ACL 2012: The Top 20 Albums of the Year

Thousands of releases, hundreds of reviews, and it all comes down to this: the Top Twenty instrumental and experimental releases of 2012.  This isn’t just the one percent; it’s a small percent of a percent, the cream of the crop.

ACL 2012: Top Ten Ambient

A Closer Listen receives more submissions in the Ambient field than in any other, which means that our ambient artists must try even harder to stand out.  This seems ironic, since the nature of ambient music has been not to stand out.

Black Elk ~ Sparks

Having resided on the fringes of the experimental music scene for the past three years or so, I have time and again been utterly fascinated by the people involved in it; their passion for music and nothing else, their willingness

Ian Hawgood ~ The Shattered Light

A long time has passed since the release of Ian Hawgood‘s last album, and much has happened in the ensuing years.  The artist moved to Japan just in time to be affected by the earthquake and radiation fallout, and then helped