archived brainwashed reviews
Tim Hecker, “Virgins” (Kranky, 2013)
It is hard to believe that Tim Hecker is still managing to pull fresh rabbits out of his hat seven solo albums into his career, but Virgins is an expectation-defying […]
Disappears, “Era” (Kranky, 2013)
This Chicago band’s career trajectory has been a singularly impressive and curious one, as they have somehow managed to continually reinvent their sound while still getting exponentially better with each […]
“Afrobeat Airways 2: Return Flight to Ghana 1974-1983” (Analog Africa, 2013)
This sequel to 2010’s fine Afro-Beat Airways delivers still more Fela-free gems from Ghana’s golden age, which is (of course) is exactly what I wanted and expected. While many of […]
Born of Six, “Svapiti” (Important, 2013)
Catherine Christer Hennix has certainly had a very curious career, to say the least: she worked at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence lab in the ’70s, was a research professor in mathematics […]
Duane Pitre, “Bridges” (Important, 2013)
Pitre’s latest offering is a fine companion piece to last year’s stellar Feel Free, achieving a similar outcome through composition rather than computerized randomization. Built upon Duane’s now-characteristic pointillist plucking, […]
Rashad Becker, “Traditional Music of Notional Species, Vol. 1” (PAN, 2013)
Rashad Becker is a fairly revered and influential figure in experimental music circles due to his role as the resident mastering genius at Basic Channel’s Dubplates studio. That association is […]
The Dead C, “Armed Courage” (Ba Da Bing, 2013)
There is something endearingly heroic about The Dead C, as they have been gleefully blurring the lines between inspired deconstructionist rock and messy, half-assed indulgence to widespread indifference for almost […]
Alessandro Cortini, “Forse, Volume One” (Important, 2013)
Cortini is best known as a member of Nine Inch Nails and How to Destroy Angels, but his work with Trent Reznor is quite a bit different from this opening […]