Release of the Month: May Picks

Release of the Month ~ May 2011

The Silent Ballet staff counts down its top picks of the month.

The world didn’t end in May 2011. (Apparently, the Apocalypse was delayed until October.) But the world continued to be in upheaval: tornadoes in America, more volcanic activity in Iceland, a terrorist killed in Pakistan, more crackdowns in the Middle East. On the brighter side, flowers began blooming, long pants were shed (especially in women’s international badminton) and even the northern beach resorts began to open. In the mainstream musical world, a modern record was set for first week sales (congratulations, Lady Gaga), and a new American Idol was crowned (congratulations, Scotty). Not that this had any impact on The Silent Ballet; our biggest news stories were the continued (and welcome) proliferation of relief compilations and the season’s first post-rock festival. And our featured competition is still the Release of the Month. Let the outside world have its Gagas and McCreerys; we prefer a soundtrack to a film about the rise and fall of the British mining industry. If the world’s about to end, at least we’ll have a better soundtrack.

1) Jóhann Jóhannsson ~ The Miners’ Hymns
FatCat
Jóhann Jóhannsson continues to go from strength to strength on his latest release. The Miners’ Hymns is not his first soundtrack, but it’s easily his best, a distillation of heroic and heartbreaking themes that exists in tension while exercising a laudable restraint. The return to brass is a welcome continuation of timbres first explored on Virðulegu Forsetar, while the slow rise to catharsis is reminiscent of the tender Fordlandia. In an unusual twist, The Miners’ Hymns is the rare score that will likely become more widely known than the film it accompanies. Bill Morrison’s elegant cinematic postcard pairs well with Jóhannsson’s tones, but without dialogue or voiceover, the documentary is destined to inhabit the indie circuit. Fortunate is the fan who discovers both; the DVD will be available later this month. (Richard Allen)

2) Lüüp ~ Meadow Rituals
Experimedia
With an impressive cast of 19 musicians, there was a danger that Meadow Rituals would tip over into an over-ambitious and indulgent mess. But the album fits beautifully together, so credit Stelios Romaliadis and his band of merry men and women. Lüüp may be the brainchild of a flautist, but that instrument is but one small aspect of the music generated by this collective, which includes Greg Weekes (Espers), Andria Degens (Pantaleimon), David Jackson (Van der Graaf Generator) and Greg Haines. Lüüp blurs genre boundaries and taps into something deep, resonant and mysterious; listening is like venturing into the heart of an ancient forest. Meadow Rituals is pastoral music at its finest – there’s a definite sense of magic(k) occuring when it plays. (Jeremy Bye)

3) Mountains ~ Air Museum
Thrill Jockey
It takes a special band to make ambient music rock, and that’s what Mountains are puttin’ down. The presence of synthesized pulses makes the duo’s already magnetic soundweaving that much more visceral. Not every track features these “beats”, but when they appear it’s always at the right moment, like a furnace kicking in just as the toes get cold. The group’s signature washes of shimmer and acoustic instruments still carry the music, and after repeated listens it truly feels like the unlikely feat of topping Choral has been achieved. This band just keep getting better and better. (Nayt Keane)

4) The Haxan Cloak ~ The Haxan Cloak
Aurora Borealis
As far as cello-centered albums go, music fans have had a lot to choose from in the past few years, with works from Danny Norbury, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Zoë Keating, Julia Kent, Aaron Martin and Kristin Rule, to name but a few. The Haxan Cloak takes the genre to a newer, wider and much darker realm. It’s a long, miserable journey that touches on areas normally explored by doom metal and industrial artists, incorporating their traits without joining their ranks. His abilities as a sound artist and his refusal to be defined make his debut album one of the year’s most welcome surprises. The Haxan Cloak is a must-have for fans of cello, modern classical, dark ambient, industrial, and experimental music. Simply amazing. (Mohammed Ashraf)

5) Vladislav Delay Quartet ~ Debut
Honest Jon’s
Vladislav Delay’s 2009 LP Tumma was very much a transitional work, leading the way for this much anticipated debut. On that record, mastermind Sasu Ripatti added live instrumentalists Derek Shirley and Lucio Capece to Vladislav Delay to help him achieve the tone he sought upon returning to his native Finland after years in Berlin. The VD4 (a moderately unfortunate abbreviation) sees the addition of Miki Vainio, who handles electronics and processing. Ripatti is nowhere near his laptop, instead seated squarely behind a drum kit, adding abstract, textural percussion and challenging beats to the group’s improvisations. Though the VD4 have been playing occasional live shows over the course of the past few years, this is their first recorded output. The album is less interested in patterns and grooves than in revigorating the conventions of improvisation and noise. The bass and reed instruments figure prominently, while the electronic manipulations and percussive skeletons inject an abrasive unity. Even within Ripatti’s already prolific and diverse oeuvre, Debut is a truly original work. (Joseph Sannicandro)