The video, Biskup explains, is "a life/death metaphor where the girl in the video goes from hunted to hunter. There's a whole lot more going on metaphorically, and the symbolism goes very deep and is very specific, but I'll leave the rest up to interpretation."

Interpret for yourself below.

For us, 2011 was another year of taking in as much as we could and sharing the best with you. Next year, however, will be a homecoming of sorts, a return to rock-'n'-roll roots. We'll soon be able to share the projects that we have in store — across multiple mediums — but for now, dig into this rock-focused list of must-own albums.

And for more, revisit (or simply visit) our lists from 2010 and 2009:

100 Unheralded Albums from 2010
50 Unheralded Albums from 2009

Steven Drozd: The Heart Is A Drum Machine (The Score) (Twinkle Cash Co., 1/18/11)

Steven Drozd: "Born"

A multi-instrumentalist and the third-most-tenured member of The Flaming Lips, Steven Drozd marked his first official solo release early this year with the nearly instrumental accompaniment to the documentary The Heart is a Drum Machine.

The music shares a lot of characteristics with the Flaming Lips of the past dozen years – synthesized grooves, big rock beats, fuzz bass, airy keyboards, and different instrumental flourishes weaving in and out. But listeners are unlikely to confuse the two, and the score succeeds as a standalone album as well as a film accompaniment.

…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead: Tao of the Dead (Richter Scale Records / Superball Music, 2/8/11)

…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead: "Weight of the Sun"

There has been no shortage of grand themes and allegories in the canon of Austin post-punk quintet …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. The band’s newest album, however, better matches its ambitious themes with its music, presenting an epic pair of pieces for Tao of the Dead.

The album recalls progressive albums of yore, from the likes of Rush and King Crimson, but channels them into easily digested movements. Stretches of heavy distortion and drum thrashing will appeal to the more metal-minded Trail of Dead fans, but there’s also plenty of hook-laden, radio-ready alternative rock.

Wires Under Tension: Light Science (Western Vinyl, 2/8/11)

Wires Under Tension: "Electricity Turns Them On"

Light Science is the exciting debut from Wires Under Tension, a duo comprised of violinist/multi-instrumentalist Christopher Tignor and drummer Theo Metz. With help from a few friends, including Jared Bell of Lymbyc Systym, the two combine live performance with electronic manipulation, sounding something like a progressive Dirty Three with horns, hip-hop beats, and post-rock guitar swells.

This seven-track release is a dense, fluid collection that retains consistency thanks to Metz’s steady rhythms. Electro-mechanical piano, clavinet, and synthesizers mesh with loops and samples to round out an impressive first release.

Pitom: Blasphemy and Other Serious Crimes (Tzadik, 2/22/11)

Pitom: "Head in the Ground"

Combining heavy, fuzzy rock jams with Jewish melodies, Pitom is one of many projects from guitarist, bassist, and composer Yoshie Fruchter. Blasphemy and Other Serious Crimes, the quartet's second release on Tzadik, follows the same path as its predecessor, but it does so with a bit more cohesion and restraint.

Built from the ground up with distorted bass and violin, the band's music carries similarities to that of Skeletonbreath and Miasma & The Carousel of Headless Horses. Whether driving a song with an infectious melody, commingling with the violin in the high end, or simply taking over a track with raw ability, Fruchter knows when to go full throttle (the punk power of "An Epic Encounter") or pull back (the dark slow jam of "A Resentful Repentance").

The Psychic Paramount: II (No Quarter, 2/22/11)

The Psychic Paramount: "RW"

Though relatively silent for the past six years, New York noise-rock trio The Psychic Paramount returned in February to release its first full-length since 2005. Effected guitar loops, devastating low-end grooves, and bashing rhythms again form the core of the band's sound, but II is a direct yet dynamic rock explosion.

Between the guitar, the cymbals, and the effects, the mid-range gets a constant workout. Those who are turned off by this kind of music may find it to be an exercise in patience, but the lengthier durations are a testament to the trio's skills at climax and denouement.

DeVotchKa: 100 Lovers (Anti-, 3/1/11)

DeVotchKa: "100 Other Lovers"

Following the fame from its Oscar-winning soundtrack for Little Miss Sunshine in 2006, Denver multi-instrumental quartet DeVotchKa has playfully tinkered with its sweeping, emotive sound. Though it already tossed together elements of folk, rock, Mexican, and Gypsy music, it remained united by the sullen croons and songwriting of frontman Nick Urata.

That unifying factor remains, but its newest album, 100 Lovers – its second post-Sunshine full-length – continues to expand the band’s scope. The material adds new and often subtle flavors to DeVotchKa’s repertoire. Uninitiated listeners might hear more of the same, but 100 Lovers is perfect for content fans – moving in new directions without a radical departure.

Stateless: Matilda (Ninja Tune, 3/1/11)

Stateless: "Ariel"

Matilda, Stateless' second full-length, showcases the British electro-rock group's continued maturity. Lead singer Chris James hits an impressive range of notes, from reverb-cloaked backing croons to soulful leads, atop an amalgamated mix of styles, sounds, and beats.

With contributions from The Balanescu Quartet, DJ Shadow, and Shara Worden (of My Brightest Diamond), Matilda is stylistically inventive, with familiar worldly touchstones reworked into new contexts.

Grails: Deep Politics (Temporary Residence, 3/8/11)

Grails: "I Led Three Lives"

With cinematic soundscapes, Westernized Indian melodies, film-noir mystique, 1960s psychedelia, and crushing heaviness, Grails is an instrumental rarity. The Portland band's newest offering, Deep Politics, is an engaging and epic mix of acoustic intonations, indigenous sounds and melodies, spaghetti-western motifs, somber piano balladry, and more doom-filled, Eastern-infused stylistic transcendence.

And thanks in part to arrangements by Timba Harris, the mighty violinist from unparalleled genre annihilators Estradasphere and Secret Chiefs 3, Deep Politics vies to be Grails’ best album yet.

Parts & Labor: Constant Future (Jagjaguwar, 3/8/11)

Parts & Labor: "Constant Future"

After establishing itself early last decade as an interesting new name in noise rock, Parts & Labor delivered a flurry of releases over the span of just a few years. Since then, the band has scaled back to a trio built around the fuzzed guitar, bass, keyboard hooks, and tight rock rhythms.

Featuring some of the band's sturdiest songs yet, Constant Future is direct, potent, and catchy. Behind Dan Friel and BJ Warshaw's echoing, harmonized vocals are dirty, thick grooves that power the overlaid electronic freak-outs.

Adebisi Shank: This is the Second Album from a Band Called Adebisi Shank (Sargent House, 3/15/11)

Adebisi Shank: "Micro Machines"

Released to European acclaim in 2010, the aptly titled second album from Irish electro/math rockers Adebisi Shank achieved North American release this year thanks to the peerless Sargent House.

The management company / record label describes the trio as a blend of Fang Island’s shredding riffs with Battles’ electronic quirkiness and rhythmic playfulness. That description isn’t off the mark, but readers won’t get a sense of the band’s real abilities until they hear its hyper-melodic, polyrhythmic, and — most importantly — jubilant songs in full.

Second Album delivers a maelstrom of zany electronics, unusual distortions, and triumphant, rapidly ascending scales mixed with vintage synths, marimba, horns, and other accoutrements. This is all packaged between and around gloriously catchy and powerful rock riffs, resulting in a manic and buoyant sophomore effort.

Gruff Rhys: Atheist Xmas EP (Wichita)

Around this time of year, before the reality and harshness of winter set in, December usually is a time of good cheer and holiday festiveness. And now, thanks to singer/songwriter Gruff Rhys, atheists can enjoy the season too. The Super Furry Animals front-man has just released a new EP called Atheist Xmas — a three-song offering featuring hook-heavy, head-bobbing catchiness, sure to help get you through to the coldest days this winter (or at least a few minutes of them at a time).

With this paradoxically titled recording, Rhys has become a master of juxtaposition — setting deep and dark lyrics to a backdrop of easy-listening, poppy arrangements (with elements of Rhys’ signature style firmly in place: futuristic synths, harmonized vocals, brass ornamentation, etc.). Even with misanthropic titles like “Post-Apocalypse Christmas,” “At the End of the Line,” and “Slashed Wrists This Christmas,” the prolific musician/singer has given an alternate take on holiday merriment. It takes the joyfulness of the Christmastime and turns it on its head, all while maintaining the approachable qualities of holiday music.

And don’t worry — this one isn’t sung in Welsh.

- Text by Michael Danaher.

Common: The Dreamer / The Believer (Warner Bros.)

Common: "Blue Sky"

Production for Common’s new album, The Dreamer / The Believer, started back in 2009, along with Def Jam VP and early Common collaborator No I.D., but the Chicago hip-hop emcee has valid reasons for its unplanned delay. Since his last release, Universal Mind Control, in 2008, Common has written and published his memoir (One Day It’ll All Make Sense), launched a clothing line, landed acting roles in multiple films, founded The Common Ground Foundation, and was involved in one of this year's biggest feuds as a White House poetry-night honoree.

Though the album’s title aptly represents most of its deep, positive content, there are more than a few negative rap stereotypes, creating a lyrical dichotomy. The first track, “The Dreamer,” which includes Common’s exclamations of faith and gratitude and a spoken poem by Pulitzer Prize winner Maya Angelou, rolls into “Ghetto Dreams” with sexist rhymes by Nas. Likewise, the uplifting, ELO-sampled “Blue Sky” is followed by chest-puffing machismo in “Sweet.” And later, the chorus of “Celebrate” ruins an otherwise feel-good track, proclaiming that the narrator has “a couple hundred bitches around” — all before "Windows," a ballad about a father and young daughter.

But despite the lyrical disparities, the aforementioned tracks do not lack in quality, and they rather signify the two main styles on the album – slow grooves alongside harder-hitting production. Neo-soul crooning and minor-key piano chords as just as likely to lead a track as rap-siren blares and turntable scratches. As his ninth studio in 20 years, The Dreamer / The Believer once again delivers Common’s distinctive brand of hip hop.

- Text by Lauren Zens.

The Black Keys: El Camino (Nonesuch / Warner Bros.)

The Black Keys: "Lonely Boy"

The Black Keys has come a long way from its modest start in Akron, Ohio. Ever since the early 2000s, the band has been one of the most consistent acts around, churning out album after album of gritty, blues-infused garage rock. But with recent appearances on The Colbert Report and Saturday Night Live, as well as a North American tour featuring numerous arena stops, the band has refined its sound to adapt to its new surroundings and mounting exposure. And El Camino, the band's latest effort, showcases that adaptation, as the band has cultivated a bigger, more varied sound.

Guitarist/vocalist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney once again teamed up with Danger Mouse to oversee the production, and the result is one of the band’s most instrumentally diverse offerings. Though the songs are firmly fixed in the classic Black Keys style (tactile distortion, clamoring drums, bluesy vocals, and noodling guitar solos), El Camino builds on the band’s recent exploration of musical diversity and experimentation. The excellent “Dead and Gone” sounds like a ’60s jamboree, chocked full of xylophones and layered, harmonized vocals; “Gold on the Ceiling” features a variety of synths and new guitar sounds that integrate seamlessly into the duo’s signature rock-outs; “Little Black Submarines” starts out with a heartfelt, acoustic folk arrangement before colliding with a wall of grunged-out guitars and crashing cymbals.

The Black Keys may be getting bigger, but that hasn’t hindered the duo’s creative energy. If anything, it’s gotten stronger on El Camino.

- Text by Michael Danaher.

The Roots: Undun (Island / Def Jam)

It’s rare when an album asks deserving questions yet doesn’t let the message overshadow the music. But that’s what The Roots has done with its tenth studio album, Undun, which does for Philadelphia what The Wire did for Baltimore — portraying the dark and ruinous underworld of a drug trade that preys disproportionately on certain races and classes, especially their young.

The record traces the last hours in the life of Redford Stephens, a fictional Philly man whom Roots drummer ?uestlove says was inspired in part by The Wire’s Avon Barksdale. A low-level drug dealer, Stephens is a protagonist but not quite a hero. Over funk-fueled bass lines, ?uestlove’s signature beats, and a tasteful sprinkling of soul, the story is unraveled — backwards from the time of death — by MC Black Thought and a handful of guests, including Aaron Livingston, one half of Icebird.

It’s hardly a holiday record, though it does include a cameo by indie darling Sufjan Stevens, whose “Redford (for Yia-Yia and Pappou)” also helped inspire the Roots’ character and comprises the final four tracks of the album, interpreted in various styles. The third of these segments, “Will to Power,” is the most compelling, showing ?uestlove battling avant-garde pianist DD Jackson in a frenzied duel that owes more to free jazz than R&B.

It’s not untruthful to say the music on Undun stands alone — it doesn’t need its narrative any more than Fucked Up’s David Comes to Life needed its — but the words add a weight that transforms it from a solid hip-hop release into a powerful record. Musically, it ventures into some surprising territory, and lyrically, it communicates an urgent message.

- Text by Timothy A. Schuler.

Jacaszek: Glimmer (Ghostly International)

Jacaszek: "Dare-gale"

Polish composer Michał Jacaszek has made a specialty of moody, atmospheric ambience using a classical palette, with bowed strings, operatic voices, and chimes to construct a brooding build. His new album, Glimmer, is his first for Ghostly International, and though it might be misclassified as an electronic album — partly due to its affiliation with Ghostly — it's almost entirely an ambient classical release.

There's enough digital treatment and rearrangement to warrant a partial electronic tag, but it's otherwise a very organic album. Jacaszek wrote and recorded the acoustic-guitar and mellotron passages, and then he enlisted a number of other Polish musicians to play the harpsichord and clarinet parts. It's all a very stirring mix, with the harpsichord, bass clarinet, guitar, and vibraphone — not to mention the washes of fuzz — creating a richness of texture.

The album's inconspicuous complexity and professional performances make it a gem among ambient releases. Those factors also help explain why it's been a bit since Jacaszek's last release, and Glimmer was worth the wait.

- Text by Scott Morrow and Patrick Hajduch. Read the debate here.

Keep Shelly in Athens: Campus Martius EP (Planet Mu)

Keep Shelly in Athens: "Campus Martius"

Hailing from Athens, Greece, Keep Shelly in Athens (whose name is a play on the Grecian suburb Kypseli) is a down-tempo/chill-wave electronic two-piece that has garnered steady 'Net buzz since last year. The hype, to this point, might be a tad undeserved, but the duo's recent In Love With Dusk EP demonstrated potential across a spate of digitized genres, even if it was heavy on the Ibiza influence.

The major appeal here is the interplay between singer Sarah P and producer RPR, whose styles seem to be coming into their own. With Campus Martius, the duo's first release on Planet Mu, there's less of the beach-y nightlife and '80s cheese; instead, there's an urban, industrialized, and ambient vibe to better fit Sarah's elongated and reverberated vocals.

The EP also includes bits of spazzy Aphex Twin drum-and-melancholy, deep bass lines, vocals that would sound at home on a Sneaker Pimps record, and of-the-moment pitched vocal slicing. These elements hang together in a way that seems familiar and yet revelatory, and as a result, Campus Martius occupies a pleasant, bassy corner of the dubstep/post-dubstep/synthesizer continuum.

- Text by Scott Morrow and Patrick Hajduch. Read the debate here.

Loka: Passing Place (Ninja Tune)

Loka: "Sam Star"

In 1999, Liverpool residents Karl Webb and Mark Kyriacou began an exciting studio collaboration as Loka, merging psychedelic, classical, groove, down-tempo, and jazz elements in a daring but foolproof fusion. The project quickly signed to Ninja Tune, but the duo's first full album wasn't released until 2006, and Webb retired from the project in the following year. But now Loka is back, led by Kyriacou and the live Loka band, and the results were worth the wait.

Like that debut full-length (Fire Shepherds), Passing Place is a hybrid of the aforementioned elements. Here, however, a calmness meets the subdued tempos, and celestial vocals are part of a multilayered mélange. In fact, the oft-mentioned down-tempo feel of Fire Shepherds seems lively in comparison to Passing Place, which, despite its active moments, achieves a rare balance of beats and serenity.

“Entrance,” Passing Place’s opening track, almost tricks the listener into thinking that this album will be just like Loka’s first, with the heavy, haunting bass rumblings. But just as the song seems ready to launch into a break beat, a beautiful wordless vocal solo sets the mood of the album’s remainder. The vocal additions (by live-band members Lido Pimiento, Eleanor Mante, and Jaci Williams) weave through the keyboards, drums, and guitars and often determine the haunting, melancholy, or calming feel that each track transmits. It's a wonderful new direction, helping Loka to reestablish itself as a forerunner in classical psychedelia.

- Text by Lauren Zens.

Honorable Mentions

Anomie Belle: Machine EP

Czar: Vertical Mass Grave (Cracknation)

Eastern Blok: Underwater

Goldmund: All Will Prosper (Western Vinyl)

Sunn O))): øø Void reissue (Southern Lord)

Mastodon: The Hunter (Warner Bros. / Reprise)

Mastodon: "Curl of the Burl"

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

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

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

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

Boom Bip: Zig Zaj (Lex)

Boom Bip: "All Hands"

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

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

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

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

Welder: Florescence (Ancestor)

Welder: "Run"

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

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

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

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

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

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

Zechs Marquise: "Static Lovers"

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

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

- Text by Kyle Gilkeson.

Evidence: Cats & Dogs (Rhymesayers)

Evidence: "You"

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

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

- Text by Portia Medina.

Plaid: Scintilli (Warp)

Plaid: "35 Summers"

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

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

- Text by Lauren Zens.

Honorable Mentions

Apparat: The Devil’s Walk (Mute)

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

Brutal Truth: End Time (Relapse)

Extreme Noise Terror: Holocaust In My Head (Candlelight)

Bill Frisell: All We Are Saying (Savoy Jazz)

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

The Janks: Hands of Time (Sprouted Records)

Junius / Rosetta: Split (Translation Loss)

Rudresh Mahanthappa: Samdhi (ACT Music & Vision)

Jono McCleery: There Is (Counter)

Rwake: Rest (Relapse)

Matt Stevens: Relic

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

Craig Wedren: Wand (Nerveland)

Wilco: The Whole Love (dBpm Records)

yMusic: Beautiful Mechanical (New Amsterdam)

Iron and Wine: Kiss Each Other Clean (Warner Bros., 1/25/11)

Iron and Wine: "Walking Far from Home"

When Iron and Wine made its debut in 2002 with underground sensation The Creek Drank the Cradle, it immediately became apparent that there was something special at hand. The album — anchored by lo-fi acoustic finger-picking set to Sam Beam’s hushed, harmonized vocals — featured no bells and whistles.  It remains a blunt testament of Beam’s humble offerings as a songwriter and the splendor that he can achieve through it.  Today, when listening to the album, you still get the feeling that the songs were written by Beam while he sat on the front porch of a ramshackle home, located on a dirt farm somewhere down south, singing “Upward Over the Mountain” as the late summer sun sets beyond the horizon.

After releasing the similarly arranged The Sea and the Rhythm EP in 2003, Beam moved forward with a slightly varied approach. However, while 2004 album Our Endless, Numbered Days reintroduced Iron and Wine to the indie world through cleaner production and subtly varied instrumentation, Beam’s uncanny ability to write a song so straightforward yet elegant was still intact. Elements of The Creek Drank the Cradle still shined through, and it seemed that Beam was the new Elliott Smith, the new tender soul, the new whipping boy who endured the battlements of love and loss.

But after three straight years of supplying listeners with remarkable song craftsmanship and an unparalleled dulcet voice, Iron and Wine reemerged in 2005 with the Woman King EP — and something had changed. No longer was Beam content with the hushed, folk-ridden lullabies that he had crafted so perfectly in the previous few years. Instead, he was determined to make noise, to make you notice him. In 2007, The Shepherd’s Dog confirmed this, featuring drums and a barrage of percussion, electronic effects, keyboards, flanged vocals, jangly pianos, and a number of other tricks. It was as if Beam were trying to prove that he wasn’t a one-trick pony — that he could be just as experimental as he could melodic.

Now, with Kiss Each Other Clean — the band’s first major-label effort since leaving native indie label Sub Pop — Beam has written another chapter in the ever-evolving songbook of Iron and Wine. If The Shepherd’s Dog’s purpose was to marry Beam’s old-world folk hymns with his more experimental, stylized jamborees, then Kiss Each Other Clean is his attempt to abandon his roots entirely.

The album picks up where The Shepherd’s Dog left off and doesn’t look back — ever. From the onset, it’s apparent that this will not be a typical Iron and Wine album. Though the opening track, “Walking Far From Home,” features a confident, catchy melody at the forefront, always so prevalent in Beam’s songs, the vocals are flanked by fuzz, piano, spacey harmonies, drums, keyboards, and fizzling digital effects—a far cry from a band that started out with one man and an acoustic guitar.

And the album only gets more diverse from there. “Monkeys Uptown” features an Of Montreal-esque bass line paired with strange sound effects, percussion, xylophone, and an electric-guitar solo; “Big Burned Hand” features a clownish saxophone, a rock organ, and hokey keyboard effect akin to Super Furry Animals; and “Rabbit Will Run,” featuring a recorder and a variety of tribal drumming, sounds like a stripped-down experimental collaboration with Four Tet. But perhaps the most interesting aspect is that, in addition to the band’s new-found love for experimentation, there is scarcely an acoustic guitar present on the album at all.

Aside from a few tracks, Beam has abandoned the instrument completely. The bright side, though, is that he is able to orchestrate his lovelorn song structures and melodies by other means. With a barrage of instruments present at all times throughout each track, Beam has left no room for the simple sanctity on which his songs were once founded. Instead, he has taken those delicate melodies to a higher level, as it is apparent that he’s trying to achieve something bigger, something better, something magnificent. (Perhaps that’s why he jumped from an indie label to a major one.)

Fans might want to think of this as Iron And Wine’s The Age of Adz. (Beam even drops an F-bomb, just as Sufjan Stevens did, to the shock of loyal fans). And like Stevens’ unique songwriting tendencies that are still being displayed on his latest effort despite the drastic change in approach, Beam’s gift for writing and arranging quality tunes is able to shine through all the digital ornamentation and multi-instrumental adornment.

When you strip these songs down, it’s very likely that Beam originally crafted them on an acoustic guitar, just like the old days. On a track like “Tree By The River,” you’re able to understand that the original Iron and Wine is still at the heart of each song. Kiss Each Other Clean is the antithesis of where Iron and Wine once stood; it is the anti-Creek Drank the Cradle. But to Beam’s credit, he’s made all the right moves.  A band should evolve, not remain static, and this latest effort is certainly a sign of that. It should be interesting to see where Beam takes his brainchild from here.

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.

Hans Zimmer: Inception soundtrack (Warner Bros.)

As you likely know from dozens of trailers, Inception is the latest film from Christopher Nolan, best known for directing the new Batman movies but beloved for his mind-twisting thrillers Memento and The Prestige.

Ranking 72nd on the Telegraph’s list of 100 living geniuses, German composer Hans Zimmer is a Grammy-winning soundtrack maven. And though blockbuster scores often all blend together with the same soaring, emotive motifs, Zimmer’s talents are unique, and his material for Inception stands out amid the typical Hollywood fare.

The music here is dramatic and eerie — as one would expect for a dream-based, mind-bending movie — but its range is more dynamic, making use of Zimmer’s penchant for electronics.

Tracks such as “Mombasa” (heard below), percussive and built around synthesizers, sound modern but also inspired by classic scores from the ’70s and ’80s. Ominous strings and synths swell in the background, but the pounding foreground keeps the focus with PVC-ish banging and a pulsing rhythm.

To coincide with the film’s LA premiere and the score’s release, Zimmer is performing the music with guitarist Johnny Marr (The Smiths, Modest Mouse) and a 20-piece orchestra. If you can’t make it, stream the performance here.

Or if you’d like the studio version, stream the whole soundtrack here — and walk into the movie feeling like you’ve dreamt it already.

Hans Zimmer: “Mombasa”
Hans Zimmer: "Mombasa"

Gifts from Enola: s/t (The Mylene Sheath)

Coming just a year after its last full-length, the new self-titled release from Gifts from Enola is surprising in the maturation that it reflects over a short course of time.

From Fathoms, the band’s 2009 release, was an interesting blend of instrumental post-rock and shoe-gaze influences, with echo-delayed palm muting leading into swirling effects and aggressive, mid-tempo rock riffs. This latest full-length maintains those attributes, but it sounds like an entirely different band thanks to one key element: power.

Much of this might be due to the addition of of Jud Mason on drums, and his potent kit sounds are a major factor. But the band also succeeds here with newly down-tuned guitars, righteous atmospherics, and focus. Each tune has its own direction, and though the diversity of previous efforts was a perk, Gifts from Enola shines thanks to solidarity.

Gifts from Enola: “Lionized”

So Percussion & Matmos: Treasure State (Cantaloupe)

Experimental electronic duo Matmos is a noted contemporary practitioner of musique concrète, a cut-and-paste art form that channels existing sounds into new and surprising pieces. The duo differs from its forebears, however, by welcoming listeners into its world via techno beats and dance rhythms.

And despite delving into what seems like a juxtaposition to electronic music, Matmos uses Treasure State to team with So Percussion, a Brooklyn quartet that brings to life the works of contemporary composers like David Lang, Iannis Xenakis, and John Cage.

“Needles” uses an electrified cactus to pluck sharp notes that are simultaneously melodic and rhythmic. “Cross” most obviously bears Matmos’ stamp; it’s a wheezing, thumping piece, screeching a collage of noise and sound effects that tear up and re-purpose So Percussion’s instruments.

Other physical objects — ceramics and metal — are explored elsewhere, and acoustic instruments play a substantial role on a number of tracks. The pairing sounds natural, and it’s surprising that it didn’t happen sooner.

So Percussion & Matmos: “Treasure”
So Percussion & Matmos: \"Treasure\"

Calibro 35: Ritornano Quelli Di… (Nublu / Ghost)

Formed to recreate the funky and creepy Italian soundtracks of the 1970s, Milan’s Calibro 35 has evolved into something much more, creating original pieces that rival some of their inspirations in range and “jam kicking.”

To accomplish this feat on just the band’s second album, recording engineer Tommaso Colliva (Muse) again assembled a murderer’s row of funk players, banging out no-nonsense shit that also calls upon moodiness and off-the-wall effects. Wah pedals, organs, horns, and bass grooves lay the foundation, but lap steel, guitar fuzz, and a stray xylophone provide the decoration.

Now, having played at ethnically inspired New York club Nublu last year, Calibro 35 is getting some exposure in the USA, thanks to the venue’s record label of the same name. If they cross the Atlantic again soon, don’t miss ‘em.

Honorable Mentions

Angel Eyes: Midwestern (The Mylene Sheath)

Autechre: Move of Ten (Warp)

Canvas Solaris: Irradiance (Sensory)

Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse: Dark Night of the Soul (Lex / Capitol)

Devotionals: s/t (Alive)

Glenn Branca: Symphony No. 3 (Gloria) [reissue] (Atavistic)

Grasscut: 1 Inch / ½ Mile (Ninja Tune)

Mad Sin: Burn and Rise (People Like You)

Melvins / Isis split 12″ (Hydra Head)

Nox Aurea: Ascending in Triumph (Napalm)

Quantic Presenta Flowering Inferno: Dog with a Rope (Tru Thoughts)

School of Seven Bells: Disconnect from Desire (Vagrant)

Sun Kil Moon: Admiral Fell Promises (Caldo Verde)

Torche / Boris: Chapter Ahead Being Fake split 10″ (Hydra Head)

Zoroaster: Matador (E1)

Baroness: Blue Record (Relapse)

Staying within a chromatic theme, Georgian (US) metal quartet Baroness follows the success of its Red Album with Blue Record, a disc, like its predecessor, that's chock full of riffs.

Through 12 tracks, Southern psychedelia exists amid down-tuned chugs and both vocal gruffness and harmonies. More harmonies, in the form of high-note guitar leads, rain upon a no-nonsense foundation of rhythms.

Blue Record is a riff lover's delight, but tracks such as "Steel That Sleeps the Eye" more resemble Fleet Foxes than Mastodon, and the classic disco/dance syncopation appears on "Swollen and Halo." As a result, Blue Record is an engaging addition to a promising catalog.

Sole and the Skyrider Band: Plastique (Fake Four)

The 2007 self-titled disc from Sole and the Skyrider Band marked a turning point in the career of rapper Tim Holland, a mainstay of the Anticon crew whose style reflects the label's moody sounds. The self-titled disc merged Sole's alt raps and production with live musicians, and though it was a sound "debut," this second foray into life as a group is immensely more evolved.

Plastique is delicately constructed, with breakbeats that give way to somber string vibratos and pizzicatos, dense atmospherics, and ghostly samples. Guitars weave in and out of a mix that brims with layers. All totaled, Plastique sounds like another step in the logical progression of hip hop.

Shawn Lee & Clutchy Hopkins: Fascinating Fingers (Ubiquity)

Uber-eclectic electro-funk multi-instrumentalist Shawn Lee joins forces once more with Clutchy Hopkins, a musician of international mystery, for down-tempo jams that call on lounge vibes, minimalist grooves, and backing strings.

Fans of each musician should dig Fascinating Fingers, the latest collaboration between two men whose sounds mesh with ease.

Honorable mentions:

Del The Funky Homosapien: Parallel Uni-Verses (Gold Dust)
The Flaming Lips: Embryonic (Warner Bros.)
Lightning Bolt: Earthly Delights (Load)
Imaad Wasif: The Voidist (Tee Pee)

Tortoise

Issuing its first full-length album of new material in five years, the incomparable instrumental quintet known as Tortoise makes a marked shift from its previous two albums.

Those predecessors, Standards and It's All Around You, ushered in a new era of melodic beauty that integrated synthesizers, vibraphones/marimbas, samples, and jazz guitarist Jeff Parker into the band's mixture of indie rock, post-rock, and dub.

Beacons of Ancestorship packs up the mallets to emphasize the synths, but the album's sonic palette is the most diverse of any Tortoise release.  Metamorphosing grooves lead to moments of exotic strings, fuzz bass, noodling guitar hammer-ons, and snare-heavy cadences.  Even a touch of spaghetti Western directs "The Fall of Seven Diamonds Plus One."

It may take a few listens, but Tortoise fans are sure to love this one.

Serengeti & Polyphonic: Terradactyl (Anticon)

Creative multi-genre rapper Serengeti has long held esteem in Chicago indie hip-hop community, where he has frequently crossed streams with producer Polyphonic.

On Terradactyl, the duo's second album and first for Anticon, unorthodox rhymes land alongside bass synth, acoustic guitar, cello, digitized bleeps, and restrained IDM sounds.  Special guests Adam "Doseone" Drucker, Buck 65, and Renee-Louise Carafice make appreciated vocal cameos, but 'Geti has skills that need no augmentation.

The duo's live instruments and unusual sound may alienate closed-minded listeners.  Nevertheless, with the national influence and distribution of Anticon, Terradactyl should announce Serengeti & Polyphonic as an inspirational new voice in indie rap.

The Mars Volta: Octahedron (Warner Bros.)

Maintaining his rabid album-a-year pace (in addition to his countless other projects), tireless guitarist Omar Rodriguez Lopez puts another Mars Volta disc under his belt with this move to Warner.

In contrast to last year's Bedlam in Goliath, Octahedron is a rather subdued affair, offering poppier passages, verse-chorus-verse balladry, and softer sounds from singer Cedric Bixler Zavala.  The album has a decidedly less progressive feel, but alien-esque effects and nimble guitar work are still present.  Fans that have been waiting for a more-accessible Mars Volta disc should enjoy Octahedron.