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.

Integrity: The Blackest Curse (Deathwish Inc., 6/8/10)

Integrity: "Simulacra"

Morrow: Our pick this week is already pretty old, but it's so packed with hellacious riffs, thunderous beats, and browbeating screams that it warranted revisiting.  I'm speaking, naturally, of The Blackest Curse by Integrity, one of the year's most wailing and harrowing metal-core albums.

The Blackest Curse was released back in June, and it's the band's first full album since 2003.  As usual, vocalist Dwid Hellion is his full-throated single-note self, but the music's quality and intensity are at their peak here, with dive-bombing guitar squeals over blazing speed riffs and chugging breakdowns.

Hajduch: When this promo showed up, I didn't think that I could possibly care less.  I care about maybe three hardcore bands, and metal-core is a cesspool.  However, I remembered that their 1996 Victory release, Humanity is the Devil, was pretty much the only thing Victory released when I was in high school that was actually truly menacing (instead of a bunch of asinine bandanna posturing), so I was willing to give it a try.

And I'm glad that I did, because this record smokes.  It's thrash-y and fast and has breakdown moments and blackened moments, but it doesn't really pledge allegiance to anything specific, just a general notion of heaviness.  This is a really fucking good album.  If you like metal (especially if you like Slayer), you will like this album.  It's pretty much that simple.

The vocals never change; they don't even go up or down in the mix, really.  It is one note, endlessly: you being yelled at by a drill sergeant in hell.  This could be seen as a drawback, but it seems fitting.

Morrow: I would add that the drill sergeant seems to have had a pretty bad day, perhaps burning his tongue on his decaf mocha while getting one of those camera-activated red-light tickets.

In seriousness, though, it had been a long time since I'd heard Integrity as well, and I was taken back by just how much The Blackest Curse is a relentless riff assault.  Even the few sullen moments — acoustic-guitar melodies with a few lone cello notes — are surprisingly effective.  I have a feeling that you might see this on ALARM's year-end list.

Trentemøller: Into the Great Wide Yonder (In My Room)

Anders Trentemøller has built his name in the Danish electronic scene since 2003. After remixing some high-profile artists (Röyksopp, The Knife, Robyn, and Moby to name a few), he decided to expand his production talents to a full-length album.

The year 2006 saw the release of The Last Resort, an ambitious double-disc collection that showed off his ability to split the difference between headphone-friendly grooves and dance-floor burners.

His new album, Into the Great Wide Yonder, is a dramatic departure from his previous work. The songs are more complex and heavier, with layer upon layer of robust orchestration that includes mandolins, Theremins, vibraphones, strings, synths, and acoustic and electronic drums playing a game of king of the hill.

But those instruments, most of which are performed by Trentemøller, fall to the wayside when confronted by the tremolo-swollen and overdriven guitar riffs. The guitar work, again performed by Trentemøller, sounds like surf rock during a hurricane, dark and immensely powerful, with the shudder of the whammy bar sending trembles through the music.

Tracks grow and mutate in a much less sequenced manner than his previous material. Additionally, the album is much more vocal-centric than The Last Resort, which featured a few distorted and chopped vocal tracks and used them more rhythmically than melodically.

On “Sycamore Feeling,” the new album’s first single, Trentemøller lets guest vocalist Marie Fisker’s smoky voice run free across his placid guitar strumming. The track marries the heartbeat of minimal techno with the meditations of an acoustic guitarist, creating a full band sound that hasn’t been heard in his music before.

English singer Fyfe Dangerfield (Guillemots) and Danish singers Josephine Philip (Darkness Falls) and Solveig Sandnes also add enrapturing vocals on a few other tracks, and the result is no less stunning.

Trentemøller: "The Mash and the Fury"
Trentemoller: \"The Mash and the Fury\"

Trash Talk: Eyes & Nines (Trash Talk Collective)

With its sophomore "full-length" album — just more than 22 minutes — Sacramento quartet Trash Talk has come into its own as a hardcore powerhouse.

An assailing 2008 full-length, recorded by Steve Albini, put the band on the map after jumping ship from Deathwish Inc. And though that self-titled disc churned out potent thrash riffs, push beats, gruff vocals, breakdowns, and the occasional sludge part, Eyes & Nines is a much stronger exercise in songwriting.

Stoner riffs make a few appearances, most notably in the four-minute, Christianity-assailing "Hash Wednesday," but most durations are cut in the classic punk/HC mold — with one track ("I Do") clocking in at 40 seconds. Over a few passages, guitar effects provide a new-found psychedelic aspect as well as a full-blown rock-and-roll aesthetic.

The style isn't groundbreaking, but the band executes it powerfully. Trash Talk will make you fall in love with hardcore all over again.

Trash Talk: "Explode"
Trash Talk: \"Explode\"

The Waitiki 7: New Sounds of Exotica (Pass Out)

As an offshoot of lounge music, exotica gained mainstream appeal in the 1950s as a romanticized soundtrack to Hawaiian and Oceanic life.

Though devoid of the ukuleles and slack-key guitars that may be most commonly associated with Hawaiian music, The Waitiki 7 — based on the island of Oahu — excel in capturing the "exotic" sounds that Martin Denny helped popularize.

The septet's gorgeous melodies, however, do more than renew a bygone genre. Its radiant brand of exotica crosses into Latin jazz with just as much poise and dexterity, often melding the two with a lineup of vibraphone and xylophone, upright bass, flute, piano, violin, saxophone, vocal and bird calls, drums, and assorted percussion.

The Waitiki 7: "Similau"
The Waitiki 7: \"Similau\"

Integrity: The Blackest Curse (Deathwish Inc.)

Integrity is one of the forebears of the "metal-core" sub-genre, but the band's sound might be best recognized for its vocals — the hellish, pained screams of Dwid Hellion.

And Dwid, after all, has been the one fixed piece in Integrity, which hadn't issued a full album since To Die For in 2003. Five years in the making, The Blackest Curse is another return to form, albeit with another new lineup.

As usual, there are loads of shredding, speed metal, and chugging to go with wailing, runaway rock solos and Dwid's monotone intensity. A few tracks, as on albums past, offer sullen acoustic-guitar melodies, this time accompanied by a few lone cello notes and dark, whispered words from Dwid.

Fans will love The Blackest Curse, and younger metal-core addicts will discover a band that has influenced many of their contemporary favorites.

Integrity: "Simulacra"
Integrity: \"Simulacra\"

Konono No. 1: Assume Crash Position (Crammed)

Founded by Mawangu Mingiedi in the 1970s, Konono No. 1 is a dance-inspiring group from Kinshana, Democratic Republic of the Congo that had all but disappeared until the sudden exposure of Congotronics 1 in 2005 brought global recognition.

Its eclectic array of instruments, heard again this summer with Assume Crash Position, centers on the likembe, a small wooden box with metal tines that are plucked with the musician’s thumbs in order to mimic the region’s traditional horn polyphony.

Konono uses several in its lineup — each one handmade by Mingiedi — that weave back and forth, helping transition call-and-response choruses into electronic jams and filling out the band’s style of "Bazombo trance" music that garnered it a spot on Björk’s Volta and Herbie Hancock’s upcoming The Imagine Project. (Also known as Zombo, the Bazombo are an ethnic group with roots near the Angola border.)

Assume Crash Position is another fine collection of cross-cultural dance tunes. More importantly, it's a testament to the band's longstanding and international appeal.

Konono No. 1: "Mama Na Bana"
Konono No. 1: \"Mama Na Bana\"

Honorable Mentions

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti: Before Today (4AD)

Ólafur Arnalds: …And They Have Escaped the Weight of Darkness (Erased Tapes)

Chali 2na: Fish Market Part 2 (Decon)

Fela! Original Broadway Cast Recording (Knitting Factory)

The Funeral Pyre: Vultures at Dawn (Prosthetic)

Kingdom Of Sorrow: Behind The Blackest Tears (Relapse)

Leng Tch'e: Hypomanic (Season of Mist)

Light Pollution: Apparitions (Carpark)

Nachtmystium: Addicts: Black Meddle Pt. 2 (Century Media)

Nina Nastasia: Outlaster (Fat Cat)

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.