The Silent Ballet staff count down their top picks of September.

“Less quantity, more quality.” That’s how one TSB staffer summed up the September slate. The number of physical releases declined, while the subset of exciting releases increased. Once again, the race provided a photo finish, with the month’s top picks – each worthy in its own right – sparkling with homespun originality.

Since the turn of the century, popular music has been dominated by a stupor-inducing sameness. Rock, country, and hip-hop have spun their wheels since their last major innovations: the injection of grunge, the ejection of twang, and the omnipresence of sampled beats. A club hit in 2009, for example, sounds much as a club hit did in 1999. But innovation in the subgenres has been swift and ongoing. If a new post-rock album sounds like an old post-rock album, we reject it; we’ve heard it all before. The continuous rejection of the status quo lends our favorite fields an aura of freshness.

Surprisingly, the sounds we enjoy do work their way into the mainstream as incidental music in movies, television shows and commercials, like disposable scouts or an advance guard. The subgenres we enjoy are not entirely unfamiliar to the general public. But by the time they break through (“Hey, that Requiem for a Dream theme is pretty good!”), we’re on to something else. We may be a minority, but as Gladwell writes, we leave change in our wake. Obscure as many of our tastes may be, they tap into the intrinsic value of the protruding peg; and we celebrate this quality in the month’s top releases.

1) Aaron Martin ~ Chautauqua

Preservation

The album begins with organ and the solemn tolling of a church bell: a call to worship of sorts. And this is indeed worshipful music: grand, eloquent, funereal. Denser and louder than its contemporaries (Hildur Gudnadottir’s Without Sinking, Danny Norbury’s Light in August), Chautauqua is a majestic blend of banjo, cello, and violin, augmented by the occasional chant or home movie snippet. There’s mourning in these sounds, but also hope, as each track ventures from the safety zone of simplicity into deeper, uncharted waters, leaving the listener challenged and ultimately changed. Combined with the artist’s recent 3” release, Grass Wounds, Chautauqua provides us with the portrait of an artist whose output has just jumped from the experimental to the electrifying. (Richard Allen)

2) Tyondai Braxton ~ Central Market

Warp

On Central Market, Tyondai Braxton showcases his depth as a musician, combining whistles, strings, guitars, and voice to create a unique sound. While Braxton’s solo work and that of Battles contain common elements of structure and mood, this album covers more ground and provides some of the year’s standout tracks, especially “Dead Strings” and former TSB Track of the Week “Platinum Rows.” Imagine the soundtrack for a Mickey Mouse movie on crack and you’ll get a sense of the bold energy on display here. (Mohammed Ashraf)

3) Rameses III ~ I Could Not Love You More

Type Records

Cascading layers of misty horns, hazed flute, and sparse vocals carry I could Not Love You More’s seven tracks through a sonic landscape of reverberating fields, which shimmers like an under-exposed celluloid square. The blissful sky of this faded landscape blends smoothly into waving drones of grain. Post-folk guitar and subtle field recordings provide contrast, lending the project its introspective nature. Upon this album’s release, it was whispered in the virtual hallways of TSB that “this is their best album yet.” This is high praise, considering the astonishing work Rameses III has delivered to its listeners in the past. Fans and newcomers alike will be awed by the stellar beauty of these sonic dreamscapes. (Jurgen Verhasselt)

4) Rachel Grimes ~ Book of Leaves

Karate Body Records

There’s a pretty good chance that some people were hoping this release would provide a little taste of Rachel’s-flavored material to satisfy the hunger pangs that had been building up since Systems/Layers. However, such an appraisal would do a grave injustice to a spellbinding and endlessly rewarding release. Rachel Grimes (pianist of Rachel’s) keeps experimentation to a minimum on this album, crafting fourteen tracks of sorrowful reflection and natural beauty. With only the occasional field recording to accompany her graceful piano, the resultant melancholic mood is the perfect accompaniment to this reflective season. (Matthew Fernell)

5) Lusine ~ A Certain Distance

Ghostly International

It seems ages since Lusine last released a proper album, but it’s only been half a decade since 2004’s Serial Hodgepodge. Jeff McIlwain (aka Lusine) brings a bag of the familiar and the new with A Certain Distance, as straight-ahead vocals highlight some of the more dance-oriented tracks. Many have commented that this album is more pop than they’d like, but I disagree, regarding it as a lush blending of the danceable and the cerebral. This record is fit for shakin’ butts, but it also sounds great on headphones while one is reading a book, making it the ultimate multi-purpose album. (Gabriel Bogart)

6) The Orb ~ Baghdad Batteries: Orbsessions Vol. 3

Thrill Jockey

While other September releases (Braxton and Grimes in particular) hearken back to 20th century minimalism, some will recall that the Orb sampled Steve Reich’s Electric Counterpoint twenty years ago on “Little Fluffy Clouds,” arguably introducing minimalism to the world of electronic club music. This innovation caught the eye of the establishment, who churned out some unfortunate projects while attempting to convert young listeners. But all this time, The Orb continued to make excellent chill-out music, and by now have outlasted most of their contemporaries. On Baghdad Batteries, founding member Alex Paterson reunites with innovative producer Thomas Fehlmann; Fehlmann’s return adds a refinement and sophistication to Paterson’s wilder tendencies. This eclectic mix of samples, club-ready grooves, deep bass lines, and ambient dub soundscapes may not be a break from The Orb’s previous work, but it serves as a reminder of why they have survived so long. (Joseph Sannicandro)

 

Written By: host
Date Posted: 10/4/2009
Number of Views: 2020