Words by Andrew Lampela
Andrew Lampela was an employee and eventual co-owner of the 40-year old institution, Haffa’s Records in Athens, Ohio, just outside of the dark woods from which Skeletonwitch emerged. Over his years there he has played in a number of bands ranging from rock to noise to metal and has taken his lifelong knowledge of music into contributing to a number of publications. He writes the periodic Ears of Decay metal column. Here are his top ten albums in no order.
Megabasse – Flamenca (Efficient Space)
The first thought that crossed my mind when I threw Flamenca into the mix was “huh, a bunch of guitar nerds went Gamelan.” Turns out, this is one guy – one guy! – doing all this cosmic repair to my psyche. Pierre Bujeau creates dense, repetitive deep zone soundscapes using a stereo amp and double neck setup, and it is heady bliss. This thing is absolutely spiritual on night walks. My Gamelan hunch stands, though. Cleanses my soul with every spin.
Macie Stewart – When The Distance Is Blue (International Anthem)
There’s the nostalgia that spins you down into a longing bound by particular times and places, and there’s the nostalgia that causes your bones to ache as the birth of the cosmos burns through your DNA while time eats itself into oblivion, all things existing at once and not at all. When The Distance Is Blue is both. I crushed/continue to crush this one.
Pelican – Flickering Resonance (Run for Cover Records)
I try not to let much Metal bleed into this list – after all, that’s what a column is for – but Pelican dropped what has become my favorite release of their ever deepening catalog. Somehow, twenty plus years into it, Pelican sound not only revitalized by a return to the original lineup, but positively raging on Flickering Resonance, matching an incredibly strong set of songs with an organically crushing mix. “Gulch” and “Specific Resonance” should be standards in their live set forever and ever. A stunner, start to finish.
William Tyler – Time Indefinite (Psychic Hotline)
I could have just as easily included Tyler’s collab with Four Tet’s Kieran Hebden (41 Langfield Street Late ‘80s), because it also rules, but Time Indefinite sounds like Tyler – much as we all have – has been through some shit these last couple years. The result is him weaving through slightly abrasive soundscapes and some of his most gorgeous music to date with contemplative resolve. His more guitar-oriented fans may be slightly bummed at the lack of shred, but Tyler has ascended beyond all of that with this album, and as much as I love his catalog, I am so very excited to see where these sounds launch him next.
Speedway – A Life’s Refrain (Revelation)
I’m down will all kinds of Hardcore, but my heart will always hold this super tight melodic 90s-esque sound the dearest of all. Twelve songs in twenty minutes, with some of the best rock and roll solos going. Man, I love this shit.
Eli Winter – A Trick Of The Light (Three Lobed)
I spend an inordinate amount of time walking for walking’s sake. It’s where I get most of my deep listening done, so it’s rare for me to find an album that doesn’t work on the earbuds. That’s not to say I didn’t listen to A Trick Of The Light on my excursions, but more a comment on just how much this album demands room to expand. I love that most of the ‘guitar guys’ stopped doing guitar records this year, as Winter allows his collaborators an enormous amount of freedom with these arrangements. There’s still a ton of guitar here to marvel at, to be sure, but these are compositions first and foremost, as the interplay most assuredly proves. The production is warm and full, and a big part of why I recommend letting this pour into your living space at a comfortable volume. Perfect weekend morning listens.
The Peel – In The Ferns (Sun Cru)
Full disclosure, The Peel are friends of mine, and what are we doing with *waves arms frantically at the world* this if we can’t hype our friends when they do awesome shit? Lest you think they’re here merely because they are some of the nicest people I know, give In The Ferns a listen, you’ll hear a group that has consistently earned their accolades. They’ve continued to elevate their heady brew of Old Time Krautrock String Band Appalachian weirdness with every release, and this is no exception. If lauding my friend’s leap to the vinyl format (it’s a stunner of a package) is wrong, I’m guilty every time. Yet another one that spent an endless amount of time on the turntable.
Blood Monolith – The Calling Of Fire (Profound Lore)
Music has many roles in life, and sometimes a record comes along that fits the bill of ‘cathartic rager’ so perfectly it also needs to escape the bounds of the metal column. This record rips, an unrelenting beating of Death Metal precision that dominated my heavy listening time. I’m surprised my steering wheel hasn’t shattered from smashing along to one of my favorite air drumming records this year. Twenty seven minutes of unadulterated bludgeoning.
Horse Lords and Arnold Dreyblatt – FRKWYS Vol 18: Extended Field (RVNG Intl.)
I’m all in on everything Horse Lords, so a collab with Dreyblatt is a no-brainer. It’s maybe a little more fucked up in the middle than normal (tones on top of tones, man, tones on top of tones), but this is the good shit. Worth noting that all the FRKWYS collabs are worth checking out, there are some real gems in there.
T Bone Walker – T Bone Blues (Atlantic)
Yeah, yeah, I know this record is sixty five years old. No, no big reissue campaign to speak of. But no other record even came close to informing my listening patterns this year. I threw this on randomly while driving home one morning from a Dayton trip this past Spring, and it hasn’t let me go since, sending me spiraling into 50s and 60s blindspots I didn’t know I needed to explore. I’ve found a ton of records I didn’t truly appreciate until this year that have become some of my favorites while causing me to reevaluate my own approach to rock and roll history. I love nerding out on shit uncomfortably deeply, and T Bone Blues is the impetus for one of my most profound dives to date. What a goddamn record.
crap, crap, crap, crap, crap….
❤️
Always enjoy your yearly list, dude. The peel has been in heavy rotation for me too!