ALEXISONFIRE old crows/young cardinals

the swansong from the revered canadian post-hardcore group. i think this is their best work. many of the songs have a punk bent to them, and a lot of the lyrics are about sticking it to the man, etc. and dallas green has the voice of an angel (but you knew that already). awesome shit, and one of my favorite albums to drive to. 2009.

LETLIVE fake history

really sweet post-hardcore from l.a. definitely recommended. 2010.

KETIL BJORNSTAD & DAVID DARLING the river

piano/cello minimalism. remarkably gorgeous tunes. on the ecm label, so as always the sound is pristine. one of the most beautiful records you'll ever come across. 1997.

FORENSICS things to do when you should be dead anyway

epic shit that falls somewhere in between early isis and perhaps something like a day in black and white. in fact, a quick glimpse at the related artists will tell you what kind of music this band plays: pageninetynine, zozobra, old man gloom, and burning airlines, among others.

lots of really cool sludgy parts intertwined with some gorgeous post-rockesque moments of clarity. really, really impressive album. 2004.

TORD GUSTAVSEN TRIO being there

beautiful jazz trio music from one of the finest groups playing today. as with all ecm releases, the production is just absolutely gorgeous, perfectly complimenting the subtle playing of this trio. lush, perfect jazz music. so so good. 2007.

AMOEBA SPLIT dance of the goodbyes

awesome and underknown prog/jazz-rock group from spain. wonderful female vocals anchor these sublime prog-rock jams. total throwback to stuff like the soft machine, et al, but this sounds so totally fresh. one of the best prog albums of the last few years. recommended. 2010.

ABIGAIL WASHBURN and the sparrow quartet

brilliant bluegrass/americana from this amazing quartet, featuring bela fleck, ben sollee, and casey driessen. of course the playing is top-notch, but what makes this release top-shelf material is washburn's voice and lyrics, and the groups ability to deftly create haunting atmospheres. definitely one of the best bluegrass releases i've come across, and a very lovely new favorite artist of mine. 2008.

DESSA a badly broken code

maybe the best album of 2010? midwest hip-hop from the female star of minneapolis' doomtree collective. this chick is smart, sexy, introspective, and can simply spit fire. what makes her so special is her unique combination of lyrical ability (pretty much all of her lyrics are amazing), rapping ability (the smoothest, most wicked flow i've ever heard from a woman), and songwriting ability (awesome hip-hop songs with sung choruses! btw, her singing voice is really pretty, too). but what puts this album over-the-top is the production. super clean, smooth, with lots of really cool flourishes everywhere, compliments of doomtree's own lazerbeak. you should check out every major release from the people in this group, but this is probably the best album from any of them. 2010.

WEAKLING dead as dreams

this album should need no introduction. it's the best black metal album ever (by far). it's one of the best metal albums ever released. if you don't have it yet, you should be ashamed. but those those of you that are not yet familiar with this brilliant masterwork, i'll share a snippet from the boys at aquarius records:

Ghastly, anguished vocals and bloodchilling keyboards combine with dual trebly buzzsaw guitars and inhuman trance inducing drumming to create an atmosphere of utter grinding grimness. Weakling draws upon 90's black metal in the Norwegian tradition (especially the raw and primitive likes of Darkthrone, Burzum and Immortal) and then creates uniquely fucked song structures of epic length (20 minutes per, in some cases).
And, like the best music, Weakling also transcends genre. In some ways, 'Dead as Dreams' possesses elements that can be considered akin to the avant garde, experimental creations of the Swans, Skullflower, Steve Reich, or even Yoko Ono. Imagine an extensive, utterly mesmerizing Hermann Nitsch piece, composed for black metal band.
It's a suffocating soundscape of riffing and drone. Subterranean satanic art rock that equals metal. Nihilistic, depressive and never ending.

2000.

SPIRITUALIZED ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space

one of the best albums ever. infinitely recommended for fans of talk talk, radiohead, cerberus shoal, stereolab, and anything of a similar ilk. completely essential. 1997.

HARVESTER hemåt

incredible swedish psych-rock. you might this band from their other incarnations: international harvester; träd, gräs & stenar; and pärson sound. this isn't quite on the level of either the international harvester or pärson sound release, but it is a perfect example of the sort of "raga rock" these guys were doing back in the late 60s, early 70s. i'd say it's a must-have for fans of the genre. 1969.

TIM BERNE fulton street maul

tim berne (sax), bill frisell (guitar), hank roberts (cello), alex cline (percussion). awesome avant-jazz that never veers off into no-man's-land, and always seems to keep a nice, groovy jazz base. 1986.