archived brainwashed reviews
Porter Ricks, “Biokinetics” (Chain Reaction (1996)/Type (2012))
Way back in 1996, the duo of Thomas Köner and Andy Mellwig released this singles collection on the revered Chain Reaction label. Over the ensuing years, it has justifiably been hailed […]
Disappears, “Pre Language” (Kranky, 2012)
Last year, I was pleasantly surprised by how much better Guider was than its predecessor. Now Disappears has surprised me again, greatly toning down their signature Neu!-worship in favor of […]
Eli Keszler, “Cold Pin” (PAN, 2012)
This was easily one of the most striking and visceral albums that I encountered last year, but it has somehow remained mostly under the radar. Cold Pin is the end-product […]
Windy & Carl, “We Will Always Be” (Kranky, 2012)
It has been several years since the last Windy & Carl album, but thankfully they are back and just as reliably excellent as ever. Maybe even more so, as several […]
Esplendor Geométrico, “Desarrollos Geométricos”(Geometrik, 2011)
I didn’t know quite what to expect from a new Esplendor Geométrico album, aside from a lot of relentlessly repeating percussion loops. However, I did know that I didn’t expect Desarrollos Geométricos to […]
Dean McPhee, “Son of the Black Peace” (Blast First Petite, 2012)
This English guitarist’s first full-length is just as impressive as last year’s excellent Brown Bear EP, but displays quite a significant and somewhat unexpected evolution. Rather than playing up the […]
William Basinski, “92982” (92982, 2009)
It seems that I badly underestimated William Basinski, as I stopped following his career several years ago out of frustration with his apparent creative stagnation. His methods and conceptual underpinnings […]
Isengrind, “Night of Raining Fire” (Blackest Rainbow, 2012)
Natural Snow Buildings seem to be currently locked in a rhythm in which they release one truly monster album each year and Solange Gularte’s latest solo effort seems to have […]