Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine (1989)

Nine Inch Nails debut album. A fantastic album, and the best Nine Inch Nails album in my opinion. Definitely a must hear.

Check it out.

Official site.

Beck - Mellow Gold (1994)

Beck's second album. Contains his popular song "Loser". A great listen, and my personal favourite album by him.

Link removed by request.

Official site.

Ween - The Mollusk (1997)

Ween's sixth album. One of my all time favourites, and their best album in my opinion.

Check it out: part one, part two.

Official site.

Melt-Banana - Bambi's Dilemma (2007)

Melt-Banana's newest and probably most accessible. Very good.

Check it out.

Official site.

Melt-Banana - 13 Hedgehogs [MxBx Singles 1994-1999] (2005)

Compilation album of Melt-Banana singles. I don't know how to describe this band but they're great.

Check it out: part one, part two

Official site

Four Tet - Everything Ecstatic (2005)

Four Tet's fourth album. I'm not too sure what to say about it.

Check it out

Official site

Amusement Parks on Fire - Out of the Angeles (2006)

Second album by Amusement Parks on Fire. Very good.

Check it out: part one, part two.

Official site

Sorry about lack of updates, I've been on vacation.

The Flaming Lips - Transmissions from the Satellite Heart (1993)

The Flaming Lips' sixth LP. Contains their popular song "She Don't Use Jelly" a cover of the song "Plastic Jesus" from the film Cool Hand Luke.

Check it out

Official site

Dan Deacon - Bromst (2009)

Dan Deacon's newest. It has a much more layered sound than Spiderman of the Rings and Reminds me of M83's Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts at moments. A fun listen.

Check it out: part one, part two.

Official site.

Lord Cut-Glass - Lord Cut-Glass (2009)

Solo debut by Alun Woodward under the Lord Cut-Glass moniker. Features beautifully arranged music played by classical musicians and some of the most clever songwriting of his career. Just the sort of thing you'd expect from an ex-Delgado.

Check it out.

Official site.

Dan Deacon - Spiderman of the Rings (2007)

A fun, energetic album by the amazing Dan Deacon.

Check it out.

Official site.

Faunts - Feel.Love.Thinking.Of. (2009)

Faunts' sophomore album. Much poppier and upbeat than their first. Makes me think of New Order.

Check it out.

Official site.

Faunts - High Expectations/Low Results (2005)

Debut album by Canadian shoegazers Faunts. Very dreamy and beautiful.

Check it out.

Official site.

Pyramids - Pyramids (2008)

Buried vocals, textured sounds, fast drum machines. An interesting listen. Certainly unique.

Check it out: album, remix disc.

Official Myspace.

Life Without Buildings - Any Other City (2000)

The only proper album from the very short-lived and criminally underrated Life Without Buildings. Something you might enjoy if you liked Young Marble Giants.

Check it out.

Official site.

Damon & Naomi - Damon & Naomi with Ghost (2000)

Fourth album by Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang, both formerly of Galaxie 500. A collaboration with Japanese psychedelic band Ghost.

Check it out.

Official site.

Luna - Bewitched (1994)

Second album by Luna; fronted by Dean Wareham, formerly of Galaxie 500.

Check it out.

Official site.

Hum - You'd Prefer an Astronaut (1995)

Hum's third album overall but their first with the classic lineup. Absolutely amazing space rock. Essential.

Check it out.

Fansite.

the pillows - Thank You, My Twilight (2002)

The phenomenal 10th album by the pillows. Energetic guitar pop. One of my favourites and good place to start with the pillows.

Check it out.

Official site.

Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band - 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons (2008)

Only four actual songs, but they are amazing. No doubt about it, an essential.

Check it out: part one, part two.

Official site.

Final Fantasy - He Poos Clouds (2006)

Second album by Final Fantasy, won the 2006 Polaris Music Prize.

Check it out.

Official site.

New Order - Singles (2005)

Two-disc compilation of New Order's singles from 1981 to 2005. Serves as a good retrospective for their career.

Check it out: part one, part two, part three, part four.

Official site.

Note: this compilation features the 7" versions of the singles.

Rafael Toral - Wave Field (1995)

Relaxing ambient album made with only a guitar. Good listen.

Check it out: part one, part two.

Official site.

World's End Girlfriend - Hurtbreak Wonderland (2007)

Amazing album by World's End Girlfriend. Made of beautiful arrangements and electronic beats. Essential.

Check it out: part one, part two.

Official site.

Boris - Amplifier Worship (1993)

Boris' second LP. A great work of heavy riffs and drones.

Check it out: part one, part two.

Official site.

John Zorn - Naked City (1989)

 

Captivating, dynamic, and beautiful album by John Zorn, featuring the Naked City band. Showcases a unique and eclectic mix of free jazz and improvisational noise. Most definitely an essential.

Check it out: part one, part two.

Zorn's label.

Failure - Magnified (1994)

Second album by 90's space rock group Failure. Oft compared to other other active bands around their time such as Nirvana or Soundgarden, though their sound is considerably more textured and the guitar work is very impressive. Probably more similar to Hum, if anything.

Check it out.

Unofficial infosite.

Mercury Rev - Lego My Ego (1992)

 

Something of a companion album to Yerself Is Steam, including Peel Session recordings and alternate tracks from the album, as well as a couple of songs that didn't make the album.

Check it out: part one, part two.

Official site.

Mercury Rev - Yerself Is Steam (1991)

Mercury Rev's first album, with a great deal more noise and psychedelic influences than their later albums, such as See You on the Other Side.

Check it out.

Official site.

Galaxie 500 - On Fire (1989)

 

Another fantastic album by Galaxie 500. This version is the 1997 reissue with bonus tracks from the Blue Thunder EP, including a cover of "Ceremony" by Joy Division/New Order.

Check it out.

Unofficial infosite.

Galaxie 500 - Today (1988)

Debut album by Galaxie 500. Simple and minimal, yet atmospheric and beautiful. One of my all-time favourites.

Check it out.

Unofficial infosite.

M83 - Run Into Flowers (2003)

Single from the album Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts. Contains three remixes.

Check it out.

Official site.

Cocteau Twins - Victorialand (1986)

Excellent album by pioneers of the dream pop sound, Cocteau Twins. Reverberant, dreamy, and ambient music.

Check it out.

Official site.

Young Marble Giants - Colossal Youth & Collected Works (1980)

Three disc complitation album by the excellent—but very short-lived—Young Marble Giants. The first disc is their first and only proper album, Colossal Youth; the second is a collection of their EPs and singles; the third is a 1980 Peel Session recording. Their entire discography, in fact. Essential.

Check it out: part one, part two, part three.

Unofficial infosite.

Arab Strap - Elephant Shoe (1999)

 

Third album by Arab Strap. Languid and pensive pop songs. An excllent listen.

Check it out: part one, part two.

Label page.

Aves - Demo (2009)

Instrumental demos. There are only three songs but they are worth listening to.

Check it out.

Official Myspace.

Moose - Honey Bee (1994)

 

Moose's second album, which saw them departing from their shoegaze influences and coming into a style of pop music distinctly their own. Very good.

Check it out.

Unofficial infosite.

Moose - Sonny and Sam EP (1991)

 

Debut EP by Moose. A compilation of their earliest singles, which are renowned for having the most shoegaze/dream pop influence of any of their output.

Check it out.

Unofficial infosite.

Adorable - Against Perfection (1993)

 

Debut album by alternative rock/shoegaze group Adorable. A self-proclaimed "glamour pop" band, their sound is just that. No better way to describe it.

Check it out.

Unofficial infosite.

Sigur Rós & Steindór Andersen - Rímur EP (2001)

 

Limited edition EP by Sigur Rós, sold at their 2001 spring tour. Features Steindór Andersen reading traditional Icelandic epic poetry over the band's original compositions.

Check it out.

Official site.

Fulflej - Wack-Ass Tuba Riff (1996)

Great (and only) album by the relatively unknown Fulflej. If you liked Catherine you will most likely enjoy this.

Check it out.

Forest Fire - Psychic Love Star EP (2007)

Debut EP by Forest Fire. Experimental, with a much more lo-fi sound than their debut album Survival.

Check it out.

Official site.

Jesu - Silver EP (2006)

The great shoegazey EP by Jesu. Very nice textured sound. This is the Japanese edition with two bonus tracks that are different mixes of Wolves and Silver.

Check it out.

Official site.

The Cancer Conspiracy - The Cancer Conspiracy EP (2001)

Debut EP by The Cancer Conspiracy. Two studio tracks and a live track.

Check it out.

Mercury Rev - See You on the Other Side (1995)

Amazing and often overlooked album by Mercury Rev. My personal favourite of theirs, it takes you somewhere else. Essential.

Check it out.

Official site.

Sleepercar - West Texas (2008)

Country side project from Sparta and At the Drive-in's Jim Ward. Very good.

Check it out.

Official site.

Emma Pollock - Watch the Fireworks (2007)

First solo album from Emma Pollock of The Delgados. Great pop songs. Very good listen.

Check it out.

Official site.

The Delgados - The Great Eastern (2000)

The Delgados' third album. Absolutely amazing, depressing pop songs. Beautiful instrumentation, male-female vocals. One of my favourite albums. Produced by Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev)

Check it out.

Label site.

朝生愛 - Lavender Edition (2004)

An album by Ai Aso. Most is just her voice and an electric guitar. Relaxing.

Check it out.

Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow (2002)

All-around excellent album by alternative funk/hip-hop group Blackalicious. Extremely tight flows and incredibly clever wordplay. An essential, even if you're not usually much for hip-hop.

Check it out: part one, part two.

Official site.