3 Albums To Listen To Before You Die #1:
It is a fan’s duty to pay tribute to those who have inspired and informed them. This list will focus on lesser known records, in an effort to expose others to hidden gems in the music world, and rightfully honour those who have inspired and informed countless others’ music.
- Black Country, New Road – Ants From Up There
A perfect culmination of everything that makes the current underground British art rock scene so appealing and exciting and the experimentation possible only with such a wide cast of musicians of varying expertise and backgrounds, “Ants From Up There” is a beautifully produced masterpiece with hooks that will leave the listener with earworms for months. Its lavish instrumentation, complex harmonies, and linear builds create a sonic landscape that makes it impossible for the listener to want for more. With songs like “Bread Song” and “Concorde” which are hauntingly depressing to angsty, insecure tracks like “Show Me The Place Where He Inserted The Blade” and “Good Will Hunting”, Black Country, New Road imposes a musical experiment that is as exciting as it is emotionally evocative. Lead singer Isaac Wood shows his lyrical expertise on this album, with hook after hook, even until the very end of the last track where he masterfully delivers the wonderful line, “Oh your generous loan to me, your crippling interest”.
“Ants From Up There” is a window into Black Country, New Road’s incredible sound, fusing their art rock undertones with orchestral and jazz instrumentation, which play an integral role in what makes this album so striking. I highly recommend this album to any rock or pop fan.
Possessing a decidedly avant-garde approach to the creation of music, Sex Moron is a band that proves they have nothing to fear on their third album, “When The Clock Strikes Zero”.
The band makes use of an AI generated text-to-speech voice as their vocalist, which may alienate most listeners, but provokes thought regardless. Challenging the status quo and asking existential questions relating to the meaning of art and life seems to be Sex Moron’s motto. Sex Moron make use of simple, minimalist lyrics that undoubtedly hook the listener and pull one in with each listen. The song “Torrential Downpour”, for example, features the following lyrics: “I have a great fear/For the rain is coming down/Every droplet is like one of God’s tears/God sure is crying a lot these days”, as well as the hook line, “This is a torrential downpour/It’s still not enough, I need more”. The length of the album is also impressive, a double album featuring a whopping 38 songs, and released in two volumes, all the while remaining experimental and exciting throughout.
Sex Moron often make use of jarring, discordant, polyphonic textures to unnerve the listener, such as on the polytonal tracks “Bop it up!” and “Harmonicas in Db Major and B Major and A minor”. Perhaps a comment on the current state of music, it provides an experience unlike any other. The band seems to deliberately and constantly subvert expectations, sarcastically toying with the idea with song titles like “Cohesion” and “Non Song”. The genre fusion that takes place within each song while remaining musically entertaining is truly rivalled only by the Beatles, albeit that Sex Moron’s sense of melody might be unorthodox compared to the British masterminds.
Whether you like it or not, Sex Moron’s music, and “When The Clock Strikes Zero”, their best album yet, is integral to one’s musical education and in shaping one’s ideas about music, art, and life.
- Daniel Johnston – Hi How Are You
“Hi How Are You” is as honest and innocent as ever, as was Daniel Johnston’s trademark. The collection of acoustic tapes and basic home recordings leaves the listener feeling as though they had been invited to one of the most interesting, intimate, and somewhat unprepared live performances.
Daniel writes from the heart on this record, showing deep sadness as well as intense joy, and many emotions in between. The production (or lack thereof) may put off most listeners but adds to the personal, raw, evocative nature of the songs, which is what ultimately carries the album into a legendary status.
Praised by Kurt Cobain, Sonic Youth, and many others, Johnston launched into a successful career after this seminal record. His most bare bones album, “Hi How Are You”, sarcastically called “The Unfinished Album” on the record sleeve, is arguably Daniel’s best. His Beatles-esque sense of melody shines through with minimalist lyrics that portray a soul in turmoil, which creates a mixing pot of emotions that leaves one wondering whether one should laugh or cry.
Listening to this album is essential, and will certainly leave the listener feeling something.