Day 0816 - Endtroducing...

DJ Shadow "Entroducing..." (1996) - got it

Surely, one of the most impressive debut albums ever.  True, Shadow had been DJing and recording singles for 6-7 years by this stage, but this was his first full-length.   In addition to that, the record is composed entirely of samples from old records, and in addition (again) to that, the album was put together largely just using three pieces of kit: a sampler, a turntable and a tape recorder.

Shadow recorded the album in Dan the Automator's home studio which (as per entry 0811) was also being used around this time to put together Kool Keith's Dr. Octagon album.

Shadow combines everything from Metallica basslines to "Twin Peaks" dialogue, there are film scores, funk beats, synth patterns, odd noises and a blizzard of scratching.   

Despite (or perhaps because of) the disparate range of sources, and despite the longish runtime, this album sucks me in every time and leaves me wanting more.

Day 0575 - EVOL

Sonic Youth "EVOL" (1986)

Sonic Youth are a band that I'd hear & bits and pieces from, but they'd never really inspired me to dip deeper into their work.  I really quite enjoyed this album and ended up listening to it 3 times in a row.  Love the mix of hypnotic but noisy drones, pared-back riffing, and dalliances with musique concrete.

This is a sonically exciting and experimental album, that still has a solid base in 'song' writing, with melody and structure being employed where appropriate.  For me, the album's epic penultimate track "Expressway to Yr Skull" is the album's high point.

I like that it's not a straight instrumental album, but that the vocals are used sparingly, and often as more of an 'instrument' than as a way of communicating a message.