ALARM

Album Premiere: Jodis’s Black Curtain

Jodis: Black Curtain (Hydra Head, 10/2/12)

Three years ago, Aaron Turner of Isis (and many, many other bands) and James Plotkin and Tim Wyskida of Khanate (and many, many other bands) formed a haunting, melodic, ambient project called Jodis.

Each already had quite a résumé for elongated, swirling, textured pieces, particularly of the dark variety, whether from projects like Old Man Gloom, House of Low Culture, or solo material. Jodis was different, though, and now the three experimentalists are issuing a second album together with a renewed focus on slow-building melody.

Review: Murder by Death’s Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon

Murder by Death: Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon (Bloodshot, 9/25/12)

“Lost River”

Murder by Death: “Lost River”

With its sixth full-length album, Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon, Murder by Death has further defined its particular brand of alt-country. The recording is the band’s first for Bloodshot Records, but it marks another notable occasion: the writing contributions of multi-instrumentalist Scott Brackett (previously of Okkervil River and Shearwater), whose work on piano, trumpet, accordion, and backing vocals provide new musical details throughout.

Review: Down’s Down IV Part I: The Purple EP

Down: Down IV Part I: The Purple EP (Warner Music Group, 9/18/12)

“Witchtripper”

Down: “Witchtripper”

For a super-group like Down — formed from members of Pantera, Corrosion of Conformity, Crowbar, and Eyehategod — what’s more fitting than assembling a Voltron-style album out of four epic EPs?

Clocking in at a weighty 33 minutes (what many consider a full-length these days), Down IV Part I: The Purple EP is less a return than it is a first repayment — starting to make good to its fans for another five-year wait between albums.

Review: Lymbyc Systym’s Symbolyst

Lymbyc Systym: Symbolyst (Western Vinyl, 9/18/12)

“Prairie School”

Lymbyc Systym: “Prairie School”

Despite spending much of the past three years on separate continents, brothers Jared and Michael Bell have written and recorded their third full-length as Lymbyc Systym — a feat that’s made at least a bit easier thanks to 20 years of playing together. And somehow, Symbolyst is among the duo’s most accomplished to date, with harmonies as rich and melodies as infectious as ever.

Sibling revelry: Chicago’s Wild Belle signs to Columbia

The best of Riot Fest Chicago 2012 (in photos)

On the final weekend of the summer, Chicago’s Humboldt Park hosted the city’s eighth annual Riot Fest, the punk-, rock-, and hardcore-filled festival that has since branched to Brooklyn, Toronto, and Dallas. This year’s installment was special for more than its consolidated location in the park; it also boasted a brand-new carnival — featuring a Ferris wheel, funnel cake, and impossible-to-win prize games — to enjoy between sets.

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Review: Gallows’ Gallows

Gallows: s/t (Bridge Nine, 9/18/12)

“Last June”

Gallows: “Last June”

Following its Grey Britain LP in 2009, British hardcore/punk outfit Gallows lost the backing of its major label and dealt with the departure of original singer Frank Carter. The band quickly rebounded, however, and released an EP with new vocalist Wade MacNeil (ex-Alexisonfire) in late 2011, revealing that the quintet from Watford, UK, was no worse for the wear. With Gallows, your eardrums might not be so lucky.

Video Premiere: Tin Hat’s “A Cloud on a Leaf”

Tin Hat: The Rain is a Handsome Animal (New Amsterdam, 8/28/12)

A few weeks ago, the ever-daring Tin Hat collective released another new adventure — a 17-song exploration of the modernist work of poet EE Cummings, with each member offering his or her own interpretation.

“A Cloud on a Leaf,” the album’s opener, is another beautiful, wandering chamber-folk piece, this time penned by clarinetist Ben Goldberg and sung by violinist Carla Kihlstedt. Kihlstedt’s vocal arrangements are integral to the album, and here she offers a melodic interpretation of Cummings’s “Speaking of Love (of… (LV)),” whose punctuation, capitalization, and spacing break the rules in the poet’s typical style.

In the song’s live-style video, the four members present a shuteye performance with a disturbing twist — especially from a distance. Stay strong for the final stare-down at the song’s conclusion.

Review: Brother Ali’s Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color

Brother Ali: Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color (Rhymesayers, 9/18/12)

Using his music as a platform is nothing new for Minnesota MC Brother Ali, whose soulful brand of hip hop has ranged from the outspoken “Uncle Sam Goddamn” to the positive “Fresh Air.” However, since recording Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color — another politically minded album — Ali has gone a step further, getting involved in the Occupy Homes movement of Minnesota, working to prevent wrongful foreclosures.

Review: Menomena’s Moms

Menomena: Moms (Barsuk, 9/18/12)

“Capsule”

Menomena: “Capsule”

At the beginning of 2012, when multi-instrumentalist/co-singer Brent Knopf left quirk-rock trio Menomena, the future of the Portland band felt uncertain. Knopf’s tenor perfectly complemented Justin Harris’s and Danny Seim’s vocals, and his guitar work helped structure Menomena songs into hook-ridden frameworks.

But within just the first few minutes of Moms, the first Menomena release as a two-piece, it’s quite clear that Menomena will be just fine. For the most part, the classic Menomena tropes remain: Seim’s sporadic and intricate drumming, Harris’s swelling saxophone and bass lines, and a swarm of slow-burning strings, sprinkling keys, and hazy harmonies. Even the unconventional guitar work is in place, making it almost feel like Knopf never left. There’s seldom a hiccup or misstep, with standout tracks like “Pique,” “Baton,” and “Skintercourse,” among others, serving as stepping stones through a lagoon of sweltering rock-outs and bipolar dirges.

Survival of the Seattleites: Soundgarden officially announces King Animal, first album in 16 years

Review: Calexico’s Algiers

Going on four years without a proper album, Arizona-based Calexico is back with Algiers, and not since 2003’s Feast of Wire has the band been so immediately accessible.