This week’s best albums
– Intergalactic doom-funk ensemble Chrome Hoof returns to collapse space and time, opening listeners’ minds and whetting them for the weird.
– With his fifth full-length RJD2 continues to push against turntablism’s boundaries, resulting in his most unselfconsciously instrumental-heavy album to date.
– On her second LP, singer-songwriter Anna Calvi displays unimpeachable balladry, halfway between torch songs and sweat-soaked garage rock.
– Sleigh Bells fully embraces its pop elements without shame on its third album, Bitter Rivals.
– Guitarist Kevin Hufnagel of Dysrhythmia and Gorguts experiments with a baritone ukulele to create an audio reality that is haunting, unsettling, and captivating.
Honorable mentions
Cage the Elephant: Melophobia (RCA)
Earthless: From the Ages (Tee Pee)
Tim Kasher: Adult Film (Saddle Creek)
Clint Mansell: Filth OST (Milan)
Of Montreal: Lousy With Sylvianbriar (Polyvinyl)
Tera Melos: X’ed Out Remixes (Sargent House)
Tatvamasi: Parts of the Entirety (Cuneiform)