Niklas Pivic

It's hard to review this album. Gould worked and reworked Bach during most of his life. When he first hit the scene, he played Bach differently on recordings and live, differently than most other pianists, definitely with more verve than most others, due to his wondrous technical skills but also without any fucking care about being subservient to God, meaning Bach.

This is a collection that both serves as a plain painting of Gould's brilliance as a piano player but mainly in showing how differently he played materials that are largely considered to be above its players; when hearing Gould play, I think its evident he's on par with Bach. Sure, Gould interprets what another person gas composed, but damn… More

The last piece, the nearly-one-hour-long spoken-word piece felt like a thing of its time... From the 'hip' studio technician down to the British-English ultra-posh man who constantly spoke down to the female interviewer... Wow.

I'm surprised by this album. I'm not a Pavement fan, but I am a fan of Silver Jews and Purple Mountains, if that counts.

I really like Stephen Malkmus's vocals. The production is nice. The songs seem to have been the main objectives on this album: all people involved for the best of the individual tracks, more than 'let's just make music because we like each other'.

I can't remember a single melody of a single song on this album, but I've listened to it twice over two weeks. I rarely revisit new albums but I will relisten to this album. Mmm-good.

Roedelius has just turned 90 years old. He still makes music and tours! This is a three-hour-long compilation that made me go through these stages:

1. Wow, this sounds slightly dated.
2. Oh, this melody is great.
3. This brings me back to Tangerine Dream's 'Phaedra' album (which is brilliant).
4. This is quite mesmerising; scratch my point #1.
5. The best stuff is the melodies and harmonies.
6. This guy was in Harmonia and Cluster. And he's in Qluster.

It's worth it. This music is very calm and simple and intricate.

This is quite a nice, Hollywood-but-not-plucky-strings-predictable type of Hollywoodesqueness that could have been the case. I like a lot of the 'aaaaaaaaAAAAH!' human-voice breathy things that come and go. Kind of reminded me of Diamanda Gàlas's vocals in the 'Dracula' film by Francis Ford Coppola.

The Quietus wrote nicely about this album.

I have to say, I love the album titles and the song titles. Witch house is not dead!!111one

This is a lovely and weird mix between oddness and pop. It's composed and constructed a bit like a...Tetris game. ProTools-ed out, but in a good way.

The album starts out like something by Alessandro Cortini: slow-building, electronic, analogue, and then, in the second track, going into pop.

That kind of set me up for the album.

OK, I've heard it once, but I have to hear it again. This is a lovely album that can sate an unruly soul. I dig the orchestral bits, by the way. Feels like this duo like to collaborate with others and are really playful. I dig this.

I'm not one to be impressed by virtuosity. I very rarely am, and then only if the playing is matched by genuine feeling and at least some other type of value.

This is the shit! Gould plays like a fucking robot on all kinds of emotions! I don't give a fuck what Bach would have said, this is just fucking brilliant. What playing and humming. Fucking Glenn Gould, he was THE person where it came down to Bach on piano and harpsichord. A mean motherfucker on them keys.

I think Du Blonde is one of the most singular and talented songwriters in the past couple of decades. They create songs that stick in your head and come up with lyrics that are thoughtful and simple, in beautiful ways.

Also, the tracks just f-ing jam.

This album is no different. Du Blonde has nearly made all of the album themselves, apart from some grand singers (for example, Laura Jane Grace and Skin), and mixing by a person from pigs pigs pigs pigs pigs pigs pigs.

In short, this album is about all kinds of stuff: relationships (personal, romantic, friendly, record-label-y), love, abuse, work, bubblegum, what-have-you-not, and the melodies still stick.

Du Blonde's song is better than ever on this… More

One of the best-ever Xmas songs. Everyone should hear it.

What. a. treasure.

What a producer! Electronic 1970s/1980s shit? Nkono got that stuff nailed to a mfn cross. He knew his shit. Produced around 150 records, by the way.

All hail Nkono and the label for reissuing this album!

Imagine some high-school kids who've merged with Teenage Fanclub and Big Star, and you have this...somewhat.

Seriously, listen to this if you're a fan of lovingly crafted rock music. There's diversity between songs! There's a lot of catchiness. Some of the content is stolen but, by jove, they stole well!

Wow! Like a New Zeeland Alvvays but with more garage-rock attitude, kind of like The Bug Club.

These songs are really catchy and brilliant. Great!

This is one of my favourite Underworld albums, and I've heard everything they've released to the general public.

For me, Underworld pull off a more dancey version of what Jon Hopkins has recently done with his last two albums, where he hypnotises the listener and makes them go deeply into themselves.

Underworld are able to build on their near-four-decade-long history and yet collaborate with young musicians and create this, an album that dips in and out of tempi, atmospheres, and are able to come up with an astounding album.

My initial feeling, after having listened to the album once, was one of wonder but not amazement. It could be that I'm still in the throes of hyperbole, but subsequent listens… More

I dig the references to Einstürzende Neubauten, both in the lyrics for the first song, and then the music itself at the start of 'Norrut/Söderut'.

As a whole, I think this is Thåström's best album in roughly two decades, as a whole. I love the track 'Förälskad' and there's a lot to love in 'Det årets kallaste kväll', the album closer.

Bar the intro track (no shit), the songs are pretty straightforward guitar-picking stuff that follow the chord-progression structure that Justin Vernon laid down on For Emma, Forever Ago.

What an accomplishment this album is. I didn't think Caws would top The Stars are Indifferent to Astronomy but here's something.

Philosophical ideas with great guitar choices and guitar engineering, not to mention holistic songs... It's all a treat.

The Stars are Indifferent to Astronomy contained elements of great ideas per song, but this album looks at every song as a whole.

The albums are different. I love the hooks and melodies on The Stars are Indifferent to Astronomy but Moon Mirror is likely to carry a lot more hefty longevity.

An album that successfully blends brutality with sophistication.

The Quietus have posted a nice review of the album.

Every time I listen to Melt-Banana, my mind feels trebucheted through the World. Intensity+high speed+very sharp turns=a lovely album.

What an album, what ethereal sounds; this album deserves to be heard again.

An exceptional soundtrack! I loved the tracks from The Dyschords, Xiu Xiu, Prolific Urdoos, Nico Muhly, Mitsky, and, of course, The Velvet Underground.

This album shows that Jamie xx is, still, a 90s bitch. In a very good way. Where his music could easily veer into pastiche and caricature, he's molded the past into something precious and sweet.

The result is a dancey electronic album with a lot of bounce. Intro song 'Wanna' touches on what The xx made on their latest album, and just jump a couple of tracks to 'Baddy On The Floor', a Basement Jaxx-wafting banger that's pure fun.

Every song feels like Jamie xx loves music and wants to convey that feeling through creation. Check out the soulful 'Dafodil', where the human voice gets looped and treated to a simple beat and occational reverb and garage-y piano; this is… More

I love Rakim's work with Eric B. I love parts of what he did solo, until now.

This album consists of:

• God worship

• Featured artists worshipping Rakim

• Rakim rapping some mathematics and life stuff

• Featured artists rapping about b!tches, money, clothes

There are very few band compilations that can best this one. As one of the Reid brothers said, they did mash the sentiments of North American 1960s girl groups and Einstürzende Neubauten.

In spite of this band being racist, homophobic, and anti-feminist (just check the lyrics to 'One in a Million' and Axl's fights against Nirvana) I do actually dig some of the songs here.

A bit like a black-metal band playing covers of The Cure songs, tainted with a lot of Sonic Youth influence. Some tracks really got to me, I'll listen to this again.

Jon Spencer, nearly 60 years of age, teams up with the young rhythm section from The Bobby Lees: the results are rock blues that kind of matches what Spencer made with the Blues Explosion. This is vital, mature, yet impressively free blues that revitalises the spirit.

Eight songs in nineteen minutes? You got it. I'd love to hear more from this trio.

Tim Reaper releases some of the best drum 'n' bass I've heard this side of the noughties. This EP does not fail to deliver.

My modus regarding Merzbow:

1. I think about listening to a Merzbow record. (Side note: I've never re-listened to a Merzbow album.)

2. I think 'Holy shit, I hope this album isn't high-pitched.'

3. I start the album, volume very low.

4. Having ensured that my hearing won't be damaged, I start listening.

5. Around five minutes into the first track, I nearly always think 'Why did I start listening to Merzbow?' and also 'There's no other artist who's really like Merzbow.' and 'Holy shit, has he released around 600 albums, singles, and collabs?' and 'I wonder if he ever listens to his old albums. Why should he? Fuck it.'

6. After half an hour, I wonder whether I'm falling to… More

This is a grand experimental album made by a highly inventive and evocative musician, mainly drummer. This is the kind of experimental instrumentals you'd expect to be released on Drag City or similar labels.

Polyrhythmic drumming abounds with simple and dissonant electric-guitar notes. This is some provocative and great shit and I lap it up, simple as that.