Air: Le Voyage dans la Lune (Astralwerks)

Air: "Seven Stars" ft. Victoria Legrand of Beach House

More than a decade since composing the score for Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides, French electro-pop duo Air returns with Le Voyage dans la Lune, a new album that expands on its original score for the recently restored film of the same name. A 16-minute silent film released in 1902 by French director Georges Méliès, Le Voyage has an antiquated look that belies how groundbreaking the director’s use of color and science-fiction imagery were for their time.

Naturally, given the range of aesthetic and social differences between Méliès’ and Coppola’s films, Air’s latest work diverges from the despondent suburban monotone that the group supplied for The Virgin Suicides. This time, core members Jean-Benoit Dunckel and Nicolas Godin pack a lot of variety into a 31-minute span. (The album runs about twice as long as the film.) Surprisingly, though, the new music contains virtually no indications that its source material was created 110 years ago. In fact, Dunckel and Godin were intent on somehow honoring Méliès’ vision while staying grounded in modern sounds.

Whether or not the new music aligns with Méliès’ early 20th Century reveries about lunar travel, plenty of surprises await the well-traveled Air fan — such as the predominantly live, organic-recording approach and the duo’s new-found enthusiasm for timpani. Dunckel and Godin have spent much of their career gazing back at the dawn of synthesizer music, so it’s only fitting that they would set their sights further back to another future, on an artist who would in his own way anticipate what was to come. (A limited-edition run of the album includes the film.)

- Saby Reyes-Kulkarni

Trailer Trash Tracys: Ester (Double Six / Domino)

Trailer Trash Tracys: "Engelhardt's Arizona"

Written on a solfeggio scale — a seven-note diatonic scale such as “do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti” — this debut from London-based psych-pop quartet Trailer Trash Tracys comes off as ethereal and otherworldly, yet totally accessible.

Ester churns out track after track of slow-burning psychedelia mixed with hook-laden indie pop, though never anchored in either. Instead, the music is a movement, shifting speeds and directions to arrive at some new and unexplored topography. “Engelhardt’s Arizona” has a straightforward arrangement, guided by vocalist Suzanne Aztoria’s trailing, echoing voice, but it’s flanked the entire time by a swirling lead-guitar riff that might’ve arrived from an alien planet.

The album is entrenched in reverb and delay, echoes and effects, but the songs move fluidly, always accompanied by irregular bits. Aztoria’s voice is a guiding light through all the dark, foggy sounds, there to take your hand before you become immersed in the soundscapes.

- Michael Danaher

Psycroptic: The Inherited Repression (Nuclear Blast)

Psycroptic: "Carriers of the Plague"

Formed before the turn of the century by brothers Dave and Joe Haley, technical death-metal outfit Psycroptic has torn up Tasmania for more than a dozen years. The Inherited Repression, its fifth album, is another hearty dose of blasts, grooves, and winding guitar leads, but its differences are more pronounced.

In addition to greater disparity between fast and slow moments, a series of intros, outros, and interludes gives the listener more room to breathe. Throughout the album's duration, Psycroptic is careful not to suffocate you with technical mastery or unending riffs. Instead, Joe's harmonized guitar overdubs — which alternate between wailing, thrashing, and chugging — are broken up by acoustic melodies, industrial sounds, and marching snares. As a result, The Inherited Repression tends to avoid listening fatigue, offering an accessible dose of extreme metal.

- Scott Morrow

DJ Food: The Search Engine (Ninja Tune)

DJ Food: "Percussion Map (Pt. 1)"

Originally begun by Ninja Tune founders Matt Black and Jonathan More (better known as Coldcut), the DJ Food project helped to launch the influential London label with a collection of breakbeats, jazzy samples, and funky cuts. Though it was intended as source material for other DJs (hence "DJ food"), it evolved into a collaborative project with Patrick Carpenter, Strictly Kev, and others, before eventually being led, live and on record, by Kev.

Now, 11 years after the last DJ Food release, Kev is back with some notable friends, including JG Thirlwell (Foetus), Matt Johnson of The The, 2econd Class Citizen, Natural Self, and DK. The layoff, in part, is due to Kev's work as a designer — he works on many Ninja and non-Ninja covers — and the time has made a difference here. Plenty of the old calling cards are still around, but The Search Engine is trippier and heavier, with spacey effects and minor-key motifs.

Most tracks fall in the three- or four-minute wheelhouse, but there's a handful of long-form pieces, including a cover of The The's "Giant" (featuring Johnson, naturally). "A Trick of the Ear" helps to wind down the album with a jazzy, long-form jam that's chock full of vibraphone chords, bongo beats, and verbal samples, but it's preceded by one of the most interesting pieces, the eleven-minute, nine-suite "Magpie Music" collaboration with 2econd Class Citizen. The Search Engine showcases a healthy diversity — not too schizophrenic and not too staid.

- Scott Morrow

Honorable Mentions

Bahamas: Barchords (Universal Republic)

Big Sir: Before Gardens After Gardens (Sargent House)

Dr. Dog: Be the Void (Anti-)

Ben Kweller: Go Fly a Kite (The Noise Company)

Mark Lanegan Band: Blues Funeral (4AD)

Lindstrøm: Six Cups of Rebel (Smalltown Supersound)

Of Montreal: Paralytic Stalks (Polyvinyl)

Steve Moore / Majeure: Brainstorm (Temporary Residence)

A Place to Bury Strangers: Onwards to the Wall EP (Dead Oceans)

The Saint James Society: s/t EP (Tee Pee)

Shlohmo: Vacation EP (Friends of Friends)

The Twilight Sad: No One Can Ever Know (FatCat)

Sharon Van Etten: Tramp (Jagjaguwar)

Jim White: Where it Hits You (Yep Roc)

KILLL: s/t CD/DVD (Fysisk Format)

KILLL: "194"

Synchronized light shows have come a long way at rock concerts, but few — if any — outfits have approached the sensory-overload intensity of Oslo's KILLL.

Comprised of members of JR Ewing, Jaga Jazzist, and Altaar — and including visual/sound artist Are Mokkelbost (featured in Chromatic) — KILLL is a live-only band that collides mechanical yet fervid noise metal with insane strobe and LED visuals.

Its concerts feature an enormous backdrop hung to form an open box around the band. Kyrre Karlsen, the band’s de-facto lighting technician, sets off an intense series of colors that are in perfect time with the music, creating a pulsating illusion of movement against the backdrop.

The video footage that was captured for this DVD is unable to recreate the optical phenomenon, so the music videos therein are collages of hyperactive video cuts, built in large part from third-party sources (audience members, show organizers, etc.). Witnessing KILLL's live show is the only true way to experience the band, but if you can't get to Scandinavia anytime soon, grab this dual CD/DVD release — and brace yourself.

- Text by Noah Davis and Scott Morrow.

*** WARNING! This video contains heavy strobe and LED effects. People with medical conditions should avoid viewing! ***

Das Racist: Relax (Greedhead)

Das Racist: "Michael Jackson"

With two free mixtapes under its belt, Brooklyn-based hip-hop trio Das Racist has cornered the market on hyper-literate slacker rap. Its sound is defined by above-average dance-hop beats (from the likes of El-P, Diplo, and Boi-1da) and an unmistakably blasé style laden with off-hand references to everything from philosophical texts to drunk texts.

On Relax, the group's debut album, its satirical nature is on full display, mixing repetitious refrains of frivolous topics with name-dropping nods to critical thinkers. This dichotomy often plays out in rapid succession, demonstrated from back-to-back tracks like "Girl" and "Shut Up, Man." The former is a tongue-in-cheek love rap about "what we came to do," and the latter (featuring production and a guest verse by El-P) references novelist Isabel Allende (a first cousin once removed of Salvador Allende) and 1960s counterculture figure Timothy Leary.

On the surface, it's easy to dismiss Das Racist's music as joke rap or hipster rap, but there is serious thought and effort behind the façade of carelessness. Just try to keep up as the razor-sharp wit and rapid-fire, stream-of-consciousness rhymes draw parallels between seemingly disparate ideas and challenge traditional, mindless rap bravado.

- Text by Kyle Gilkeson and Scott Morrow.

Primus: Green Naugahyde (ATO / Prawn Song)

Primus: "Tragedy's a'Comin"

The oddball rock trio known as Primus is one of those intermittent reminders that something different and strange can pierce the veil of mainstream radio every so infrequently.

Though Les Claypool's pet project has been active on and off in a touring capacity for most of the past decade, the group now is back with its first studio album since 1999. Green Naugahyde is quintessentially Primus on many levels, but it notably includes pre-Suck on This drummer Jay Lane, who has collaborated in some of Claypool's countless "solo" incarnations and who is credited for breathing new creative life into Primus.

Lane's kick-heavy beats keep things moving throughout the album. But first and foremost, of course, the album is carried by Claypool's funky bass distortions and quirky vocals and Larry LaLonde's psychedelic, funky, idiosyncratic guitar blurts.

Predictably, Green Naugahyde is full of more tales of weirdness and occasional sociopolitical commentary (such as "Eternal Consumption Engine," about America's bottomless consumerism, and "HOINFODAMAN," about selling out to the advertising world). The vocals are another dose of half-sung and faux-dramatic bizarreness, alternately doubled by deep and falsetto harmonies, that few can pull off well. In essence, it's everything that you'd want from a Primus album.

The Dirt Daubers: Wake Up, Sinners! (Colonel Knowledge / Thirty Tigers)

The Dirt Daubers: "Wake Up, Sinners!"

The Dirt Daubers is a slight change of pace for JD Wilkes, the wild front man for the raucous, rockabilly-inspired blues-punk band The Legendary Shack Shakers. Joined by his wife, Jessica Wilkes, and Shack Shakers bassist Mark Robertson, Wilkes has slowed down a bit to help craft ragtime-inspired country blues.

The trio's sophomore album, Wake Up, Sinners!, finds JD's gritty and rumbling vocals balanced by Jessica's rich tones and harmonies, floating over finger-picked banjo, bellowing blues harp, and thumpin' bull fiddle. The Southern gothic lyrics spin tales of traveling outsiders, a strong-willed woman, and the true tale of a misunderstood boogey man from the deep woods of Kentucky. The trio's toe-tappin' rhythms and earnest sincerity are apt ingredients for a slice of Americana.

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

Vader: Welcome to the Morbid Reich (Nuclear Blast)

Vader: "Come and See My Sacrifice"

Vader holds a pronounced place in Polish metal, helping to usher extremity into the country's underground scene in the mid-1980s when Communist rule still reigned.

Welcome to the Morbid Reich is the band's ninth studio album and second for Nuclear Blast. Still led by guitarist/bassist/vocalist Piotr Wiwczarek, the band now features another new lineup (although drum tracks were laid down by the last drummer, Paweł "Paul" Jaroszewicz), and a few new members help to make their presences felt.

New second guitarist Marek "Spider" Pająk is credited for the music on four tracks, including a haunting symphonic interlude. Symphonic accents, in fact, are a little more pronounced here, but an extreme blend of trash and death metal still rules the roost. Over Jaroszewicz's jaw-dropping kick-drum prowess and impossibly fast blast beats, Wiwczarek and Pająk are left to run wild with speed riffs, chugging discordance, and eruptive solos.

Honorable Mentions

Anthrax: Worship Music (Megaforce)

Arabrot: Solar Anus (Fysisk Format)

Astronautalis: This is Our Science (Fake Four)

Barn Owl: Lost in the Glare (Thrill Jockey)

Mick Barr: Coiled Malescence (Safety Meeting)

Anomie Belle: The Crush

Big Harp: White Hat (Saddle Creek)

Blitzen Trapper: American Goldwing (Sub Pop)

Cymbals Eat Guitars: Lenses Alien (Barsuk)

Einjerher: Norrøn (Indie Recordings)

Glenn Jones: The Wanting (Thrill Jockey)

Ladytron: Gravity the Seducer (Nettwerk)

Lydia Loveless: Indestructible Machine (Bloodshot)

W.W. Lowman: Kumquat May (Atavistic)

Mates of State: Mountaintops (Barsuk)

Mogwai: Earth Division EP (Sub Pop)

Neon Indian: Era Extraña (Mom & Pop Music)

Novalima: Karimba (ESL Music)

Jack Oblivian: Rat City (Fat Possum)

Chuck Ragan: Covering Ground (SideOneDummy)

Shimmering Stars: Violent Hearts (Hardly Art)

Toddla T: Watch Me Dance (Ninja Tune)

Toro y Moi: Freaking Out EP (Carpark)

Wild Flag: s/t (Merge)

A Winged Victory for the Sullen: s/t (Kranky)

Wooden Shjips: West (Thrill Jockey)

William Elliott Whitmore: Field Songs (Anti-)

William Elliott Whitmore: "Field Song"

Inspired by his roots in the American Midwest, singer/songwriter William Elliott Whitmore has helped spark a renewed interest in blues and folk music over the past decade. Now with more than half a dozen records to his name, Whitmore’s raspy, soulful voice is as recognized as ever, and his new album, Field Songs, accentuates it with another sparse, minimalist backdrop.

Singing tales about adversity in middle America, Whitmore uses Field Songs to conjure images of rural life, with literal field sounds often in the background. Musically, it emphasizes acoustic guitar as much as or more than the banjo that has become synonymous with his name, and it goes further back to basics, cutting the few instrumental accompaniments that were present on his last album.

Decapitated: Carnival is Forever (Nuclear Blast)

Decapitated: "Homo Sum"

In the early 2000s, and at very young ages, the members of Decapitated began an ascent to become one of Poland's preeminent technical-death-metal outfits. The group enjoyed accolades for its complex yet hook-tinged sound, culminating with the release of its 2006 album, Organic Hallucinosis.

But just a year and a half after that release, tragedy struck: a car accident took the life of drummer Witold "Vitek" Kiełtyka (the brother of guitarist/composer and co-founder Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka) and left vocalist Adrian "Covan" Kowanek in a coma.

Wacław, however, eventually decided to reform Decapitated in honor of his fallen brother. With the additions of drummer Kerim "Krimh" Lechner and vocalist Rafał "Rasta" Piotrowski, the band has released a sterling return to form in Carnival is Forever, its first album in five years.

Lechner and Piotrowski more than prove their capabilities on the album, and that's no small feat — particularly for Lechner, who succeeds a drummer that was lauded by many, including Meshuggah drummer Tomas Haake. The riffs have a bit more head-banging potential, and there's a bit more polyrhythmic play (a la Meshuggah and its "djent" brethren); palm-muted guitar triplets often work over tom-intensive beats and extended double bass. Wacław unleashes a few shredding guitar solos at key moments, and Piotrowski lays a slightly higher-register intensity over everything. The result is powerful.

There's a bit of clean-guitar play on a few tracks, but the most notable use is on the beautiful solo-guitar, minor-key closer "Silence," which presumably is a tribute to Witold. It's a graceful end to an otherwise explosive tribute album.

Washed Out: Within and Without (Sub Pop)

Washed Out: "Amor Fati"

In 2009, electronica novice Ernest Greene appeared on the indie scene under the moniker of Washed Out, offering an accessible and diverse dose of new wave on the Life of Leisure EP. The recording delved into a reimagined electronica sound, taking cues from mid-’80s synth heavyweights and putting a modern twist on it. It was a very bright start, but it was only a matter of time to see whether Greene and his fresh, revitalized “chillwave” sound could retain its consistency and musical integrity for a full-length effort.

Two years later, Washed Out has returned with a proper LP that expands on Greene’s initial sound. Employing a glut of synths and electronic beats, Within and Without takes new wave to a new level while helping to modernize the sound. Mixing slowed dance beats with synth-heavy arrangements and electronica ornamentation, the album can be as sensually evocative as its album art. In all, it's a solid, unified offering — a must-listen.

- Text by Michael Danaher.

Samael: Lux Mundi (Season of Mist)

Samael: "Antigod"

Now approaching its 25th anniversary as a band, Switzerland's Samael has been a crucial piece of industrial metal's development. Lux Mundi, the band's ninth full-length album, continues in the tradition that it and countrymen Celtic Frost helped develop, moving away from black metal to incorporate industrial, electronic, and classical elements.

Whereas Above, Samael's last album, returned to the band's black-metal roots, the material on Lux Mundi is much more symphonic and mid-tempo, reveling in bombast as well as darkness. The raspy, gothic vocals, though straightforward, provide a degree of theatricality that again suits the dramatic music, which thrives thanks to lean, infectious riffs and regal synth flourishes.

Everyone has his or her favorite Samael album, and for some, Lux Mundi may never compete. But it's not a stretch to consider this among the most well-crafted releases of the band's post-black-metal days.

The Glitch Mob: We Can Make the World Stop EP (Glass Air)

The Glitch Mob: "Warrior Concerto"

With only one full-length release to its name, electronic trio The Glitch Mob has far surpassed its output with name recognition, thanks to a slew of high-profile remixes and digital mixtapes. That full-length, Drink the Sea, was a miniature modern cross-section of the genre, ranging from heavy drum-and-bass to dubstep grooves to sultry electronica. Now, following two full remix albums of Drink the Sea from earlier this year, the three-piece is tiding over fans with a three-track EP in advance of a new album in 2012.

True to its namesake, the music is glitchy, but there are plenty of dance-fueled beats and catchy melodies, as piano keys and faux strings mix with digitized vocals and bassy, buzzing synthesizers. "Warrior Concerto," the EP's single, winds a classical sample around chopped synths, rapid-fire drum fills, and a dance-floor foundation. It's a well-executed new direction and should be an exciting glimpse at what's next.

Honorable Mentions

Beware of Safety: Leaves/Scars (The Mylene Sheath)

Boban i Marko Markovic vs. Fanfare Ciocarlia: Balkan Brass Battle (Asphalt Tango)

The Cool Kids: When Fish Ride Bicycles (Green Label Sound)

Dave King Trucking Company: Good Old Light (Sunnyside)

Declaime: Self Study (Someothaship Connect)

Earth Crisis: Neutralize the Threat (Century Media)

Eleanor Friedberger: Last Summer (Merge)

In the Nursery: Blind Sound (Plastic Head Music)

Isis: Live IV Selections 2001 – 2005

Sepultura: Kairos (Nuclear Blast)

Zomby: Dedication (4AD)

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)

This week, ALARM, in conjunction with metal specialist Nuclear Blast Records, is giving away a whopping five prize packs. Five lucky readers will walk away with a copy of Swedish psych-rock band Graveyard's new album, Hisingen Blues, and an album-art poster.

Hisingen Blues was the subject of a recent Album Preview, and it promises to be a breakneck romp through classic-rock-revival territory. Joakim Nilsson wails with the unbridled gusto of a man who hasn't released a new album in three years over molasses-thick riffs from guitarist Jonatan Ramm. Meanwhile, holding down the furious freight train of rhythm are bassist Rikard Edlund and drummer Axel Sjöberg.

Fill out the form below, and you'll be entered to win.

Update: Contest has ended.

Graveyard: Hisingen Blues (Nuclear Blast, 4/19/11)

Available now exclusively to ALARM readers, here's a preview of Swedish psych-rock band Graveyard's second full-length album before its April 19 release date.

Graveyard's first album, a self-titled 2008 release, introduced audiences to its pitch-perfect classic-rock-revival sound. The new album, Hisingen Blues, was produced, recorded, and mixed entirely in analog by Don Alsterberg (José Gonzales, Junip, Soundtrack Of Our Lives, The International Noise Conspiracy) in the band's hometown of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Vocalist Joakim Nilsson channels his inner Chris Cornell, wailing over chunky, squealing guitar riffs that sound like they've blasted through a wormhole straight from the '70s. Tight production and a commanding swagger make this rollicking retro freight train far more than a mere retread.

[Have you pre-ordered yet? Don't miss our limited-time offer, saving up to 38%, for Chromatic: The Crossroads of Color and Music, our next book that profiles independent musicians and artists who explore color in unorthodox ways.]

Meshuggah: "Re-Inanimate" (Catch Thirtythree, Nuclear Blast, 5/30/05)

Extreme metal band Meshuggah tends to do exactly what it wants. That attitude has spawned some of the heaviest and most progressive metal of the past two decades. On its 2005 album, Catch Thirtythree, its disregard for convention came in the form of programming software, used to produce all of the drum sounds on a long-form score-style epic. Drummer Tomas Haake and vocalist Jens Kidman explained the process of making the album, and the advantages and stigmas of the "Drumkit from Hell."

The Drumkit from Hell and the Making of Catch Thirtythree

Tomas: Basically, the Drumkit from Hell is stuff we use on a daily basis whenever we’re writing songs, and the main difference with Catch Thirtythree is that instead of me as the drummer learning the songs, we just kept them programmed on the record. There are a few different reasons for that. Mainly, what we wanted to do with that album — this was an idea that we had for probably 10 years — we wanted to do an experimental piece that was just a one-track full-length album. That album was the first and only album that we’ve written as a band, sitting around the same computer, just trying to improvise and come up with guitar riffs and stuff like that.

At the end of the day, we didn’t really see that album as a live-play album; it was just something that we had been wanting to do. We weren’t even sure that this was going to be an album that we put out, when we started. It was more like, "Let's do this thing that we’ve wanted to do for a long time." Pretty early in the process, we liked the stripped-down, more mechanical-sounding drums. Even though they sound like real drums, there’s the occasional fill and such. We dug the idea of how the drums kind of took a step back in the mix, and took a step back as far as not being as much of a main instrument in the band as it has been in some recordings.

Jens: It just fit the process of making that different album really well. It was easy to go in and record part by part. With Tomas playing, we could do everything a lot easier and change stuff instead of having to re-record drums and change stuff. We had everything on the computer; we could just continue on and move parts. Everything was more or less an experiment, and more like a fun thing to do for us.

Tomas: As a drummer, if I was going to be re-recording everything, we’d have to re-record all of the guitar parts. And some of those parts are really, really far out there — kind of just on-the-fly ideas that were immediately recorded as they were. It was more of a random thing.

We felt like if we do this, and then we start rehearsing it, and do a proper album with live drums, we’re going to have to go back and re-record all those guitars. It would have taken away from the initial idea, which is just spur of the moment and lets everything flow freely.

Jens: It was so much easier to just be able to change the song in an early stage. More effective.

Tomas: It was really a trial-and-error kind of project. I don’t know how much time we actually spent on recording those guitars. The project at its peak, before we nailed it down to the 47 minutes that ended up on the album, was something like two-and-a-half hours long. For me to learn all those different parts, it would have just taken forever.

I wish, at some point, that we will play it in its entirety, but it would have to be something that is not a typical live Meshuggah show.

Jens: Maybe a one-off thing for some special event.

Tomas: That would be cool. But we didn’t even write that track. It is just the one track, as we see it, even though there is a whole bunch of different titles on there. They’re just kind of sub-chapters of the whole track. We ended up playing 13 minutes off of that album when we did the touring, but the intention when we wrote it and when we recorded wasn’t so much for live play. It was just one of those things that we wanted to try to do at some point. We ended up deciding, "Okay, let's do this thing that we’ve been wanting to do for a long time. And screw what everyone says; we’re just gonna do it."

It’s so funny though, because not using live drums for a band like us is so much of a taboo. That was also one of the reasons why we decided to do it. We know a ton of bands where the drums are programmed, but they will never admit to it. It's so important to them that people think, "Yeah, you’re playing live." That was another thing, for me at least, that felt like a release of sorts, just to say, "Yeah, this is programmed," and just have that out in the open, and then let people decide on whether they think it's good or not.

A lot of people don’t listen to it; they just immediately think it's bad because it's programmed drums. But for us, that’s never been the process. We don’t have that weird pride as musicians. The end product is basically "What am I listening to? Does it sound good to me or does it sound bad? Is this cool or not?" I couldn’t care less if an album was programmed drums, or even if you could program vocals or guitars, I couldn’t care less if you could do that stuff. If it sounds good, it sounds good. At some point, if you’re touring that material, you still have to play it live. That’s when it boils down to "Can you play this or not?"

“Every album is a new beginning,” says Dimmu Borgir guitarist, co-founder, and principal lyricist Sven “Silenoz” Kopperud, “but this album is even more so.”

Formed in Oslo, Norway in the early 1990s, Dimmu Borgir has been at the forefront of symphonic black metal for the better part of two decades.  Abrahadabra, the band's tenth and newest album, marks the most ambitious undertaking of its heralded career.  Though it's not the band's first to feature an orchestra, it's far and away its most sweeping, epic creation, backed by more than 100 orchestra players and choir singers and featuring the arrangements of classical composer Gaute Storaas.

Looking back to “Det Nye Riket,” the five minutes of dramatic, baroque-flavored keyboard swells and piano that open the band’s 1994 debut album For All Tid, it’s no surprise that orchestral collaborations eventually figured into Dimmu Borgir’s work. According to Silenoz, Dimmu Borgir had its sights set on working with orchestras from its inception. And even though neither he nor co-founder/frontman Stian “Shagrath” Thoresen have ever had any musical training, the music that they write together is naturally suited to blend with classical. In fact, the pair, which now comprises the band’s creative core, cites composers such as Antonín Dvořák and Richard Wagner as primary influences.

"We want songs to breathe and flow and be catchy so that people remember them easily. You can’t do that with a song that has ten thousand riffs in it.”

“We’ve always been epic and symphonic from from the get-go,” Silenoz says.  This time, however, he and Shagrath expanded their reach considerably. Drawing on their previous experiences with the Gothenburg Opera and Prague Philharmonic orchestras (for Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia in 2001 and Death Cult Armageddon in 2003, respectively), Silenoz and Shagrath were also able to fine-tune their approach to working on such a large scale. In addition to the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Abrahadabra also prominently features the 40-piece Schola Santorum Choir. Both were recorded at the Norwegian National Radio Channel’s NRK studios in Oslo.

“It’s a really nice studio, still,” Silenoz recalls. “We ended up using some of the old vintage mics from the '50s and '60s that they still have working there.  Other producers would probably kill to get them.”

“You always want to try and push yourself,” Silenoz says of the process. “After the Spiritual Black Dimensions album [in 1999], where we got heavily symphonic, for the next album, Puritanical, we decided, ‘Why not try a small orchestra and see what it sounds like?’ It turned out fairly good, but it was rushed. So on Death Cult Armageddon, we took it a bit further. We were more prepared. Even then, though, there were things that we couldn’t fix in the studio in Prague, so we had to do a lot of post-production work in our main studio in Gothenburg. But for the new album, the Norwegian Radio Orchestra was pretty much spot-on everywhere. There was hardly any editing we had to do in terms of time stretching and things like that. It’s got to be one of the most professional orchestras in Europe, at least from what I can see.”

According to Silenoz, the members of the orchestra – Kringkastingsorkestret in Norwegian, or KORK for short — were “really grateful because this music was so close to what they usually play in a classical setting. They’ve done shows with pop and rock artists, and they told us that playing their music was so much more difficult.”

Aside from the proficiency, adaptability, and enthusiasm shown by KORK’s musicians, much of the smoothness in the process can be attributed to Storaas, who translated the band’s ideas for Abrahadabra into formal charts. Dimmu Borgir’s working relationship with Storaas goes back to ’99, when the band was slated to perform live with an orchestra at the Norwegian Grammys. The orchestra backed out, but the connection lasted, and Storaas ended up providing charts for Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia and Death Cult Armageddon, much as he did again for Abrahadabra. This time, he too was able to take longer to prepare.

“For this album,” Silenoz explains, “it was definitely a lot easier because he was part of the process early on. We had demos of parts of the songs where we knew we were going to have an orchestra. We went through them with him, and he came back with his charts and his ideas of how it was going to sound. Even if we knew how to write notes, it would be impossible for us because we don’t have the same background as Gaute does.”

And how does Storaas relate to metal? Silenoz explains that Storaas’ familiarity only goes as far as household names like Metallica. Nonetheless, the communication flows nicely between him and the band. "He's very good at understanding how we see our music," says Silenoz, who in spite of the compliments from KORK's players is reluctant to take too much credit when asked if the band possesses an innate grasp of classical music. "It's hard to say," he answers, "because we've never taken any lessons."

"A person like [Aleister] Crowley – yeah, of course he has a dark side, but we all do. The difference is that he explored that dark side and made it into something constructive. And that’s something that I feel extremely close to."

What he proposes instead about the band’s writing acumen is surprising given the sheer size of its music and stage show: “We look at an idea from a simple angle first, and then we build it from there. There are so many bands out there that think about technicality first and song structures second. But we do it the other way around. We don’t bring too much technical stuff into our music. We want songs to breathe and flow and be catchy so that people remember them easily. You can’t do that with a song that has ten thousand riffs in it.”

Likewise, in spite of a final mix that sounds rather grand, Silenoz falls back on the old studio adage that for a piece of music to sound large as a whole, all of the individual parts have to be made smaller. “When you mix an album like this,” he chuckles, “it’s a huge challenge because there are so many layers. One song might have 250 tracks! That’s when the compromising part comes into the picture. That’s also the difficult part. Sometimes it’s too difficult to find a place for absolutely everything, so you have to concede that less is more.”

Silenoz thinks that mixing the album was as much a learning experience for mixing engineer Andy Sneap as it was for himself and Shagrath. “I think it challenged him in a lot of ways," he says. "He even had to get some new tools for the process, which is a good sign. When we went through all the stuff — Shagrath, myself, and Andy — there was so much to devour, and we didn’t really have a reference to any album that was done in this way in the past. So we just had to kind of go with the flow and go with a gut feeling. But when we were all sitting there nodding our heads, we knew, ‘All right, now we’re getting somewhere.’”

An appropriation of Aleister Crowley’s incantation "abrahadabra" (a modification that Crowley made to the ancient spell-casting term "abracadabra," or “I create what I speak”), the album’s title is intended to signal a new beginning, an infusion of new magic and energy for the band.

“I dove more into Crowley’s works and symbolism this time,” Silenoz explains, “because he was very heavily into the idea of reincarnation and renewal and rebirth. Symbolically, we had a lot in common.” Silenoz is quick to point out that he and Shagrath don’t preconceive their creative decisions. “We don’t even have to talk about doing something new,” he clarifies. “It just happens. If we were the type of band that sat down and had a meeting to decide what the next album is going to sound like, it would be a fiasco. If you look at other bands that consciously decide to change their musical style, it hardly ever works. I’m glad that everything with this band happens in a natural evolution. We didn’t have to decide much, apart from that we wanted to use an orchestra, make it all sound big, and make as dynamic an album as possible.”

One thing that they did decide, back in the earliest days of the band, was to avoid the negativism and violence that plagued Norway’s black-metal community, as well as to stick to their melodic guns at a time when so many musicians and fans imposed rigidly narrow definitions on what black metal was supposed to be. Silenoz thinks that “rigid” isn’t a strong enough word to describe what Dimmu Borgir was up against.

“I would rather say fanatical,” he contends. “Because in the beginning of the '90s, people didn’t really know what they were doing. They were just teenagers who had read a couple of books and decided to kill people and burn some churches.  To me, and to most people, that has nothing to do with Satanism. It’s the same as if a cowboy goes into a saloon in Texas and guns down a bunch of people and Johnny Cash is in the newspapers the next day. But people grow up. I’m really glad that we never got involved in the criminal aspect of what people think of when you say ‘black metal.’ We just stayed away and focused on the music very early on. We were also very young, so as much as we were fascinated by what the others were doing, we felt like ‘that’s enough.’ We didn’t want to get in trouble or get kicked out of school or lose our jobs and family.”

For the record, Silenoz ascribes to a metaphorical brand of Satanism, and he is quick to distinguish Dimmu Borgir from Satanists whose practices stem from a religious foundation.

“I would say that we’re very anti-religious when it comes to being Satanic,” he explains. “We see it from an individualistic point of view. What’s best for you is ultimately going to be better for the people around you. It doesn’t have to be people thinking of everything as so fucking negative. To me, a person like Crowley – yeah, of course he has a dark side, but we all do. The difference is that he explored that dark side and made it into something constructive. And that’s something that I feel extremely close to.”

“That’s pretty much the way I live as well,” he continues before chuckling, “although I don’t attempt to climb K2 or indulge in sexual orgies every day. But the way he looked at life, balance, and equilibrium, and also the feeling that things come in cycles, that’s where I personally feel very close to his ideas. So when we use the word ‘Satanic,’ it’s definitely from an individual point of view, not from a religious point of view.”

As for its live performance, Dimmu Borgir is forced to compensate for the absence of an orchestra with a combination of keyboards and pre-recorded backing tracks. But a live performance with KORK is tentatively slated for May of 2011, and with that, the band may achieve the full realization of one of its earliest visions.

Either way, Abrahadabra is the new benchmark for the band's career, one that has been forged as much out of melodic beauty as it has from darkness. By continuing to reach higher to fulfill the initial promise of symphonic black metal — a genre where it's still relatively rare for bands to work with symphonies on this scale — Dimmu Borgir has made an album that both encapsulates the genre and suggests that its next chapter is yet to be written. For bands pursuing this direction, they'll have to elaborate on the strides that Dimmu Borgir has made with Abrahadabra in order to leave a lasting impact.

As usual, ALARM leaves no genre unexplored in our list of this year's overlooked gems.

Sigh: Scenes from Hell (The End, 1/19/10)

Sigh: "The Summer Funeral"

With a history of fusing other revered genres to a doomy combination of black metal and thrash, Japan's Sigh used its eighth studio album to deliver symphonic, epic metal that calls upon classical instrumentation to top its rock foundation.

Brass, woodwind, and string instruments — as well as organ and piano — accent as well as lead sinister melodies that take surprising turns through fanciful themes. Raspy, menacing vocals coat each track, resulting in a dramatic presentation that isn't much at odds with its complex backdrop.

RJD2: The Colossus (RJ’s Electrical Connections, 1/19/10)

RJD2: "Games You Can Win"

Following a divisive album that saw the introduction of poppy, soulful vocals, producer RJD2 returned with something of a split release — an album that leaves no shortage of accessible, vocal-driven tunes but that emphasizes some inventive instrumentals.  Whether or not you dig the soulful RJ, there's no doubt that the music on The Colossus is some of his best to date.

Chicago Underground Duo: Boca Negra (Thrill Jockey, 1/26/10)

Chicago Underground Duo: "Spy on the Floor"

For 15 years, the Chicago Underground Duo (and Trio, Quartet, and Orchestra) has been an avant-garde jazz outlet for prolific Chicago musicians Rob Mazurek (Exploding Star Orchestra, Isotope 217) and Chad Taylor.  Boca Negra is an interesting dichotomy, as spiraling vociferation leads to upbeat grooves, shifting piano chords, harmonic electronics, and ambient samples.

Algernon: Ghost Surveillance (Cuneiform, 1/26/10)

Algernon: "Broken Lady"

The brainchild of guitarist Dave Miller, Algernon walks a thin line between melodically driven post-rock and instrumental unconventionality.  Ghost Surveillance places greater emphasis on synthesizers and sprawling song structures, but at its core is the combination of accessibility and technicality that has defined Miller's style. Noisy, circular rock riffs transform to tranquil, wandering passages. "Timekiller," the album's fourth track, is a beautiful, buoyant number — and one of the band's best creations to date.

Bei Bei & Shawn Lee: Into the Wind (Ubiquity, 1/26/10)

Bei Bei & Shawn Lee: "East"

In the hands of a marvel, the guzheng — a gorgeous Chinese zither — resonates with tactile beauty as its many strings are plucked with precision.

Bei Bei, a native of Chengdu, China, is one such musical technician. And this collaboration with Shawn Lee, a prolific producer who can man as many genres as he sees fit, is undoubtedly one of the year's finest albums.  Together, the two use Into the Wind to navigate through funky down-tempo jams, Kung-Fu flavor, hip hop, soul, and driving grooves.

Daníel Bjarnason: Processions (Bedroom Community, 2/1/10)

Daníel Bjarnason: "Bow to String I: Sorrow Conquers Happiness"

Best known as a conductor and arranger for indie groups such as Sigur Rós, composer Daníel Bjarnason also holds a lofty classical résumé. Processions, his proper debut, is, at many points, a challenging classical work.  Powerful cellos scale and race with crackling percussions before settling into gently bowed and pizzicato string accompaniments; easily half a dozen strings battle for dominance in a sorrowful, harmonic piece that resonates long after hearing it.  Undoubtedly, Processions is a daring and original debut.

Shining: Blackjazz (Indie Recordings / Distribution, 2/2/10)

Shining: "Fisheye"

Beginning as an experimental acoustic jazz ensemble, Norway's Shining — the brainchild of saxophonist Jørgen Munkeby — transformed to a progressive jazz-fusion outfit before delving into its darker side for a collaboration with black-metallists Enslaved.

Blackjazz pushes deeper into the band's dark recesses, forging a progressive industrial sound for the young century.  Big, complex rock riffs, twisted through gnarly distortion, form the foundation and support a mass of frantic, whirring synth lines and gut-wrenching black-metal screams.  In all, Blackjazz is a new epic — and perhaps the best metal album of 2010.

Pillars and Tongues: Lay of Pilgrim Park, LP + download (Endless Nest, 2/9/10)

Pillars and Tongues: "The Center of"

With just three members, Pillars and Tongues manages to craft powerful folk abstractions and interwoven, trance-inducing vocal dynamics. Both composed and improvisational, these shifting forms evoke spiritual vibes in their soulful essence, heavenly harmonies, and repeated patterns.

Dessa: A Badly Broken Code (Doomtree, 2/9/10)

Dessa: "Dixon's Girl"

The only female member of Minneapolis hip-hop collective Doomtree, Dessa is a spoken-word vocalist, singer, and MC whose awaited full-length was finally released earlier this year.

On A Badly Broken Code, her true solo debut, Dessa's vocal diversity is matched by its underlying music, ranging from hard-hitting beats and rhymes to lilting harmonic overdubs.

The Bastard Noise / The Endless Blockade: The Red List (20 Buck Spin, 2/16/10)

The Bastard Noise: "Mutant World of Shame / Underworld"

A spinoff of treasured "power-violence" hardcore group Man is the Bastard, The Bastard Noise is approaching its 20th anniversary of creating noisy electro-doom brutality.  For this split release with hardcore/punk experimentalists The Endless Blockade, the group utilizes the trademark drum-and-bass style of Man is the Bastard in combination with its far-out sounds.  The Endless Blockade contributes three tracks to the release — one 14-minute epic and two avant-garde remixes.

Freeway & Jake One: The Stimulus Package (Rhymesayers, 2/16/10)

Freeway & Jake One: "Know What I Mean"

Continuing his life after Roc-A-Fella Records, former freestyle star Freeway now makes his debut on Rhymesayers, a fitting new home — if only temporary before a move to Cash Money.  Fellow Rhymesayers standout Jake One provides a funky, malleable backdrop for Freeway's fiery delivery and lyrics that are alternately personal and light in content. And though Freeway deserves his accolades, Jake One's production is the MVP of this collaboration.

Carolina Chocolate Drops: Genuine Negro Jig (Nonesuch, 2/16/10)

Carolina Chocolate Drops: "Hit 'Em Up Style" (Blu Cantrell)

Beholden to the traditions of Americana and early African-American folk, the string trio Carolina Chocolate Drops continues blurring the lines of old and new. On Genuine Negro Jig, the group's fifth album, a few original numbers and a trove of traditionals take root in banjo, fiddle, and percussion. Three-part harmonies shimmer on the famous folk tune "Trouble in Your Mind," and simplicity shines on gripping renditions of "Why Don't You Do Right?" by Kansas Joe McCoy and "Trampled Rose" by Tom Waits.  Most surprisingly, Genuine Negro Jig includes an enjoyable rendition of "Hit 'Em Up Style," an unintentionally farcical pop hit by Blu Cantrell.

Mako Sica: Dual Horizon LP (La Société Expéditionnaire, 2/16/10)

Mako Sica: "I'Itoi"

A translation of the phrase "land bad," Mako Sica has more than a nominal Native American influence; the trio's distant vocal reverberations and dirge-inspired tunes recall the spirituality of America's original inhabitants.

Between the vocalizations of Brent Fuscaldo, the melodies of guitarist Przemyslaw Krys Drazek, and the rhythms of drummer Michael J. Kendrick, Mako Sica maintains a strong balance of abilities — with a brooding combination of jangly guitars, reverberated vociferation, and instrumental dynamics.

High on Fire: Snakes for the Divine (E1 Music, 2/23/10)

High on Fire: "Snakes for the Divine"

Stoner-metal trio High on Fire has built a devoted following over the past dozen years as fans fell in love with Matt Pike's gruff vocals and thunderous guitar riffs. On Snakes for the Divine, Pike uses his throat to channel Lemmy Kilmister; meanwhile, the band has picked up its pace and crafted an album that isn’t as outstretched. Hard-hitting riffery leads an effort that, though diverse at times, may be the band’s most driving release.

Jaga Jazzist: One-Armed Bandit (Ninja Tune, 2/23/10)

Jaga Jazzist: "One-Armed Bandit"

Five years have passed since we've heard the powerhouse melodies of Norway's Jaga Jazzist, the post-rock/"nü-jazz" conception of brothers Lars and Martin Horntveth.

One-Armed Bandit, immediately the group's best album, resembles symphonic prog rock, arguably a few steps removed from parts of Frank Zappa's expansive catalog and closer to countryman Jono El Grande's diverse and theatrical style.  This album, however, is much more cohesive than either of those comparisons suggest, and at times it is nearly overwhelming with grooves and harmonious refrains.

Rob Swift: The Architect (Ipecac, 2/23/10)

Rob Swift: "The Architect"

Turntablist/DJ Robert Aguilar, formerly of the X-ecutioners, has long utilized his love of jazz, R&B, and other musical movements to create compelling hip-hop instrumentals while displaying his tight beat-juggling skills.

The Architect is Swift’s foray into the classical world. In addition to a multitude of sampled styles and sounds, classical cuts comprise a substantial chunk of this Ipecac debut. Rearranged strings, organ, and horns often make the foundation of a given track, occasionally evoking high-tension Italian Westerns, as Swift’s scratches dance atop banging beats.

Rotting Christ: Aealo (Season of Mist, 2/23/10)

Rotting Christ: "Aealo"

For more than 20 years, Athens' Rotting Christ has traversed different directions on the metal path.  With its previous release, Theogonia, the group released a striking, original album that fused its dark sound to the ethnic sounds of its ancestors.

Like its predecessor, Aealo features female Benedictine chants, lingual pipes, and a medieval feel. Combined with dueling high-pitched harmonies and powerful guitar work, these new elements highlight an album that should be among the most original metal releases of the year.

Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté: Ali and Toumani (Nonesuch, 2/23/10)

Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté: "Ruby"

As two of Africa's most internationally renowned musicians, guitar legend Ali Farka Touré and kora phenom Toumani Diabaté have displayed impeccable abilities while integrating the styles of other cultures into their ethnic sounds.

Each Malian, the two collaborated for the acclaimed In the Heart of the Moon in 2005, shortly before Farka Touré's passing in 2006. Fortunately, the two set aside time to record new material before touring for In the Heart of the Moon, and the result is another beautiful set of duets that sees a posthumous release.

Throughout Ali and Toumani, Farka Touré roots each creation in melodious African-blues pieces. Diabaté's virtuosity accents each track in the form of fanciful scales, which at times evoke classical harpsichord passages, perhaps most notably on "Sabu Yerkoy."

Fang Island: s/t (Sargent House, 2/23/10)

Fang Island: "Sideswiper"

Mostly comprised of ex-Daughters, the good-time rock quintet Fang Island was one of the most quickly ascending bands of 2010, jumping onto tours with The Flaming Lips and Stone Temple Pilots following the release of its first full-length album.

The self-titled release is chock full of palm-muted and speed-infused indie-prog anthems, with über-layered vocal harmonies to go with a triple-thick guitar assault and distorted-bass bludgeoning.  It's one of those rare releases that feels absolutely radiant and thrashing at the same time.

B. Dolan: Fallen House, Sunken City (Strange Famous, 3/2/10)

B. Dolan: "The Reptilian Agenda"

Going way back with Sage Francis, rapper B. Dolan is a like-minded MC and slam poet whose style isn't terribly dissimilar to that of his long-time friend. Fallen House, Sunken City is Dolan's second full-length for Strange Famous, and it's full of the sociopolitical themes (if often in quick blasts or asides) and contentious delivery for which he's known.

In addition to some seemingly personal lyrics, Dolan takes passing shots at big business, taxation, the pharmaceutical industry, the concept of ownership of natural resources, the Israeli razing of Palestinian developments, and, among many other things, the so-called New World Order — dropping clips of Dick Cheney and George H.W. Bush in "The Reptilian Agenda."  On top of Dolan's socially conscious rhymes, A-list production by Alias makes this one of the year's top hip-hop releases.

Archie Bronson Outfit: Coconut (Domino, 3/2/10)

Archie Bronson Outfit: "Shark's Tooth"
Archie Bronson Outfit: "Shark's Tooth"

With its warbled vocals and driving percussion, British psych-rock trio Archie Bronson Outfit is like a more adventurous Wolf Parade — as comfortable burning up the dance floor with clean, bouncy riffs as it is turning up the reverb and rocking in a garage.

Coconut is the band's first LP in nearly four years, and it kicks off with a crunchy, swirling guitar line and a hypnotic bongo-laden beat. Produced by DFA's Tim Goldsworthy, Coconut gets spaced-out and drone-like at times, but it always offers a hint of pop accessibility amidst the static and haze.