Vaura: The Missing
Weekend Nachos: Still
Grizzly Bear: Shields: B-Sides
Exivious: Liminal
Brutal Truth / Bastard Noise: The Axiom of Post-Inhumanity
Chrome Hoof: Chrome Black Gold
RJD2: More Is Than Isn’t
Anna Calvi: One Breath
Sleigh Bells: Bitter Rivals
Kevin Hufnagel: Ashland
Nine Inch Nails: Hesitation Marks
Chelsea Wolfe: Pain Is Beauty
Gorguts: Colored Sands
Neko Case: The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight; the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You
Volcano Choir: Repave
Modern Life Is War: Fever Hunting
King Khan & The Shrines: Idle No More
Jarboe, a rare female crusader of the male-dominated metal scene, developed her formidable, performance-art-inspired presence as a member of influential no-wave band Swans.
The members of Krallice come from a variety of backgrounds — math metal, punk jazz, death metal — but their outgrowth of black metal in a community where the genre is lacking is reminiscent of the jazz era, when new sounds were pouring out of Queens, NY.
Strip down, way down, the layers of the moody energy of Brooklyn post-rock metal trio Dysrhythmia’s fifth album, Psychic Maps, and you can hear an indication of the agility responsible for the band’s deep intensity.
ALARM leaves no genre unloved in our round-up of 50 albums that didn’t receive enough attention in 2009.
Holy collaboration — Mike Patton and Justin Broadrick are contributing to a score by Fog‘s Andrew Broder and Adam “Doseone” Drucker for a semi-autobiographical “photographic novel” by Alan Moore. Whoa.
In other news, The Dillinger Escape Plan has signed to Season of Mist, Eyedea & Abilities has a new album, two Rodriguez-Lopez brothers (not Omar) are releasing a debut full-length, and Múm will release a new disc in August. This and more is in the roundup.
Whirlwind guitarist Kevin Hufnagel, one third of math-metal trio Dysrhythmia and half of atmospheric duo Byla, has released a beautiful, melancholy collection of solo tunes centered on acoustic guitars and percussion.
Dysrhythmia begins recording its new album; Tinariwen announces UK dates with Tunng; Prefuse 73 has a new album and a project with Zach Hill; Lifetime reissues a pair of albums; Pelican signs to Southern Lord. Read about this and more in our weekly roundup.
Our plans for Friday involve the impressionistic Patti Smith documentary, Patti Smith: Dream of Life, which includes an after-film conversation with Smith, director Steven Sebring, and Chicago Sun-Times pop critic Jim DeRogatis.
Later in the night, progressive-metal power trio The Alaya Conscious prepares for a new EP with a show at Chicago’s Elbo Room.