Every week (or other week, arbitrarily decided by the mysterious ways the universe works) we listen to a bunch of albums so that you don’t have to. This isn’t a best-of list, but a pick of the most interesting, significant or face-melting ones. Because everyone loves getting their faces melted off.
Everyone’s talking about: the new Avalanches track
After 16 years of inactivity since Since I Left You, The Avalanches recently dropped a new track – Frankie Sinatra. It’s nothing mind-blowingly new: the same semi-cheese, gramophone-era, sample heavy electronic/hip-hop that got them critically acclaimed rears it’s mismatched head here again. Expectations for their new album Wildflower are high, however, since left-field, sonic bricolage always borders on Art (or so is the general impression). Thank god it’s all catchy. You can listen to a preview of the entire album here.
Albums to notice:
Lacuna Coil – Delirium
Lacuna Coil is back darker and heavier than ever, moving on from their earlier forest-goth offerings with Comalies, Halflife and In a Reviere. They have thankfully departed from their faux-industrial, pop-ish Shallow Life and Dark Adrenaline. Ferro and Scabbia are on top form here, with impressive vocals boasting operatic highs and death-metal lows.
Gold Panda – Good Luck and Do Your Best
There is a sincerity here, as if Panda (that is his last name right?) was telling himself “good luck and do your best” while producing the album. This is definitely way more upbeat than the older stuff although it’s not as introspective as one would expect from GP. At least it’s fun in a Flume/Disclosure kind of way, with flecks of piano House and Future Garage.
Eric Clapton – I Still Do
Did I know Clapton was still continuously putting out music this century? No. Am I happy to find out I’ve just missed over a decade of material? Maybe. I have about 7 more albums to cover before I make a decision of whether I have wasted my time listening to them. (Catch-22 here since I have to listen to them to make a decision anyway) This blues are still strong with this one, with little waffling about.
Die Antwoord – Suck On This mixtape
Not an album per say but Die Antwoord teases and promises a great lay after finding out what a mixtape even was. Their association with the goth-pop world remains strong as ever with ex-Marilyn Manson beau Dita Von Teese making a vocal contribution on Gucci Coochie after appearing in the Ugly Boy MV with Manson. Quasi-religious associations (and a DJ-contributor called God) and hard, pounding dance music has always gone surprisingly well together. (My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult/House of God)
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