Music

Blockhead

Review: Blockhead’s Interludes After Midnight

Blockhead: Interludes After MidnightBlockhead: Interludes After Midnight (Ninja Tune)

“Never Forget Your Token”

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Now five albums into his solo output, Tony “Blockhead” Simon is still more known as a hip-hop producer to the stars — well, perhaps the underground stars, producing for notables such as Del, Murs, and Aesop Rock. But ever since being asked to create a fully instrumental album, Simon has proven just as interesting on his own, offering down-tempo, sample-heavy, and (mostly) rhyme-free rap tracks (all while increasing brand awareness).

Converge

Converge offers all-star Entombed cover on new Napalm Death split

Holy smokes! ALARM’s fan-boy meter is registering off the charts, and for good reason: hardcore quartet Converge is covering Entombed’s classic “Wolverine Blues” on a new seven-inch split with pioneering grindcore outfit Napalm Death. And it gets better, because the cover includes guests in the form of Tomas Lindberg (At the Gates, Disfear), Aaron Turner (Split Cranium, Mamiffer, ex-Isis), and members of The Hope Conspiracy and Trap Them. Calling it “epic” seems like an understatement.

Hush Arbors / Arbouretum

Review: Hush Arbors / Arbouretum’s Aureola

Hush Arbors / Arbouretum: Aureola

Hush Arbors / Arbouretum: Aureola (Thrill Jockey, 4/24/12)

“New Scarab”

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Bands that traffic in psychedelic/stoner-rock orthodoxy often follow a dogmatism that rings shallow. In one fell swoop — three songs, to be precise — Baltimore quartet Arbouretum effectively lays waste to anyone who’s ever bowed at the altar of the fuzzed-out guitar to mask (or revel in) creative bankruptcy.

Loop 2.4.3

Review: Loop 2.4.3’s American Dreamland

Loop 2.4.3: American Dreamland

Loop 2.4.3: American Dreamland (Music Starts from Silence, 4/24/12)

“Sakura (We Must Love)”

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The “singularity” is the predicted moment in the future when technological intelligence surpasses that of humans and renders all previous knowledge null and void. It’s an oft-discussed sci-fi notion, but not your typical album opener. But Loop 2.4.3 is not, let us state for the record, a typical band. Instead, it’s a “percussion duo” that uses a lot more than percussion: piano, strings, and electronics, as well as voices that are all soulful, raw, and classically trained.

Cock and Swan

Review: Cock and Swan’s Stash

Cock and Swan: StashCock and Swan: Stash (Lost Tribe Sound)

“Sneak Close”

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With its fourth album, Stash, Washington duo Cock and Swan makes a sharp departure from the sound of its previous records. Whereas the band was once rooted in haunting, trip-hop-ish electronic music, Stash sees it in a new direction towards a more stripped-down, acoustic aesthetic.