Steven T. Hanley of Deeper Into Movies

We're absolutely buzzing to have a Top Ten from Steven, his Podcast is absolutely incredible. Incredible selections too; take it away Steven..

When the fine folks at Reckless asked me to write a Top 10, I had just stopped in to pick up some cassettes. Lately, I find myself rebuying everything I owned as a teenager—today’s haul included Suede’s debut and Blur’s Parklife.

Rather than overthink it, I decided to quickly jot down ten records that never leave my headphones. These are the albums that I return to, the ones that feel like old friends.

Spiritualized - Pure Phase

I'm just going to say it - this record is better than Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space. Jason Pierce at his absolute peak, crafting pure narcotic soul. The production, the songwriting, the glow-in-the-dark packaging - it's all here. Those noisy ambient interludes feel like shooting through tunnels of white noise, while Spread Your Wings and Feel Like Going Home are some of the most heartbreakingly beautiful songs he's ever written.

Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One

This album does everything - indie rock, post-rock, instrumentals, country, bossa nova, guitar freak-outs, lo-fi Casio ballads. Yo La Tengo is always great, but this record is just ridiculous. Dreamy, noisy, and effortlessly adventurous, it shifts from hushed intimacy to noise. I don't know how they do it.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada

As overused as the phrase might be, this record changed my life. A Friend made me a tape with Godspeed, Labradford, and Stars of the Lid, and I'd never heard anything like it before. I didn't know what to make of it - I just knew I felt something deep and overwhelming. I'd go to the computer room at college trying to Google them, but they barely existed online. A handful of blurry photos, first-name-only members, whispers of them being Canadian anarchists. That mystery only made their apocalyptic beauty feel even more vital.

Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights

The defining album of the early 2000s New York rebirth. A brooding debut steepend in late-night cityscapes and post-punk grandeur, complete with a flair for the dramatic.

Jim O'Rourke - Eureka

I love Jim's music so much - this album never leaves rotation. A Playful, intricate masterpiece that blends folk, jazz, and pop experimentalism, like Brian Wilson reimagined through an avant-garde lens. 

Also check out Bat Timing + The Visitor + Simple Songs + Long Night and his amazing 30 min version of Tracy Chapmans Fast Car on (YouTube)

Labradford - E Lux So

Someone once described this album as post-rock made by ghosts, and I've never heard a better summary. Hypnotic drones and minimalism evoke faded memories and distant transmissions. Music that feels just out of reach, like tuning into a lost signal.

Prurient - Black Vase

The most punishing noise record I've ever heard. A relentless descent into industrial brutality, where static and distortion become something strangely cathartic.

Sunn O))) - White 2

I saw Sunn O))) on this tour, and they played at well over 120 decibels - basically, the volume of standing next to a jet engine. The entire Scala was shaking, and when we left the venue, car alarms were going off down the street. A life-changing gig and an album that turns sound itself into something ritualistic and physical.

Sun Kil Moon - Benji

I've been a lifelong Red House Painters fan, and this record just devastated me. Mark Kozelek at his rawest, turning everyday moments and personal loss into something universal. A meditation on life, death, and the passage of time - unflinchingly honest, painfully intimate.

Michael Nyman - Wonderland (soundtrack)

This soundtrack blew me away as Wonderland the movie is like a lonely Mike Leigh movie yet the music was so epic and lush. The contrast was startling.

A stirring, emotionally charged score that pairs classical precision with a deeply human melancholy - achingly beautiful and cinematic.