Most Listened/Favorites of 2012

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Jan 032013
 

This is a list of albums/singles released in 2012 that I listened to/liked the most. Listed in alphabetical order.

Allah La’s- S/T
Apache Dropout- Bubblegum Graveyard
The Band In Heaven- 7”
Bare Mutants- Without You 7”
Christian Bland and The Revelators- Pig Boat Blues
Clinic- Free Reign
Cosmonauts- If You Wanna Die Then I Wanna Die
Cosmonauts- Laser Beam 7”
Cry’s/Learner Dancer- Split Cassette
Deep Time- Deep Time
Gap Dream- S/T
Gap Dream- Generator 7”
The Gardens- Gardens
Grand Trine- I Need You Baby/Say It 7”
The Hierophants- Bow Down To The Hierophants 7”
High Wolf- Know Thyself
John Maus- A Collection of Rarities
Kraus- Supreme Commander
Ketamines- Spaced Out
King Tuff- Wild Desire 7”
The Limananas- Crystal Anis
The Mallard- Yes on Blood
The Mallard/Thee Oh Sees- split 7”
Moonmen On The Moon Man- Maan EP
Natural Child- For the Love of The Game
OFF! – S/T
The Paperhead- Pictures of Her Demise 7”
Peaking Lights- Lucifer
People’s Temple- More for the Masses
Percoladies- S/T Cassette
Piresian Beach- Alle Falle
Radar Eyes- S/T
Spacin’- Deep Thuds
Subsonics- In The Black
Sultan Bathery- S/T
The Sufis- S/T
UFO Club- S/T
Uh Bones- S/T EP
Useless Eaters- Addicted to the Blade 7”
Useless Eaters- C’est Bon!
Vincas- Blood Bleeds

Favorite Albums of 2011

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Jan 032012
 

2011 was a very good year for new music. It was difficult for me to narrow it down so I didn’t narrow it down. This list is the new stuff I listened to the most this year which excludes reissues and anything not released in 2011. The list is alphabetical but there are a few that stood out which I listened to substantially more often (most likely because they came out earlier in the year) and those albums have asterisks beside them. There was a handful of things I never got around to listening to that I had heard were great but alas, only so many hours in the year. As well, like most years, this list is Texas-heavy, psychedelic-heavy and garage-heavy. A few electronic and a couple experimental and one “classical” (TW Bond’s- compositions). Thanks to all the rock blogs that allowed us to sample so much good stuff. Most of these albums were released on vinyl and I recommend purchasing any and/or all of them.

1. Acid Baby Jesus- LP
2. Allah La’s- Demo
3. Apache Dropout- S/T LP + Radiation 7”+ Shot Down 7”*
4. Bad Indians- Sounds From The Big Room
5. Bad Sports- Kings Of The Weekend
6. Bass Drum Of Death- GB City
7. Blasted Canyons- S/T
8. Christian Bland and The Revelators- The Lost Album
9. Cowabunga Babes- Going Nowhere
10. Crystal Stilts- In Love With Oblivion LP + Radiant Door EP*
11. Crystal Swells- Goethe Head Soup
12. the dictaphone- past.future.void
13. Dirty Beaches- Badlands
14. Ducktails- III: Arcade Dynamics
15. The Feeling Of Love- Dissolve Me
16. Fishboy- Classic Creeps
17. High Wolf- A Guide To Healing
18. Jacuzzi Boys- Glazin’
19. John Maus- We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves*
20. Ketamines- Line By Line EP
21. Liquid Skulls- Dead In Your Eyes
22. Mountain Cult- first demo 3/12 + EP
23. Natural Child- 1971
24. Night Beats- S/T
25. OBN III’s- S/T 7” + S/T EP
26. Peaking Lights- 936
27. The People’s Temple- Sons Of Stone*
28. Pure X- Pleasure*
29. Purling Hiss- Lounge Lizards
30. Real Estate- Days
31. Shapes Have Fangs- Dinner In The Dark (vinyl)*
32. Sic Alps- Napa Asylum *
33. Sleep oo Over- Forever
34. The Strange Boys- Live Music*
35. Thee Cormans- Halloween Record W/Sound Effects
36. The UFO Club/Night Beats- Split 10”*
37. TW Bond- Compositions
38. White Denim- D

Newish Review of Gloria

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May 142011
 

I recently googled my name and this review of Cavedweller’s 2006 album “The Best Version Of Gloria…” popped up. I guess I haven’t googled my name in a while because this review is 11 months old. Thank you Anonymous Author from The Deli Magazine for the flattering review.

“Operating on the mellow fringe of Austin’s always healthy psychedelic scene, Cavedweller has quietly put together some of the most fascinating work in town, including our newest choice for CD of the month: The Best Version of Gloria Ever There Was. This isn’t a new album; it’s just one we feel deserves digging back up, because it never received anywhere close to its due.
Cavedweller, aka Dirk Michener, kicks the album off in typically understated style with “A Horse and A Man,” a creaky, timeless song that showcases his weatherbeaten voice. There’s plenty going on in this voice: cracks and rumbles that hint at wisdom, but also just the slightest sense of amusement, and occasionally, behind the resignation, a little bit of swagger. That swagger comes the front more on songs like “Augusta, Ga.” and the immediately appealing and memorable “Black Black Magic”, where he filters Marc Bolan through Tom Waits. But even on the more mournful numbers the various never-quite-meshing emotions evident in his voice raise his music far above ordinary.

Literalists may struggle with the fact that there is no version of Gloria included on the album…we’ll take votes on what he means by that.

There is, of course, a dreamy, druggy feel to the whole thing (his myspace page, under influences: “most of the time”), and a lo-fi recording style that would fit right in the Nuggets compilation, all of which lead to the psychedelic designation. But that label tends to sell short the songwriting…these are just excellent songs, songs you could cover in any number of ways and come up with gold. It’s all off-kilter and the lyrics are surreal, but that’s also true of probably the best music of the last forty years.”

6/2010 The Deli Magazine

http://austin.thedelimagazine.com/5286/austin-psych-poll

Best of 2010

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Jan 022011
 

This list is a bit Texas heavy…so be it.

Best Albums 2010
Shapes Have Fangs- dinner in the dark (cassette)
Woven Bones- in and out and back again
Spectrals- a spectrals extended play
Clinic- Bubblegum
Black Angels- phosphene dream
Strange Boys- be brave
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti- before today
The Charles Edward Cheese Band- let’s eat pizza
Ghost Coast- draft dodgers
Prince Rama of Ayodhya- shadow temple
Rayon Beach- memory teeth