Wipers - Youth of America

Wipers were undoubtedly one of the most influential bands for the American alt rock scene. Led by Greg Sage, they crafted what was essentially a mixture of hardcore punk's demolishing ferocity with prog rock's vernacular and a penchant for longer tunes. This is exemplified on 1981's 'Youth of America', which is just about one of the best albums ever.

Like injecting a raging bull with a barrel of coke. And then sitting on it. No other record would match this level of creativty and ferocity until Refused would release The Shape of Punk To Come, imo.

living in the jungle

Luomo - Vocalcity

Sasu Ripatti's one of the most prolific and varied electronic producers in the modern scene. He hails from Finland, and his deep house/tech house moniker is called Luomo. Here's his record from 2000, the lovely Vocalcity.

Heart and soul with a steady pulse. 'Tessio' is in particular one of the best things that has ever happened to music.

i guess you make me warm, when you do the hum

Boris - Pink

One of the best rock bands out there at the moment. Japanese act Boris have been around since 1992 and have explored nearly every facet of the noise rock and sludge aspect of the genre. This is one of my favourite album entries into the noise canon, and in fact you'd be hard pressed to find much music in the 00's that rocks as hard as this.

Pink light, from the mouth of infinity. Let your senses be destroyed. Also, title track lasts 4 minutes and 20 seconds. You know what I'm getting at.

afterburner

Bästard - Radiant, Discharged, Crossed Off

Radiant, Discharged, Crossed Off is a hidden gem when it comes to low key, fragmented, disjointed experimental rock music. Think This Heat but a bit less sinister, think Bark Psychosis for the industrial landscape. Lazy descriptors aside, this one is loaded with elegaic passages, subtle rhythms and just really cool riffage throughout, made from equal parts of chaos and silence. Enjoy, folks.

200 miles from Hanoi

Love - Forever Changes

Monumental psychedelic 60's west coast act Love, with Arthur Lee (who Jimi Hendrix worshipped) at the helm, released their best record 'Forever Changes' in 1967.

And when the streets are paved with gold
And if someone asks you, 
You can call my name. 
I hear you calling my name.

One of the best 60's psych records ever. The two opening tracks are pure gold, the rest of the record follows suit. R.I.P Arthur Lee.

alone again or?

Low - I Could Live in Hope

Legendary American slowcore act Low formed in Minnesota in 1993. Their debut, 'I could live in hope' marks the beginning of a wonderful journey of one of the greatest american bands in recent times.

Good with: wines, pills, depression, suicide, oncoming winter weather, lying down and staring at the ceiling. Understated, gentle and devastating beauty.

rope

Bowery Electric - Beat

Bowery Electric were an NYC outfit, active from 1993 to 2000. They played a futuristic, spacey blend of trip hop, gazer and ambient, best highlighted on their magnificent 1996 effort - Beat

Somewhat bizarrely, Beat received a large amount of critical buzz over its supposedly groundbreaking fusion of hip-hop/techno rhythms and the band's older dream pop stylings. Anyone who had heard Loveless-era My Bloody Valentine or a fair amount of Chapterhouse's material probably had some things to say about that judgment, while in turn many dance mavens saw the band's efforts as already terribly outdated in terms of general sonic approach. Set all this aside and concentrate on enjoying Beat in and of itself, though, and the fine qualities of both group and album come through quite clearly. Bowery Electric may not be on the cutting edge, but Schwendener and Chandler aren't pretending to dwell there. The title track sets the album's tone from the start, an open-ended guitar drone from Chandler later accompanied by Schwendener's low-key bass and distanced singing matched with a crisp drum loop. Variations on this basic formula throughout Beat: slight rhythms are sometimes more prominent, sometimes buried, guitar lines are clearer here or more heavily produced there -- but taken as a whole the release is quietly intoxicating. Standouts include "Fear of Flying," with a strong guitar scream/wash from Chandler and a more upfront bass/drum combination, and the thoroughly but beautifully zoned out "Black Light," which features a rare Chandler vocal and an enveloping delay-pedal-produced atmosphere. Notably, the drumming on the latter track is more in line with, say, early Pink Floyd or Slowdive rather than the loops used elsewhere. Both performers are incredibly undemonstrative throughout the album -- Beat works best as something either totally concentrated on or left running as ambient music; a party record this isn't. At times Bowery Electric eschew percussion entirely, to lovely effect: "Under the Sun" is a brief but dark piece, a low bassline providing the only forward motion. 


black light