Atlas Sound
Parallax
4AD (2011)
Bradford Cox is in many ways like a ghost. There’s his whispery vocal style, like that of a specter, haunting and evanescent. And the glaring image of himself on the cover of his side project, Atlas Sound’s, second release, Logos. Or for instance his entire musical catalogue; a seamless spawn of translucent albums that are distinct, yet share vivid familiarity. … Read more
Future of the Left
Travels With Myself and Another
4AD (2009)
It doesn't look like a man. It doesn't talk like a man. But does it fuck like a man? Does it? Does it fuck like a man? It doesn't smell like a man. It doesn't taste like a man. But does it fuck like a man? Does it? Does it fuck like a man? Wise words there from album highlight … Read more
Scott Walker
The Drift
4AD (2006)
Scott Walker - to those who know and love his music - is one of those towering figures of American culture that is as much the stuff of legend as an actual person, like Roky Erickson or Thomas Pynchon. Walker spent the late '60s recording four astonishing LPs of lush, overwrought continental melodrama, entitled Scott through Scott 4. These are … Read more
Sunn O))) and Scott Walker
Soused
4AD (2014)
The moment I heard Scott Walker would be collaborating for a full album with Sunn O))), I assumed I was dreaming. That was just too good to be actually true. In the past Sunn O))) have had great collaborations with bands such as, Boris, Nurse With Wound and Ulver, all of which really fitted their style. But this goes beyond … Read more
The Breeders
All Nerve
4AD (2018)
When the Deal sisters re-assembled the lineup from their seminal Last Splash album for a 20th anniversary tour in 2014, they didn’t know how it was going to go. But, the tour went off without a hitch and any ill-will that seemed to exist between the Deals, drummer Jim MacPerson and bassist Josephine Wiggs appeared to dissipate into the ether. … Read more
The Breeders
Mountain Battles
4AD (2008)
I have a huge crush on Kim Deal. There, I said it. Fuck you, don't judge me. You probably rubbed one out to Vanessa Hudgens last night, you sick fuck. Kim's more woman than you could ever hope to get, pervy. That's right, the real Deal sisters are back and they're ready to lo-fi rock your socks off with their … Read more
The Mountain Goats
Heretic Pride
4AD (2008)
After hearing The Sunset Tree, I was certain that John Darnielle was incapable of writing songs that even hint at happiness. Hope is abundant, but joy is absent. His songs are stories of lives endured. Each album is an anthology of damaged characters trying to survive unfortunate circumstances. Heretic Pride makes that leap from hope to joy, the overall mood … Read more
The Mountain Goats
We Shall All Be Healed
4AD (2004)
As any lover of lo-fi already knows, the complexity of The Mountain Goats' John Darnielle and his work is vast. He records every album on a living room boombox, has a large backup band despite a very small amount of accompaniment on any given record, and has a penchant for weird lyrics of which he is the only person who … Read more
The National
Trouble Will Find Me
4AD (2013)
DISCLAIMER: Readers, a bold claim is about to be made. The National’s Trouble Will Find Me could, quite possibly, be as essential as air. Tread carefully, the sheer force of the overwhelmingly mournful nature of this album may surprise you with its taciturn but fitting attempts of disbelieving optimism. Happiness is not The National’s forte, but tussling with overbearing emotions … Read more
Tim Hecker
Love Streams
4AD (2016)
Since 2001 Tim Hecker has been exploring the more adventurous sides of electronic music. The experimental scope of the artist has moved through dark territories, taking on elements of drone, noise, power electronics, constructing unique soundscapes of immense beauty. Haunt Me, Haunt Me Do It Again, Ravedeath, 1972 and 2013's Virgins are just some of the essential work of Hecker, … Read more
