TranscendNoise

70. Cavern – Sunday (Eater) Instrumental Rock is a tricky thing. Following the great explosion of many many post-rock bands, the most apparent evolution as a listener might be, that you grow colder and are harder to wow the more you know. The deep satisfaction and wonderment of listening to my first tracks of Explosions in The Sky or Jakob might never return and many new bands that emerge do not bring anything greatly different to the table. Yet, if it is clear, that there is no wheel to reinvent, you better learn to use it very well. Cavern´s Eater as a whole is a rare gem of two instruments working in unison and creating some of the best post-rock this year. While there are hints of Long Distance Calling or a general affection for post-metal sounds on the record, "Sunday" is a track closer to something Jakob might have delivered in the past. The clear-eyed outlook of the simple guitar chords, the layers that build and play with each other convey triumph and grandeur. H...

40. Yohuna – Patientness Having a washed-out aesthetic is something that works quite well with female vocals, and Yohuna hits the sweet spot right away. Patientness is shoe-gaze with a very singer-songwriter mindset. The washed out sound, the effect-laden guitar, and the reverb-soaked vocals never overpower you, never fall into purely ecstatic moments, but leave nuance and especially enough of the vocals intact. Not that you necessarily get everything that is being said, but on tracks like “Steel Skins”, when the vocals are layered and harmonize with each other, the words are comprehensible enough to give meaning to them, which is equally true for high pitched “Golden Foil” and the sunrise attitude the song carries. The whole album has enough ideas and variations, to digress from any pinpointing and the band´s performance is set on stressing the mood of the vocals rather than creating it on their own. The best moments even recall something like Cocteau Twins or Imogen Heap, ...

50. FAYE – Ancient Bones ( Faye ) Faye are one of the newest and youngest signees of the Tiny Engines imprint any their debut EP was a musical moment to behold this year. Clear stand out between their agile punk rock is the closer “Ancient Bones”. The band slows their tempo down on this unexpected left turn and lets the instrumental slow down between the breathy vocals of Sarah Blumenthal. This track alone carries more disarray and yearning than any flip out could ever deliver and hopefully serves as an indicator for a promising new band. 49. Frightened Rabbit - An Otherwise Disappointing Life ( Painting Of A Panic Attack ) Who do you sing your blues to, who will cover for the disappointments without becoming one itself? This is the basic premise of this broken ballad between hope and total surrender. The band is one of the greatest when it comes to charmingly saying that your life is fucked and there isn´t that much to look forward to, if you take a sobering look...