2019 indie folk/folk rock album from Brooklyn, New York. "Not" is the real standout of the album, a great folk rock song that builds up to a Neil Young–esque guitar solo. There's still much to like about the rest of the album, but if you only listen to one, that's where I'd point you.
2016 EDM/house EP from Stockholm, Sweden. 21 minutes of absolutely great music with a bit of a chiptune flavor to it, and some killer guitar on the first two tracks. Apparently at least two of the tracks are remixes of songs originally featured in Payday: The Heist.
My picks: "Hold on Tight," "Nemesis," "Interstellar"
2006 space rock/progressive electronic album from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Zombi is a bit of a love letter to Goblin—even the name comes from the Italian release of George Romero's Dawn of the Dead, scored by Goblin. Blend in some Rush-influenced drumming and some Tangerine Dream, and you've got this album.
2010 post-rock album from Nashville, Tennessee. Leans into the chamber music influence harder than most post-rock, with a heavy string presence throughout. Compared to their debut, the band seems to have crafted a more unique sound, although this album does tend to sound a bit too homogeneous for its own good.
My picks: "Return to Us," "Sword and Shield," "From This Vantage"
1969 funk album from New Orleans, Louisiana. Early instrumental funk, kept fairly minimalist—guitar, bass, organ, and drums. Just a bunch of fun little jams.
My picks: "Here Comes the Meter Man," "Cardova," "Stormy"
2015 indie rock/post-punk EP from Croydon, England. A duo of frenetic drums and sharp guitar punctuated with incredibly depressed lyrics, spat out . This EP consists of tracks that were omitted from the only album they put out, and two demos of tracks on that album.
My picks: "The Kids from 'Fame,'" "Don't Try to Wake Me"
2007 symphonic metal album that covers the complete soundtracks of the first three Castlevania games. goat was active on OCRemix 2002-2007, putting out some great metal covers; he has no modern web presence, but his music is still up.
(YT playlist has 3 songs from OC Remix that aren't on the album.)
My picks: "Scourge of 1691," "Creeping Dusk," "Stained Glass Filth"
1983 punk rock/post-punk album from Portland, Oregon. Wipers went from the lengthy art punk of Youth of America to something that's a bit more pop punk, but still just as smartly put together.
My picks: "Over the Edge," "So Young," "The Lonely One"
2017 post-rock/noise rock EP from Lausanne, Switzerland. No, not "Monuments," nor the prog rock band from the UK, nor the doom metal band from Germany, nor the power/death metal band from Oklahoma, nor...
Okay, so there's too many bands named Monument. But this one has one of the guitarists from The Evpatoria Report! Good stuff.
1973 krautrock/jazz-rock album from Germany. Effectively a jazz-rock jam band with psych thrown into the mix. The tracks from the original vinyl release have plenty of great flute playing, swapped out for saxophone in the bonus tracks added for the CD release. The distorted sax sound on "Pap-Jack" is pretty wild.
2008 indie pop album from Boston, Massachusetts. A pretty uneven album, containing some of my favorite Lemon Demon songs, but also several forgettable or too gimmicky songs. Even if it's not as great as his later albums, there's still plenty of charm to it, and I'd still recommend it.
My picks: "Amnesia Was Her Name," "The Only House That's Not On Fire (Yet)," "The Machine," "Bill Watterson"
2008 progressive metal album consisting of covers of classic video game themes. There's a strong keyboard/synth presence on the album, with occasional segments that focus on piano— not what I typically think of with metal, but works rather well here.
My picks: "Metroid - Kraid/Cranial Syphon," "Super Metroid/Super Cranial Syphon," "The Legend of Zelda I + II/Dozen Elf Death Gel"
2008 post-rock album from Switzerland. There's definitely a bit of space rock or prog here, with long, meandering songs. At times reminds me of Grails, especially the back half of "Mithridate."
2022 experimental rock album from London, England. A crazy experience that takes from prog rock, show tunes, jazz fusion, and more. A hellish nightmare concept album, at times sung, at other times ranted in a blend of carnival barker and auctioneer; often hectic, occasionally soft, frequently discordant.
My picks: "Eat Men Eat," "Welcome to Hell," "Dangerous Liasons"
1959 cool jazz album. Notably uses a variety of time signatures, rather than sticking with the tried-and-true 4/4. (Not that there isn't 4/4 on the album.)
My picks: "Blue Rondo à la Turk," "Take Five," "Pick up Sticks"
1973 prog rock album from England. A nearly fifty minute epic split into two parts, performed almost entirely by Mike Oldfield, and released just ten days after his 20th birthday. Famously, the introduction to part one was used in The Exorcist.
It's all a bit mad, really, an odd adventure that's stylistically varied, at times beautiful and at times oddly funny, but always impressive.
1996 indie pop/rock album from Jönköping, Sweden. A fairly strong lounge influence and lyrics that darkly contrast the upbeat music make this a pretty interesting album. "Lovefool" is the big hit, and "Step On Me" is also plenty popular, but the album's got plenty of other good ones, including a great Black Sabbath cover.
My picks: "Your New Cuckoo," "Heartbreaker," "Iron Man"
2015 dark ambient OST from Stockholm, Sweden. The game itself may be a "walking simulator" that's too philosophical for its own good, but the soundtrack is wonderfully moody and atmospheric.
2017 jazz fusion album from Los Angeles, California. Drums/guitar/organ trio (and some session musicians) with one fantastic name, and some great song titles to match. Pretty funky stuff.
My picks: "Long Live the King," "Don't Eat Your Fingers," "E.T. AF"
1972 art rock/glam rock album from London, England. Eclectic pop rock, for the most part. It's pretty front loaded, but the incredible strength of the front half makes up for the weakness of the back half. "If There Is Something" is definitely one of my all-time favorite songs.
CW album cover eye contact
My picks: "Ladytron," "If There Is Something," "Chance Meeting"
2012 house EP from Lisbon, Portugal. A solid EP that runs longer than you'd think for such a short track list. "Plus Four" is such an odd track that I can't help but find captivating.