TranscendNoise

10. Tim Hecker – Love Streams Tim Hecker is the master of affective forces in music. Since his 2011 album Ravedeath 1972 , my listening to music and my experience of sound haven´t been the same. I have yet to experience this power in a life setting, but Hecker talking about the importance of fog, about the sheer intensity of loudness, actually feeling the sounds in your body stand as the reassurance, that this experience will be something to remember. His work with sounds is something entirely different from making music for enjoyment and is hard to grasp if you´re searching for easy listening. The understanding of drones, of elongated sounds, chopped organs and the semblances of air or fog have driven me to pursue studies of ephemerality and the sense and pushed me in a direction a book or teaching would have never accomplished. That being said, Love Streams is a departure or a side-step from his previous work and is already visible through his choice of colors for the a...

20. Allan Kingdom – Fables ft. Chronixx ( Northern Lights ) This is Kingdom at his most introspective, while at the same time not compromising on the melodic and catchy quality of his songs. The atmospheric and almost ambient keys and altered vocals are contrasted with a menacing bass line and snappy snares for the full effect of delivering the same broken aggression the lyrics convey. I´m not a huge fan of religion and we see Kingdom recounting the smoke and mirrors of his own experience with Christian belief. Chronixx complements this with his reggae-infused deliverance, calling out the intrusion of Christianity and in right manner swearing allegiance to Selassie and the Rastafari movement. The fitting aural experience for realization and the overcoming of submission stressed by the stunning visuals. 19. Case/Lang/Veirs – Delirium ( Case/Lang/Veirs ) This collaboration by three artists I never listened to yielded great songs from top to bottom. “Delirium” is a dynamic...

89. The Underachievers – Caprice (Cellar Door: Terminus Ut Exordium) The debut album by the Underachievers deserves to be respected. Coming up under the recent wave of New York rappers, Cellar Door is their mission statement and way of creating their lane. You could have guessed that after their mixtape they would come to rely on hooks and banging production akin to Herb Shuttles, but on the contrary the UA focused on content and lyricism. For this, Caprice is the best combination of both the catchy hook of "knock em, knock em" and a message. The UA speak against stereotypes and try themselves at being metaphysicists of rap – rightfully so. 88. AnD – New World Order (Esoteric Systems) This is the soundtrack for the overwhelming insanity of seeing your loved ones murdered. The deprivation of humanity through sheer force and the creeping loss of self-restraint as you find the murderer red-handed and bloody yourself with the remains of his free will. Esoteric Sy...