/daily/'s 2022 Music Favorites

Alorangel - The A Series

2022, self

by Wujtah

My album, or rather albums of the year (because I am cheating), are A, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6(Ethereal Version), A7 and A8. The reason I am reviewing this as one thing, is because as it stands right now, A5 till 8 no longer exist. Alorangel (aka Lora Hunter, Alorangela, Alorangelica, Alarangel, and some more variations) has this odd method of 'abusing the algorithm' by continuously reuploading songs and albums, moving stuff around, releasing 'Hard' versions, remixing a song 26(!) times in a row, etc etc. Lora Hunter is definitely more exciting as an idea rather than an artist, but that is a rabbit hole you have to fall down into yourself.

Alorangel

So what am I reviewing exactly? It is a collection of around 250 songs, initially released between Jan 11 and Feb 7. Those 250 songs are mutations of around 20 original vocal stems, all warped, fucked and mutated through generational inbreeding and self-remixing.

Some of these songs can be traced back all the way to Lora Hunters debut 2016 Album 'Make This Day Come Alive'. The title track on that album appears in many different shapes and forms here, as: Experimental outsider rock Make This Day Come Alive (Hard Version).

Oddball house (note this is 8 days old) Make This Day Come Alive (Angel Remix),

Even some weird bootleg burial-esque stuff:

I am currently hard at work trying to catalogue and preserve all these versions and lost albums, but it's extremely difficult considering the pace Lora uploads and removes these.

By now you are probably wondering: Why? Why on earth are you listening to this? What makes Alorangel better than that latest Gerogerigegege, the gorgeous Bill Orcutt album, or even the insanely tight Flowers Corsano duo release? Well, all of those are incredible in their own way, but what Lora achieved here feels like an actual Ego Death, to be experienced while listening. It breaks your brain. Turns you into goo. A little snot slut as will. Its impossible to explain what is so good about this, what truly makes this godlike, without just listening to the whole thing. You won't find the same 8 albums I listened to, but just scour around. There is more on youtube than you think. Do some digging. Immersive yourself. Become one with the Lora. Breathe Lora. Make your day come alive.

9.8/10

Ryu Hankil - ③

2022, dingn\dents

by bachesag

Unfortunately, I'm not too familiar with Hankil's work outside of this so one of the fun parts of EAI aside from the sounds being heard is lost on me. Regardless of not knowing how any of this was created, ③ is still a really gripping listen that demands attention. Hankil creates some of the most animated electronic fuckery I've heard in a bit, sounds retch, pull and contort in so many ways it feels they too are being tortured along with the listener. The discomfort is really heightened by the pacing and structure which while being simple is effective. All ③_ritual does is just have a few minutes where everything has some space to it, before jumping into a nonstop barrage of as much shit as possible leaving you feeling claustrophobic and begging to return to its more docile state. Even when it calms down overall in the second track it's still frantic, and the seemingly submerged filter applied to it fits given the title (③_summons). A different anxiety is tapped into on ③_summons, one of a lurking presence that still feels threatening and ominous. Overall, ③ is incredibly intense and creative. Easily the coolest thing I've heard this year.

The Soft Pink Truth - Is It Going to Get Any Deeper Than This?

2022, Thrill Jockey

by Booshnaw

Under the The Soft Pink Truth moniker, Drew Daniel has creatively subverted dance music expectations by tackling very interesting and sometimes contradictory concepts. Each of his LPs asks a question in it's namesake. For example, taking a super minimalistic electroclash approach to Hardcore/Anarcho Punk staples on 2004's Do You Want New Wave or Do You Want The Soft Pink Truth?. On 2022's Is It Going to Get Any Deeper Than This?, The Soft Pink Truth has come upon probably the most interesting of these prompts. I love the story behind this question: it being directed at Daniel and a friend from someone visiting their DJ set. The core idea of Deeper Than This? is the of idea of trying to answer the question in a variety of musical forms, all centered around deepness.

From beginning to end, this dwelling on deepness is the primary musical backdrop -- extremely pure and moody dance tracks through and through. It may seem like redundant praise, but I do really enjoy how many aspects of this record tackle "deepness". There is depth in the amount of styles "deepified", not just staying in the traditional Deep House lane. Many styles are incorporated into the depths, embracing Dance music with layered, intricate, and moody production. On "La Joie Devant La Mort" there is deep French Pop set into an glamorous Nu-Disco track. "Sunwash" is probably the deepest of the bunch, swirling synths and creeping production changes make for a hypnotic ambient Deep House experience.

I could go into much more depth on this given a different written format, but at the end of the day I think the most important question to answer is in the album title. I'd say it does get deeper than this, however Dance music in general can only go so deep. In fact I'd say the mission of this record was an amazing success. It's mission isn't to prove how deep one could go, but is instead a creative retort to a strange question. The layers of deepness, from the question itself to how the concept of deepeness is applied to the music in many fascinating ways makes for an incredible record. Like damn y'all, this is some beautiful and crisp Deep House.

In terms of why I picked this particular album to write on, I'd say the answer is two-fold. First, I've already extensively written on Chat Pile's God's Country on thivery site.. Secondly and most important, this record just hits it out of the park in ways no other did this year. From the initial moment I heard the prelude I was hooked. I am continually stunned by the depth presented in concept, abstract, and execution. There is nothing like this, just enjoy the Deep House ride into the depths.

True Iron Will - True Iron Will

2022, Nuclear War Now!

by Feels

when the album cover popped up in my youtube recommendations, i had to pause for a little while to take in the visage of bargain bin terminator flexing his piss drinker 3000 tactical sunglasses, perched proudly in the saddle of his trusty harley davidson in the middle of a graveyard. it was obvious that this album would only be willing to deal in absolutes, for better or worse. as for the actual sound, all i could assume was that i was to be treated to the tryhardiest cock-rocker black'n'roll ever brought to life by reckless viagra abuse as i was soon to find out, this couldn't have been further from the truth.

from the opening notes, it is patently obvious that this album - made entirely in the united states of america - carries the torch of the tried and tested tradition of "triumphant black metal", a singularly upbeat sub-subgenre within the broader post-second wave black metal landscape developed and showcased almost exclusively by european bands. while the earliest traces of what would eventually become triumphant black metal were already apparent in the mid-90s work of certain raw black metal stalwarts like moonblood, it became its own uniquely identifiable strain of black metal in late 90s france where certain - ideologically troublesome but creatively peaking - bands such as seigneur voland or kristallnacht. later down the line, the sound found its true footing in finland where an entire generation of bands - horna, behexen, sargeist and more - borrowed liberally from the wellspring of influences. true iron will's self-titled debut

in conclusion, we have the americans to thank for this year's most memorable european black metal album.

thingNY, Rick Burkhardt - Passover

2022, self

by r

The blurb on the bandcamp page gives all the deets ya need to enjoy the experience. And if you still need selling after things like: “compositional linguistics”, “precision with language, instrumental technique, and gesture”, and “Robert [sic. Bobo] Ashley”, well you're in the wrong supermarket bub. So some sorta wierdo not-your-grand-daddy's-opera opera seems to be the operative - what gives it the sauce to be the pall-bearer* for 2022?

It's sparse and dense all at the same time - the double bass is the only specified instrument, laid ripe for the pickin' on the dining table. And pecked at it is: from curious to ravenous forays into its body, the resulting array of sounds a mélange of haphazard stabs and groans as wells as more sophisticated carvings and wails. The sense of the fragmented and the eclectic dovetails nicely into the thrust of the stories - of escape, of exile, of a 'self' in question. Obviously, Sprechstimme rules the day (didn't you know actually singing is so passe'?) and it works marvelously, forcing our ears to not only reckon with the shape of the stories but also the architecture of the sound. We got multiple voices intersecting, running parallel, responding, and diverging, creating some sort of blood flow within the artery-work of the double-bass. This is exodus invoked materially and spiritually, of wandering and wondering. Wondering and wandering.

Now go listen to it ya fuck!

in your heart of hearts you'll know to be true that a best of year list ain't nothing but a collection of grave markers

Alex G - God Save the Animals

2022, Domino

by selib

We had a 30 minute timelimit to write this and my laptop crashed 2/3rds through me writing this so I'm starting over and finishing this in exactly 8 minutes. Anyway here we go:

God Save The ANimals is a good album. It generally continues the country tinge of Rocket and the electronic experiments from Heart of Sugar but merges them into one whole. Runner is the clear highlight of the album. Just a straight up incredible pure choon. WHile other songs might have that ONE special moment, this song is like completely made up of them! From the first piano chord that comes in, to the "they hit your with the rolled up magazine" and the escalating scream when he repeats "yeah i have done a couple bad things".

On No Bitterness and Immunity he brings in the hyerpop influence. Miracles is just an excellent an beautiful folk tune with maybe his most personal and heartfelt lyrics yet, considering he just had a baby in real life. While the autotune on Cross the Sea is a bit offputting on a first listen, it really grows on you. The vocal texture on this song is actually unlike anything I've heard. And lastly I love the way the closing song slowly fades in, the same way that the closer of his Beach Music album Snot does. While the album is maybe not groundbreaking, it's just that one album I've put on the most throughout the year and I have not grown tired of it. Can't wait to see what he does next fr fr.