I thought I’d just combine the two slowest months of the year into one post because why not? It’s my dang blog and I can do whatever the heck I want. I also want to leave 2016 behind when 2017 starts – so no December post in 2017. That’d be even more annoying than the regular posts. Either way, here they are:

::NOVEMBER::

Burial – “Young Death” b/w “Nightmarket”
I mean, it’s Burial. There’s a Majora’s Mask sample in there on “Young Death,” which I think is unnecessary for the most part, but whatever. Heavy vibes, dawg.

Daniel Bachman – Daniel Bachman
Guitar wizard continues his yearly reign over the American Primitive style guitar landscape. Some drone aspects thrown in for good measure, of course.

Dedekind Cut – $uccessor
FKA Lee Bannon – one of the better experimental electronic albums of the year. It’s been really awesome watching his growth as a composer over the years and this record is a step in a great, interesting direction. Plenty of dark, jarring atmospheric tracks placed among strung out, euphoric ambient pieces.

Diana – Familiar Touch
Wistful and glittering synth pop that heavily leans upon 80s pop tropes. Plenty of wandering saxophone, drenching reverb and dramatic duo vocals. A lot bolder than their previous release, which was rather subdued, and it works out great.

Lorenzo Senni – Persona
Hypercharged electronic music out of Warp Records. Holds aesthetic strains from the stretched-thin nature of the PC Music camp, making it sound like the music is going to fizzle away if it were to be any louder or faster. Terribly bright and in your face the entire ride through.

Mica Levi & Oliver Coates – Remain Calm
Micachu/Mica Levi & cellist Oliver Coates team up to make a contemplative, artful record. Excellent to slip into and admire for a bit.

Papa M – Highway Songs
Former Slint guitarist returns with his first album in a long time, also following a major accident he was in. A balanced approach of heavy rock and light acoustic tunes, along with a nice dose of experimentation across the board.

Tiger & Woods – On The Green Again
Superhot house tracks with a deep disco emphasis. Dangerously groovy and dance-ready.

A Tribe Called Quest – We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
I said a bit in my AOTY post, but yeah. It’s easily the best album from November. Easy.

Virginia Wing – Forward Constant Motion
Reminds me a lot of Glasser but a bit more experimental, which is still a good thing.

::DECEMBER::

Ash Borer – The Irrepassable Gate
Crushing black metal with some atmospheric parts interspersed for good measure. Like collecting sludge out of a gutter, but you’re wearing black and white facepaint while you’re doing it. Get out of my face, DAD! I’M BRVTAL! Gotta update my avatar on CVLT NATION.

Childish Gambino – Awaken, My Love!
Maybe listened to this halfway through. Interesting transition for Donald Glover, from really campy hip hop that I didn’t enjoy to some ultra tryhard psychedelic neo-soul. It’s a noble pursuit, that’s for sure. And there’s no way I could pull this off, obviously. I just can’t picture him making it. I probably just need to listen more. I always picture him in old Derrick Comedy characters still.

Kate Bush – Before The Dawn
One sign of a slow month is when someone highlights a live album. In this case it’s a rather special live album, since it’s from Earth’s queen, Kate Bush. Three career-spanning discs of Kate Bush live magic.

The Microphones – Early Tapes 1996-1998
The second sign of a slow month is a collection of unreleased tracks. In this case it’s a rather special collection of unreleased tracks, since it’s from Earth’s wise wizard of the Pacific Northwest, Phil Elverum. Anything that man touches turns to gold, I swear. Although I’m definitely a biased sucker & a lifelong fan. Mostly very rough cuts, as the album title implies.

Permit – Vol. 1
I guess this is a Hoops side project? Totally crazy Lynyrd Skynyrd/Chicago/Thin Lizzy worship. Yes those are three very different bands. Were they from the same time period? Roughly. Do they mean a lot to rock n roll? Definitely. Do these guys reach those same peaks? Hell no, but it’s a pretty entertaining EP.

Stove – Is The Meat That Fell Out
Exploding In Sound Records continuing their excellent consistency with Stove’s second EP of 2016. Greatly cathartic rock, stock full of minor keys and appropriately timed heaviness. Obviously a lot more than that, but it describes a good amount of material on here. Lead dude singer is/was also frontman of Ovlov, a band I have many emotional attachments to, so that also adds some impact.