Hello all,

Here we have a midsummer mélange of picks from the Staff team, the Build Team, and two special Legend picks. Put on your shades, pull out a lawn chair, and chill out to these sweet grooves.

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Staff Picks


Sinetax's Staff Pick

Mary Chapin Carpenter - Come On Come On

Genre: Country

Torrents: torrents.php?id=211724

Review:

This was probably my mom's favorite album of the 1990's. She would play it on Saturday mornings most weekends. I came to really like it too.





brancusi's Staff Pick

Olivier Messiaen performed by Olivier Latry: Complete Organ Works

Genre: classical

Torrents: torrents.php?id=343023

Review:

If you think of Bach's greatest organ works as constructing a cathedral of sound, then Messiaen's masterpieces are the stained glass in the cathedral, catching, changing and transforming light as it enters the sacred space - illuminating the interior, sending the spirit soaring beyond the confines of the stone.

It's no exaggeration to describe these pieces as the greatest works for the instrument since J S Bach, and they repay similar close study and investigation.




Seethewaves's Staff Pick

The Good, The Bad & The Queen - The Good, The Bad & The Queen

Genre: Alternative, Rock, Art rock

Torrents: torrents.php?id=71399

Review:

I like this album so much that I'm picking it even though Looped already picked it a couple years ago.

I like this album so much that I broke a personal rule and listened to it twice in one day.





Glacier's Staff Pick

Trio of Uncertainty - Unlocked

Genre: Avant-Garde, Jazz, Free Jazz, Free Improvisation

Torrents: torrents.php?id=72249925

Review:

Unlocked by request.




Ajax's Staff Pick

Springtime Carnivore - Springtime Carnivore

Genre: Indie, Dream Pop

Torrents: torrents.php?id=72821984

Review:

About two years ago I was introduced to a band called Gold Motel and soon there after The Hush Sound. I fell in love with their rich and colorful sounds but what stood out to me the most was the female vocalist, Gretta Morgan. In November of 2014 she released her first self titled LP under the name Springtime Carnivore and since then I've had it playing on repeat. I'm having a hard time choosing the right words to describe this album so I'll rely on Morgan's own words in a quote take from an interview with Issue Magazine. "Waking up from an acid trip and walking around Disney World. You still have that night-time mind, but it’s early morning and everything is bright and colorful". This is an incredible album and a thank you to Coruscating for getting me hooked on the wonderful sounds of Gretta Morgan.

Side note, this live KEXP performance only made me love this album more.





kufic's Staff Pick

Herva - Dreamers Of Unknown Tales

Genre: acid, techno, experimental

Torrents: torrents.php?id=72953013

Review:

Italy's Herva drops a stack of crooked 'floor tricks on Semtek's Don't Be Afraid label following his aces for Delsin, Kontra, M>O>S and All City. As we've come to learn, Herva's a bit of a free spirit, always keen to buck the grid and feel out for uniquely sensual, visceral thrills. With 'Dreamers of Unknown Tales' he follows suit into a unstable world of electro-acoustic tones, shredded breaks and mutant acid, twisting the lines from beat-less concrète zones of the title track to a sort of desiccated, nervy funk attack with the spitting drums and fuzz-junky dip of 'From The Inside', while 'Nice and Crisp' gets down on a sampler-juggling broken beat pivot and 'Pissed Monitoring' jacks off on a flighty acid techno vector. Imagine Madteo with 'phet jitters or a mutant Anthony Shakir and you've almost got the measure of this 12".





vitiate's Staff Pick

cEvin Key - The Dragon Experience

Genre: Industrial

Torrents: torrents.php?id=31822

Review:

There's a lot to like in cEvin Key's solo work outside Skinny Puppy and its various side projects. The Dragon Experience is a dark, representative slice of Key's solo output. Much of the album is filtered through the same sensibilities as Skinny Puppy's instrumental work, Download, and side projects such as Doubting Thomas. As is typical with a lot of the more ambient work of the Skinny Puppy crew, the vocal samples occupy the background; the songs rarely feature original vocals in the foreground, and never on this album. The overall feel of the album is one of mystery, murky ambient dread, with cinematic sensibilities never far from the surface.

The guy on the cover, incidentally, is not altogether unknown, having appeared on another famous cover in his youth.




nando's Staff Pick

Sohn - Tremors

Genre: Soul, RnB, experimental

Torrents: torrents.php?id=72672821

Review:

SOHN is something different. Not quite the type of music that you mostly find out there. His music contains a lot of soul and emotional content as well as great vibe to chill to. One of my all-time best and the most appreciated albums in life.




Gautam's Staff Pick

Beenie Man - Blessed

Genre: dancehall, reggae

Torrents: torrents.php?id=610280

Review:

Just queue it up and dance. You will not be sorry.




brd's Staff Pick

Whale Fall - Whale Fall

Genre: post.rock

Torrents: torrents.php?id=72068888

Review:

This record carries many surprises with it. It feels like walking through a city unknown and letting the city pulse fill you with a feeling of excitement. Yet as you stroll along you notice how bleak and lonely the buildings are and that the blank stares of the people are daunting. There is a lot to experience here.

This album takes you through a range of emotions and it's an absolute beauty. This energetic, melancholic and grand debut is highly recommended.





sprinkle's Staff Pick

Jane Jane Pollock - Jane Jane Pollock

Genre: Experimental

Torrents: torrents.php?id=71927933

Review:

JANE JANE POLLOCK is strange dreamy palatable pop, Laced with Halloween nostalgia, and dusty southern Gothic dream scapes. A treat!





sauria's Staff Pick

Circle J - Year of the Goat

Genre: celtic, folk, punk, rock

Torrents: torrents.php?id=72993284

Review:

A small Dutch celtic folk punk rock band. Reminiscent of the Dropkick Murphys.

When this came across my (virtual) desk, I decided I just had to hear "Warrior Monkey Princess". I mean, is there anyone out there who doesn't like warrior monkey princesses? I thought so.




Logos' Staff Pick

Parra for Cuva - Majouré

Genre: Electronic, Deep House, Downtempo

Torrents: torrents.php?id=72841378

Review: Nad Khan wrote:

Majouré takes its time to implant a mood of happiness and melodic satisfaction in your mind, without overstaying its welcome. There's a certain element of unpredictability that makes each sound distinctive and never at risk of becoming dull.



eXistenZ' Staff Pick

Tears Run Rings - Distance

Genre: dream.pop, shoegaze

Torrents: torrents.php?id=810348

Review:

Breathy male/female vocals and lush guitars create an atmosphere that brings to mind classic shoegaze-era greats like Slowdive and The Pale Saints.




Hyperion's Staff Pick

Three Trapped Tigers - Route One or Die

Genre: experimental, post.rock, instrumental

Torrents: torrents.php?id=71959799

Review:

What is most impressive about Route One Or Die is the utter sense of conviction and commitment brought to every aspect of this complex, intricate music.




coriander's Staff Pick

Speedy J - G Spot

Genre: Electronic, Experimental, Ambient, Acid House

Torrents: torrents.php?id=54870

Review: tigersprout@discogs wrote:

Besides his uniquely marketed (and extremely lovable) ethereal composition style of swirling electronic nebulae like layers suspended over rubbery beats and breaks and infused with a bright spectrum of coloured, interchanging melodies, 'G-Spot' is a concrete testament to the early magical imagination of the techno genre, becoming in a certain way, what i would call the re-incarnation of disco or maybe better put, the multi-facetted, prodigious, progeny of disco married with the early 70's new aged vibe of Kraftwerk / Art of Noise / Jean Michel Jarre.



Peppermint's Staff Pick

Goldfrapp - Felt Mountain

Genre: Downtempo, Electronic, Future.Jazz, Trip.Hop
Torrents: torrents.php?id=13453

Review:

Still the best Goldfrapp album for me. It is a focused vision with a cinematic feel, electronica chilled with cool, honeyed female vocals; a glacial lake laid out beneath a mountain range. Also, my dog needs new ears.




Build Team Picks


felix1429's Build Team Pick



Glass Animals - Zaba



Genre: Alternative, Psychedelic, Electronic, Rhythm and Blues, Indie



Torrents: torrents.php?id=72732842



Review: The Line of Best Fit wrote:

With Zaba, Glass Animals presented us with a genuinely unique premise, stuffed with the warped tie-dye drones of psychedelia, the sultry slither of noir&B, a dash of soul, a jigger of synthpop and elements of grandiose baroque-rock, trip-hop and ‘90s pop. No one else really sounds like Glass Animals, who wield, quite majestically, both astute hind and foresight. They are, undoubtedly, one of the most exciting British bands for a long time.





guitarman0831's Build Team Pick

Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil

Genre: Heavy Metal, Hard Rock

Torrents: torrents.php?id=12729

Review:

Classic Avenged Sevenfold.





Slack's Build Team Pick

ASP - Aus der Tiefe

Genre: Gothic Rock, Darkwave, Electronic

Torrents: torrents.php?id=156833

Review:

ASP is a gothic / darkwave band which was founded in 1999 in Frankfurt,Main (Germany). Today's members are: Asp (Alexander Frank Spreng) - vocals, Matthias Ambre - guitar, Andreas Gross - bass guitar and Oliver Himmighoffen responsible for the drums.

This is one of their best albums.





apopagasm's Build Team Pick



mind.in.a.box - Lost Alone



Genre: EBM, Futurepop, Industrial



Torrents: torrents.php?id=147845



Review:

Hailing from Vienna, Austria, mind.in.a.box is an electronic music duo formed in 2002. Their sound can be described as a cross between futurepop and progressive trance. The songs feature monologues, snippets of audio logs and conversations that combine to tell a story that spans each of their albums. Together, they form a mysterious epic that draws on science fiction, fantasy and noir fiction.




_pnwLight's Build Team Pick

Griz - Say It Loud

Genre: Glitch hop, EDM, Future jazz

Torrents: torrents.php?id=72938287

Review:

This is Griz's latest release from All Good Records. Griz brings forth a refreshing electronic take on the funk and soul over yesteryear, and as an proponent of open flow of information by distributing his music freely - this is one artist to be highly regarded. This album provides a great ride through a glitch/edm take on funk and jazz. With live saxophone coupled with catchy basslines and kicks this is one album you will be sure to tap your foot in beat with.




DutchDude's Build Team Pick

Douglas Adams / BBC - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (complete radio series)

Genre: audiobook: Comedy, drama

Torrents: torrents.php?id=72227106&torrentid=28954383#torren t28954383

Review:

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Legend Picks

puddy's Legend Pick

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Symphonies Nos. 35, 39, 40

Genre: Classical

Torrents: torrents.php?id=72183163



Entrapment's Legend Pick

Tangerine Dream - Stratosfear

Genre: electronic, progressive.rock, ambient, experimental

Torrents: torrents.php?id=7263

Review:

Along with one of my previous picks,, this album really showcased the power of electronic music and especially the synthesizer and impressed upon me at a young age the power of manipulating waves directly. Plus, the album art is... well... sublime.



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