Music

1. 

   1. Animal Collective: Sung Tongs

   On Sung Tongs, their first record distributed by FatCat, the two-man Animal Collective come on like sun-scorched acid eaters gathered around the campfire, strumming and grinning while they weave ...read more

2. 

   2. Animal Collective: Here Comes the Indian

   Informed in equal parts by acid-fried psychosis, crop-circle field recordings and an elephants-on-the-loose circus thrash aesthetic, Animal Collective's fourth full-length album rests roughly at t...read more

3. 

   3. Scott Walker: The Drift

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4. 

   4. Six Organs of Admittance: The Sun Awakens

   A fabulous and lush new album by Ben Chasny, a.k.a. Six Organs of Admittance. On this album, his second for the always reliable Drag City, Chasney takes us on many musical voyages into the lands o...read more

5. 

   5. Sunn: Flight of the Behemoth

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6. 

   6. Sunn: The Grimmrobe Demos

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7. 

   7. Sunn: White2

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8. 

   8. Sunn: White1

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9. 

   9. Explosions in the Sky: Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever

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10. 

    10. Explosions in the Sky: The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place

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11. 

    11. The Flaming Lips: At War With the Mystics

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12. 

    12. The Flaming Lips: Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell [EP]

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13. 

    13. The Flaming Lips: Hear It Is

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14. 

    14. Sparklehorse + Fennesz: In the Fishtank

    Sparklehorse always brought a touch of experimentalism to their indie-pop bona fides, so this inspired pairing with Austria’s electronic maestro Christian Fennesz is not as odd as it might seem. At...read more

15. 

    15. Broadcast & the Focus Group: Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age

    Across the almost 50 minutes and 23 tracks of this experimental “mini-album,” Birmingham’s suave mod-futurists Broadcast trade snippety notions with longtime album artist and Ghost Box Music founde...read more

16. 

    16. The Books: The Way Out

    Now this is a welcome return — the Books with their first proper album in more than five years! The Way Out will sound familiar to old fans; like all of the duo's recorded work, the only genre this...read more

17. 

    17. Tim Hecker: Ravedeath, 1972

    For my money, Tim Hecker is the best electronic composer today (especially now that Milton Babbitt is no longer with us), and his latest release, Ravedeath, 1972, once again shows the master in fin...read more

18. 

    18. Amon Tobin: Isam

    Ah, that's more like it. It's been far too long since we've heard from Amon Tobin, but now that he's here, this sudden rash of humidity isn't bothering me so much anymore. Along with Aphex Twin, Au...read more

19. 

    19. Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto: Summvs

    They've done it before but not at this level of sophistication: two veterans, post-techno technician Alva Noto and pianist-composer (and Yellow Magic Orchestra cofounder) Ryuichi Sakamoto, explorin...read more

20. 

    20. Tim Hecker: Dropped Pianos

    Wait a minute...a new Tim Hecker album? Isn't Ravedeath, 1972 still on steady rotation in the store? Far be it for us to complain when there's a new Tim Hecker release, but the news of this alb...read more

21. 

    21. Fennesz: Seven Stars

    Unlike Tim Hecker's latest, Fennesz's Seven Stars is a more traditional EP-length release—only 18 minutes of music. That leaves us craving for more from the remarkable Viennese guitarist, but let...read more

22. 

    22. Nettle: El Resplandor: The Shining In Dubai

    Years ago, when J Dilla’s The Shining was released, I kept reading in press releases how Dilla was using samples from the horror film in his album. One review even mentioned Nicholson’s rants on ...read more

Tags: ambient , avant-garde , cool , dj , dramatic , drone , electronic , electronica , experimental , folk , indie , metal , noise , off-beat , piano , pop , post-rock , psychedelic , quirky , rock