Each orbiting the musical genius of Trey Spruance, the Secret Chiefs 3 satellite groups each represent a different sonic dimension of the band's expansive, undefinable sound. Following Traditionalists' full-length take on Italy's giallo movement, Satellite Supersonic Vol. 1 mostly collects seven-inch material from SC3 subgroups UR, Ishraqiyyun, and Electromagnetic Azoth.

This is far from a simple digital conversion, however; all of the material here was rerecorded for the release, with many tracks adopting different sounds and passages. UR, the Chiefs' "suprasensory surf" squad, presents three tracks of heavily tremolo-ed rock guitar surrounded by synthesized sounds, Eastern instrumentation, and epic motifs.

"Kulturvultur," one of the three, might be the group's most upbeat tune since "The 4," a sunny Ishraqiyyun tune from Book of Horizons that is irresistibly danceable. Spruance's most Eastern-infused ensemble, Ishraqiyyun retains a masterful balance between each side of the globe, as psychedelic and electronic elements are entangled with the Indian sarangi and an electrified Persian setar.

With the diverse palette that is typical of SC3, Satellite Supersonic Vol. 1 is excellent for the uninitiated, and it's just enough to tide over diehard fans until Book of Souls finally is released later this year.

Secret Chiefs 3: Satellite Supersonic Vol. 1 album preview
Secret Chiefs 3: Satellite Supersonic Vol. 1 album preview

Chrome Hoof: Crush Depth (Southern)

Try to imagine gnarly doom funk from another planet, performed by a nonet that is dressed like a death cult at a space disco. That imagination in practice, London's Chrome Hoof, is every bit as dark, wild, and fun as it sounds.

The brainchild of brothers Leo and Milo Smee, Chrome Hoof is built around an intuitive rhythm section: drummer Milo’s pounding pulses and overlapping time signatures and bassist Leo’s heavy, cataclysmic riffs. With just its third album in ten years as a group, Chrome Hoof delivers its most boisterous and complete release, full of dance-floor jams as well as cinematic math rock.

Vocalist Lola Olafisoye uses a brash, regal delivery to command attention amid the organized chaos, but it's the infectious grooves of Crush Depth that steal the show. Chrome Hoof has few performances and fewer contemporaries, so if you get a chance to check out the band live, don't miss it. And, naturally, pick this up.

Chrome Hoof: "Crystalline"
Chrome Hoof: \"Crystalline\"

Qua: Q&A (Mush)

Melbourne resident Cornel Wilczek might be an apt representation of today's electronic artist, calling upon buzzing effects, analog synths, and field recordings as much as guitar, live drums, and acoustic instruments.

As Qua, he combines these sounds into a fun, blippy style that can hit hard, scale it back, or get bodies moving. Q&A, his third full album, was first released back in '08 on a local label before being distributed by Mush.

Now with its official US release, the album marks Wilczek's progress as a musician — while adding its name to the ever-expanding list of great electro-acoustic works. Key guest spots include James Cecil (Architecture in Helsinki) and Laurence Pike (Savath & Savalas, Pivot, Triosk).

Qua: "Circles"
Qua: \"Circles\"

Rosetta: A Determinism of Morality (Translation Loss)

With a style that is as themed to space travel as metaphysical exploration, Philadelphia's Rosetta specializes in delayed, echoing melodies, often over steady snare cadences, that build to powerful mid-tempo metal.

Despite vocal brutality, this brand of metal owes more to post-rock guitars and hefty song durations, with certain aspects akin to Irepress and other Translation Loss label mates. Many also will draw comparisons between Rosetta and groups like Isis and Neurosis, but Rosetta retains its own special idiosyncracies.

Rosetta: "Revolve"
Rosetta: \"Revolve\"

Tobacco: Maniac Meat (Anticon)

Maniac Meat is another 16 tracks of warped synth hop, pop hooks, and effected vocals from Tobacco, one of the key pieces of Black Moth Super Rainbow.

Like Fucked-Up Friends, his 2008 solo debut, Maniac Meat features harpsichord-flavored electronics that are awash in hip-hop beats, vocoders, and fuzzy and glistening analog synthsizers.

Two appearances by Beck add a new dimension to Tobacco's style, one that admittedly grows old from song to song and album to album due to similar sounds and melodies. Nonetheless, his contributions are unique, and Maniac Meat is proof that he hasn't run out of steam.

Tobacco: "Sweatmother"
Tobacco: \"Sweatmother\"

Honorable Mentions

Black Tusk: Taste The Sin (Relapse)

Damien Jurado: Saint Bartlett (Secretly Canadian)

Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band: The Wages (SideOneDummy)

Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet: Live At The Triple Door (Royal Potato Family)

Solvent: Subject to Shift (Ghostly)

ALARM leaves no genre unloved in our round-up of 50 albums that didn't receive enough attention in 2009.

Omar Rodriguez Lopez: Old Money (Stones Throw, 1/27/09)

Omar Rodriguez Lopez: "Family War Funding"

The first of many releases in 2009 from prolific guitarist/composer Omar Rodriguez-Lopez. Accessible and centered on rock, sounding spacey, funky, progressive, psychedelic, a little jazzy, and a little Latin.

Kevin Hufnagel: Songs for the Disappeared (self-released, 2/3/09)

Kevin Hufnagel: "Tres"

Musical themes come and go, covering swaths of Spanish and Gypsy guitar before reverting back to haunting rock melodies, on this solo acoustic album from highly technical Dysrhythmia guitarist Kevin Hufnagel.

P.O.S: Never Better (Rhymesayers, 2/3/09)

P.O.S.: "Drumroll"

Likely the year's best hip-hop album, Never Better draws on Stefon Alexander’s background in punk and rock music (he plays most of the live instrumentation on the record), making this is an album that categorically defines the indie in indie rap.

Zu: Carboniferous (Ipecac, 2/17/09)

Zu: "Ostia"

Sludgy alt-metal with complex repeated rhythms and free-jazz freakouts. Features Mike Patton on two killer tracks.

The Andreas Kapsalis & Goran Ivanovic Guitar Duo: s/t (2/24/09)

The Andreas Kapsalis & Goran Ivanovic Guitar Duo: "Shadow Thief"

A Balkan-influenced classical guitarist joins an ethically inspired finger-tapping guitarist for a disc of skill and beauty.

16: Bridges to Burn (Relapse, 2/24/09)

16: "Throw in the Towel"

Dubbed the "Unsane of the West Coast" by ALARM's Jamie Ludwig, 16 issued another hard-hitting riff fest in 2009 with Bridges to Burn, the band's best album to date.

Umlaut: s/t (3/10/09)

Umlaut: "Kitty Puppy"

Mr. Bungle's Bär McKinnon, multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire, issued one hell of an album for this new project — one that filters meticulous melodies and asinine vocals through the lens of a whacked-out lounge group.

Jono El Grande: Neo Dada (Rune Grammofon, 3/16/09)

Jono El Grande: "Oslo Coty Suite"

Fanciful music that's different around every turn. Art rock that weaves through theatrical, progressive, classical, and absurdist styles with influences from Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, King Crimson and Igor Stravinsky.

Kylesa: Static Tensions (Prosthetic, 3/17/09)

Kylesa: "Scapegoat"

Down-tuned dirge metal that rumbles with crust punk, sludge, metal, hardcore, and psychedelia, often laced with atmospheric samples. To date, Static Tensions is Kylesa's most powerful album.

(MF) Doom: Born Like This (Lex, 3/23/09)

Doom: "Cellz"

Dropping his “MF” prefix, the incomparable rapper and Marvel-inspired supervillain delivered another nearly impenetrable wall of rhymes and flow, dizzying listeners with his ever-shifting, slowly delivered lyrics.

In an interview with HipHopDX.com, inimitable rapper Doom (formerly MF Doom) admits to hiring actors to play him in concert and lip-sync to his music.

In the same interview, Doom says that the next Madvillain album will be done in the next two months, and that it may hold closer to a 50/50 split of lyrical content and production with Madlib.

Melodic chug instrumentalists Irepress will be back on the road in June and July, making extended stops in a number of southern and southeastern states.

Yakuza saxophonist Bruce Lamont begins a European tour next week with metal quartet Minsk.

Mixing swing with metal and operatic vocals, Swedish experimentalists Diablo Swing Orchestra are recording a new album for a September release on Ascendance Records.  The album is titled Sing-Along Songs for the Damned & Delirious.

Chicago rapper Qwel has released Jump the Gun, a limited-edition tour CD that was recorded last month with Dallas Jackson of Jackson Jones.

Prog/math rockers Stinking Lizaveta will begin a three-week tour through the Midwest and South in May.

Owning a great name, Yeti vs. Yeti is a new experimental rock duo consisting of bassist Brendan Joyce and drummer Dave Marsalek, the latter from Doppler Shift.

Following its debut full-length in 2007, melodic math-chug group Irepress has just released its crushing, beautiful, epic sophomore album, Sol Eye Sea I, on Translation Loss Records.

To celebrate this great release, ALARM has teamed up with Translation Loss to give away a few gift packages of the new CD and an Irepress T-shirt.  Read the details and hear a new track below.

To enter the contest:

cforms contact form by delicious:days

Winners will be drawn at random. Open to US residents only.

Irepress: "Cyette Phiur"
Irepress: \"Cyette Phiur\"

“Cyette Phiur,” the fifth track on Sol Eye Sea I, accents the band’s brutal sound with soothing female guest vocals, bursts of gang vocals, fluttering saxophone, and the semi-androgynous sound of bagpipes or accordion. Distant echoes and reverberated speed picking, a pair of previously established tools, surround the palm muting and clean-channel melodies to create a majestic atmosphere.

Irepress: www.myspace.com/irepress
Translation Loss: www.translationloss.com

One entry per person. Contests are only open to ALARM newsletter subscribers. By entering your e-mail address you are signing up for our exclusive e-mail newsletter. You can always unsubscribe if you don’t like it, and you’ll still be eligible to win any contest you entered.

W.W. Lowman @ Uncommon Ground on Devon (Chicago)

Led by indie bassist Bill Lowman, this melodic side project has been tinged with post-jazz and neoclassical elements since its beautiful first album, Plain Songs, was released in 2007.

Now with a new live lineup, the group has upped its jazziness while retaining its harmonious rock approach.  The group opened for Tortoise in February while performing some new material.

Mister Buckets @ Jerry's Sandwich Shop (Chicago)

ALARM contributor Luc Rodgers plays DJ for a "night of unholy metal" at this local restaurant/bar.  We do enjoy metal, and some of us even enjoy beer.

Friday, March 6

…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead @ Logan Square Auditorium

The Austin rock sextet with the awesome, lengthy name tours in support of its new album, The Century of Self.  Even if you don't dig the music, you'll get into the album's themes if you're nerdy enough — Pythagorean views of music, ancient gods and myths, and subconscious metaphors.  Oh, yeah.

Saturday, March 7

Dex Romweber Duo, The Lonesome Organist @ Double Door (Chicago)

The former frontman of rockabilly outfit Flat Duo Jets tours in support of his new album with his sister Sara, mixing roots-rock ballads with bits of surf rock. Multi-instrumentalist Jeremy Jacobsen opens as his awesome one-man band known as The Lonesome Organist.

Watchmen @ random Chicago movie theater

Due to the assumed craziness of the fanboys on Friday night, comic geek / online editor Scott Morrow heads out on Saturday to see the adaptation of Alan Moore's classic graphic novel.  We'll see how the new ending pans out…

Monday, March 9

Irepress @ Subterranean (Chicago)

The weekend only ends on Sunday if you let it.  If you're in a major US city, don't miss the tour of this melodic math-chug group that takes a decidedly epic turn on its new, sophomore release.

Zu

Combining sludgy alt-metal with complex repeated rhythms and free-jazz freakouts, this experimental Italian trio delivers what could be one of the year's best albums with its latest effort, a debut for Ipecac that focuses on rock much more than its predecessors.

The album’s best songs include “Carbon” and “Soulympics,” the latter of which features Ipecac co-owner Mike Patton busting out ape-shit screeches akin to those from “Cuckoo for Caca” by Faith No More. "Carbon" is built around an infectious 1-2-3-4-5-6 rhythm (with one-note pauses between counts), pounding listeners with its relentless force.

Patton, who also guests on another song, joins Zu as the Zu / Mike Patton Quartet for a pair of shows (San Francisco, Mexico City) in March. If we're lucky, this will plant the seeds for a future full-length collaboration.

Zu: "Ostia"
Zu: \"Ostia\"

William Elliott Whitmore: Animals in the Dark (Anti-)

With his raspy, soulful, trademark voice in tow, minimalist folk banjo player William Elliot Whitmore moves to Anti- with the release of this new full-length.  New-found accents are present, expanding his blues-infused creations with touches of pedal steel, organs, strings, and drums.

"Mutiny" opens Animals in the Dark with a raucous tune of political metaphor.  "Who Stole the Soul" scales it back a notch, and the album continues through peaks and valleys of emotion, hitting its stride in the contemptuous "Old Devils."

Animals in the Dark is, without a doubt, Whitmore's best and most diverse creation to date.  Currently, you can stream the entire album at his MySpace page.

Irepress: Sol Eye Sea I (Translation Loss)

Following its debut full-length in 2007, this melodic math-chug group from Boston takes a decidedly epic turn on its sophomore release.

"Cyette Phiur," the fifth of the album's tracks, accents the band's crushing sound with soothing female guest vocals, bursts of gang vocals, fluttering saxophone, and possible bagpipes or accordion. Distant echoes and reverberated speed picking, a pair of previously established tools, surround the palm muting and clean-channel melodies to create a majestic atmosphere.

Irepress: "Cyette Phiur"
Irepress: \"Cyette Phiur\"

Tombs: Winter Hours (Relapse)

Hailing from Brooklyn, this droning doom-rock trio makes its Relapse debut with Winter Hours. Pummeling mid-tempo riffs package with heavily reverberated harmonies; dissonant ambiance separates the sonic punishment before guitarist Mike Hill bellows his abusing vocals, akin to those of 1990s sludgecore group His Hero is Gone.

Tombs: "Gossamer"
Tombs: \"Gossamer\"

Odd Nosdam: T.I.M.E. Soundtrack (Anticon)

Sample-based instrumental hip-hopper Odd Nosdam presents another blend of beats, melodies, and atmospherics, this time for the soundtrack to skateboard film This is My Element.

Applying each song to a different highlight reel, the tunes take different tones for each skater. Without being particularly sunny, the material refrains from being too down-tempo or dark. The result is a strong complement to the film's acrobatic highlights.

Odd Nosdam: "Fly Mode"
Odd Nosdam: \"Fly Mode\"

Here's a list of tours on our radar, including dates from The Bad Plus, Fucked Up, Orange Tulip Conspiracy, P.O.S., Secret Chiefs 3, Young Widows, and more.

Follow each artist's link to see current tour dates.

The Bad Plus: March 5 – April 17
After a few one-off shows and a short stint in Eastern Europe, the rock-infused jazz trio begins a month and a half of spread-out dates in major North American cities. Accompanied by vocalist Wendy Lewis, the group is supporting the release of its first all-covers album, For All I Care.

Dan Deacon: April 6 – May 17
Electronic artist Dan Deacon takes a six-week jaunt across the US and Canada with a full supporting ensemble to perform the electro-acoustic works of his new album, Bromst.

Don Caballero: Feb. 3-28
Led by drummer/instigator Damon Che, these rock instrumentalists began a US tour last week that will hit major cities from coast to coast. Since being recreated, the group (with Che as its only remaining original member) has emphasized a heavy rock sound, continuing with its most recent album, Punkgasm.

Fucked Up: Jan. 27 – Feb.
Closing out its three-week US tour, Fucked Up plays a few Midwest dates before culminating with two Valentine's Day shows in Chicago and a recently added gig in Michigan. The shock-value cross-genre punks then take a breather before traveling to Europe in late February.

Irepress: March 4 – April 11
Heading out in support of its sophomore album, Sol Eye Sea 1, this (mostly) instrumental Boston group treats rock clubs to mathy, melodic, chugging, epic songs.

The Oddity Faire: A Mutated Mini Fest: March 4-28
This four-week traveling mini festival features an outstanding lineup of Les Claypool, DeVotchKa, Saul Williams, and Secret Chiefs 3 in many cities. Some dates include the Yard Dogs Road Show, O'Death, and The Mutaytor. Tickets are a bit pricey but should be worth every dollar. Claypool is supporting a new album, Of Fungi and Foe.

Orange Tulip Conspiracy: May 1-23
This new project from Estradasphere guitarist Jason Schimmel makes its debut US tour in support of its excellent first album.

P.O.S.: Feb. 5-28
With what should be one of the year's best hip-hop albums in tow, Minnesota's P.O.S. kicked off a three-week US tour in Montana last Thursday. His jaunt runs through the West, the Midwest, and the East Coast before returning to Minneapolis.

Sleepytime Gorilla Museum: April 9-20
This theatrical art-metal group takes a short Midwest and East Coast tour between albums, getting a fabulous opener in Dub Trio for five of the dates.

Young Widows: March 13 – April 7
After a stretch of European performances, Louisville's Young Widows will have spent the better part of two months on the road, punishing crowds with a rhythmic heaviness and inspiration from forerunners such as The Jesus Lizard.

Instrumental(-ish) Boston group Irepress has completed its sophomore album, Sol Eye Sea 1, which will be released February 17 on Translation Loss (a new song can be heard here). The group's mathy, melodic, chugging, epic songs can be heard on a five-week US tour that begins March 4.

Les Claypool has announced a four-week traveling mini festival, scheduled to begin in early March, that is officially titled The Oddity Faire: A Mutated Mini Fest. The fest's outstanding lineup is different depending on the city; guests include Secret Chiefs 3, Saul Williams, DeVotchKa, Yard Dogs Road Show, O'Death, and The Mutaytor.

And speaking of Secret Chiefs 3, the incomparable Indian/surf/metal group has a concert DVD being released in March on mastermind Trey Spruance's Mimicry label.

Hardcore trio Young Widows has announced a major list of tour dates that run from February through April. See the list here.

Dan Deacon has announced a six-week tour, starting April 3, that will feature a full ensemble in support of Bromst, his new album due March 24 from Carpark.

Marking its final recording with long-time member Reed Mathis, the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey has made a new studio album, Winterwood, available for free downloading on its website.

Next Tuesday, February 3, Tibet House US hosts a benefit concert and dinner at Carnegie Hall. Performers include Philip Glass, Antibalas, Keb' Mo', Vampire Weekend, The National, and more.

Nile linchpin Karl Sanders has another solo album in the works, this time to be released through The End Records. Titled Saurian Exorcisms, the album will be out April 14. Some awesome preview tracks are already posted on Sanders' MySpace page.

Despite comments from main member Tobacco that the group was on indefinite hiatus, dreamy hip-hoppers Black Moth Super Rainbow have a new album, Eating Us, that will be released on May 26 via Graveface.

New York jazz group Dred Scott Trio has a live album being released via Ropeadope on February 3.

Hardcore group Pulling Teeth has a new album, Paranoid Delusions | Paradise Illusions, that takes a crushing and despairing direction. The album is available today to preorder from Deathwish Inc. and its official release date is March 31. Hear a preview track, "Foreshadowing," here.

Grindcore group Agoraphobic Nosebleed will release its fourth full-length album, Agorapocalypse, through Relapse on April 14.

Patti Smith: Dream of Life @ Block Museum of Art (Chicago)

This documentary, created over the span of 11 years, is an impressionistic representation of the life and work of Patti Smith.

The sold-out event at Northwestern University's Block Museum of Art features Smith, director Steven Sebring, and Chicago Sun-Times pop music critic Jim DeRogatis in person, participating in an after-film conversation with the audience.

The Alaya Conscious @ Elbo Room (Chicago)

Progressive-metal power trio The Alaya Conscious is cut from the cloth of instrumentalists like Dysrhythmia and Irepress, even slightly drawing from guitar shredders like Steve Vai. The local group is working on a new EP, set for release in April, and is performing around Chicago in the meantime.

Funky reggae sextet Cold Water Mystic headlines this show. Concertgoers would be very, very wise to avoid everyone else performing (there are six total bands). Show up late to catch The Alaya Conscious at 10:30.