Blueprint: Adventures in Counter-Culture (Rhymesayers)

Blueprint: "So Alive"

Known for his lyrical virtuosity, Columbus MC Blueprint won fame as half of Soul Position with legendary indie-rap producer RJD2. After that group dissolved, he produced and released an admittedly retro solo album in 2005 (called 1988) and went six years without releasing a new solo LP.

But while RJD2 has spent his time moving away from hip hop, Blueprint’s new record, Adventures in Counter-Culture, makes it clear that he has spent his time going deeper.  The album’s first song, “Go Hard or Go Home,” serves as the album’s manifesto. Over a beat with droning, echoing synthesizers, Blueprint outlines his intentions: “I’ma tear rap down, then rebuild the shit, with total disregard of if the pieces even fit.”

Distant, sterile, inorganic synthesizers dominate the beats, serving as an aural complement to Blueprint’s lyrical themes of disconnection and alienation.  Certain sounds draw more comparisons to Brian Eno than a rap song, whereas other tracks (“So Alive,” for example) are agreeably soulful synth-rockers.  There are a few unfortunate moments of seeming machismo, but there also are moments that praise intellect over ignorance ("My Culture") and that defiantly slam mass-appeal pandering ("Radio-Inactive").

- Text by Tom Harrison. Read the full review here.

3:33: 333EP1 (Parallel Thought LTD / Alpha Pup)

3:33: "333N4"

With an identity currently under wraps, 3:33 makes its mysterious debut with 333EP1, a seven-track introduction that falls somewhere between sample-based experimentalism and dark, instrumental hip hop.

Eerie, atonal backgrounds either establish a brooding atmosphere or introduce massive, head-nodding, and often-distorted hip-hop beats. Melancholy piano loops offer some of the EP’s only real melodies, while the rest is built from rustling, jangling, shrieks, whispers, and whirring electronics. Apt comparisons can be made to industrial hip-hoppers Dälek, particularly after hearing the bonus digital cut of “333N4,” a vocal version that features guest rappers Del the Funky Homosapien and Tame One.

The Kills: Blood Pressures (Domino)

The Kills: "Satellite"

Comprised of American vocalist Allison Mossheart and British guitarist Jamie Hince, international duo The Kills has spent three albums drawing interest for its lo-fi but bottom-heavy blend of bluesy rock riffs, electronic beats, and harmonized boy/girl vocals.

Blood Pressures displays the same diversity of sounds as on previous albums, moving from up-tempo fuzz rockers to string-backed piano ballads.  Then there's the electro-dub feel of "Satellite," an infectious single that reflects the best of Blood Pressures — gritty bass and synth distortions beneath Hince's resonant guitar licks and Mossheart's haunting whoa-ohs.

Though each track maintains the duo's minimalism, Blood Pressures feels as complete as any Kills album, and it might be the strongest from start to finish.

Chancha via Circuito: Río Arriba (ZZK)

Chancha via Circuito: "Cumbion de las Aves"

Assembled by Argentine producer Pedro Canale, the sounds of Chancha via Circuito channel the native drum traditions of Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, and other music-rich South American nations while mixing in modern electronic and percussive elements.

Whereas Rodante, Canale's first album, explored cumbia — a cross-continental dance style with roots in the slave trade, incorporating both native South American and African influences — Río Arriba is a jump to folkloric sounds, now subtly recalling the "folklorica" of label-mates Tremor.

Though still minimal, the music of Río Arriba includes new layers, with samples taken from many sources (such as the sporting sounds of "Deportes").  Interestingly, two of the first three tracks are remixes, including one of sociopolitical folk singer/songwriter José Larralde's "Quimey Neuquén."  But ultimately, Río Arriba is an album that helps Chancha via Circuito establish a sound of its own — one that should continue to grow and flourish.

Colorlist: The Fastest Way to Become the Ocean EP (Serein)

Colorlist: "Light Conditions"

Colorlist, now on its third studio recording, is a dynamic Chicago duo (plus guests) that concocts ambient, polyrhythmic jazz that leans on loops and sequencers.  Though only 26 minutes long, The Fastest Way to Become the Ocean is just as adept at building and releasing as the previous releases by saxophonist Charles Gorczynski and percussionist Charles Rumback.

This is thanks, in part, to each member's multi-instrumental prowess: Gorczynski also mans the harmonium (an accordion-like keyboard instrument), synthesizers, and looping equipment, making him a sort of one-man harmony machine on top of Rumback's bells and melodica.

But the duo's penchant for building slowly and creating multi-layered sound collages is just as prominent, albeit with a key cameo on an impressive track: the scaling guitar of jazz virtuoso Jeff Parker (Tortoise, Exploding Star Orchestra), which echoes Gorczynski's sax midway through "Nine Lives" before taking its own path and disappearing into the distance.

Honorable Mentions

Abdullah Ibrahim & Ekaya: Sotho Blue (Sunnyside)

Débruit: Sis Sürpriz EP (Civil Music)

Henry Mancini: The Complete Peter Gunn (Chrome Dreams)

Mono/Poly: Manifestations EP (Brainfeeder)

Negura Bunget: Focul Viu live CD/DVD (Prophecy)

Rasputina: Great American Gingerbread (Rasputina Rarities & Neglected Items) (Filthy Bonnet)

Timber Timbre: Creep On Creepin’ On (Arts & Crafts)

V/A: Tron: Legacy Reconfigured (Disney)

Sigh

No strangers to fusing other revered genres to a doomy combination of black metal and thrash, Japan's Sigh uses its eighth studio album to deliver symphonic, epic metal that calls upon classical instrumentation to top its rock foundation.

Brass, woodwind, and string instruments — as well as organ and piano — accent as well as lead sinister melodies that take surprising turns through fanciful themes. Raspy, menacing vocals coat each track, resulting in a dramatic presentation that isn't much at odds with its complex backdrop.

Fans of Estradasphere, Diablo Swing Orchestra, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Emperor, and Gonin-Ish would do well to check this out. With grade-A melodies that would sound at home with orchestras and chamber ensembles, Scenes From Hell is one of the first great albums of 2010.

Sigh: "The Summer Funeral"
Sigh: \"The Summer Funeral\"

Colorlist: A Square White Lie LP (482 Music)

A Square White Lie, released via heavyweight vinyl and MP3s, is the first album in two years from Colorlist, an ambient improvisational duo from Chicago that texturalizes sound by utilizing delayed, echoing loops, mounting tension, harmonic and dissonant layers, and germane percussion.

The four-tune album is a soothing, shifting sea of sound that finds Charles Gorczynski, with sax, harmonium, and electronics, building full melodies out of fragments, accompanied by the beats, brush strokes, and accents of drummer Charles Rumback.

Gorczynski and Rumback are staples in Chicago's younger circle of improvisers. With groups such as Silences (Sumire), Leaves, the Charles Rumback Quartet, and L'Altra already in their portfolios, the duo uses A Square White Lie to further supplement its distinguished body of work.

Colorlist: "The Lows"
Colorlist: \"The Lows\"

RJD2: The Colossus (RJ’s Electrical Connections)

Following a divisive album that saw the introduction of poppy, soulful vocals, producer RJD2 returns with something of a split release — an album that leaves no shortage of accessible, vocal-driven tunes but that emphasizes some inventive instrumentals.

Notably, one of those instrumentals, "Let There Be Horns," opens the disc. In addition to sporting a music video with a protagonist minotaur, "Let There Be Horns" is a grooving instrumental that, at times, sounds vaguely Indian while dousing the listener in synth horns, rock guitar, and squiggly keyboards.

"Games You Can Win," featured below, is a vocal jam that follows and glistens with an apparent glockenspiel or chimes. "Giant Squid" then returns the funky instrumentals, leaning on fuzzy bass, harpsichord, and spacey effects.

Fellow electro-crooner Kenna makes an appearance on The Colossus, and RJ gets more vocal assistance from Phonte Coleman, Aaron Livingston, and others. But whether or not you dig the soulful RJ, there's no doubt that the music on The Colossus is some of his best to date.

RJD2: "Games You Can Win"
RJD2: \"Games You Can Win\"

Honorable mentions

Good for Cows: Audumla (Mimicry)
Worm Ouroboros: s/t (Profound Lore)

Secret Chiefs 3

Having covered Indian, Persian, surf, metal, spaghetti Western, and electronic music — and so much more — Trey Spruance's unparalleled Secret Chiefs 3 has now set its sights on the Italian giallo horror/erotica genre of the 1960s and '70s.

Translating to The Severed Right Hands of the Last Men, this album encapsulates 30 brief, often abstract film cues that sonically invoke images of bloodcurdling terror — as well as moments of passive tranquility — inspired in part from the works of Bruna Nicolai, Ennio Morricone, Goblin, and other noted giallo composers.

It also represents the first release from Traditionalists, a subset of the SC3 umbrella that finds inspiration in fanciful cinematic scores.  It's impossible to know whether the next release will be the long-awaited Book of Souls or rather a full-length affair from another subgroup, but regardless, it's sure to cover uncharted (or neglected) territory.

Secret Chiefs 3: Le Mani Destre Recise Degli Ultimi Uomini preview
Secret Chiefs 3: Le Mani preview

Coalesce: OX (Relapse)

After 10 years, multiple reunions, and talk of resurfacing as a new entity, the hardcore maelstrom that is Coalesce has returned with a new full-length disc.

Following an outstanding two-song seven-inch in late 2007, OX finds the four-piece demolishing ear drums while treading new ground, edging into bits of acoustic melancholy, heavy blues, harmonized vocals, and spaghetti Western.

The softer moments aren't actually new; the Coalesce / Boy Sets Fire split included a thematic revamp of the Coalesce vibe, and There is Nothing New Under the Sun included a few true-to-form renditions of Led Zeppelin classics.  Here, however, the moments are interspersed or used as intros/interludes.

The upcoming OXEP, a seven-song addendum, branches out further, featuring vocalist Sean Ingram's preteen daughter screaming on a part of "Through Sparrows I Rest."  If that doesn't grab you and force your head to bang, OX surely will.

Coalesce: "Dead is Dead"
Coalesce: "Dead is Dead"

Busdriver: Jhelli Beam (Anti-)

Delivering his rhymes in a melodic, fast-talking, pinched-nose intonation, Regan Farquhar can be compared to few contemporaries.  And after a recent collaboration with jazz-rock group Kneebody, fans could have predicted another dose of indescribable idiosyncrasy on this, his newest full-length.

With beat/producing assistance from Daedelus and a host of others, Jhelli Beam winds through piano melodies, famous classical samples, synthesized dance grooves, and electronic hip hop.  And though the disc name drops everyone from Michael Richards to Idi Amin, Busdriver can be enjoyed without picking up one full sentence.

The Horse's Ha: Of the Cathmawr Yards (Hidden Agenda)

Layered over a mellow folk backdrop with country undertones, The Horse's Ha pairs the complementary vocals of James Elkington (The Zincs) with Janet Beveridge Bean (Freakwater).

The group also features the lofty talents of cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm (Vandermark 5), drummer Charles Rumback (Colorlist, Leaves), and bassist Nick Macri (Jeremy Enigk).  Though The Horse's Ha has been around since '02, this is its debut disc — a pretty, laidback affair that doesn't break any molds but will be enjoyed by those who dig the vocals.

The Horse's Ha: "The Piss Choir"
The Horse\'s Ha: \"The Piss Choir"

Stian Westerhus: Galore (The Last Record Co. / Rune Grammofon)

A presiding member of Jaga Jazzist, Monolithic, Puma, and a handful of other endeavors, Norwegian guitarist Stian Westerhus has expanded his scope and influence over the past decade in the Scandinavian Peninsula.

Limited to 500 copies, this vinyl-only release finds Westerhus partaking in noisy, effected meanderings. Experimental listeners and vinyl fanatics should be into this one.

The Quin Kirchner Group @ Heaven Gallery (Chicago)

This newly formed improvisational outfit features four young standouts in Chicago's jazz, rock, and electronic scenes.

The quartet's style is more accessible than the type of experimental/free jazz that one might imagine from an improvisational outfit; according to alto/soprano saxophonist Charles Gorczynski, the group's songs aim to sound more like compositions, using repeated melodies and apparent sections.

This makes sense in the context of the members' other groups: Gorcynzki's Colorlist, upright bassist Matt Ulery's Loom, and clarinetist / tenor saxophonist Elliot Bergman's NOMO, for which Kirchner also drums.

The night's other set belongs to the collaboration of bass clarinetist Jason Stein, pianist Jim Baker, and bassist Josh Abrams — a trio with its own esteemed members that should rely more on solos and less on conventional structure.

Blue Ribbon Glee Club, Grun-Tu-Molani, Leaves @ The Empty Bottle

Have you ever wondered how it would feel to hear Fugazi's "Waiting Room" sung a'cappella by 30-some people, with little more than a back beat to keep it going?

The Blue Ribbon Glee Club, a punk-inspired makeshift choir, tackles that and other independent and mainstream rock classics, including selections from Pixies, Dead Kennedys, the Clash, and David Bowie. The result is a rollicking good time.

Melodic, down-tempo jazz/rock quartet Leaves opens this show at the Empty Bottle. Leaves features a pair of regulars in Chicago's avant-garde music community, saxophonist Charles Gorczynski (Silences Sumire) and drummer Charles Rumback, both of whom participate in Colorlist, an ambient assortment of electronic and jazz influences.

Grun-Tu-Molani also performs, mixing slow brass instrumentation with synthesizers, distant guitar effects, and deceptively laid-back beats.

John Zorn: The Crucible (Tzadik)

The unstoppable Zorn returns with his Moonchild quartet, featuring the potent accompaniment of vocalist Mike Patton, bassist Trevor Dunn, and drummer Joey Baron. The lineup's last release, Six Litanies for Heliogabalus, centered on noisy anti-melodies and complex, thumping rhythms that laid a foundation for Patton's incoherent screams and shrieks as well as Zorn's squealing sax.

The Crucible adds melodic elements and some singing from Patton, and its sound draws parallels to the phenomenal songs of Carboniferous, the upcoming album from Zü, a long-running experimental free-jazz/metal group that now resides on Ipecac. Avant-garde guitarist and frequent Zorn collaborator Marc Ribot guests on a Led Zeppelin-influenced offering.

Last Step: 1961 (Planet Mu)

Aaron Funk doesn't needs a new pseudonym for this material; it's not horribly far from his frequent releases as Venetian Snares. But Last Step is supposed to be an anonymous moniker, and it does afford Funk the opportunity to get into dance material that remains as warped as his better-known songs. Most any fan of clubby IDM should enjoy 1961.

Last Step: "My Home Recordings"
Last Step: \"My Home Recordings\"

Impure Wilhelmina: Prayers and Arsons (Get a Life!)

Swiss metal quartet Impure Wilhelmina mixes elements of post-rock, hardcore, metal, and doom while also incorporating a pronounced pop sensibility. The seamless way that these contrasting sounds are pieced together gives songs like Prayers and Arsons' haunting opener "Continental Breed" and mood-shifting "The Rope" epic dimensions.

Charles Gorczynski: Oblivion and (sight) (self-released)

These two works by Chicago saxophonist and harmonium player Charles Gorczynski [Silences (Sumire), Colorlist] were posted on his website in November, and we wanted to honor them here because they had no official release. Currently, both are available to download for free at claritymusic.net.

Oblivion is a series of home recordings that weaves together electronics, acoustic instruments, and found sounds into a beautiful, lingering set of mini-collages. Its theme is inspired by David Foster Wallace, a noted author and professor that passed away in September. There is a similar theme to (sight), if only in its listed inspiration: "dreams and realities about loss." This second release is a synthesized experiment in long-form pieces, using looped ambient sounds to meditative effect.

Charles Gorczynski: "Oblivion"
Charles Gorczynski: \"Oblivion\"

Wu Fei: Yuan (Tzadik)

With an impressive list of collaborations in her still-young career, Chinese-American composer Wu Fei follows up her 2007 solo debut, A Distant Youth, with this unveiling on Tzadik. Having already caught the attention of John Zorn, Fred Frith, Carla Kihlstedt, and Ikue Mori, Fei's resume doesn't lack big names.

The pieces here are built around different ensembles, including some for solo piano, percussion, and guzheng, a traditional Chinese stringed instrument. Each is beautiful in its own manner, and
Fei's expressive sounds will soon make the rest of the modern compositional world take notice.

Wu Fei: "She Huo" (excerpt)
Wu Fei: \"She Huo\" (excerpt)

Colorlist: Photographs (Stilll / Off!)

Crossover multi-instrumentalists Charles Rumback (Leaves) and Charles Gorczynski (Silences Sumire) lead Colorlist, an ambient assortment of electronic and jazz influences.

Incorporating synthesizers, harmonium, saxophone, marimba, guitar, and drums to create a low-key textural soundscape, the group's recent release on Belgium's Stilll Records, Lists, now gets the remix treatment. Guest reconstructionists include Reminder (Josh Abrams of Town & Country), Mercury Effect, 3+, Gamial Trio, Fred Lonberg-Holm, and many more.

Colorlist: "Pteridophyta" (Reminder remix)
Colorlist: \"Pteridophyta\" (Reminder remix)

The (International) Noise Conspiracy: The Cross of My Calling (Vagrant)

Produced by Rick Rubin, The Cross of My Calling finds The (International) Noise Conspiracy reaching further into its bag of 1960s-style jam rock than ever before. Led by former Refused frontman and political vocalist Dennis Lyxzén, the group isn't treading any new ground, but its new album proves the band to be at its most complete and most talented.

The (International) Noise Conspiracy: "Assassination of Myself"
The (International) Noise Conspiracy: \"Assassination of Myself\"

John Zorn: Filmworks XXII: The Last Supper (Tzadik)

Why slow down? Tireless renaissance man John Zorn issues his fourth Filmworks soundtrack of the year, this time for a sci-fi art film named The Last Supper. Tzadik's website calls it "one of the strangest films Zorn has ever scored," so it must be out there. Zorn accompanies the film's futuristic imagery with pieces solely for voice and percussion.