Tom Waits: Bad as Me (Anti-)

Tom Waits: "Bad as Me"

Few musicians are as cloaked in mythology as Tom Waits. Yet his music is both comforting and jarring, pushing boundaries while always honoring the legacy of American songwriting. Bad As Me, Waits’ first studio album in seven years, is all of these things. The songs oscillate between manic and maudlin, flip-flopping throughout the entire album. Where a Depression-era blues tune ends, a ballad begins.

There are multiple references throughout, the most obvious of which is when Waits calls out Mick Jagger and Keith Richards on “Satisfied.” The punch line of the joke is that Richards is playing guitar on the track. And he’s not the album’s only superstar. Flea plays bass; so does Les Claypool. Marc Ribot, who’s played with Waits since 1985, lends his Latin-infused guitar licks to just about every tune. And Waits’ son, Casey, plays drums, emerging here as a versatile musician in his own right.

Despite several blistering tracks, the best song on the album also is its softest. “Pay Me” is a tearjerker. An instrumental coda is the perfect end to the melancholy reverie, and in that moment, Waits seems like nothing more than an anonymous and soft-spoken piano player. Of course, it’s only a moment. Three minutes later, he’s back to his droll wordplay and violent howls, talking at us in spoken asides and then cackling in our faces.

- Text by Timothy S. Aames.

Russian Circles: Empros (Sargent House)

Russian Circles: "Mlàdek"

In 2009, instrumental rock trio Russian Circles released Geneva, an album that both introduced the worming bass lines of Brian Cook (of These Arms are Snakes) and showcased the band’s balance of metallic fury and melodic beauty. Complementary strings and horns also dotted the sonic landscape, creating a superlative post-metal opus.

Empros cuts away the complementary pieces of Geneva, instead focusing on the trio’s interplay. Cook has further ingrained himself in the Russian Circles sound, allowing the galloping rhythm section just as frequently to play the lead as Mike Sullivan’s effects-heavy, overdubbed guitars. And the usual ear for dynamics is present once more, building moments of tension and release to go with the killer riffs.

- Text by Scott Morrow.

Dub Trio: IV (ROIR)

Dub Trio: "Control Issues Controlling Your Mind"

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When dub-rock powerhouse Dub Trio last released a full album at the start of 2008, it marked a significantly heavier direction, with chugging hardcore and sludge-metal tendencies creeping into its unparalleled blend of grooves and riffs. The trio’s newest, IV, continues that trajectory, committing the group first and foremost to metal.

Dub remains a key factor, albeit more subtly. Few tracks bear the mark of modern reggae or dub music, but individual instruments are tweaked at key moments. “Ends Justify the Means” is the band’s first venture into the wobbly bass sounds of dubstep, but palm-muted and manipulated guitar stabs make it entirely new. And “1:1.:618” is an experiment in prepared piano and improvised effects, emphasizing the unpredictable nature of this inimitable outfit.

- Text by Scott Morrow.

Kid Koala: Space Cadet graphic novel and soundtrack (Ninja Tune)

Kid Koala: "Main Title Theme"

Canadian artist Eric San, better known as Kid Koala, is a non-traditional, storytelling turntablist, classically trained pianist, and accomplished visual artist. Like his 2003 release Nufonia Must Fall, Space Cadet is a joint graphic novel and soundtrack, each of which has been meticulously handcrafted between other artistic endeavors.

Over 132 pages of etchboard images, Space Cadet tells the tale of a guardian robot and a girl whom he raises to be a great astrophysicist-slash-space-explorer. It touches on themes of love and seclusion, as San sets the tone with a gentle and somber piano score. His turntable work makes intermittent appearances, usually to give the piano or other accompanying instruments (strings, horns, marimba) a warped and “drunken” feel.

The album’s tracklist provides follow-along page coordinates for the music, providing the type of audio/visual synthesis that is central to his “headphone concert” tour of 2011.

- Text by Portia Medina. Read our Q&A here.

Darkness Falls: Alive in Us (HFN Music / Fake Diamond)

Darkness Falls: "Noise on the Line"

Part of Copenhagen's blossoming pop scene, Darkness Falls is a two-woman dream-pop duo with throwback flair consisting of singer/keyboardist Josephine Philip and guitarist/bassist Ina Lindgreen. The two made a splash in April with their debut EP, and now on their first full-length effort, produced by DJ/composer Anders Trentemøller, they present a fuller and more dynamic sound.

In no small part from Philip's haunting harmonies, the music serves an atmospheric and hypnotic mood. The timbres are assorted yet thematic, united by guitar tones that drip with twang and surf-rock reverb. Accents of acoustic guitar, glockenspiel, Theremin, harp, and harpsichord join the spooky synths and sparse percussion for a soundscape that's alternately minimal and flourishing.

In all, Alive in Us is a promising debut that shouldn't be overlooked due to its Danish origin. And if you want to hear more of Philip's talents with Trentemøller, listen to the heartbreaking ballad "Even Though You're With Another Girl" on the producer's outstanding 2010 album, Into the Great Wide Yonder.

- Text by Scott Morrow.

Corridor: Real Late (Manimal)

Corridor: "Objective Lens"

Led by multi-instrumentalist Michael Quinn, Los Angeles-based Corridor is a quirky one-man pop experiment, crossing streams with classical and world sounds. But Quinn, who released a self-titled debut as Corridor in 2009, also cites influences such as industrial/folk art-rockers Swans, medieval English folk, and Django Reinhardt, creating one massive — but cohesive — confluence of styles.

Corridor’s blend of electronic looping and acoustic plucking is often dark and emotive, with an almost grunge/metal heaviness. Real Late also is populated by thumping tribal percussion and distortion on the verge of squealing, avant-garde hysteria. Even when venturing into dirge-ful, down-tempo territory, a jazz-like sense of melodic phrasing pulls it all back together.

- Text by Kyle Gilkeson and Scott Morrow.

Mr. Gnome: Madness in Miniature (El Marko)

Mr. Gnome: "Ate the Sun"

Formed in 2005, Cleveland-based duo Mr. Gnome has been offering introspective, spooky indie rock ever since its inception. Even though the art-rock band is composed of just singer/guitarist Nicole Barille and drummer/pianist Sam Meister, Mr. Gnome finds a way to make a lot of noise.

Madness in Miniature, the duo's third full-length album, flexes its muscles frequently. Oscillating between raucous guitars, atmospheric soundscapes, persistent drumming, and Barille’s full-on belt-outs and soft-spoken vocal layers, the body of work immediately calls to mind the best stuff by Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Kills, with hints of Queens of the Stone Age peppered throughout.

“House of Cards” is the clear-cut hit here, featuring an array of sonic qualities: clean guitars at the intro and verses, riff-laden interludes and bridges, forceful choruses, both sweet and distorted vocals, creepy harmonies, pulse-pounding percussion, and Halloween-esque howling. This variety is reflected in the rest of the album, making Madness in Miniature an indie-rock success.

- Text by Michael Danaher. Read the full review here.

The Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble : Mr. Machine EP (!K7)

The Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble: "Pretend" (f. Emika)

On its debut album, You Make Me Real, German “acoustic techno” trio Brandt Brauer Frick introduced the world to its unholy marriage of dance-floor forms and neoclassical minimalism. Over the course of the last year, the band has performed, on occasion, as a 10-piece ensemble, which has enabled it to transfer its digital components into the hands of even more humans.

Now that 10-headed beast, known The Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble, has released Mr. Machine, an eight-song EP. The title track kicks things off with a steady, spare drum beat and half-cooked instrumental detritus populating the wide-open spaces. From there, things should sound a bit more familiar, as four tracks are reinterpretations of tracks from You Make Me Real and three are reinterpretations, including "Pretend" by Ninja Tune recording artist Emika.

The production is incredibly rich without being dense, and each of the instruments is given equal measure of the spotlight. It’s definitely headphone music; you’ll want to catch every new wrinkle and texture.

- Text by Kyle Gilkeson.

Honorable Mentions

The Boddie Recording Company retrospective release (Numero Group)

Deer Tick: Divine Providence (Partisan)

Dirty Projectors & Björk: Mount Wittenberg Orca (Domino)

East of the Wall: The Apologist (Translation Loss)

Giant Squid: Cenotes (Translation Loss)

Junius: Reports From the Threshold of Death (Prosthetic)

Justice: Audio, Video, Disco (Ed Banger)

Morkobot: Morbo (Supernatural Cat)

Nordic Nomadic: Worldwide Skyline (Tee Pee)

Gary Numan: Dead Son Rising

Prurient: Time’s Arrow EP (Hydra Head)

Ralfe Band: Bunny and the Bull OST (Warp Films / Ghost Ship)

Raleigh Moncrief: Watered Lawn (Anticon)

El Rego: s/t (Daptone)

Roedelius Schneider: Stunden (Bureau B)

Roots Manuva: 4everevolution (Big Dada)

Slugabed: Moonbeam Rider EP (Ninja Tune)

Star Fucking Hipsters: From the Dumpster to the Grave (Fat Wreck Chords)

Statik Selektah: Population Control (Duck Down)

Christina Vantzou: No. 1 (Kranky)

Wild Child: Pillow Talk (Major Nation)

Zakarya: Greatest Hits (Tzadik)

Kid Koala: "Main Title Theme"

Kid Koala, born Eric San, is a Chinese-Canadian DJ who garnered recognition for distinctive styles of scratch turntablism and comical samples after his Ninja Tune debut Carpel Tunnel Syndrome in 2000. Since that time, the turntablist has toured extensively with huge names such as Björk, Beastie Boys, and Radiohead, composed several original film scores, and collaborated on numerous musical projects, including his own Deltron 3030 and The Slew.

San also has quite a knack for illustration, which he employed for his 2003 album, Nufonia Must Fall, a 352-page romantic tragedy about a love-struck robot paired with a short, jazzy soundtrack. His new release, Space Cadet (out tomorrow), is his second graphic-novel/soundtrack pairing, and it sets aside the eccentric scratching and samples to revisit San's classical piano training. Inspired by the birth of San's daughter, Space Cadet is a 132-page graphic narrative and dulcet soundtrack that chronicles a young girl’s adventures through outer space with her robot guardian.

Here, ALARM speaks with San about his newest multimedia journey.

When and how did you develop your turntable techniques?

I try to develop it everyday! I do it by practicing and listening to as many different styles of music as I can. Turntables are chameleon-like. The challenge for me is to see if I can learn to play them tastefully in whatever style is required.

In this technological age, with so many DJs transitioning from analog to digital mixing, why have you stuck primarily with vinyl turntables?

I like the sound of vinyl crackle and record burn.

Can you explain your thought process when choosing sounds to mix into tracks?

I usually have a melody or a story in my mind when I record. I try to bend sound into the melody that I hear in my head. I have a record cutter in my studio, so I will record a single guitar note or keyboard tone and cut it to a custom record. Once it's on the turntable, I can bend it into all the other notes of the scale.

What do you mean when you describe your search for inspiration as "audio-voyeurism"? How did your inspirations differ between past albums and Space Cadet?

I think whenever you listen to a recording, you are hearing a part of someone's life. I like to imagine the life story around the whole recording and what compelled people to make such recordings. Space Cadet was completely inspired by the birth of my daughter. Most of it was recorded before while she was an infant. Each piece on the Space Cadet score is a kind of turntable lullaby for her.

For a project like Space Cadet, do you start with the story line and illustrations, or do you compose the music first?

Space Cadet started with the illustrations.

What do you want listeners/viewers to take away from this project?

Hopefully, it will resonate with readers on some level with their own experiences with family, love, and distance.

Why haven't you used piano on previous albums to the extent that you use it on Space Cadet?

I used a piano as the primary instrument for the Nufonia Must Fall soundtrack. I also used it on some tunes I wrote for Sesame Street. Piano has always been my first instrument, and I usually go to it first when it's time to do a soundtrack. Perhaps it's because of all the Charlie Chaplin films I watched as child growing up. I loved how the sound of the piano would always add to the whole experience of those films.

How has the Space Cadet Headphone Tour gone? What are your expectations for the forthcoming Music to Draw To Tour?

The Space Cadet Headphone Tour has just started. I just wanted to provide a cozy environment to experience this music and the themes of the story. We bring inflatable space pods for the audience members to sit on, and everyone gets their own pair of headphones. This is not a dance-floor record. It is the quietest thing I've ever recorded, so I felt it would best be experienced on headphones.

The show is also a much larger production to set up than usual, so we are taking our time installing the show and gallery in different cities. So far we've done shows at The Contemporary Art Museum in Massachusetts and also the Biosphere in Montreal. This autumn, I will bring it to a few cities in Europe and the UK and next year to different cities in North America and other territories.

Even though the koala attire was imposed on you by a lost bet, has the costume become an enjoyable aspect of performing in any way?

It's boiling hot in that suit!

Del the Funky Homosapien: "One Out of a Million"

Del The Funky Homosapien has come a long way from being known as Ice Cube’s weird cousin (who isn’t even gangsta). After lending his inimitable, elastic flow and irreverent lyricism to “Clint Eastwood” and “Rock the House” (singles that helped launch Gorillaz to super-stardom), teaming up with Dan the Automator and Kid Koala for sci-fi concept album Deltron 3030, and helming his own group (Heiroglyphics), Del has carved himself a place in the halls of hip-hop history.

Although Del went from 2000 to 2008 without releasing a solo record, his current rate of output is staggering. His latest record, Golden Era, is packaged with two albums from 2009 that were previously only available electronically, Funk Man and Automatik Statik.

As the title suggests, Golden Era hearkens back to Del’s heyday, with astonishingly funky beats throughout. Smooth, nimble bass lines bounce along effortlessly, with slick synthesizers and guitars providing a melodic touch.

Some tracks, however, stray from this formula, keeping the album from repeating itself. Most notably, “Double Barrel” uses discordant synth bleats and bursts of guitar fuzz to create a noisy, Dälek-lite atmosphere. Tracks like this break up the stretches of old-school funk, keeping the record from becoming monotonous.

Del’s goofy lyrical style remains as vibrant as ever, referencing, among other offbeat subjects, Judge Dredd, Dick Dastardly (and canine companion Muttley), and the overall nice personality of Ice Cube. Lines like “Once I spit it, before you wipe your face / I’m entering hyperspace” and “My skills are top-range like Doc Strange” on “Raw” exemplify his brand of nerdy, braggadocio-fueled raps.

“One Out of a Million” finds Del dialing back the aggression and examining his career and position in the rap world.  Del seems resigned to his underground status but has no regrets, saying in the chorus that he’s “appealing to the realest in society / it feel like it’s one out of a million / but if one of y’all feel it, I’m chilling.” While the track has its share of Del’s quirky self-aggrandizement (“my nefarious flows go where music rarely goes”), its relaxed instrumentation emphasizes its relatively reflective, nostalgic tone. However, it’s one of the only songs on the record that deviates from the norm.

Del’s rhymes and flow don’t falter, but the album fails to make a lasting impression, aside from its refreshingly funky beats. Del’s lyrics focus almost entirely on some metaphorical “haters,” who are determined to undermine the pure form of hip hop that Del loves and practices. The album lasts just more than half an hour, with a vast majority of the tracks fitting this mold. Del can think of dozens of ways to insult those who would destroy hip hop, but he doesn’t move as far past these one-sided battle raps as he has in the past.

Deltron 3030 packaged his style in a clever sci-fi concept, but here he seems content to simply dismantle unseen haters. The songs don’t disappoint individually, but Del has proven himself to be capable of so much creativity and innovation that this record seems to be more of a holding pattern than a step forward. Fans of Del will find lots to love, but it’s doubtful that this record will be the crown jewel of his Golden Era.

Septicflesh: The Great Mass (Season of Mist)

Septicflesh: "The Vampire from Nazareth"

In 2008, Grecian death-metal quartet Septicflesh made a triumphant hiatus-ending return with Communion, an album that marked a new symphonic direction on the back of guitarist Christos Antoniou's classical studies.

The Great Mass is the group's second post-reunion effort, and it continues this direction with more of Antoniou's marvelous arrangements.  Orchestral and guitar-based hooks lead the way, but there's plenty of double-kick and blast beats, unearthly growls, and lightning-fast picking.

The album also is greatly strengthened by its secondary elements: mid-tempo riffs, Gothic singing, tom-heavy drum pounding, and brooding cinematic motifs.  Tracks such as "Five-Pointed Star," which display nuance and melodic mastery, would be believed as part of a dark Hollywood score (minus the metal elements).

The Great Mass might be the high-water mark of Septicflesh's celebrated 20-year career.  Either way, it's an exciting continuation of the band's reinvention.

Lanu: Her 12 Faces (Tru Thoughts)

Lanu: "Beautiful Trash"

Known for his work in funk/soul band The Bamboos, Melbourne-based producer Lance Ferguson now releases his second solo album of electronic pop as Lanu.

The album, titled Her 12 Faces, has gained steam abroad behind the strength of its first single, "Beautiful Trash," which features lighthearted vocals by Australian pop star Megan Washington (who appears four times on the album's first six songs).  The rest of Ferguson's sophomore effort is just as engaging, however, as it achieves sunny, fuzzy pop bliss without being cheesy or too sugary.

Lounge elements, hip-hop beats, and electronics help create a sultry vibe that is backed by strings, pedal steel, acoustic guitar, sitar, whistling, piano, and minimalist bass grooves.  Ferguson's skills as a producer come to the fore thanks to the diversity of sounds, but it's his penchant for simple yet effective melodies that makes Her 12 Faces one of the year's early pop gems.

Del the Funky Homosapien: Golden Era 3xCD (The Council)

Del the Funky Homosapien: "One Out of a Million"

Following his second dose of mainstream exposure with the 2001 Gorillaz debut, lauded indie MC Del the Funky Homosapien took another step back from major-label success.  A number of guest spots and a new Hieroglyphics album kept him busy, and intermittent work on the next Deltron 3030 release (with Dan the Automator and Kid Koala) kept fans awaiting another of his best collaborations (which, reportedly, is just about finally complete).

Over the past few years, however, Del has gone into hyper-proliferation, releasing four solo albums and a collaborative disc with Tame One since 2008 alone.

Golden Era, a triple-disc release, is the latest in what might come to be considered Del's golden age.  Featuring 10 more tracks of funky, sample-heavy hip hop and poetic cadences, the main disc is another solid installment in what is becoming a massive body of work.  Die-hard fans might find little new direction, but they should love it all the same.  And because Golden Era also includes the physical release of two previously digital-only albums — Automatik Statik and Funk Man — those who haven't kept up on Del's latest releases would do well to grab it.

Dengue Fever: Cannibal Courtship (Fantasy Records / Concord Music Group)

Dengue Fever:"Uku"

Righteously capturing the free spirit of Cambodia’s 1960s surf-rock and psychedelic-pop scene is Dengue Fever's fourth LP, Cannibal Courtship.  For nearly a decade, the Los Angeles-based ensemble, led by Cambodian songstress Chhom Nimol, has shone a light on the wealth of grooves that Khmer music has to offer, intricately reworking its musical foundations in an approach that is vintage in style with an ear towards global sounds.

Cannibal Courtship shows the band expanding its sound into new territories, playing a more fuzzed-out, rock-and-roll style while keeping true to the dreamy, reverberated guitar licks and driving bass riffs that make its music so hypnotic.  Guitarist Zac Holtzman takes a prominent vocal presence, and Nimol’s English has become increasingly better, resulting in a record that is sung half in Khmer and half in English.

- Text by Michael Nolledo.  Read the full review here.

Graveyard: Hisingen Blues (Nuclear Blast)

Graveyard: "Ain't Fit to Live Here"

It has been three years since Swedish psych-rock band Graveyard released an album. Rather than use that time to modify its sound or explore new territory, the band appears to have been perfecting its bread and butter: classic rock.

Produced, recorded, and mixed entirely in analog by Don Alsterberg (José Gonzales, Junip, The Soundtrack of Our Lives, The International Noise Conspiracy), Hisingen Blues takes listeners back to the '70s with rock-solid shredding and vocalist Joakim Nilsson's impassioned wailing.

Yet for as retro as its sound is, Graveyard does show signs of modernity — to varying success. On tracks such as "Uncomfortably Numb," the band flexes its powers of power-balladry. And on "Longing," a downtempo song with subtle percussion and no vocals, an Ennio Morricone-esque whistle couples with tremolo to an understated crescendo.

Ultimately, the album is retreading covered ground, but with tight production and a commanding swagger, Hisingen Blues still hits all of the right notes.

Arkan: Salam (Season of Mist)

Arkan: "Origins"

Formed by drummer Foued Moukid and guitarist/vocalist Abder Abdellahoum, Parisian metal band Arkan began its existence to fuse Arabic and North African timbres and melodies to the brutality of death metal.

The group's 2008 full-length debut, Hilal, contained plenty of Middle Eastern sounds — oud, bouzouki, darbuka, and more — but Salam, its sophomore album, reflects better balance and better songwriting.  Though still plenty heavy, Salam is more melodic, with stronger hooks and smoother transitions between styles.

Abdellahoum's vocal brutality remains a key element, but it's evened out by a greater presence from standalone vocalist Sarah Layssac, who previously toured with the band.  The album crosses into vocal melodrama at times, particularly towards the end, but Salam is a welcome release for lovers of worldly metal.

Honorable Mentions

Bill Callahan: Apocalypse (Drag City)

Gorillaz: The Fall (Virgin)

Harriet Tubman Band: Ascension (Sunnyside)

Illmind: Behind the Curtain (Nature Sounds)

Mazal: Axerico En Selanik (Tzadik)

My Goodness: s/t (Sarathan)

O’Death: Outside (Ernest Jenning Record Co.)

Omar Rodriguez Lopez: Telesterion (Rodriguez Lopez Productions)

Tune-Yards: Whokill (4AD)

The Slew: It's All Over

The Slew: 100%

Kid Koala is Eric San, a Québec-based scratch DJ who has lent his hand to a bevy of adventurous projects over the past decade. His ambitious and creative turntable manipulations have led to musical collaborations with the likes of Del the Funky Homosapien, Dan the Automator, and Mike Patton.

San’s latest project, The Slew (a collaboration with Dylan Frombach, a.k.a. Dynomite D), was originally conceived as a score to a documentary as a favor to a friend. The film collapsed in production, but the duo was so pleased with its progress on the score that it went on to complete a record anyway. The result is an album stuffed with grooving beats and a more rock-oriented feel than on previous Kid Koala works.

Emphasizing creativity, San always strives to make his interests fit new concepts and contexts. “I think a lot of scratch DJs suffer from short attention spans,” he says. “I think that’s what drew me to the instrument in the first place. I would get bored if I always had to do the same kind of show or see the same kind of show. I don’t want to spend so much time on something unless it is something I would want to see. This never really feels like a career because there’s this independent motivation to keep myself interested.”

This urge has rendered San a multifaceted artist. In addition to his musical endeavors, he is also an accomplished visual artist. In 2003, he released Nufonia Must Fall, a 300-page monochrome comic book detailing a romance between a lonesome girl and a robot. He also released accompanying music and melded the two mediums in his live shows.

“Making custom records is almost like mixing your own paint. I don’t think it's necessary to the craft; I just think if you’re a nerd like me, you end up there somehow.”

“With touring, it is always about finding a live way to present something that would bring the record into context and bring people into our dimension a bit,” San says. “It was a turntable show, but I wanted it to be presented like it was a reading — something mellow where people could actually get into the story.”

Although San now strives for the ultimate in audience engagement, he was raised playing classical piano, a rigid and solitary endeavor. He eventually dove into the antithetical world of scratching, using turntables as a meta-instrument to patch together musical landscapes out of dug-up, old vinyl and sound-effects records. As his craft matured, he found himself urging for more control over the sounds at his disposal, eventually turning to cutting records himself.

The Slew was recorded with turntables in Kid Koala’s characteristic freewheeling yet meticulous style via analog chopping and changing of records layered over each other.

“It widens your palette a bit,” San says. “What we’ve been doing on The Slew is, for example, holding down a chord on a Hammond, like an E chord, and while that is happening, messing with the space-echo dial…and then cutting that tone onto a record for, maybe, eight minutes. So it could be the most boring, useless record, unless you’re a scratch DJ or some guy who works at a meditation camp. Making custom records is almost like mixing your own paint. I don’t think it's necessary to the craft; I just think if you’re a nerd like me, you end up there somehow.”

Despite the allure and convenience of switching to digital sampling, San has been a staunch traditionalist when it comes to using analog turntables in alive setting.

“Maybe it comes from playing piano or something, but playing music is always a visceral, hands-on experience to me,” he says. “I’m not really so down with point, click, drag, and see what it sounds like. I just feel like the performance aspect is what makes it fun. From a show, I always like to see people play stuff. But whether these cats are on Ableton or complete modular synths, or whether they’re playing a wine glass, I don’t really care as long as what comes out the speakers has their spirit in it. You can hear that; you can always hear that. I think people read off you easily if you’re going through the motions or actually challenging yourself and trying new things.”

Likewise, the live representation of The Slew entered new territory for San, for whom Chris Ross and Miles Heskitt (both ex-Wolfmother) provide a live rhythm section, hashing out the heavy-rock beats. “We thought about doing it ‘normally,’” San says. “But it would require seven DJs and 14 turntables.”

As always, San is thinking of new ideas before he has even finished realizing his current ones. His next graphic novel, titled Space Cadet, is nearing completion. The plans for the corresponding tour bring even more concept to the show-going experience. Listeners will sit in beanbag chairs and listen to the music via headphones while watching the story unfold visually.

“My approach to doing music for that project is really subtle, like more ambient tones,” San says. “A lot of the story is about isolation. We want to bring that isolation into the context, which I think would translate well through headphones.”

Although he has Space Cadet and a new Lovage record in his sights, San might need some time off after The Slew. “I think that after this thing, my ears will be ringing for months,” he says. “Slew is by far the loudest project I’ve ever been involved with.“

Now he is planning a residency at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) for December of 2010 where he and a five-member team will create a live performance based on his long-awaited graphic novel and soundtrack, Space Cadet.

Living in the museum's artist housing, the team will build a set with the help of production staff.  The performance will use six turntables, a piano, and custom-made screens with recreated live images from the book, taking place on Saturday, December 11 along with a question-and-answer session. The Black Box Theater at the MoCA will allow for a personal listening experience, offering headphones to the audience to hear the soundtrack while viewing projections on stage.

In addition to his own outstanding releases, Kid Koala has been a part of projects such as The Slew and Lovage.  You can support Kid Koala by donating to the MASS MoCA Foundation through the Kickstarter website. Donations help fund production, equipment, and residency costs, and because it is a nonprofit, all gifts are tax deductible.

Georgia Anne Muldrow: Ocotea (ePistrophik Peach Sound)

The daughter of progressive-jazz parents, Georgia Anne Muldrow has attained acclaim — from critics, musicians, and listeners alike — for her loose, soulful vocals atop her own funky, jazzy creations.

In just four short years since her debut EP, she has made great strides as a musician, and her latest effort is another step forward. Ocotea, the first release under her Jyoti alter-ego, marks her first foray into instrumental jazz.

Drawing as much on spacey synths and hip-hop beats as jazz melodies, Ocotea keeps a steady pulse and groove as Muldrow utilizes a diverse sonic palette. It's a far-out journey that has shown the young songstress in a new and compelling light.

Georgia Anne Muldrow: "The Black Mother"
Georgia Anne Muldrow: \"The Black Mother\"

People Like Us & Wobbly: Music for the Fire (Illegal Art)

A pair of serial collaborators, Vicki Bennett (People Like Us) and Jon Leidecker (Wobbly) have joined forces over the past decade to offer bizarre and improvised audio collages.

Their latest pairing, Music for the Fire, is pulled from live recordings that have been tweaked and re-tweaked to capture oddball mishmashes of famous songs, obscure instrumental cuts, and vocal samples from decades-old pop culture.

To those with less exposure to the genre, Music for the Fire may feel like an album by Kid Koala or End (of Ipecac, Tigerbeat6, and Hymen) — often sleepy, clashing with itself, and dedicated to music that spans the 20th Century. There is, however, a greater focus on the weird and absurd vocal samples, which often are rearranged or pieced together to humorous effect.

The album also is built around a concept, one that tells the story of a relationship, from birth ("Naked Little Girl") to trial ("Female Convict") to resolution ("Pain"). It's a quirky, fun mess that isn't recommended for disapprovers of dissonance.

People Like Us & Wobbly: "Giant Love Ball"
People Like Us & Wobbly: \"Giant Love Ball\"

Jack Rose with D. Charles Speer & The Helix: Ragged and Right EP (Thrill Jockey)

Just months after passing away last December, Americana guitarist Jack Rose was remembered with a posthumous full-length album, the third of his acoustic homages to early blues, ragtime, country/folk, Appalachian music, and modern Hindustani classical.

Recorded in the summer of 2008, Ragged and Right sprung from a tour between Rose and D. Charles Speer & The Helix earlier in the year. While traveling, the musicians found themselves inspired by the sessions of Link Wray for his famous Mordicai Jones album, and Rose picked up the lap steel and Telecaster that appeared on earlier albums.

Together, the band laid down a forgotten number by Vernon Wray (Link's eldest brother), a Merle Haggard crooner, a take on the traditional tune "In the Pines," and an original. In all, the EP is unique, reverent, and beautiful — a fitting reflection of Rose's career.

Jack Rose with D. Charles Speer & The Helix: "Linden Avenue Stomp"
Jack Rose with D. Charles Speer & The Helix: \"Linden Avenue Stomp\"

Honorable Mentions

Ketil Bjørnstad: Remembrance (ECM)

The Delta Mirror: Machines that Listen (Lefse)

Foals: Total Life Forever (Sub Pop)

Grupo Fantasma: El Existential (Nat Geo)

Matthew Herbert: Mahler Sympony X Recomposed by Matthew Herbert (Deutsche Grammophon)

Oval: Oh (Thrill Jockey)

Rasputina: Sister Kinderhook (Filthy Bonnet)

Gabor Szabo: Jazz Raga (Light in the Attic / Impulse!)

Built around the inspired turntablism of Kid Koala and Dynomite D, The Slew began as a psych-rock score for a documentary based on the influential but obscure work of the 1970s band of the same name.

Though the film never came to fruition, the two were heavily into the project and enlisted the aid of the ex-Wolfmother rhythm section to tour with six turntables and a full band. And if you weren't fortunate enough to catch the modern Slew as a touring outfit this October, fret not — the originally intended "live-only" project has succumbed to demands for a recorded album.

On 100%, circular blues-rock riffs are tweaked and spliced with tactical precision, firmly guiding the grooves, samples, and beats that accompany them. Fans of Kid Koala will recognize large chunks of 100% that appeared on his great 2006 effort, Your Mom's Favourite DJ. Nevertheless, there's plenty of goodness to go around, and fans of both DJ skills and old-school rock and roll will dig this.

Jaga Jazzist: One-Armed Bandit single (Ninja Tune)

Über-melodic chamber-rock ensemble Jaga Jazzist attains a remarkable combination of complexity and accessibility. Yet despite its success and appeal, the group has been devoid of releases for the latter half of this decade.

By the time that we see the release of the group's new album (also titled One-Armed Bandit — so confusing), it will have been five years between full-length albums. Thankfully, in the meantime, we can enjoy this outstanding single from the forthcoming album that was mixed in Chicago this year by Tortoise's John McEntire.

"One-Armed Bandit" is a frantic, scurrying piece that features a dueling harpsichord and horn, a 1970s rock lead, and a fuzz-bass foundation that shifts gears to a rhythmic breakdown and a dreamy electronica interlude. Elements of golden-age Frank Zappa and Norwegian countryman Jono El Grande are apparent, and this should foreshadow a great progressive album.

David Sardy: Zombieland soundtrack (Relativity Music Group)

A diverse producer and former member of quirky 1990s rock outfit Barkmarket, David Sardy has plied an additional craft as a film-score composer and contributor for the past dozen-plus years.

Tabbing Sardy to pen a soundtrack for Zombieland seems like a great fit, and the result is a dark, highly percussive score that oscillates between brooding minimalism, blood-curdling neo-classicalism, and horror-infused rock and roll.

Honorable mentions:

Erik Deutsch: Hush Money (Hammer & String)
Fin Fang Foom: Monomyth (Lovitt)
Sajjanu: Pechiku!! (Tzadik)
V/A: Daptone Gold (Daptone)

Thursday, April 16

Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Dub Trio, Cheer-Accident @ Bottom Lounge (Chicago)

What a great way to celebrate the passage of Tax Day. First, indefinable prog collective Cheer-Accident opens for its hometown with a mix of rock, pop, chamber music, and noise.

Second, dub-metal instrumentalists Dub Trio rework their own punishing riffs and grooves for live variations, channeling dancehall sentiment through dropped-D rock.

After that, "rock against rock" avant-gardists Sleepytime Gorilla Museum close the night with an adventurous combination of metal, theatricality, homemade instruments, and philosophical themes.

Congrats to ALARM reader J.D. Romero, the winner of two free tickets to this show.

Friday, April 17

The Bad Plus @ Old Town School of Folk Music (Chicago)

Jazz trio The Bad Plus has made a career out of going against the grain. Genre purists have derided the band's infusion of rock structures, which helps create a hard-hitting jazz sound around a lineup of piano, bass, and drums.

Along the way, the group has built the reputation for deconstructing covers and reappropriating them into unique forms. Now The Bad Plus tours in support of For All I Care, its first all-covers album that includes a guest vocalist and a few classical covers.

Kid Koala @ Zentra (Chicago)

Loaded with samples that span the 20th century, DJ/turntablist Kid Koala employs a cross-genre sound that's impossible to pin down. For this stop through Chicago, he performs a DJ set at a local nightclub that may or may not hold a large contingent of bros.

Saturday, April 18

Qwel @ Reggie's (Chicago)

Chicago rapper Qwel lays unpausing flow and societal topics over melancholy production. Here he gets opening support from Galapagos4 labelmate Robust, who also opens at Reggie's the night before for Kool Keith and Kutmasta Kurt.  Doomtree rap-collective member Dessa — a guest on the great new album by P.O.S. — also opens.