Son Lux: We Are Rising (Anticon)

Son Lux: "Rising"

Composer / pianist / electronic artist Ryan Lott writes music for a post-production company, for dance productions and the arts, and, when he finds the time, as Son Lux, where he joins the worlds of classical orchestration and hip-hop pastiche.

For his second full-length album, We Are Rising, that spare time was in especially short supply, as the eclectic musician took a challenge from NPR (inspired by The Wire) to write and record the entire thing over the course of the shortest month of the year.

Given the album's level of craftsmanship and production, listeners would never guess the impulsive dare that set it in motion.  Its nine songs are even more meticulously arranged than the Son Lux debut album, At War With Walls and Mazes, and they achieve a remarkable range of sounds, from traditional (woodwinds, brass, strings) to modern (synthesizers, guitar effects, collected sounds).

The combination of styles makes Lott something of a Sufjan Stevens for the beat crowd (Anticon releases his albums, after all).  We Are Rising finds him moving further in Stevens' direction — fewer beats and more neoclassical orchestrations behind the indie balladry.  But these songs still bear a distinct Son Lux stamp, and they're a down payment on an ever-promising future.

Graviton: Massless (Translation Loss)

Graviton: "Mu Lepton"

Featuring guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Sacha Dunable of progressive-metal outfit Intronaut, psych/space/post-metal trio Graviton makes its recorded debut with a husky 10-track full-length.

Moments of elongated singing and slow, deep riffs draw comparisons to Isis and its ilk, but the band as a whole sounds very different. With intermittent piano melodies, synthesizers, 12-string acoustic guitar, and programmed beats — not to mention sonic accessories such as lap-steel guitar, field recordings, and "Celloblaster" — Massless is a new brand of spacey post-metal.

Throughout the album's 45 minutes, Graviton strikes a healthy balance between melody and dissonance, accessibility and complexity, and past and future.  Three-part vocal harmonies coast over plummeting canyons of riffage, only to segue to extended acoustic interludes or spoken-word samples about particle physics.  Post-metal lovers may have a new favorite band, and everyone else has something exciting to discover.

NOW Ensemble: Awake (New Amsterdam)

NOW Ensemble: "Burst"

In 2008, New Amsterdam Records opened shop to release and promote music by boundary-breaking classical musicians. The NOW Ensemble, a melodically inclined chamber quintet, launched the label with its previous album, and Awake ever so slightly expands the group's timbres for another dynamic collection of melodic and rhythmic interplay.

Featuring compositions by NOW guitarist Mark Dancigers, New Amsterdam co-founder / NOW composer Judd Greenstein, and New Amsterdam label-mate Missy Mazzoli, the album finds the ensemble's arsenal of flute, clarinet, electric guitar, upright bass, and piano dancing together in an arresting display of harmony and counterpoint.

Throughout Awake, simple and complex repetitions are deftly woven together, forming patterns that engage listeners while urging their ears to dig deeper, layer by layer.  Even a distant touch of dark, distorted guitar and ominous accents complement "Velvet Hammer" and "Magic with Everyday Objects," and perhaps future albums by NOW Ensemble will share traits with more of the New Amsterdam roster.

Agoraphobic Nosebleed / Despise You: And On and On… (Relapse)

Agoraphobic Nosebleed: "As Bad As It Is"

Despise You: "Bereft"

Short, fast, and to the point. That's the MO of Despise You, a no-nonsense hardcore outfit from California whose first material in 10 years comprises half of this split release with grindcore masters Agoraphobic Nosebleed.

With 18 tracks that average just a minute each, Despise You packs as much into its half as possible, offering terse exclamations over basic riffs, distorted low end, and push beats.  ANb introduces itself with a sludgy down-tempo track — a style that swerves from Agorapocalypse, its last album of assailing tempos, squealing guitar leads, and lightning-quick fret work. Its second track, however, returns those familiar sounds, and the following two "songs" challenge Despise You for the album's shortest durations (25 and 27 seconds).

Bill Frisell: Sign of Life (Music for 858 Quartet) (Savoy Jazz)

Bill Frisell: "It's a Long Story (1)"

Over the span of his 30-year career, guitarist Bill Frisell has shifted further away from jazz and experimental styles and further toward country, western, and folk instrumentals.  Sign of Life, his latest with the string-based 858 Quartet, is another in the instrumental folk vein, albeit one whose group was borne of improvisation.

The 858 Quartet is Frisell plus three esteemed string players — violist Eyvind Kang (Secret Chiefs 3, Sunn O))), John Zorn), violinist Jenny Scheinman (Vinicius Cantuaria, Marc Ribot), and cellist Hank Roberts (Tim Berne).  In 2005, they created an improvised take on works by German artist Gerhard Richter, but they've since grown into a regular unit, and Sign of Life marks a decided shift to composition.

Written during a composing retreat, the album has soloing and apparent moments of improv, but it's markedly closer in style and spirit to Frisell's Disfarmer project or Beautiful Dreamers trio (which also features Kang).  The Richter 858 album, which is much more dissonant and whose beauty is more subjective, might be best considered a musical caterpillar — eventually morphing into something more striking and graceful.

Honorable Mentions

Blue Sky Black Death: Noir (Fake Four)

Boxcutter: The Dissolve (Planet Mu)

Daedelus: Bespoke (Ninja Tune)

Deafheaven: Roads to Judah (Deathwish)

Steve Earle: I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive (New West)

Explosions in the Sky: Take Care, Take Care, Take Care (Temporary Residence)

Jefferson Friedman (w/ Chiara String Quartet & Matmos): Quartets (New Amsterdam)

Jookabox: The Eyes of the Fly (Joyful Noise)

Kambar Kalendarov & Kutman Sultanbekov: Jaw (Cantaloupe)

Klang: Other Doors (Music of Benny Goodman) (Allos Documents)

Daniele Luppi: Malos Hábitos soundtrack (Ipecac)

Nine 11 Thesaurus: Ground Zero Generals (The Social Registry)

Primordial: Redemption at the Puritan's Hand (Metal Blade)

Small Brown Bike: Fell & Found (No Idea Records)

Tindersticks: Claire Denis Film Scores, 1996-2009 (Constellation)

Total Fucking Destruction: Hater (Translation Loss, 2/15/11)

Total Fucking Destruction: "Thrashadelphia"

Given the relatively straightforward demands of grindcore, any band willing to name itself Total Fucking Destruction should know what’s expected of it. Conversely, even the most casual grindcore enthusiast probably knows what to expect from a band named Total Fucking Destruction. With Hater, the Philadelphia quartet holds up its end of the bargain, but in such spastic fashion that even the most dedicated are likely to be left in a perpetual double-take.

Hater’s 27 tracks come instilled with a musical hostility equaled only by the comically abrasive song titles (“Murdernumber,” “Hate Mongering Pig Pandemonium”), all taken to absurd heights through a near-constant everything-at-once approach. Built primarily on a foundation of furious drumming, speed-metal riffing, and stream-of-consciousness anti-authoritarianism, Hater at times flexes a kind of accidental atonality not quite Zappa-esque, but more like Slayer if Slayer abandoned the concept of riffs and played at quintuple-time.

Yet Total Fucking Destruction actually can write a great riff and, for a brief stretch in the middle of Hater, goes a step beyond its noise assault, building full songs (or at least mini-songs) out of them: the staccato bedrock of “Thrashadelphia,” the pull-off metal of “Green Fire,” and the sucker-punch thrash of “Time Theft.” But no sooner has the group asserted its songwriting chops than it heads back the way it came, into the riffs-and-rants method that opens and closes the album. The disc's fleeting moments of throwback punk melodicism (“Meat Without Feet,” “The Sunrise Is A Lie”) become jarring in this light, although this may just be a function of its songwriting being primarily informed by its drummer (the quite adept Rich Hoak [also of Brutal Truth], who also handles vocals).

As the disc unfolds, these bursts of song and relentless attack give an informal nod (or perhaps challenge) to Napalm Death where micro-songs are concerned, although tracks like “Lovegrinder” or “A Cold And Lonely Place” show that Total Fucking Destruction knows how to build a groove when the situation calls for it. Though those tracks' cohesiveness contrasts quite sharply with the 30-second warning shots, Hater gives itself resting points in a handful of longer tracks — not that those tracks are especially sprawling in and of themselves, but when surrounded by 15 others clocking in under 60 seconds apiece, even the scant two minutes of “Human Is The Bastard” or the “Attack Of The Supervirus” quasi-trilogy can seem epic by comparison.

These 27 songs in 27 minutes effectively create an album that oddly requires more listens to assert itself; for better or for worse, Hater’s brevity causes it to end before it ever really begins. Never giving a moment’s rest for the band or the listener, Hater is not music to be heard casually.

Mogwai: Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will (Sub Pop)

Mogwai: "Rano Pano"

Mogwai, everyone’s favorite Glaswegian post-rock quintet, recently celebrated 15 years together, and during that span, its nearly unaltered lineup has been as consistent as its mid-tempo rock instrumentals. The band’s sound has changed along the way, including intermittent vocal activity, but by and large, fans know what to expect: reverberated guitar melodies, glimmering keyboard lines, steady beats, and lots of fuzz.

Along the way, the band has shifted a bit from hypnotic, repetitive guitar lines to have songs with more conventional rock leads, and a prime example is “How to Be a Werewolf” from its seventh and newest full-length album, Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will. Still, nothing here will take listeners by surprise. It’s another 10 tracks of roughly five-minute instrumentals, with a smattering of highlights – a ghostly guitar/keyboard line in triplicate, an upbeat rock track with a half-time breakdown, and a sunny yet sludgy bass melody.

Mophono: Cut Form Crush LP (CB Records)

Mophono: "Be Human Part One"

Another of the up-and-coming DJs/producers from San Francisco’s beat scene, Mophono (also known as DJ Centipede) has just released a neck-breaking full-length debut called Cut Form Crush.  It follows a handful of EPs and remixes that were scattered over the past six years, but outside of beat junkies, it likely is an introduction for most listeners.

Released on Mophono’s own CB Records, Cut Form Crush is an LP/digital-only release where Moog bleeps meet hard hip-hop beats, jazzy fills, heavy funk cuts, and fanatical synth hooks.  Though it features guest spots by Flying Lotus and MC Subverse, Mophono does all of the heavy lifting, splicing samples over boom-bap beats and spacey dubstep passages.

Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra: World of Funk (Ubiquity)

Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra: "Cairo Cairo"

A super-prolific and accomplished multi-instrumentalist, Shawn Lee has made a career of splicing disparate styles over his foundation of funk, soul, R&B, and more.  Now, just two months after the release of a dub-, funk-, and rock-infused album of classical covers, Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra is back with a world-driven collection of exceptionally funky jams.  It’s not old-school funk, of course, but a similar brand of Lee’s multifarious style – hip-hop and down-tempo beats, grooves galore, and layers upon layers of sounds.

Like usual, Lee employs a small music shop’s worth of instruments to achieve his diversity, this time tabbing sitar, kalimba, charango, bouzouki, tambura, steel drum, castanets, udu, and balafon among other choices.  It helps World of Funk make virtual visits to India, Egypt, the Mediterranean, and many other locales while adding Ethio-jazz, Latin psychedelia, and Eastern funk.  Guest singers also help to establish the global vibes, including some with Brazilian, Egyptian, and Cambodian heritage, with the latter coming from Dengue Fever frontwoman Chhom Nimol.

And with additional guest spots by mysterious beat-smith Clutchy Hopkins, multi-talented bandleader Michael Leonhart, and NOMO songwriter Elliot Bergman, World of Funk is a bona-fide melting pot of talent.

Total Fucking Destruction: Haters (Translation Loss)

Total Fucking Destruction: "Time Theft"

Formed after the first demise of Brutal Truth, Total Fucking Destruction has spent more than a decade presenting themes of nihilism, annihilation, and nonsense over grind, thrash, and punk rock.  Led by drummer/vocalist Richard Hoak of Brutal Truth, the band exists as a mocking assault on the global power structure, the inhumanity of homo sapiens, and mindless consumption.

Musically and vocally, the band has a very defiant vibe, and its new album, Hater, is no different.  There’s a punk-rock flair with overdubbed growls and gang vocals, and there’s the usual dose of rock-'n'-roll riffage, but the base of blast beats, double kick, and power chords remains the same.  Unlike a lot of grind bands, Total Fucking Destruction has plenty of tempo shifts, and though Hater isn’t as off the wall as previous albums have been, it might be the band’s most polished and cohesive release.

Sims: Bad Time Zoo (Doomtree)

Sims: "Burn It Down"

Headlined by Rhymesayers recording artist P.O.S, Minneapolis hip-hop collective Doomtree has some up-front name recognition but also a roster full of talent.  That includes Andrew Sims, an MC and early member of Doomtree who has done his part to help cultivate independent rap.

Bad Time Zoo is Sims’ second and newest solo album, produced by Doomtree associate and DJ Lazerbeak.  There’s enough sociopolitical content – including the call to action of “One-Dimensional Man” – but there are personal themes along the way, such as the unabashed balladry of “Love My Girl” and “When It Rolls In.”

With horn, piano, and guitar samples, double-time hi-hats, and thumping bass and synth hits, Bad Time Zoo sets a head-nodding foundation for Sims’ steady (and often doubled) delivery.  P.O.S drops a guest verse on “Too Much,” but this is far from another group effort, standing on its own as Sims continues to define his style.

Shugo Tokumaru: Port Entropy (Polyvinyl)

Shugo Tokumaru: "Lahaha"

Port Entropy is the latest full-length from Shugo Tokumaru, a Japanese singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist who performs or produces every sound on his records.  It’s his first US release on Polyvinyl Records, but Tokumaru has already achieved considerable commercial success in his native nation and abroad, including TV ads and a spot in the Japanese top 40.

With self-professed influences of the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and Japanese pop, Tokumaru wields an array of sounds behind his cheery, airy, harmonized vocals.  Guitar, glockenspiel, flute, banjo, and homemade percussion are just a handful of what one hears on an average album.  Some may feel overwhelmed by the layer upon layer of major-chord melody, but Port Entropy is another golden nugget of sunshine pop, with chops that aren’t too shabby either.

Honorable Mentions

Arbouretum: The Gathering (Thrill Jockey)

Beaten by Them: Invisible Origins (Logicpole)

Bright Eyes: The People's Key (Saddle Creek)

DC the MIDI Alien: Avengers Airwaves (Brick)

Elk: Let’s Get Married (Shape Up)

The Eternals: Approaching the Energy Field (Plustapes / Addenda)

PJ Harvey: Let England Shake (Vagrant)

Tim Hecker: Ravedeath, 1972 (Kranky)

The Natural Yogurt Band: Tuck in With… (Now-Again)

Austin Peralta: Endless Planets (Brainfeeder)

Phaedra: The Sea (Rune Grammofon)

La Sera: s/t (Hardly Art)

The Skull Defekts: Peer Amid (Thrill Jockey)

Win Win: s/t (Vice)

Each orbiting the musical genius of Trey Spruance, the Secret Chiefs 3 satellite groups each represent a different sonic dimension of the band's expansive, undefinable sound. Following Traditionalists' full-length take on Italy's giallo movement, Satellite Supersonic Vol. 1 mostly collects seven-inch material from SC3 subgroups UR, Ishraqiyyun, and Electromagnetic Azoth.

This is far from a simple digital conversion, however; all of the material here was rerecorded for the release, with many tracks adopting different sounds and passages. UR, the Chiefs' "suprasensory surf" squad, presents three tracks of heavily tremolo-ed rock guitar surrounded by synthesized sounds, Eastern instrumentation, and epic motifs.

"Kulturvultur," one of the three, might be the group's most upbeat tune since "The 4," a sunny Ishraqiyyun tune from Book of Horizons that is irresistibly danceable. Spruance's most Eastern-infused ensemble, Ishraqiyyun retains a masterful balance between each side of the globe, as psychedelic and electronic elements are entangled with the Indian sarangi and an electrified Persian setar.

With the diverse palette that is typical of SC3, Satellite Supersonic Vol. 1 is excellent for the uninitiated, and it's just enough to tide over diehard fans until Book of Souls finally is released later this year.

Secret Chiefs 3: Satellite Supersonic Vol. 1 album preview
Secret Chiefs 3: Satellite Supersonic Vol. 1 album preview

Chrome Hoof: Crush Depth (Southern)

Try to imagine gnarly doom funk from another planet, performed by a nonet that is dressed like a death cult at a space disco. That imagination in practice, London's Chrome Hoof, is every bit as dark, wild, and fun as it sounds.

The brainchild of brothers Leo and Milo Smee, Chrome Hoof is built around an intuitive rhythm section: drummer Milo’s pounding pulses and overlapping time signatures and bassist Leo’s heavy, cataclysmic riffs. With just its third album in ten years as a group, Chrome Hoof delivers its most boisterous and complete release, full of dance-floor jams as well as cinematic math rock.

Vocalist Lola Olafisoye uses a brash, regal delivery to command attention amid the organized chaos, but it's the infectious grooves of Crush Depth that steal the show. Chrome Hoof has few performances and fewer contemporaries, so if you get a chance to check out the band live, don't miss it. And, naturally, pick this up.

Chrome Hoof: "Crystalline"
Chrome Hoof: \"Crystalline\"

Qua: Q&A (Mush)

Melbourne resident Cornel Wilczek might be an apt representation of today's electronic artist, calling upon buzzing effects, analog synths, and field recordings as much as guitar, live drums, and acoustic instruments.

As Qua, he combines these sounds into a fun, blippy style that can hit hard, scale it back, or get bodies moving. Q&A, his third full album, was first released back in '08 on a local label before being distributed by Mush.

Now with its official US release, the album marks Wilczek's progress as a musician — while adding its name to the ever-expanding list of great electro-acoustic works. Key guest spots include James Cecil (Architecture in Helsinki) and Laurence Pike (Savath & Savalas, Pivot, Triosk).

Qua: "Circles"
Qua: \"Circles\"

Rosetta: A Determinism of Morality (Translation Loss)

With a style that is as themed to space travel as metaphysical exploration, Philadelphia's Rosetta specializes in delayed, echoing melodies, often over steady snare cadences, that build to powerful mid-tempo metal.

Despite vocal brutality, this brand of metal owes more to post-rock guitars and hefty song durations, with certain aspects akin to Irepress and other Translation Loss label mates. Many also will draw comparisons between Rosetta and groups like Isis and Neurosis, but Rosetta retains its own special idiosyncracies.

Rosetta: "Revolve"
Rosetta: \"Revolve\"

Tobacco: Maniac Meat (Anticon)

Maniac Meat is another 16 tracks of warped synth hop, pop hooks, and effected vocals from Tobacco, one of the key pieces of Black Moth Super Rainbow.

Like Fucked-Up Friends, his 2008 solo debut, Maniac Meat features harpsichord-flavored electronics that are awash in hip-hop beats, vocoders, and fuzzy and glistening analog synthsizers.

Two appearances by Beck add a new dimension to Tobacco's style, one that admittedly grows old from song to song and album to album due to similar sounds and melodies. Nonetheless, his contributions are unique, and Maniac Meat is proof that he hasn't run out of steam.

Tobacco: "Sweatmother"
Tobacco: \"Sweatmother\"

Honorable Mentions

Black Tusk: Taste The Sin (Relapse)

Damien Jurado: Saint Bartlett (Secretly Canadian)

Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band: The Wages (SideOneDummy)

Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet: Live At The Triple Door (Royal Potato Family)

Solvent: Subject to Shift (Ghostly)

ALARM leaves no genre unloved in our round-up of 50 albums that didn't receive enough attention in 2009.

Omar Rodriguez Lopez: Old Money (Stones Throw, 1/27/09)

Omar Rodriguez Lopez: "Family War Funding"

The first of many releases in 2009 from prolific guitarist/composer Omar Rodriguez-Lopez. Accessible and centered on rock, sounding spacey, funky, progressive, psychedelic, a little jazzy, and a little Latin.

Kevin Hufnagel: Songs for the Disappeared (self-released, 2/3/09)

Kevin Hufnagel: "Tres"

Musical themes come and go, covering swaths of Spanish and Gypsy guitar before reverting back to haunting rock melodies, on this solo acoustic album from highly technical Dysrhythmia guitarist Kevin Hufnagel.

P.O.S: Never Better (Rhymesayers, 2/3/09)

P.O.S.: "Drumroll"

Likely the year's best hip-hop album, Never Better draws on Stefon Alexander’s background in punk and rock music (he plays most of the live instrumentation on the record), making this is an album that categorically defines the indie in indie rap.

Zu: Carboniferous (Ipecac, 2/17/09)

Zu: "Ostia"

Sludgy alt-metal with complex repeated rhythms and free-jazz freakouts. Features Mike Patton on two killer tracks.

The Andreas Kapsalis & Goran Ivanovic Guitar Duo: s/t (2/24/09)

The Andreas Kapsalis & Goran Ivanovic Guitar Duo: "Shadow Thief"

A Balkan-influenced classical guitarist joins an ethically inspired finger-tapping guitarist for a disc of skill and beauty.

16: Bridges to Burn (Relapse, 2/24/09)

16: "Throw in the Towel"

Dubbed the "Unsane of the West Coast" by ALARM's Jamie Ludwig, 16 issued another hard-hitting riff fest in 2009 with Bridges to Burn, the band's best album to date.

Umlaut: s/t (3/10/09)

Umlaut: "Kitty Puppy"

Mr. Bungle's Bär McKinnon, multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire, issued one hell of an album for this new project — one that filters meticulous melodies and asinine vocals through the lens of a whacked-out lounge group.

Jono El Grande: Neo Dada (Rune Grammofon, 3/16/09)

Jono El Grande: "Oslo Coty Suite"

Fanciful music that's different around every turn. Art rock that weaves through theatrical, progressive, classical, and absurdist styles with influences from Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, King Crimson and Igor Stravinsky.

Kylesa: Static Tensions (Prosthetic, 3/17/09)

Kylesa: "Scapegoat"

Down-tuned dirge metal that rumbles with crust punk, sludge, metal, hardcore, and psychedelia, often laced with atmospheric samples. To date, Static Tensions is Kylesa's most powerful album.

(MF) Doom: Born Like This (Lex, 3/23/09)

Doom: "Cellz"

Dropping his “MF” prefix, the incomparable rapper and Marvel-inspired supervillain delivered another nearly impenetrable wall of rhymes and flow, dizzying listeners with his ever-shifting, slowly delivered lyrics.

Mouth of the Architect: Quietly (Translation Loss)

Quietly is an interesting choice for the title of Mouth of the Architect's new record, considering the band's reputation for ear-splitting live shows and noisy recordings.

It's fitting, though; like its contemporaries Isis and Pelican, the band doesn't just rest on its volume-knob laurels, opting instead for dynamic and intricate songwriting, highlighted with delicate flourishes of feedback, samples, and noise play usually associated with ambient music.

But make no mistake: this may be art metal, but it's metal all the same. Keyboardist Jason Watkins and guitar player Alex Vernon share vocal duties on "Quietly," belting out anguished, sludge-style screams over the ethereal waves of sound.

The pair is complemented by the sultry and lithe guest vocals of Made Out Of Babies' Julie Christmas on "Generation of Ghosts" and "Pine Boxes." The pairing makes for a stark but soothing juxtaposition of aesthetics.

On the whole, Quietly is a more focused record than Ties That Bind from 2006, though fans of the genre will likely notice the similarities between this new offering and Isis' 2002 epic, Oceanic. The dense, atmospheric backdrop, the departure from the overwhelming aggression of the band's previous releases, dueling male/female vocals, and drawn-out song structure seem right out of the Oceanic playbook.

Though Mouth of the Architect doesn't do anything new on Quietly, it's important to recognize that Isis has moved beyond the aesthetic it presented on Oceanic. It seems fitting for Mouth of the Architect to pick up the torch.

And for what it's worth, Isis also spent many years unfairly living in the shadow of Neurosis — it's only natural that this niche group of artists would draw on similar signifying sounds. With that in mind, Quietly is a huge artistic step forward for a band just beginning to find its voice.

- Oakland L. Childers

Mouth of the Architect: www.myspace.com/mouthofthearchitect
Translation Loss: www.translationloss.com

Following its debut full-length in 2007, melodic math-chug group Irepress has just released its crushing, beautiful, epic sophomore album, Sol Eye Sea I, on Translation Loss Records.

To celebrate this great release, ALARM has teamed up with Translation Loss to give away a few gift packages of the new CD and an Irepress T-shirt.  Read the details and hear a new track below.

To enter the contest:

cforms contact form by delicious:days

Winners will be drawn at random. Open to US residents only.

Irepress: "Cyette Phiur"
Irepress: \"Cyette Phiur\"

“Cyette Phiur,” the fifth track on Sol Eye Sea I, accents the band’s brutal sound with soothing female guest vocals, bursts of gang vocals, fluttering saxophone, and the semi-androgynous sound of bagpipes or accordion. Distant echoes and reverberated speed picking, a pair of previously established tools, surround the palm muting and clean-channel melodies to create a majestic atmosphere.

Irepress: www.myspace.com/irepress
Translation Loss: www.translationloss.com

One entry per person. Contests are only open to ALARM newsletter subscribers. By entering your e-mail address you are signing up for our exclusive e-mail newsletter. You can always unsubscribe if you don’t like it, and you’ll still be eligible to win any contest you entered.

Zu

Combining sludgy alt-metal with complex repeated rhythms and free-jazz freakouts, this experimental Italian trio delivers what could be one of the year's best albums with its latest effort, a debut for Ipecac that focuses on rock much more than its predecessors.

The album’s best songs include “Carbon” and “Soulympics,” the latter of which features Ipecac co-owner Mike Patton busting out ape-shit screeches akin to those from “Cuckoo for Caca” by Faith No More. "Carbon" is built around an infectious 1-2-3-4-5-6 rhythm (with one-note pauses between counts), pounding listeners with its relentless force.

Patton, who also guests on another song, joins Zu as the Zu / Mike Patton Quartet for a pair of shows (San Francisco, Mexico City) in March. If we're lucky, this will plant the seeds for a future full-length collaboration.

Zu: "Ostia"
Zu: \"Ostia\"

William Elliott Whitmore: Animals in the Dark (Anti-)

With his raspy, soulful, trademark voice in tow, minimalist folk banjo player William Elliot Whitmore moves to Anti- with the release of this new full-length.  New-found accents are present, expanding his blues-infused creations with touches of pedal steel, organs, strings, and drums.

"Mutiny" opens Animals in the Dark with a raucous tune of political metaphor.  "Who Stole the Soul" scales it back a notch, and the album continues through peaks and valleys of emotion, hitting its stride in the contemptuous "Old Devils."

Animals in the Dark is, without a doubt, Whitmore's best and most diverse creation to date.  Currently, you can stream the entire album at his MySpace page.

Irepress: Sol Eye Sea I (Translation Loss)

Following its debut full-length in 2007, this melodic math-chug group from Boston takes a decidedly epic turn on its sophomore release.

"Cyette Phiur," the fifth of the album's tracks, accents the band's crushing sound with soothing female guest vocals, bursts of gang vocals, fluttering saxophone, and possible bagpipes or accordion. Distant echoes and reverberated speed picking, a pair of previously established tools, surround the palm muting and clean-channel melodies to create a majestic atmosphere.

Irepress: "Cyette Phiur"
Irepress: \"Cyette Phiur\"

Tombs: Winter Hours (Relapse)

Hailing from Brooklyn, this droning doom-rock trio makes its Relapse debut with Winter Hours. Pummeling mid-tempo riffs package with heavily reverberated harmonies; dissonant ambiance separates the sonic punishment before guitarist Mike Hill bellows his abusing vocals, akin to those of 1990s sludgecore group His Hero is Gone.

Tombs: "Gossamer"
Tombs: \"Gossamer\"

Odd Nosdam: T.I.M.E. Soundtrack (Anticon)

Sample-based instrumental hip-hopper Odd Nosdam presents another blend of beats, melodies, and atmospherics, this time for the soundtrack to skateboard film This is My Element.

Applying each song to a different highlight reel, the tunes take different tones for each skater. Without being particularly sunny, the material refrains from being too down-tempo or dark. The result is a strong complement to the film's acrobatic highlights.

Odd Nosdam: "Fly Mode"
Odd Nosdam: \"Fly Mode\"

Instrumental(-ish) Boston group Irepress has completed its sophomore album, Sol Eye Sea 1, which will be released February 17 on Translation Loss (a new song can be heard here). The group's mathy, melodic, chugging, epic songs can be heard on a five-week US tour that begins March 4.

Les Claypool has announced a four-week traveling mini festival, scheduled to begin in early March, that is officially titled The Oddity Faire: A Mutated Mini Fest. The fest's outstanding lineup is different depending on the city; guests include Secret Chiefs 3, Saul Williams, DeVotchKa, Yard Dogs Road Show, O'Death, and The Mutaytor.

And speaking of Secret Chiefs 3, the incomparable Indian/surf/metal group has a concert DVD being released in March on mastermind Trey Spruance's Mimicry label.

Hardcore trio Young Widows has announced a major list of tour dates that run from February through April. See the list here.

Dan Deacon has announced a six-week tour, starting April 3, that will feature a full ensemble in support of Bromst, his new album due March 24 from Carpark.

Marking its final recording with long-time member Reed Mathis, the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey has made a new studio album, Winterwood, available for free downloading on its website.

Next Tuesday, February 3, Tibet House US hosts a benefit concert and dinner at Carnegie Hall. Performers include Philip Glass, Antibalas, Keb' Mo', Vampire Weekend, The National, and more.

Nile linchpin Karl Sanders has another solo album in the works, this time to be released through The End Records. Titled Saurian Exorcisms, the album will be out April 14. Some awesome preview tracks are already posted on Sanders' MySpace page.

Despite comments from main member Tobacco that the group was on indefinite hiatus, dreamy hip-hoppers Black Moth Super Rainbow have a new album, Eating Us, that will be released on May 26 via Graveface.

New York jazz group Dred Scott Trio has a live album being released via Ropeadope on February 3.

Hardcore group Pulling Teeth has a new album, Paranoid Delusions | Paradise Illusions, that takes a crushing and despairing direction. The album is available today to preorder from Deathwish Inc. and its official release date is March 31. Hear a preview track, "Foreshadowing," here.

Grindcore group Agoraphobic Nosebleed will release its fourth full-length album, Agorapocalypse, through Relapse on April 14.