Mid Year Report

Since everybody else seems to be doing it, here's my Top 5 records of the year. It's entirely possible one  or two or all of these will fall off the Top 10 of the year (that happened last year with The Shins) but I doubt it! These records are all really good!! Some hard and heavy stuff...some mellow stuff.

The Eldritch Dark by Blood Ceremony - What happens when Black Sabbath meets Jethro Tull? You get Blood Ceremony. Though front-lady Alia O'Brien is far cuter than either Ozzy or Ian Anderson. I've been drooling over this record on Spotify for a while...the vinyl is supposed to be coming soon, so I will write about it when it shows up. They are from Canada, which is apropos of nothing.

Ultraviolet by Kylesa - This is s good as modern metal gets. Smart, well-written, not super-fast so it keeps a great groove. Kylesa know how to get it mellow before breaking into a sonic tidal wave. Read more here and here (Blood Ceremony here to!)

The Stand-In by Caitlin Rose - And now for something completely different. Sensational country-esque singer-songwriter. I say country-esque because "modern" country is equated with junk like Taylor Swift. This is the real deal. More here.

Impossible Truth by William Tyler - Brilliant record I wrote about here. Guitar instrumentals can get dull in a hurry; this doesn't get dull at all, it's mesmerizing. It's not the kind of record you dance to (I guess you can but it'd be kind of weird) but even though it's wordless it's the kind of record you still pay attention to.

Elephant Stone by Elephant Stone - More Canadians. Psychedelic prog-pop with 12-strings and sitars. Very classic era 90s sounding band. I need to listen to this record more. Wrote about seeing them live here.

There you go. Like I said, I can't really see these records falling off the list. Especially the Blood Ceremony one. If one of them does (or two or three) then that will be great because that means more killer records came out. I expect the new Blackfield will be on my list, that comes out September-ish. Alcest and Anathema are both working on new records. Records I have now that could make the list? Destroy This Place, Arbouretum, Kadaver maybe. It will be fun to find out!!

Impossible Truth

I am not alone in thinking it but I feel the guitar is the most expressive musical instrument besides the human voice. I've written before about my appreciation of guitar-based instrumental music, especially that done by Explosions In The Sky and by James Blackshaw. We can add a third brilliant artist: William Tyler.

Tyler comes from Nashville but Music Row doesn't rub off on his music. Like Blackshaw, he works at creating soundscapes driven by working through chords and progressions. Where Blackshaw uses the 12-string acoustic, Tyler uses both electric and acoustic. The results are often stunning. The songs are mostly just his guitar but a few tracks employ stand-up bass and horns to perfect effect.

His latest record is Impossible Truth. Though I sometimes rag on Pitchfork, they are a fantastic resource for finding new music; this record is yet another. It was on my Spotify playlist for a couple months before I decided it was an LP I needed to add to the collection.

I take back what I said about Nashville; there is a country-vibe that permeates the songs. Take the gorgeous "Cadillac Desert." It's eight minutes long here; give it at least a few.

There is a definite rustic element; I see a front-porch kind of thing in my mind's eye. Not just the beauty of the playing but the sophistication of the song is what draws you in. It is very difficult to make music like this that stays engaging. It's easy for it to become pretentious or meandering or down right boring.  Tyler doesn't do that. The music shimmers off the LP. This kind of stuff needs to float on the air, waft into your head and settle in. I listen and I feel I need to pat attention. Where is it going next? It has a basic structure that may be repetitive but it builds and builds and works itself around and takes new paths. It's perfect for late night driving or as I am wont to do lay back on the couch with the headphones pulling on a beer.

Thanks to William Tyler for a very beautiful record.