Why?: Vermont born folk singer-songwriter Anais Mitchell had some job on her hands following 2010's Hadestown in both ambition & critical acclaim. The aforementioned record was without doubt one of the best of that year, a well conceived folk opera based on the myth of Orpheus & Eurydice & with a record that accomplished under her belt it would have been understandable if she had a deal of trepidation in following it up

2. Dean Blunt & Inga Copeland -

Label: Hyperdub
Genre: Lo-fi, Experimental

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FAKb2KG3es
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCpZyaolXX8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szjp3wonu0s

Why?:

1. Swans - The Seer

Label: Young God
Genre: No wave, Noise, Post Rock

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdzYh1-MhjY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foLuCb4L_K8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxRFcgWYA0M

Why?: As good as 2010's triumphant return "My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky" was, the more time spent with it, the more it became clear that rather than being a new Swans record, it sounded more like a louder version of Michael Gira's post Swans project "The Angels of Light." This was not a massive surprise given the similarities between the two line-ups. However as Gira and his colleagues toured that record , they began to jam ideas for new songs that started off as seeds and ended up as sprawling epics. I was lucky enough to catch them at the beginning and the end of that tour and it was clear that during the time spent on the road, they had begun to create something very special indeedand my anticipation for this record began to hit fever pitch.

Michael Gira himself describes The Seer as "taking 30 years to make. It's the culmination of every previous Swans album as well as any other music I've ever made, been involved in or imagined. But it's unfinished, like the songs themselves. It's one frame in a reel. The frames blur, blend and will eventually fade." For once the hyperbole matches the end result. It is a record that is staggering in it's intensity and perfect in it's execution. Undoubtedly there are 2 centerpieces to this record. Firstly, the title track, an unbelievable 32 minutes in length starting with a bagpipers from hell intro, to the eerie, clautrophobic "I see it all" incantation, to it's punishing drawn out conclusion that drains every last possible pieces of life from the carcass of the song, constantly teasing you that it will re-animate only to further bludgeon you into submission. The other, album closer "The Apostate" is almost the title track in reverse, emerging as it does from a discordant scree hell bent on destroying all in its path, to a percussive battery that goes on longer than it needs to, finally to a release of tension as great as I have experienced listening to any album riding on it's genius percussion & bizarre scrreamed lyrics in a magnificent conclusion.

That's not to say there aren't other moments. "Avatar" comes closes to putting these epics in a digestible format, whilst opener "Lunacy" is almost catchy in it's demented brilliance. Perhaps the only moment that could be considered superfluous is Karen O assist "Song For A Warrior."

What's really scary is seeing them as I did towards the end of 2012, there were already 3 new epics in the set, which dare I say it had potential to better anything on this album. Michael Gira & this version of Swans may be creating something so special here that the repercussions will be felt for years to come.

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Albums of The Year 2012 10-1

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Albums of The Year 2012 10-1

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