Powder! Go Away- Laika Still Wants Go Home (2011)

I just had an interesting experience with this album. Here I am listening to "Laika" for probably the third time since I obtained it last month. I'm loving it even more this time, and I'm starting to really get into the feel of the album. I go to Powder!'s artist page on last.fm, and see that they have under 800 listeners. Yet, there are at least three other people on the site listening to these guys at the same time I am. That was a weird experience. Hopefully, this is a sign of good things to come for the Russian quartet. This is modern post-rock at its finest, with a melancholy, almost spacey atmosphere. This mood fits with the albums title and overarching storyline- the story of Laika, the first dog to be shot into space, and sadly the first dog to die in space. It certainly deserves the small hype it has gained in the past month or so.

GET IT HERE: http://www.mediafire.com/?z65d0lse2wpdejj

Devin Townsend- "Terria" (2001)

Let me begin by saying that this album is tied for my favorite of all time. Every second of this record holds layer upon layer of aural beauty for the listener to discover, each detail meticulously and deliberately put into place by Mr. Townsend with his famous obsessive-compulsive track mastering. The countless hours he spent putting this album together really show, and truly pay off. When I hear this record, I hear nothing short of the soundtrack to both humankind, and the very planet we inhabit. "Mountain" is as mammoth as its namesake, "Nobody's Here" is longing and lonesome, and "Earth Day" shows off Devin's classic humor, alongside fantastic music and an amusing message about recycling. And, not to get too specific, but "The Fluke" to me is the perfect sonic companion to the album art. I'm starting to rant now, but that happens when I start to talk about this masterwork of the medium.

Last word: This album is as unassumingly tranquil as it is unequivocally massive.

Get it here: http://www.mediafire.com/?2o4jwgdycyj