In Rotation: July 25, 2007

Aesop Rock
Because there are just five weeks until Aesop Rock returns with another full-length album, we’re bracing for the mania that will surround None Shall Pass with numerous advance listenings.

Marissa Nadler Ready to Haunt the States

Marissa NadlerGiven the European success of somber songstress Marissa Nadler, it was only a matter of time before her newest album, Songs III: Bird on the Water, was issued on the other side of the Atlantic. Naturally, a supportive tour has now been announced for select cities in the United States.

Better Late Than Never: The Paintings of David Anderle

David AnderleDavid Anderle has been many things—from a petty officer in the Navy Reserve to a theater set designer and a record producer—but his longstanding passion is painting. Although Anderle claims that he always “blundered” from one career to another, his career in music was one smooth move after another as he glided from careers at MGM/Verve, Elektra, and A&M.

Eastern Blok Wanted for Folk Tales, Angelina Jolie Flick

Eastern BlokIn a perfectly timed move, Eastern Blok, Chicago-based innovators of jazzy world music with (what else?) Balkan roots, are set to release their sophomore album this October. Titled Folk Tales, the album features compositions from classical guitar dynamo Goran Ivanovic (after whom the group was initially named) and arrives on the heels of growing acclaim from around the country.

Reissue Revelations: Better Living Through Cratedigging

Reissue RevelationsEven the most adventurous and proactively edgy music seekers eventually encounter gray days when new music appreciation skills come to a shaking, shuddering halt. Suddenly, it seems like every lyric worth singing has been sung, all the good guitar hooks in the world have been played into the ground, and there are no more dope beats to drop.

Zombi Half Goes Solo

ZombiSlicing a zombie in half doesn’t usually have the results one desires. Splitting up one half of progressive soundscape artists Zombi, however, should prove to be a significantly more enjoyable experience.

Circus Devils: Sgt. Disco

Circus DevilsRobert Pollard’s unstoppable logorrhea has always been both a gift and a curse, inevitably discovering a magic concoction of fantastic imagery and lovingly twisted melodies but also hiding those gems among dozens upon dozens of perplexing exercises that only a similarly touched person could decode.

Chicago to Host First U.S. Complaints Choir

Complaints ChoirWe know you’re griping about something. It’s practically the American way! So if you’re from Chicago, now is your chance to gather your beefs with life in general and have them sung by the first Complaints Choir to perform in the United States.

L.A. Unleashes Noisy Night on Unsuspecting Public

Bob BellerueThis Saturday, July 28, the metropolitan area of Los Angeles will be shaken with rumbling, dissonant sounds of chaos — and hopefully not from an earthquake. Instead, randomized improvisational ensembles of local experimental veterans will take the stage at The Steve Allen Theater to create mountainous walls of noise.