Vildhjarta: Måsstaden (Century Media)

Vildhjarta: "Benblåst"

Six years ago, Vildhjarta began as a three-piece musical project in Hudiksvall, Sweden. The young band, then comprised of Daniel Bergström, Johan Nyberg, and Jimmie Åkerström, communicated musical and lyrical ideas via E-mail due to locational distances. Yet despite limited direct access to one another, the trio more than doubled its size and consequently doubled its roster of compositional ideas. From there, Vildhjarta naturally evolved from a mere project to a band with the “djent” progressive-metal style coined by Meshuggah. This physical growth of Vildhjarta has been possibly the most significant contributor to its musical growth, resulting in the band’s concept album and debut full-length, Måsstaden.

Though the mathy, chugging, down-tuned riffage is the band's main calling card, Måsstaden establishes a diversity thanks to a series of melodic yet eerie interludes and alternating vocalists.  Those vocal exchanges — between Vilhelm Bladin’s deep growls and Daniel Ädel’s mid-range screams — respond to tempo and instrumental changes, maintaining a consistency during each song’s verses and chorus. Metalcore breakdowns are recurrent throughout Måsstaden, but tracks such as "Traces" and "Benblåst" offer distinguishing characteristics, respectively, in the form of harmonized singing and a creeping introductory rhythm.

According to the band, the album's concept "tells the tale of a hidden and isolated town narrated in a classic fable manner." Although Måsstaden doesn’t evoke feelings of a jolly Disney fairytale, Vildhjarta cites The Jungle Book’s melodies as well as Final Fantasy IV’s narrative as inspirations. Outside of a few subtle moments — such as the backing polyrhythms on "All These Feelings" and "The Lone Deranger" — those inspirations are about as inaudible as they come. Nonetheless, Vildhjarta has made its mark with a crushing and conceptual debut.

- Text by Lauren Zens.

Gorillaz: The Singles Collection 2001-2011 (Virgin / EMI)

You’ve got to hand it Brit-pop stalwart Damon Albarn and Tank Girl illustrator Jamie Hewlett for creating an animated band that’s stood up to criticism in both the animation and music spheres for a decade. What could’ve burst and then fizzled has grown into a worldwide multimedia project whose collaborators include hip-hop mainstays such as Del the Funky Homosapien, MF Doom, Mos Def, and De La Soul; legends like Lou Reed and Bobby Womack; and lesser-known all-stars that include  Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Martina Topley-Bird, and an assortment of orchestras and choirs.

This year marks its tenth anniversary, and to celebrate, the virtual band is releasing The Singles Collection: 2001–2011, a CD/DVD package that includes 15 tracks and 14 visual selections, either official music videos or live recordings. Among the latter is the standout “Kids with Guns” from Demon Days: Live at the Manchester Opera House.

What’s cool about hearing the compressed discography is the pop of each album’s highly stylized flavor, together a panorama of ideas, influences, and production values. What’s not as cool is that there’s nothing from The Fall, last year’s minimal but masterful album recorded on an iPad in hotel rooms during 30 days of a US tour. Instead, “Doncamatic,” the banal single featuring young soul sensation Daley, makes the cut.

It’s the same story on the DVD, which includes mostly major works rather than the cool animatics and other pulp that Gorillaz released in the lead up to The Singles. Despite these few missed opportunities, it’s hardly a disappointing retrospective. If nothing else, it’s worth going back to “Clint Eastwood” and pondering the decade that’s taken place since the song moseyed infectiously onto the scene.

- Text by Timothy S. Aames.

Honorable Mention

Dim Mak: The Emergence of Reptilian Altars (Willowtip)

Temple of Baal / Ritualization: The Vision of Fading Mankind (Agonia)

3:33: The First Thousand Days (Parallel Thought, 6/21/11)

Just two months ago, mysterious, experimental electronic group 3:33 released its debut album, 333LP1. Its follow-up, to be released tomorrow, has an uncharacteristically communicative title — The First Thousand Days (Bandcamp) — but the group's mechanical, idiosyncratic number/letter combinations are still present in the track list.

Though 3:33 has worked with rappers in the past (MF Doom, Del / Tame One), the new record is barely classifiable as instrumental hip hop. Its dark, synth-based compositions are reminiscent of a stripped-down Endtroducing-era DJ Shadow with more erratic, lo-fi percussion and elements of drone. Except for the closer, "P9," all of the tracks run less than four minutes — a brief but harrowing journey through echoey soundscapes filled with cymbal crashes and deep bass.

If you missed it last week, check out ALARM's list of 100 Unheralded Albums from 2010.

Ghostface Killah: Apollo Kids (Def Jam)

Ghostface Killah: "2getha Baby"

Just one of the seemingly endless number of MCs from the Wu-Tang Clan, Ghostface Killah has served as executive producer of many Wu releases, and he’s also had one of the busiest solo careers of all the members.  For his own material, his coarse vocal style has meshed with a more-soulful style, and it’s that combination of edginess and accessibility that has furthered his success.

Apollo Kids is his ninth studio album and first of three new albums in the works.  It’s another hard but funky mix with assorted production, including a track by Pete Rock, one by Jake One, and a few by Frank Dukes.  Naturally, there are plenty of guest spots from the Wu crew, with appearances by GZA, Cappadonna, Raekwon, and Method Man, and there other big-name cameos by Busta Rhymes, Joell Ortiz, and Black Thought.

The production is on point, but it’s really unfortunate that many verses fall back into the homophobic and misogynistic stereotypes of gangster rap.  Hopefully, his anticipated collaboration with MF Doom, called Swift & Changeable, won’t fall victim to the same trappings.

Royal Thunder: s/t EP (Relapse)

Royal Thunder: "Hotel Bend"

Royal Thunder is an Atlanta trio that mixes together elements of classic rock, psych rock, and garage rock – as well as the slight metal influence of other presently prominent Georgian bands.  Late last year, the group self-released and recorded a self-titled EP that, at 33 minutes, doesn’t run much shorter than a lot of contemporary “long players.”  Now the EP is being re-released through Relapse, exposing it to a much wider audience.

The music works but is sort of standard issue, so for the time being, the main draw is the elongated, overdubbed vocals of bassist Miny Parsonz.  Her parts on the song “Hotel Bend” could be transposed into an indie or pop song with negligible difference, and it’s nice to hear that vocal style succeed with a harder brand of rock.  The band is working on a full-length for an expected 2011 release, and with that, perhaps we’ll hear Royal Thunder really come into its own.

Nick Cave has been a cult icon for 30 years, from his days fronting The Birthday Party through the 14 albums he has led with Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds. With the help of the dynamic Bad Seeds, he has championed a dark and unparalleled brand of alt-rock, and in 2007, he launched another lauded project, Grinderman, with the aid of longtime Seeds.

Marked by raw lyrics and impassioned vocals, the garage-rock side project now takes a sharp turn for its second album, presenting a much more sprawling, diverse recording. Layers of effects, noise, and backing vocals build each song into colorful stories of weirdness and absurdity, and all together, the album is a much greater studio labor than the twisted rock ballads of its predecessor. With 2, Grinderman has come into its own as a full-fledged group.

Grinderman: "Heathen Child"

The Bad Plus: Never Stop (E1)

Built around piano, bass, and drums, the hard-hitting jazz trio known as The Bad Plus is beloved for its inimitable originals as well as its radically re-imagined covers. Now, after an entire disc of covers, the trio follows with its first full release of original tunes.

The instrumentation never shifts, but Never Stop embodies the assorted tastes that have been reflected in the trio’s cover selections — all filtered through a powerful jazz style.  And though the explored territory isn't particularly new — other than perhaps a few more accessible melodies and straightforward beats — Never Stop contains some of the group's finest songs, including "The Radio Tower Has a Beating Heart," "My Friend Metatron," and the title track.

The Bad Plus: "My Friend Metatron"

Buke & Gass: Riposte (Brassland)

Take an altered baritone ukulele (the “buke”) and a guitar-bass hybrid (the “gass”) and run them through thick, fuzzy distortion effects. Add homemade foot percussion and the strong, über-melodic pop vocals of Arone Dyer (the buke-ist), and you get the shockingly effective duo dubbed Buke & Gass.

Listening to Riposte, the pair’s debut, is a great pop-rock experience, but seeing it come together on stage is something else.  The material gets a bit sugary at times, but between the duo's unique sounds, potent harmonies, and unconventional riffs, it's hard for Buke & Gass to do much wrong.

Buke & Gass: "Medulla Oblongata"

MF Doom f. Big Benn Klingon: Expektoration (Gold Dust)

Following an early and disillusioned career on a major label, Daniel Dumile birthed a Doctor Doom-inspired alter-ego — MF Doom — who blew up the indie-rap circuit while garnering critical acclaim.

The villainous persona spawned a few more characters and collaborations in the form of Viktor Vaughn, King Geedorah, Metal Fingers, Danger Doom (with Danger Mouse), Madvillain (with Madlib), and more.  No matter the name, however, Dumile's voice and delivery are spotted anywhere, delivering lyrical gems via a slightly garbled voice.

And despite the controversy surrounding his stand-in "Doom imposters" (who sometimes take Dumile's place on the road), Doom can kill it live — a fact that was first documented on the 2005 live album, Live from Planet X.

Expektoration (an alternately spelled word for the act of expelling sputum — or, in a sense, spitting) chronicles more of the Doom solo catalog, albeit much from the same era as Live from Planet X.  Split into two acts with an intermission, Expektoration mostly pulls from MM..Food, Madvillainy, and Operation: Doomsday, all of which were released between 1999 and 2004.  The sound quality is befitting a live album, but the album is worth hearing to experience (or re-experience) Doom's on-stage command.

MF Doom: "Beef Rap"

Blonde Redhead: Penny Sparkle (4AD)

It's been 15 years since Blonde Redhead's low-fi debut, and though the band's output has slowed since 2000, each successive album has marked a new chapter in the dreamy, experimental indie-rock trio's career.

Penny Sparkle is no exception.  The album was recorded with Van Rivers and The Subliminal Kid, a pair of hot Swedish producers who have worked with Fever Ray and have translated Blonde Redhead's trademark sound onto an electronic canvas.

As in the past, the trio's backing music remains its strength on Penny Sparkle.  Guitarist/vocalist Kazu Makino establishes the mood with another round of soft, often somber vocals, but it's the production that shines here.  Unfamiliar listeners may enjoy Penny Sparkle, and preexisting fans will appreciate Blonde Redhead in a new way.

Blonde Redhead: "Everything is Wrong"

Honorable Mentions

Azure Ray: Drawing Down the Moon (Saddle Creek)

The Black Angels: Phosphene Dream (Blue Horizon)

Black Milk: Album of the Year (Decon / Fat Beats)

Black Mountain: Wilderness Heart (Jagjaguwar)

The Black Pacific: s/t (SideOneDummy)

Blue Cranes: Observatories

Cloud Cult: Light Chasers (Earthology)

Leonard Cohen: Songs from the Road 2xCD (Sony)

Dungen: Skit I Allt (Mexican Summer)

Justin Townes Earle: Harlem River Blues (Bloodshot)

Lobisomem: Onze Pedras (Tall Corn)

Masters of Reality: Pine / Cross Dover (Cool Green)

Steve Reich: Double Sextet (Nonesuch)

Jason Simon: s/t (Tee Pee)

We Love: s/t (BPitch Control)

The idiosyncratic MC is a favorite of many, as are his collaborations as Danger Doom (with Danger Mouse) and Madvillain (with Madlib).

Known for sending impersonators to wear his mask and lip-sync on tour, Doom is as much a character as a performer, so what happens on his newest tour is anyone's guess. He'll be touring in support of Expektoration, a live album planned for release on September 14, 2010 on Gold Dust Media.

(MF) Doom tour dates:

10/12/10 – Dublin, IE @ Button Factory
10/13/10 – Manchester, UK @ The Warehouse Project
10/14/10 – London, UK @ O2 Brixton Academy
10/15/10 – Brighton, UK @ Concorde 2
10/16/10 – Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy
10/18/10 – Glasgow, UK @ The Arches
10/19/10 – Paris, FR @ Bataclan
10/21/10 – Brussells, BEL @ AB
10/22/10 – Munster, DE @ Munsters Palace
10/24/10 – Leipzig, DE @ Conne Island
10/31/10 – Utrecht, NL @ Tivoli
11/01/10 – Copenhagen, DK @ Vega
11/03/10 – Oslo, NO @ Spikerboks
11/05/10 – Helsinki, FI @ Nosturi
11/06/10 – Stockholm, SE @ Göta Källore

In July, Kansas City math-groove merchants Coalesce completed an impeccable decade-long comeback. Known for combining big, killer riffs with punishing beats, vocal brutality, and tricky time signatures, the recently reunited band released its best creation, OX, while adding bits of acoustic melancholy, heavy blues, harmonized vocals, and Italian Western to its sound.

OXEP is the album's addendum, a series of seven tracks that further incorporates some of these new elements.

A simple, driving rhythm fuels "Ox to Ore" and "Ore to Earth," a two-part intro/outro that is split at the front and rear of the disc. "Joyless in Life" and "Absent in Death" are Western-driven concoctions, "To My Ruin" provides another dose of potent vocal harmonies, and "Through Sparrows I Rest" — in addition to being one of the band's best songs yet — features the shrill scream of vocalist Sean Ingram's young daughter.

If you own OX, this is a must-have accompaniment.

Omar Rodriguez Lopez: Xenophanes (Rodriguez Lopez Productions)

The creative output of Omar Rodriguez Lopez boggles minds, but more stunning than his half-dozen albums per year is his ability to make each stand out from one another. The musical mastermind now has released five solo albums this year, and though a few were laid to tape in 2006, that tally doesn't count releases with The Mars Volta or El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez Lopez.

Xenophanes is another journey through Omar's progressive soundscape, this time leaning on the scurrying piano lines of Marcel Rodriguez Lopez and Mark Aanderud. Most notably, however, Omar takes full control of the vocals, singing entirely in Spanish and showcasing an ability that has been underutilized in his vast catalog.

Ultimately, Xenophanes is a highly accessible record that doesn't skimp on raw musicianship. Fans who were looking for more from The Mars Volta's Octahedron should check this out.

(MF) Doom: Unexpected Guests (Gold Dust)

Inimitable rapper/producer Doom (who has dropped the long-adjacent "MF") has a bevy of collaborations to his credit. Now, thankfully, many of his favorite guest spots and behind-the-boards efforts have been collected on one disc.

It may not seem possible for an album of guest work to resemble a greatest-hits album, but Unexpected Guests comes awfully close. Plenty of hip-hop heavy hitters play host throughout the disc, including J Dilla, Talib Kweli, Vast Aire, and much of the Wu-Tang Clan (GZA, Ghostface, Inspectah Deck, and Masta Killa).

The album even includes some previously unreleased cuts. Pick this up.

Honorable mentions:

DJ Rupture & Matt Shadetek: Solar Life Raft (The Agriculture)
Krallice: Dimensional Bleedthrough (Profound Lore)

Lymbyc Systym: Shutter Release (Mush)

Brothers Jared and Mike Bell have kept busy since 2007, releasing their heavily layered electro-acoustic jams on two full-length albums, a remix album, a re-released debut EP, and a split EP with This Will Destroy You.

With Shutter Release, the two showcase their continued musical development, laying tape to a new set of densely packed, melodically driven creations that lean on reappearing refrains and crescendos.

The album opens with a circular, cascading beat that gives way to one of the album's most noted additions — a clean-channel electric guitar that presents the first of innumerable melodies to follow. A glockenspiel and synthesizers join, and soon the duo's familiar brand of post-rock is in full effect.

Shutter Release succeeds with the familiar, but it expands Lymbyc Systym's catalog with mellow moments and does well to capture its live energy. Don't sleep on this release.

Mr. Chop: For Pete's Sake (Now-Again)

Coz Littler, also known as the multi-instrumentalist producer Mr. Chop, has begun making a name for himself in the States with an EP on Stones Throw and production work on MF Doom's Born Like This.

Littler can handle most of his albums' instrumentation by himself, but for his newest release, he again calls upon more studio vets for funky, jazzy, effects-fueled renditions of the beats and productions of critically acclaimed producer Pete Rock.

For Pete's Sake stands on its own as a funky good time, but for those familiar with Rock's catalog, it should prove to be doubly enjoyable.

Nile: Those Whom the Gods Detest (Nuclear Blast)

On the heels of a haunting solo album, cultural fusionist and guitarist Karl Sanders leads a new album from Nile, his extreme metal quartet with influence from ancient Egyptian themes and imagery.

A traditional Middle Eastern vocal passage makes a strange (but effective) complement to an otherwise brutal, shredding opener, but much of Those Whom the Gods Detest consists of Nile's relentless guitar fury, blazing double bass, vocal ferocity, and slowly churning chugs.

Beginning with more of Sanders' worldly influence, the title track shortly transforms to a harrowing assault of lightning-fast riffs and blast beats before working to an epic chorus. Ultimately, the track vies for title of the album's best, and it comes to typify the stylistic convergence that has separated Nile for the past 15 years.

Honorable mentions:

Bill Frisell: Good Dog, Happy Man reissue (2xLP + bonus CD, Nonesuch)
The Gift of Gab: Escape 2 Mars (Cornerstone RAS)
Lateef the Truthspeaker: Truth is Love (Dread Piper Sounds)
Nirvana: Bleach deluxe edition (Sub Pop)
Rita J: Artist Workshop (All Natural)

Flat Earth Society

This vibrant, upbeat big-band jazz ensemble entwines circus, burlesque, lounge, and Cirque du Soleil sounds in its quirky mix — one that counts on 23 regular members.

The title of this second album for Crammed Discs is an anagram of the group's leader, Belgian composer/clarinetist Peter Vermeersch.  It's a fitting title for an album that sounds joyous and debauched — an album that should vie for best jazz disc of 2009.

Flat Earth Society: "Vole Sperm Reverie" (excerpt)
Flat Earth Society: \"Vole Sperm Reverie\" (excerpt)

Prefuse 73: The Forest of Oversensitivity (Warp)

Rounding out his full-length release from April, Prefuse 73 releases five revised tracks, heavy on sampled/tweaked vocals, from Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian.  As a result, each track on this 22-minute EP ends with "Choir," including two straight-up remixes.  If you enjoyed Ampexian, you'll want to add this as a pleasant compendium.

J Dilla: Jay Stay Paid (Nature Sounds)

Influential producer J Dilla knew how to keep busy, even doing so while battling lupus and a blood disease in a hospital room.  Now another partial collection of his work is issued posthumously, this time with beats by Dilla and arrangements by Pete Rock.

High-profile cameos by Black Thought of The Roots and (MF) Doom are among a number of guest MC spots, and the release unsurprisingly works as a virtual mixtape/compilation.  Fans will enjoy it, but first-timers should probably start elsewhere.

Venetian Snares: Horsey Noises EP (Planet Mu)

Continuing the theme of über-prolific beat-related artists who can't (or couldn't) stop making music, this Venetian Snares EP/single falls on the dancey end of Aaron Funk's spectrum, complete with an airy refrain in the title track.  The four songs do take a few left turns, including the weirdo-rock and synth breakdowns of "Horsey Vag Island" below.

Venetian Snares: "Horsey Vag Island"
Venetian Snares: \"Horsey Vag Island\"

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.