Kayo Dot - Choirs of the Eye (2003)

Quite possibly my favorite album of all time. It might be impossible to adequately describe how incredible this album is, but I hope that you will understand by listening to it. In order to fully understand what it's getting at, however, it, without question, necessarily requires many listens. I urge you to be patient with this masterpiece and geniously (that's not a word, but I'll make it one) orchestrated album. I'll explain it as best I can, in hopes to draw you in. It's been called "avant-garde," it's been called "post-metal," but neither of these can fully describe what it really is and they also both sound absurdly pretentious. Toby Driver, the mastermind behind this incredible work, composes every movement of these pieces like a classical composer would compose his music. With an amazing dynamic contrast between beautiful and atmospheric yet eerie soft movements and dense explosions of noise and walls of sound, trust me when I say that this IS an adventure. Listen to it while watching the stars, or on a long late-night car ride, or in the dark solitude of your room, however you like, but just do it.

(As a side note, "The Manifold Curiosity" is my favorite modern piece of music ever written, for what it's worth.)

Tracklist:

1. Marathon
2. A Pitcher of Summer
3. The Manifold Curiosity
4. Wayfarer
5. The Antique

Genres: Experimental, avant-garde, post-metal, post-rock, postmodern classical music, bliss

Choirs of the Eye

(these are there later albums, the former of which is almost as good as Choirs, the latter of which is much different but certainly worth listening to):

Dowsing Anemone with Copper Tongue

Blue Lambency Downward