What would I have been listening to in 2004-08?

February 2, 2009 12:15 PM

Please help me get caught up on the last four years of (certain types of) music.

About four years ago I quit my job as a rock critic and, as a result of burnout, really stopped paying attention to new music. I think I'm ready to get back up to speed. I'll use year-end lists to get caught up in general, so what I could use are suggestions from the last four years of my favorite genres, which are:

1). Shoegazer-inspired stuff
2). Trippy electronica a la Boards of Canada and odd nosdam (I do have the latest albums from both of them)
3). Stoner metal
4). elephant 6-style psychedelica

Also, links to video or music blogs about the above would be welcome. Thanks.

posted by Bookhouse to media & arts (24 comments total)

I got the stoner metal part.

Blogs:

Wine, Women and Song

Sludgeswamp

Also,

The album reviews section of stonerrock.com.

The past couple years in the heavy have been dominated by a trend towards more spacey, droning post-metal with a big Neurosis influence. Bands like Minsk, Red Sparrowes, Tides, Pelican, Cult of Luna, Isis (obviously), Jesu, etc. A big event was the return of Sleep bass player Al Cisneros to heavy music from a long stay in a monastery with his band OM. If you like total zoned out bass riffs that repeat for ten minutes straight you'll love them.

If you can handle the doom, then you missed a great band in Graves at Sea, they were on the extreme Burning Witch end of the doom spectrum, totally sickening vocals and bowel looseningly heavy riffs. Electric Wizard has continued to be solid, with their last album Witchcult Today being the best they've done in years.

Wino just released a solo album that was highly anticipated and is getting praise but I haven't heard it yet. I can't imagine that it will suck. He has an even more highly anticipated project due out later this year, his super group Shrinebuilder that includes Scott Kelly from Neurosis, Al and Chris from OM and Dale Crover from the Melvins.
posted by The Straightener at 12:42 PM on February 2 [2 favorites]

a music blog thread was recently posted on the blue. hours of fun there.
posted by nadawi at 12:47 PM on February 2 [1 favorite]

For shoegazer, this is a drink from a firehose.
posted by jbickers at 12:56 PM on February 2 [1 favorite]

Shoegazer: I love Asobi Seksu and Lali Puna. Notwist has a new one too. And what about the new Sigur Ros?

And though it's not really in your categories, I'd suggest Ratatat. I love them to death, and I really like 3 of your 4 categories. I'd call them toe-tapping instrumental electronic rock. I discovered them opening up for The Faint and later saw them open up for Bjork. (And her latest is really good, too.)
posted by faunafrailty at 1:01 PM on February 2 [2 favorites]

For electronica, I'd suggest checking out the offerings from Ghostly International. Four Tet often gets mentioned alongside Boards of Canada.

Outside of English-language music, Supercar from Japan offers a combination of shoegazer and electronica.
posted by needled at 1:17 PM on February 2

For trippy electronic stuff, there is a huge volume of new material.

Check out the playlists of (or even better, listen to) internet radio stations like Radioio Chill, Radioio Ambient, Soma FM, etc.
posted by mikeand1 at 1:19 PM on February 2

Boards-of-canadaishness:

Tycho & Miwon are currently at the top of my list.
posted by activitystory at 1:21 PM on February 2 [1 favorite]

1, 2:Ulrich Schnauss, m83.
1: the Raveonettes.
2: Flying Lotus.
posted by subtle-t at 1:24 PM on February 2

Also of interest:

Morr Music's Blue Skied an' Clear(twee electronic groups do Slowdive songs).

Christian Fennesz and Tim Hecker - noise/ambient stuff with obvious shoegaze references.
posted by subtle-t at 1:31 PM on February 2

Kettel. Ricardo Tobar, perhaps?
posted by stleric at 1:34 PM on February 2

Polydream is an excellent shoegazer band, though I'm biased since they're friends of mine. I especially recommend the songs "Juner" and "Hollywood," which are streaming at that site.

I can't recommend highly enough: get an eMusic account and explore their genres, which are incredibly finely subdivided into all sorts of different kinds of electronic. From there, it's easy to see which albums are within 2004-2008.

I would also enter things like "Amon Tobin," "Daedelus," and "Four Tet" for trippy electronica -- check out those 3 artists and others like them. I especially recommend Daedelus's album Of Snowdonia, which isn't quite like anything else I've ever heard.

You might also be interested in this remix album of My Brightest Diamond. Beautiful singing over laid-back electronica.

For Elephant 6, go to eMusic and enter "Of Montreal," download their essential albums Satanic Panic in the Attic and The Sunlandic Twins, then look around for similar artists.

More mellow electronica: this Styrofoam album is uneven but has a great song called Couches in Alleys with guest vocals by Ben Gibbard (see my review at that link under this same username).

If you like The Notwist and/or Lali Puna (recommend by another commenter), definitely check out Ms. John Soda (these bands are united by common band members).
posted by Jaltcoh at 1:39 PM on February 2

M83. Saturdays=Youth.
posted by hazyspring at 1:39 PM on February 2

Here's a few of 1) and 2) (that may not have been mentioned above):

Hammock
Fennesz
Eluvium
Autolux
Snowden
Efterklang
A Place to Bury Strangers
Deerhoof
Atlas Sound
Jenifever

If you deal with torrents you can find some decent compilations by pb-ing (thepiratebay.com)"shoegaze"

Although lots of oldies here, this is a great blogg:

http://shoegazeralive2.blogspot.com
posted by ezekieldas at 2:40 PM on February 2

re: elephant 6.: there are 1-2 new elf power records.
posted by anthropomorphic at 2:49 PM on February 2

A favorite shoegazer-ish band of mine is Telescreen. They've released an EP called The Solar Sea that I find incredible.
posted by alligatorman at 3:21 PM on February 2

Let me add a link to Telescreen's last.fm page, where you can listen to the entire EP, though not in order.
posted by alligatorman at 3:25 PM on February 2

Shoegazer/trippy electronic: Fennesz, M83, Tim Hecker, A Sunny Day in Glasgow, Red Sparowes.

Stoner metal: Earth just released a new album. Black Mountain. Grails may fit the bill too.

E6: The most recent two Of Montreal albums.
posted by The Michael The at 4:45 PM on February 2

A selection of tracks from Ghostly International acts can be downloaded for free from Ghostly Swim. There's also two videos you can view at that Adult Swim / Ghostly International site.
posted by needled at 5:54 PM on February 2

There's a tasty new trend that mixes 80s shoegazer with psychedelia and/or 90s cuddlecore, exemplified by The Vivian Girls.

Philadelphia is a modern utopia of pysch-pop these days, and it all started with Dr. Dog. Well maybe it didn't but I like them. My new fave band from there is Drink Up Buttercup who is not to be missed live.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:41 PM on February 2

M83 is like a John Hughes movie in music. I love it when their newest work shows up in my Slacker.
posted by santojulieta at 8:54 PM on February 2

yes to Earth and Tim Hecker!

Blood Is Truth is a blog which specializes in a lot of the genres you mentioned, doom, sludge, drone, psych, etc...

for drone, shoegaze, ambient check out:
emeralds
Growing
svarte greiner
caroliner
beach house
the boats
gas

softer psych:
gang gang dance
nagisa ni te
LSD march
suishou no fune
white rainbow
ghost

stoner metal:
boris
drudk
sleep
om
mammatus
eyehategod
posted by unicazurn at 11:39 PM on February 2

Wow, thanks everybody. I have no idea how to pick best answers in threads like these.
posted by Bookhouse at 10:41 AM on February 3

Nthing m83 and seconding Tycho
posted by ejoey at 4:26 PM on February 3

Don't forget Bibio! Very, very Boards of Canada-like. Get the album Fi. Fantastic music.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 11:13 AM on March 13