Amazon Suggestive Implications

I got an e-mail this morning (5:13?) from Amazon, and they have some records they think I will like. None of them are anything I've really been dying to get, but four of them by the four artists are albums I've come close to checking out. Three are post-rockist and a couple are ambient electronics, so their pattern recognition algorithms seem to be functioning adequately. Not buying any for $16 or $17, but I saw an opportunity for an easy, easy post!!

An Imaginary Country (2009) by Tim Hecker
Ambient Electronics, on Kranky Records

The Pitchfork takeaway (7.7 review):

The first thing that comes to mind when considering Tim Hecker's work is his sense of scale. The Montreal-based drone composer has, over the course of the decade, built oceans of ambient noise capable of submerging his listener. ...so for his latest project, Hecker focuses instead on shorter individual pieces - albeit with the same deliberateness and meticulous detail we've come to expect from him.

That approach worked well for Black to Comm!

An Imaginary Country - Tim Hec...

Other Truths (2009) by Do Make Say Think
Epic Post-rock, on Constellation Records

The Pitchfork takeaway (7.2 review):

Other Truths doesn't roughen up the band's jazz-steeped aesthetic. But it does add more dimensions and sharp textures to their songwriting, which continues to get tighter yet wider in scope. Spread across a suite of four lengthy tracks and titled with the same string of verbs as the band's name, the album isn't about momentum as much as it is about transitions.

So basically the exact opposite approach as Hecker!

Other Truths - Do Make Say Thi...

Beacons of Ancestorship (2009) by Toroise
The Grandaddies of Post-rock, on Thrill Jockey

The Pitchfork takeaway (7.9 review):

Post-rock was one of the most active threads of 90s indie, and Tortoise not only set the bar for it, they leaped right over it. While many of their peers interpreted post-rock as "rock, but boring," they hybridized completely novel forms. Their music was informed not only by Chicago's energetic out-jazz scene, but also drum 'n' bass, electro, lounge music, techno, hip-hop, dub, and modernist innovations.

I've still never listened to an entire Tortoise record! At least the first song on the album is streaming here (not sure how far it goes).


White Bird Release (2009) Pan•American
Ambient-Drone Post-rock, on Kranky Records

The Pitchfork takeaway (7.0 review):

The new White Bird Release isn't nearly as passive as its predecessor, but at the same time, it does often hew closer to linear ambient drift compared to the dub-inflected early Pan American releases or Nelson's subtle experiments in rhythm. At times, the album recalls Eno's mysterious but organic opus Ambient 4: On Land.

Never listened to an entire Labradford record either!!

Pan•American

Amazon also suggested Pan•American's Quiet City (2004), which seems out of place from the others. And presumptuous to suggest two from one act. But overall, some pretty decent suggestions, given the consistently high ratings! Maybe I'll even listen to some of them...