Music

Fresh albums: Thee Oh Sees, Gregory Alan Isakov

The new Isakov album is out today...

And I haven’t listened to it yet because I’m writing this piece on a Wednesday. But it’s spawned enough singles to be recommended to me on Spotify anyhow as an EP, “Dark, Dark, Dark,” after the lead single on the album. And boy howdy, isn’t he dreamy?

Isakov has produced virtually nothing but classics in his fifteen-year career. He’s a man of many talents, from the sparseness on “Rust-Colored Stones” to the jangly marches of “This Empty Northern Hemisphere,” featuring langorous fiddles and a profound sense of peace and tranquility.

In between, there’s been all sorts - splashy piano, warm bass hums, and glorious noise-walls, distorted, looming, carrying the melody in the background while the mandolin in the foreground holds a pick pattern. For a guy with such a distinctive sound, he really goes all over.

These new singles are pretty great. There’s a hint of Bon Iver in the falsetto reprise on “Chemicals”; “Dark, Dark, Dark” recalls Old Crow Medicine Show-style country with a lurching, cadence, and “Caves” has an absolutely delightful indie lo-fi vibe - this vibe gives way to a delightful climax with the reprise “Let’s put all these words away.” The right notes of wist, melancholy, and nostalgia are hit.

So, to sum up: Isakov hasn’t missed before, and there’s no indication that he’ll miss this time. Cop the album.

Thee Oh Sees goes prog-metal with Smote Reverser, claims Pitchfork. Thee Oh Sheesh.

First: Wikipedia lists them as Oh Sees, and Spotify as Thee Oh Sees. Take your pick, my dudes. I can’t believe I missed this album last week. Thee Oh Sees is an experimental garage-rock outfit well familiar to Music Section adherents with a flair for the grungy and atmospheric.

Their old stuff is very desert/stoner rock; as Pitchfork says, after the rough patches they hit in 2013 or so as a band, John Dwyer took the chance to reform, and the new double-drummer ensemble is definitely distinct in sound from their older stuff.

There are lots of great drum patterns on here, and lots of nice jams that zig-zag around in feel with glee.

While it’s true that the’re generally stepping on the toes of the prog metal fanbase a bit more with this album, this album might not appreciate people looking for stuff in the vein of djent or whatever you kids are calling prog nowadays If you’re a fan of letting atmospheric rock ride, you’ll like this album.

I stuck my headphones on Charlie’s head (shoutout to the Comment Section) for a second opinion and he thinks they sound grand. So cop this too.

Tim Hecker’s triumphant return with Konoyo.

Tim Hecker is probably best known for his masterpiece work Harmony in Ultraviolet, which has topped many a list of the best ambient albums of all time. Others might know Ravedeath, 1972; yet another classic.

His palette has shifted slightly; most of the instrumentation on this album is old-style Japanese stuff, with the samples recorded over a week in a Buddhist temple in Tokyo.

There are harsh starts and stops, wonderful grating drones, and an ominous robotic madness to the entire piece. This is nothing less than a return to form for one of the greatest living ambient artists.

Par for the course, Hecker builds staggering, spacious landscapes, allows them to decay into discordant noise, and revitalizes them - pulling back out into fresh surges of harmonic peace.

And that, lads, is your weekly listening.

From Issue 1699

5th Oct 2018

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

Read more

With a new Chance the Rapper project supposedly on the way, let us revisit his iconic Acid Rap  mixtape

With a new Chance the Rapper project supposedly on the way, let us revisit his iconic Acid Rap mixtape

It’s simultaneously becoming increasingly easy and difficult to ignore Kanye West. Apparently, he’s been “working on” a new Chance the Rapper album. What that means or whether it even matters (see the substandard Ye or elusive Yahndi) is to be seen. Still, let’s take this as an

By Asad Raja
Peter Haynes to take over Provost role in October

News

Peter Haynes to take over Provost role in October

Professor Peter Haynes has been appointed as the new Provost and Deputy President of Imperial College. The current  Vice-Provost for Education and Student Experience, Haynes will succeed the outgoing Provost, Professor Ian Walmsley, who has served in the role since 2018. Imperial President Hugh Brady said Professors Haynes and Walmsley

By Guillaume Felix
Why RAG’s bungee jump event never took place

News

Why RAG’s bungee jump event never took place

Earlier this academic year, Imperial Raising and Giving (RAG), had announced the return of their charity bungee jump after a hiatus of 10 years. The event, however, was postponed several times, and Felix can now reveal why it was cancelled. The event, initially scheduled for November 13th, was postponed several

By Mohammad Majlisi and Nadeen Daka
Palestine protests ramp up as year ends and tensions rise

News

Palestine protests ramp up as year ends and tensions rise

Saturday 7th June: Pro-Palestinian protestors hold banners as they stand on ALERT at the Great Exhibition Road Festival. Tuesday 10th June: A student announces a hunger strike asking for Imperial to investigate Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism, form a student-staff working group on ethical investment, and divest from arms companies accused

By Mohammad Majlisi