Temporary Residence

100 Unheralded Albums from 2010

Among the thousands of under-appreciated or under-publicized albums that were released in 2010, hundreds became our favorites and were presented in ALARM and on AlarmPress.com. Of those, we pared down to 100 outstanding releases, leaving no genre unexplored in our list of this year’s overlooked gems.

Majeure

The Groove Seeker: Majeure’s Timespan

On a weekly basis, The Groove Seeker goes in search of killer grooves across rock, funk, hip hop, soul, electronic music, jazz, fusion, and more.

Majeure: TimespanMajeure: Timespan (9/14/2010, Temporary Residence Limited)

Majeure: “Teleforce”

[audio:http://alarm-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/02_Teleforce.mp3|titles=Majeure: “Teleforce”]

Majeuere is the side project of A.E. Paterra, drummer and one half of Pittsburgh-based electronic prog-rock duo Zombi. Much like the Lovelock moniker of bandmate Steve Moore, Majeure doesn’t stray too far from Zombi’s glimmering, cinematic, sci-fi synths, stabbing analog Moog lines, and minimalist Krautrock grooves. But for Paterra’s debut release, Timespan, the drummer brings a whole new meaning to the long player. The album is a grand, three-track journey through the nebulous ocean of space — an ambient and energetic sci-fi rock record in a musical universe where the Solaris and Bladerunner soundtracks merge into one.

The Black Heart Procession works with Lee “Scratch” Perry and Eluvium on new EP

Brooding indie rockers The Black Heart Procession have announced a limited-edition mini-album entitled Blood Bunny / Black Rabbit, to be released on October 12 (Temporary Residence Limited). The EP will include three new songs, a collaboration with reggae/dub pioneer Lee “Scratch” Perry, and a 10-minute orchestral reconstruction of the song “Drugs” by ambient artist Eluvium.  Listen to the EP’s opening track below.

The Black Heart Procession: “Blank Page”

black-heart-procession-blank-page

Additionally, in celebration of the album release, The Black Heart Procession will tour this fall alongside label-mate The Books (coming off its recent, stellar performance in Chicago’s Millennium Park).

Weekly Music News Roundup

More details emerge about the upcoming Supermachiner release; the Shrinebuilder super-group begins recording; Mono announces a new album; Orange Tulip Conspiracy announces a full US tour for May. Get these and 10 other news bit after the jump.

Grails Guitarist Discusses Creating Album Art for Doomsdayer’s Holiday

Doomsdayer’s Holiday is the new release by Portland’s instrumental rock band Grails. Fusing Indian music, 1970s film noir, and psychedelic sounds into heavy acoustic and electric rock, Grails is a wonderful anomaly. I recently spoke with guitarist Alex Hall, who created the artwork for the album.