Relationships - "Greeting Cards For Tweens" (2011)

Good math rock/emo from drummer Eric Ross (of Wasp Nest Head Dress) and company, Relationships blend the jam tendencies of American Football with rhythmic spurts akin to Maps & Atlases. There is a certain grittiness to the production quality on this release... a satiating lo-fi experimentation with a certain secret to making catchy riffs. Drums pound away, yet at times retain a Minus The Bear-esque quality to the beats. Super jazzy progressions pop out of an emotional atmosphere while yells of agony can be heard in the background. The album and track titles reek of wryly, tritely written lyrics -- in a good way.

Pick it up here.

Calypso Borealis - "Ore Bowal" (2011)

 
I'm jealous of this dude's drones. Hailing from France, Calypso Borealis has an expansive catalog of tapes released by various prestigious labels including Cloud Valley, Existential Cloth, House of Sun, etc… Ore Bowal resonates the dapper aesthetic of its releasing label, Hooker Vision. Track titles reflect the foreign dialect of an imaginary rainforest, the listener evaporating into a humid atmosphere. Pollen-releasing swells and simmers carry with fluidity and craftsmanship. Also, the tape-bends on this are out of this ecosystem. There is enough playtime with this release to leave the listener satisfied, yet mystified enough to crave additional trips.

Ore Bowal

Pete Swanson - "Man With Potential" (2011)

Man With Potential was easily one of the most unique records to surface last year. Normally performing as the other half of the vibrant experimental/noise duo, Yellow Swans, we see Pete Swanson as a solo artist executing abstract minimal techno brilliantly. Odd, electronic sound-puzzles intertwined with looming drones and sporadic feedback, Swanson gracefully composes and arranges songs in a manner that shows balance and skill. Man With Potential teems with utterly fascinating textures fringed with colorful, brooding atmospheres that will definitely have a place in my rotation for many months to come.

Man With Potential

Koufar - "The Purity Of The Cedars" (2010)

Uncomfortably intense and devastating, Waddiah Chami's (Disgust, Bachir Gemayel) The Purity Of The Cedars is a must for any fan of extreme music. Extracting rhythmic circuit-abuse and frictional fuzz, Koufar's harsh electronics entity is a force to be reckoned with. Militant vocals entailing subject matter about the destruction of Islamic influence in Lebanon are barked and manipulated amidst feedback and bending static, each successive track more memorable than its predecessor. The Purity Of The Cedars sets an extremely high bar for modern power electronic artists, and is posted with high recommendation.

The Purity Of The Cedars

Pinky Lascaux - "Dear Brother" (2012)

Pittsburgh artist, Seth Ledonne, has created an endearing clamor along the lines of the self-titled split by Sports/Teeth Collection. Like a magic wand, Ledonne uses a contact mic to cast sound-spells on the listener in forms of repetitive racket and crimped feedback. From scratches, to what sounds like a battering ram being used on a washing machine, the variety of cacophony is quite quirky. Expressive lyricism tags along with wit in such lines as: "Let everybody know that you miss 'em. Let all your buddies know that you miss 'em." The passion can be heard though the Tom-and-Jerry-esque scuffles, the hootin' and hollerin', then cascades into harsh noise. This is the soundtrack of paint pails tumbling -- garage labor enamored. Indoor work being done with a twist of odd personality. As adamant as Ledonne is about community, I'm sure he'd want you to pick this one up and join in on the sentiments.

Dear Brother

Moloch - "Possession" (2011)

Another grueling creation by the UK's sludge kings: Moloch. Riffs decompose any life that once was. Cool grooves emerge at points and then slip right back into despairing territory. Eerie sound clips like a woman changing from hysterical laughter to demon-expulsion heaving add to the [hooded] menacing recipe. Sludge inspired by EHG is taken down to a hellish tempo and is narrated by angry hollering -- everything irritating, not unlike the unfortunate time someone stepped in a swamp with their shoe on and had to wait for it to dry without taking it off, on a humid day with gnats abuzz about the ears. Yeah, the guitar tone is those gnats. The grimier the better; this is sludge at its finest. Possession brings Moloch a bit further down the path of raging antics.

Punch a neighbor.

Arizona Jaguar - "1993 - 2009" (2009)

Arizona Jaguar is a psychedelic ambient trio who released their only tape entitled, 1993 - 2009, in 2009. Reminiscent of an amalgamation of Enno Velthuys's ambient works in the late '80s and Prehistoric Blackout's Wake Up Dead, Arizona Jaguar showcase their talent for creating gorgeous, albeit fleeting, ambient soundscapes.

Sesquidecade.