Elekidz - Elekidz's Plasma Horoscope [EP]

Check 1-2-3

Two song EP from Japan's punk/rock Elekidz.
2011 successor to their only prior full-length 'Elevator Action' (2008). They win me over with their unique transitions/enduring and punchy female vocals, even if my initial impression was something of a corn-blender anime intro/outro. It's a quick go, but worth re-visiting.

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The Log.Os - λόγος

One lovely Nikko Gray passed this on to me:
New (free) project from Ken Barrientos (aka KenBts.) – producer/engineer/sound-designer for Blu's 'NoYork!', Bilal's 'Levels', Shafiq Husayn's 'En' A-Free-Ka', SA-RA, & J*DaVeY.
Vocals by Nikko Gray & Iman Omari.
*features vocal appearances by Bilal and TY$ (of Ty & Kory)
*features bonus remix of "Levels" by Bilal.

Cool chilldown material, only thing missing is the kaleidoscope.
Nice ethereal blend of beat/soul/electronic.

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Dead Elephant - Thanatology

Dead Elephant are a doom/post-hardcore/noise trio from Italy.
Drawing influences from artists like Unsane, Cherubs, Jesus Lizard, Ash Ra Tempel and Neurosis, the trio established themselves with their 2005 debut 'Sing the Separation' -- landing them gigs with bands like Lair of the Minotaur and Zu (whose saxophonist contributed to their 2007 album 'Lowest Shared Descent').

Their latest 2011 release is entitled 'Thanatology', and in their words:
'In this order of things life sometimes is cruel. Sometimes we feel caught in a strange trap. The events appear to us as a dark spiral and our destiny is get lost in it. There, it’s very difficult to understand what is right and what is wrong. There, something must burn and you must accept to lose it. From the consciousness that some things must die in order to change is born Thanatology...
Musically the core of the album is represented by the meeting between the Dead Elephant music approach and the funeral march of South Italy.'

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Riddlore? - The West Wing

Riddlore? is an underground producer/MC/DJ active since 1983. I checked him out after some affiliation with Aceyalone, leading me to his latest 2011 output, 'The West Wing'. The album is Riddlore's? fourth solo full-length, his first release since his self-titled in 2003.

Hoping 'The West Wing' gets some love -- tight production and really unorthodox styles throughout.
Has definitely made me try to track down his previous material.

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13ghosts - Garland of Bottle Flies

Latest release from Alabama-Man(s) 13ghosts. Features a reworked version of "I Have Brought Fire" from their initial EP 'We Are The Sun' (the song that got me hooked in the first place). All in all some great storytelling and consistency in twang-tinge rock; a handful of my favorites stretching past the five minute mark like "Dr. Bill".

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AFTA-1 - Live At The Loft

#14 AFTA1 "HeyeLAND" Ft. Nikko Gray from LIVE AT THE LOFT on Vimeo.

[VA] Another Kind of Death/adrift/Moksha/Moho - Waterloo Split

Underhill Records

Four bands from Spain, including the thunder-scarring adrift. 'Waterloo' was released in 2006 on Underhill Records, who oddly enough put out the speckled and opposite sounds of Lukestar.
Another Kind of Death plays the cores of metal/math -- better the spasm of the latter. For the former there might be some expected chug and glug, but at least four dudes don't break into harmonious dentdowns. They do a good job though of balancing scramz/sangs.
The adrift portion of the EP is what lured me in; the three songs don't disappoint, especially with the crushing "Ramses". The song seems in constant bend on a bone roller coaster, getting shot at by clowns in hot air balloons that are the descendants of druids. The lyrics will probably confirm this. Either way, it's savage as fawk -- the proverbial middle-meat of their tracks.
The Moksha material is more sludgy/punchrawk, which led me to their more impressive 2008 full-length. Moho closes the EP, as sort of a conglomerate of the three bands before them. Probably the sludge-heaviness aligns most similarly to Moksha, but the vocals are more doom and gloom.
Overall a pretty powerful glass of jagged-juice, with adrift bringing the most flavor.

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yodaka

yodaka were a Japanese post-rock band consisting of Kashiwa Daisuke (Guitar/Programming), Nema Takeshi (Guitar/Synth), Takimoto Nozomu (Bass) and Yamamoto Hironobu (Drums).
This collection of five songs is the only material around (couldn't find a tracklisting or release info), and what it lacks in audio quality it makes up for in...audio quality.
Pretty cool stuff -- Daisuke's programming edge helps give it a unique feel for post-rock.
Def recommend looking into his latest piano-only release too.

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Vakill - Armor of God

Not return--punishment

Yes! One of my most anticipated hip-hop releases in a spinnin' minute.
Chicago's Vakill returns after a five year inhale, and I know for one am satisfied with the release.
'Armor of God' might even shine through his previous 2006 volley 'Worst Fears Confirmed' that got me semi-stan-status in the first place. Only been able to repeat this once or twice but Vakill comes correct on every track, with easily some of the tightest beats offered from the Molemen and crew.
If you're down with this you're up for rough:

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Mastodon - Black Tongue

The Hunter (9/27/11):

1. Black Tongue
2. Curl of the Burl
3. Blasteroid
4. Stargasm
5. Octopus Has No Friends
6. All the Heavy Lifting
7. The Hunter
8. Dry Bone Valley
9. Thickening
10. Creature Lives
11. Spectrelight
12. Bedazzled Fingernails
13. The Sparrow

The single for "Black Tongue"; pretty sweet opening track, IMO.
For whatever reason it gave me Killing Joke vibes.

Nine - soN.Y.

Freshest full length from Nine, and he keeps getting better.  The production on this is stellar pavement-pounding work, and lyrically the spit keeps it shining. He released another mixtape 'Shot Fired' previous (to 'Quinine') that I can't track down to buy/listen but the singles/stabs for that are nice too. 

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Mastodon - Deathbound

CaN I geT a
LOLZYEAH?!

Death Grips - Ex Military Mixtape

Death Grips/some of the latest from Zach Hill

DL Hughley

Death Grips - Exmilitary by deathgrips

Ghostface Killah - Clipse of Doom (ft. Trife Da God)

No version on youtube finishes the final seconds of this song.
*Still amazing.
Apparently the lyrics aren't overdosING on caffeine...
all-for-Ghost ≠ o-veR-Dos(ING)
sniffing (on) ≠ (s)ING(on)

Caffeine.

*The craziest part;
you won't even hear it.

From Fiction - Bloodwork

From Fiction was a tight four-piece of mathy rock/post-punk from Toronto. They released one album, under the production of Steve Albini, 'Bloodwork', before disbanding later in the same year (2005).
Fans of These Arms Are Snakes, Faraquet, etc., will probably dig.

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Seven That Spells - Black Om Rising

Seven That Spells are a foundation three-piece of experimental/psych-rock from Croatia.
'Black Om Rising' is their 2008 full-length -- a frenzied and cryptic collision akin to The Psychic Paramount and The Mars Volta; lots of extended grooves, beasty bass, tasteful sax, adjective noun+verb...an energetic and often bombastic rock-warp lined in dark trimming.
They have a pretty robust discography under the radar, (hopefully) calling attention with affiliation/shows with Kawabata Makoto of Acid Mothers Temple.
Their new full-length, 'Death And Resurrection Of Krautrock' is scheduled to come out this month (of the three? releases from them so far this year), releasing the song/video for "AUM" as a little early somN-smthN.

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Buffalo Daughter - The Weapons of Math Destruction

Latest album from Buffalo Daughter.
This was definitely in my favorites of 2010 -- and probably my favorite release so far from BD.
The vocals on this are just so smooth -- Sugar & Yumiko Ohno bounce back and forth/together so well, and even with the absence of MoOoG (vocally), they gained ex-Cibo Matto vocalist Miho Hatori, who compliments "The Battle Field In My Head"...probably my favorite BD track to date (re: hawt).
Per their person, the album mixes it up fresh track to track -- some angular instrumentals, some skewed beats; just generally the same lovable stylized weirdness that won me over in the first place -- just blown up to bigger proportions.

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Tephra - Tempel

Latest release from Germany's Tephra.
Expect the same Neu-metal goodness with a bit more variety (vox especially)...pretty solid.
They're back to a four-piece after the keyboard player disbanded.

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Robot Koch - Songs for Trees & Cyborgs

Raining Bloop

Latest output from Robot Koch, featuring some fam-faces like RQM & 1000names.
Finally got around to digging into this album; probably his most driving diverse directions alliterations.
It's neat(o), IMO.

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Sourface - Social Therapy Vol. 2

Latest remixes/beats/bangers from m8 Brammers.

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Rival Tribes - Tiger Print

Rival Tribes are a (studio) three-piece from New York.
They released their six-track EP 'Tiger Print' in February, an energetic surf-sounding/math-mash of experimental rock. Vocals are rare and welcome, sometimes spruced to effects and interjected off the keys. Overall fifteen minutes of cool warping in the sun.

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Bright Eyes - The People's Key

NPR

The Psychic Paramount - II

The Psychic Paramount - "II" CD/LP
New full-length album on No Quarter records.
Release date Feb. 22, 2011

GET REEBOK PUMPED

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Bisk - Discography

Been replaying the electronic/genre-mash work of Naohiro Fujikawa's Bisk, specifically the only album I'd had/heard, 'Time'.
I decided to dig a little deeper and purchase his other stuff (sans compilations)-- his four full-lengths spanning from 1996 to 2000 whereafter Bisk was inactive.

All of these have something to offer; his 1997 work 'Strange or Funny-HaHa?' is probably his most ambitious for how many flavors he tries to pack in the blender, so I can't blame him for a slightly jagged chunk of material in the mix...
Only given preliminary listens, but really dug all with 1998's 'Ticklish Matters' the potential favorite. No two albums really sound alike though (or two songs), so something for everyone looking for a unique cut-up of abstract/IDM/electronic goodness.

Time [1996]

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Strange or Funny-HaHa? [1997]
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Ticklish Matters [1998]
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Moonstruck Parade [2000]
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