Best Albums: Vaura, Weekend Nachos, Grizzly Bear, Exivious, Brutal Truth / Bastard Noise

This week’s best albums

– The latest from experimental metal band Vaura — consisting of members of Dysrhythmia, Gorguts, and Kayo Dot — combines black metal, mid-tempo gothic haziness, blast-beat shoegaze, and darkwave.

– Now on its second LP for Relapse, Chicago’s Weekend Nachos continues to hate everyone, hold grudges, and write furious, furious music.

– A collection of B-sides and remixes from its acclaimed Shields album, Grizzly Bear’s Shields: B-Sides offers a refreshing but reverential take on the band’s signature sound.

– Exivious might have members of Cynic and Pestilence, but its new album has more in common with Bill Bruford than progressive death metal.

– On a split release that features entirely different tracks depending on LP/CD format, Brutal Truth and Bastard Noise walk the line between quiet and disorientation, each in their own way redefining our notions of noise.

Honorable mentions

Audiences: Roam

Gems: Medusa EP

James Plotkin & Paal Nilssen-Love: Death Rattle (Rune Grammofon)

Majeure: Romance Language EP (Temporary Residence)

Mount Eerie: Pre-Human Ideas

Obliteration: Black Death Horizon (Relapse)

Pestilence: Obsideo (Candlelight)

Matt Pryor: Wrist Slitter (Equal Vision)

The Thing: Boot!