Here's a thread where we can talk about the most pleasant surprises from the 2005 promo/discard pile

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you know, stuff that comes to your attention somehow; manages to escape immediate disposal; is held onto because it seems like it might at least be interesting; is soon forgetten about entirely until it's thrown into the player one low 'n lazy, possibly rainy, day; and catches you off guard by being, wow, really good.

― Ghost Bear Junior High Attendance Party, Tuesday, 27 December 2005 05:43 (twenty years ago)

i thought all of these were v. good to excellent, or at least promising enough to make them Names To Watch. the usual suspects have been slow to review most of these, so plz share yr thoughts that we might conversate.

Know Massive - moodswingset
Emily Hay - like minds
Invisible - s/t
The Looking - tin can head
Listing Ship - time to dream
Chromelodeon - heart of sawdust
The Original Mark Edwards - rewind tomorrow
Dub Gabriel - bass jihad
Cadiz - breakers
Murdocks - surrender ender
The Floating City - entering a contest
Plan:Be - s/t?

mostly i just want to see if anyone else was blown away by the self-released and self-titled CDs by Invisible and The Looking, about which it's a total bitch to search for existing threads or reviews, for obvious reasons.

― Ghost Bear Junior High Attendance Party, Tuesday, 27 December 2005 05:49 (twenty years ago)

I had a few of these:

Tryst, Hotel Two-Way (sophistipop that actually made my P&J Top 10!)
Breaking Laces, Lemonade (jangle pop)
Ross Copperman, Believe (if Robbie Williams were more sunshine pop)

― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Tuesday, 27 December 2005 06:08 (twenty years ago)

i'll kick off the dialog.

ILM should be all over The Looking. late Talk Talk meets early Talk Talk by way of, uhhh, Guadalcanal Diary? with not-crap string arrangements. and "Genius of Love" booty beats.

Know Massive covers The Cure and dedicates tracks to 4AD and shoegazer bands. oh, it's undie hiphop. did i mention that? show some love. this CD may be from 2003, but i swear it slipped through my mail slot earlier this year. USPS fuck-up?

Murdocks are Pavement as hardcore band. yeah, i didn't think so either, but you'd be amazed. some great songs.

Cadiz does the polished Americana folk/rock thing at least as well as Wilco and maybe better. M. Ward, Sparklehorse, etc. with that psych wooze of Maquiladora and MMJ. very well produced. Varnaline connections. S, not D.

Listing Ship are more interesting and more authentic than CocoRosie. not as weird, i'll grant. but you've got your French songs and your banjos and chimes, and your rambling narratives. and the creepy lady-child vibe. i know which i prefer. they've been around for a while, i see.

Emily Hay knocked me for a loop. Like Minds looks like it'll be the chipper of some coffeehouse waif whose TNN dreams stranded her just outside of Mobile. but, no, hold those ponies, it's all extended vocal, wind and violin improv - keening Suzanne Lewis/Anna Homler glossolalia, tonesmears, you name it - in revolving-door 3s and 4s with the Ventura/pfMENTUM posse. and it's GOOD! even great in parts. sure stood out a mile from this label's standard monthly issues.

someone else say something. i'm going to bed.

ack, xpost!

― Ghost Bear Junior High Attendance Party, Tuesday, 27 December 2005 06:24 (twenty years ago)

YMCK's "Family Music" was my favorite unknown promo that came in. It's loungy vocal jazz played entirely on 8-bit video game instruments. It's much more substantial than it's original novelty value.

There are more, but I'm not in front of my promo pile now.

― Michael F Gill (Michael F Gill), Tuesday, 27 December 2005 08:03 (twenty years ago)

Tape's "A Spire," from their Rideau, on Häpna, might be the loveliest thing I heard all year. An MP3 is up at the label's site, check it out: http://www.hapna.com/aspire.mp3 (right-click it)

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Tuesday, 27 December 2005 08:39 (twenty years ago)

I like the album it comes from too; the first (of five) track(s) wanders some but the rest is quite terrific.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Tuesday, 27 December 2005 08:45 (twenty years ago)

I know that they're probably never gonna get any love anywhere (not least because their name is crap), but the Rock and Roll Monkey and the Robots album was the most surprising one I got this year. Lo-fi alternarock (GBV/Sebadoh) but hooky and done really well. Should count for something.

― js (honestengine), Tuesday, 27 December 2005 15:51 (twenty years ago)

Tape albums are always good, always lovely, but (IMHO) never quite as good as their first (Opera). they also released a CD of their Mort aux Vaches session this year, which i prefer to Rideau (marred for me by the fussy directing hand of guest producer Marcus Schmickler).

― Ghost Bear Junior High Attendance Party (echoinggrove), Tuesday, 27 December 2005 16:03 (twenty years ago)

Feathers - Feathers LP - i almost didn't listen to this amazing album, then it became one of my favorites of the year.

― deadair (deadair), Tuesday, 27 December 2005 16:08 (twenty years ago)

I saw Chromelodeon about a year ago, they did a prog rock arrangement of music from the original NES Ninja Gaiden and they had nice homemade lighting. It was pretty fun, when the GYBE influence wasn't showing.

― Tripmaker (SDWitzm), Tuesday, 27 December 2005 16:10 (twenty years ago)

i dug that Chromelodeon album, but you really have to be in the right mood.

― deadair (deadair), Tuesday, 27 December 2005 16:11 (twenty years ago)

Glitter Pals EP (but it's technically out in '06). Kicked total arse.

― Je4nn3 ƒur¥ (Je4nne Fury), Tuesday, 27 December 2005 16:15 (twenty years ago)

thanks for the tip Ghost Bear, I will check out Ghosts

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Tuesday, 27 December 2005 16:31 (twenty years ago)

whoops! I mean Opera

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Tuesday, 27 December 2005 16:38 (twenty years ago)

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