This week’s best albums
– More than ever, Norway’s Trollfest builds its infectious music around big hooks, big chords, and big fun.
– With the aid of the robot band Z-Machines, Squarepusher crafts a surprisingly human-sounding version of the musical singularity.
– Dance-punk outfit The Faint presents its signature sounds with more urgency on its sixth LP.
– Off! makes another lasting punk statement, this time with more mid-tempo riffs and an analog recording.
– Jozef Van Wissem plus Jim Jarmusch‘s band, Sqürl, create an affecting and contrasting score for Jarmusch’s crypto-vampire love story, Only Lovers Left Alive.
Honorable mentions
Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks: Enter the Slasher House (Domino)
Josephine Foster: I’m a Dreamer (Fire)
Man Forever & So Percussion: Ryonen (Thrill Jockey)
Protomartyr: Under Color of Official Right (Hardly Art)
Sandy Pussy: s/t (Total Acceptance)
The Skull Defekts: Dances in Dreams of the Known Unknown (Thrill Jockey)