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)

Holland’s newest album, The Living and the Dead, offers a laid-back Americana folk feel, providing a nice contrast to the blues and jazz approach on her last album, Spring Time Can Kill You.Her honest, emotionally charged drawl overshadows her modest vocal range is modest.  This is especially noticeable on the shimmering guitar track, “Mexico,” where Holland’s vocals give the song its heart and soul.

Weaving a rich tapestry of personal narratives that are earnest in their delivery, her songwriting is tighter than ever. On the hushed “You Painted Yourself In,” Holland sings, “Invisible light in your lovers heart / will show the way through the fiery furnace / and what burns up is torn away / and what remains is a beautiful promise.”

“Fox In Its Hole” is a reflective slow-burner in which Holland’s angular vocal melodies seemingly enhance the myriad of loose percussion. While the blues rock of “Your Big Hands” features Holland howling about a topical subject– heartbreak.

On The Living and the Dead, Holland is obviously becoming more comfortable with her country roots and has made an album that would be perfect for those steamy nights in the Texas hill country.

-Richard Giraldi

Jolie Holland: www.jolieholland.com
ANTI-: www.anti.com

Grails: Doomsdayer's Holiday (Temporary Residence Limited)

Fusing Indian music, 1970s film noir, and psychedelic sounds into heavy acoustic and electric rock, Portland's Grails are a wonderful anomaly. Doomsdayer's Holiday, as its name implies, cranks the group's heaviness beyond recent levels without losing its haunting, compelling melodies.

Grails: \"Reincarnation Blues\"

Earthless: Live At Roadburn (Tee Pee)
At the 2008 edition of the annual Roadburn Festival in Holland (spring break for anyone into heavy underground rock), San Diego psych-rock trio Earthless gave an impromptu headlining performance for 2,000 fans, having originally been scheduled at a venue one-tenth the size. Not only did its hypnotic, four-song, hour-and-a-half set blow away the crowd, but on recording it beautifully captures the energy and magnitude of the stellar live show.

Young Widows: Old Wounds (Temporary Residence Limited)

Old Wounds is the second album from Louisville rockers Young Widows since transforming from Breather Resist. Sporting an extra dose of heaviness, the disc opens with "Took a Turn," slowly building around a gritty, garage-floor bass riff before bursting with post-rock drums, multi-layered guitars, and reverberated shouts.

Throughout, the album changes tone and time at will like a lumbering, newly un-caged beast, while a primordial jungle pulse beats itself into a frenzy just below the crust.

Young Widows: \"Old Skin\"

Jolie Holland: The Living and The Dead (Anti-)
On her third solo album, Texas-born songstress Jolie Holland blends a variety of regional American folk styles. Topped with creamy vocals and bittersweet lyrics, tracks such as dark-toned "Fox In Its Hole" and wistful "Love Henry" make a long-lasting impression.

Jolie Holland: "Old Fashion Morphine"

Fucked Up: The Chemistry of Common Life (Matador)

The newest full-length from punk contrarians Fucked Up moves through more variety of atmosphere than standard punk/hardcore, with peaceful, otherworldly intros and layers and layers of guitar-more than seventy guitar tracks at one point (or so they say…).

There's less stop-start fury than 2006 release Hidden World-more sheets of sound. "Golden Seal" sounds like a darker Sigur Rós, or even Jean Michel Jarre.

Fucked Up: \"No Epiphany\"

Marnie Stern: This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That (Kill Rock Stars)

Backed again by untamed drumming beast Zach Hill, guitarist/singer Marnie Stern issues her sophomore effort with more frantic, high-pitched fret work, quirky vocals, and – through the carefully constructed din – catchy melodies.

Marnie Stern: \"Transformer\"

Hauschka: Ferndorf (FatCat)

German pianist and composer Volker Bertelmann, here known as Hauschka, uses a decade of classical studies as his musical foundation. With that, home-rigged piano effects, and additional acoustic and electric instruments, he combines structural influences of electronica and classical minimalism to create a beautiful minor-key oeuvre.

Hauschka: \"No Wind Today\"

East Coast Avengers: Prison Planet (Brick)

Featuring the outspoken sociopolitical lyrics of rappers Trademarc and Esoteric, East Coast Avengers are more than just skilled rhymers that take aim at rightwing water carriers. The group pastes stirring Romantic violin melodies and portentous soundtrack clips over head-nodding beats, setting an appropriate mood for its imperative lyrical content.

ECA has already taken plenty of heat in the corporate media for releasing the track "Kill Bill O'Reilly," so let's give the group some love.

East Coast Avengers: \"Kill Bill O\'Reilly\"

Desalvo: Mood Poisoner (Rock Action)

Released on Mogwai's Rock Action label, Mood Poisoner may just have influenced the heavy grooves on its label owners' recent record. Based in Glasgow, Desalvo sound as though the Jesus Lizard were a modern hardcore/metal band.

Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: Secrets Of The Sun (Atavistic)

A re-mastered and long-lost relic of the Sun Ra vault, Secrets of the Sun is now available from Atavistic 46 years after its release on Saturn Records. And if being available for the first time on CD isn't enough, how does a 17-minute unreleased track sound?