How can you define experimental albums? Well, it all seems to be a challenge - both for the artist attempting to cross all established norms and forms to create something that is new and for the audiences (and critics) that listen to them.
It is all about the less-known, or completely unknown, and a double-edged sword - it could be a complete failure, or an absolute greatness that actually does push the boundaries of not only a certain genre (or genres as is usually the case), but modern music in general.
So what would be the characteristics of experimental albums? It is almost always a completely specific effort by and individual or a band that is different and questions musical boundaries by innovative song structures, production methods and what not else.
Experimental albums that you should definitely own
Even the best or well-known names have dabbled in such innovations - the Beatles' Revolver revolutionised what is known as psych rock, and the first Velvet Underground album, which initially sold minuscule quantities, inspires rockers to this day.
Captain Beefheart’s Trout Mask Replica, released back in 1969, still confounds so many critics and listeners, and My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless album (1991) remains one of the most inventive guitar-driven albums to this day.
The 18 albums bellow are some of the most experimental albums, all in their own way and for very specific reasons, all of them being both fiercely criticized and glorified at the same time, with all of them being considered as true classics.
Mothers of Invention - Uncle Meat (1969)
Always on the edge, whether it was emulating classical composer Igor Stravinsky, doing mock doo wop or going jazz improvisational, this double album late in his first musical phase under the Mothers of Invention banner, Frank Zappa brings it all and more (from sound snippets to incredible guitar solos) in one of the albums that practically set prog rock in motion.
Tim Buckley - Starsailor (1970)
Tim, Jeff Buckley’s father started out as your regular folkie, but then suddenly decided to employ his incredible vocal capabilities to equally incredible vocal experiments that combine rock, jazz and musique concrète on one of his most out there albums, this one being both better and more out there than Lorca from the same year.
Can - Tago Mago (1971)
When experts on Krautrock discuss the genre, they often use the term “motorik” trying to describe loose, primal rhythmic patterns as a base for improvisational experiments that go into any which way. And if you want to find out where that concept started, this double album is the perfect guideline, with its swirling patterns, whether it is any instrument involved or the found sound vocals of Damo Suzuki.
Faust - Faust (1971)
Nobody knew how to define this album when it was released, whether it was the critics or the listeners, and as it came out of Germany, it was immediately dubbed as Krautrock. Ok, fine, but no one else came with this kaleidoscopic excursion into sound that covered everything from your standard rock patterns, to electronics and electric tools, very often all those at the same time. Did Faust invent industrial?
Fripp & Eno - Evening Star (1975)
The two guys who are considered as true fathers of both prog rock and ambient combine here for the second time to refine their combination of electronically modified guitar sounds and decaying tape loops that range from calming and soothing to dissonant, setting the pace for all the artists that followed in their path.
Laurie Anderson - Big Science (1982)
Before this, Anderson’s debut album came out, she was considered as an up and coming conceptual musical artist, but when “Oh Superman” from the album hit the pop music charts, the high brow modern classical circles turned their backs to Anderson, Maybe it was a hefty dose of humor she included in these spoken word/electronics experiments she came up with here.
Scott Walker - Climate of Hunter (1984)
How long is the road from having a number one pop single to becoming one of the most experimental artists out there who records beating fists on meat carcasses? Well, late great Scott Walker, the man who possessed one of the best voices in modern music travelled that road, and this album was the intersection of pop and abstract, with Walker covering both here.
Bongwater - Double Bummer (1988)
The artist/producer that goes just under his last name and who can form a telephone book with the names of important artists he worked with, was never somebody who wanted to do things the ordinary way. Here, with actress Ann Magnuson they bring in every aspect of psychedelic music there is and turn them all upside down, and actually come up with a commercially viable proposition.
Barry Adamson - Moss Side Story (1989)
When you make a name working with artists who have some dark visions, like Magazine’s Howard Devoto or Nick Cave, it is no surprise that you start out your solo career with an imaginary soundtrack that would be an easy fit for any crime drama that has both quite gentle and quite gory scenes, in most cases following each other in quick succession.
Windy & Carl - Antarctica: The Bliss Out, Vol. 2 (1997)
Drone is often one of those musical genres quite a few listeners avoid in a wide circle, without really finding artists that are good examples how to create a set of sounds that would fit this description and not be monotonous and vapid. For the real, substantial, and utterly listenable variation you don’t have to go further than this album.
Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right to Children (1998)
One of the complaints usually leveled at electronic music from the nineties is lack of inventiveness, or sameishness if you will. This duo definitely broke that pattern by picking up the usual elements found in electronic music at the time and then combining them in a completely different way and retaining listenability at the same time.
The Olivia Tremor Control - Black Foliage: Animation Music Volume One (1999)
The Olivia Tremor Control were always the most out there band of the nineties in-vogue Elephant 6 collective, always covering everything from psych pop to modern classical music and electronics on their albums. This, possibly their best efforts has been amply described as “a work teetering on the cliff's edge between genius and madness.”
Fog - Fog (2000)
Fog was (still is?) one Andrew Broter, who at the turn of the century went out to try and combine everything rock with everything beat-driven and hip hop. Nothing that new (even at the time some would say), but it is the manner in which Broter does it, with an excellent sense how to combine disparaging elements that set him put.
Bohren & the Club of Gore - Sunset Mission (2000)
How do you get from black metal to dark jazz or jazz noir as it is usually called? You can ask these German guys, who, instead of speeding up the guitars, put those in deep background and slowed keyboards and woodwinds to a crawling pace with an equally chilling, dark night effect.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven (2000)
Post-rock in its core definition implies using non-standard song structures with emphasis on musical texture and atmosphere, and this Montreal music collective are still probably the best exponents of a genre that is experimental at its core with this double album being probably their best effort so far.
Royal Trux - Hand of Glory (2002)
Jennifer Herrema and Neil Hagerty, aka Royal Trux were all about bluesy, rootsy rock, but always with the noise level set at 100% Yet, with all the noise they created, they were able to retain the song structures, creating something that could be labeled as left-field roots rock.
The Caretaker - An empty bliss beyond this World (2011)
Leyland James Kirby is one of those artists that uses a number of guises to express their musical interests, and The Caretaker is one of those. Under that guise Kirby would collect samples of old 78RPM records which he would not only sample but electronically shape and re-form into something that is equally calming and spooky at the same time, with this album being most representative of his work as the Caretaker.
Julia Holter - Aviary (2018)
Holter is one of those current artists for whom critics have a hard time defining their music, for one very simple reason - she picks her musical threads and inspirations from as many sources you can name and arranges them in her own, peculiar way to make something equally confounding and innovative. This 90-minute set of musical explorations is a prime example.