OFF: Best of 2013 (...The Cosmic Dead)

[Keith Henderson]

Hey Folks...

Suppose I should contribute something for a change.

Noted the discussion about The Cosmic Dead, and I quite like them, though I'm not sure any of their releases will make my Best of... list this year.  There's suddenly so much stuff out there in "Bandcampland" and the like!!  Having a really hard time narrowing the field to the truly outstanding.  To demonstrate, here's my list of candidates...what's your favorite of the year?

At the moment, I am gravitating towards the White Manna as my Album of the Year.  They are just too awesome.  I also really like Cave, Pyramidal, and this new Columbus band (too bad I don't live there anymore) Brujas del Sol, so those will be Top 10ers for sure.  The HW-related releases were also pretty strong, including Hawklords, Timelords (essentially TOSH, if I'm not mistaken), and Nik's thing. Haven't heard Spacehawks yet, but I doubt if I would include it anyway, since it's largely compilation, right?  Still, anxious to hear new versions of WotEoT tracks.

By the way...I had a ticket for the Wash DC show, and it was originally rescheduled for March 15, and now I see it has been cancelled entirely, even though I've seen announcements for other US/CN dates in mid-March for other cities.  Still waiting to hear about Cleveland and Philly, both of which I also hold tickets for.  Does that just mean that this particular club in DC no longer fits into the tour scheduling plans, and that the tour is still on for March, or what has anybody heard?  I'm anxious for it to take place for real!!  I have nothing to see here live hardly...although Clutch is playing right here in my little town next month.  'Course, they're nearly local, so...

Keith H. (State College PA)

Happy Solstice

P.S.  Another Glasgow band (like Cosmic Dead), called Deadotter, had a bunch of nice spacey jam tracks up on YouTube from a few years' back...they were really cool, but I gather nothing official ever got released.  Check out "Mother Music" if it's still up there.

ObNewBand - Electric Eye (Bergen Norway)

2013 List (Psych/Space/Kraut/Stoner/Postrock)
Nik Turner - Space Gypsy
Korai Orom - 2013
Lumerians - The High Frontier
White Manna - Dune Worship
Cave - Threace
The Timelords - Convergence
Vespero - Liventures Etc.
Vespero - Droga
Temple Of The Smoke - Lost Art Of The Twilight
Monkey3 - The 5th Sun
This Will Destroy You - Live in Reykjavik, Iceland
Hammock - Oblivion Hymns
God Is An Astronaut - Origins
First Communion Afterparty - Earth Heat Sound
Chatham Rise - S/T
BLIM - Zero/No Frills ('92-'93, '13)
Mind - Stunde Null
Camera - System Solaire EP
Baby Guru - Pieces ('12)
Pyramidal - Frozen Galaxies
Samsara Blues Experiment - Waiting For The Flood
Domovoyd - Oh Sensibility
Man From Hidria - Clouds & Oceans
Black Sun Ensemble - Behind Purple Clouds
The Evil Eye Psychedelic Project - Behind The Wall Of Sleep
Laughing Sky - Divine (12/12)
Rendlesham Forest Incident - Last Flight Of The Hope Dempsey
Atomic Simao - Nodo
Atomic Simao - Sphyro
Cambrian Explosion - The Sun EP
Electric Eye - Pick-up, Lift-off, Space, Time
Luder - Adelphophagia
Electric Moon/Papir - The Papermoon Sessions
3rd Ear Experience - Peacock Black
3rd Ear Experience - Boi
White Hills - So You Are, So You'll Be
Krobak - Little Victories
Reptiel - Violent Sagas Of The Ancients
Papir - Papir III
The Cosmic Dead - Orbiting Salvation
Kamikaze Scotsmen - Ark EP
Hola One - Moments
Wooden Shjips - Back To Land
Hawklords - Dream
Taipuva Luotisuora - 8
Kikagaku Moyo - S/T
Brujas del Sol - Moonliner
Telstar Sound Drone - Comedown
Giobia - Introducing Night Sound
Space Mirrors - The Other Gods
Cosmic Trip Machine - Golden Horus Name
Alpha Omega - Down The Gravity Well
Lamp Of The Universe - Transcendence
Space Debris - She's A Temple
OSC - Organic Earthly Flotation
The Ultra Electric Mega Galactic - S/T
Paradise 9 - Take Me To The Future
Aqua Nebula Oscillator - Spiritus Mundi
Earthless - From The Ages
Krautzone - Kosmische Rituale
Manthra Dei - S/T
Perandg - Plains EP
Mechanik - Velut Stella Splendida
Circle - Six Days Run
Psicomagia - S/T
The Cosmic Dead - Inner Sanctum
Hollow Mirrors - Hollow Mirrors II
Pothead - Jackpot (late 2012-13?)
Golden Void - S/T (late 2012)
V/A - Remembering Alex Hunt
Architectural Metaphor - Everything You Know Is Wrong ('07, '13)
Melodic Energy Commission - Wave Packet
Red Fang - Whales & Leeches
Black Pyramid - Adversarial
King Bong - Space Shanties
Clutch - Earth Rocker
Nektar - Time Machine
Vibravoid - Delirio dei Sensi
Deep Purple - Now What?!
Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused To Sing
The Crystal Caravan - With Them You Walk Alone
Colour Haze - She Said ('12-'13?)
Last Night Render (formerly Apes Of Space) - An Excuse To Go Mad
The Cosmic Dead/Pigs x7 - Split LP
Monster Magnet - Last Patrol
Falcon (ex-Circle) - Frontier
Buddha Sentenza - South West Lower Valley Rock
Insider - Event Horizon
Het Droste Effect - S/T, Lingerland (2012-13)
Space Mushroom Fuzz - Man In The Shadow, Stealing Some Time,
A Possible Paradox