Music

From the ashes of the now-defunct Breather Resist comes Young Widows, and with them, a decidedly less hardcore sound. Though the album was originally intended to be the next Breather Resist release (minus singer Steve Sindoni), the three remaining members felt that the entirely different sound of Settle Down City warranted an entirely different name.

Sharing members with Book of Knots, Red Sparowes, and Made Out of Babies, Battle of Mice may seem like an afterthought, the “red-headed stepchild” as it were. However, A Day of Nights does all it can to prove they’re a force to be reckoned with.

The term “industrial” is as good as any for describing Laibach’s music, but it doesn’t capture the operatic, faintly campy grandeur of their sound.

In an amazingly refreshing yet classic take on ’80s-style punk, the Montreal-based Fucked Up attacks each song on Hidden World with enough reckless abandon for an entire army of Hell’s Angels.

Two years after the release of their third full-length, King Heron’s Blues, Califone present Roots & Crowns, their newest album on Thrill Jockey. As usual, Tim Rutili and Co. offer up some lazy, daydream inspired alt-country tunes that have changed little in the last ten or so years.

Micah P. Hinson arrives trailing a drugstore cowboy background that landed him in jail; whatever he took from that experience, whether wisdom, regret, or qualudes, it seems to have served him well.

Pyramids, the third release from Chicago’s Pit Er Pat, is anything but a smooth, simple ride. A Midwestern middle ground between Denali and later Blonde Redhead, the trio’s post-rock sound is moody and idiosyncratic.

Easter marks the second full-length for Seattle based These Arms are Snakes. Forged from the ashes of Kill Sadie, vocalist Steve Snere picked up where he left off and continued to front a powerful band known for their intricate guitars and furious drums.

Ladyfinger (NE) are the ballsiest band ever to come from Saddle Creek. As the story goes, they used to be known simply as Ladyfinger, but got into a legal battle with another group with the same name.

Justin Sconza’s EP Paint By Numbers is such a dreamy, weightless offering that it’s difficult to imagine this was made by an actual person, one who does mundane earthy things like drive, walk, and pay his cable bill. No, I don’t buy it; this “Justin Sconza” is not so much a man as he is a floating, ethereal presence who found a good deal on some recording equipment.

Country music Meccas seem to be springing up farther and farther from the South; there is now a thriving scene in Montreal, which boasts Angela Desveaux as one of its stars. She cites heroes such as Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch, and her grandmother, and although you may not know her grandmother, this statement still gives a fairly good indication of her sound.

The question posed by Insomniac Doze, the third and most recent record from Envy, is fairly simple: how long can you take it? This veteran hardcore band from Japan has a specific and meticulous approach it closely follows.