Tennis: "Long Boat Pass"

Fiction is at the heart of pipe dreams. Rarely when we scheme something far-fetched or grandiose do we actually follow through in executing our plan, especially if it’s something as profound as selling all of our possessions and sailing across the map for about a year or so. But that is precisely what husband-and-wife duo Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore, the masterminds behind indie-pop outfit Tennis, did.

After graduating from college, the two philosophy majors sold their belongings and ventured away from Denver to embark on the unknown by means of a sailboat — a plan for which they prepared extensively. Navigating around North America, the couple then decided to document the experience, not through film or memoir, but through music. And thus Tennis was born.

From the get-go, Cape Dory, the couple’s debut effort on Fat Possum, gives you a glimpse of what its voyage must have been like. With 10 songs clocking in at less than 30 minutes, Riley and Moore’s feeling of staying put for too long in any one place is almost tangible. Once the album sets sail, it’s ready to move along without the need of staying anchored in any one spot. The songs, with titles like "South Carolina," "Baltimore," and "Bimini Bay," move along swiftly, as the band looks to cover the most ground (or water, rather) in the quickest amount of time.

You might think that seven months at sea would make way for a darker side — for lovelorn, seasick, lonesome ballads — but Tennis is content with showing the sunny side of things. Track after track, Cape Dory is packed full of quick, dreamy, pop-infused melodies, mixing elements of doo-wop and lo-fi indie pop together in a seemingly effortless manner. The band’s love-drenched, homemade, sunny pop songs are held together by stripped-down arrangements and soaring melodies. Cape Dory is riddled with hooks and harmonies, evoking catchy Walkmen-esque guitar riffs ("Take Me Somewhere," "Cape Dory") meshed with less raucous Best Coast poppiness ("Seafarer," "Long Boat Pass").

And, in keeping in step with its contemporaries, Tennis is quite content to go with the flow. Its carefree aura propels each song forward, swelling and rolling from one to the next, offering listeners a poignant charm and lightheartedness as the songs rise and fall between tempered punk pop and slowed-down sing-a-longs. Moreover, the descriptive writing in songs like "Marathon” helps to summon the winds and shorelines witnessed on the nautical voyage, while keeping the experience just beyond arms’ reach.

In a music scene wholly preoccupied with image and pretension, Tennis' come-what-may attitude offers a breath of fresh air. Cape Dory is a photo album for us to reference. The songs are good — plain and simple — and they capture a moment in time when the couple was full of promise, going wherever the hell it wanted and doing whatever the hell it wanted. Thankfully for us, the duo decided to document the experience in a lovely series of snapshots, exposed for all to see. If the refreshing Cape Dory is any indication of what lies beyond the band's horizon, it's should be smooth sailing from here.

Right now, somewhere in Europe, there’s a roomful of people crammed elbow to elbow in a sweaty pub, watching a man in a leather jumpsuit and mirrored motorcycle helmet play a kick drum and finger-picked archtop guitar at breakneck speed with all the sweaty brimstone frenzy of a preacher at a big-tent revival. Before he’s done, he’ll undoubtedly invite an open-minded female fan up on stage to mix his scotch with her breast, making “Boob Scotch,” the performer’s favorite drink. Crowd permitting, he just might play while being passed around the room in a rubber life raft.

For Bob Log III, it’s just another night doing what he does. For the last 13 years, he’s been knocking out fucked-up, floor-stomping rhythms for adventurous show-goers, looking like a lanky, greased-up, hillbilly Darth Vader and playing with the furor of a backwater amalgam of Hasil Adkins and Animal from The Muppet Show.

When faced with the “Log Bomb” for the first time, you’re not entirely sure if he’s going to stay on stage and keep playing or race to the back of the room, lock the doors, and burn the building down with everyone inside it. And logic would dictate that any man who sells panties and reclaimed thrift-store suit jackets with his helmeted face silk-screened on them is certainly opening himself to such well-deserved scrutiny. The remarkable thing is that Log somehow manages to make all this lunacy seem like second nature without so much as a whiff of winking hipster irony. Log ably straddles the fine line between a great sense of humor and clinical insanity.

“I do what I do because that’s what I do,” Log says from his current home in Australia. “It’s that simple.” When he says that, he says it with the conviction of someone who’s never so much as thought of doing something else. Hearing it from him directly, you have to believe it, because coming from Bob Log, it’s not so much a feeling as it is a fact. He could just as easily have said “fire is hot,” and it would’ve been said with the same conviction.

For years, rumors circulated about who Bob Log III was in the first place. A guy appearing seemingly out of nowhere, playing crazy blues riffs over a drum machine while shouting garbled lyrics into a telephone receiver fastened to a motorcycle helmet will have that effect. People said that he actually was Andy Kaufmann or Frank Zappa. People said that he had escaped from an insane asylum. But the fact is that his name actually was Bob Log III, and he’d been right there in front of them all along.
 

“While playing solo, I won a trophy in Japan for being the ‘Strangest Band in Tokyo.’  In Japan, that’s saying something, ’cause they got a lot of strange stuff.”

Throughout the mid-’90s, Log was playing insane guitar riffs (sans jumpsuit and helmet) in Doo Rag, the Tucson, Arizona-based two-headed spastic blues-punk beast that he manned with drummer Thermos Malling (who played a constantly rotating pile of meticulously selected garbage). Together, they toured the world, made two full-length records, and garnered an international fan base. After they went their separate ways, Bob Log suited up and went solo. In lieu of a drummer, he started lugging around a homemade kick drum and a drum machine (with hand-clap presets) and set them to a frenzied double-time pace, writing songs about partying, women, and all sorts of fun general nonsense.

“While playing solo, I won a trophy in Japan for being the ‘Strangest Band in Tokyo,’” he says. “In Japan, that’s saying something, ’cause they got a lot of strange stuff.”

And all shtick aside, Log’s a wicked guitar player and can crank out a hailstorm of spastic chicken-clucking riffs. His music is rooted in blues, the focus of his three previous albums for the revered underground blues label Fat Possum. But the fact is that there’s nothing “blue” about his music. Rather, it is thoroughly jacked, upbeat party music for the freak set.

“People tell me, ‘Bob Log, everything you play sounds the same,’” he comments. “I say, ‘Of course it does, because that’s the kind of music I play. You wouldn’t go see a pole vaulter and expect him to bake a muffin. You expect him to pole vault, because that’s what he does.’”

Yet after his 2003 album Log Bomb, there was six years of silence. Thankfully, Bob Log III has now returned with My Shit is Perfect, released this spring on Birdman Records.

“When I went back and listened to this new album, I said, ‘My shit sounds perfect,’” he says. “So I called it My Shit is Perfect.”

True to form, My Shit is Perfect is quintessential Bob Log with elements of crazy stop-start timing, lighting-fast picking, and mostly incomprehensible lyrics, illustrating the sound that he has been perfecting on his own terms since his days in Doo Rag. For this go-round, he’s just had more time to practice.

“I don’t ever sit down and decide ‘I’m going to make a record,’” Log explains. “I write new songs all the time, but some of them are terrible. So I just collect the ones I like until I have enough of them to make an album. Every track I ended up with on this record is the perfect version of what I’ve wanted to do all along. I should get a trophy for this record…and a cake.”

Frantic acoustic number “Mr. Sis Boom Bah” would only sound better emanating from a Bob Log-filled rubber raft being passed overhead. “It’s The Law” represents the most genuinely blues-based and most coherent track that the Log Bomb has ever laid to tape. And Log’s particular insanity is at its purest in the exhaustingly titled “Bump Pow! Bump Bump Bump Pow! Bump Pow! Bump Bump Bump Baby! Bump Pow! Bump Bump Bump Pow! Bump Pow! Bump Bump Bump.”

“I played that track for my two-year-old daughter, and she went fucking nuts,” he says. “Then I was at the house of a show promoter in Spain. He put it on, and his two four-year-olds went totally fucking nuts and broke a lamp. That’s what this music does. It makes people go fucking nuts — but hopefully not break lamps.”

Listening to a new Bob Log III record is a lot like buying a program at the circus to remember all the crazy shit that you saw while you were there. The “live” Bob Log and the Bob Log on record are two completely inseparable elements to one nonsensical whole. And on Bob Log’s terms, this shit is perfect. You can’t ask for a higher endorsement than that.

“This stuff isn’t too complicated,” he says. “It makes people jump around and smile. Any place with a room full of people drinking beer and two outlets for me to plug in, that’s my audience. I found something I love, I’m sticking with it, and it’s fucking perfect.”

As usual, ALARM leaves no genre unexplored in our list of this year's overlooked gems.

Sigh: Scenes from Hell (The End, 1/19/10)

Sigh: "The Summer Funeral"

With a history of fusing other revered genres to a doomy combination of black metal and thrash, Japan's Sigh used 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.

RJD2: The Colossus (RJ’s Electrical Connections, 1/19/10)

RJD2: "Games You Can Win"

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

Chicago Underground Duo: Boca Negra (Thrill Jockey, 1/26/10)

Chicago Underground Duo: "Spy on the Floor"

For 15 years, the Chicago Underground Duo (and Trio, Quartet, and Orchestra) has been an avant-garde jazz outlet for prolific Chicago musicians Rob Mazurek (Exploding Star Orchestra, Isotope 217) and Chad Taylor.  Boca Negra is an interesting dichotomy, as spiraling vociferation leads to upbeat grooves, shifting piano chords, harmonic electronics, and ambient samples.

Algernon: Ghost Surveillance (Cuneiform, 1/26/10)

Algernon: "Broken Lady"

The brainchild of guitarist Dave Miller, Algernon walks a thin line between melodically driven post-rock and instrumental unconventionality.  Ghost Surveillance places greater emphasis on synthesizers and sprawling song structures, but at its core is the combination of accessibility and technicality that has defined Miller's style. Noisy, circular rock riffs transform to tranquil, wandering passages. "Timekiller," the album's fourth track, is a beautiful, buoyant number — and one of the band's best creations to date.

Bei Bei & Shawn Lee: Into the Wind (Ubiquity, 1/26/10)

Bei Bei & Shawn Lee: "East"

In the hands of a marvel, the guzheng — a gorgeous Chinese zither — resonates with tactile beauty as its many strings are plucked with precision.

Bei Bei, a native of Chengdu, China, is one such musical technician. And this collaboration with Shawn Lee, a prolific producer who can man as many genres as he sees fit, is undoubtedly one of the year's finest albums.  Together, the two use Into the Wind to navigate through funky down-tempo jams, Kung-Fu flavor, hip hop, soul, and driving grooves.

Daníel Bjarnason: Processions (Bedroom Community, 2/1/10)

Daníel Bjarnason: "Bow to String I: Sorrow Conquers Happiness"

Best known as a conductor and arranger for indie groups such as Sigur Rós, composer Daníel Bjarnason also holds a lofty classical résumé. Processions, his proper debut, is, at many points, a challenging classical work.  Powerful cellos scale and race with crackling percussions before settling into gently bowed and pizzicato string accompaniments; easily half a dozen strings battle for dominance in a sorrowful, harmonic piece that resonates long after hearing it.  Undoubtedly, Processions is a daring and original debut.

Shining: Blackjazz (Indie Recordings / Distribution, 2/2/10)

Shining: "Fisheye"

Beginning as an experimental acoustic jazz ensemble, Norway's Shining — the brainchild of saxophonist Jørgen Munkeby — transformed to a progressive jazz-fusion outfit before delving into its darker side for a collaboration with black-metallists Enslaved.

Blackjazz pushes deeper into the band's dark recesses, forging a progressive industrial sound for the young century.  Big, complex rock riffs, twisted through gnarly distortion, form the foundation and support a mass of frantic, whirring synth lines and gut-wrenching black-metal screams.  In all, Blackjazz is a new epic — and perhaps the best metal album of 2010.

Pillars and Tongues: Lay of Pilgrim Park, LP + download (Endless Nest, 2/9/10)

Pillars and Tongues: "The Center of"

With just three members, Pillars and Tongues manages to craft powerful folk abstractions and interwoven, trance-inducing vocal dynamics. Both composed and improvisational, these shifting forms evoke spiritual vibes in their soulful essence, heavenly harmonies, and repeated patterns.

Dessa: A Badly Broken Code (Doomtree, 2/9/10)

Dessa: "Dixon's Girl"

The only female member of Minneapolis hip-hop collective Doomtree, Dessa is a spoken-word vocalist, singer, and MC whose awaited full-length was finally released earlier this year.

On A Badly Broken Code, her true solo debut, Dessa's vocal diversity is matched by its underlying music, ranging from hard-hitting beats and rhymes to lilting harmonic overdubs.

The Bastard Noise / The Endless Blockade: The Red List (20 Buck Spin, 2/16/10)

The Bastard Noise: "Mutant World of Shame / Underworld"

A spinoff of treasured "power-violence" hardcore group Man is the Bastard, The Bastard Noise is approaching its 20th anniversary of creating noisy electro-doom brutality.  For this split release with hardcore/punk experimentalists The Endless Blockade, the group utilizes the trademark drum-and-bass style of Man is the Bastard in combination with its far-out sounds.  The Endless Blockade contributes three tracks to the release — one 14-minute epic and two avant-garde remixes.

Freeway & Jake One: The Stimulus Package (Rhymesayers, 2/16/10)

Freeway & Jake One: "Know What I Mean"

Continuing his life after Roc-A-Fella Records, former freestyle star Freeway now makes his debut on Rhymesayers, a fitting new home — if only temporary before a move to Cash Money.  Fellow Rhymesayers standout Jake One provides a funky, malleable backdrop for Freeway's fiery delivery and lyrics that are alternately personal and light in content. And though Freeway deserves his accolades, Jake One's production is the MVP of this collaboration.

Carolina Chocolate Drops: Genuine Negro Jig (Nonesuch, 2/16/10)

Carolina Chocolate Drops: "Hit 'Em Up Style" (Blu Cantrell)

Beholden to the traditions of Americana and early African-American folk, the string trio Carolina Chocolate Drops continues blurring the lines of old and new. On Genuine Negro Jig, the group's fifth album, a few original numbers and a trove of traditionals take root in banjo, fiddle, and percussion. Three-part harmonies shimmer on the famous folk tune "Trouble in Your Mind," and simplicity shines on gripping renditions of "Why Don't You Do Right?" by Kansas Joe McCoy and "Trampled Rose" by Tom Waits.  Most surprisingly, Genuine Negro Jig includes an enjoyable rendition of "Hit 'Em Up Style," an unintentionally farcical pop hit by Blu Cantrell.

Mako Sica: Dual Horizon LP (La Société Expéditionnaire, 2/16/10)

Mako Sica: "I'Itoi"

A translation of the phrase "land bad," Mako Sica has more than a nominal Native American influence; the trio's distant vocal reverberations and dirge-inspired tunes recall the spirituality of America's original inhabitants.

Between the vocalizations of Brent Fuscaldo, the melodies of guitarist Przemyslaw Krys Drazek, and the rhythms of drummer Michael J. Kendrick, Mako Sica maintains a strong balance of abilities — with a brooding combination of jangly guitars, reverberated vociferation, and instrumental dynamics.

High on Fire: Snakes for the Divine (E1 Music, 2/23/10)

High on Fire: "Snakes for the Divine"

Stoner-metal trio High on Fire has built a devoted following over the past dozen years as fans fell in love with Matt Pike's gruff vocals and thunderous guitar riffs. On Snakes for the Divine, Pike uses his throat to channel Lemmy Kilmister; meanwhile, the band has picked up its pace and crafted an album that isn’t as outstretched. Hard-hitting riffery leads an effort that, though diverse at times, may be the band’s most driving release.

Jaga Jazzist: One-Armed Bandit (Ninja Tune, 2/23/10)

Jaga Jazzist: "One-Armed Bandit"

Five years have passed since we've heard the powerhouse melodies of Norway's Jaga Jazzist, the post-rock/"nü-jazz" conception of brothers Lars and Martin Horntveth.

One-Armed Bandit, immediately the group's best album, resembles symphonic prog rock, arguably a few steps removed from parts of Frank Zappa's expansive catalog and closer to countryman Jono El Grande's diverse and theatrical style.  This album, however, is much more cohesive than either of those comparisons suggest, and at times it is nearly overwhelming with grooves and harmonious refrains.

Rob Swift: The Architect (Ipecac, 2/23/10)

Rob Swift: "The Architect"

Turntablist/DJ Robert Aguilar, formerly of the X-ecutioners, has long utilized his love of jazz, R&B, and other musical movements to create compelling hip-hop instrumentals while displaying his tight beat-juggling skills.

The Architect is Swift’s foray into the classical world. In addition to a multitude of sampled styles and sounds, classical cuts comprise a substantial chunk of this Ipecac debut. Rearranged strings, organ, and horns often make the foundation of a given track, occasionally evoking high-tension Italian Westerns, as Swift’s scratches dance atop banging beats.

Rotting Christ: Aealo (Season of Mist, 2/23/10)

Rotting Christ: "Aealo"

For more than 20 years, Athens' Rotting Christ has traversed different directions on the metal path.  With its previous release, Theogonia, the group released a striking, original album that fused its dark sound to the ethnic sounds of its ancestors.

Like its predecessor, Aealo features female Benedictine chants, lingual pipes, and a medieval feel. Combined with dueling high-pitched harmonies and powerful guitar work, these new elements highlight an album that should be among the most original metal releases of the year.

Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté: Ali and Toumani (Nonesuch, 2/23/10)

Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté: "Ruby"

As two of Africa's most internationally renowned musicians, guitar legend Ali Farka Touré and kora phenom Toumani Diabaté have displayed impeccable abilities while integrating the styles of other cultures into their ethnic sounds.

Each Malian, the two collaborated for the acclaimed In the Heart of the Moon in 2005, shortly before Farka Touré's passing in 2006. Fortunately, the two set aside time to record new material before touring for In the Heart of the Moon, and the result is another beautiful set of duets that sees a posthumous release.

Throughout Ali and Toumani, Farka Touré roots each creation in melodious African-blues pieces. Diabaté's virtuosity accents each track in the form of fanciful scales, which at times evoke classical harpsichord passages, perhaps most notably on "Sabu Yerkoy."

Fang Island: s/t (Sargent House, 2/23/10)

Fang Island: "Sideswiper"

Mostly comprised of ex-Daughters, the good-time rock quintet Fang Island was one of the most quickly ascending bands of 2010, jumping onto tours with The Flaming Lips and Stone Temple Pilots following the release of its first full-length album.

The self-titled release is chock full of palm-muted and speed-infused indie-prog anthems, with über-layered vocal harmonies to go with a triple-thick guitar assault and distorted-bass bludgeoning.  It's one of those rare releases that feels absolutely radiant and thrashing at the same time.

B. Dolan: Fallen House, Sunken City (Strange Famous, 3/2/10)

B. Dolan: "The Reptilian Agenda"

Going way back with Sage Francis, rapper B. Dolan is a like-minded MC and slam poet whose style isn't terribly dissimilar to that of his long-time friend. Fallen House, Sunken City is Dolan's second full-length for Strange Famous, and it's full of the sociopolitical themes (if often in quick blasts or asides) and contentious delivery for which he's known.

In addition to some seemingly personal lyrics, Dolan takes passing shots at big business, taxation, the pharmaceutical industry, the concept of ownership of natural resources, the Israeli razing of Palestinian developments, and, among many other things, the so-called New World Order — dropping clips of Dick Cheney and George H.W. Bush in "The Reptilian Agenda."  On top of Dolan's socially conscious rhymes, A-list production by Alias makes this one of the year's top hip-hop releases.

Archie Bronson Outfit: Coconut (Domino, 3/2/10)

Archie Bronson Outfit: "Shark's Tooth"
Archie Bronson Outfit: "Shark's Tooth"

With its warbled vocals and driving percussion, British psych-rock trio Archie Bronson Outfit is like a more adventurous Wolf Parade — as comfortable burning up the dance floor with clean, bouncy riffs as it is turning up the reverb and rocking in a garage.

Coconut is the band's first LP in nearly four years, and it kicks off with a crunchy, swirling guitar line and a hypnotic bongo-laden beat. Produced by DFA's Tim Goldsworthy, Coconut gets spaced-out and drone-like at times, but it always offers a hint of pop accessibility amidst the static and haze.

Download the podcast for This Week's Best Albums: October 26, 2010 and subscribe to This Week's Best Albums for free with iTunes.

The Octopus Project: Hexadecagon (Peek-A-Boo)

The Octopus Project: "Fuguefat"

Over the past decade, Austin's The Octopus Project has built a solid portfolio of electronics-infused post- and indie rock, with each of its four multi-instrumentalists (the eight arms of the octopus) contributing in different ways for each song.

The best way to experience the band, however, has been in a live setting, where the looping and instrument switching is most evident and appreciated. And Hexadecagon, the band's fourth full-length, has taken that live appreciation to a new level. It's not an album but rather a multi-sensory audio-visual experience, with eight-channel audio to accompany eight synchronized video projections of kaleidoscopic video montages.

The foursome debuted the new live show at this year's SXSW and has since taken it on the road, but even if you couldn't catch the tour, the Hexadecagon album shouldn't be missed.  The repetitious polyrhythms and dense layers of minimalist composers Terry Riley and Steve Reich were major influences on this material, and those elements mesh excellently with the band's rock grooves, making something distinct and new that works without the intended visuals.

Whether or not you've heard the band's old material, this is a fine place to start.  Hexadecagon is The Octopus Project's best and most ambitious effort yet.

Dååth: s/t (Century Media)

Dååth: "Indestructible Overdose"

Now on its fourth full-length album (and third in the past three-and-a-half years), Atlanta's Dååth came to prominence with a balanced blend of thrash and death metal with progressive elements.  Original member and keyboardist Mike Kameron departed before the band's 2009 album The Concealers, and many of the band's synthesizer accompaniments and melodic guitars were reduced to brief intros or interludes.

Following that change, Dååth is the band's most thoroughly metal album, leaning on the dueling riffs of guitarists Eyal Levi and Emil Werstler.  It's furious and intricate, and despite a few Meshuggah-style complexities, nothing is too technical for mainstream metal enthusiasts.

Watching where Dååth goes from here will be even more interesting, whether it's further into extreme metal or augmenting its style with new instruments or genres.  Either route figures to be well executed.

Kylesa: Spiral Shadow (Season of Mist)

Kylesa: "Tired Climb"

Savannah sludge-rock quintet Kylesa has garnered a respectable following by combining its core genre with a touch of Southern psych rock and a three-pronged vocal attack.  In 2006, the group added a second drummer/percussionist, bulking up the rhythm section and ratcheting up its live intensity.

Spiral Shadow is Kylesa's fifth studio album and first on Season of Mist.  It follows the same basic guidelines as its predecessors, but it's a little more melodic and structured like a rock record.  Long-time fans will pick up the nuanced differences, but regardless, any psych-metal listeners who enjoy straightforward riffs and songwriting should dig Spiral Shadow.

Andrew Bird: Useless Creatures (Fat Possum)

Andrew Bird: "Hot Math"

At the start of 2009, indie-folk darling Andrew Bird released his eighth studio album, Noble Beast, to the usual buzz and fanfare.  Though it didn't recapture the standout form of his 2005 album, Andrew Bird & The Mysterious Production of Eggs, it was another sound mix of classically informed pop songs.

The most interesting aspect of Noble Beast, in fact, was that the deluxe edition came with a second album of new material.  That collection of songs was dubbed Useless Creatures, which now gets a separate release via Fat Possum and a chance for more casual fans to hear it.  (Useless Creatures also was available on Bird's website for a stretch.)

The nine tracks are almost entirely instrumental, with Bird's vocals appearing just as another instrument or flavor.  The tunes are longer too, and either have semi-regimented forms or float in and out of with calculated ambience.

The music is much heavier on classical melody as well, reflecting his degree in violin performance and very early solo material.  It's nice to again hear this side of Bird, who has come a long way from his early swing- and Gypsy-jazz-influenced style.  It would be ideal to hear more pieces like those of Useless Creatures spread among his usual albums.

Honorables Mentions

Avey Tare: Down There (Paw Tracks)

Bot'Ox: Babylon by Car (I'm a Cliché)

Juliette Commagere: The Procession (Manimal Vinyl)

Cough: Ritual Abuse (Relapse)

Herculaneum: Olives and Orchids (EF)

Melechesh: Epigenesis (Nuclear Blast)

Alan Moore: Unearthing (Lex)

El-P: Weareallgoingtoburninhellmegamixxx3 (Gold Dust)

It's almost strange to think of Jaime Meline as a solo artist, but his bitter rap intonations, sci-fi rhymes, and dark hip-hop productions as El-P have become as beloved as his work for others.

Meline may still be best known for fronting Company Flow, heading Def Jux Records, and producing Mr. Lif, Aesop Rock, Cannibal Ox, Nine Inch Nails, and other big names.  But his last (and essentially sophomore) full-length solo album, I'll Sleep When You're Dead, garnered more acclaim and proved that El-P offers something that few others do.

This collection is his third "mega mixxx," but unlike the first two that were released at shows, Mixxx3 is a different beast — a collection of full-length and vignette-length instrumentals, with a pair of remixes of Kidz in the Hall and Young Jeezy.

El-P has cited J. Dilla's Donuts as an inspiration, noting, "I didn't want anyone to listen to this record and at any point get bored."  Mixxx3 is being treated as something of an official release while he works on his followup to I'll Sleep When You're Dead, and it works on its own.

Naturally, it doesn't feel as complete his next rap-filled album likely will, but many of the same elements carry Mixxx3 — from dirty synth leads to ominous effects and big beats.  Seeing that it's been nearly three and a half years since I'll Sleep…, this is a welcome treat to tide us over.

El-P: "Meanstreak (in 3 Parts)"
el-p_meanstreak

Autolux: Transit Transit (TBD)

After a noteworthy debut six years ago on a major-label subsidiary, LA's Autolux was on the precipice of a promising pop career.  Touring with Nine Inch Nails and Secret Machines, playing All Tomorrow's Parties, and late-night TV appearances all followed, and the future was bright.

But slow-developing new material and record-label legalities got in the way, and now Transit Transit finally sees the light of day on TBD.  Saby Reyes-Kulkarni documented the story on alarmpress.com a few months ago, describing a band that  "shuttles seamlessly between space rock, psychedelia, and shoegaze and developed a penchant for honing effects-borne noise into pop hooks."

Transit Transit expands the eclectic pop sounds of Future Perfect, the debut — combining soft vocal and forthright melodies with unorthodox arrangements and noisy effects.  It calls upon dissonance and harmony, not only contrasting the two but often combining them.  Listeners who forgot about Autolux or are just discovering the group will find something to enjoy on Transit Transit.

Autolux: "Audience No. 2"
audience_no_2

Horseback: The Invisible Mountain (Relapse)

As the one-man operation behind Horseback, multi-instrumentalist Jenks Miller channels equal parts shoegaze, stoner rock, and black metal to create dark, hypnotic rock jams.

On The Invisible Mountain, Horseback's second official full-length, each song eclipses six or seven minutes and is built around the same part, subtly building and layering over lengthy passages.  Slow, moderately fuzzy riffs lay beneath clean guitar accents, keyboards, and other complements, all as Miller rasps evil, low-volume vocals that sound like a black-metal David Yow on downers.

Extra layers phase in and out, and slowly meandering guitar lines provide an appreciated foreground fix. Hitting 38 minutes with only four songs — thanks to a beautiful and eerie 16-minute closer — The Invisible Mountain will be a stoner's new best friend.

Horseback: "The Invisible Mountain"
Horseback: "The Invisible Mountain"

Vox Arcana: Aerial Age (Allos Musica)

Veterans of Chicago's jazz and improv scenes will quickly recognize the members of Vox Arcana, a trio that combines the best elements of each into a wild whole.

The group's second recording features more quirky, circular cadences from clarinetist James Falzone, noisy improvisations and low-end rooting from cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, and amorphous drumming from percussionist Tim Daisy.  Daisy, the multi-talented bandleader, switches between faint brush strokes, quick-twitching snare hits, and oddly timed marimba melodies.

Like a good deal of Falzone's catalog, Aerial Age falls under the broader "chamber" umbrella, but its alternating improvisation and strict, rapid-fire progressions put it in a category all its own.  Some of the best moments are when Falzone and Lonberg-Holm's parts are wound together tightly, such as on the quickly prancing 7/4 refrain of "The Number 7."  Lonberg-Holm's contributions can be the noisiest, but at other times, he takes a more restrained role, playing the trad-jazz walking bass line.

Aerial Age isn't for minimalists or jazz purists, but fans of intricate scripting and wild improvisation will love it.

Vox Arcana: "The Silver Fence"
Vox Arcana: \"The Silver Fence\"

Dax Riggs: Say Goodnight to the World (Fat Possum)

Though Say Goodnight to the World is only his second "official" full-length album, Dax Riggs has been delivering powerful, blues-infused rock balladry for a decade.

Following his time crooning and screaming in Southern metal quintet Acid Bath, Riggs led Agents of Oblivion and Deadboy & The Elephantmen before operating under his own name.  His first such album, We Sing of Only Blood or Love, was eye-opening if considered a debut — but those familiar with Riggs' work weren't surprised by its forceful charm.

Say Goodnight to the World doesn't quite have a standout like "Night is the Notion" from We Sing…, but it reflects a more integrated approach to songwriting, with tracks that aren't as rigid in their structure.  A slow, intoxicating rendition of Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" — more in tune with the suicide-inspired tune written by Tommy Durden and Mae Boren Axton — is just one of many highlights.

Dax Riggs: "Say Goodnight to the World"
Dax Riggs: \"Say Goodnight to the World\"

Honorable Mentions

Arcade Fire: The Suburbs (Merge)

Four Tet: Angel Echoes Remixes 12" (Domino)

JJ: JJ No. 2 (Secretly Canadian)

Loden: Buggy (Mush)

Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band: Where the Messengers Meet (Dead Oceans)

Versus: On the Ones and Threes (Merge)

Heavy Trash: Midnight Soul Serenade (Fat Possum)

As Jon Spencer and Matt Verta-Ray unleash their third disc of old-school roots rock and rockabilly as Heavy Trash, the duo collaborates with a bona fide cast of contributors to create some of its finest tunes on a disc that expands its repertoire.

Accompanying organ is spread throughout Midnight Soul Serenade, an album that also contains splashes of piano on "Gee, I Really Love You," vocal gentleness and female vocal backings on "Good Man," vocal eccentricities on "Bumble Bee," Southwestern guitar and baritone harmonies on "Pimento," and low tones and acid flair on "The Pill," a tune evocative of Twin Peaks that tells its own psychedelic tale.

Top-end players Simon Chardiet, Sam Baker, Powersolo, Mickey Finn, Daniel Collas, and Those Darlins lend their good graces. If this kind of music piques your interest, pick this up.

Themselves: CrownsDown (Anticon)

After six years of silence (spent on countless other projects, many with each other), no-nonsense rap duo Themselves — Adam "Doseone" Drucker and Jeffrey "Jel" Logan — returned with a free "mixtape" earlier this year. Now the two have released their proper third album, CrownsDown, a sample-driven album that is both experimental and traditional.

The gritty, nasally intonation and rapid-fire delivery of Jel are slathered up and down the disc, which is based on hip-hop and dance beats and patchwork samples. Subtle founder Dax Pierson and 13 & God bandmates Jordan Dalrymple and Markus Acher make cameos.

Minamo: Kuroi Kawa: Black River (Tzadik)

Avant-violinist extraordinaire Carla Kihlstedt (Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, 2 Foot Yard, The Book of Knots) and prolific classical pianist Satoko Fujii (Satoko Fujii Orchestra) spend much of their time on the outskirts of musical convention, combining their desired genres in whichever ways that they see fit.

Here the two create two worlds on two discs: one of dutifully recorded compositions and one of live, stream-of-conscious improvisations. Fans of experimental chamber music should dig this.

Honorable mentions:

Dave Douglas: A Single Sky (Greenleaf)
Jesu: Opiate Sun (Caldo Verde)
Mike Reed’s People, Places & Things: About Us (482 Music)
Jessica Pavone: Songs of Synastry & Solitude (Tzadik)
Pyramids with Nadja: s/t (Hydra Head)
Rupa & The April Fishes: Este Mundo (Cumbancha)
The Squirrel Nut Zippers: Lost at Sea
John Zorn: Femina (Tzadik)

The Jesus Lizard

With its first performances since 1999, pummeling mid-tempo rock icons The Jesus Lizard will briefly reunite to play at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in Minehead, UK in May of 2009. The group's original lineup will be present and play a short series of additional dates that culminates in Chicago next November.

Idiosyncratic rapper Busdriver performs live with a jazz-crossover band called Kneebody tonight in Los Angeles. Pigeon John also performs and tickets are only $10, so don't miss it!

Instrumental violin-centered trio Dirty Three will perform its beautiful fan-favorite album Ocean Songs at All Tomorrow's Parties in New York in 2009.

Comprised of vocalist J. Bannon (Converge), Dwid Hellion (Integrity), and Stephen Kasner (Blood Fountains), Irons is billed as an artistic, nonlinear expression of melancholy through electronics, guitars, and vocals. The trio has announced the impending release of a split 12" with Pulling Teeth.

Minimalist folk group Phosphorescent has recorded a full-length covers collection of Willie Nelson tunes titled To Willie. The group will tour this winter and spring.

One-man grind project Toxic Holocaust will assemble in band form for January tour dates with 3 Inches of Blood and Early Man. Currently, Toxic Holocaust is touring with GWAR.

Andrew Bird's deluxe edition of Noble Beast, due out on January 20, is available to pre-order through Fat Possum Records. The deluxe edition includes a second disc, Useless Creatures, that includes new instrumental works.

Rhymesayers has posted the video for "The Truth," the single from Jake One's great new album, White Van Music, that features Freeway and Brother Ali.

Beginning today, you can download the Christmas single "Beam Mig Op, Jesus" by Danish rockabilly weirdos Powersolo via iTunes or Clicktrack.

Groove trio Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey is playing a New Year's Eve show in Tulsa in which the featured performers play the tunes of Prince, Lionel Richie, and Michael Jackson. Get down.