Find embedded song clips at the bottom of this post.
Oscean - Ideoma
Brilliant EP from a hypnotic techno duo that hail from Argentina.
Joni Mitchell - Both Sides Now
This is mainly a covers album. Her voice and expression reach far beyond the audial. The song 'Both Sides, Now' is astounding, and is written by Mitchell herself.
Jacques Greene - Fantasy
A mind-washing EP of ambient beauty.
The Black Dog - Brutal Minimalism EP
Once again, the EP-busting electronics duo The Black Dog release a piece of Sheffield-based organic and deeply moving music.
Det Eviga Leendet
Two EPs, both showcasing grinding yet slow-moving black metal sounds from Uppsala, Sweden.
The Beatles - Get Back (Rooftop Performance)
Due to Peter Jackson's fairly new documentary series Get Back, this album is now out in remixed format and on streaming services. The album gives a lovely picture of a band that gelled.
Mitski - Laurel Hell
Brilliant songwriter, new album. Pop sensibilities, very good work, even though I miss her circa Your Best American Girl.
µ-Ziq - Scurlage
Weird, kind of dystopic. I like it. Fragmented. Felt like it was out-of-place even in its own world.
Tim Hecker - The North Water (Original Score)
Fair, not loud at all. Expressive but understated.
Leoš Janá?ek, Maia Brami, Camerata Zürich, Igor Karsko - On An Overgrown Path
Very interesting piano work, written in the start of the 20th century.
Schubert, Wiener Philharmoniker, Carlos Kleiber – Symphonien Nos.3&8 »Unvollendete•Unfinished•Inachevee«
Not my fave cup of tea but interesting. A lot of people will know this track.
Low Tape - Low Tape
Housey EP that almost makes me feel like Orbital have accepted a a chal to create music by using a lot of reverb, an 808, and a 1980s analogue synth, all veering toward the acid-esque side of things. Still, this is not derivative but good.
Black Country, New Road - Ants From Up There
This post-rock outfit has now become a mxiture of Bon Iver and The Polyphonic Spree, a lot of fiddle and brass. I welcome this.
Erland Cooper, Shards - Egilsay
Collaborative choral work that carries the sounds of birds a long way. Reminds me of listening to the soundtrack to the TV series Devs.
Frank Peter Zimmermann - J.S: Back: Sonatas & Partitas, Vol. 1
An emotional path into some of Bach's violin work.
Rudolf Serkin; Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Chorus, Rafael Kubelik - Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1-5 (Live)
Live recordings from 1977. Some astounding orchestral tone and maudlin piano work in this showcase of Beethoven's more piano-centric stuff.
Birgit Nilsson, Wolfgang Windgassen, C.Ludwig, E.Waechter, Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele & Karl Bo?hm - Wagner: Tristan und Isolde, WWV 90 - Live (Remastered)
To me, this serves as a four-hour reminder that Wagner wasn't just an anti-semite, but someone who could write beautiful music. This also goes for Parsifal, of which I was recently reminded by a colleague. This is a splendid recording, and if your hardware—regarding both your audio and wallet—allow it, I urge you to do as I've done and purchase the FLAC 96 version via Highresaudio.
Spoon - Lucifer on the Sofa
Compressed rock? Yes, please, when it's nice, ilke this. I can never remember a single song by Spoon, but when I listen to them, I'm soothed by their sound.
Jean-Michel Blais - aubades
When I heard the first part of the introductory track, I immediately felt that this isn't for me. However, fuck that. Go to track number two, 'passepied'. I immediately thought of Michael Nyman, in a good way. This is plodding music, music that brings you on a journey. It's scales and dribbling in a space between virtuosity and elegance. It's interesting. I was drawn into the production. This is a piano-focused album but it does carry weight on other parts of the production, which is very welcome. I like this album.
Giuseppe Patanè - Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor Live (Remastered)
A splendid and beautiful recording from 1978. The two main voices, those of Peter Dvorský, and Edita Gruberova, soar far above the breathtaking orchestration, turning this into a beautiful two-hour album. Get the remastered version
Christian Thielemann, The Philadelphia Orchestra - Wagner: Preludes and Orchestral Music
A fair collection of music from different parts of Wagner's oeuvre; said regarding Tristan und Isolde, the shining example here is Parsifal, with its breathing sunrise of an opening. Magnificent piece, beautifully performed.
Eiko Ishibashi - Drive My Car (Original soundtrack with bonus tracks)
This instrumental soundtrack rolls straight: piano, reverbed guitars with no other effects applied, jazzy drums… Perfect for work or gazing out a window.
Cliff Martinez - KIMI (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Martinez, old collaborator of Steven Soderbergh, has crafted an orchestral soundtrack album that works on its own, recalling old-school type of Hitchcock scenarios albeit without daring jumps or stabs á la Herrmann. Sure, the old-school Martinez-type of analogue warbles turn up at times, but you can forget all about how he made Contagion sound.
Jodie Devos, Adèle Charvet, Juliet Chauvin - Pergolesi: Stabat Mater
A 53-minute-long dive into Stabat Mater, the eighteenth-century requiem of sorts. An elegiac merge of mainly voices and string instruments turns this into a masterful exhibition of chamber music. I prefer Lezhneva/Jaroussky's version, but this is only due to how I prefer the sonic density, the production, the separations and mixing of the final album.
Kit Downes, Petter Eldh, James Maddren - Vermillion
Three instruments: piano, bass, and drums. All three instruments are played expressively by impressive musicians. Together, they've created a soundscape that stretches far and wide. This is jazz, non-threatening, but not without edge and clarity. What cymbal sounds! What timbre.
Matchess - Huizkol
An album that is reflected by its cover: dark chalk connected with liquid, mountain, grey sky. Ambient furrowing stuff.
The Sadies - Precious Moments
Sadly, Dallas Good, a driving force behind this band, recently died. He was one of the people behind Neko Case's masterpiece 'Fox Confessor Brings the Flood'. So, Good's death made me discover The Sadies, and I'm better for it. These are country licks, well-crafted songs, played with lightning precision where it comes to the guitar. Lovely.
Mr. Oizo & Phra - Voilá
Italian rap album? More like tight French electronic love from Ed Banger.
Gábor Lázár - Boundary Object
Planet Mu, need I say more? This is some sweeping, experimental, and hypnotic electronica that pays off. Get into the groove.
Graham Walsh - Pharma Bro
The only bad thing about this soundtrack is that I can't buy it in high fidelity, and I refuse to buy music from Amazon. Graham is part of Holy Fuck, one of my absolute favourite electronic bands. He's recently produced a lot of great music and created his own.
Check out tracks like 'Martin Montage' and 'Things Went Wrong' to realise how good this soundtrack is. Swathes of great synths, music, singing, childish playfulness, and production.
Examples
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFeWd0P_tjI