The Active Listener's Top Albums (& E.Ps) of 2012 Part 2 of 4

I've chosen my forty favorite albums of the year here, listed alphabetically.
Here's the second part of the list.
I've included links to full reviews if they were originally reviewed here on the Active Listener.

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DODSON AND FOGG
Available as CD / Digital

What I Said In My Original Review : It's a very strong set of songs, very much in the vein of the underground acoustic folk albums that labels like Harvest and Chrysalis were releasing in the early seventies - Tir No Nog, Magna Carta and Tudor Lodge are all names that immediately spring to mind. (FULL REVIEW HERE)


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DR JOHN - LOCKED DOWN
Available as CD / Vinyl / Digital

What I Said In My Original Review : Recapturing the swampy voodoo groove of his early Night Tripper work this alternates effortlessly between tight, structured numbers like first single, Revolution and looser, organic jams like the fabulous Lies. (FULL REVIEW HERE)

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BOB DYLAN - TEMPEST
Available as CD / Vinyl / Digital

Dylan regains his writing focus with his strongest set of songs since at least "Love & Theft". Great lyrics and his touring band are, as always, superb.

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EGYPTOLOGY - THE SKIES
Available as CD / Vinyl / Digital

A great French piece of retro synth based electronica. All the right buttons are pressed - Ghost Box, Jean Michel Jarre and more. Lovely stuff.

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GRIZZLY BEAR - SHIELDS
Available as CD / Vinyl / Digital

Grizzly Bear's most immediate album and definitely my favorite so far. They seem to have put aside the Beach Boys influences for now in favor of a much more rustic sound that will please fans of Midlake and the Fleet Foxes.

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HOUDAN THE MYSTIC - ARCHER'S JAMBOREE
Available as a Free Bandcamp Download

What I Said In My Original Review : With their brief band bio describing them as "Three beards playing instruments", coupled with their woodland photo shoot album cover, I expected these guys to be soothing backwoods nu-folk of the Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes persuasion.
Bad call by me it seems. Houdan the Mystic are a much more diverse outfit than I ever expected. (FULL REVIEW HERE)
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KADAVAR
Available as CD / Vinyl / Digital

Once you've seen the cover for this you know exactly what it's going to sound like. Fantastic early seventies style riffy hard rock / early metal which draws from the masters at least as well as the likes of Witchcraft and Graveyard. Very nice indeed.

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KONTIKI SUITE - ON SUNSET LAKE
Available as CD / Digital

What I Said In My Original Review : "On Sunset Lake" is a pleasing concoction no mistake - equal parts cosmic Americana, west coast psychedelia, and pastoral Englishness, a combination of impeccable songwriting and arranging and particularly lush production - potentially the nicest sounding album I've heard this year, including major label releases. (FULL REVIEW HERE)

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LEISURE BIRDS - GLOBE MASTER
Available as CD / Vinyl / Digital

What I Said In My Original Review : Apart from sporting a particularly bad-ass cover, "Globe Master" is one of the most hypnotic pieces of space rock I've heard in ages. (FULL REVIEW HERE)

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THE MARBLE VANITY
Available as CD / Vinyl /  Digital

A great piece of homerecorded garage pop with nods to Flying Nun, baroque pop and all sorts of other things that will make you feel warm inside. Marvelous.

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See my first ten choices here.

Ten more coming very soon.

The Active Listener's Top Albums (& E.Ps) of 2012 Part 1 of 4

It's been a great year for new music and with my first full year of blogging behind me I've discovered more than my fair share of great new stuff that I would otherwise not have heard of.
I've chosen my forty favorite albums of the year here, listed alphabetically.
Here's the first ten. I've included links to full reviews if they were originally reviewed here on the Active Listener.

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AIRBAG - ALL RIGHTS REMOVED
Available as CD / Vinyl / Digital

There's no shortage of bands out there that evoke vintage Floyd, but Airbag are a little different in that they perfectly capture the claustrophobic feel of the Animals album - not an easy task. There's a touch of Porcupine Tree to the vocals, but it's the soaring Gilmouresque guitar leads and memorable choruses that really grab the listener's attention.

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ALFA 9 - GONE TO GROUND
Available as Digital

What I Said In My Original Review : A masterclass of jangle pop which takes in west coast psychedelia, the Stone Roses, Teenage Fanclub and a whole lot of the Byrds circa the Gene Clark era. (FULL REVIEW HERE)

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ALLAH-LAS
Available as CD / Vinyl / Digital

What I Said In My Original Review : After only a few listens it's become clear that this is an album of hidden depth -  a tuneful, easy playing summer record, with a moody, dark undercurrent of windswept melancholy that begs for repeat plays. (FULL REVIEW HERE)

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APACHE DROPOUT - BUBBLEGUM GRAVEYARD
Available as CD / Vinyl / Digital

The cover gives you a prefect idea of exactly what this sounds like. Fun bubblegum punk of a ghoulish bent. Excellent.

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ASTRA - THE BLACK CHORD
Available as CD / Vinyl / Digital

What I Said In My Original Review : It's refreshing in this day and age to hear a contemporary prog band who aren't reliant on crossing over into metal territory to gather fans. Instead Astra's idols seem to be the holy triumvirate of King Crimson, Yes and Pink Floyd, and they do an admirable job of evoking the masters without ever sounding derivative. (FULL REVIEW HERE)

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BELBURY POLY - THE BELBURY TALES
Available as CD / Vinyl / Digital

What I Said In My Original Review : A new Belbury Poly album is always a cause for celebration, and this may well be Reverend Jim's best work yet. (FULL REVIEW HERE)

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BEAULIEU PORCH
Available as CD / Vinyl / Digital

What I Said In My Original Review : Beaulieu Porch's debut full length is quite possibly the most purely enjoyable psych-pop release I've heard this year so far. It's undeniably psychedelic, often openly borrowing from the spirit of the sixties, but is unmistakably contemporary in it's execution. (FULL REVIEW HERE)

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THE BUFFALO KILLERS - DIG.SOW.LOVE.GROW.
Available as CD / Vinyl / Digital

What I Said In My Original Review : They've honed their sound to the point where they're releasing albums which are more consistently solid than those of their primary influences. (FULL REVIEW HERE)

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PETER DALTREY & THE ASTEROID #4 - THE JOURNEY
Available as CD / Digital

What I Said In My Original Review : Daltrey and the Asteroid #4 boys are ideal foils for each other, leaving me hungry for more of these cross generational collaborations. (FULL REVIEW HERE)

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DEATH AND VANILLA
Available as Vinyl / Digital

Finally, a suitable substitute for the much missed Broadcast. Stunning space pop with lashings of reverb, psychedelia and library music. Brilliant.

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Part Two coming soon!

Ten Great Analogue Synthesizer Albums

I've been on a bit of an analogue synth binge lately so thought I'd share a few of my favorites with you.
This is by no means a definitive list of the best synth albums around - no Pink Floyd, Kraftwerk, Vangelis, New Order, ELP etc - just a taster of what I've been enjoying lately.

Yes - Tales From Topographic Oceans (1973)
Four side-long epics that give everyone in the band their moment to shine, with vocalist Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman taking best advantage of the opportunity. Wakeman jumped ship for a little while after this to recuperate.



Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene (1976)
An obvious choice, but a necessity nonetheless. One of the most important progressive electronic albums of it's day, this still sounds great today. One of the first electronic albums with serious hooks - Oxygene Part 2 is unforgettable.



David Bowie - Low (1977)
Possibly my favourite Bowie album (for today anyway) - one side of memorable and concise synth-pop, and one side of adventurous Eno assisted proto-ambience, exemplified by "Warszawa", one of Bowie's most beautiful melodies.



John Carpenter - Halloween (1978)
A perfect case of necessity being the mother of invention, the limited budget for Halloween made it practical for John Carpenter to write and record his own soundtrack using a few primitive Fairlights. Influenced by Tangerine Dream and Goblin's Suspiria, it's full of memorable themes and is one of the creepiest suites you're likely to ever hear.



Tangerine Dream - Force Majeure (1979)
While most would point you toward "Phaedra" or "Rubycon" as the best introduction to Tangerine Dream, I'd argue that their late seventies and early eighties output is far more accessible - melodic but still adventurous. "Force Majeure" is my favourite of the bunch, incorporating plenty of live drums and electric guitar into the mix, but still giving room for the keyboards and sequencers to dominate.



Fabio Frizzi - Zombi 2 (1979)
Perhaps not Frizzi's best score (that honour would belong to either "The Beyond" or "City of the Living Dead") this does feature the most extensive use of synthesizer in his work, from the ominous main theme to moments of weird tropicalia, this has a bit of everything. The vinyl reissue from Death Waltz Recording Company is superb.



Mike Oldfield - The Killing Fields (1984)
While Oldfield's early albums for Virgin are rightly championed as classic pieces of progressive music, it's the soundtrack for "The Killing Fields" that I find myself playing most often. Oldfield had immersed himself in Fairlight technology and pretty much abandoned the guitar for this release which is made even moodier by David Bedford's choral and orchestral accompaniment. "Evacuation" is flawless.



BBC Radiophonic Workshop - A Retrospective (2008)
The Beeb's Radiophonic Workshop were acknowledged frontrunners in the early days of electronic music, providing groundbreaking weirdness to a number of TV and Radio shows. Despite this, they never released a classic album  - but this double CD compilation does a great job of rounding up some of the very best moments from the likes of Delia Derbyshire, John Baker, Paddy Kingsland and Peter Howell. Some amazing stuff on here.



The Advisory Circle - As The Crow Flies (2011)
The Ghost Box label specialize in music that sounds like what a middle aged man in glasses and a cardigan would have imagined future music to sound like in the 1970s. There's a heavy BBC Radiophonic Workshop influence, but also moments that evoke a perfect pastoral Englishness, and melodies that will stick with you forever. Also see Belbury Poly and Pye Corner Audio who plough the same furrow in slightly different ways.



Egyptology - The Skies (2012)
This is a new French group that I know almost nothing about. What I can say is that this is a charmingly retro sounding instrumental synth album that draws on the likes of Jean Michel Jarre. Great hooks, beats where it needs them, and a flawless sense of atmosphere. 


Your turn - what are your favorite synth albums / songs?

Maston Album Coming From Trouble in Mind

Good news everybody! Active Listener favorites Maston are following up their two self released E.Ps with a debut album on the esteemed Trouble in Mind label. As if Trouble in Mind need another psych-pop genius on their roster.
"Shadows" will be available in February on Vinyl and CD and promises to continue Maston's experimental approach - equal parts Morricone and Van Dyke Parks.
You can read more about it on Trouble in Mind's website here : http://troubleinmindrecs.com/bands/maston.html
Don't know Maston? It's not too late! Check out my review of the second E.P "Voyages" here : http://active-listener.blogspot.co.nz/2012/09/maston-voyages-review.html
The Bandcamp links have disappeared for now, but I'm sure you'll find something on Youtube to sample.
And keep an eye out for an exclusive track on the Active Listener's Christmas Special coming in December.
In the meantime here's "Young Hearts", which will appear on "Shadows"

Sand Snowman - The World's Not Worth It Review

CD / Vinyl / Bandcamp

This actually came out about a year ago, but I've only just become aware of it recently, and needed to share it with you as it's pretty much brilliant.
Sand Snowman - that's Gavan Kearney to his mum, has been around for a wee while now and it shows in the confidence, professionalism and polish of "The World's Not Worth It".
Kearney makes music that boils folk, progressive rock, classical and psychedelia down to it's very best elements and coalesces them into a whole which at it's best recalls early King Crimson during it's more pastoral moments.
Another more recent touchstone is Storm Corrosion, a comparison which makes a lot of sense when a very familiar voice pops up on "A Life Rehearsed". Steven Wilson's presence is obviously welcome, but it says a lot about the quality of the musicianship here that the tracks he appears on aren't the obvious highlights. I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I suspect that this was recorded before "Storm Corrosion", and it appears to have left quite an impression upon Mr Wilson.
Elsewhere, "Events in a Skyline" is built upon a marvelously soothing piano figure which conjures mental pictures of the first part of Eno's "Music for Airports" gone rural, and drifting peacefully from a darkened snowcovered village.
"Samhain Rain - Arise" is an atmospheric spookfest with lovely vocal harmonies and quietly arpeggiated acoustic guitars.
"Ice and Rainbows" is where it all come together best though, starting with psychedelically cascading guitars, and "Suspiria" chimes providing a wonderfully textural backdrop for an insistent melody-line that is both timeless and gorgeous before also finding time for a medieval sounding acoustic guitar and flute section, and a sinister, distorted bridge, and all done in under eight minutes.
It's this approach of cramming a lot of ideas into an economical space which ensures that there's not a moment here that outstays it's welcome, and that after twenty listens I'm still hearing new things with every spin.
Marvelous, and totally essential for anyone with even a remote interest in the non-metal side of modern progressive music.

Available on CD + Vinyl here.

Wyrd Radio

This week's episode of Active Listener Radio is something a little different, very English and very weird.
Those of a nostalgic bent should hopefully enjoy this.

Wyrd Radio by The Active Listener on Mixcloud

Tightrope - Theme
12 Gates of the City - Ginger Baker & The Airforce               
Julia Dream - Pink Floyd                   
Autumn Theatricals - Moon Wiring Club           
Evacuation - Mike Oldfield       
Children Of The Stones - Theme               
The Cornubia - BEAK>
The Seventh Seal - Scott Walker           
Willow's Song - Doves       
Environmental Studies - Delia Derbyshire       
Turn Into Earth - Al Stewart   
Number 33 - Jan & Lorraine       
I See You - The Pretty Things       
Tam Lin - Fairport Convention       
O Death Melmoth The Wanderer Mix - Sproatly Smith               
Sky - Theme
Wicked Annabella - The Kinks       
Wenceslas Square - John Cameron               
Spine Of A Wave - Emily Portman       
Hammer House of Horror - Theme               
Highgate Cemetary - Roy Harper                   
The Astronauts - Peter Howell       

The Resonars - Crummy Desert Sound Review

Burger Records

"Crummy Desert Sound" is another candy coated punch in the face from a band that can do no wrong and that somehow gets better with every release.
Imagine a world where Alan Clarke of the Hollies decided he'd rather be in the Who, but left the songwriting duties to Pete Townshend with perhaps a bit of help from Ray & Dave Davies every now and then.
Sounds like an idyllic setting for the discerning lover of British Invasion to while away their days, and if you were to knock on the door of the house next door in this picturesque world, chances are fairly good that it would be answered by Matt Rendon - the gentleman responsible for this maelstrom of melodic freakbeat.
Making a one man band arrangement sound like a tight knit beat combo is not a skill many have mastered, but fortunately Mr Rendon is a master of his domain and this gives any, and I mean any of the big name British Invasion groups of the sixties a run for their money.
Which is not to say that listening to a Resonars LP is an entirely nostalgic exercise as there's a relentlessness and an applied layer of grit that wouldn't be possible for a group that had never heard bands like the Clash before.
"Crummy Desert Sound" as you may have gathered then is an album full of top notch Bristish Invasion inspired guitar pop tunes, highlighted by windmilling guitar parts, stratospheric Keith Moonesque drumming, and picture perfect vocal harmonies, all delivered with the sort of snotty bravado that all the best rock n rollers aspire to, but few achieve.
Highlights are pretty much everywhere, but special attention should be drawn to the propulsive "Tomorrow Gears", the merseyside beat of "I Had a Dream", the guitar histrionics and killer chorus of "It's What They Do" and especially "A City Out of Reach" which glows with all the melodic sunshine of "Summerteeth" era Wilco.
Available very soon from the fine folks at Burger Records - visit them here.
Fancy a sneak preview of one of the tracks from this? Visit here : http://theactivelistener.bandcamp.com/album/the-active-listener-psychedelic-sampler-12-12

Temples - Shelter Song / Prisms 7" - Review

Heavenly Records 7"

It's good to see some of the larger U.K independents taking a punt on some good old fashioned psychedelia lately. The mainstream acceptance of bands like Tame Impala has made it far more palatable for labels to dabble in psychedelia, and after releasing the rather fabulous debut LP from Liverpool's Stealing Sheep, Heavenly Records are back at it with the first 7" release of the even more sixties-fixated Temples.
These two tracks are very fine indeed and more than a little bit of a tease - a real throwback to the pre internet days when you weren't able to discover a band and download their entire discography within a matter of minutes.
"Shelter Song" welds a chiming 12 string riff to a stomping northern soul rhythm, and still finds room for an infectious psychedelic pop chorus. They do a very clever job of blending three disparate cult sounds to create something which should by all rights be a massive radio hit - accessibility without sacrificing artistic integrity is not something many folks manage, especially on a debut release.
B-Side "Prisms" is a slightly more subdued creature, but is none the worse for it. Introducing more of a baroque pop sound, this is a godsend for fans of the Ballroom and the likeminded Jacco Gardner.
Where's the album then? he says impatiently.

Buy here from Norman Records.

Check out both tracks here :

The Active Listener Psychedelic Sampler 12/12

December's sampler is here for you patient people, and I think it's even better than last month's.
Please take some time to visit the band's links below to continue to support their music.
Download through the bandcamp link at the bottom of this post.
I'm always on the look out for exciting new psychedelic acts to feature on future samplers- feel free to send me a sample if you'd like to feature - message me on the Active Listener facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Active-Listener/188959981198270

1. Mechanik- Radian
From The E.P "You Yourself Are The Teacher & The Guru" Available Here
2. The Sufis- Wake Up
From the Album "The Sufis" Available Here
3. Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor - Black Mind
From The Album "Spectra Spirit" Available Here
4. WJLP - The Moon King
Check Out WJLP on Soundcloud Here
5. Sun Eater - Horse Head 
From The E.P "Sun Eater" Available Here 
6. Dead Radio -Scotch
From The E.P "Crystal Moth" Available Here
7. The Smoking Trees- Calling
From The Album "Acetates" Available Here
8. 8X8 - Snowflake In The Rain
From the Album "Anatomy of an Apricot" Available Here 
9. The Club Of Rome - Better Man
Check Out The Club of Rome on Facebook Here
10. Steve Somerset's Shadow Kabinet - Roll Over Week
Previously Unreleased. Check Out Steve Somerset's Shadow Kabinet Here
11. The Prisoner of Mars - Super Duper
From the Album "Gestalt" Available Here
12. Flat Ed - Horn Meuh Nice
Check out Flat Ed on Soundcloud Here
13. Dead Horse One -Undone
From The E.P "Dark Horse One" Available Here 
14. Street Smells - 30 Moons Past
From The Album "Creamy" Available Here
15. The Resonars - Across The Golden Border
From the Album "Crummy Desert Sound" Available Here Soon
16. The Time & Space Machine - River Theme
From The Album Volume One. Visit The Time & Space Machine on Facebook Here 

Stream or Download Right Here :

The Reverb Conspiracy Volume One - Review

Fuzz Club Vinyl 

Released to help celebrate the first Reverb Conspiracy psychedelic festival, this could very easily have been one of those dodgy festival samplers that quickly become beer coasters, or could even have found it's way into the wardrobe with that ill-fitting and grossly overpriced concert T-Shirt that seemed like a good idea at the time but in reality has questionable value as anything other than a memento.
It's a testament to the quality of the acts involved then, and to the organizers of the festival and the compilers of this LP that this stands up as well as it does as a listening experience in it's own right.
As a sampler of what the dark underbelly of the current psychedelic scene has to offer, this is pretty much unbeatable.
The potential was certainly there for this to be repetitive and one-dimensional, but the acts on here show a surprising range, whilst still retaining a unified approach that groups the artists comfortably together without restricting their creative drives.
The staples of dark modern psychedelia are very much in evidence here ; drones, reverbed guitars, heavily treated garage vocals etc, but there's plenty of invention to be found too. The chiming postpunk of The Underground Youth's "I Need You" is an attention grabber with it's clattering percussion and a riff seemingly lifted straight off an early eighties Cure record.
Elsewhere bands like The Electric Koolaid Company incorporate plenty of vintage shoegaze into their sound, the Lucid Dream inject a healthy dose of punk into "Hits Me Like I'm Stoned", while Black Market Karma's "Weightless" sounds like the most terrifying sixties creation you've ever heard.
Best of all though is Get Your Gun's "Staying For a While" which skillfully combines the gravity of Jim Morrison at his most doomladen with the heightened drama of the best Triffids and Nick Cave material.
Recommended.

Buy the LP here.

Full tracklisting:
1. Black Market Karma (UK) - Weightless
2. A Victim Of Society (GR) - You're Gonna Hate Me
3. The Lucid Dream (UK) - Hits Me Like I'm Stoned
4. The Koolaid Electric Company (UK)- Dreams
5. The Orange Revival (SE) - Ever
6. The KVB (UK) - Never Enough
7. Radar Men From The Moon (NL) - Heading For The Void
8. Singapore Sling (IS) - Nothing Inside
9. Oscar Suave (UK) - No Direction
10. Dead Skeletons (IS) - Kundalini Eyes
11. Lola Colt (UK) - Diamonds
12. Sonic Jesus (IT) - Underground
13. The Underground Youth (UK) - I Need You
14. Black Lizard (FL) - Spirits
15. Wall Of Death (FR) - Thunder Sky
16. Get Your Gun (DK) - Staying For A While
17. The Third Sound (IS) - Re-Elevation
18. The Wands (DK) - Hello I Know The Blow You Grow Is Magic
19. Dead Rabbits (UK) - When I'm Blue

Sample a few tracks here :