The last few things...
WU LYF -
Go Tell Fire to the Mountain (2011)
I wonder how I learned of this. Perusing the RYM 2011 list, perhaps? Let's go with that. If this were instrumental, I'd call it post-rock as I'm hearing similar guitar tones to those of
Explosions in the Sky. But there are vocals throughout - gruff, mostly unintelligible to the point that I wondered if they were in a different language (not a complaint), and soaring/grandiose. I'm reminded a bit of
Wilderness. I need to listen again.
Bored Nothing -
Some Songs (2014)
Second album from this Aussie reincarnation of Elliott Smith. If you're a huge Elliott Smith fan this is probably not even close, but he has a similar voice on many tracks. His music is a bit more lo-fi and home studio-like though. But he's got a good voice. I may still like his debut more, not sure after just 2 listens.
Arca -
Xen (2014)
I haven't been getting too many electronic albums lately, except those from artists I've been a fan of for a long time (Clark, Aphex Twin, Plaid, etc). But somehow this got my attention recently. It started off quite abstract and a bit aimless, but halfway through I started really digging some of the songs and hearing some nice Plaid-like melodies, but darker and more abstract. Not a long album, which is a good thing, and warrants further listening.
Deru -
1979 (2014)
I like Deru's previous albums, and knew this one would be more ambient than others. I downloaded it but put off listening to it for some time. I was in an awful mood the other day and decided to leave work early, and put on some chill instrumental music while I lay on the sofa and rest. This worked well for that mood, but I found it too samey, with little variation between tracks except toward the end of the album. I'm rarely ever in the mood for ambient, and this didn't help. If you like ambient maybe it would work for you, but sadly it didn't inspire me to keep it.
Shellac - Excellent Italian Greyhound (2007)
I picked up on Shellac over 10 years ago with
10,000 Hurts, liked it but didn't explore the rest of them until later.
At Action Park came next, and then I didn't listen to any others until after
Dude Incredible came out this year. That album's pretty damn good, and
Excellent Italian Greyhound did not disappoint.
Slippertails -
There's a Disturbing Trend (2014)
I've been into the song "I Wanna Take Pills With You" for a few months, after hearing it in my wishlist playlist. Finally decided to check out the album. While the song I mention is rather chill and smooth, the rest of the album has a rougher garage punk sound. I liked what I heard, and it will require more listening.
Hospitality -
Trouble (2014)
In this case I had also heard a few songs while shuffling my big ol' wishlist, and they appealed to me more than your average female-fronted stuff. Sadly, the stand-outs were the songs I had heard and liked and the rest of the album fell flat for me. I'll hang on to those few but won't return to the album itself. It's just not for me.
Paul White -
Shaker Notes (2014)
Paul White has released a few good instrumental hip-hop albums and then one featuring a lot of guest MCs which was also good. Here he goes in a different direction that is perhaps a bit more R&B, I'm not really sure. Some light vocal work here and there, but not hip-hop. I liked it and will listen to it again.