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.

Mike Patton: Music from the Film and Inspired by the Book The Solitude of Prime Numbers (La Solitudine Dei Numeri Primi) (Ipecac)

Mike Patton: "Twin Primes"

Still known first and foremost as a vocal aberration, Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Tomahawk, Fantômas) has amassed more and more compositional credits in recent years. The musical Renaissance man already has scored a few films — the schizophrenic alt-metal soundtrack to Crank 2 and the genre-hopping theme-and-variation of A Perfect Place. For the Italian film The Solitude of Prime Numbers, however, Patton has drawn on a much more traditional film aesthetic.

Minimalism carries this material, whether melodic, moody, or dissonant. Accents and flourishes are found throughout, but often as strict atmosphere, building a feel of giallo-esque horror. A track such as “Radius of Convergence” — one of the few with drums — is a rarity, offering a pounding crescendo.

Notably, outside of the first track, vocals are almost completely absent. That’s not a surprise given their secondary roles on Patton’s other scores, but it further cements his transition to being a composer first and a singer second.

- Text by Scott Morrow.

Krisiun: The Great Execution (Century Media)

Krisiun: "The Will to Potency"

Brazilian death-metal trio Krisiun comprises tattooed brethren Alex Carmargo (bass, vocals), Moyses Kolesne (guitar), and Max Kolesne (drums), and with a name that translates from ancient Latin to “the seers of abomination,” the band makes a case for being among the most brutal of its subgenre.

The Great Execution, Krisiun’s third album with prolific German producer Andy Classen and eighth overall, takes the band’s signature speed and tempers it with a string of mid-tempo intervals. These nuances signal sonic progression, as do a handful of interspersed classical-guitar flourishes — making appearances as the album intro and then layered over the full-metal assault in the final few minutes of "The Sword of Orion." A bit of the classical influence spills over into the brutality, as evidenced by the rapid-fire arpeggios on the following track, "Violentia Gladiatore," but by and large, Krisiun is giving listeners exactly what they should expect: searing brutality from those peering into the depths of humanity.

- Text by Kyle Gilkeson and Scott Morrow.

Phantogram: Nightlife EP (Barsuk)

Phantogram: "Don't Move"

- Text by Lauren Zens.

3:33: Live from the Grove (Parallel Thought Ltd.)

3:33: "LFTG-2"

Surfacing in 2011 with a pair of shadowy EPs, 3:33 is a yet-unmasked project that deals in brooding, instrumental hip hop. Tactile yet amorphous — and at times ominous — the music is set apart by a rawness of texture.

For this proper full-length debut — the group’s third release in seven months — much of the source material is a collection of “field/wood” recordings taken from outside the Bohemian Grove. This adds another layer of mystery and foreboding to the 3:33 sound, given the history of the setting — a mysterious, cult-like campground for the Bohemian Club, which has hosted famous guests such as Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon for pagan-esque rituals. The plodding and pulsating results are a disturbing success, backed again by head-nodding boom-bap beats.

- Text by Kyle Gilkeson and Scott Morrow.

Honorable Mentions

Circle Takes the Square: Decompositions: Volume 1 (Gatepost)

Idle Warship: Habits of the Heart (Element 9)

Locrian: The Clearing (Fan Death)

King Midas Sound: Without You (Hyperdub)

Pianos Become the Teeth: The Lack Long After (Topshelf)

Rapper Big Pooh: Dirty Pretty Things (For Members Only)

Sick of it All: Nonstop (Century Media)

The Soft Moon: Total Decay EP (Captured Tracks)

[Chromatic, our 400-page exploration of musicians and color, is out now. Order here!]

The Chemical Brothers: Hanna soundtrack (Relativity Music Group)

The Chemical Brothers: "Hanna's Theme" (vocal version)

Back in March, The Chemical Brothers released its newest batch of music, a 20-track original score for Hanna, an action thriller that was released in April. The film told the tale of an ex-CIA operative who trains his 16-year-old daughter to exact revenge for an untold secret program, raising questions about the young protagonist's existence.

Thankfully, the soundtrack isn't the typical string-heavy fare that's so associated with thrillers. Instead, the duo crafts a score that alternates between being playful, pensive, percussive, and dark, with a nice balance between synthesized and organic (or faux-organic) sounds. It continues the cinematic flair of Further, the Bros' 2010 album that was released with corresponding video tracks, but it's an even fuller and more purposeful work.

If you missed this back in March, pick up the CD, which is out now to coincide with DVD release.

Fantômas: The Director's Cut Live: A New Year's Revolution DVD & live digital album (Ipecac)

Fantômas: "Cape Fear" live (Bernard Herrmann cover)

Ten years ago, Mike Patton's super-group Fantômas (featuring Buzz Osborne, Trevor Dunn, and Dave Lombardo) released one of its high-water marks, The Director's Cut, an avant-metal tribute to horror-film themes and other classic soundtracks. The release — a spastic and eerie collection of buzz-saw covers — paid homage to such greats as Nino Rota, Henry Mancini, Bernard Herrmann, John Barry, Angelo Badalamenti, and Ennio Morricone via works from The Godfather, Rosemary's Baby, Cape Fear, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, The Golem, The Omen, and more.

The Director's Cut Live is a recording of Fantômas' special performance at San Francisco's Great American Music Hall on New Year's Eve of 2008, when the band performed the entire album plus a few bonus songs for an encore. It's now being issued as a DVD with digital-only audio, and though it's the type of thing best suited for diehard fans, it should serve as overdue impetus for the uninitiated to get acquainted with a maniacal masterpiece — and a completely peerless musical project. Highly recommended.

Chthonic: Takasago Army (Spinefarm)

Chthonic: "Takao"

Formed in Taipei in 1997, Chthonic (pronounced “thonic”) plays symphonic black metal rooted in traditional Taiwanese music and folklore. Known to incorporate traditional instruments such as the hena (a two-string bowed fiddle, also known as the erhu in China) and base its lyrics on the mythologies of Taiwan’s history, the band is one of Taiwan’s most outspoken symbols for national independence and thought.

Takasago Army is Chthonic's sixth full-length album and is a concept piece about aboriginal Taiwanese tribesmen who volunteered in the Imperial Japanese Army after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Musically, it splashes elements of black, thrash, power, and melodic death metal with the emotional cries of the erhu and Freddy Lim's piercing shrieks and guttural screams. The symphonic moments are strategically placed, showing themselves for dramatic effect and melodic accompaniment; the result is an alternately war-like and pensive atmosphere.

- Text by Michael Nolledo and Scott Morrow.

Roc Marciano & Gangrene: Greneberg EP (Decon)

Roc Marciano & Gangrene: "Jet Luggage"

Each a rising emcee-slash-producer, Roc Marciano, The Alchemist, and Oh No joined forces earlier this year to release this six-track EP (seven with a bonus cut) and tide over listeners between albums.

Together, The Alchemist and Oh No dropped a grimy rap album with backpack appeal as Gangrene on Decon in late 2010, and Marciano (formerly a member of Flipmode Squad) issued his solo debut earlier in the year. Now, between follow-ups for each that are coming later in 2011, the three have teamed to rap on or produce each other's works.

With three tracks originally credited to each "half" of the collaboration, Greneberg is defined by raw rhymes, funky bass lines, gurling synths, and alternately minimalist and full samples of pianos, horns, and guitars. Each MC brings his own flavor but keeps it grungy, whether slurring rhymes or routinely referencing female anatomy (human or otherwise). Listeners would be better served to hear Gangrene's Gutter Water or Marciano's Marcberg as introductions, but Greneberg is a fine "sequel."

Arkona: Slovo (Napalm)

Arkona: "Slovo"

In June, Russian folk-metal outfit Arkona (not to be confused with another Russian metal band of the same name) tided over fans with the Stenka na Stenku EP, a brief blast of pagan tunes that, per the band's MO, mixed power metal with wind instruments such as bagpipes, flute, and ocarina.

Slovo is the band's sixth full-length album and follow-up to the 2009 effort Goi, Rode, Goi! It further spreads the group's reach beyond Russian folk and speed metal into more epic territory, touching orchestral movements, classical-guitar passages, power ballads, and a bit of black metal. Vocalist/keyboardist Masha "Scream" Arhipova again is a focal point, balancing harmonic clean singing with throat-shredding brutality, but her songwriting credits, as always, carry most of the weight.

Some will find the mix too corny or intense, but folk-metal fans will be blown away. Dismiss it at your own risk.

Honorable Mentions

AM & Shawn Lee: Celestial Electric (ESL)

Balmorhea: Live at Sint-Elisabethkerk (Western Vinyl)

HTRK: Work (Work, Work) (Ghostly International)

Grace Jones: Hurricane 2xCD (PIAS)

Lingouf: Doème (Ant-Zen)

MonstrO: s/t (Vagrant)

Peter Wolf Crier: Garden of Arms (Jagjaguwar)

Pregnant: Life Hard: I Try (Mush)

The Rapture: In the Grace of Your Love (DFA)

†‡† (Ritualz) vs. F8stercare (Robot Elephant)

Roberts & Lord: Eponymous (Asthmatic Kitty)

Saviours: Death’s Procession (Kemado)

Luke Temple: Don’t Act Like You Don’t Care (Western Vinyl)

WU LYF: Go Tell Fire to the Mountain (LYF)

Retox: Ugly Animals (Ipecac)

Retox: "30 Cents Shy of a Quarter"

Featuring Justin Pearson and Gabe Serbian of The Locust and Holy Molar, Michael Crain of Kill the Capulets and The Festival of Dead Deer, and solo artist Thor Dickey, Retox has roots in some of the most challenging bands to come out of West Coast DIY punk and hardcore over the past few decades.

On this debut LP, 11 furious and fast-paced tracks blaze past in just 13 minutes. It’s noisy and angry but has plenty of riff hooks, balancing speed and intricacy with easily digestible melodies over Serbian’s plentiful fills. According to the band, its existence is owed, in part, to stagnant counterculture, and that’s apparent on suggestively titled tracks such as “Boredom is Counter-Revolutionary.” Retox’s sound matches that message, and hopefully, future releases will provide more.

Active Child: You Are All I See (Vagrant)

Active Child: "You Are All I See"

Borne from a desire to combine electronic and choral music, Active Child is the solo moniker of multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Pat Grossi.

His debut full-length, You Are All I See, may draw initial comparisons to the electro-R&B of How to Dress Well, the heavily hyped project by Tom Krell (who guests on "Playing House," one of the album's first singles). In actuality, however, Active Child reflects a greater technical ability and sense of songcraft.

From the start, You Are All I See showcases beautiful harp mastery mixed with an indie-tronica backdrop and dramatic, undulating, multi-layered falsettos. Lines of counterpoint dance atop a base of synthesizers, drum machines, and samples, all while Grossi's overdubbed vocals provide another layer of aether. And as Grossi sings about love, broken hearts, and battles with monogamy,
he attempts to connect with listeners in ways deeper than beautiful melodies.

Flash Bang Grenada: 10 Haters (Hellfyre Club / Alpha Pup)

Flash Bang Grenada: "In a Perfect World" (f. Open Mike Eagle)

Indie rappers Busdriver and NoCanDo have reputations for being wordy, nerdy, and bitingly sarcastic. For Flash Bang Grenada, the two have joined forces (outside of one-off collaborations) to make nerd rap gone dirty — in no small part from the rhymes of NoCanDo, a Low End Theory battle rapper who confesses to "manipulating emotions on a really crude scale."

With their first full-length together, the two have taken to toppling the mainstream rap game by fighting fire with fire. Amid frequent drops of "bitch" and "ho," the listener is never entirely sure what's sarcastic or tongue-in-cheek, but the graphic lyrics are much more than gratuitous mockery. More importantly, there's an underlying tolerance. In the first single, "Beat My Bitch" (a song about rap beats, not women), Nocando rhymes, "And I come from a really supportive family, so when I make it big, I'll buy my gay cousin a gorgeous tranny." The song later ends with a sarcastic utterance of "misogyny is cool."

"Moisturizer" mocks the sex-centered rap and R&B hits that have dominated the airwaves, acting as a declaration to touch yourself…to apply a skin lotion. Political messages slip through as well, most noticeably on the track "In a Perfect World," where Busdriver rhymes, "If it was up to me, everyone in the Tea Party would be able to speak Farsi, and Lockheed would sell Playmobils and be funded by Steve Harvey." By the album's penultimate track, "Hyperbolic," the Flash Bang Grenada modus operandi becomes very clear: excess and exaggeration.

Busdriver and NoCanDo both carry their mantles as masters of wordplay, but the album fields a bevy of other key contributions, including great production from Mexicans with Guns, Nosaj Thing, Free the Robots, Shlohmo, Busdriver, and more for heavily synthesized, beat-banging hip hop. And with guest spots by Del the Funky Homosapien and Open Mike Eagle, it's practically a family affair.

The Balanescu Quartet: This is the Balanescu Quartet (Mute)

The Balanescu Quartet: "The Model" (Kraftwerk cover)

The Balanescu Quartet is the striking string quartet of Romanian violinist/composer Alexander Balanescu, an Israeli immigrant who fled the rule of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu prior to attending an assortment of music schools. The group came to prominence with its first release on Mute, Possessed, which reinterpreted Kraftwerk classics alongside Balanescu originals.

The group later paid homage to the "Romanian Edith Piaf," Maria Tanase, but Balanescu and co. have proven capable of much more than tributes, combining elements of European folk, film scores, electronic noise and beats, and avant-garde chamber styles throughout its discography.

This is the Balanescu Quartet is the start of Mute's "An Introduction to…" series that offers an easy starting point for artists with vast bodies of work. Over 12 tracks — three from each of Mute's four Balanescu releases — the compilation strikes a nice balance, weaving through the material in an agreeable order instead of simply running the tracks chronologically. The album comes highly recommended for anyone wanting an introduction to Balanescu — or simply to adventurous string quartets.

Honorable Mentions

D. Gookin: Spiral Style (Moodgadget)

Ghost Brigade: Until Fear No Longer Defines Us (Season of Mist)

Nazca Lines: Hyperventilation (Stressed Sumo Records)

Stephin Merritt: Obscurities (Merge)

Zee Avi: Ghostbird (Brushfire / Universal)

Melvins: "The Water Glass"

Last year, sludge-rock band the Melvins released its 20th album (and third since linking up with Big Business members Jared Warren and Coady Willis). That album, entitled The Bride Screamed Murder, is emblematic of what the band has done its whole career: tweak its signature sound — part anthemic classic rock, part avant-garde heaviness — to present something entirely new yet quintessentially Melvins. That willingness to shake things up has been a major factor in the band's longevity.

After last year's release, the band undertook a tour in early 2011, playing a different album from its back catalog each night. As the saying goes, you get what you give, and in this case, the Melvins' 30-year history of experimentation has continually rewarded the band with new experiences. Dale Crover, drummer and founding member, recounts the band's some of the most memorable recent experiences below.

Endless Residency Tour
by Dale Crover

The Melvins did a residency every Friday night last January in Los Angeles. To make each show unique, we decided to play a different record from our ever-growing catalog of releases. It seemed to go over really well, and since we took the time to learn all these records, we decided to take it on the road. Here are some highlights from the "Endless Residency" tour.

Austin Texas: Austin shows are always great, except for the heat. It's 100 degrees out, and of course we're playing outside! The show goes well, but by the end, the "costume" that I'm  wearing feels like a soaking-wet sleeping bag. The next day we meet up with our friends from the band Honky to get lunch. Everyone I know that lives in Austin says that the BBQ downtown is average, and they know where the best is. We drive miles out of town to a place in Spicewood, Texas, called Opie's BBQ. We're greeted by a guy who opens a large trough with 10 different kinds of smoked meat. We let the Honky boys order for us, then sit down to stuff our faces. It was certainly worth the trip, and I highly recommend the spicy corn! After the feast, we stop by Willie Nelson's recording studio. Honky just recorded there. No Willie, but we  got the full tour, including seeing the tape vault with Red Headed Stranger master tapes! I was also highly impressed by the nine-hole golf course next door. Maybe we'll do our next record there!

Chicago: Last time we played the Double Door in Chicago, we were challenged to a Wiffle Ball home-run derby. We've been playing what we call "Hall Ball" for a few years now. The Double Door staff took notice and started their own version. Last year, we clearly won, but they wouldn't have it, so they cheated and claimed victory. Just like the 1919 Chicago Black Socks, who cheated in the World Series! I guess it runs in the family. These guys take their Wiffle Ball games seriously. Star Spangled Banner before the game, announcer/commentator — they even made Double Door Liquor uniforms this year! Unfortunately, we lost! We did end up talking them into letting Buzz [Osborne] pitch to them in the last inning. Fastball, inside: plunk! Fastball, inside: plunk! "Ooops, it got away from me!" We'll get you next year, ya bums!

Brooklyn, NY: Really? We're doing a photo shoot with Mick Rock? Wow! Iggy & the Stooges, Bowie, Queen and now Melvins! Wait a minute? This guy is a full-blown kook! We were warned that he will probably scream obscenities at us while shooting. Sure enough, "Buzz, you cunt, cunt, cunt! Suck it! Suck it! Suck it! Aaaaggghhhhh! Whew! I got off on it, I really did!" "You motherfucker, motherfucker, motherfucker!" Click, click, click. It was like a dirty version of an Austin Powers photo shoot. I was laughing my ass off the whole time! Our bassist, Jared [Warren] was visibly annoyed. "Your Hugh Grant charm isn't quite working for me." "Oh, please! Hugh Grant is a wanker!"  True, if he weren't who he was, we probably wouldn't have tolerated it. It would've been over in about two minutes. Also, we're not ones for embarrassing outdoor photo shoots. You can tell he comes from different times, obviously trying to get some kind of reaction, or whatever. I ended up really liking him. He told us that, at one time, David Bowie would do "anything, and I mean anything!!!!" People like Mick always have great stories.

Things seem to get weirder and weirder the longer we're a band, but fuck it! It beats the hell outta working at a pizza joint!

Bohren & Der Club of Gore: Beileid (Ipecac)

Bohren & Der Club of Gore: "Zombies Never Die (Blues)"

With a mutual background in hardcore, grind, and other forms of extreme music, the members of Bohren & Der Club of Gore formed to begin a new "doom/horror jazz" experiment.  But when the German quartet came into its own in the early 1990s, its sounds weren't the types of brooding metal or bloodcurdling film scores that one might imagine.  Instead, ominous bass lines, spooky organ tones, guitar reverberations, and somber, elongated melodies formed the bulk of the band's "doom" elements.

Beileid, the group's latest, continues in the tradition of Twin Peaks- and Angelo Badalamenti-esque creepiness with deliberate tempos and jazzy intonations.  Vibraphone, Mellotron, and sax again build the slow-moving atmosphere in three lengthy tracks, the second of which is a darkened take on the song "Catch My Heart" by 1980s German hair-metallers Warlock.  At two-and-a-half times the length of the original, "Catch My Heart" is the balladic middle section of this 35-minute triptych, and it finds the incomparable Mike Patton turning the tones of Warlock lead singer Dorothee Pesch into deep vibratos.

The two originals stand out as well, but with melodies that feel like they're at quarter-speed, listeners require either patience or a love of unfolding ambience.

Pillars & Tongues: The Pass and Crossings (Endless Nest / Empty Cellar)

Pillars & Tongues: "The Making Graceful"

Led by interwoven, trance-inducing vocal dynamics and spiritual folk/chamber instrumentation, Pillars & Tongues achieves a surprising amount of power for merely a trio.  And thanks to the Chicago group's tireless touring schedule, underground explorers around the country have taken to its style, one that produces a great number of sonic textures.

With The Pass and Crossings, the trio again builds from the bellowing vocals of singer/percussionist Mark Trecka, the swirling melodies of violinist Beth Remis, and the bowed swells of upright bassist Evan Hydzik.  Harmonies, long-form repetitions, and sparse beats are crucial to the album's moments of buildup and release.  The result is a sonic spell, waiting to enchant those who hear it.

Thievery Corporation: Culture of Fear (ESL)

Thievery Corporation: "Culture of Fear" f. Mr. Lif

DJs Rob Garza and Eric Hilton comprise Thievery Corporation, a politically outspoken dub/lounge duo that has built a name for itself in Washington, DC with its world- and trip-hop-infused sounds.

Over the years, the two have incorporated a slew of politically minded collaborations into their albums.  The first on Culture of Fear features rapper and Def Jux alum Mr. Lif on the title track, which derides a never-changing security-alert system, the widening reach of the digital world, and shady bank loans.

Most of the duo's political messaging is left to interviews and guest spots, but song titles often hint at deeper issues or themes, and Culture of Fear does so with "Tower Seven" and "False Flag Dub."

Musically, the album is a bit more focused than some of its far-reaching predecessors, leaning on airy jams and minimalist bass grooves.  But it's still a down-tempo and occasionally funky and jazzy lounge mix, with sultry dub and trip-hop concoctions for other guest vocalists.  It's a mixture that doesn't grow tired despite the duo's many years together.

Ancestors: Invisible White EP (Tee Pee)

Ancestors: "Invisible White"

Ancestors has a flair for the epic. You likely won’t find the progressive LA band making a standard 12-track record full of four-minute songs with traditional song structures. Its 2008 debut, Neptune With Fire (profiled here), wove together the fantastical storytelling of a band like Rush with modern doom metal.

And though its new album, Invisible White, adheres to that same slow-burning, long-form formula, it marks a distinct departure into more mellow, experimental territory, à la Pink Floyd. The three-song EP kicks off with the title track, a lilting, acoustic-guitar-and-piano dirge that introduces each new instrument with measured deliberation — violin, drums, organ — and culminates in a moving lament of the elusive “Invisible White.”

Ultimately, Ancestors is driven by the credo “play the kind of music you’d want to hear,” and venturing into previously unexplored territory seems as effortlessly rote as putting a new record on the turntable.

- Text by Kyle Gilkeson.

Honorable Mentions

The Atomic Bitchwax: The Local Fuzz (Tee Pee)

Ramin Djawadi: Game Of Thrones soundtrack (Varèse Sarabande)

Arnold Dreyblatt: Resonant Relations (Cantaloupe)

Handsome Furs: Sound Kapital (Sub Pop)

Jolie Holland: Pint of Blood (Anti-)

Isis: Live III 12.17.04

The Laureates: Spells

Sbtrkt: s/t (Young Turks / XL)

See-I: s/t (Fort Knox)

White Wives: Happeners (Adeline)

YACHT: Shangri-La (DFA Records)

Isis: "Grinning Mouths" from Clearing the Eye live DVD (Ipecac, 9/26/06)

In June of 2010, post-metal quintet Isis called it quits following a farewell tour. The LA band was one year removed from its final studio release, Wavering Radiant, and feeling that it didn't want to "push past the point of a dignified death," its members parted ways right before the release of a split EP with Melvins.

Now the band is giving wistful fans another taste of its melodic sludge rock. On May 31, Isis posthumously and digitally reissued the first of its five live album, which originally were released over the span of 2004 to 2009.  The rest are being rolled out in two-week intervals, with the third becoming available this Tuesday, June 28.  ALARM recently spoke to drummer Aaron Harris about the reissues, the band's personal significance, and what the members have been doing since the breakup.

What was the catalyst in putting together the live album series?

We wanted to have something we could offer to the fans. We were getting a lot of live recordings coming in from fans that had been to our live shows, and it was just starting to pile up, and we figured we should do something with all these live recordings. So we started sifting through them and figured that we would do a little live series, release it ourselves, sell it at our shows, and make it a limited, special thing.

We did small runs of them, and once they were gone, they were gone. Recently, we decided that we would make them available digitally and reissue them. So that’s what we’re doing now. They’re digital reissues for people that weren’t able to get copies the first time. It’s just kind of a cool idea to strengthen the fan/band bond, something between us and the fans.

What do you miss about touring and playing with Isis?

The thrill and the energy of playing live. I don’t know if it can be replaced by anything else. There’s something special about touring and visiting your favorite cities and playing shows in some of your favorite spots and getting to see old friends. It’s something I’ve done since I was a teenager, so it was part of my life, and I guess, in a sense, it’s part of me, and it’s not there anymore. So I definitely miss it.

What kind of significance does the time that you spent with Isis hold for you in your personal life, professional career, etc.?

It’s a big part of who I am. I was a teenager…we grew up together. I’m 33 now, and I spent a lot of crucial years with the members of Isis and in the band, touring and building the band up. It definitely shaped who I am and made me a semi-established musician. A lot of important things happened for me throughout the career of Isis. The first time we got to tour in Europe — that was amazing. I had never really been outside of New England.

I grew up in Maine and spent some time in Boston; that’s where the band formed. I never really imagined that we would leave the New England area, let alone play shows in Australia, Europe, and Japan. I got to see a lot of places that I never thought I would get to see, which is pretty amazing just in itself. The fact that people on the other side of the world were fans of our band and willing to come out and see us play — that was pretty incredible.

Do you feel like there are any bands out now that have kind of picked up where Isis left off?

I see the name Isis tossed around in reviews in references to other bands when referencing a sound. I just saw something the other day, where a band was described as sounding like early Isis. It’s cool. That’s another thing that I never thought would happen — that we would be an influential band or make a stamp in the vast majority of music out there. It’s definitely an honor to be influencing other bands.

There seems to be a balance of light and darkness between the melodic guitars and driving bass, and the singing and more intense vocals. Is that something that Isis tried to accomplish?

It’s just something that evolved in our sound. Early on, we didn’t really know what we wanted. I mean, we had an idea of what the music we wanted to play would sound like. It wasn’t until a few albums into it that we started to develop our own sound. We always wanted to have a lot of dynamics. When you’re a young band, your idea of dynamics isn’t very focused. It was just loud and quiet, there wasn’t much in between. We had to work on the building part, composing the songs, making them flow and find our own sounds individually to make it all work. I don’t think it’s as simple as being quiet and loud. It’s almost like making your sound 3-D, like in all dimensions.

Do you feel like the sound changed a lot when Isis signed to Ipecac?

I guess so, yeah. I don’t think it really had anything to do with signing to Ipecac. That was the point at which we were taking the band a little more seriously, so I guess it did have a bit to do with that. We were able to make a living off the band and focus on it more full-time.

How do Isis songs take on a different shape in a live atmosphere as opposed to recording in the studio?

There are just elements to seeing a live band that you can’t really capture in the studio, and I think we were definitely a live band. I mean, I think our records are great, but we really existed in a live realm. To the Isis fans that didn’t see us live, it’s disappointing, but I think our records definitely hold up. It’s just two different things — there’s the record, and then there’s the live show. I think a lot of bands, their record is better than their live show. For us, that wasn’t the case. There was an element to the live shows that I think made us more of a live band.

What projects are you currently working on?

I’m still continuing to engineer, mix, and produce records. That was something I was doing on the side throughout the Isis career. Musically, I’ve just started playing again with Jeff [Caxide] and Cliff [Meyer] from Isis. We started a new band. We don’t have a name or anything yet, but we’ve written a handful of songs, and we’re continuing to write.

I think, right now, we’ve just focused on writing a record. The name and the idea for the release will come later. It’s more than half of Isis, so there’s going to be that sound in there, but it’s going to be different. Aaron Turner is in a band called Mamiffer with his wife. Mike Gallagher has a solo project called MGR and scored a film recently.

Have you considered the possibility of a reunion tour? Did you have that in mind when you started working on the live albums?

No…I mean, honestly, we’ve only been split up for a year. I think people are not really thinking about that. I’m not even sure if it’s a possibility. I hope that someday I will play with those guys again as a group, but a reunion, I’m not really too sure about. We all still keep in touch. We have a lot of live material and some stuff that we’ve been planning to release that we did for Wavering Radiant — some bonus tracks, live video footage. There will still be a few things coming out here and there for Isis.

It’s funny — I see people leaving comments on our Facebook page, and they're kind of confused, like, "I thought you guys broke up. It’s kinda weird that you guys are still doing stuff, but you’re broken up." That kind of confuses me. Just because we’re not continuing to write music as a band, we’re still trying to keep Isis alive. Not with new releases necessarily, but we still have some material that we want to release and plan on releasing. I just hope people can understand where we’re coming from.

The Book of Knots: Garden of Fainting Stars (Ipecac)

The Book of Knots: "Microgravity"

Garden of Fainting Stars is the third installment in the "By Sea, By Land, By Air" trilogy of The Book of Knots, a collaborative studio project that's built around the quartet of producer/musician Joel Hamilton, bassist Tony Maimone, drummer Matthias Bossi, and violinist Carla Kihlstedt.

As on the previous two albums, the band delivers a dissonant yet melodic mix of pitch-bending, alien effects, and textured, metallic tones, and an all-star stable of guests again helps narrate the album's tales, this time relating to aeronautics.  Garden of Fainting Stars, however, feels the most cohesive of the three albums, as the core group comes closer to perfecting its brand of disconsolate rock experimentation.

But as expected, there's plenty of variety from track to track.  After the crunchy guitars and ascendant vocals of album opener "Microgravity," a brooding backdrop is set for "Drosophla Melanogaster," which includes narration by Blixa Bargeld of Einsturzende Neubauten.

The rest of the album's guests, consisting of extended musical family, include Mike Patton, Trey Spruance of Secret Chiefs 3, Mike Watt, Nils Frykdahl of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, and Dawn McCarthy of Faun Fables.  Patton's soft croons introduce "Planemo" before sonorous synthesizers darken the horizon, and shortly thereafter, potentially post-apocalyptic radio ramblings close the album on "Obituary for the Future."  It ends the trilogy in pessimism and mystery — fitting for an album that is self-described as a "wormless, rusty hook into the lifeless seas of the music industry, expecting to reap only sorrow."

Bosco Delrey: Everybody Wah (Mad Decent / Downtown)

Bosco Delrey: "Baby's Got a Blue Flame"

Bosco Delrey is one curious cat, one whose debut album is a Jon Spencer-esque roots-rock revival that incorporates strong elements of electronica and psychedelia.  Following a pair of seven-inch releases earlier this year, Everybody Wah is that debut, marking the arrival of a dynamic 21st Century songwriter.

In addition to the traditional rock elements, the album uses a plethora of modern sounds, from fuzz bass to drum machines to synthesizers.  "Archebold Ivy" is one of more genre-blended songs on the album, combining a classically flavored harpsichord melody with dance-fueled synth lines and Delrey's throwback vocals.  That's immediately followed by "Afterlife," a soulful yet futuristic faux-string-tinged amalgamation.  "Cool Out" borrows some Venetian Snares-style drum and bass over a simple sweeping backdrop, and "Insta Love" follows with a romantic rock-and-roll ballad.

If you haven't heard Bosco Delrey's name yet, introduce yourself.  And if you have, prepare to hear more of it.

Arkona: Stenka na Stenku (Napalm)

Arkona: "Stenka na Stenku"

Based in Moscow, Arkona is a raucous Russian folk- and pagan-metal band led by the alternately harmonious and growling vocals of Maria "Scream" Arhipova.  The Stenka na Stenku EP, which follows five full-length studio releases, is a fun, brief blast of tunes that mix power metal with wind instruments such as bagpipes, flute, and ocarina.

The result, though jarring for the uninitiated, is a mix that doesn't grow tiresome over the six tracks.  "Valenki" has an upbeat yet blazing delivery, pairing speed picking with rapid bass kicks, wily accordion riffs, and guttural folk chants.  But Stenka na Stenku also reels it back, offering an acoustic rendition of "Goi, Rode, Goi!" — the title track from Arkona's 2009 album — for something haunting and wailing, anchored by cello strikes, throat singing, and layers of old-world vocals.

Erik Friedlander: Bonebridge (SkipStone)

Erik Friedlander: "Beaufain Street"

Cellist/composer Erik Friedlander long has been associated with John Zorn and the downtown New York City scene, but his considerable abilities have made him known as a bandleader as well as prolific sideman, counting collaborations with musicians as diverse as Kaki King, Ikue Mori, John Vanderslice, Vinicius Cantuaria, and Kelly Clarkson.

Bonebridge is Friedlander's latest as a leader, weaving a melodic blend of Americana and jazz with guitarist Doug Wamble, bassist Trevor Dunn, and drummer Mike Sarin.  This time around, Friedlander emphasizes pizzicato playing on his cello as he balances melody and feel with technical prowess.

This plus Wamble's Southern slide guitar are the defining characteristics of the album — yet the rhythm section is never lacking.  Dunn's upright-bass grooves root the album for leads from Friedlander and Wamble, although he is free to roam from time to time.  On occasion, Wamble's twangy tones nearly resemble a sitar; when less the focus, his guitar drifts in and out with soft murmurs.

Bonebridge actually began as material for Friedlander's Broken Arm Trio, which includes Dunn and Sarin.  But it quickly became more in Friedlander's mind, and Wamble was invited to expand the timbral possibilities.  The sonic destination is ground that Friedlander had yet to tread, which gets increasingly harder as his catalog grows ever larger.

Marissa Nadler: s/t (Box of Cedar)

Marissa Nadler: "Baby, I Will Leave You in the Morning"

After garnering a greater following with a pair of releases on Kemado Records,"dream folk" singer/songwriter Marissa Nadler has had to self-release her latest, self-titled album, made possible by a successful Kickstarter campaign.

The album being self-titled seems to signify a new starting point, which is reflected by her Box of Cedar label name and the fact that the album only features two players, Nadler and Carter Tanton.

As in the past, however, the music features healthy accompaniment to Nadler's airy, multi-tracked vocals and cavernous reverberations.  This time they come in the form of bells and glockenspiel, pedal-steel guitar, synthesizer, marimba, light drumming, and more.  Nadler calls the collection her "most honest and natural," and that's hard to dispute.  Each track offers a new direction without forcing it, and the entire album is unified by Nadler's idiosyncrasies and songwriting skills.

The Dear Hunter: The Color Spectrum condensed CD & 9-EP collection (Triple Crown)

The Dear Hunter: "Deny It All"

The Dear Hunter, begun as simply a side project, has since blossomed into a theatrical prog-pop band that now has multiple multi-album concept cycles. The group’s newest completion is a nine-EP project called The Color Spectrum, inspired by the colors of the rainbow (plus black and white).

Released as individual 10-inch records and as a single CD with limited selections, the music is as assorted as its inspirations. Black is sonorous, martial, deep, and reverberating; White is ethereal and hymn-like in places, but also doggedly cheerful. Blue is playful, youthful, and driven, churning and giddy; Green is ebullient, relaxed, and expansive; Red is sexy and insinuating as well as aggressive.

- Text by Summer Block. Read the full story in Chromatic: The Crossroads of Color and Music.

Honorable Mentions

Aaron Goldberg & Guillermo Klein: Bienestan (Sunnyside)

Diskjokke: Sagara (Smalltown Supersound)

Elysian Fields: Last Night on Earth (Ojet)

Isis: Live II 03.19.03

John Shannon & Wings of Sound: Songs of the Desert River (Creek Valley)

The Mattson 2: Feeling Hands (Galaxia)

This Morn' Omina: L'Unification des Forces Opposantes (Ant-Zen)

Terakaft: Aratan N Azawad (World Village)

Vetiver: The Errant Charm (Sub Pop)

Dälek: "No Question"

“A mix of Eric B. and Rakim and Black Sabbath” is how MC Dälek describes Gutter Tactics, the latest release from his eponymously named hip-hop duo (pronounced dial-ect) — but only if you press him to do so. The New Jersey-based pair, which also includes producer Oktopus, isn’t necessarily eager to place labels on its brand of moody, dissonant hip hop that recalls the heaviness of rock acts like Melvins and Torche.

But since the duo’s 1998 debut release, Negro Necro Nekros, critics and fans alike have attempted to fit Dälek into a genre — any genre that isn’t hip hop. It’s little surprise: decades of mainstream-music conditioning have diluted the definition of “true” hip hop to bling, bravado, and track loops. Any contemporary US hip-hop artist that dares to draw from anything but the musical well of mainstream pop and R&B has an uphill fight in proving his or her authenticity. Dälek takes things a step further than what most fans even come to expect from experimental hip hop, with a sinister sound that has more in common with grindcore than crunk, and lyrics that dwell on issues of social and political inequality.

But for MC Dälek, the duo’s musical affiliation to hip hop is clear — he’s not interested in creating a new category of hip hop or to distance the group from the genre. “[Critics] always attempt to put certain parameters around different types of music,” he says. “We started 11 years ago, and from the start, people have attempted to put us into these sub-genres — glitch hop, experimental hop, doom hop — and come up with all of these ridiculous names. That’s not what we really are, though these fads come and go. You can call us whatever you want, but after 11 years, we’re still making records. Our sound evolves, but to me it’s just hip hop. Hip hop is my culture, what I grew up with.”

Arguably one of the more anticipated underground releases of 2009, Gutter Tactics is unrelentingly abrasive, immersing the listener into a sea of jagged, atonal sound and lyrical bleakness. It’s both hypnotic and frustrating — and meant to be. But unlike the gloomy, apathetic drone of 2006 album Abandoned Language, the tracks of Gutter Tactics resonate with a sense of passion, hope, and action.
 

"I’m proud to be American; I love this country, but I also have no problem pointing out its faults."

“A lot of people listen to our records and think that it’s just noise, and we understand that,” MC Dälek says. “Our music’s not for everyone. But it’s not just about the anger; it’s not just about showing the ills of the world. The idea is to highlight things that people don’t talk about, things that are going on in communities that don’t have a voice. To me, that’s what hip hop always was. It’s always been the voice of the community, the voice of the lower class. That’s what I’ve always embraced and loved about it, and regardless of what elements we use in our work, that’s what we try to put across.”

And in this, Gutter Tactics succeeds, pairing the duo’s signature ambience with sludgy, lo-fi-rock influences and some of Dälek’s most pointedly political messages yet. The lead track, “Blessed Are They Who Bash Your Children’s Heads Against A Rock,” starts with the now-infamous speech of President Barack Obama’s former pastor Jeremiah Wright, a damning rebuke of US foreign policy. MC Dälek says that it wasn’t included on the album for shock value, but it was intended to be provocative, or at the very least, intended to challenge listeners to hear the words in their full context, beyond how the mainstream media chose to frame Wright’s persona.

“We’re usually not that topical of a band,” MC Dälek says, “and that’s not really the reason that we included the speech.” He pauses to collect his thoughts, continuing, “It’s funny how the media works. Everyone was in an uproar over what [Wright] said, but most places would only play one or two sentences from his speech. When I finally heard the entire speech [on YouTube], I couldn’t find one line that was offensive to me, or one line that was a lie. I’m proud to be American; I love this country, but I also have no problem pointing out its faults. I just want people to hear the speech in its in entirety, not just the snippets that Fox News will show you.”

Even so, Dälek doesn’t expect much backlash from its choice to include the speech. “If anyone’s gonna be pissed about it, they should at least listen to the whole thing,” MC Dälek says.

Though Gutter Tactics is an admitted departure from the duo’s more abstract direction in Abandoned Language, MC Dälek says that it’s by design and a logical progression from earlier work. “We have a good idea of what we want to do from album to album,” he says, explaining that he and Oktopus had started to conceptualize the sound of Gutter Tactics while working on Absence in 2004. “In comparison to Absence, we knew that we needed to take a different approach with Gutter Tactics. We always knew that it would be in some ways heavier than Absence. [Gutter Tactics] has the melodies of Abandoned Language with the brutality of Absence; we think that it’s a nice mix of the two.”

Dälek acknowledges that its approach to writing is unusual. “We work in really bizarre ways,” MC Dälek says. “We have blueprints for the next two albums. I always said that I’d be making music regardless of whether it’s my job or not, so I just make beats, and Oktopus and I just start grouping things together for potential albums. There’s no set formula. There’s some tracks that Oktopus just puts together himself, but we have that trust in each other to put together the best possible songs, the best possible albums.

"We have ideas of where we’d like to go next,” he laughs, “though we don’t always like to say!”