Top - Left to Right:
* Daughter - "If You Leave"
* Jon Hopkins - "Immunity"
* Gungor - "I am Mountain"
Bottom - Left to Right:
* Howard Shore - "The Hobbit - The Desolation of Smaug Soundtrack - Extended Edition"
* Leonard Rosenman - "The Lord of the Rings Soundtrack"
* Jon Anderson - "Olias of Sunhillow"
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Left to Right:
* Radiohead - "The King of Limbs"
* Moby - "Innocents" + "Everyone is Gone ep"
* Yes - "Tales from Topographic Oceans"
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For Christmas I was fortunate to receive either music ... or money to put towards the purchase of music.
- Daughter - "If You Leave" - their delightfully engaging indie rock was a highlight of 2013 and one of the albums I missed when I cancelled my Rdio account.
- Jon Hopkins - "Immunity" - possibly the best 'major label' album of 2013 ... possibly. I still can't decide. I found Hopkins' form of expressive electronica utterly captivating.
- Gungor - "I am Mountain" - Gungor give me hope for Christian music ... their 'liturgical post-rock' is a real pleasure of mine and I couldn't wait to have their latest album after hearing it streamed on their website.
- Howard Shore - "The Hobbit - The Desolation of Smaug Soundtrack - Extended Edition" - I am a Tolkien nerd and this extends to Shore's soundtracks for the films. I enjoyed the second part of The Hobbit and couldn't wait to get the soundtrack ... again spending a wee bit more to get the extended edition. Truly beautiful.
- Leonard Rosenman - "The Lord of the Rings Soundtrack" - for all that I love Shore's soundtracks, my heart lies with Rosenman's soundtrack for Ralph Bakshi's version of The Lord of the Rings. It is so wonderfully dark and dissonant ... I actually think it was one of the inspirations for my current love of leftfield, avant garde music. It was another of the albums I missed when I cancelled my Rdio account. Delighted to finally have a hardcopy of it.
- Jon Anderson - "Olias of Sunhillow" - Jon Anderson is the voice of Yes on all my fave albums of theirs and his solo album - Olias of Sunhillow - is a progressive masterpiece. The lyrics are a bit 'out there' but out there is good!
- Radiohead - "The King of Limbs" - I have had this album for a while ... but asked my parents to buy it for me on vinyl. I love it and consider it woefully underrated.
- Moby - "Innocents" + "Everyone is Gone ep" - I love Moby and was really excited to hear this album, especially considering the guest vocalists such as Cold Specks, Wayne Coyne & Mark Lanegan. I wasn't disappointed. I really enjoy this album and like the direction Moby is going in.
- Yes - "Tales from Topographic Oceans" - Whilst this album is not for everyone, it is for me ... I love this progressive rock monster from Yes ... all four sides work for me and I love the Roger Dean artwork on the gatefold 12" cover. I like my music progressive and TFTO works for me every single time.
I'm grateful to my In-Laws for the Gungor and Moby CDs ... and grateful to my parents for the Radiohead LP and for the ability to get the other albums. These will stay with me for a long time.
Tx
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