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[jcknbl]

Ok, so I've talked about starting this before and a lot of people really liked the idea. So lets see if we can't make this work. The point is to create a thread where people can go to find new music so they don't have to clog the forum with independent requests (plus recomending music and writing reviews of stuff you like is a lot of fun). Now I'd like to keep this thread clean and organized. I think it would be cool if it actually looked like a recomendations list as opposed to a forum thread with a bunch of people listing random bands, albums and songs.

So assuming people actually participate I'm going to keep an updated index of everything in this post. To make that a little bit easier for me it'd be nice if everyone used something like the following set-up.

-Album
-Artist
-Genre
-Year
-Mood (People keep setting up threads asking for happy music, or angry music, etc.)
-Other Bands this sounds like
-Summary/Review/Trivia/Whatever You Want
-Include Album cover pics if you want

Some other guidlines:

-Don't post albums that are already on Jeph's rec list.
-Don't repeat albums already mentioned on the thread
-Try to keep it to one post per-person per-page. Edit your initial post to include updates and either put "UPDATED AT x:xx time" where I can see it or pm me about your update. This is just so I can keep an index.
-Try to keep the thread clean. Don't have random conversations here. If you have to post random comments about the thread instead of participating in them either delete or clear the message after everyone has read it. The fewer posts that aren't recomendations the better. This is just so people can actually use the thread and find what they're looking for instead of wallowing through arguments about Deerhoof.

Thats it. I promise I'm not actually anal, just trying to make this work. Recomend away.


* If this actually works it would be really great if a mod could sticky it. Assuming thats possible.

Table of Contents

1. The Hammered
-Bad Moon Rising- Sonic Youth, 1984: Experimental Rock, Noise Pop/Rock, Indie Rock (hazy-sounding and dark)
2. Onewheelwizard
-Welcome to Sky Valley- Kyuss, 1994: Stoner/Desert Rock, (big)
-Feathers- Dead Meadow, 2005: Psychedelic Rock (Trippy)
3. Greenlikejuly11
-Two Years and Thirty Minuter- Mark Schwaber, 2004: Indie Pop/Rock with folk influence (happy, bittersweet)
-The Killing Card- Mark Schwaber, 2006: Indie Pop/Rock with a Hardcore tinge (a little dark)
4.Amok
-Hold Your Colour- Pendulum, 2005: Drum 'n' Bass with a heavy trance influence throughout (upbeat)
-Matter & Form- VNV Nation, 2005: Futurepop (Upbeat, Contemplative, Optimistic, Warm)
-Lost Alone- Mind.In.A.Box, 2004: Progressive Futurepop(Dark, Contemplative, Regretful)
-Qntal II- Qntal, 1995: Neo-Folk/Darkwave (Almost all. Largely positive.)
-This Is My Battlefield- Panzer AG, 2004: EBM (Angry/Angsty, Combative, Defiant)
-The Failure Ephiphany- Unter Null, 2005: EBM (Angry/Angsty)
5. Khar
-Ultraviolence Uber Alles- The Count Nosferatu Kommando, 2002: Industrial Black Metal (Misanthropic, hateful, angry)
-Radio Ixtlan- Ewigkeit, 2004: Industrial/Progressive Rock/Death Metal with significant tribal and folk elements (upbeat)
-Nattens Madrigal: Aate Hymne Til Ulven I Manden- Ulver, 1997: Extremely harsh black metal (bleak, sorrowful, enervating, even beautiful)
-Themes From William Blake's 'The Marriage of Heaven and Hell'- Ulver, 1999: Experimental electronics/eclectic (Thought-provoking)
-Hardangervidda- Ildjarn + Nidhogg, 1999: Ambient keys (Peaceful/blissful)
6.Misereatur
-Erik Truffaz, Mid 90's- Current: Jazz (Chilled out)
7. Jcknbl
-Loveless- My Bloody Valentine, 1991: Shoegaze, Noise Pop (Warm, calming, mysterious, dreamy)
-Arular- M.I.A., 2005: Dancehall, hip hop, electronica, so many (Fun, very political, extremely dancable)
-No Kill No Beep Beep- Q and Not U, 2000: Post-Hardcore, Dance Punk (Energetic and Contemplative)
8. Pat101
-American Water- Silver Jews, 1998: Indie Rock, Alt-Country (familiar, relaxed, lonley)
9. Luke C
-...And Justice for All- Metalica, 1988: Thrash Metal (angry and aggresive, some mellow)
10. Dancarter
-VIVIsectVI- Skinny Puppy, 1988: Industrial (Angry or downright scary)
-Solutions for a Small Planet- Haujobb, 1996: Industrial Dance/EBM/Cold Techno (Danceable cynicism about the future)
-The Dividing (enhanced version)- Android Lust, 2003: Industrial (Electronic and dark)
11. GreenMonkee
-Ágætis Byrjun- Sigur Rós, 2001 (US): Post-rock, Shoegaze (melancholy--> brooding--> breathtaking and uplifting--> melancholy)
12. Storm Rider
-Elements- Atheist, 1993: Jazz-influenced death metal (really difficult to describe)
-The New Order- Testament, 1988: Thrash Metal (Aggressive, angry)
13. Praeserpium Machinarum
-Samme Stof som Stof- Under Byen, 2006: Somewhere between electronic chamber pop, noise rock + nowhere (mysterious, dreamy, dark, fragile, harsh )
14. DynamiteKid
-Give It Up For Rod Stern!- Rod Stern, 2006: Country/Folk (Perverted)
-Circles- Fony, 2003: British Metal (Dark/I can't believe what that fucking whore did to me)
-True Crown Foundation Songs- Lucky Nine, 2005: British Metal (dark)
-Powder Burns- Twilight Singers, 2006: Anthemic Rock (Blackly romantic)
15. Karl gambolputty...
-The Great Eastern- The Delgados, 2000: Baroque Pop (any)
-What Fun Life Was- Bedheads, 1994: Shoegaze (Introspective)
-Let It Be- The Replacements, 1984: Indie Rock (Inebriated)
16. Intelmole
-Mother- KUBB, 2005: Popish but unique (upbeat, mellows at the end)
-The Kooks- Inside Out, 2006: Indie (upbeat)
17. Ramenxnoodles
-Witness- Modern Life is War, 2005: Hardcore (angry, sometimes uplifting)
18. Tommydski
-Power Out- Electrelane, 2004: Rock (Mercurial, Wistful, Subtle)
-Owls-Owls, 2001: Rock (Exuberant, Bright, Inquisitive)
-Libertine- Silkworm, 1994: Rock (Visceral, Melancholy, Wry)
19. Timehat
-Tango Zero Hour- Astor Piazzolla, 1986: Tango Nuevo (Sophisticated)
20. Merkava
-This is a Long Drive For Someone With Nothing to Think About- Modest Mouse, 1996: Indie Rock (ups and downs)
-Emergency & I- The Dismemberment Plan, 1999: Rock with a variety of influences (Spastic, volatile, moody, solemn)
-Source Tags & Codes- ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, 2002: Indie Rock/Hardcore (Epic, bombastic, harsh, beautifu)
21. Minkles
-Alligator- The National, 2005: Indie Rock (Melancholy, reflective)
-Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?- The Unicorns, 2003: Freak Pop (Weird, cheerful, energetic)

[The Hammered]

I'll post a couple albums here. Let me know if I screw it up somehow. Also, this has a somewhat small and generally relatively mainstream selection that most people will know about. This is mainly because I only actually started listening to music fairly recently and don't have massive knowledge of obscure bands, and when I do know about a band, I often haven't actually heard them much or at all. So, sorry if this is all stuff everyone knows about.

Actually, I decided I'll add some more later. I'll just leave it at the Sonic Youth album for now.

First, Sonic Youth - Bad Moon Rising
Genre: Experimental rock.
Year: 1984.
Mood: Mostly hazy-sounding and dark, though it's not uniform.
Other bands this sounds like: Not sure.
Review (sorry for the long-windedness, but I enjoy going on about it. I couldn't limit myself to a few sentences. I also apologize for my tendency to drool over this album.):
Sonic Youth's second full-length album (third if you count their debut EP). The songs here flow together, taking only the necessary break at the end of side A (or where that would come on the vinyl, if you're listening on CD) and right before the final song. It almost gives the impression of a concept album, or would if there were any discernable theme or story tying it together. At any rate, with the exception of the songs added with the reissue, which aren't part of the album proper, it all feels very unified and really demands to be listened to in one sitting, while concentrating on the music.

The songs here are generally hazy, as I mentioned before, and the lines between one song and the next are blurred. The guitarists are oftener interested in making atmospheric, strange noises and feedback than playing conventionally; even when they play anything you could call a melody or a riff, it's usually fragmented and brief. Often the songs turn into minimalistic instrumentals, often made up only with feedback and other guitar noises, though these are by no means uninteresting. One of the best and creepiest is the 2+ minutes of droning feedback that opens "Ghost Bitch," with the guitars making eerie, high-pitched squeals before disappearing as a low, droning foghorn-like sound repeats along with some kind of crashing noise, leading up into Kim Gordon's spoken chant.

The other thing that bears mentioning is the ending. After "Justice is Might," probably the weirdest non-bonus track song on the album, slowly dissolves and fades away, "Death Valley '69" roars to life as easily the most (and really only) "rocking" song on the album, almost completely different from everything before it. It's really an incredible finale, preceded as it was by such trance-like music.

The reissue, as I've mentioned, adds a few other songs. Aside from Halloween and Echo Canyon, I don't find them particularly interesting. However, Halloween's a very good song, sounding creepy and seductive at the same time, and Echo Canyon is, in my opinion, one of the highlights of the CD, although way too short.

[onewheelwizzard]

Album: Welcome to Sky Valley
Artist: Kyuss
Genre: Stoner/Desert rock (Kyuss preferred the latter, everyone called them the former)
Year: 1994
Mood: Picture a 100-foot-tall monolith of an amp in the middle of a desert.  It's very ... big.
Similar Bands: Black Sabbath, Sleep, Slo Burn, Unida, Yawning Man, Queens of the Stone Age's self-titled album  (Side note: of these similar bands, 4 are projects involving Kyuss members)
Review: This was Kyuss's third album, and its first with bassist Scott Reeder, who makes his presence very impressively known.  There are 10 songs overall, but the album is organized into only three tracks, an attempt to get listeners to listen to the entire album "without distraction," as the liner notes advise.  Overall, it's a pretty perfectly constructed series of songs ranging from insanely heavy slabs of sludge ("Asteroid") to tripped-out explorations ("Space Cadet") to driving riff rock ("100 Degrees"), and there isn't really a weak point the whole time (unless you count the hidden joke track they stuck at the very end, entitled "Lick Doo.")
Kyuss used a few interesting techniques to get their sound, which, as far as I know, is one that has never really been replicated (though not for lack of trying on the part of the entire stoner rock genre).  They tuned all the way down to C, and guitarist Josh Homme (remember, this is half a decade before QOTSA) played through a bass amp to get the sound he wanted.  Anyone can do that, though ... the real reason they're so good is the utterly undeniable groove that permeates every track.  This was Kyuss's peak, and at the time this was released they were arguably the best live band in the world ... anyone who saw them play and had anything to say about it certainly said so.


Album: Feathers
Artist: Dead Meadow
Genre: Psychedelic Rock ... I suppose.
Year: 2005
Mood: Trippy as hell for sure, heavy feel without being metal
Similar Bands: I can't think of anyone who actually sounds like them, but comparisons can definitely be made to My Bloody Valentine and Black Sabbath, if that tells you anything
Review: This is the 4th and latest of Dead Meadow's albums.  Their sound is defintely different than it was for the first three, mainly because there's a 2nd guitarist in there but also because they left one of their fuzzier pedals at home for this one and it's a much cleaner sound (personally, I tend to prefer their earlier, fuzzier stuff, but this is not only their most accessible album for the majority of you folk reading this, but it's also the most consistant and polished).  This music definitely ... swirls.  Lead guitarist Jason Simon is straight-up the best wah-pedaler since Hendrix.  His guitar sounds like what the best kind of drugs feel like, and with his vocals floating over an absolutely killer rhythm section and a new like-minded guitar sidekick, the end result is hauntingly beautiful throughout.  The only time the album falters is during the second-to-last track, which consists of the drummer laying down a furious barrage of ... the exact same thing for 2 minutes (and it sounds longer than it is).  It's worth it, though, because the following 14-minute journey, a rerecording of a song from their first album, might be one of the 5 best extended-jam album closers in history.
Oh, one other thing.  Stephen Malkmus really, really likes this album.  Like, really likes it.

[greenlikejuly11]

album: two years and thirty minutes
artist: Mark Schwaber
year:2004
genre: indie-pop-rock with a minor folk influence
moods: happy sounding music, bittersweet lyrics. in that way similar to death cab. autumn music for walking around
similar bands: lou barlow, death cab, elliott smith
review: this is the first solo album by my friend mark, who has been playing around the pioneer valley since he was like 18 or something... amazing fingerpicking and great lyrics too, it's hard for me to believe he ain't famous. he recently won a local song writing competition too. you can check out some of his stuff on www.myspace.com/markschwaber1

also, logically


album: the killing card
artist: mark schwaber
year: 2006
genre: indie pop rock with a hardcore tinge to it
mood: still similar, but this album is darker, definitely more of a winter kind of deal
similar bands: it doesn't really sound like anything else i've heard...
review: i don't really know what to compare this to... pop rock with harcore guitars layered under some of the tracks, but it still works amazingly well. joel from killswitch engage is on one of the tracks, and overall it's a haunting, beautiful album

[amok]

EDITED ONCE: 28/04, late evening. Will add more next week as promised.

Gonna go for range of genres here, with a focus on electronica, and try and pick my faves from each style rather than be too comprehensive.



-Album: Hold Your Colour
-Artist: Pendulum
-Genre: Drum 'n' Bass with a heavy trance influence throughout. Quite diverse.
-Year: 2005
-Mood: As with most D'n'B, mainly upbeat - guaranteed to put you in a good mood. However some songs (especially the title track) are melodic and emotional so it suits solo listening as well as party play.
-Other Bands this sounds like: I'm not well versed in D'n'B so no direct comparisons.
-Summary: A blistering mix of frenetic beats, driving synth melodies and impressive lyrics with vocal delivery to match. If you have even a passing interest in electronica, or have been listening to Sufjan too much recently and want to try something different, pick this CD up. It won't change your life but it's a breath of fresh air considering how stale the electronica scene can seem to an outsider. Inventive, varied throughout and utterly enjoyable in various different settings. 10/10.



-Album: Matter & Form
-Artist: VNV Nation
-Genre: Futurepop
-Year: 2005
-Moods: Upbeat, Contemplative, Optimistic, Warm (you'll know what I mean if you listen)
-Other Bands this sounds like: NamNamBulu, mid-period Apoptyma Berzerk, Code 64, Evil's Toy's Silvertears CD
-Summary: VNV Nation are pioneers of the futurepop genre, indeed it was their vocalist Ronan Harris who coined the term. One of the most lauded and popular bands in the style, they fuse balls-out danceability with warm synths and emotional (sometimes admittedly cheesy) lyrics. Their latest release is possibly their best, combining the classic VNV blueprint with a move into more melodic and slightly experimental territory. Though not the finest release in the genre, an essential record for any electronica enthusiast. 9.5/10



-Album: Lost Alone
-Artist: Mind.In.A.Box
-Genre: Progressive Futurepop with influences from other electronic genres throughout.
-Year: 2004
-Moods: Dark, Contemplative, Regretful, with occasional pumped-up trance interludes. A good mix. Negative in mood while not being downright depressive.
-Other Bands this sounds like: While it'd be easy to reel off a list of influences and close neighbours, MIAB really are in a class of their own.
-Summary: Once in a blue moon, a new band comes out of absolutely nowhere and puts out a first record which sets the benchmark for all its peers. Mind.In.A.Box's Lost Alone was that record in 2004. No other band has fused dark EBM beats and addictive trance sequences so seamlessly, or made such hauntingly emotional use of vocorders, before. An album which will both grab you at first listen and offer further delights every single time you play it again. There's just no words to describe what this band have done, so I'll leave it there. Pure perfection. 10/10



-Album: Qntal II
-Artist: Qntal
-Genre: Neo-Folk/Darkwave
-Year: 1995
-Moods: Pretty much the whole damn emotional spectrum. Largely positive.
-Other Bands this sounds like: Deine Lakaien, L'Ame Immortelle
-Summary: Medieval songs in their original reinvented in a Darkwave fashion by a band who meld genuine medieval string instruments with electronic drumbeats and ambient synths. The focus of Qntal will always be the hauntingly beautiful operatic vocals - and having had the honour of seeing them play live I can assert that there's no Pro-Tools at work there. If anything, the ever-so-slightly flat production of this record only does her voice 99% justice. Still, their sophomore record was possibly their finest work to date, and a good starting point for the band. The song "Palestinalied" has been a favourite of many neo-folk bands including genre legends Corvus Corax; my personal favourite version of this song is track 2 on this here CD. 9.5/10.



-Album: This Is My Battlefield
-Artist: Panzer AG (third project of legendary Icon Of Coil/CombiChrist vocalist Andy Laplegua)
-Genre: EBM (fuck off, it's not dead)
-Year: 2004
-Moods: Angry/Angsty, Combative (funny, that), Defiant
-Other bands this band sounds like: CombiChrist, KMFDM, Unheilig, Grendel, Amduscia
-Summary: So, Panzer AG's new album is released in a week. Having had a chance to listen to and be thoroughly disappointed by it, I thought I'd revisit their ear-destroyingly awesome first CD and hopefully inspire others to as well. This isn't a particularly complex or ingenious record. What it is is one of the best reproductions of sheer unfettered anger in musical form I've heard in recent times. And yeah, you can dance to it (noticing a theme here eh. I'm a synthpop whore). While heavy, it's not distorted to the point of being irritating and unlistenable. Crank up the volume and enjoy having an angry Scandinavian dude shout at you for 70 minutes. 9/10.



-Album: The Failure Ephiphany
-Artist: Unter Null
-Genre: EBM
-Year: 2005
-Moods: Angry/Angsty
-Other bands this band sounds like: Grendel, Psyclon Nine, Hocico
-Summary: The 'cybergoth'/futurepop & EBM scene was fresh enough already in 2005, when out of fucking nowhere comes this blistering release from (rare, given the genre) an American artist. The vocals might initially grate but give the synths a chance to infect you and you'll be hooked. 9/10.

[KharBevNor]

Added a few more.

I'll add more in a bit as well, but here are two of my favourite albums that are currently enjoying heavy rotation:




-Album: Ultraviolence Uber Alles
-Band: The Count Nosferatu Kommando
-Genre: Industrial Black Metal
-Year: 2002
-Mood: Misanthropic, hateful, angry
-Other Bands this sounds like: Not much else. A much, much heavier Rammstein or KMFDM, or a cross between Laibach and Anorexia Nervosa.
-Summary: Best pissed-off album of all time. Each bass thump is a fist to the face, each riff a pounding jackboot trampling on a human skull, each syllable a vioent curse spat from blood-flecked lips, each keyboard line a soaring Wagnerian high of pure hatred. And it's really, really fun too. 'Get a Gun, Shoot at Random' is the REAL music to make your parents shit themselves.



-Album: Radio Ixtlan
-Band: Ewigkeit
-Genre: Industrial/Progressive Rock/Death Metal with significant tribal and folk elements.
-Year: 2004
-Mood: Radio Ixtlan is a concept album about spiritual enlightenment, so it's generally somewhat upbeat, especially on tracks like 'Strange Volk', which is just about the funnest thing to dance to like a maniac ever.
-Other Bands this sounds like: I think the best description I ever saw was 'Pink Floyd and The Prodigy getting mugged by Dark Tranquility'. It's a very unique sound, however.
-Summary: Radio Ixtlan is a complex but rewarding album that invites endless re-listening. It's musically diverse and excellent, with wonderful song-writing and completely kick-ass sampling (Including such unlikely sources as Thunderball and Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy). And this is a one-man project. Conceptually it's incredibly dense: It is the only album I've ever seen with a booklet that not only contains an essay explaining it but also a recommended reading list...




-Album: Nattens Madrigal: Aate Hymne Til Ulven I Manden (Madrigal of the Night: Eight Hymns to the Wolf in Man)
-Band: Ulver
-Genre: Extremely harsh black metal
-Year: 1997
-Mood: By turns, bleak, sorrowful, enervating, even beautiful, imo.
-Other Bands this sounds like: Every old-school black metal purist, but taken further.
-Summary: One of the least accessible, but most highly rewarding albums of all time, Nattens Madrigal is a gloriously low-fi affair. Recorded, according to legend, in the middle of a forest, production values may have indeed been negative, with Ulver essentially out-grimming everyone in one fair stroke. this stands, however, as one of the best black metal albums of all time. Chillingly atmospheric.






-Album: Themes From William Blake's 'The Marriage of Heaven and Hell'
-Band: Ulver
-Genre: Experimental electronics/eclectic
-Year: 1999
-Mood: Thought-provoking
-Other Bands this sounds like: Well, Ewigkeit a bit actually...
-Summary: And then Ulver got bored of black metal. Can't blame 'em really. Themes... is their break, and what a break. It's a concept album, obviously, as all of Ulvers works tend to be, using mainly direct quotation from Blakes works for lyrics. This was the album on which Garms vocal work really took off, helped by the range of styles: one moment he may be chanting about the nature of angels over what sounds suspiciously like dub, the next analysing the views of Emmanuel Swedenbourg in a bombastic electrorock assault. Definite choice for any who like their music interesting.






-Album: Hardangervidda
-Band: Ildjarn + Nidhogg
-Genre: Ambient keys
-Year: 1999
-Mood: Peaceful/blissful
-Other Bands this sounds like: The concept invites comparisons to later Burzum and possibly Beherit, but this is much more upbeat then either of those, whilst retaining the mystical feel of the ambient Burzum material.
-Summary: Simply put, a day wandering in the Norwegian wilderness transformed into beautiful ambient music. A product of the black metal scene that will interest anyone who likes music.

[Misereatur]

This thread is a great idea. Seriously exallent.


Artist: Erik Truffaz
Genre: Jazz
Year: mid 90's to current.
Mood: Chilled out modal Jazz to Free Jazz.
Other Bands this sounds like: Not a lot. Mainly John Zorn's Electric Masada
Summary: Erik Truffaz is a french Trumpet player that took Acid Jazz to new level. Starting from Bebop (his first album) and ending up expirimenting in Dub, Metal, and Hip Hop. Truffaz has two main group. His Quartet that includes Marc Erbetta on Keys and Piano, Marcello Gulliani on Bass and Patrick Muller on Drums. And Ladyland, that includes Michel Bénita on Double Bass, Phillipe Garcia on Drums and Manu Codjia on guitar. Truffaz also worked with rapers Mounir Troudi and Nya.
Truffaz melodic sence of playin never ceases to amaze me. A modern Miles Davis if you will.
Recommended albums:
Mantis

A very strange album that explores arab music, and fetures Mounir Troudi, Manu Codjia and Michel Bénita from Ladyland. Great album for listening at 2:00 in the morning after a good night out. Truffaz's melodic sence really bursts out in songs Nina Valeria and Yasmina (In which he douets with guitarist Manu Codjia). Nina Valeria, to me, represents Truffaz's intrest in arab music, part melodic outline part improvasing over and "arab"  (harmonic minor) melody on oud.

Brnding New Corners

Electric album, featuring raper Nya. My personal favorite, mainly for Marcello Gulliani's bass lines. Expirimenting with electronica and Hip Hop but not foresaking Jazz, this is one of the best Acid Jazz albums out there.

Face A Face

A double live CD featuring both of Truffaz's groups in concert, playing a sort of "best of" of the band's discographys. But, with subtle canges that makes listening extra fun. Although this album is more for the Die Hard Truffaz fan, I'd recommend this for its exallent music.

[jcknbl]

Album: Loveless
Band: My Bloody Valentine
Genre: Shoegaze, Noise Pop
Year: 1991
Mood: Warm, calming, mysterious, dreamy
Other Bands: The Velvet Underground, Jesus and the Mary Chain, Sonic Youth, M83, The Boo Radleys, Lush
Summary: This is one of those few albums that actually sounds like the album cover looks. Highly distorted, noisy guitars and soft breathy melodic vocals blanket what is at its root a gorgeous pop album. Imagine sitting outside wrapped in blankets by a warm fire while watching the the aurora borealis as snow falls. My Bloody Valentine created the shoegaze sub-genre and this performance still has never been duplicated. Most people here already know, own and love this album but if you're new or haven't heard this before: get this album.








Album: Arular
Artist: M.I.A.
Genre: Dancehall, hip hop, electronica, so many
Year: 2005
Mood: Fun, very political, extremely dancable
Sounds like: Seriously no one, maybe Missy Elliott infused with LCD Soundsystem and a third-world aesthetic?
Summary: This album was hyped to no end and if you read about music on the internet you probably heard about it. But the thing is, its still really really good. M.I.A. throws in electronic clicks, buzzes and beeps, horns, african drums, jungle noises, wind chimes, steel drums, beatboxes and more to create an album full of fun, hectic, dance-able hip hip. Ok, so maybe the politics (third-world liberationist) aren't completely authentic but who cares, this girl can make music.




Album: No Kill No Beep Beep
Artist: Q and Not U
Genre: Post-Hardcore, Dance Punk
Year: 2000
Mood: Energetic and Contemplative
Other Bands: Fugazi, The Dismemberment Plan, Sonic Youth, At The Drive-In
Summary: Screeching guitars, strong falsetto and a powerful rythm section scream and pound. But the guitars carry catchy melodic memorable tunes and the rythm is dance-able. Richard's voice can carry a tune and get you jumping around the room at the same time. These guys just want you to run around the city dancing, yelling from buildings and occasionally breaking something.




Obviously more to come. (The idea here folks is to create a permanent list, so don't just limit yourself to things regulars on this forum haven't heard or to things that are recent.)

[pat101]

Album: American Water
Band: Silver Jews
Genre: Indie-Rock, Alt-Country
Year: 1998
Mood: familiar, relaxed, lonley,
Other Bands: Pavement, M. Ward, Dylan
Summary: This album is one of my all-time favorites, and seeing that as of right now I only have 4 of them that's some fairly good company. As many of you know, Stephen Malkmus (Pavement) plays lead guitar on here, and it's some of his best work but the one thing outshining the Malkmus wails is David Bermans lyrics. Lyrically this is only below Dylan in flat out greatness, to sum up get this album, your life will be better for it.

[Luke C]

-Album: ...And Justice for All
-Artist: Metallica
-Genre: Thrash Metal
-Year: 1988
-Mood: Mostly tracks angry and aggresive, some mellow.
-Other Bands this sounds like: Slayer, Megadeth, Sepeltura
-Summary/Review/Trivia/Whatever You Want: ...And Justice for All (Justice for short) takes its name from the Al Pacino film of the same name. It is a politcally charged album which sees Metallica produce their fourth full studio album and the final before the much criticsised 'Metallica' (also known 'Black Album') which saw Metallica fully break into the musical mainstream. It was the band's first album since the tragic death death of legendary bassist Cliff Burton. The song "To Live is to Die", which was originally planned as an instrumental, was dedicated to his memory by James Hetfield reading a poem written by Burton prior to his death. The political focus of the album varies with each song. From the opening track 'Blackened' which speaks of mankinds destruction of mother earth, "see our mother, put to death, see our mother die" to the anti-war song 'One' the first song by the band to be featured in a video, which featured footage from the film 'Johnny Got His Gun)', which was played on MTV. The song was later covered by the band Korn on their 2003 album 'Take A Look In The Mirror'. Despite not reaching spectacular commercial success Justice secured Metallica as a huge metal favourite. For many Metallica fans Justice and the Metallica albums proceeding it have never been topped by the band in the years since.

[dancarter]

Updated...

This idea, I like very much.  Here's my add(have to represent Canada).


Album: VIVIsectVI
-Artist: Skinny Puppy
-Genre: Industrial
-Year: 1988
-Mood: Angry or downright scary
-Other Bands this sounds like: Inspired by Cabaret Voltaire, Kraftwerk and Throbbing Gristle.
-Summary/Review/Trivia/Whatever You Want: This is what many consider the best of the Skinny Puppy catalogue.  Very outspoken about animal rights, addictions, and the enviornment; this is the album where they finally include such topics in their music.  The songs themselves are an assault of noise, samples and Ogre's schizophrenic vocal technique, which can either scary the crap out of you or make you wonder how he makes these sounds come out of him.  Stand outs include State Aid, a creeping track about the spread of HIV, Harsh Stone White (cocaine abuse), and Fritter(a truly scary instrumental piece complete with crying babies.
Of note, Testure, a song that contends that animal vivisection is motivated by business greedy scientists, cracked the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club charts.
Another thing, just to give you an impression of the sound. The liner notes: "Play this music loud or not at all -- As always to the green guy -- To hell with any bullshit".


Album: Solutions for a Small Planet
Artist: Haujobb
Genre: Industrial Dance/EBM/Cold Techno
Year: 1996
Mood: Danceable cynicism about the future.
Summary: If you are to start collecting Haujobb, this is the essential disc. Daniel Myer and Dejan Samardzic create a diverse mix of driven industrial tinged tracks about futurism and progress, interlaced with dancey beats and more IDM and ambient influenced atmospheres.  The disc is widely acclaimed for the genre blending and while Haujobb have gone off and done everything from cold, almost chip style music with Ninetynine, or further developed their more familiar sound with Polarity and Vertical Theory, this album boasts more risk taking and progressive mixing of styles than has been seen in their later releases.


Album: The Dividing (enhanced version)
Artist: Android Lust
Genre: Industrial
Year: 2003
Mood: "Electronic and dark"
Summary: This release by Android Lust's Shikhee has to stand out as one of the most powerful, emotional and unconventional albums released in the often tired, cliched Industrial scene.  It covers all ground and does it well.  The opening track, "Division", has an almost choral, church like feeling with throating, gasping vocals that is quickly cut, clipped and destroyed by the next track, the harsh, abbrasive and downright scary "Kingdom of One".  And this is Shikhee's greatest strength, her ability to ping-pong and combine different styles to create a newer, more interesting brand of Industrial.  At times, she incorporates noise elements, as in the track "Sex and Mutiliation", and at others, such as Another Void or the seriously depressing final track "Burn", there's an almost Bjork sensibility to her voice, amidst a mix of cold textures and beats or just a lone delicate piano.

Other musician of interest: Christopher Jon of I, Parasite provides drums, keys and backing vocals amongst other things(he's a great choice too, and is apparently working on some "synths and sound textures"  for the new Cradle of Filth album).  Pick up his "On This Cold Floor", it is most excellent.

[greenMonkey]

Album:Ágætis Byrjun
Artist:Sigur Rós
Genre:Post-Rock, Shoegaze
Year:1999 (Iceland), 2000 (Uk), 2001 (US)
Mood:Beginning melancholy, shifting to brooding, continuing to breathtaking and uplifting, and ending melancholy.
Similar Bands:Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, The Album Leaf, Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Summary:Absolutely breathtaking.  Lush strings, cello-bowed guitar, intense melodies ranging from the beautiful  Svefn-g-enlgar and Staralfur to the brooding Flugufrelsarinn and Ný batterí, conveying waves of emotion without being emo at all, and leaving you with an amazing feeling.  This is by far Sigur Ros' best album.
Funny Stuff:Gwyneth Paltrow listened to Sigur Ros while birthing her child Apple, several songs off this and another Sigur Ros album were featured in Vanilla Sky, a song (Staralfur) from this album was included in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

[Storm Rider]

Atheist - Elements
-Genre: Jazz-influenced death metal
-Year - 1993
-Mood - really difficult to describe... not really 'aggressive' in the traditional sense, but calling them 'laid-back' would be pretty misleading too
-Other Bands this sounds like: later Death, Watchtower, Spastic Ink, Spiral Architect, Cynic

Summary: Atheist's last (so far, they've recently reunited), and probably most accessible release. Atheist's work is filled with amazing technical facility from every instrument but still manages to bust out some serious groove, mostly due to the slick bass work by Tony Choy (bassist Sean Malone had recently left the band). The jazz elements are more prevalent in Atheist than any other of the prog-death bands except for possibly the short-lived Cynic, with plenty of smooth, sometimes even Latin-sounding interludes between thrashy speed riffs. Also, the remastered version of Elements has 5 tracks from Atheist's second album Unquestionable Presence on it as well, and every one of the nearly 20 tracks sounds much better after 10 years.



Testament - The New Order
Genre: Thrash Metal
Year: 1988
Mood: Aggressive, angry
Similar Bands: early Metallica, Megadeth, Exodus, Heathen, Dark Angel, Death Angel

Summary: You could argue, and very rightly so, that this isn't even Testament's best album. However, this is probably the best pure thrash metal album to come out of the San Francisco Bay Area (though Megadeth's seminal Rust In Peace gives it a tough competition), because Testament's later works took no shame in incorporating death metal into their sound. However, this album stands alone as a thrash metal classic. Sure, the album's only a little over 40 minutes long, but out of the 10 tracks (2 of which being instrumental interludes), there are no less than 5 classic songs, 2 of which (Disciples of the Watch and Into the Pit) being two of the most enduring songs in the entire scene, as recognizable to a thrash fan as the opening riff to Master of Puppets. Lead guitarist Alex Skolnick makes Kirk Hammett look like Billie Joe Armstrong (well, not quite, but close). On top of which, rhythm guitarist and main songwriter Eric Peterson writes some pretty fantastic riffs, and is not afraid to throw some more complicated song structure into a genre usually focus on straightforward aggression.


And are we really worried about people not knowing who Metallica are?

[Praeserpium Machinarum]

Updated 9/5

I think I am going to promote danish artists here so be warned



Album: Samme Stof som Stof(Same Matter as Matter)
Artist: Under Byen(Below the City)
Genre: Somewhere between electronic chamber pop, noise rock and nowhere.
Year: 2006(Europe)
Mood: mysterious, dreamy, dark, fragile as well as harsh
Other Bands this sounds like: The last two Talk Talk albums Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock is a reference point. Perhaps a more fragile Sonic Youth or even Sigur Rós but really no-one.
Review:
Samme Stof som Stof isn't as much an expansion as an continuation of their previous albums Kyst and Det er Mig der Holder Træerne Sammen. The major difference is that they are louder here and have embraced some noise-rock aesthetic. Likewise lead singer Henriette Sennenvaldt have fallen in love with a voice distorter device and uses it to great effect throughout the album. Under Byen sings in Danish which might be gibberish to most of you. But it is conveyed with such emotion that it doesn't really matter. The range is pretty wide from the almost pastoral pop of "Tindrer" to the noiseheavy "Film og Omvendt" and "Den Her Sang Handler om at Få det Bedste ud af Det". As always there are a couple of small interludes with piano which acts as sort of a breather between the emotional outbursts. It ends on a fragile note with the spacious "Slå Sorte Hjerte".

Their sound have been described as the sound of dreams which is not completely off the mark really. It is an exploration of the subconscious, the strange and ambiguous feelings. They affect me on a highly personal level which no other band as of yet have been capable of. Thus they are easily my favourite band

Website



Album: Electrical Bonding
Artist: Wäldchengarten
Genre: Noise ambient, isolationism
Year: 2005(Desolation House/Noisejihad.dk)
Mood: Dark, abrasive, desolate
Other Bands this sounds like: I don't listen to much noise so I am not entirely sure. A much more toned down Merzbow perhaps.
Review:
The two brothers of Wäldchengarten are the "stars" of the growing noise community in Denmark. Electrical Bonding is their second album(as well as several hard to get EPs) and consists of five cataclysmic soundscapes that give a mild headache after end listening. The "pain" however is well worth the reward, a for me completely unique and slightly terrifying experience.
Their music seems completely devoid of human intervention, a bit like Autechre I am told. I have always pictured their sound to be like a city or a landscape after a fallout. In some strange way lifeless and peaceful, solemn even. It is a sort of existential/filosophical noise, the object is not to scare but to make people ponder. Electrical Bonding is not an easy listen but like Eraserhead it is an unpleasant but ultimately very fascinating experience.  


http://www.waldchengarten.dk

[Thrillho]

Album: Give It Up For Rod Stern!
Artist: Rod Stern
Genre: Country/Folk
Year: 2006
Mood: Perverted
Sounds like: The bastard son of Frank Black and Bob Dylan
Description:One man, his guitar, and a hatful of the most offensive country songs you'll ever hear, about drugs, whores, trannies God, slavery, more whores and more drugs. The wittiest, funniest artist I've heard since Dylan or Nick Cave, and that's not an over-exaggeration.

Album: Circles
Band: Fony
Genre: British Metal
Year: 2003
Mood: Dark/I can't believe what that fucking whore did to me
Sounds like: Hmmm. I'm not sure. It's quite hardcore; very British, and very angry at women.
Description: British Metal at its finest. Their debut was really bratty hardcore, but Circles shows infinitely more maturity, although Olly Gibbens is still raging against former girlfriends. It's majestic, dark, deceptively simple metal with fine, gritty production and some of the most anthemic choruses I've ever heard.

Album: True Crown Foundation Songs
Band: Lucky Nine
Genre: British Metal
Year: 2005
Mood: Dark
Sounds like: Hundred Reasons gone more metally
Description: The supergroup of British hardcore. Colin Doran shows that Hundred Reasons aren't the secret behind his charisma with this band, with his guttural howl put to the forefront over bludgeoning riffs and brutal arrangements. It's great, great stuff, the best metal album I heard all of last year, and nothing's betttered it so far this year in my estimation.

Album: Powder Burns
Band: Twilight Singers
Genre: Anthemic rock
Year: 2006 (it's not actually out until May but I reviewed it)
Mood: Blackly romantic
Sounds like: A bit like Jackson United, a bit like Foo Fighters, but recorded at night.
Description: This is a beautiful, beautiful album. It's murky, it's expansive, it's dense, and it's perfect for dark nights of the soul. It's really, really good stuff. It's all ridiculously anthemic and catchy, it dabbles in Eastern strings, straight rock and piano ballads, all to brilliant effect. It's just great stuff.

[karl gambolputty...]

Album : The Great Eastern
Artist : The Delgados
Genre : Baroque Pop
Year : 2000
Mood : Any
Similar Artists: Arab Strap, the Decemberists (sort of)
Summary : Most of the songs have pretty angry/sad lyrics, but they’re all set to some of the most gorgeous, euphoric music I’ve ever heard.




Album: What Fun Life Was
Artist: Bedhead
Genre: Shoegaze
Year: 1994
Mood: Introspective
Similar Artists (and Imitators): Slint, The For Carnation, The New Year, Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai
Summary: This is hands down my all-time favorite cd.  It introduced me to the concept that the transition from loud to soft didn’t have to be instantaneous, which, looking at my cd collection now, was a pretty big turning point for me.  It’s the perfect cd to drink alone to.




Album: Let It Be
Artists: The Replacements
Genre: Indie Rock, in the purest sense of the term
Year: 1984
Mood: Inebriated
Similar Bands: R.E.M, Husker Du, Dinosaur Jr.
Summary: For the most part, this is just a fun, fun record.  My favorite bar has it on the jukebox, and that is a big part of the reason it’s my favorite bar.  “Unsatisfied” said everything there is to be said about angst 5 years before grunge even took off.




Album: Reckless Burning
Artists: Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter
Genre: Country
Year: 2002
Mood: Sad
Similar Bands: Mojave 3, Neko Case, Cat Power, Knife in the Water
Summary: Beautiful sad lady sings beautiful sad country songs about... beautifully sad things.




Album: Kokomemedada
Artists: Komeda
Genre: Techno-Twee
Year: 2004
Mood: Very Happy / On Zoloft
Similar Bands: Can't think of any really, maybe Stereolab, but not really.
Summary: It's hard to summarize a CD that goes in completely different directions every 3 or so minutes.  One of the songs was on the Powerpuff Girls soundtrack.  If you think that's awesome, you'll probably like it.  If you don't, maybe not.

[intelmole]

Album: Mother
Artist: KUBB
Genre: Oh I dunno.  The songs are all pop-ish, but they're definitly unique.
Year: 2005
Mood: Starts off upbeat, mellows at the end a bit
Similar Bands: In terms of the pop-ish-but-not genre, snow patrol.  But I can't think of any decent soundalikes.
Summary: Genuinely decent pop music.  I went to watch Gavin Degraw (having never heard his music but nothing to do at the time) and these people supported him.  Their half hour set was better than anything Gav had.

Album: The Kooks
Artist: Inside Out
Genre: Indie
Year: 2006
Mood: Upbeat
Similar Bands: Razorlight
Summary: What Razorlight's Up All Night should have sounded like.  The music in this is mostly guitar-led, and has a real air of funk to it at times.

[ramenXnoodles]

Album: Witness
Band: Modern Life is War
Year: 2005
Genre: Hardcore
Mood: Angry, sometimes uplifting
Similar bands: BANE, can't think of any others.
Summary: Awesome hardcore. Angry, no breakdowns like other hardcore bands. Songs can start out bleak and become happier.[/img]

[timehat]

Album - Tango Zero Hour
Artist - Astor Piazzolla
Genre - Tango Nuevo
Year - 1986
Mood - Sophisticated, if you can consider that a mood.
Other Bands this sounds like - Has a lot of traces of traditional tango as well as jazz and 19th century romantic classical music.
Summary - Astor Piazzolla was responsible for revolutionizing the tango, which previously was a much simpler art form that was the favorite of thugs and was considered "bordello" music. On this, which he considered his best album, Piazzolla brings his experience as a traditional tango player together with his knowledge as a composition student who was avidly studious of jazz and romantic classical. Suggested track - no.3 "Concierto para Quinteto"

[ramenXnoodles]

[img]http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/9031/mf5in.jpg

-Album: Matter & Form
-Artist: VNV Nation
-Genre: Futurepop
-Year: 2005
-Moods: Upbeat, Contemplative, Optimistic, Warm (you'll know what I mean if you listen)
-Other Bands this sounds like: NamNamBulu, mid-period Apoptyma Berzerk, Code 64, Evil's Toy's Silvertears CD
-Summary: VNV Nation are pioneers of the futurepop genre, indeed it was their vocalist Ronan Harris who coined the term. One of the most lauded and popular bands in the style, they fuse balls-out danceability with warm synths and emotional (sometimes admittedly cheesy) lyrics. Their latest release is possibly their best, combining the classic VNV blueprint with a move into more melodic and slightly experimental territory. Though not the finest release in the genre, an essential record for any electronica enthusiast. 9.5/10

I LOVE YOU.

[Merkava]

-This is a Long Drive For Someone With Nothing to Think About
-Modest Mouse
-Indie Rock
-1996
-Like your driving down a highway on a long road trip, with all of the ups and downs that come along with it
-Fugazi, Pavement, Built to Spill
-This is Modest Mouse's debut, released in favor of Sad Happy Sucker (for very good reason). There is a lot of interplay between the musicians, showing off virtuosity of all members of the band, especially in the instrumental moments in tracks like Dramamine and Talkin' Shit About a Pretty Sunset. Some of MM's best and most beautiful moments are on this record.
-



-Emergency & I
-The Dismemberment Plan
-Though it falls mostly in the rock category, the Plan have always been known for their mix of various genres (electronica, hip-hop, jazz), especially on this album.
-1999
-Spastic, volatile, moody, solemn
-Can't really compare the band to anyone
-A brilliant album, like a tornado plowing through musical history and picking up whatever it can get its hands on. A lot of people in the Indie world herald this as one of the best Indie Rock albums of the 90's. Nothing sounds like it and nothing will sound like it for a long time.
-


-Source Tags & Codes
-...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead
-Indie Rock/Hardcore
-2002
-Epic, bombastic, harsh, beautiful
-Sonic Youth, Fugazi
-This is a beast of an album, yet AYWKUBTTOD find a way to make it beautiful and affecting. The last three songs are probably the most arresting 10 minutes of music I've ever heard.
-

[minkles]

-Album: Alligator
-Artist: The National
-Genre: Indie Rock
-Year: 2005
-Mood: Melancholy, reflective
-Other Bands this sounds like: Okkervil River, The Clientele, Silver Jews, maybe Wilco
-Most people find this album bleak, depressing, and even unoriginal at first.  Listen to it a few times, and you'll find it has a beauty that transcends description and separates it from other music.  I can tell you that the lyrics are poetic and creative, and the lead singer has a somewhat haunting voice.  Perfect music for listening to when deep in thought.




-Album: Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?
-Artist: The Unicorns
-Genre: Is freak-pop a genre?  If not, it should be.
-Year: 2003
-Mood: Weird, cheerful, energetic
-Other Bands this sounds like: The Flaming Lips, Architecture in Helsinki, Of Montreal, Animal Collective, Deerhoof, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
-A simultaneously fun, yet unique album.  Weird and dancable.  Catchy, yet far from radio friendly.  These 13 tracks have all been simultanously stuck in my head at once, and that's a good thing.

[jcknbl]

Can we get this stickied?

[jariku]

-Album: Seize The Time (2xCD)
-Artist: Fun-Da-Mental
-Genre: Hip-Hop
-Year: 1994
-Mood: Angry
-Other Bands this sounds like: Public Enemy/Chuck D
-This is the debut album of Fun-Da-Mental, which are/were(?) a hip-hop group from Great Britain. The lyrical themes include war, politics, Islam, racism, women's rights and so on. Very angry, very political and very good.

[karl gambolputty...]

Can we get this stickied?

Seconded

[Ghostwriter]

-Album: Endtroducing...
-Artist: DJ Shadow
-Genre: Instrumental Hip-hop
-Year: 1996
-Mood: Shifting between melancholy, upbeat, contemplative and unearthly.
-Similar bands: Occasionally like RJD2 in mood, and cinematic like Deltron.
-Summary: Debut album, considered to be very innovative and a classic in the genre.  DJ Shadow constructs organic, shifting landscapes of almost texturally tangible sound with surgically precise sampling, intricate beats, and a heavily cinematic and mysterious vibe.  A background in hip-hop listening isn't required to get into this.


-Album: Everything Goes Numb
-Artist: Streetlight Manifesto
-Genre: Ska
-Year: 2003
-Mood: Very energetic and upbeat, with cathartic underlying tones of heartbreak and loss.
-Similar bands: Catch-22, Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Common Rider
-Summary: Tom Kalnoky's first project after the breakup of his legendary ska act Catch-22.  The (great) lyrics often emphasize a sense of despair, but are backed by some of the catchiest horns you'll hear in a ska band.  Though Tom's gravelly vocals might not be for everyone, they work well with the music and help to form an energetic, emotional, and masterful work of ska.


-Album: Mezzanine
-Artist: Massive Attack
-Genre: Trip-hop
-Year: 1998
-Mood: Dark, paranoid, trippy, and surreal.
-Similar bands: Portishead
-Summary: The veritable creators of trip-hop from Bristol, England have put forth one of their darkest efforts.  The atmosphere is all-engulfing, an alien world of paranoia, drugs, and strange beauty.  The lyrics, sung by a variety of guest singers who add perfectly to this masterwork, are non-sequitur and surreal, but also very moody.  The veil of darkness lets up on occasion, notably for "Teardrop," a poignantly beautiful and compelling song.  I can't recommend this album enough.  My personal gateway into electronic music of all sorts.