 An article by The Silent Ballet Staff
From humble beginnings as a small-time local band, This is Your Captain Speaking quickly wowed audiences at Belgium’s Rhaaa Lovely Festival and has since quietly taken charge to become Melbourne’s instrumental powerhouse. The band's two full-length releases this decade, Storyboard and Eternal Return, were met with extraordinary acclaim and established the quartet’s distinctly formulated, disciplined brand of post-rock. While many would consider the Captains’ pieces to be an exercise in patience, it underestimates the music’s tremendous capacity to fully engage the listener despite its restraint, and therefore still deliver, with full effect and accessibility, the same emotional impact of any overplayed, reverb-soaked, climax-driven pedal orgy. The upside to the Captains’ mature methodology is that all this residual energy is allocated to crafting meticulous, evolving layers of melody that seamlessly intertwine to travel a gradation of haunting, seductive introspection. Despite losing a home at Resonant after the UK-based label called it a day, it’s very difficult to imagine This is Your Captain Speaking will be left on the open market for much longer. (Mac Nguyen) 29) Efterklang The music of Efterklang has an ethereal, mystical essence that creates a sound that is haunting and beautifully comforting at the same time. Complex instrumentation and sequencing along with thick choral elements help create this unique sound. Rhythm is the key here, whether it is from standard drums, clapping, wooden sticks, pieces of metal, or non-rhythmic instruments played in a rhythmic manner. These various elements come together to create an environment of majestic, sublime music that extends beyond multiple musical boundaries. And all of this would not be possible without Efterklang’s prolific use of collaboration for both recording and live shows. Working with well-known and unknown local musicians alike, Efterklang has been able to create powerful and moving music that is continually innovative and challenging. (Greg Norte) 28) Caspian The success that Caspian finds tends to leave us feeling self-conscious. Fans like them so much it makes people a little nervous. So, cliché criticisms like "they're too much like [fill in the blank]" or "They're not really doing anything new" emerge in an effort to curb the enthusiasm. After the success of the band's debut EP, You Are the Conductor, the sentiment was that nothing would ever top 'The Triology'. After The Four Trees, it became that nothing would ever top "Crawlspace." And now, after the release of Tertia, it has become that nothing will ever live up to "The Raven ." The truth is, the chords they strike touch listeners in ways that the modern fan has learned to feel embarrassed about. Live shows leave fans with a lot of embarrassed head-turning, making sure no one saw them biting their lips, head banging, and strumming the ridge of their jeans in time with the guitars. The quintet's music is of a simplicity that is never simple; a chart of emotional constellations that is raw but thoroughly introspective - music that places connection and autonomy on the same level, eliciting a battle between logic and intuition. We shouldn't like it this much, but, in fact, we really do. (Bryan Parys) 27) Eluvium Matthew Robert Copper’s take on drone music is unique in many ways. While most notable drone artists submerge their audience in loads of layers and sounds, keeping them entranced for the whole length of the album, Cooper gives something extra - hooks. His abilities as a pianist and producer allow him to give the listener something memorable in every spin of the album, and his blend of drone and modern classical makes his music much easier on the ears than other drone artists. Throughout the four albums he’s released this decade, he has shown a constant affinity for improving and experimenting with his sounds, with the end result being Copia, a masterpiece in its own right. With the release of his fifth, and according to Cooper himself, his most different album, one can only anticipate something breathtaking. (Mohammed Ashraf) 26) Four Tet Although many artists try to achieve recognition with either a remarkable album output or influential singles and extended plays, Four Tet surprisingly dismisses the two approaches, opting for an innovative fusion of countless music genres that accentuates only the best aspects of his musical influences. He started the decade with the masterful Pause, which showcased his affinity for electronica music with unconventional instrumentation and accessible melodies. To the surprise of fans and critics, in 2003, he topped Pause with Rounds, a majestic collection of electronica-tinged songs that refined his folksy musical pursuits with greater sonic beauty. From 2003 onwards, he allowed his albums to permeate throughout the electronica scene, garnering citations from emerging electronica artists like Burial and Joy Orbison while collaborating with Hella and releasing a live album and a remix album containing tracks from Pause and Rounds. Altogether, from album sales to YouTube and Lastfm hits, Four Tet’s music continues to grow among artists and fans alike. (Thomas Meagher) 25) Amon Tobin What can be said about Amon Tobin? To an extent, he has become one of those artists whose name can be dropped without elaboration, yet it still carries as much weight and context as a paragraph. With a unique, organic style that sometimes sounds like legitimate 50's bebop, Tobin has come to define what the term "nu-jazz" means. In fact, even some of the obviously jungle and drum-n-bass tracks Tobin has produced over the years have a vintage patina to them, due largely to the quality of the samples he uses - overwhelmingly clear, but rough enough to sound live. With an ear for composition and arrangement on part with folks like Max Richter, Tobin is undoubtedly one of the top artists in modern electronic music. (Lee Stablein) 24) William Basinski When a man records the last garbled and decomposing remnants of his early musical endeavors while watching the World Trade Towers collapse from less than a mile away, we should listen. William Basinski’s The Disintegration Loops I-IV sent chills up the experimental music world’s neck and secured him a well deserved cult following. As an artist he’s been manipulating abstract sound into his signature brand of ambient for over twenty-five years. As a businessman he’s been releasing and distributing through his independent label 2062. Basinski is a shining example of a musician who not only crafts precisely what’s on his mind but shares it on his own terms as well. Look to this year’s 92982 and Vivian & Ondine as proof of the artist’s ongoing brilliance. (Brendan Kraft) 23) The Mercury Program No retrospective list from this decade would be complete without the inclusion of The Mercury Program. By the time it released All the Suits Began to Fall Off in 2001, the band had already developed a loyal following. But those who thought TMP was talented at that point must have been blown away by what came next. Now considered the proverbial Holy Grail of post-rock, A Data Learn the Language is one of the most meticulously crafted releases of the decade. The album pays so much attention to detail that its awe inspiring. Whether it is the timbre of the vibraphone, the tone of the guitars, or the calculated drumming, everything on this album flows together perfectly and effortlessly. Though not as painstakingly constructed as the band's previous effort, the long-awaited follow-up was none-the-less satisfying for fans who had been waiting seven long years for new music from TMP. Chez Viking, though relatively short in length, gives us a glimpse of a band that is now entirely comfortable in its own skin and willing to experiment with its sound. When we consider the fact that The Mercury Program’s dominance of the last ten years was established primarily by a single album, one can only hope that the next decade holds in store a similar gem. (David Boss) 22) World's End Girlfriend Katsuhiko Maeda’s alter-ego of World’s End Girlfriend makes music that is difficult to categorize - not only because his amalgam of styles and influences is so seamless, but also as a result of the tremendous diversity of his offerings. From mellower and more melodic to post-modern cut-ups, it’s hard to believe that the same mind is behind it all. Maeda’s genius lies in his ability to integrate disparate elements into a coherent whole, oscillating between order and chaos, calm and exuberance, and fighting our natural inclinations to produce staggeringly original works. Many discovered him through his collaboration with Mono, and Palmless Prayer/Mass Murder Refrain certainly deserves the attention. His solo work is more representative of his skills, with its wildly fluctuating art-for-art sakes uselessness. His latest, the lovely Air Doll soundtrack, further demonstrates his versatility, proving yet again that Maeda can do it all. Few come close to matching the compositional sophistication, versatility, and skilled production of World’s End Girlfriend. (Joseph Sannicandro) 21) Boards of Canada Having played its last live show back in 2001, Boards of Canada has achieved great success with absence: it only makes our hearts grow fonder. The mysterious brothers from Scotland who comprise the group have not released a lot of material, but their influence cannot be denied. The duo's use of analog synths and machines in conjunction with samples from old films and environmental narration is unmistakable, at once sounding fresh and alive while also generating a feeling of misplaced nostalgia. After its debut album on Warp Records got the attention of just about everyone looking for the next big thing, BoC released four albums and EP's in the 2000s. Geogaddi was released in 2002 and propelled the band's already unique style far out into darker and even more psychedelic territory. For this album the duo composed over four hundred song fragments and over sixty proper songs from which to choose, signifying to listeners that these perfectionists are only comfortable revealing their best work. The Campfire Headphase came out in 2005, and though it wasn't drastically different from the work the duo had done before, it offered a more mature and sunnier take on their music, including one of the most uplifting songs of the decade "Dayvan Cowboy" With such quality releases, Boards of Canada is nothing short of inspirational.
(Nathan Keane) |
