SCOTT EVANS Mostly about pointing microphones at loud things.

Here’s my best-of list for the year. I didn’t actually find that much new music this year for whatever reason. And my means of finding/getting music were different than last year, too: I barely bought any physical CDs; I canned my emusic subscription; I started using the Amazon mp3 service; I didn’t use lala much at all. I followed a few mp3 blogs though I don’t think I ended up buying too many records as a result.

The Great

• Kruger – Redemption Through Looseness. Dense, heavy, well-played, ridiculous, consistent. I love this record. Also, that is how you start a record. Boom.
• Unsane – Visqueen. Huge. Great production, great songs.
  They “grew” without watering down their thing.
• Replicator – Machines Will Always Let You Down. Oakland! I’ve been friends with Ben for a while but I had never heard his band until I got a copy of MWALYD. Snotty, smart angular rock.
• Black Cobra – Feather And Stone. Sludgy heaviness that charges along and constantly threatens to derail itself.
• Dyse – s/t. Another two-piece, I believe. Tight post-punk with nice indie production. And a great use of jangly, barely distorted guitar tones a la JR Ewing. myspace, buy
• Neil Young – Live At Massey Hall 1971. “Here’s a song I just wrote… it’s called ‘The Needle And The Damage Done’”. “Here’s another new song… ‘Old Man’”. etc.
• Radiohead – In Rainbows. They keep killing it. Not revolutionary but still great. I love pretty much everything about this record: the songs, the arrangements, the guitar playing.
• Blonde Redhead – 23. I didn’t know much about Blonde Redhead before hearing this record. My near-musicologist friend Bob this record is a total sellout. I think it’s great. Hooky without being sugary, neat production, great vocals.

The Good

• Sleepytime Gorilla Museum – In Glorious Times. Not their best work, but still pretty fantastic. Epic, ridiculously dense, occasionally whimsical.  myspace, youtube, buy
• High On Fire – Death Is This Communion. Big metal. Doesn’t live up to Blessed Black Wings, but what would? This record sounds a little too clean, a little too under control; the last one sounded like a tractor trailer on a Formula 1 track.
• PJ Harvey – White Chalk. Apparently this year’s “The Good” list should be titled “records by amazing artists that continue to do good work, though not their best work”.
• Neurosis – Given To The Rising
• Zozobra – Harmonic Tremors. Solid, way detuned sludge with some actual hooks. Nicely done. myspace
• Book Of Knots – Traineater. Weird rock side project from genius violinist Carla Kihlstedt (of SGM, Tin Hat, 2 Foot Yard, etc etc etc) and a bunch of other badasses. This record is a huge leap from their first; the songs are much stronger and more diverse. myspace, buy
• Akimbo – Navigating The Bronze. Awesome freakout riff-core. myspace, buy