Animate Objects - Riding in Fast Cars with Your Momma (2007)

Conscious hip-hop stuff! Classy, jazzy beats and slick flows characterize this acclaimed, but fairly forgotten, gem filled with a variety funky stuff to bounce to and slow-paced stuff to grind to.

Sample: "El Dorado"

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- Jake

Clare & the Reasons - The Movie (2007)

So already, this album cover should be a fairly clear indicator of what to expect: at least something along the lines of "cinematic," right? Quite so. In this case, of the baroque pop variety. Featuring contributions from Van Dyke Parks and Sufjan Stevens, The Movie is chock-full of lush string arrangements, day-dreamy compositions, sharp songwriting, breezy guitar work, and delightful feminine coos with an old-fashioned sound to it. If you like Lana Del Rey, you can appreciate their same sort of retro-Golden Age Hollywood aesthetic. If you hate Lana Del Rey, you can appreciate they're a better version of her.

Sample: "Science Fiction Man"

- Jake

(major props to Alessandro for making me aware of them, in the first place)

The Wild - Set Ourselves Free (2010)

I love bands where everyone sounds like they're having the absolute time of their life during the recording process. I like especially how a lot of these bands come from the anti-folk/folk-punk movement. Be the lyrics miserable or life-affirming, you just get the sense that everything will be all right, everything will go to shit, and will happen all at the same time. The Wild certainly live up to their name, sounding unbridled and free, with bratty adult vocals, and pumping out jangly shout-along melodies to leave you bopping to your grave.

Sample: "Together on the Ground"

if you'd like to donate

- Jake

YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN - YT//ST (2011)

"YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN are a psychedelic noh-wave opera group fusing noise, metal, pop and folk music into a multidisciplinary hyper-orientalist cesspool of 'east' meets 'west' culture clash in giant monochrome paper sets."

Sample: "Queens"

- Alessandro

Andrew Hill - Judgment! (1964)

Andrew Hill was a good-ass jazz pianist/composer and really, everyone should have at least one of his albums in their music library. Here's my personal favourite: "Judgment!" (the albumcover's pretty damn cool too)

Sample: "Flea Flop"

- Alessandro

Saxon Shore - The Exquisite Death of Saxon Shore (2005)

Saxon Shore is an American post-rock band and a very good one at that. I for one am really picky with my post-rock, and this is some really good stuff, even though there's more walls of sounds than the whole 'building up'. The tracks are relatively short too so it's a good album to listen to when you don't have that much time and also a good scrobbling album!

Sample: "The Revolution Will Be Streaming"

- Alessandro

Cold Body Radiation - Deer Twilight (2011)

Cold Body Radiation is a one-man band from The Netherlands. Deer Twilight is an atmospheric, dreamy album with post-rock and shoegazing elements that remind you of landscapes and cozy situations. This takes you to a whole other world, man. You should definitely check this out.

Sample: "Deer Twilight"

- Alessandro