Tera Melos: Patagonian Rats (Sargent House)
Due to limited touring, a shuffling lineup, and shorter releases, eccentric math-rock trio Tera Melos has kept an undeservedly low profile.
Nevertheless, the group garnered acclaim for its progressive prowess and unconventionality — first with an untitled full-length debut and then a split EP with By the End of Tonight, a separate 2007 EP, and a 2009 covers EP that deconstructed pop tunes by the Beach Boys, Pixies, Weezer, and The Clash.
Along the journey, guitarist/keyboardist Nick Reinhart experimented with vocals, tucking them in and around his maniacal but hook-tinged riffs. The cover EP, Idioms Vol. 1, furthered the vocal presence, but Reinhart really perfected his delivery in Bygones, his wild rock collaboration with Hella's Zach Hill.
With Reinhart's newly sharpened vocal chops and a new tech-pop balance, Patagonian Rats marks the true arrival of Tera Melos. The album lands somewhere between the band's old schizophrenic yet directed mayhem and the mathy yet melodic accessibility of Bygones. The chaos is carefully controlled, erupting at opportune moments or manifesting itself in layers of outlandishness.
The entire album is rooted in a punk energy, however, powered by spastic drums, guitar noodling, and driving bass distortions. With the addition of a touring fourth member, Tera Melos should be more accurately reenacting these songs on stage, which should be even more outstanding than listening to Patagonian Rats.
Tera Melos: "Skin Surf"
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Tera Melos: "Frozen Zoo"
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Kurt Rosenwinkel & OJM: Our Secret World (WOM Music)
Like so many other jazz greats, guitarist and bandleader Kurt Rosenwinkel has a credit sheet as long as his arm, spanning 10 of his own albums and dozens of recordings with others. And though a decent chunk of his personal catalog is built on standards, his previous releases have offered plenty of material for Our Secret World, a dynamic collection of big-band renditions as interpreted by the Orquestra Jazz de Matosinhos (OJM).
With the ensemble's backing, each selection is capable of being sultry, somber, powerful, or all of the above. No matter what, however, two constants remain: Rosenwinkel's songwriting skills and his electric jazz-fusion chops.
Hip-hop fans may know Rosenwinkel's name from his work on recent/unreleased Q-Tip albums The Renaissance and Kamaal the Abstract, and Q-Tip, in fact, co-produced Heartcore, Rosenwinkel's eclectic 2003 album that mixed jazz, electronica, soul, and more. Though Our Secret World isn't as diverse, it again proves how multifaceted and expressive Rosenwinkel's writing is and can be, and it's a great album for those new to jazz.
Sam Prekop: Old Punch Card (Thrill Jockey)
Sam Prekop is best known as the singer/songwriter from The Sea and Cake, a soft, quirky indie-pop group whose members include Archer Prewitt as well as John McEntire of Tortoise. In his solo career, Prekop hasn't strayed too far from this sound, but he has infused bits of Brazilian and African influence along the way.
Old Punch Card, his third solo album and first since 2005, explores an entirely new direction — one of experimental, formless electronics and melodic loops. The album is built around different sounds from a modular synthesizer, and it is devoid of vocals, guitars (except for one track), and beats.
Long-standing fans of Prekop may be perplexed, but it's an interesting twist to a career that's been built on pop hooks. Old Punch Card has little latch-able material for pop enthusiasts (save for a few loops and unorthodox melodies), but it's a strong electronic album, cut in the mold of forebears like Morton Subotnick and Raymond Scott.
Sam Prekop: "Old Punch Card"
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Honorable Mentions
The Acorn: No Ghost (Bella Union)
Arp: The Soft Wave (Smalltown Supersound)
Blue Sky Black Death & Alexander Chen: Third Party (Fake Four)
Constants: If Tomorrow the War (Science of Silence)
Helmet: Seeing Eye Dog (Work Song)
Neurosis: Live at Roadburn 2007 (Neurot)
Quest for Fire: Lights from Paradise (Tee Pee)
Sungod: First Matter (Cyclopean)
The Thermals: Personal Life (Kill Rock Stars)
Winter Gloves: All Red (Paper Bag)
