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.

Mastodon: The Hunter (Warner Bros. / Reprise)

Mastodon: "Curl of the Burl"

Since forming in 1999, Mastodon has grown from cult sensation to preeminent poster-child of metal’s next generation. Along the way, its crushing, complex brand of melodic sludge has absorbed elements of thrash, prog, and Southern rock, all complemented by earthen mythology, literary ambition, and serious chops.

On The Hunter, an album that breaks the band's concept-album streak, vocal melodies are at an all-time high, imbuing tracks such as "Curl of the Burl," "All the Heavy Lifting," and "Creature Lives" with genuine pop catchy-ness that, at times, approaches the intonations of Alice in Chains. But grizzly screams and up-tempo sludge riffs have not gone the way of the band's namesake; "Blasteroid" and "Black Tongue" have plenty of head-bashing fury.

A few spacey and horror-esque elements, musically and lyrically, give the album an interesting wrinkle here and there, such as on "Stargasm" and "Creature Lives," the latter of which uses pitch-shifting synths to set an alien mood. "The Sparrow" then closes the album with touches of lap-steel guitar, setting the tone for some of the airiest Mastodon vocals yet.

In all, The Hunter is a fun, riff-filled album, but it's destined to alienate more Mastodon "purists." The bottom line, however, is that the band continues to crank out killer riffs and turn on a new generation to metal — even if it has a softer edge.

Boom Bip: Zig Zaj (Lex)

Boom Bip: "All Hands"

Ever since his loop-based beginnings, Bryan Charles Hollan — known better as experimental hip-hop artist Boom Bip — has been on the search for his optimal live-band incarnation. With his latest, Zig Zaj, he seems to have found it.

In 2002, Seed to Sun demonstrated Hollan's ability to make compelling organic and instrumental hip hop. On his recordings since that time, nearly everything has been performed by hand, and the results have been admirable — but nothing has clicked quite like this.

Now Hollan is armed with a permanent live band, consisting of Josh Klinghoffer (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Eric Gardner (Gnarls Barkley, Charlotte Gainsbourg), and Josiah Steinbrick. Their chemistry is immediately evident on Zig Zaj, which also sports standout guest spots from Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand (for one very Depeche Mode track), Money Mark, Luke Steele (Empire of the Sun), Cate Le Bon, and Mikey Noyce (Bon Iver).

Partly because of the guests, the new material takes a poppier and more rock-driven direction. But there's still plenty of the old Bip underneath, as synths and electronics commingle with the bass grooves and delicate acoustic riffs. It's a catchy, beautiful, and well-balanced blend, perfect for first-time Bip listeners. Pick this up now.

Welder: Florescence (Ancestor)

Welder: "Run"

Brendan Angelides is a San Francisco-based electronic producer best known as Eskmo, an IDM/electronica project that has come to focus more on atmospherics and on writing songs than on its early roots of making dance tracks. He has found a like-minded collaborator in the incomparable Amon Tobin, with whom he operated as Eskamon for a 2010 single, but for his latest release, Angelides has retraced his roots as Welder for another self-released gem.

Welder began as one of Angelides' first and most introspective projects. Living alone in a lakeside house in Connecticut for two years, he created soft, internal music, a more “chilled” version of electronica, under the alias . But it wasn’t only the remote locale that inspired the quiet sounds, as Angelides pored over documents and papers about the dark underside of American society and government and conspiracy theories surrounding 9/11.

Florescence is almost a rebirth for Welder. The IDM elements remain, but the music is more organic than ever. Gone are the bass-heavy dubstep rumblings of his self-titled Eskmo release, and the worldly elements of the earlier Welder material have been replaced by interwoven grooves, stirring melodies, and diverse timbres.

The emphasis here is on Angelides' musicianship, including his talents on the piano and bass. From the start, Florescence is highly active, intertwining feisty and bubbly melodies of faux cello and glockenspiel. Piano, guitars, synths, and strings surround those other elements, and whether they're real or library samples, they create a sound that's simultaneously lifelike and dreamy.

- Text by Marla Seidell and Scott Morrow. Read the feature story on Eskmo here.

Zechs Marquise: Getting Paid (Sargent House / Rodriguez Lopez Productions)

Zechs Marquise: "Static Lovers"

El Paso-based psych-prog five-piece Zechs Marquise is three-fifths Rodriguez Lopez — brothers Marcel, Rikardo, and Marfred — a surname that gained music-industry notoriety from Omar, the prolific Mars Volta guitarist (and head of Zechs Marquise's label). Together, the siblings have followed in the progressive footsteps of their older brother, but Zechs Marquise has blazed its own trail over its eight years as a band.

Its official debut album, the 2009 effort Our Delicate Stranded Nightmare, was a much more experimental and atmospheric work, patching together songs with eerie intros, funky keys, and jazz-tinged ambience. Getting Paid, however, fully focuses on the groove. Each of the album's nine tracks moves at its own pace, venturing into an alternate sonic universe at a moment's notice. Abrupt tempo shifts, an inexhaustible junk drawer of textures, and a healthy obsession with '70s prog fusion culminate in a truly shape-shifting record, albeit one that consistently rocks. Zechs Marquise knows when to give into its sweaty, twisted vision-quest dalliances and when to let a groove ride.

- Text by Kyle Gilkeson.

Evidence: Cats & Dogs (Rhymesayers)

Evidence: "You"

Los Angeles MC Michael Perretta (better known as Evidence) is one third of the hip-hop trio Dilated Peoples. Over the past four years, with Dilated on hiatus, Evidence has focused on his solo career, and Cats & Dogs marks his move to Rhymesayers Entertainment.

Here Perretta delivers a crisp flow that is complemented by guest vocalists such as Slug (Atmosphere), Aesop Rock, Raekwon, and Aloe Blacc. With samples anchored in soul and pop, the album lays a pliable backdrop for topics that range from the recession to distorted concepts of love. Skits between tracks bear an early-’90s influence, and with shout-outs to KRS-One and De La Soul, it’s clear that the time period remains a strong influence on Cats & Dogs.

- Text by Portia Medina.

Plaid: Scintilli (Warp)

Plaid: "35 Summers"

Despite an eight-year layoff between "official" full-lengths, London electronic/film-scoring duo Plaid certainly has not lost its touch. Initially announcing the news of their sixth studio album back in 2008 and taking as long as an entire day to produce a single beat, Andrew Turner and Ed Handley have used their tedious perfectionism to make Scintilli worth the wait.

Plaid's first non-film-related release since 2003, Scintilli is a dreamy, hyper-melodic mélange from the get-go, as ethereal female vocals glide over the first track’s delicate chimes and synths. Each of the album’s 13 tracks, however, adds an entirely new rhythmical sequence and mood to the mix. With a vast array of layered sound effects, Scintilli has a captivating range. Its infectious loops and spliced styles – hazy pop, acid house, dubstep, glitch – fade in and out in a confused muddle. Yet the mingling of these divergent electronic sounds creates a pleasant disconnect, perfect for eclectic IDM fans.

- Text by Lauren Zens.

Honorable Mentions

Apparat: The Devil’s Walk (Mute)

Bonnie "Prince" Billy / Phantom Family Halo: Mindeater (Knitting Factory)

Brutal Truth: End Time (Relapse)

Extreme Noise Terror: Holocaust In My Head (Candlelight)

Bill Frisell: All We Are Saying (Savoy Jazz)

Itsnotyouitsme: Everybody’s Pain is Magnificent (New Amsterdam)

The Janks: Hands of Time (Sprouted Records)

Junius / Rosetta: Split (Translation Loss)

Rudresh Mahanthappa: Samdhi (ACT Music & Vision)

Jono McCleery: There Is (Counter)

Rwake: Rest (Relapse)

Matt Stevens: Relic

Tom Vek: Leisure Seizure (Downtown / CO-OP USA / Island)

Craig Wedren: Wand (Nerveland)

Wilco: The Whole Love (dBpm Records)

yMusic: Beautiful Mechanical (New Amsterdam)

Boom Bip: "All Hands"

Ever since his loop-based beginnings, Bryan Charles Hollan — known better as experimental hip-hop artist Boom Bip — has been on the search for his optimal live-band incarnation. He seems to have found it.

In 2002, Seed to Sun demonstrated Hollan's ability to make compelling organic and instrumental hip hop. On his recordings since that time, nearly everything has been performed by hand, and the results have been admirable — but nothing has clicked quite like his newest effort, Zig Zaj.

Now Hollan is armed with a permanent live band, consisting of Josh Klinghoffer (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Eric Gardner (Gnarls Barkley, Charlotte Gainsbourg), and Josiah Steinbrick. Their chemistry is immediately evident on Zig Zaj, which also sports standout guest spots from Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand (for one very Depeche Mode track), Money Mark, Luke Steele (Empire of the Sun), Cate Le Bon, and Mikey Noyce (Bon Iver).

Partly because of the guests, the new material takes a poppier and more rock-driven direction. But there's still plenty of the old Bip underneath, as synths and electronics commingle with the bass grooves and delicate acoustic riffs. ALARM caught up with Hollan to find out more about the evolution of his band and what projects he has in the works.

Tell us about the evolution of the live band. How has that affected or led to what we're hearing on Zig Zaj?

The evolution of the live band has been like creating a new breed of dog. I've constantly been trying to fine-tune it to something enjoyable for me. This time, though, I got it right. The current live band is fantastic. With Zig Zaj, I certainly had the live show in mind when constructing the tracks. As a result, intensity became part of the equation, and you can hear that in the tone of the songs.

Coming out of the collaboration with Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals (as Neon Neon), what made you decide to scale back the dance elements for the new album?

The Boom Bip albums have always been more about the moment and trying to not have any limitations or concern for genre. I just let whatever comes out come out. I don't really think, "What genre does this fit into and what bin will this sit in at the record store?" Although it has become a game for me to see where it is placed. I've seen my album in everything from rap to avant-garde.

On Zig Zaj, did you tailor specific tracks to the artists that you were collaborating with? Or did you work with the artists to create a sound together?

Most of the time, I come up with the track, and midway through the writing process, I start hearing vocal melodies. I know at that point whether it should be male or female and the general tone of the vocals. I then dip into my pool of acquaintances and friends and see who best fits what I am hearing in my head and reach out. With Neon Neon, it was quite different. Gruff and I started from the ground up, and the tracks were catered to Gruff's style and voice.

Your music is almost entirely devoid of loops or samples. Do you feel that electronic and hip-hop musicians use samples as a crutch?

Not at all. I love hearing samples used in interesting ways. A lot of music benefits from a sample or the repetition of loops. My music used to be mainly loop-based out of the inability to write an actual song, but I have recently challenged myself to work with song structure and changes. I'm somewhere between a loop-based hip-hop producer and a pop-based songwriter.

Now nearly a decade after the release of your first full-length album, are you able to reflect on your musical progression?

I am definitely aware of some progression. When listening to the older stuff, I just hear what I could and should have done differently. With this new album, I actually did a lot of things that I wish I would have done in the past, mainly on the production end. As a musician or artist, you should never stop progressing. Some artists get worse over time, and their best work was made when they first started out. I don't feel that is the case with me. I can always and will always do better the next time around.

What would be your dream collaborative project, and why?

I get this question all of the time, and I really don't have an answer for you. I honestly don't think I have a dream collaboration, but if Nick Cave called, I wouldn't hang up on him.

What projects do you have coming up next, and with whom will you be working in the future?

I'm working with the visual artist Charlie White on a project involving preteen girls. We do a series of long interviews with the girls, and I construct music based upon their personality. It's going to be more of a installation in a gallery with a series of photos and media rather than a typical album. Gruff and I plan on finishing up some demos this fall for the next NN. Those two projects plus the live dates have my head spinning already.

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 support of Beacons of Ancestorship, out June 9, Tortoise has announced a handful of summer tour dates around the USA and overseas.  Head here for the list.

The Dillinger Escape Plan will release its next album, which is due in early 2010, on Season of Mist in conjunction with the band's new label, Phonogetic Records.  The band is touring much of the US and Europe in June and July.

Issuing its first album in five years, MC-and-DJ duo Eyedea & Abilities is unveiling By the Throat on July 21 on Rhymesayers.

Genghis Tron is contributing to a track on the new Converge album, which is being recorded this month.

On its MySpace page, Dysrhythmia has posted "Festival of Popular Delusions," the first track on its upcoming album, Psychic Maps.

Featuring Marcel and Manfred Rodriguez-Lopez, psych-groove outfit Zechs Marquise will release its debut full-length, Our Delicate Stranded Nightmare, on Rodriguez Lopez Productions this fall.  The label is run by Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Marcel and Manfred's famous brother from The Mars Volta.

The Beastie Boys have announced the name of their new album,  Hot Sauce Committee, which will be out sometime this fall.

Múm is releasing a new album, Sing Along to Songs You Don't Know, on August 24 on Morr Music.

Jón Birgisson of Sigur Rós is working on a "sort of solo record" that will feature the work of experimental composer Nico Muhly.

CDbaby.com, online home of self-released CDs and digital tunes, has decided to add single-song downloads.

Singer/songwriter Jay Bennett, formerly of Wilco, passed away on Sunday, May 24.  More tests are needed to determine the cause of death.

Mono

On the verge of its 10th anniversary, Japanese post-rockers Mono issue their first album in three years, and like its predecessor, Hymn to the Immortal Wind was recorded by Steve Albini at his Electrical Audio studio, resulting in a grand sound that showcases the group's epic sound. Complementary instruments make the minor-key material that much more beautiful, including glockenspiel and strings on the nearly 12-minute opener "Ashes in the Snow."

A virtual orchestra appears over the course of the album, which holds two dozen string players and two guest flutists. The main quartet handles organ, harpsicord, tympani, and piano in addition to the glockenspiel and its original instruments, creating a majestic sound that is well worth the three-year wait.

Mono: "Ashes in the Snow"
Mono: \"Ashes in the Snow\"

Dan Deacon: Bromst (Carpark)

Coming as the next logical step in Deacon's sonic evolution, Bromst finds electro-spazz surrounding his trademark whirring synthesizers and warbling alien-esque vocals with beautiful flourishes of organic instrumentation.

"Snookered" combines the older elements with pretty glockenspiel melodies, chopped vocal bits, and traces of real singing. "Of the Mountains" throws live drums under mounting buzzes and chants, and a lively marimba part steals the show on "Baltihorse."

Being joined by a large-scale percussion/synth/guitar ensemble for his upcoming tour, Deacon may define the rest of his career with Bromst and its resultant live performances.

Mastodon: Crack the Skye (Warner Bros.)

Possibly the best Mastodon album since Remission, the loosely themed Crack the Skye finds one of metal's biggest names branching out ever so slightly. A banjo briefly introduces "Divinations," newfound vocal harmonies appear on "Oblivion," and "The Czar" is an epic four-movement affair.

The album is one of the group's most accessible works, but the big riffs remains and Crack the Skye's psych-metal sounds tie them together nicely.  Though melodramatic vocals are splashed over too many good stand-alone riffs, there's just enough of the group's old-school gruffness to atone.

(MF) Doom: Born Like This (Lex)

Dropping his "MF" prefix, incomparable rapper and Marvel-inspired supervillain Doom prepares a disc full of two-minute hip-hop masterpieces for his newest solo album.

Like hip-hop brethren Madlib and J Dilla, Doom often grows tired of five-minute snooze fests, so he keeps most tracks short on this 17-tune affair. And like any Doom-related release, Born Like This features a nearly impenetrable wall of rhymes and flow, dizzying listeners with his ever-shifting, slowly delivered lyrics.

"That's That," one of the album's "singles," stands out with a vibratoed string loop and a bit of Doom "singing," and "Cellz" is the absolute highlight — using the Charles Bukowski poem "Dinosauria, We" with the author's narration of the world's depressing reality and a post-apocalyptic future.

Clark: Growl's Garden EP (Warp)

After whittling his engaging IDM soundscapes to focused dance tunes midway through this decade, English electronic artist Chris Clark went only by his surname and issued two more full-length discs on Warp. The newer sound isn't as ornate as that of 2003 album Empty the Bones of You, but it more aptly fits the designation "intelligent dance music."

Growl's Garden keeps Clark in line with his last few releases, but a few melodic moments recall the older sound. It also pushes forward a bit with cut-up vocals on "Gonk Roughage" and computerized vocals that are sung/spoken on the title track.

Dan Deacon: Bromst (Carpark, March 24)
This electro-spazz solo artist emphasizes live instrumentation for this anticipated follow-up to Spiderman of the Rings.  On Bromst, Deacon's sonic evolution is highlighted with lively marimba and glockenspiel melodies, live drums, and "real" singing.

Mastodon: Crack the Skye (Warner Bros., March 24)
Mastodon's publicity team has done a great job of building the buzz for Crack the Skye, an album whose themes deal with wormholes and astral travel.  Even if it turns out to be a disappointment, it likely will be better than 95% of all metal albums released this year.

Jerseyband: Beast Wedding (late March)
This incredible unsigned band is in the mixing stages of its new album, one that should further the band's "lungcore" style with mathy grooves, heavy horns, and metal breakdowns.

Staff Benda Bilili: Tres Tres Fort (Crammed Discs, April 7)
This group of paraplegic Congolese street musicians is releasing an album of inspiring material via Crammed Discs. The band's feel-good music will also be celebrated in a forthcoming documentary.

Karl Sanders: Saurian Exorcisms (The End, April 14)
The newest solo album of Nile linchpin Karl Sanders is another beautiful acoustic release of Arabic flavors mixed with Western structures.  Following Saurian Meditation from Relapse in 2004, this album will be released through The End Records.

Prefuse 73: Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian (Warp, April 14)
Guillermo Scott Herren's newest album as his glitchy alter-ego is meant to be a linear work — one that Herren describes as both straight ahead and obscure.

Mr. Lif: I Heard it Today (Bloodbot Tactical Enterprises, April 21)
Continuing a great few months for independent hip-hop releases, outspoken rapper Mr. Lif issues his newest full-length on his own, collecting songs meant to reflect on the recent political landscape and meant to inspire others.

Coalesce: Ox (Relapse, April or May)
Following the outstanding Salt and Passage 7″ from late 2007, this recently reunited pummeling hardcore group unveils a proper follow-up to 0:12 Revolution in Just Listening from 1999.  Taking the Salt and Passage release as a portent, the decade between albums should be worth the wait.

Isis: Wavering Radiant (Ipecac, May 5)
These purveyors of epic, accessible heaviness have gotten progressively more melodic. Whatever this new album sounds like, it should take another step forward while remaining heavy as hell.

Meanwhile, Mike Patton has kept busy with yet another project — scoring his first feature film, Crank 2: High Voltage (out April 17).  His soundtrack for A Perfect Place, a short film noir, was one of last year's best albums.

In an interview with BBC, Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys describes the group's next album, Tadlock's Glasses, as being a combination of live playing and obscure samples.  The album is expected to be out later this year.

Rapping virtuoso Doom — dropping the "MF" — has a new album, Born Like This, that will be out March 23 on Lex Records.

After a six-year hiatus, Anticon hip-hop duo Themselves (Doseone and Jel) has returned and will issue a third full-length album, CrownsDown, in August.

Definitive Jux rapper Cage has a new album, Depart From Me, that will be out June 30.  In the coming months, he'll also release a free EP, I Never Knew You, available through Def Jux and Adult Swim.

Mogwai has announced a new North American tour, running from April 20 to May 16.

Dinosaur Jr. has signed to Jagjaguwar and announced a five-week US tour that runs through April.  For these "intimate" shows, concertgoers will receive either a limited-edition 7" or a free digital download.

Atmosphere has announced a lengthy North American tour that runs from April 9 to May 22. The hip-hop duo gets great direct support from P.O.S. from April 9-24.

Psychedelic Cambodian pop-rock group Dengue Fever will provide musical accompaniment to the 1925 silent adaptation of The Lost World during the San Francisco International Film Festival on May 5.

Grizzly Bear's new album, Veckatimest, will be released May 26 on Warp.

One-man grind project Toxic Holocaust has announced a North American tour with Napalm Death that runs from early April to mid-May.

The Bastard Noise

Borne as a side project from pioneering industrial hardcore outfit Man is the Bastard, this electro-noise trio provides a surprisingly accessible soundtrack to the Armageddon. Crackling, squealing, and howling electronics surround steady bass rhythms and eerie ambience, often while notable guest contributions — in this case, the unmistakable screams of The Locust vocalist Justin Pearson — add to the unsettling doom.

The Bastard Noise: "Tyranny Beyond Earth Epilogue"
The Bastard Noise: \"Tyranny Beyond Earth Epilogue\"

The Low Frequency in Stereo: Futuro (Rune Grammofon)

Norwegian rock quintet The Low Frequency in Stereo create unabashed pop tunes with enough appeal to make even emotionally hardened metal heads tap along. The group's electronic/rock hybrid of fuzzy, tremoloed guitar riffs, dancing organs, grooved-out melodies, and loaded effects draw parallels to plenty of contemporaries, but The Low Frequency in Stereo accomplishes this mixture in a unique fashion.

Lymbyc Systym: Carved by Glaciers [reissue] (Magic Bullet)

Before their beautiful full-length debut of Love Your Abuser on Mush Records, brothers Mike and Jared Bell made well-crafted, keyboard-driven post-rock for their Carved by Glaciers EP. The duo's heartening tunes employ piano, synthesizers, organs, xylophones, brass instruments, and much more to provide a gorgeous multi-layered mix. Coinciding with a separate split release with This Will Destroy You, also on Magic Bullet, Lymbyc Systym now has its debut EP reissued.

Lymbyc Systym: "Carved by Glaciers"
Lymbyc Systym: \"Carved by Glaciers\"

Drew Brown: Tiago La is Losing the Plot [US release] (Lex)

Though Lex Records' website would have one believe that this album doesn't exist, amazon.com begs to differ. Brown's MySpace page has a scant trio of songs, but they exhibit the eclectic singer/songwriter possibilities of this EP.

Quatre Tete: Art of the State (Sickroom)

With two EPs and a full-length album under its belt, this Chicago trio returns with its unadulterated, math-influenced mid-'90s-style rock. Fans of hard-hitting guitar/bass/drums configurations would do well to pick up Art of the State, recorded by engineer Bob Weston.

The album draws a bit of sonic inspiration from Weston's most famous group, Shellac, as well as musical brethren like The Jesus Lizard and Dianogah.

Quatre Tete: "Mouth of the Rattlesnake"
Quatre Tete: \"Mouth of the Rattlesnake\"