sgt. - Stylus Fantasticus

Left to Right: =), =D, =)

In short, sgt. are an amazing band from Tokyo -- consisting of a bass player, drummer, and violinist.

Their latest release, 'Stylus Fantasticus' is among the best albums I've heard all year.

Trust me.

Stylus Fantasticus
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Aceyalone - A Book of Human Language

Aceyalone has had some spikes in quality over the years, but his sophomore solo album, 'A Book of Human Language' belongs in the hip-hop Bible. The album is a concept album that plays out like a book, divided into individual chapters (including a Forward/Contents/Afterward) with Aceyalone poetically soaring over jazzy loops at the hands of longtime collaborator Mumbles.

Simply nothing to fault this album for -- Aceyalone explores the depth of every track and elevates them to something timeless. Case & point:

"The Guidelines"





A Book of Human Language
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Medications - Your Favorite People All In One Place

Medications are a 3-piece rock group, stemming primarily from Faraquet with members Devin Ocampo (guitar/vox) and Chad Molter (bass). Anyone versed in Faraquet knows this band was almost guaranteed to be good, and with the addition of drummer Andrew Becker, Medications were complete. Becker has since left the band however, more or less leaving Medications on hiatus.

'Your Favorite People All In One Place', produced by Brendan Canty of Fugazi, is the band's only released full-length. Much like Faraquet, expect lots of effortless time changes, a swift rhythm-section, and all the bells and whistles (not literally). Highly recommend checking both bands out.

"I Am The Harvest"

Your Favorite People All In One Place
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Malajube - Le Compte Complet

I'm sorry, lMmT isn't here right now, but he left you this...
...said something about "a great Francophone band"?
Happy trails.

Malajube - Le Compte Complet
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Woven Hand - Ten Stones

David Eugene Edwards is one of the more interesting and talented artists; his works are booming with soulful, honest lyrics and a powerful voice to match. I first heard David Eugene with his work in 16 Horsepower -- a gritty, country-tinged band coated in the often dark presence of David Eugene's voice.

Woven Hand has become David Eugene's "solo" project -- collaborating with other musicians/ex-members of 16 Horsepower. His latest release, 'Ten Stones', might be my favorite release yet, continuing the Woven Hand tradition of effortlessly evoking emotion from the listener by means of David Eugene himself and the collective sound of Woven Hand.

Overall just an honest and prolific musician...highly recommend digging deeper through past Woven Hand/16 Horsepower releases if you like what you hear.

Ten Stones
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Shora

Shora hail from Switzerland, and remain one of my favorite and diverse bands. Early in the band's lifetime, Shora sounded akin to Converge, only more raw and personal.
More raw than Converge, you say? Raw enough to do a split album with noise-legend Merzbow ('Switching Rethorics'), implementing their trademark grit and intensity between Merzbow's sonic clashes.

After 3 of these releases, Shora did a complete turn-around -- crafting an electronically charged Isis-hybrid, a stellar gem known as 'Malval'. The album did-away with the singer's blood-curdling shrieks, opting instead for a gracefully paced instrumental sound, all while keeping the band's trademark character -- delivering tangibly haunting layers of talented, fearless emotion.

Obviously they score a screaming endorsement from me -- and damn well they should. Whether you need the intensity of 'Shaping the Random' or the ethereal plunge into 'Malval', Shora is a band to be heard. I'm told they're trying to release two albums later this year (the follow up to 'Malval' and a soundtrack to a Nathalie Rebholz film), so you better BELIEVE and hit that refresh.

"Parhelion" live (from 'Malval'):
Part 1



Part 2

7" Split w/Born Under Saturn [1999]
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Shaping the Random [2000]
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Switching Rethorics [2001]
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Malval [2005]
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Deep Turtle - Turkele

Deep Turtle was a Finnish rock group, mixing elements of hardcore punk, jazz, and experimental latin-rhythm. 'Turkele' was the band's final album (2003) -- featuring vocals in both English and Spanish -- both frantic and often indecipherable, with Deep Turtle's unique mix of punk and prog.

Solid musicianship all around (bass-player had skills, son), Deep Turtle crafted a groove-laced, coke-nosed, boom-headshot, awesomely-hypheneted album. Czech it.

Deep Turtle also upped a big part of their discog to their website (my link for 'Turkele' is direct from their site -- a 1:1 master-copy), so browse around and get some more goodies -- you deserve it an' shit.

"Nohand"

Turkele
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(compressed, 30 MB)
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(1:1 master-copy, 232 MB)
mind the graves