greg Saunier brings a propulsive, dynamic sense of rhythm to several tracks (played on Pelican cases, plastic pots, and water bottles). The entire drumline of Whitefish High School are beating in time, samba band-style, on penultimate track ‘Collapse of the Fourth Kingdom’. And yet it all remains – literally – plastic, the very byword for the fake and the insincere. Everything now may be synthesized and mass-produced – even our own flesh. Welcome to the Plastisphere. This is the sound of the earth becoming artificial.
MatmosPlastic AnniversaryThrill Jockey
15.
The seven tracks on 7 Directions run together, mainly, and you can lose track of where you are as you listen. Are there underlying patterns? The design on the cover – based on a symbol in cosmology that denotes cycles, movement, connection, life – suggests so. It shares ground, maybe, with Gabriel Roth’s 5 Rhythms, a process of dance and meditation where you might feel anger, fear, joy, compassion, sadness. There is a plaintive echo on ‘V’ that makes you feel like a cold cavern has opened up in your chest; the sharp jabs of vibra-slap and the shallow panting (one of very few organically human noises on the record) on ‘II’ can induce a giddy panic, a feeling that you are being hunted; there’s tumbling, reassuring softness on ‘VII’: you can’t pull it apart or translate it as easily as that though, there is no formula or rigidity. Nkisi7 DirectionsUIQ
14.
To say that the Drift series has reinvigorated them is unfair to Underworld. Their excellent 2016 album Barbara Barbara, We Face A Shining Future and Karl Hyde’s second collaborative album with Brian Eno, High Life, from 2014 are just two examples of how the duo, who formed in Wales four decades ago, remain a vital presence well into the 21st Century. The ambitious scheme – which launched last November and is now half-way complete – to release new material every week for an entire year, has propelled them into surprising and fertile new ground. Working quickly and collaborating with such varied musicians as the Necks, Melt Banana and Black Country, New Road hasn’t made Underworld more relevant so much as it’s further exemplified that they are the modern electronic equivalent to Can, rather than some stadium techno hangover from the 90s.UnderworldDriftSmith Hyde Productions
13.
The two Errant Monks releases here, Psychopposition cassette on the Tesla Tapes label and an LP, The Limit Experience, on Maternal Voice from Sweden, are the first by the Manchester group to exist in physical form to a meaningful degree. As such, you might be tempted to think of them as a clandestine secret only shared with the (albeit well populated) underground in the city that cooks its collective head to gonzo techno and psychedelic noise. This isn’t exactly the case, however, and in fact an early Errant Monks tour far beyond their homestead forms part of the backstory to the remarkable, energising music found here.Errant MonksPsychopposition / The Limit Experience
Noel Gardner
12.
Unlike Cosey Fanni Tutti’s autobiography, there’s no straightforward chronology to TUTTI. Both self-titled in the sense of it being the title track and containing one third of her adopted name, the opener ‘TUTTI’ is tight industrial techno with Tutti’s cornet leading the listener through its frenetic pulse like the rogue hand of a friend in a packed rave. Her faraway voice takes the same role on ‘Heliy’, bringing a more improvisational quality to the hypnotic lurches of its spidery modular synths. When you reach album closer ‘Orenda’ you’ve made a post-club excursion down to the North Norfolk landscape where Cosey Fanni Tutti recorded the album and lives.Cosey Fanni TuttiTUTTIConspiracy International
11.
Concerned with generating and maintaining grooves and hypnotic rhythms through co-operation and playing on each others’ strengths, Eurodrome is a stunning collection of music that frequently challenges, seduces and beguiles. Sometimes all at the same time. Consequently, the ten-song journey is best experienced with time on your hands, distractions left at the door, and a desire for some intense empathy.Alameda 5EurodromeInstant Classic
10.
Callahan has played with the limits of language to properly describe an emotional state – on 2009’s ‘Eid Ma Clack Shaw’ the only intelligible response to a traumatic loss is a nonsense rhyme – and on this record the focus on states both before and beyond life emphasises how the processes of having children or seeing people die brings us closer to our animal state. Even the album’s title hints at this; the shepherd is human, but in his coat he partly resembles the animals he tries to herd. There is one cover on this record – a version of The Carter Family’s ‘Lonesome Valley’ – a song which emphasises how we must all make a part of our journey alone, but while the valley is lonesome it is nevertheless still a valley and not a desert, and that lonely journey only accentuates the importance of our moments together. “Well, I never thought I’d make it this far” sings Callahan. It’s our privilege that he has done.Bill CallahanShepherd In A Sheepskin VestDrag City
9.
Each one of the tracks feeds off one another, trade processing power for instinct, make mistakes and rectify, awaken spirit within another. It’s a beautiful, worrying thing to witness – a machine that often knows more about us than we do ourselves beginning to find their own interpretation of its small world of human stimuli. But if PROTO’s central question is what are we heading toward, the answer must be a coming together.Holly HerndonPROTO4AD
8.
Lyrically as well as sonically, this is a visionary record, rich with fire, energy, elements, the sky, and invocations – as the opening track, an ode to a Luciferian fallen star, has it “An addiction / To the impossible / Let’s go back to the underworld / Let’s go back inside”. In all this rich abstraction and nuance, These New Puritans remain at odds with their time. In a recent interview with Crack Magazine they attacked the UK for its anti-art tendencies where the “ultimate sin” is to be serious about your work. “I think there are two ideas of what art should do,” Jack Barnett added, “one that it should reflect and be a mirror to its age, and another that it should go beyond it. I always prefer stuff that sits in the latter category.”These New PuritansInside The RoseInfectious Music
7.
The songs of Canadian popstar Carly Rae Jepsen have always succeeded best when capturing the heady rush of uncontainable emotional excess. With Dedicated, she leaves behind the wide-eyed whitebread pop of 2015’s Emotion and 2011 breakthrough hit ‘Call Me Maybe’ in favour of a cooler, slinkier sound inspired by Donna Summer and Italo disco. But she’s lost none of her exuberance, none of her gift for making pop melodies glisten brightly. Songs like ‘Now That I’ve Found You’ and ‘No Drug Like Me’ are already close to eliciting the same highs as earlier hits, with the latter, in particular, seemingly tailor made to soundtrack a wedding on Stranger Things.Carly Rae JepsenDedicatedInterscope
6.
It’s a cathartic album, most evident on the stinging, soul-baring ‘Therapy’, where she gets honest about her struggles – “sometimes we don’t see the fuckery, til we’re out of it,” she deduces, admitting that hard times mean she’s considered dipping out, disgusted by a society of “frauds and counterfeits”. She won’t though – dip out that is – and she looks to a future with a daughter who’ll ascend to take the kingdom she’s made for her, a king regardless of gender. ‘Flowers’, with a Michael Kiwanuka guest feature, is equal parts hopeful and fearful of the future, stepping out of herself for one singular moment on the record to survey the price of fame for idols in the 27 club – Winehouse, Hendrix – for a totally stunning, tender closer. Her pace and fervour sees her straight through.Little SimzGREY AreaAge 101 Music
5.
Even without the hum of the organ, horses, or Guðnadóttir’s vocals, Albini’s production has given the record a deep sensuality, the riffs of ‘Aurora’s opening few minutes as warm and as potent as running finger tips on the rolling skin of a new lover. That track is restrained too, in how it unfolds and teases, builds to a near climax and then gradually slips back, before doing the same all over again before the final effulgence around 18 minutes. It might sound odd to hear Sunn O))) described as music that has at its core a deep eroticism, but it’s something I have thought about before and, without giving more away than is strictly necessary in a review most likely consumed in the workplace, something that might be worth experimenting with in the company of a loved one in the privacy of your own home.SunnO)))Life MetalSouthern Lord
4.
The nod to sensuality and romance evoked by a title like Ecstatic Computation finds an echo in the track names: ‘Spine of Desire’, ‘Closest approach to your Orbit’, and ‘Pinnacles of You’ hint at seduction and sensuality but could also just be odes to the machines that Barbieri clearly adores, and the way they interact with the human psyche. ‘Spine of Desire’ builds and builds over ninety seconds, an unstoppable crescendo that leaves the listener gasping for more. Disquieting synth noise opens ‘Closest approach to your Orbit’ but is quickly subsumed by warm pads and melodies that teasingly run the boundary between organic and artificial. On ‘Arrows of Time’ a ghostly choir of female voices soars over stunted harpsichord chords, their beatific groan tending towards the spiritual.Caterina BarbieriEcstatic ComputationEditions Mego
3.
As a collaborative effort (one look at the sleeve notes shows the vast array of musicians involved) Serfs Up! is pitch-perfect. It’s no surprise that this was a tough record to make, but from pain and hardship comes great art. Their previous release, Songs for Our Mothers, clearly represented a vile descent into Hades, and was peppered with a violent undercurrent that ran through its veins. With their third album, the band has taken an about-turn, reaching out from the circles of purgatory towards a realm of blissful enlightenment. Yet the uneasy listening and lyrical bite still resonates beneath lush strings and saxophone flourishes. There is a subversive pulse even in its brightest corners, and unexpected moments of silliness and joy throughout. Serfs Up! provides a glistering antidote to the wasteland of Britain in 2019.Fat White FamilySerfs Up!Domino
2.
Though many have hailed the group as a successor to the psych-pop legacies of Broadcast or Stereolab, Vanishing Twin are one of the most original and exciting acts of the moment, deserving of their own spotlight for effortlessly weaving their style through multiple mediums. The Age of Immunology finds the group tightening some bolts and adding depth to their mythology, and it’s really quite a treat. The album is an escapist dream, blending fantasy with philosophy and silliness with high art. With The Age of Immunology, Vanishing Twin have established themselves as diplomats of their own fantastic planet and it’s high time we meet them there.Vanishing TwinThe Age Of ImmunologyFire
1.
Schlagenheim pivots from choppy math-rock to ticking tetchy guitar pop with ease, and then to stoner rock and deafening noise sections that come close to drawing parallels to the dense note clusters of the internet genre the band share their name with. black midi have stated before that they simply want to make album after album after album, never stalling or staying the same. If Schlagenheim is just a taste of what’s to come, we could be sitting on a really, really special group.Black MidiSchlagenheimRough Trade
- 1: black midi – Schlagenheim
- 2: Vanishing Twin – The Age Of Immunology
- 3: Fat White Family – Serfs Up!
- 4: Caterina Barbieri – Ecstatic Computation
- 5: Sunn O))) – Life Metal
- 6: Little Simz – GREY Area
- 7: Carly Rae Jepsen – Dedicated
- 8: These New Puritans – Inside The Rose
- 9: Holly Herndon – PROTO
- 10: Bill Callahan – Shepherd In A Sheepskin Vest
- 11: Alameda 5 – Eurodrome
- 12: Cosey Fanni Tutti – TUTTI
- 13: Errant Monks – Psychopposition / The Limit Experience
- 14: Underworld – Drift
- 15: Nkisi – 7 Directions
- 16: Matmos – Plastic Anniversary
- 17: Gum Takes Tooth – Arrow
- 18: Brìghde Chaimbeul – The Reeling
- 19: Richard Skelton – Border Ballads
- 20: International Teachers Of Pop – International Teachers Of Pop
- 21: MSYLMA – Dhil-un Taht Shajarat Al-Zaqum
- 22: Rian Treanor – ATAXIA
- 23: Anna Meredith – Eighth Grade OST
- 24: Christian Wolff – Preludes, Variations, Studies And Incidental Music
- 25: Sleaford Mods – Eton Alive
- 26: Ossia – Devil’s Dance
- 27: Elsa Hewitt – Citrus Paradisi
- 28: Teeth Of The Sea – Wraith
- 29: Sarah Davachi – Pale Bloom
- 30: My Disco – Environment
- 31: Lizzo – Cuz I Love You
- 32: Yugen Blakrok – Anima Mysterium
- 33: Hey Colossus – Four Bibles
- 34: Ifriqiyya Electrique – Laylet El Booree
- 35: Astral Social Club & Grumbling Fur Time Machine Orchestra – Plasma Splice Trifle
- 36: Ariana Grande – thank u, next
- 37: Altarage – The Approaching Roar
- 38: Shellac – The End Of Radio
- 39: SPAZA – SPAZA
- 40: Deerhunter – Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared?
- 41: Abdu Ali – FIYAH!!!
- 42: J Majik – Full Circle
- 43: The Specials – Encore
- 44: Årabrot – Die Nibelungen
- 45: Jennifer Walshe – ALL THE MANY PEOPLS
- 46: slowthai – Nothing Great About Britain
- 47: Solange – When I Get Home
- 48: Harrga – Héroïques Animaux De La Misère
- 49: Art Ensemble of Chicago – We Are On The Edge
- 50: 75 Dollar Bill – I Was Real
- 51: LOFT – and departt from mono games
- 52: The Comet Is Coming – Trust In The Lifeforce Of The Deep Mystery
- 53: Deaf Kids – Metaprogramação
- 54: Rainer Veil – Vanity
- 55: Pheeyownah – Silver
- 56: Anthony Naples – Fog FM
- 57: Black To Comm – Seven Horses For Seven Kings
- 58: Robert Worby – Factitious Airs
- 59: The Caretaker – Everywhere At The End Of Time (Stage 6)
- 60: Theon Cross – Fyah
- 61: Tyler, The Creator – IGOR
- 62: Xiu Xiu – Girl With Basket Of Fruit
- 63: Maayan Nidam – Sea Of Thee
- 64: Autechre – Warp Tapes 89 – 93 1 & 2
- 65: Ondness – Not Really Now Not Any More
- 66: Nivhek – After Its Own Death / Walking In A Spiral Towards The House
- 67: MoE / Mette Rasmussen – Tolerancia Picante
- 68: Membranes – What Nature Gives… Nature Takes Awa
- 69: Johanna Knutsson – Tollarp Transmissions
- 70: Lafawndah – Ancestor Boy
- 71: Sharon Van Etten – Remind Me Tomorrow
- 72: Jtamul – Lubuni
- 73: Spaceship – Outcrops
- 74: Sote – Parallel Persia
- 75: Boards Of Canada – Societas X Tape
- 76: Erland Cooper – Sule Skerry
- 77: Nodding God – Play Wooden Child
- 78: Laura Cannell – The Sky Untuned
- 79: King Midas Sound – Solitude
- 80: Equiknoxx – Eternal Children
- 81: Ela Orleans – Movies For Ears: An Introduction To…
- 82: Low Jack – Jingles du Lieu-dit
- 83: SØS Gunver Ryberg – Entangled
- 84: Rose Elinor Dougall – A New Illusion
- 85: Visible Cloaks, Yoshio Ojima & Satsuki Shibano – FRKWYS Vol. 15: serenitatem
- 86: Jane Weaver – Loops In The Secret Society
- 87: Sly & The Family Drone – Gentle Persuaders
- 88: 9T Antiope & Siavash Amini – Harmistice
- 89: Kate Tempest – The Book Of Traps And Lessons
- 90: Black Peaches – Fire In The Hole
- 91: Marissa Nadler & Stephen Brodsky – Droneflower
- 92: James Holden – A Cambodian Spring OST
- 93: upsammy – Wild Chamber
- 94; Hannah Peel & Will Burns – Chalk Hill Blue
- 95: VC-118A – Inside
- 96: Charlemagne Palestine x Rrose – The Goldennn Meeenn + Sheeenn
- 97: Rakta – Falha Comum
- 98: Budokan Boys – Dad Is Bad
- 99: Kevin Richard Martin – Sirens
- 100: YERÛŠELEM – The Sublime
