This is the debut release from Chicago duo Cleared, consisting of percussionist Steven Hess and guitarist Michael Vallera, two familiar faces in the Chicago experimental/drone world.
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Travis Bird
Cleared, s/t LP/tape
Moloch / Glass Coffin, “Weg von dieser Welt voller” b/w “When Ravens Black Out The Sun” split 7″
From Josh Lay’s Husk Records comes this black metal split between his own Glass Coffin and Ukraine’s Moloch, with each band featuring a single musician (Lay for Glass Coffin, Dr. Sergiy for Moloch) offering a single track.
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Thomas Köner, “Nunatak • Teimo • Permafrost” 3xCD
Type has scored a brilliant coup in its rerelease of German sound artist Thomas Köner’s first three albums, which have been out of print for some time.
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Cloudland Canyon, “Mothlight Pt. 2″ b/w “In the Cold” 7″
A nice simple, straightforward seven-inch from Cloudland Canyon.
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Clinton Machine, “Getting’ Personial” LP
Canadian Blake Hargreaves has been involved in a number of notable projects over the past several years, including Jim Slay, Dreamcatcher, Thames, and Cousins of Reggae.
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Not Breathing / Vesica Piscis, “Low Desert” b/w “High Desert” 7″
This impressive noise split is one of the standouts I’ve encountered recently.
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Gil San Marcos, “Domes” LP
Gil San Marcos seems to occupy a sort of “noise-lite” territory on this release, using a “strict all-analog no-instrument policy” to craft some sometimes quite distinctive and well-constructed soundscapes.
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Hiss Nausea/Nolls split tape
Hyster is an interesting proposition of a label from Finland releasing tapes dubbed entirely from found cassettes, with what looks to be a focus on Baltic and eastern European projects.
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Travis Bird’s Best of 2010
It’s funny what you learn about yourself when compiling a list like this. Certain patterns in thinking emerge, certain labels and aesthetics jump out. I learned some personal things too—that I forget about a lot of things I listen to, and that I’m rather behind the curve when it comes to hearing new releases...
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Olympus, “Bold Mould” LP
Olympus is a duo made up of venerable lo-fi veterans Stefan Neville (Pumice) and Kraus, formerly of the Futurians and other nodes of the mutated New Zealand underground.
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Dry Valleys, “Illuminating Gaze” tape
This is a gorgeous set of dreamy, gauzy, and very evocative synth music from Dry Valleys, accompanying their handful of 2010 cassettes for Sacred Phrases.
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Br’er / The Chord and the Fawn, “’The Soft Mountain EP’ / ‘This Means It Was Meant To Be EP’” LP
The word “loving” doesn’t even begin to describe this split 12-inch between Philadelphia’s Br’er and Minneapolis’ The Chord and the Fawn.
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Group Inerane, “Guitars From Agadez Vol. 3 (Music Of Niger)” LP
From Sublime Frequencies comes another musical treasure, this time in the second full-length from Group Inerane.
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