ZuCombining sludgy alt-metal with complex repeated rhythms and free-jazz freakouts, this experimental Italian trio delivers what could be one of the year's best albums with its latest effort, a debut for Ipecac that focuses on rock much more than its predecessors.
The album’s best songs include “Carbon” and “Soulympics,” the latter of which features Ipecac co-owner Mike Patton busting out ape-shit screeches akin to those from “Cuckoo for Caca” by Faith No More. "Carbon" is built around an infectious 1-2-3-4-5-6 rhythm (with one-note pauses between counts), pounding listeners with its relentless force.
Patton, who also guests on another song, joins Zu as the Zu / Mike Patton Quartet for a pair of shows (San Francisco, Mexico City) in March. If we're lucky, this will plant the seeds for a future full-length collaboration.
Zu: "Ostia"
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William Elliott Whitmore: Animals in the Dark (Anti-)
With his raspy, soulful, trademark voice in tow, minimalist folk banjo player William Elliot Whitmore moves to Anti- with the release of this new full-length. New-found accents are present, expanding his blues-infused creations with touches of pedal steel, organs, strings, and drums.
"Mutiny" opens Animals in the Dark with a raucous tune of political metaphor. "Who Stole the Soul" scales it back a notch, and the album continues through peaks and valleys of emotion, hitting its stride in the contemptuous "Old Devils."
Animals in the Dark is, without a doubt, Whitmore's best and most diverse creation to date. Currently, you can stream the entire album at his MySpace page.
Irepress: Sol Eye Sea I (Translation Loss)
Following its debut full-length in 2007, this melodic math-chug group from Boston takes a decidedly epic turn on its sophomore release.
"Cyette Phiur," the fifth of the album's tracks, accents the band's crushing sound with soothing female guest vocals, bursts of gang vocals, fluttering saxophone, and possible bagpipes or accordion. Distant echoes and reverberated speed picking, a pair of previously established tools, surround the palm muting and clean-channel melodies to create a majestic atmosphere.
Irepress: "Cyette Phiur"
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TombsHailing from Brooklyn, this droning doom-rock trio makes its Relapse debut with Winter Hours. Pummeling mid-tempo riffs package with heavily reverberated harmonies; dissonant ambiance separates the sonic punishment before guitarist Mike Hill bellows his abusing vocals, akin to those of 1990s sludgecore group His Hero is Gone.
Tombs: "Gossamer"
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Odd Nosdam: T.I.M.E. Soundtrack (Anticon)
Sample-based instrumental hip-hopper Odd Nosdam presents another blend of beats, melodies, and atmospherics, this time for the soundtrack to skateboard film This is My Element.
Applying each song to a different highlight reel, the tunes take different tones for each skater. Without being particularly sunny, the material refrains from being too down-tempo or dark. The result is a strong complement to the film's acrobatic highlights.
Odd Nosdam: "Fly Mode"
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