Albums by Mystical Sun, Patrick O’Hearn, and Japancakes may have gotten lost in the shuffle of our year end best of lists.
Mystical Sun’s Deeperworlds was a disc I’d been waiting for since we interviewed him in 2004. We played this CD a lot, but I think since we had been so familiar with the materiel from advances and tracks on collections that we may have given it shorter shrift than it deserved. But Richard Plom, who is Mystical Sun, constructed a CD of slinky, deceptively simple grooves and time shifting moods with subtle touches that should’ve gotten more attention from us and everyone else.
Patrick O’Hearn is an icon of Echoes, but I think we were taken aback by the frigidly austere, ambient chamber music moods of Glaciation. Often using the bass as his lead instrument, Glaciation moves at a slower pace, but deeper listening reveals a delicately balanced work of zen-like contemplation. Listeners caught it in the Listener poll, but it took me a bit longer to warm to the icy timbres and slow-mo moods of Glaciation.
Finally there’sJapancakes’ Loveless. Now you can’t quite say we missed this group, given that they topped by personal Ten Best List, the 25 Essential Echoes CDs list and placed in the middle of the Listener Poll. But that was for the album, Giving Machines. Loveless, is their brilliant full-album instrumental cover version of My Bloody Valentine’s iconic 1991 shoegazer classic. Japancakes take these tunes and using mostly pedal steel to enact the vocal melodies, turn them into haunting, melancholic ambient chamber rock. It probably came in too late for listeners and we figured, they were number one on the Essential poll, so we’d share the wealth. But it is a stunning album that far exceeds the stunt aspects of its initial concept.
That’s a wrap for 2007.
Comment posted by
at 1/26/2008 11:20:26 PM
I got Patrick O’Hearn’s Glaciation album for Christmas and it is a good album. I think I have purchased everything Patrick has done as a solo artist from his early years to now. I love his “Beauty in Darkness” piece.
Comment posted by
at 1/19/2008 10:38:27 PM
I really enjoy Patrick O’Hearn’s Glaciation, but my only complaint is it’s not long enough. The pieces seem unfinished or, as I posted in another review, created as soundtracks to a Discovery Channel program. This should be 75 minutes of ambient, not 43.
Comment posted by
at 1/10/2008 5:07:23 PM
Does anyone know where I can get “The Silence of Everything Yearned For” by Ric Hordinski on CD? I’ve tried Amazon (out of stock for months), eBay, Gemm, CDBaby, Google Products – in short everything! No info on the artists website either… Can’t even find MP3 or digital downloads! What is going on – this is a great album, and I’m sure many others want to know where they can get?!
Any leads or info appreciated!
Comment posted by
at 1/9/2008 7:24:23 PM
Here’s to say I was one who voted for Mystical Sun’s Deeperwolds. And yes, I was confused as to why it didn’t rank in the tops, so thanks for explaining that it was more of an oversight. Ah, perhaps make it up to them with more exposure in 2008? 
Anyways, overall you guys do a very wonderful job, exposing me to music I’d otherwise not hear. And I’m there every evening with you, and absolutely loving it! Thanks.