Son Lux: We Are Rising (Anticon)

Son Lux: "Rising"

Composer / pianist / electronic artist Ryan Lott writes music for a post-production company, for dance productions and the arts, and, when he finds the time, as Son Lux, where he joins the worlds of classical orchestration and hip-hop pastiche.

For his second full-length album, We Are Rising, that spare time was in especially short supply, as the eclectic musician took a challenge from NPR (inspired by The Wire) to write and record the entire thing over the course of the shortest month of the year.

Given the album's level of craftsmanship and production, listeners would never guess the impulsive dare that set it in motion.  Its nine songs are even more meticulously arranged than the Son Lux debut album, At War With Walls and Mazes, and they achieve a remarkable range of sounds, from traditional (woodwinds, brass, strings) to modern (synthesizers, guitar effects, collected sounds).

The combination of styles makes Lott something of a Sufjan Stevens for the beat crowd (Anticon releases his albums, after all).  We Are Rising finds him moving further in Stevens' direction — fewer beats and more neoclassical orchestrations behind the indie balladry.  But these songs still bear a distinct Son Lux stamp, and they're a down payment on an ever-promising future.

Graviton: Massless (Translation Loss)

Graviton: "Mu Lepton"

Featuring guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Sacha Dunable of progressive-metal outfit Intronaut, psych/space/post-metal trio Graviton makes its recorded debut with a husky 10-track full-length.

Moments of elongated singing and slow, deep riffs draw comparisons to Isis and its ilk, but the band as a whole sounds very different. With intermittent piano melodies, synthesizers, 12-string acoustic guitar, and programmed beats — not to mention sonic accessories such as lap-steel guitar, field recordings, and "Celloblaster" — Massless is a new brand of spacey post-metal.

Throughout the album's 45 minutes, Graviton strikes a healthy balance between melody and dissonance, accessibility and complexity, and past and future.  Three-part vocal harmonies coast over plummeting canyons of riffage, only to segue to extended acoustic interludes or spoken-word samples about particle physics.  Post-metal lovers may have a new favorite band, and everyone else has something exciting to discover.

NOW Ensemble: Awake (New Amsterdam)

NOW Ensemble: "Burst"

In 2008, New Amsterdam Records opened shop to release and promote music by boundary-breaking classical musicians. The NOW Ensemble, a melodically inclined chamber quintet, launched the label with its previous album, and Awake ever so slightly expands the group's timbres for another dynamic collection of melodic and rhythmic interplay.

Featuring compositions by NOW guitarist Mark Dancigers, New Amsterdam co-founder / NOW composer Judd Greenstein, and New Amsterdam label-mate Missy Mazzoli, the album finds the ensemble's arsenal of flute, clarinet, electric guitar, upright bass, and piano dancing together in an arresting display of harmony and counterpoint.

Throughout Awake, simple and complex repetitions are deftly woven together, forming patterns that engage listeners while urging their ears to dig deeper, layer by layer.  Even a distant touch of dark, distorted guitar and ominous accents complement "Velvet Hammer" and "Magic with Everyday Objects," and perhaps future albums by NOW Ensemble will share traits with more of the New Amsterdam roster.

Agoraphobic Nosebleed / Despise You: And On and On… (Relapse)

Agoraphobic Nosebleed: "As Bad As It Is"

Despise You: "Bereft"

Short, fast, and to the point. That's the MO of Despise You, a no-nonsense hardcore outfit from California whose first material in 10 years comprises half of this split release with grindcore masters Agoraphobic Nosebleed.

With 18 tracks that average just a minute each, Despise You packs as much into its half as possible, offering terse exclamations over basic riffs, distorted low end, and push beats.  ANb introduces itself with a sludgy down-tempo track — a style that swerves from Agorapocalypse, its last album of assailing tempos, squealing guitar leads, and lightning-quick fret work. Its second track, however, returns those familiar sounds, and the following two "songs" challenge Despise You for the album's shortest durations (25 and 27 seconds).

Bill Frisell: Sign of Life (Music for 858 Quartet) (Savoy Jazz)

Bill Frisell: "It's a Long Story (1)"

Over the span of his 30-year career, guitarist Bill Frisell has shifted further away from jazz and experimental styles and further toward country, western, and folk instrumentals.  Sign of Life, his latest with the string-based 858 Quartet, is another in the instrumental folk vein, albeit one whose group was borne of improvisation.

The 858 Quartet is Frisell plus three esteemed string players — violist Eyvind Kang (Secret Chiefs 3, Sunn O))), John Zorn), violinist Jenny Scheinman (Vinicius Cantuaria, Marc Ribot), and cellist Hank Roberts (Tim Berne).  In 2005, they created an improvised take on works by German artist Gerhard Richter, but they've since grown into a regular unit, and Sign of Life marks a decided shift to composition.

Written during a composing retreat, the album has soloing and apparent moments of improv, but it's markedly closer in style and spirit to Frisell's Disfarmer project or Beautiful Dreamers trio (which also features Kang).  The Richter 858 album, which is much more dissonant and whose beauty is more subjective, might be best considered a musical caterpillar — eventually morphing into something more striking and graceful.

Honorable Mentions

Blue Sky Black Death: Noir (Fake Four)

Boxcutter: The Dissolve (Planet Mu)

Daedelus: Bespoke (Ninja Tune)

Deafheaven: Roads to Judah (Deathwish)

Steve Earle: I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive (New West)

Explosions in the Sky: Take Care, Take Care, Take Care (Temporary Residence)

Jefferson Friedman (w/ Chiara String Quartet & Matmos): Quartets (New Amsterdam)

Jookabox: The Eyes of the Fly (Joyful Noise)

Kambar Kalendarov & Kutman Sultanbekov: Jaw (Cantaloupe)

Klang: Other Doors (Music of Benny Goodman) (Allos Documents)

Daniele Luppi: Malos Hábitos soundtrack (Ipecac)

Nine 11 Thesaurus: Ground Zero Generals (The Social Registry)

Primordial: Redemption at the Puritan's Hand (Metal Blade)

Small Brown Bike: Fell & Found (No Idea Records)

Tindersticks: Claire Denis Film Scores, 1996-2009 (Constellation)

ALARM leaves no genre unloved in our round-up of 50 albums that didn't receive enough attention in 2009.

Omar Rodriguez Lopez: Old Money (Stones Throw, 1/27/09)

Omar Rodriguez Lopez: "Family War Funding"

The first of many releases in 2009 from prolific guitarist/composer Omar Rodriguez-Lopez. Accessible and centered on rock, sounding spacey, funky, progressive, psychedelic, a little jazzy, and a little Latin.

Kevin Hufnagel: Songs for the Disappeared (self-released, 2/3/09)

Kevin Hufnagel: "Tres"

Musical themes come and go, covering swaths of Spanish and Gypsy guitar before reverting back to haunting rock melodies, on this solo acoustic album from highly technical Dysrhythmia guitarist Kevin Hufnagel.

P.O.S: Never Better (Rhymesayers, 2/3/09)

P.O.S.: "Drumroll"

Likely the year's best hip-hop album, Never Better draws on Stefon Alexander’s background in punk and rock music (he plays most of the live instrumentation on the record), making this is an album that categorically defines the indie in indie rap.

Zu: Carboniferous (Ipecac, 2/17/09)

Zu: "Ostia"

Sludgy alt-metal with complex repeated rhythms and free-jazz freakouts. Features Mike Patton on two killer tracks.

The Andreas Kapsalis & Goran Ivanovic Guitar Duo: s/t (2/24/09)

The Andreas Kapsalis & Goran Ivanovic Guitar Duo: "Shadow Thief"

A Balkan-influenced classical guitarist joins an ethically inspired finger-tapping guitarist for a disc of skill and beauty.

16: Bridges to Burn (Relapse, 2/24/09)

16: "Throw in the Towel"

Dubbed the "Unsane of the West Coast" by ALARM's Jamie Ludwig, 16 issued another hard-hitting riff fest in 2009 with Bridges to Burn, the band's best album to date.

Umlaut: s/t (3/10/09)

Umlaut: "Kitty Puppy"

Mr. Bungle's Bär McKinnon, multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire, issued one hell of an album for this new project — one that filters meticulous melodies and asinine vocals through the lens of a whacked-out lounge group.

Jono El Grande: Neo Dada (Rune Grammofon, 3/16/09)

Jono El Grande: "Oslo Coty Suite"

Fanciful music that's different around every turn. Art rock that weaves through theatrical, progressive, classical, and absurdist styles with influences from Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, King Crimson and Igor Stravinsky.

Kylesa: Static Tensions (Prosthetic, 3/17/09)

Kylesa: "Scapegoat"

Down-tuned dirge metal that rumbles with crust punk, sludge, metal, hardcore, and psychedelia, often laced with atmospheric samples. To date, Static Tensions is Kylesa's most powerful album.

(MF) Doom: Born Like This (Lex, 3/23/09)

Doom: "Cellz"

Dropping his “MF” prefix, the incomparable rapper and Marvel-inspired supervillain delivered another nearly impenetrable wall of rhymes and flow, dizzying listeners with his ever-shifting, slowly delivered lyrics.

The newest solo album of Nile linchpin Karl Sanders is another beautiful acoustic release of Arabic flavors mixed with Western structures.

Following Saurian Meditation from 2004, Saurian Exorcisms is full of gorgeous, dark motifs that run a wider gamut of styles than Sanders' last solo effort.  On Exorcisms, Sanders handles all instrumentation — baglama saz, glissentar, acoustic guitars, guitar synth, keyboards, drums, and percussion.  He even contributes vocals, which complement the haunting vocals and chants of Mike Breazeale.

The music contains some of Sanders' blistering fretwork, but it never strays from its overlying melody and accessibility.  Covering Turkish, Egyptian, Indian, and Arabic styles, Saurian Exorcisms is a must-own album.

Karl Sanders: "Rapture of the Empty Spaces"
Karl Sanders: \"Rapture of the Empty Spaces\"

Crippled Black Phoenix: 200 Tons of Bad Luck (Invada)

Penning epic "endtime ballads," the United Kingdom's Crippled Black Phoenix plays dark folk with dirty guitars, ominous effects, diversified vocals, and countless guest electro/acoustic contributions.

The group's style is predicated on the multi-instrumental prowess of Justin Greaves (former drummer of Electric Wizard), whose lengthy tunes are augmented with a massive cast.  Nine of the songs on this disc clock in at or over five minutes, including the 18-minute musical triptych "Time of Ye Life / Born for Nothing / Paranoid Arm of Narcoleptic Empire."

Crippled Black Phoenix: "Rise Up and Fight"
Crippled Black Phoenix: \"Rise Up and Fight\"

Mulatu Astatke / The Heliocentrics: Inspiration Information 3 (Strut)

Known as the father of Ethio-jazz, Ethiopian bandleader Mulatu Astatke is an internationally lauded musician whose works may be best known in America through the soundtrack to Broken Flowers or the Ethiopiques series.

Now, for Strut's Inspiration Information studio pair-up series, Astatke creates an outstanding disc of worldly jazz-hop fusion with the help of UK hip-hop/funk/psychedelic all-stars The Heliocentrics.

The collaboration has already received vast amounts of praise, and it comes strongly recommended for anyone into the aforementioned genres.

Mulatu Astatke / The Heliocentrics: "Masenqo" (radio edit)
Mulatu Astatke / The Heliocentrics: \"Masenqo\" (radio edit)

Prefuse 73: Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian (Warp)

Guillermo Scott Herren's newest album as his glitchy alter-ego is meant to be a linear work — one that Herren describes as both straight ahead and obscure.

That description is on point, but it could also apply to most other Prefuse releases.  Still, this effort finds Herren's chopped sound collages about as accessible as they come, layered over hip-hop beats that don't stutter like on previous efforts.

Agoraphobic Nosebleed: Agorapocalypse (Relapse)

Specializing in über-fast thrash/grind, ANB presents just its second full-length album in 10 years with Agorapocalypse.

The brutal quartet features three vocalists — two of the stand-alone variety — aiding the semi-diversity of sound on the new disc.  Everything is extra heavy, but breakdowns, breakneck solos, and sludge bass combine to make this the band's most realized release to date.

Agoraphobic Nosebleed: "Agorapocalypse Now"
Agoraphobic Nosebleed: \"Agorapocalypse Now\"

Two Fingers: s/t (Paper Bag)

DJs/producers Amon Tobin and Doubleclick comprise Two Fingers, an experimental mix of hip hop and drum & bass that features Ghanaian UK rapper Sway and a pair of additional guest rappers.

Nothing lacks in the production, which is a mix of factory-sound dance numbers that boast Tobin's trademark pastiche/found-sound style.  Sway's rapid-fire delivery fits, but it also gets a bit tiresome, particularly with the frequency of certain passages.

Dengue Fever: Sleepwalking Through the Mekong (M80)

Following Los Angeles Cambodian/American pop-rock group Dengue Fever through Cambodia, the film for which this soundtrack was created explores the homecoming of singer Chhom Nimol and the journey of the band that she fronts.

Full of the band's psych-tinged tunes as well as great Cambodian rock tunes of the 1960s and '70s, the soundtrack honors a musical culture that was put in peril during the Khmer Rouge's atrocious reign.

Instrumental(-ish) Boston group Irepress has completed its sophomore album, Sol Eye Sea 1, which will be released February 17 on Translation Loss (a new song can be heard here). The group's mathy, melodic, chugging, epic songs can be heard on a five-week US tour that begins March 4.

Les Claypool has announced a four-week traveling mini festival, scheduled to begin in early March, that is officially titled The Oddity Faire: A Mutated Mini Fest. The fest's outstanding lineup is different depending on the city; guests include Secret Chiefs 3, Saul Williams, DeVotchKa, Yard Dogs Road Show, O'Death, and The Mutaytor.

And speaking of Secret Chiefs 3, the incomparable Indian/surf/metal group has a concert DVD being released in March on mastermind Trey Spruance's Mimicry label.

Hardcore trio Young Widows has announced a major list of tour dates that run from February through April. See the list here.

Dan Deacon has announced a six-week tour, starting April 3, that will feature a full ensemble in support of Bromst, his new album due March 24 from Carpark.

Marking its final recording with long-time member Reed Mathis, the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey has made a new studio album, Winterwood, available for free downloading on its website.

Next Tuesday, February 3, Tibet House US hosts a benefit concert and dinner at Carnegie Hall. Performers include Philip Glass, Antibalas, Keb' Mo', Vampire Weekend, The National, and more.

Nile linchpin Karl Sanders has another solo album in the works, this time to be released through The End Records. Titled Saurian Exorcisms, the album will be out April 14. Some awesome preview tracks are already posted on Sanders' MySpace page.

Despite comments from main member Tobacco that the group was on indefinite hiatus, dreamy hip-hoppers Black Moth Super Rainbow have a new album, Eating Us, that will be released on May 26 via Graveface.

New York jazz group Dred Scott Trio has a live album being released via Ropeadope on February 3.

Hardcore group Pulling Teeth has a new album, Paranoid Delusions | Paradise Illusions, that takes a crushing and despairing direction. The album is available today to preorder from Deathwish Inc. and its official release date is March 31. Hear a preview track, "Foreshadowing," here.

Grindcore group Agoraphobic Nosebleed will release its fourth full-length album, Agorapocalypse, through Relapse on April 14.