For us, 2011 was another year of taking in as much as we could and sharing the best with you. Next year, however, will be a homecoming of sorts, a return to rock-'n'-roll roots. We'll soon be able to share the projects that we have in store — across multiple mediums — but for now, dig into this rock-focused list of must-own albums.

And for more, revisit (or simply visit) our lists from 2010 and 2009:

100 Unheralded Albums from 2010
50 Unheralded Albums from 2009

Steven Drozd: The Heart Is A Drum Machine (The Score) (Twinkle Cash Co., 1/18/11)

Steven Drozd: "Born"

A multi-instrumentalist and the third-most-tenured member of The Flaming Lips, Steven Drozd marked his first official solo release early this year with the nearly instrumental accompaniment to the documentary The Heart is a Drum Machine.

The music shares a lot of characteristics with the Flaming Lips of the past dozen years – synthesized grooves, big rock beats, fuzz bass, airy keyboards, and different instrumental flourishes weaving in and out. But listeners are unlikely to confuse the two, and the score succeeds as a standalone album as well as a film accompaniment.

…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead: Tao of the Dead (Richter Scale Records / Superball Music, 2/8/11)

…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead: "Weight of the Sun"

There has been no shortage of grand themes and allegories in the canon of Austin post-punk quintet …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. The band’s newest album, however, better matches its ambitious themes with its music, presenting an epic pair of pieces for Tao of the Dead.

The album recalls progressive albums of yore, from the likes of Rush and King Crimson, but channels them into easily digested movements. Stretches of heavy distortion and drum thrashing will appeal to the more metal-minded Trail of Dead fans, but there’s also plenty of hook-laden, radio-ready alternative rock.

Wires Under Tension: Light Science (Western Vinyl, 2/8/11)

Wires Under Tension: "Electricity Turns Them On"

Light Science is the exciting debut from Wires Under Tension, a duo comprised of violinist/multi-instrumentalist Christopher Tignor and drummer Theo Metz. With help from a few friends, including Jared Bell of Lymbyc Systym, the two combine live performance with electronic manipulation, sounding something like a progressive Dirty Three with horns, hip-hop beats, and post-rock guitar swells.

This seven-track release is a dense, fluid collection that retains consistency thanks to Metz’s steady rhythms. Electro-mechanical piano, clavinet, and synthesizers mesh with loops and samples to round out an impressive first release.

Pitom: Blasphemy and Other Serious Crimes (Tzadik, 2/22/11)

Pitom: "Head in the Ground"

Combining heavy, fuzzy rock jams with Jewish melodies, Pitom is one of many projects from guitarist, bassist, and composer Yoshie Fruchter. Blasphemy and Other Serious Crimes, the quartet's second release on Tzadik, follows the same path as its predecessor, but it does so with a bit more cohesion and restraint.

Built from the ground up with distorted bass and violin, the band's music carries similarities to that of Skeletonbreath and Miasma & The Carousel of Headless Horses. Whether driving a song with an infectious melody, commingling with the violin in the high end, or simply taking over a track with raw ability, Fruchter knows when to go full throttle (the punk power of "An Epic Encounter") or pull back (the dark slow jam of "A Resentful Repentance").

The Psychic Paramount: II (No Quarter, 2/22/11)

The Psychic Paramount: "RW"

Though relatively silent for the past six years, New York noise-rock trio The Psychic Paramount returned in February to release its first full-length since 2005. Effected guitar loops, devastating low-end grooves, and bashing rhythms again form the core of the band's sound, but II is a direct yet dynamic rock explosion.

Between the guitar, the cymbals, and the effects, the mid-range gets a constant workout. Those who are turned off by this kind of music may find it to be an exercise in patience, but the lengthier durations are a testament to the trio's skills at climax and denouement.

DeVotchKa: 100 Lovers (Anti-, 3/1/11)

DeVotchKa: "100 Other Lovers"

Following the fame from its Oscar-winning soundtrack for Little Miss Sunshine in 2006, Denver multi-instrumental quartet DeVotchKa has playfully tinkered with its sweeping, emotive sound. Though it already tossed together elements of folk, rock, Mexican, and Gypsy music, it remained united by the sullen croons and songwriting of frontman Nick Urata.

That unifying factor remains, but its newest album, 100 Lovers – its second post-Sunshine full-length – continues to expand the band’s scope. The material adds new and often subtle flavors to DeVotchKa’s repertoire. Uninitiated listeners might hear more of the same, but 100 Lovers is perfect for content fans – moving in new directions without a radical departure.

Stateless: Matilda (Ninja Tune, 3/1/11)

Stateless: "Ariel"

Matilda, Stateless' second full-length, showcases the British electro-rock group's continued maturity. Lead singer Chris James hits an impressive range of notes, from reverb-cloaked backing croons to soulful leads, atop an amalgamated mix of styles, sounds, and beats.

With contributions from The Balanescu Quartet, DJ Shadow, and Shara Worden (of My Brightest Diamond), Matilda is stylistically inventive, with familiar worldly touchstones reworked into new contexts.

Grails: Deep Politics (Temporary Residence, 3/8/11)

Grails: "I Led Three Lives"

With cinematic soundscapes, Westernized Indian melodies, film-noir mystique, 1960s psychedelia, and crushing heaviness, Grails is an instrumental rarity. The Portland band's newest offering, Deep Politics, is an engaging and epic mix of acoustic intonations, indigenous sounds and melodies, spaghetti-western motifs, somber piano balladry, and more doom-filled, Eastern-infused stylistic transcendence.

And thanks in part to arrangements by Timba Harris, the mighty violinist from unparalleled genre annihilators Estradasphere and Secret Chiefs 3, Deep Politics vies to be Grails’ best album yet.

Parts & Labor: Constant Future (Jagjaguwar, 3/8/11)

Parts & Labor: "Constant Future"

After establishing itself early last decade as an interesting new name in noise rock, Parts & Labor delivered a flurry of releases over the span of just a few years. Since then, the band has scaled back to a trio built around the fuzzed guitar, bass, keyboard hooks, and tight rock rhythms.

Featuring some of the band's sturdiest songs yet, Constant Future is direct, potent, and catchy. Behind Dan Friel and BJ Warshaw's echoing, harmonized vocals are dirty, thick grooves that power the overlaid electronic freak-outs.

Adebisi Shank: This is the Second Album from a Band Called Adebisi Shank (Sargent House, 3/15/11)

Adebisi Shank: "Micro Machines"

Released to European acclaim in 2010, the aptly titled second album from Irish electro/math rockers Adebisi Shank achieved North American release this year thanks to the peerless Sargent House.

The management company / record label describes the trio as a blend of Fang Island’s shredding riffs with Battles’ electronic quirkiness and rhythmic playfulness. That description isn’t off the mark, but readers won’t get a sense of the band’s real abilities until they hear its hyper-melodic, polyrhythmic, and — most importantly — jubilant songs in full.

Second Album delivers a maelstrom of zany electronics, unusual distortions, and triumphant, rapidly ascending scales mixed with vintage synths, marimba, horns, and other accoutrements. This is all packaged between and around gloriously catchy and powerful rock riffs, resulting in a manic and buoyant sophomore effort.

Calexico

Calexico: "Griptape"

In their 15 years as a band, Calexico’s Joey Burns and John Convertino have built their music around being on the road. It’s as evident in their thematic lyrics as it is in their sound — which, though it’s been described as Southwestern or “desert noir,” really can’t be pinned to one region. The two have drawn musical influences from around the globe because that’s exactly where they’ve been.

With Road Atlas, Calexico compiles eight of its off-the-map recordings from the past 13 years, including live sets and self-released tour albums. Selections from Road Atlas, its mini-edition, combines 16 of those live cuts, exclusively available tracks, and film-score vignettes.

Latin American influences permeate throughout, especially in the musical snippets from the documentary Circo and several other tunes with Mariachi-tinged guitars. But there's also plenty of the band's balladry ("Griptape") to go with lap-steel guitar swells ("All the Pretty Horses"), Italian Western motifs ("Glowing Heart of the World"), and jazzy post-rock ("Cachaça").

In a sense, the band has mapped out the detours in its history, taking listeners to places where few have been.

ALARM spoke with Burns to discuss the band, where it has been, and where it wants to go.

Why did you decide to re-release these albums? How much of the material never has been released in some form?

All of the music has been released previously on CD in small numbers, which we've sold while out on tour, hence the "tour only" title. However, almost all of the albums are made from studio recordings and not live-show recordings.

Your music is often described as “desert noir.” To what extent do your surroundings shape your music?

That's an interesting term, and oddly enough our friend and journalist Fred Mills came up with the term while living in Tucson, Arizona. I think it taps into an important part to the music we make, but there's a lot more that defies the description. We love changing things up stylistically and instrumentally, so much so that the band name has come to mean more than a regional influence and more about an aesthetic and openness in philosophy.

Where do you find your inspiration on the road?

There's a lot of stories and inspiration passed on from speaking with people that we meet on tour. I love talking with workers, café owners, people on the street or who work at the venues. If we can get away from the venue and get into town or to museums, it always seems to have a positive influence on the show that same night. It may inspire a new song to be made up on the spot. Those improvisations during the live show and in the studio are some of the more interesting moments as a band.

There are many different instruments on any given Calexico song. How do you replicate that when touring?

We keep a storage unit in Europe and one in the US full of instruments, junk, and strange objects collected over the years. Everyone in the band loves switching around instruments. It's a bad habit but one that is hard to shake.

What do your live albums offer that studio recordings can’t provide?

The tour-only albums are mostly made up of studio recordings. This is what is so interesting about these albums. It's an inside look and behind-the-scenes portrait of a band over the course of several years that doesn't regularly happen. Out of the eight tour-only albums, only two are live albums. So I think most fans over the years that have been following along have seen and heard the counterpoint that relates to each year of proper record-label release and touring. We are all fans of bootlegs and rarities. This is our own version of these.

Do you usually try to have guest musicians with you when you’re touring? Are there any differences in your live shows when your lineup changes?

The guest musicians definitely help inspire new approaches or perspectives to life on the road. Plus, it's just fun to bring someone new or invite friends out on tour with you. I think it is a natural tendency to surround yourself with people that are as creative as you are and help with finding new directions and interests. The same goes for bringing guests into the recording studio.

Which regions or countries would you like to explore deeper?

South America, Mexico, China, Africa (Ethiopia and Mali), and the New Orleans-Havana connection. There was once a strong musical bridge between these two cities, but there's been a Berlin-type wall separating the cultures ever since 1959. I would love to see/hear that musical exchange given new life.

Do you have plans to tour or record in the near future? Are there any collaborations in the works?

We are working on a new album. There are collaborations planned with some Spanish artists Depedro and Amparo Sánchez, and there have been some films asking about soundtrack work as well. The diversity is key and keeps us happy.

Doomtree: No Kings (Doomtree)

Doomtree: "The Grand Experiment"

Moving from a high-school clique to a crew and record label was a natural transition for the Minneapolis-based Doomtree collective. Over just a few years, the unlikely “family” unit went from trading beats at Hopkins High to producing albums, organizing tours, and throwing the annual Doomtree Blowout, all with a small but mighty lineup.

The label’s foundation was built on the wings of impassioned, down-to-earth MCs P.O.S and Sims, hybrid rapper/songstress Dessa, multifaceted instrumentalist Paper Tiger, and nostalgic storyteller Cecil Otter, but the seven-member collective soon demonstrated its cohesiveness as a group. No Kings is Doomtree’s third studio album, and though it maintains a playful demeanor, it’s the most diverse and mature of the three.

From track to track, the different flavors and personalities of each member come through in their own ways. "Bolt Cutter," the album's second single, features four MCs (including both rhymes and vocal melodies by Dessa) and a spate of production values, shifting from a minimalist tom beat and bass line to electro-hop synths to piano and acoustic-guitar melodies — before it all layers together and adds a deep electronic groove. But no matter its style, the production is on point.

No Kings also celebrates the start of Doomtree’s second decade together. More importantly, it maintains the balance that makes such a large collaboration work, both as a group and as a business.

- Text by Portia Medina and Scott Morrow.

Calexico: Road Atlas 1998–2011 limited-edition vinyl box set and Selections from Road Atlas 1998–2011 CD (Quarterstick)

Calexico: "Griptape"

In their 15 years as a band, Calexico’s Joey Burns and John Convertino have built their music around being on the road. It’s as evident in their thematic lyrics as it is in their sound — which, though it’s been described as Southwestern or “desert noir,” really can’t be pinned to one region. The two have drawn musical influences from around the globe because that’s exactly where they’ve been.

With Road Atlas, Calexico compiles eight of its off-the-map recordings from the past 13 years, including live sets and self-released tour albums. Selections from Road Atlas is its mini-edition, combining those live cuts, exclusively available tracks, and film-score vignettes.

Latin American influences exist throughout, especially in the musical snippets from the documentary Circo and several other tunes with Mariachi-tinged guitars. But there's also plenty of the band's balladry ("Griptape") to go with lap-steel guitar swells ("All the Pretty Horses"), Italian Western motifs ("Glowing Heart of the World"), and jazzy post-rock ("Cachaça").

In a sense, the band has mapped out the detours in its history, taking listeners to places where few have been.

- Text by Meaghann Korbel and Lauren Zens.

Dimlite: Grimm Reality (Now-Again / Stones Throw)

Dimlite: "New Better Pain"

Despite drawing some similarities to outside-the-box producers such as Flying Lotus, Daedelus, and Hudson Mohawke, Dimlite falls into an altogether different category of electronic producer. The man behind the beats, melodies, and overall strangeness is Swiss musician Dimitri Grimm, also known as Misel Quitno and one half of The Slapped Eyeballers, who has made a habit of producing indescribable (and sample-free) blends of hip hop, kraut rock, funk, and electronic pastiche.

Grimm Reality, Grimm's third full-length as Dimlite, combines some of the trademarks of his alter-egos, fusing some of the minimalist loops and worldly timbres to bass and beats. Whirring electronics, simple bass licks, and sputtering beats contrast with Soul Train funk and grooves, which then are paired with spiraling lasers or wonky rhythms behind psychedelic reverb. Though it sounds like a mess, most songs have a harmonious (if confusing) appeal.

Vocals emerge intermittently on nearly every track in the form of bizarre utterances, and in most instances, these cuts of laughter and speaking are distorted in pitch or tempo. Although the spacey electronics exist throughout the album’s entirety, traditional sounds appear on and off, including a piano, viola, and heavier use of bass guitar. What comes next from Mr. Grimm is anybody's guess.

- Text by Lauren Zens.

Honorable Mentions

Beaten by Them: People Start Listening EP

Boris: New Album (Sargent House)

Kate Bush: 50 Words for Snow (Anti-)

Coalesce: Give Them Rope 2xCD reissue (Relapse / No Sleep)

Chris Cornell: Songbook (Universal)

Pyramids / Horseback: A Throne Without a King (Hydra Head)

When DeVotchKa landed a Grammy nomination for its contribution to the soundtrack of 2006 film Little Miss Sunshine, it was a welcome vindication. The Denver-based quartet had been waging an uphill battle for recognition since the late '90s, when bandleader Nick Urata (vocals, guitar, trumpet, piano, Theremin) put together the first version of the band with largely different personnel.

“It took a long time to find the right quartet,” Urata says from his Denver home, where a blizzard rages outside. “I was a sideman for my whole life, so at the beginning [of DeVotchKa] I was having such a good time doing my own songs with my own band, I let anyone who wanted to play join in. When we finished the first record (Supermelodrama, 2002), everyone was done with school and needed to move on. [Multi-instrumentalist] Tom Hagerman was one of them, but in the long run it was good. It forced me to find people who wanted to play for a living. Finding Jeanie [Schroder] and Shawn [King] is a long story, but eventually Tom came back and we convinced him to stay.”

Urata grew up near New York City in a large Italian family. “My grandfather was a musician and had a great influence on me,” he says. “I began studying trumpet at age eight and was exposed to music from all over the world. There was always talk of Gypsies in our bloodline. As I got older, I began to pine for those old-world sounds.”

It’s those old-world sounds that make DeVotchKa so unique and hard to define. The band is tagged with blurbs like “Gypsy mariachis playing funky boleros at a Greek taverna” or “Eastern Bloc cabaret rock,” but its blend of rock and world music is part of a burgeoning new style one could call global pop. DeVotchKa’s mash-up of American R&B, Gypsy, spaghetti western, Argentinean tango, surf guitar, odd Balkan back beats, and angular funk sounds eccentric and strangely familiar, even to those unfamiliar with the band's myriad influences.

“Music-business people are always telling me there’s no place for [DeVotchKa],” Urata says. “But the fans are saying, 'Give me more, and the wackier, the better.' Almost every label in America turned us down. One of them, after a long courtship, walked away because we were too ethnic. Nine months later, right about the time they would have put our record out, we were featured in Spin as part of the hottest new trend in music.”

Undaunted, the band created its own label, Cicero Recordings, and followed up Supermelodrama with two more excellent recordings: Una Volta (2003) and How It Ends (2004). When the directors of Little Miss Sunshine put tracks from How It Ends on their soundtrack, it brought the band some well-deserved mainstream recognition, as did its one-off EP, Curse Your Little Heart, for independent label Ace Fu.

Enter Anti- Records, the adventurous LA label that’s home to Tom Waits, Merle Haggard, Billy Bragg, and Nick Cave. “We were interested in Anti- because they have Tom Waits,” Hagerman says. “They finally came to a show and signed us.”

A Mad and Faithful Telling, DeVotchKa’s new album, is their most ambitious yet, featuring ten luxuriously produced tracks that brim with international rhythms, lush orchestrations, and Urata’s soulful croon. The band produced the album with Craig Schumacher (Calexico, Giant Sand), who also helped with Una Volta and How It Ends.

“Craig has great musical ideas and keeps us from hurting ourselves when we record,” Urata jokes. “He’s good at placing mics for maximum effect and coaching a good performance out of us.

“There was an urgency when we wrote and recorded the last two albums. This time we were more ambitious musically and little more relaxed. I felt like we could sit back and let this one be itself without trying to interfere with the creative process. We left a lot to chance, with more improvisation and input from the other members — more spontaneity. The last few I had mapped out before we recorded, due to financial constraints and lack of confidence.”

The tunes on A Mad And Faithful Telling are marked by a clear, clean mix that gives every instrument its own distinct voice. “Basso Profundo” begins the album with Latin-influenced spaghetti-western sounds before moving into a Russian Gypsy jam during the coda. The backing vocalists sing a merry wordless hook that instantly embeds itself into your brain, while Hagerman’s fiddle goes into overdrive, zooming through the mix like a hummingbird on nitroglycerine.

“For me, playing violin is the most potent musical expression.” Hagerman says. “Communicating an emotion through a wordless musical phrase is really powerful.” Hagerman also shines on “Comrade Z,” an instrumental rave-up that’s part Balkan brass, part Gypsy fiddle insanity, with a driving, irresistible bass line. “We tried to cram as many notes into the motif as possible,” Hagerman says of the tune’s frenetic pace. “It’s a tune we started a long time ago. The string quartet we use on that tune gave us more choices in orchestration. I like arrangements where the strings take over the melody or rhythms that are usually played on guitar.”

“The Clockwise Witness” showcases DeVotchKa’s growing confidence in the studio. Toy piano and staccato strings set up the rhythm while Urata’s guitar, Schroder’s bass, and King’s drums counter with a dance-rock groove.

“Tom came up with the toy-piano riff a couple of years ago,” Urata explains. “We played a different version of it on the road, but when it came time to record, Tom wrote an amazing arrangement for strings and oboe. The new arrangement has a strict metronomic beat and reminds me of the seconds of our lives ticking away. The lyrics ask, ‘Is there redemption in living the straight life, or should we just trample everyone in our way for immediate gratification?”

Another dark track is “Blessing in Disguise,” a military waltz with a lyric of lost love and regret, with a lot of swing in the drums and string charts despite the martial tempo. “I wrote this on my own,” Urata says. “I was having a terrible time writing and couldn’t find anything good for months, then it wrote itself all at once. I tried to explain that process in the lyrics. In those rare moments of clarity, you realize that losing love or facing death, although extremely painful, can lead to profound changes. I wanted it to be somewhere between a wedding and a funeral march, so we brought in marching band instruments and recorded it all live in the same big studio room.”

“Undone” sounds like Roy Orbison fronting a Gypsy band while singing the tango; “Strazzalo” employs an odd oompha waltz; “Transliterator” features rocking disjointed funk that sounds vaguely like the Talking Heads, one of Urata’s favorite bands during his youth.

A Mad And Faithful Telling takes its title from a line in Edgar Allen Poe’s Fall of the House of Usher, perhaps fitting because the lyrics Urata has crafted for the album are full of his usual concerns: mortality, lost or unattainable love, and the brevity of happiness. His vocals, which combine David Byrne’s uneasy yelp with Orbison’s powerful but restrained croon, often float free in the mix, adding another element of mystery to the music.

“I try to get across a mix of conventional wisdom and poetry, portraying emotional experiences with enough poetic license to make it interesting,” Urata says. “I like songs that are a little bit ambiguous. One day it means one thing, the next day it means something else, the way conversations you’ve had in the past can come back to you in a whole new context. The best stuff comes subconsciously; it has nothing to do with me. Once they’re finished, songs become their own entities that have nothing to do with you anymore. The vocal mix is dictated by what the song or that particular performance needs. Sometimes the band has to overpower the vocalist. I am a bit shy about putting the vocals way up front.”

Urata and DeVotchKa traveled a long road to achieve their current success, never compromising their sound or vision. Now that they’ve arrived, they find themselves lumped with other bands that are exploring Eastern European tonalities like Balkan Beat Box and Gogol Bordello, part of a so-called "Gypsy wave." It’s a pigeonhole that has mixed blessings.

“We have been type cast as a Gypsy band from the beginning,” Urata agrees. “In our case, it was a positive thing. As we got to know other like-minded bands like Gogol Bordello, we started telling people that Gypsy music has been going on for a long time, so where were you ten years ago? In fact, the Gypsy influence has been shaping music all over the world for hundreds of years. To say it’s some new anomaly is kind of laughable.”

Giant Sand: "Increment of Love"

Howe Gelb calls himself “a lifer.” As the circus troupers of the golden age would’ve said, he’s “with it and for it.” A crackling muse exists at his core, and, as he puts it, he “simply tries to stay out of its way when it’s coming out.”

Gelb has used a revolving-door cast of hugely gifted, improvisational musicians in the Tucson, Arizona collective Giant Sand as his most consistent conduit for more than 25 years. In addition to the group’s 15-album catalog, he’s released numerous albums under his own name, as The Band of Blacky Ranchette, as Arizona Amp & Alternator, and with OP8, his project with Lisa Germano. He’s collaborated with Neko Case, Richard Buckner, and M. Ward, among many others. Giant Sand’s formidable roster of players has formed such celebrated bands as Calexico and The Friends of Dean Martinez.

The Giant Sand of 1985, on Valley of Rain, played hefty, lyrically intelligent alt-rock songs laced with the dusty scent of the Southwest. With myriad lineup changes, the death of longtime friend and collaborator Rainer Ptacek, and the passing of time, the desert has taken over. The Giant Sand of today makes music conjured out of the sun-cracked, two-lane highways and sleepy service stations of the American desert itself, thick with the acrid smoke of a recently snuffed campfire.
 

“After you hit the half-century mark, you make sure every album and every show is played like it might be your last. You make sure everything counts.”

Gelb slowly works away at an album, none too concerned about when it’s finished but aware of what it will feel like when he’s done. He often works two to three years ahead, recording songs as he sees fit, many made up on the spot at the recording studio with “nothing more than a handful of lyrics, thoughts, or chords.” When he’s amassed enough songs with the same overall flavor, he gathers them up, carefully arranges them, and puts them on record. There’s no good way to explain the process; it’s an instinct that has leeched itself into his gut.

ProVISIONS, released in September 2008 on Yep Roc Records, is the first Giant Sand album in four years. Though Is All Over the Map (2004) lived up to its name as a shambling mixed bag of sounds and experimental, stream-of-consciousness whims, proVISIONS picks up where the beautiful Chore of Enchantment left off in 2000. It’s a fluid, cinematic oasis that would feel equally as comfortable weaving in and out of a Sergio Leone western as it would creaking out of the speakers of a rusted pickup truck.

The songs here feel broken in; there’s plenty of room to get out and stretch your legs. With Case’s plaintive backing vocals and the cocktail-lounge shuffle of “Without a Word,” the slow-moving, introspective piano ballad “Desperate Kingdom of Love,” and the epic, shape-shifting, rhythmic punch of “The New Romance of Falling,” it’s clear that this is an album created by musicians’ musicians (“lifers”), who know how to read each other’s subtle gestures with unconscious ease.

“After you hit the half-century mark, you make sure every album and every show is played like it might be your last,” Gelb says. “You make sure everything counts.” That’s a lifer for you.

Maggie Björklund: Coming Home (Bloodshot, 3/22/11)

Though she hails from Scandinavia, Maggie Björklund has created a record rich with folk instrumentation of the American Southwest. The Danish pedal-steel maven just released her debut album, Coming Home, on Bloodshot Records.

In the video for "Anchor Song" above, Björklund is joined by an all-star cast: John Convertino of Calexico, Rachel Flotard of Visqueen, Rusty Willoughby, Johnny Sangster, Barrett Martin of Screaming Trees, and cellist Barbara Hunter.

This exclusive video marks the start of Bloodshot's "Maggie Björklund Video-Roll Contest Week." Anyone who "Likes," comments on, or re-posts the video is eligible to win a copy of Björklund's new album.

The second video of the five that are set to be released, "Vildspor," premieres tomorrow on Magnet. Be sure to head over there to find out where the third video will premiere and see how far this music-video rabbit hole actually goes.

Magnet's "Vildspor" premiere: http://www.magnetmagazine.com/2011/04/26/film-at-11-maggie-bjorklund/

Uprooted Music Revue's "Insekt" premiere: http://www.uprootedmusicrevue.com/2011/04/watch-maggie-bjorklunds-insekt-video.html

A Lull: Confetti (Mush)

A Lull: "Weapons for War"

Building off its early buzz for the single “Weapons for War,” Chicago quintet A Lull has drawn plenty of early attention for its debut album, Confetti.

Comprised of five multi-instrumentalists who each have a hand in its percussive style, the band unites assorted characteristics of contemporary indie electronica, with textured timbres, humming ambience, and melodic hooks building over pitter-pat beats and thumping toms. The vocals are equally as multi-layered and harmonized, alternating between soft pop refrains and “rat-tat-tats” and other percussive utterances over waves of deep, distorted low end.

Young Widows: In and Out of Youth and Lightness (Temporary Residence)

Young Widows: "In and Out of Lightness"

Now more than a few album cycles removed from its transition from post-hardcore outfit Breather Resist, Louisville's Young Widows continues coming more and more into its own.

The trio's last full-length album, Old Wounds, marked its arrival as post-punk powerhouse.  Its newest, In and Out of Youth and Lightness, displays another progression in the band's songwriting skills while also emphasizing the "quietness" in the genre.

Guitarist/vocalist Evan Patterson's reverberated instrument walks an eerie line between clean and dissonant. The rhythm section favors a ceremonial plod, often accenting select beats instead of playing straight through, but it's more than capable of mixing in urgent rock rhythms.  In between, there's a roomy silence, occasionally breached with a wandering guitar echo or backing vocal.

From the weird twang, Black Heart Procession vibes, and enveloping vocal harmonies of tracks such as "Right in the End" and "Lean on the Ghost," In and out of Youth and Lightness has plenty of new direction for familiar fans, but it's also an excellent jumping-off point for new listeners.

- Text by Scott Gordon. Read the full review here.

Atmosphere: The Family Sign (Rhymesayers)

Atmosphere: "Just for Show"

Back after last fall's double-EP release, Minneapolis hip-hop duo Atmosphere presents an album that is a true family effort.  Though its 2008 album was chock full of guest spots and featured DJ/producer Ant piecing together samples of live instrumentation, The Family Sign was built by a four-piece incarnation of Atmosphere, with previous collaborators Erick Anderson (keyboards) and Nate Collis (guitar).

Collis, in fact, is the surprise MVP of the album, with shimmering slide guitar and murmuring melodies that guide many songs.  Anderson plays nearly as vital a role, with gentle piano lines and chords that fill out what often was occupied by funky bass lines and horn cuts.

There are more singing and spoken-word passages than rap aficionados might like, but The Family Album isn't nearly as sunny or soulful as When Life Gives You Lemons…, and it feels like a much more cohesive and organic record.

Hauschka: Salon des Amateurs (FatCat)

Hauschka: "Radar"

Hauscka is the alias of prolific German composer Volker Bertelmann, who has released eight albums of neoclassical material since 2004 — with the most recent coming just six months ago.

His instrument of choice is the prepared piano, a piano that has objects placed on or between its strings in order to create unique, textured sounds.  Though much of his earlier material was in the John Cage school of prepared minimalism, his last album, Foreign Landscapes, was a more orchestral affair, and his newest, Salon des Amateurs, presents his instrument's version of techno.

This "organic dance" music shares similarities with fellow German outfit Brandt Brauer Frick, a trio that released a promising debut in November.  Bertelmann's range of timbres is narrower, but he achieves a lot via overdubs and guest spots by John Convertino and Joey Burns of Calexico, drummer/sampler Samuli Kosminen of Múm, and violinist Hilary Hahn.  Ultimately, Salon des Amateurs is much closer to Cage than techno, but it's another interesting cross-section that proves the potential of loops and short repetitions.

Garage á Trois: Always Be Happy, But Stay Evil (Royal Potato Family)

Garage á Trois: "Shooting Breaks"

Originally a trio with 8-string guitarist Charlie Hunter, rock/funk/jazz hybrid Garage a Trois has morphed over the past decade to a quartet comprised of saxophonist Skerik and vibraphonist Mike Dillon (both of Critters Buggin, The Dead Kenny Gs, and many Les Claypool incarnations), drummer Stanton Moore (Galactic, Corrosion of Conformity), and keyboardist Marco Benevento (Benevento/Russo Duo).

The group's sounds have undergone just as much transformation, from entirely live improvisation to unified grooves. Always Be Happy, But Stay Evil is the group's second album since the addition of Benevento, and it again takes great advantage of his keyboard melodies.  However, unlike its predecessor, Power Patriot, this album pulls back a bit from the distorted rock grooves.

Nonetheless, the album's musical moods are what fans of Power Patriot might expect: slinky ("Resentment Incubator"), polyrhythmic ("Earl Harvin"), accessible ("Earl Harvin" again), raw ("The Drum Department"), cosmic ("Shooting Breaks"), and ever so eerie ("Swellage").  Recorded by engineer/producer Randall Dunn (Secret Chiefs 3, Sunn O))), Earth), it closes with an unexpected cover of John Carpenter's "Assault on Precinct 13," a rendition that sonically embodies the album's title.

Fredrik: Flora (The Kora)

Fredrik: "Rites of Spring"

Each track on Swedish electro-folk trio Fredrik’s newest album, Flora, is adorned with a menagerie of small details.

On the third song, “Chrome Cavities,” vocalist Fredrik Hultin’s hushed intonations and a delicately clattering xylophone tiptoe over a sinister, tribal drum beat and jingling sleigh bells.  Later, on "The North Greatern," tinkling wind chimes, hypnotizing cowbell, and thundering mallet strikes conjoin over oscillating ambience.

Throughout Flora, a brooding force takes shape, often building to climactic heights similar to those of Sigur Rós. Whether laying on the heavy bounce of new-wave synth or sticking to more classical string-based melodic work (as on “Naruto and the End of the Broken Ear”), Fredrik deftly navigates varied terrain.

Honorable Mentions

Autechre: EPs 1991 – 2002 (Warp)

Between the Buried and Me: The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues (Metal Blade)

Causa Sui: Pewt’r Sessions 1 (El Paraiso)

Classified: Handshakes and Middle Fingers (Halflife / Sony / Decon)

Figurines: s/t (The Control Group)

Howe Gelb & A Band of Gypsies: Alegrías (Fire)

Indian: Guiltless (Relapse)

Kreidler: Tank (Bureau B)

Femi Kuti: Africa for Africa (Knitting Factory)

Last Chance to Reason: Level 2 (Prosthetic)

Little Scream: The Golden Record (Secretly Canadian)

Low: C’mon (Sub Pop)

Agnes Obel: Philharmonics (PIAS)

The One AM Radio: Heaven is Attached by a Slender Thread (Dangerbird)

Panda Bear: Tomboy (Paw Tracks)

Red Fang: Murder the Mountains (Relapse)

Alexander Tucker: Dorwytch (Thrill Jockey)

TV on the Radio: Nine Types of Light (Interscope)

The Waitiki 7: Waitiki in Hi-Fi LP (Pass Out Records)

Zomes: Earth Grid (Thrill Jockey)

Maggie Björklund: "The Anchor Song"

Coming Home, the debut solo album from Danish songwriter/guitarist Maggie Björklund, is a warm and inviting record of richly textured compositions highlighting her masterful pedal-steel guitar. Recorded in and evocative of the Southwest United States' particularly melancholic brand of folk, the album also features turns by Calexico, Mark Lanegan, Rachel Flotard, and Jon Auer, and already is one of ALARM’s favorite albums of the week.

As Björklund prepared to fly back to Europe after spending some time in the US, we caught up about the new album and the benefits of opening up musically.

What have you been up to while in the States?

Oh, I’ve done a lot of things on this trip. We made two fantastic videos. We recorded my songs played live with most of the guys from the album (Mark Lanegan, Jon Auer, and Rachel Flotard). That was really great and fun to do. We just got back from SXSW; I played a bunch of shows, including my official showcase. It went really well.

Was that your first time at SXSW?

Well, this was the first time with my own music. I’ve played there before. I know the turmoil of the 6th Street nightlife. But I had good responses at SXSW; people really stop and listen. It was very positive.

How did you become involved in music originally?

Well, I have always played music, since I was really little. It’s not something that I chose in that way; it’s just been a part of my life always. But as for becoming professional in music, I formed my band The Darleens in Denmark (after being a session guitarist in Hollywood). We were signed to Sony Music almost immediately, and that was my entrance.

When did you start playing the pedal-steel guitar? Why?

That was only 8 or 9 years ago, I think. I completely fell in love with it as soon as I started. It’s been with me every day since. The story with the pedal steel is that I had bought it several years earlier, because I love instruments and I always want to try and see what everything is like to play. So I bought the pedal steel from a friend and tried to play, but I just could not get anything good out of that instrument. I put it in a cupboard for a couple years; I was really annoyed with both the instrument and myself. But then a few years later I took it out again, and for some reason I had matured musically or whatever and I got some good sounds out of it. I was so thrilled.

How did you arrive at the southwestern folk sound you have now? Was this always your style?

Yes, more or less. My music has always leaned towards that genre. It’s hard to tell why you fall in love with certain music. It speaks to me in a way. I grew up in the countryside, where there wasn’t any music, really. My parents listened to classical music, so I’ve listened to a lot of classical in my life, but I’m very broad in what I like — jazz and rock — as long as it’s good!

Your first solo album, Coming Home, is being released in the USA and Europe this month. What was the songwriting/recording process like?

Some of the songs I had been working on before recording, but only as little ideas or half songs. When I knew the album was going to happen, I sat down and wrote for months because I really wanted to be picky about which songs were on the album and what they sounded like. We went to Tuscon, Arizona and recorded and had a fantastic week down there. I did some overdubs in Copenhagen and Seattle, and we recorded Mark Lanegan down in LA. [We visited] a lot of different places, but it was a great process and very inspiring.

How did making this album compare to your previous work with The Darleens or any of the other records you’ve been on?

I have matured a lot both as a composer and musician from what I have done earlier. I feel that what I have done on this album is much more true to me. For music to be interesting, it has to have something at stake for the person who makes it, and I feel this has that. I opened up musically on this album.

What was it like having artists contribute to your album, rather than the other way around?

I’m amazed at how easy the process was because I’m not used to working that closely with other artists. It was fantastic. Rachel Flotard wrote her lyrics, as did Jon Auer. I gave them the music and the title of songs, and I feel that they totally nailed the mood of the songs and in a way enhanced the feelings I had about the songs through those lyrics. I was really happy about that. Playing music like this, when you ask people to join you and collaborate with you, it’s all about opening up and saying “yes” to their ideas, and I was very happy to do so. It was a wonderful project to do, like being in heaven.

Lastly, what is one instrument that you don’t yet play but want to learn?

(Laughs) There are two instruments. I’ve threatened to play the Theramin; it’s so intriguing. That’s on the dashboard for me. Also, there’s an Irish harp, like the old-fashioned kind. That could be a challenge. I’m working hard on playing my viola at the moment. I played that when I was younger. It’s been really fun to get back into it; it’s almost as hard as the pedal steel.

[Have you pre-ordered yet? Don't forget to visit the Kickstarter page for Chromatic: The Crossroads of Color and Music, our next book that profiles independent musicians and artists who explore color in unorthodox ways.]

Maggie Björklund: Coming Home (Bloodshot)

Maggie Björklund: "The Anchor Song"

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Danish guitarist Maggie Björklund got her chops playing around Europe in country bands and pop groups.  But it wasn’t until she discovered the radiant sounds of the pedal-steel guitar that she packed her bags to learn under a Nashville veteran. Following that tutelage, Björklund relocated to Seattle and subsequently appeared on a number of albums as a pedal-steel player.

Now that her pedal-steel gestation is complete, Björklund has released her debut solo album, Coming Home, on Bloodshot Records. It’s a charming collection of Southwestern folk tunes, and many of her established US relationships help make it so — including guest spots by Calexico, Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees), Rachel Flotard (Visqueen), and Jon Auer (The Posies). And though she employs her guests to magnificent effect, Björklund’s talents shine through. Coming Home proves itself to be a beautiful debut, from the crooning vocals, western guitar licks, and cello strikes of “Summer Romance” to the dark guitar lines and ghostly, high-octave contrasts of “Insekt.”

Pharoahe Monch: WAR (We Are Renegades) (Duck Down)

Pharoahe Monch: "Black-Hand Side"

New York rapper Pharoahe Monch is a rap-world anomaly: equally beloved among mainstream and independent circles and extremely popular despite a relative dearth of his own releases.

Though he has contributed scores of high-profile and/or high-quality guest spots over the past dozen years, Monch has only released two solo albums over that period, with an eight-year gap coming between the first and second.  But his third and long-awaited album, We Are Renegades, is finally here, and it delivers in spades.

Offering, in his words, a "throwback to 1993, '94 hip hop," WAR is full of hard beats, melodic samples, and sociopolitical content, but it also holds many of the soulful elements of his 2007 album, Desire.

Following a sci-fi transmission from a future where technology presumably has allowed world powers to keep an iron grip over populations, the first full song takes shots at totalitarianism while Monch raps over a whirring synth line and a background faux-string version of the Ernest Gold theme to the 1960 film Exodus.

The next track mixes together more elements: social consciousness, a sax solo, and humorous interjections ("Pardon if it sounds a little wheezy / not Wayne, motherfuckers / I got asthma; it's not easy").  The title tune is an epic opus, another politically charged number stating that "the machine is corrupted, down the core" and featuring wailing guitar work by Vernon Reid.

The rest of WAR has dozens of other guest spots, including Jean Grae, Jill Scott, DJ Boogie Blind of The X-Ecutioners, and a host of others, such as the Layne Staley-esque chorus by Citizen Cope on "The Grand Illusions (Circa 1973)."  It never feels cluttered, however, and outside of an unfortunate and misogynistic verse by Royce da 5'9", the guests help to make this a potent return from Monch.

V/A: Sucker Punch: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (WaterTower Music)

Emily Browning: "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"

Out this Friday, Sucker Punch is the latest project by fantasy filmmaker Zack Snyder, who directed the box-office smashes 300, Watchmen, and the remade Dawn of the Dead.  Along the way, he's had film-scoring assistance from Tyler Bates, who scored all three of the aforementioned films.

Despite the Titus controversy surrounding 300, Bates has composed some noteworthy accompaniments, and for Sucker Punch, he and big-name UK producer Marius de Vries put a cinematic spin on a selection of famous rock tunes, choosing selections from The Eurythmics, Björk, Jefferson Airplane, The Stooges, The Beatles, Pixies, and more.

One of the more interesting aspects to the soundtrack is that a few of the film's stars, including lead actress Emily Browning, sing over a number of the new arrangements. Two cover credits go to English alt-rockers Skunk Anansie, including one extended rock remix of Björk's famous "Army of Me," and guest vocals also appear from Icelandic singer Emiliana Torrini and Alison Mosshart of The Dead Weather and The Kills.

Browning's tracks are the most appealing, however, at least partially due to the direct tie-in.  But her gentle vocals carry an unexpected appeal, especially over the darker moments of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" and the squealing rock moments of "Where is My Mind?"

Honorable Mentions

Baby Dee: Regifted Light (Drag City)

James Blake: s/t (Universal Republic)

Born of Osiris: The Discovery (Sumerian)

David Solid Gould & Bill Laswell: Dub of the Passover (Tzadik)

Marika Hughes: Afterlife Music Radio: 11 Pieces for Solo Cello (DD)

Soundgarden: Live on I5 (A&M / Universal)

Woods of Ypres: Woods IV: The Green Album (Relapse)

Zion I & The Grouch: Heroes in the Healing of the Nation (Z&G Music)