Sole & The Skyrider Band: Hello Cruel World (Fake Four Inc., 7/19/11)

Anticon co-founder Tim Holland, a.k.a. Sole, is set to release his third album with the The Skyrider Band, Hello, Cruel World, on July 19. It's Holland's first full-length since parting ways with Anticon and striking out on his own. He's far from unaccompanied on the new record, though; guests include Xiu Xiu, Lil B, Pictureplane, Sage Francis, Ceschi, Isaiah Toothtaker, and more.

In the video for the title track, "Hello Cruel World," Sole waxes melancholic, coming to terms with temporality and decay, with a posse of grazing cows at his back. Its a simple, mostly monochromatic journey past snow-capped mountains and waterfalls. The Skyrider Band's dramatic synth-driven instrumentation and strings over the singsong chorus give Sole's vocals room to breathe while maintaining a rich ambience throughout.

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Stream the podcast for This Week's Best Albums: February 1, 2011.
This Week\'s Best Albums: February 1, 2011

Carla Kihlstedt & Matthias Bossi: Still You Lay Dreaming – Tales for the Stage, II

Carla Kihlstedt & Matthias Bossi: "The Gyre"

Carla Kihlstedt & Matthias Bossi: "Wandering Secret"

Carla Kihlstedt and Matthias Bossi are two adventurous members of avant-metal band Sleepytime Gorilla Museum; each is involved in a plethora of projects, including Tin Hat (Trio), The Book of Knots, 2 Foot Yard, and Skeleton Key.  With Sleepytime bandmate Dan Rathbun, the two released an album a few years ago called Ravish, consisting of scores for dance and theater companies, and now the couple has self-released a sequel of sorts, called Still You Lay Dreaming — a download-only collection of tracks that were written for the Deborah Slater Dance Theater’s production of Men Think They Are Better Than Grass.

The music, though not as massively far-reaching as each musician’s career, is an eclectic assortment of unorthodox instruments, unusual melodies, and dynamic vocals.  Kihlstedt’s usual vocal power leads the way on half of the tracks, but her superlative violin skills take a back seat to duo’s “closet arsenal” of bass harmonica, pump organ, bathtub percussion, flour sifter, and other oddities.

A general compositional diversity – in addition to distorted, pitch-shifted, and reverberated instruments and vocals – makes the collection a wonderful listen from start to finish.  Fans of the duo’s previous work won’t want to miss it either, as there’s little that resembles what has come before.

V/A: Generation Bass Presents Transnational Dubstep (Six Degrees)

Fleck & Fish Finger: “Rude Profile” (Pan Agnostix flamenco-step version)

Featuring 15 world-infused dubstep tunes, Generation Bass Presents Transnational Dubstep is a journey around the globe as filtered through the pulsing beats and whirring, mechanical sounds of a dance subgenre that continues to flourish.  Compiled by the co-founders and editors of the dance-music blog Generation Bass, in conjunction with Six Degrees Records, it’s a continent-hopping collection of thumping grooves alongside sounds from India, the Middle East, Asia, Europe, South America, and more.

The majority of the tracks, at some point, adhere to the key dubstep directive – blown-out bass lines in triplets – but they often begin or build in very un-dubstep ways.  This is best experienced on tracks such as “Kaliyuga,” which takes a sweeping string melody – possibly from a sarangi – and coalesces it around, sitar, veena, tabla, and a dirty synth line before a wobbling bass line and hip-hop beats break it down.  It’s one of the comp’s best tracks and a great fusion between East and West.

Jono El Grande: Phantom Stimulance (Rune Grammofon)

Jono El Grande: "Borrelia Boogie"

Known musically as Jono El Grande, Norwegian guitarist/composer Jon Andreas Håtun uses his nom de plume to combine theatrical, progressive, classical, jazz, and absurdist styles for performance-art and dada-inspired live shows.  Though you’ll find this on his Wikipedia entry, his music might be best described as a mix between his confessed influences: Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, King Crimson, and Igor Stravinsky.

Following his outstanding and eclectic release Neo Dada in 2009, Jono has now released a collection of re-recorded stage songs and unreleased material.  It picks up where Neo Dada left oft, with fanciful, melodic meanderings that can sound like an acid-soaked version of countrymen Jaga Jazzist – only with strange, often nonsensical vocals in the mix.  Named Phantom Stimulance, the collection is a synchronized mélange of guitar, xylophone, harpsichord, organ, synthesizer, horns, singing saw, and more.

Buck 65: 20 Odd Years (Warner Music Canada)

Buck 65: "Who By Fire"

Last year, Canadian hip-hop artist Buck 65 released a series of digital mini-albums to commemorate 20 years of creating music.  Despite his recent connection to Warner Music, he’s always had an unusual and avant-garde style of rapping and lyricism, collaborating with a host of great artists with independent roots that include Sage Francis, Feist, Tanya Tagaq, Boom Bip, John Herndon of Tortoise, and more.

20 Odd Years is made in that daring, collaborative spirit, with a number of vocal and instrumental guests who take the music in copious directions.  Over the course of 13 tracks – four unreleased and the rest from the mini-albums – it moves through acoustic folk hop, piano-laced trip hop, synth rock, western cinematics, French pop, Eastern-tinged string melodies, and vocal balladry.  It’s often both dramatic and delicate – usually thanks the dynamic guest vocalists – but it also has a little fun, notably with a song about zombies. Ultimately, 20 Odd Years might be the best and most adventurous collection that Buck 65 has created.

Honorable Mentions

Abysmal Dawn: Leveling the Plane of Existence (Relapse)

Arthur's Landing: s/t (Strut)

Tommy Guerrero: Lifeboats and Follies (Galaxia)

Kotchy: Two (Done Right)

Fela Kuti: Vinyl Box Set 1, Compiled by ?uestlove of The Roots (Knitting Factory)

Noisear: Subvert the Dominant Paradigm (Relapse)

Rot in Hell: As Pearls Before Swine (Deathwish)

Seefeel: s/t (Warp)

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.

The result of a two-year creative process, Dustlane will be released on October 12 by Anti-, which put out Sage Francis' Li(f)e (featuring Tiersen's collaboration on "The Best of Times"). Tiersen plays classical instruments like acoustic guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, and banjo, while adding harder sounds with toy drums, electric guitars, bass, and synthesizers. Lofty vocal choruses contrast dramatic narration by Matt Elliot (Mogwai, Blonde Redhead).

Fitting for the album’s namesake, atmospheric “dust lanes” are a dark swathe of obscuring cosmic dust seen against the starry background of the Milky Way or the disks of other spiral galaxies (Encyclopedia of Science). Tiersen’s innovative music is full of complexities and layers, bringing together the artist’s personal interests, childhood memories, and his favorite writer, Henry Miller.

Francis performed acoustic versions of his “Hell of A Year” and “The Best of Times” for listeners; the latter is from Li(f)e, which was released on May 11 on Anti-.  The album features album artwork by Shepard Fairey, best known for his “Obey Giant” street art and Obama “Hope” poster, and it tackles the subjects of cultural hypocrisy and organized religion.

Paul "Sage" Francis has built a career out of going against the grain, tackling thorny sociopolitical issues while embracing the limelight of poetry slams and rap battles. His idiosyncratic style garnered him underground buzz well before his Anticon debut in 2002.

Following two more acclaimed albums on Epitaph in 2005 and '07, Francis has delivered the most adventurous album of his career. Li(f)e is a collaboration with a dozen different singer-songwriter and acoustic-music types, finding Francis at his most personal over styles that aren't necessarily conducive to rappers.

Folk, country, western, indie rock, and more — it's all delivered via big names such as Calexico, DeVotchKa, Califone, Tim Fite, ex-Grandaddy frontman Jason Lytle, Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie, Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse, and producer Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Iron & Wine).

A few moments seem like odd fits, but by and large, Francis' style adapts well to his surroundings. He's at his most poetic, trading between spoken-word confessions and rapid-fire rhymes while building to the occasional eruption.

For Li(f)e, Francis sought singer-songwriters who hadn't worked with rappers, and the results are commendable. Though some pieces were essentially leftover tracks by collaborators, Francis overlays his words with care and works with the dynamics of each track.

"Diamonds and Pearls" with DeVotchKa is one of the best on the album, featuring Tom Hagerman's dancing neoclassical violin lines as well as ghostly backing vocals by Nick Urata and Jeanie Schroder. "The Best of Times" with French composer Yann Tiersen, however, is the album's single, and as its closer, it serves as an apt summary of the album's adventures.

Ultimately, fans may be divided on Li(f)e, but no matter how you feel, it's certain to be a watershed album in an already uncommon career.

Sage Francis: "The Best of Times"
Sage Francis: \"The Best of Times\"

Zs: New Slaves (The Social Registry)

Name any sort of "out there" genre and it likely applies to Zs, a Brooklyn quartet that puts the experiment in experimental. Avant garde, free jazz, no wave, noise — these guys have covered it all, generally with impenetrable rhythms and piercing effects.

Released less than a year after the six-song Music of the Modern White LP, New Slaves may be the group's noisiest but most direct effort. Despite its impregnable qualities, the album possesses a generally hypnotic characteristic, as improvised electronic sounds coat looping beats for a transfixing effect.

True to form, the album is very percussive and very noisy, best described by The Social Registry as "a clanging mishmash of industrial raga," recalling the trance-inducing, non-diatonic elements of Indian music on top of tribal beats.

Those who don't enjoy improvisational or "out" music will skip right over New Slaves, which tosses a 20-minute noise jam after five relatively "short" tracks. But fans of Steve Reich or Terry Riley-esque minimalism may dig a track such as "Masonry," which recalls a rain forest with its über-reverberated xylophone runs over distant thuds and super-speedy humming-bird percussions.

Zs: "Acres of Skin"
Zs: \"Acres of Skin\"

Holy Fuck: Latin (Young Turks / Beggars Group)

Once listeners realized that Holy Fuck didn't sound quite like its name might suggest — with hip-hop beats and electronics instead of screams and blast beats — this "rock-tronica" group caught on in a hurry.

Now, after two essentially eponymous albums, Latin settles the band on a "permanent" lineup. Its touring rhythm section, now a pair of regulars, provides organic break beats and bass grooves for the fuzzy keyboards and hazy and alien effects of Brian Borcherdt and Graham Walsh.

Latin isn't terribly dissimilar to Holy Fuck's first two albums, but it doesn't need to be. There are enough different sounds and enough instrumental interplay to engage listeners, old and new alike.

Honorable Mentions

Marco Benevento: Between the Needles & Nightfall (The Royal Potato Family)

Howl: Full Of Hell (Relapse)

Misery Index: Heirs To Thievery (Relapse)

River City Extension: The Unmistakable Man (XOXO)

US Christmas, Harvestman, and Minsk: The Hawkwind Triad (Neurot)

Various artists: Egypt Noir (Piranha)

Tiersen's collage builds with metallic shrieks, glockenspiel, acoustic guitar, marimba, and woodwind instruments, and as it swells, Francis' understated intensity does with it.  You can listen to the track here.  Li(f)e comes out on Anti- on May 11.

Sage Francis tour dates:

5/12 — Middle East Downstairs, Cambridge, MA
5/13 — Higher Ground, Burlington, VT
5/14 — Port City Music Hall, Portland, ME
5/18 — Alvins, Detroit, MI
5/19 — Bottom Lounge, Chicago, IL
5/20 — Turner Hall, Milwaukee, WI
5/21 — First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
5/22 — Blue Note, Columbia, MO
5/24 — Gothic Theater, Englewood, CO
5/25 — Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City, UT
5/26 — Badlander, Missoula, MT
6/01 — Showbox SoDo, Seattle, WA
6/02 — Berbatis Pan, Portland, OR
6/04 — Fillmore, San Francisco, CA
6/05 — The Catalyst, Santa Cruz, CA
6/06 — Henry Fonda Theater, Los Angeles, CA
6/07 — Belly Up Tavern, Solana Beach, CA
6/09 — Glass House, Pomona, CA
6/10 — The Clubhouse, Tempe, AZ
6/11 — Club Congress, Tucson, AZ
6/12 — Sunshine Theatre, Albuquerque, NM
6/14 — Granada Theater, Dallas, TX
6/15 — Mohawk Place, Buffalo, NY
6/16 — House of Blues, Houston, TX
6/18 — Club at Firestone, Orlando, FL
6/19 — The Loft, Atlanta, GA
6/21 — Cats Cradle, Carrboro, NC
6/22 — Rock 'n' Roll, Washington, DC
6/23 — Otto Bar, Baltimore, MD
6/24 — Trocadero, Philadelphia, PA
6/25 — Webster Hall, New York, NY

Shepard Fairey's artwork for Li(f)e by Sage Francis

Shepard Fairey, one of our least favorite pop-culture artists, has created the artwork for the album Li(f)e by Sage Francis, one of our favorite pop-culture artists.

"I really wanted to get a Shepard Fairey album cover sometime in my career," Francis explains. "I eventually sent him a picture of me which was taken at my most destitute time when I didn't have anything and I was crashing on my friend's floor. I was making music but I had to obscure the way I looked because it didn't fit in with the way people thought hip-hop was supposed to be. But eventually I just took this really ugly photo of myself in all my mutton chop biker mustache whiteness and made it my logo. And Shepard used that old photograph to make this amazing image for the album's cover."

Sage Francis Tour Dates:

SXSW @ The Independent on Thursday, March 18 at 12:30 a.m.

05/12/10 Cambridge, MA Middle East Downstairs 480 Massachusetts Ave

05/13/10 S. Burlington, VT. Higher Ground 1214 Williston Rd

05/14/10 Portland, ME. Port City Music Hall 504 Congress St

05/15/10 Ottawa, ON. Ritual Nightclub 137 Besserer Street

05/16/10 Toronto ONT The Opera House 735 Queen St. East

05/18/10 Detroit, MI. Alvin's  5756 Cass Ave.

05/19/10 Detroit, MI. The Bottom Lounge 1375 W Lake St

05/20/10 Milwaukee, WI. Turner Hall 1032 North Fourth St.

05/21/10 Minneapolis MN First Avenue, 701 First Avenue North

05/22/10 Columbia MO, The Blue Note 17 North Ninth Street

05/24/10 Englewood, CO. Gothic Theatre 3263 South Broadway

05/25/10 Salt Lake City, UT. Urban Lounge 241 South 500 East

05/26/10 Missoula MT. Badlander 208 Ryman St

05/28/10 Edmonton, AB. The Starlite Room 10030 102 Street NW

05/29/10 Calgary, AB. Distillery 615 7 Ave

05/31/10 Vancouver, BC. The Biltmore Cabaret, 2755 Prince Edward St.

06/01/10 Seattle WA, Showbox SoDo 1700 1st Ave.

06/02/10 Portland, OR. Berbati's Pan 231 SW Ankeny

06/04/10 San Francisco CA, The Fillmore 1805 Geary Blvd.

06/05/10 Santa Cruz, CA. The Catalyst 1011 Pacific Avenue

06/06/10 Los Angeles CA, Henry Fonda Theater 6126 Hollywood Blvd.

06/07/10 Solana Beach, CA. Belly Up Tavern 143 S. Cedros Ave.

06/09/10 Pomona, CA. The Glass House 200 West Second Street

06/10/10 Tempe, AZ. The Clubhouse 1320 E. Broadway Rd.

06/11/10 Tucson AZ, Club Congress 311 East Congress

06/12/10 Albuquerque NM Sunshine Theater 120 Central Ave. SW

06/14/10 TX, .DALLAS Granada Theatre 3524 Greenville Avenue

06/15/10 Austin TX, Mohawk, 912 Red River

06/16/10 Houston TX House of Blues – Houston 1204 Caroline Street

06/18/10 Orlando FL Club at Firestone 578 North Orange Ave.

06/19/10 Atlanta, GA. The Loft 1374 W. Peachtree

06/21/10 Carrboro , NC. Cat's Cradle 300 East Main Street

06/22/10 Washington DC Rock and Roll Hotel 1353 H St. NE

06/23/10 Baltimore MD, The Ottobar, 2549 North Howard St.

06/24/10 Philadelphia, PA. Trocadero, 1003 Arch Street

06/25/10 New York NY. Webster Hall, 125 East 11th St.

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. The two co-founded knowmore.org, a resource for raising awareness about corporate practices, and his inclusion on Francis' label is fitting.

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.

What combines to make the album a great hip-hop disc is the A-list production by Alias, whose ability to shift gears keeps Fallen House, Sunken City fresh. This is particularly true when it shifts gears to jams like "Border Crossing," a tune that evokes a group like Slavic Soul Party with Balkan-flavored horn cuts and marching-band accoutrement.

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 these strengths, P.O.S and Cadence Weapon appear on “The Fall of T.R.O.Y.” When 2010 is said and done, Fallen House, Sunken City should stand as one of the year's best hip-hop releases.

B. Dolan: "The Reptilian Agenda"
B. Dolan: \"The Reptilian Agenda\"

Mortemia: Misere Mortem (Napalm)

Norwegian one-man band Morten Veland has decades of experience in the Scandinavian metal scene, notably with goth-metal groups Tristania and Sirenia. Now, after beginning a new solo endeavor as Mortemia, Veland delivers an epic fusion of black metal and classical, with vocals that alternate between his growls and grandiose choirs.

On the heels of great releases by Japan's Sigh, Norway's Shining, and Greece's Rotting Christ, Mortemia adds to what already was a great winter for soaring, adventurous metal. The project maintains some of the gothic influence of his former groups, and at times, especially with Veland's vocals and piano lines, it draws parallels to Cradle of Filth.

Absent are the female lead vocals of the older projects, which often came off as melodramatic. Many also will dub Mortemia as campy, but there's no denying the striking musicianship of Veland, who remarkably performs and programs every instrument on Misere Mortem.

Mortemia: "The New Desire" (edit)
Mortemia: \"The New Desire\"

Architect: Consume Adapt Create (Hymen)

Many electronic artists prefer to record under an assortment of aliases, and Daniel Myer is no exception. Operating as half of German live-IDM duo Haujobb, Myer owns a rap sheet of solo and group projects, and one notable credit — in addition to his soundtrack work for XBox game Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus — is Architect.

Each track is different, but Consume Adapt Create is best defined by its hard-hitting breakbeats and synthesized industrial. Still, there are plenty of dance and groove elements, and like other Architect releases, this should appeal to different segments of the electronica crowd.

Architect: "Fast Lane (Freeze Frame)" (excerpt)
Architect: \"Fast Lane (Freeze Frame)\" (excerpt)

Honorable mentions

Jaguar Love: Hologram Jams (Fat Possum)

Loscil: Endless Falls (Kranky)

Motorpsycho: Heavy Metal Fruit (Rune Grammofon)

Rogue Wave: Permalight (Brushfire)

The Ruby Suns: Fight Softly (Sub Pop)

Stake Off the Witch: Medusa (Fuzzorama)

V/A: Next Stop…Soweto (Strut)

Josiah Wolf: Jet Lag (Anticon)

Yellow Swans: Going Places (Type)

Sage Francis

Sage Francis' new album features Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Iron and Wine), Jim Becker and Tim Rutili (Califone), and songwriting by Jason Lytle (Grandaddy), Chris Walla (Death Cab for Cutie), Tim Fite, and members of Calexico, DeVotchKa, and Sparklehorse.

"We specifically sought out songwriters who had never worked with a rapper," Francis explains.

The record's title Li(f)e is a deliberate amalgamation of the words life and lie. As Francis says, "What about life is a lie? What we're told about God is a lie. What we're told about race, gender roles, beauty, war, food, drugs, sexuality, capitalism, history, the nature of humankind…a gang of lies. I feel it in my gut, I think it in my brain, I write it with my hands and I speak it with my mouth. That's what makes Li(f)e the general theme of this album."