1. Belong – October Language [Carpark Records #31]

It’s not easy, but I’m pretty certain I can say with confidence that this is the best album I’ve heard all year long. I picked this up at Other Music based solely on a little description accompanying the CDs – I hadn’t heard anything about this release before then. One might describe it simply as “noisy ambient” – think the amplified sound of crashing waves, sculpted white noise, etc. It’s relaxing music; loud even on low volumes. It’s a shame that more people haven’t heard this album.

From the Carpark website:

Following in the tradition of bands like My Bloody Valentine and Gas, guitars, synths and other musical sources are wrenched from their typical tones, revealing themselves in bright shards of distortion. Melodies are similarly enveloped in a sort of aural atrophy, forever repeating their blurring calls. At the end, all that remains is a noise so potent it leaves the sonic equivalent of the sun’s imprint on a retina.

2. The Rest (in no particular order)

WZT Hearts – Heat Chief
Belle And Sebastian – The Life Pursuit
Kangding Ray – Stabil
Sandro Perri – Plays Polmo Polpo
Machinefabriek – Marjin