Chaos Echœs – Mouvement
One of the most interesting features is how weighty the music is. I didn’t choose the term “heavy”, because it’s not heavy in the traditionally metal meaning of the word. There is next to no blast beat, guitar chugging, or deep growls, but, despite this, the album feels much more tangible and real, hence “weighty”. “Through Kaleidoscopic Haze of Unexpected Extents” is a stellar example of this.
In summary, Mouvement is an atypical black metal album crafted with thought and care, which makes it easily one of the best experiments in the genre.
Eave – Eave
Eave is strong by its meekness. It isn’t overtly boastful, and is of the discreet type. However, the reserved are often the most incongruous. As such, Eave paint the most disturbing scenes using very few and pale colours. It is free jazz done differently than what I’m used to. With bands like dMu, Nakata, or Waifu, I’m used to the horrid, the loud, and the terrifying; Eave brings me the calm, the odd, and the quiet revolutionary.
灰野敬二 (Keiji Haino) & Sumac – アメリカドル紙幣よ – そのまま横を向いたままでいてくれ 正面からは見られたもんじやないから (Amerika doru shihei yo – sonomama yoko o muita mama de ite kure shōmen kara wa mi rareta monji ya naikara); American Dollar Bill – Keep Looking Sideways, You’re Too Hideous to Look at Face On
It’s an hourlong dive into artistic, not to say abstract, music that really conjures blight and bleak mental images. It’s quite challenging to dig into and it’s somewhat frightening to let yourself be submerged into this fetid pool of noise. However, American Dollar Bill is of utmost importance, and I am so glad this exists. Be sure to listen to this fearsome experiment!
Omar – *3
It’s really fun to try and guess which part comes from a written, composed score, and which one comes out of pure improvisation. It’s easy when the duets happen, but, when they don’t, it’s more of a coin toss than anything else. That’s something that utterly charmed me, and it’s a quality I still see in Omar, even after all those years.
Honourable Mentions
Astrakhan – Without New Growth Process Is Bloodshed
明日の叙景 (Asunojokei) – わたしと私だったもの (Watashi to watashidatta mono); Awakening
Elephant9 – Greatest Show on Earth
Jack Tickner – Reassuring Weight
Jean Jean – Froidepierre
坂田明 (Sakata Akira), ちかもらち (Chikamorachi), and 佐藤允彦 (Masahiko Sato) – Proton Pump
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