It’s clever use of instrumentation and mixing board to create drones to glue a project of hardcore field sampling which reveals the beauty of the everyday.

Have been enjoying this Michael Jackson tribute-via-guitar/synth-drone project, but the second side of the second tape was just a towering, cascading giant. Kind of strikes me dumb / still with it’s magnitude when I listen. Deeply felt, troubled unreal life departing.

Perfection achieved in 2010. god was like, no is somewhat of a collage of the creme de la creme of sonic textures and shoegazey haze in 2010. To me, the band somehow upstaged their 2008 masterpiece, baby, it’s cold inside, and perfected their mix of William Basinski, Tim Hecker, and Philip Jeck and forward-thinking postrock. Absolute beauty.

Maybe it’s just because closely tied to the biggest two events of 2010 for me, but this is the one album I picked up from 2010 that I can see myself going back to time and time again. Wonderful space, lovely repetitive songs, and just enough production let it be what it is. This is my new AAS ”Know by Heart”.

I listened to the Joanna Newsom record a lot. And new records from Deerhunter and the Walkmen and the National and Sun Kil Moon and Swans and Dungen. Those are all artists that i’ve known for years and i knew i would enjoy. So many great records. Jesus.

New artists that i discovered this year included Beach House (wow!) and Wild Nothing (are you sure this wasn’t recorded in 1988??), and then all of these obscure pseudo-ambient / avant-garde artists that i seem to find out about 365 days after everyone else does. Like Yellow Swans and Emeralds and Zs.

But there are two records that i’ve felt absolutely fucking spiritual about this past year. Maybe it was just the mood when i was in when i first listened to them.

The first is Similes, by Eluvium. It was touted as a departure from Mr. Cooper’s earlier work, and it certainly is. This record includes vocals and some semblance of melody, albeit minimal. There a very subtle and glacial Brian Eno vibe throughout. Not to mention that he sounds like the man, also. This was my record for laying on the couch. Staring at the ceiling. Chilling out. Or trying to. It has such a peaceful, redemptive vibe to it.

And then there is the new Women record, “Public Strain”. Holy shit. I know that very few people will ‘get’ this record. It is full of ambient dissonance, feedback edges, angularity. And also clanging guitar chords, obtuse rhythms, reverb-hewn vocals that seem double-tracked from another dimension. It has never been truer that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The opening track “Can’t You See” is just a bass line and vocals, with a bunch of noise shoveled into it. “Heat Distraction” is full of 77.7 degree angles. “Narrow with the Hall” might be the most bite-sized summation of what Women are like. The band, i mean. Ha. “Penal Colony” is sad and far away. And then things start getting chock full of anxiety. “China Steps” is a dance-able prelude to a nervous breakdown, with dueling slashing guitar chords, and vocals that have completely lost their mind. The bass drum pedal squeaks throughout. “Untogether” has become my current favorite track. Building angular nihilistic tensions for a couple minutes and then completely blowing it away with a bleary-eyed groove. “Drag Open” is the all-out nervous breakdown that had been alluded to in the last few tracks. Just a completely out of control attack built around a catchy bass guitar line. The lyrics are even more indiscernible here than anywhere else. The song completely falls apart and then is turned into something completely different, where the guitars are finally harnessed into a hypnotizing loop. “Locust Valley” is probably the most crisp track, full of arpeggiated guitar lines and recuperating the mood. “Venice Lockjaw” is brief, easily the most beautiful song on the record. Which finally leads into “Eyesore”. Which is unable to be described.

Thanks for your list, Matthew! I am already looking into procuring some things i seem to have missed.