The Glitch Mob - Drink The Sea

The Glitch Mob are probably best described as "glitch-hop", which is basically hip-hop with an IDMish twist to it. the result is intricate and interesting yet catchy electronic music that's basically a goldmine of great beats. it's a lot better than Crystal Castles II at the very least.

MP3 V0

Celan - Halo

Celan is a sludge / noise rock band that was created when Ari Benjamin Meyers of avant-garde / industrial band Einstürzende Neubaten and Christ Spencer of noise rock Unsane met. this isn't a typical sludge album, as the influence of Ari paves the way for a multitude of noisy soundscapes amid the heavy riffs.

MP3 V2

Coil - Love's Secret Domain

RIP Peter Christopherson part II

a little more psychedelic / industrial than The Ape Of Naples, with some acid house influence. as such i personally don't find it as emotionally powerful, however it is still definitely an amazing album.

MP3 V0

Coil - The Ape of Naples

RIP Peter Christopherson

more people need to listen to Coil. start with this album. dark, beautiful, emotional ambient / electronic / industrial music.

MP3 320

Television - Marquee Moon

my favourite album at this point in time. post-punk released in 1977, yet sadly this went mostly unnoticed in terms of mainstream popularity. the guitarwork is sublime, the drumming is not overly technical yet stellar and the vocalist is unique and passionate. the whole thing goes from catchy and fun as hell (See No Evil, Friction) to beautiful and touching (Elevation, Torn Curtain). get it.

MP3 320

Agalloch - Marrow Of The Spirit

despite mostly being labelled as black metal, which is probably a turnoff for many people, Agalloch's 2010 album is quite beautiful in its own chaotic way, with the heaviness and raw fury of black metal mixing with softer folk elements. i'm still sort of undecided about it but everyone seems to love it so i might as well post it.

MP3 192 (will change later.)

Mimas - Lifejackets

Mimas' second and most recent albums sees them losing a lot of the depressing undertones of their previous album, The Worries. most of the tracks on Lifejackets (one or two wouldn't be out of place on The Worries) are upbeat and creative takes on post-rock / indie with subtle yet impressive guitarwork. the vocalist's voice has become deeper and on many songs he adopts a sort of sing-along style which, for me, took some time to get used to but is a nice change. while i think The Worries is probably better this is still a great album that will hopefully make these guys more well-known and appreciated.

MP3 V0

Igorrr - Nostril

if a mixture of IDM / breakcore / death metal / classical music sounds like something you'd enjoy, listen to this album. if you think it sounds like a joke, listen to it anyway... somewhat surprisingly, it works. i imagine this album will be considered very polarizing (it's only been out for a day or so) due to the mixture of very differing music genres. personally i can't recommend it enough.

MP3 V2

Fridge - Ceefax

Fridge's 1997 debut Ceefax is certainly an oddity of a post-rock release. Fridge were, along with Tortoise, one of the first bands to incorporate elements of electronica into their music, which are most prominently shown in the trio of 'Edm' tracks. Ceefax is a strange album full of interesting electronics as well as a few rockier tracks, all wrapped together with, curiously enough for a fairly heavily electronic album, lo-fi production.

MP3 320

Indian Summer - Science 1994

Indian Summer were a short-lived emo/post-hardcore band around in the early to mid 90s (there is a self-titled Indian Summer album from 1971 floating around. this is a different Indian Summer. it is not good). they lasted for a year and then broke up, which is a shame because they made some pretty great music. the Science 1994 anthology (consisting of only 9 songs...) is their only release unless you count live albums. Indian Summer mostly play post-hardcore similar to Drive Like Jehu with vicious guitar riffs and anguished vocals, but they stand out from other post-hardcore bands with their ability to go from aggressive madness to a much softer, melancholy sound, often within the same song, giving them a distinctive and varied sound.

MP3 320

Daniel Striped Tiger - Capital Cities

Capital Cities follows screamo / math rock-ish band Daniel Striped Tiger's aggressive and technical Condition, and with this they enter into a quite different style of music. the album is a bit slower and calmer than their previous release, though the tremendous passion is still present and the guitar riffs are as technical and creative as ever.

MP3 V0

Dead Elephant - Lowest Shared Descent

Dead Elephant create music that is as dark (and at times as subtle) as their name. the band switches between a mixture of sludge / hardcore (sometimes featuring a saxophone) and dark, gritty industrial / noise passages, and overall it plays out like an Oxbow album, which i personally love. it's probably only for fans of sludge, though.

MP3 V2

Brasstronaut - Old World Lies

Old World Lies is a short EP released a couple of years before the lovely Mt. Chimaera, one of my favourite albums this year. the majority of the songs lean towards the more melancholy side of the band, focusing on piano and brass (obviously) melodies, and also featuring a demo of Insects, the fantastic 8 minute closer of Mt. Chimaera.

MP3 V2

Satanicpornocultshop - Ugh Yoing

one of the bizarrely named Satanicpornocultshop's first albums, Ugh Yoing is an extremely glitchy mess of an album. constantly cycling through a combination of glitchy breaks, hip-hop and a Ghostbusters sample every now and then, this album never fails to captivate you despite being over an hour long. while it might give some people a headache it's definitely interesting and fun music.

MP3 V0

Æther - Artifacts

Artifacts is a curious trip-hop album i recently discovered. 15 tracks of glitchy hip-hop that also retains a glitchy quality. the songs are for the most part very short and rush by, making the album constantly interesting, though at times it did leave me wanting more considering it's only 38 minutes long. very easy on the ears and a lovely album to listen to lying in bed.

MP3 V2

Converge - Axe To Fall

"what the fuck nick, is that the vocalist? why do you listen to this shit"

-my friend on Converge

Axe To Fall is Converge's latest album, and this release the wall-of-sound days of Jane Doe are definitely over. that isn't a bad thing, however. adopting more of a death metal influence, ATF is filled with heavy guitarwork (with a few solos thrown in) and Bannon's trademark vocals form more of a snarl than a scream yet are as vicious and unintelligible as ever. the drummer Ben Koller is also a standout, pounding out some incredible rhythms.

the last two tracks are somewhat of a departure for Converge; Cruel Bloom features Steve Von Till of Neurosis fame, not contributing to a sludgy song but instead creating an odd country-ish piece. the final song, Wretched World, also features Genghis Tron on what is a soft, almost ambient track. these songs may take a while to get used to but did grow on me, despite seeming somewhat out of place.

MP3 V0

Electric Wizard - Black Masses

Electric Wizard.

oh god the riffs

MP3 320

Igorrr - Moisissure

on Moisissure, Igorrr (whose name is not actually Igor, but Gautier) creates a dark and spastic breakcore album on which a huge amount of different musical styles are pushed to the extreme. the fierce, heavy breaks are most often accompanied by baroque classical music (bear with me, it's not a Rossz ripoff) which Gautier mutilates beyond belief on tracks like Oesophage de Tourterelle and creates songs a la Nero's Day At Disneyland with medieval choir samples or something, but also features metal elements (mainly growling, but some blast beats) and strangely enough, acoustic guitar. the amalgamation of so many styles of music along with the overall dark atmosphere of the album may put off some listeners but anyone looking for some interesting and unique music that pushes a load of boundaries may love this.

MP3 320

Sailors With Wax Wings - Sailors With Wax Wings

Sailors With Wax Wings, a solo album by a member of bizarre 'shoegaze' band Pyramids, boasts an impressive lineup of guest musicians - the list of talent ranges from David Tibet to Aidan Baker to Dominick Fernow (a.k.a. Prurient) along with many more. Sailors With Wax Wings is a dreamy, droney and completely captivating release that fits somewhere in the 'ambient' category of music with a wonderful range of soundscapes throughout the 52 minute long album.

MP3 192

Cursive - The Ugly Organ

i've never really cared much for any of Cursive's work aside from this, but god damn this album is genius. post-hardcore / emo influenced indie with PASSION. the singer is dynamic and incredibly expressive and the addition of a viola player creates a fantastic sound in both the softer and heavier songs. ending with a 10-minute epic that many post-rock bands can't come close to, this album is a monster.

2011 edit: STAYING ALIVE IS PRETTY MUCH THE BEST SONG EVER JUST SAYIN

MP3 V0

VVVVVV

this is obviously not an album. this is a really fun little indie game that i recently bought and loved. the art style, very similar to NES / SNES games is vibrant and wonderful. the gameplay revolves around 'flipping' where you press a button and gravity reverses for your character. this creates a goldmine of clever puzzles. i recall one section where a character followed you if you were on the ground but stopped moving if you were on the roof, which led to a variety of situations where you had to try to not get the follower falling into spike pits. the game is also a bitch difficulty-wise (you can unlock a no-death mode. there is no proof whatsoever that anyone has completed this.) and the huge overworld combined with the collection of 20 tokens and time trials means that even after you finish the game has a great deal of replay value.

download or support the creator (it would be great if you did this regardless of whether you download it from mediafire or not)

Dutch - A Bright Cold Day

A Bright Cold Day is Dutch's debut album, released this year. mostly created by a former Jedi Mind Tricks member, A Bright Cold Day is a lovely trip-hop album with a multitude of instruments used making each track unique and the lush female vocals add to the overall dreamy feel of the album, making this a lovely album to fall asleep to in my opinion.

MP3 V2

Gorguts - Obscura

there's a good reason why this is often referred to as one of if not the best death metal album (s). anybody who comes into this album thinking it'll be another band full of bland chugging riffs will get the shock of their lives. the guitarwork is like nothing else in the genre, almost bordering on sludge at some points (Clouded) and barely any tracks on the album sound similar. the drumming is absolutely intense and the vocals do stick true to the death metal formula (and as such can take some getting used to for listeners new to the genre) yet sound fantastic. this album can be a grower, on my first listen i knew it was different but disliked it, but it's well worth keeping as it is truly a classic.

(i should seperate that into paragraphs. but fuck it.)

MP3 V0

S - I'm Not As Good At It As You

I'm Not As Good At It As You is a solo album by Jenn Ghetto (under the name S), who used to be one half of the seminal slowcore band Carissa's Weird. due to Jenn's roots this album is of course very depressing, mainly focusing on the lovely guitar playing and vocals in combination with crushing lyrics.

MP3 V0

Zach Hill - Face Tat

i thought this was a Hella album for so long but apparently it is just Zach's solo album?

anyway, noise and drums. also, on the loudness scale it is about a 59 out of 10. seems like it's mastered ridiculously loud or something, fuck if i know why.

MP3 V0

Derniere Volonte - Dans Le Miroir

more French music. Dernière Volonté is a one-man project who, on this album, takes the martial industrial / neofolk sound from his previous albums and fuses it with synths and more 'traditional' song structures. this odd mixture of musical styles is done brilliantly, creating lovely atmospheric music that, as well as being a solid entry point for people interested in martial industrial, may interest long-time listeners of the genre (though if they are then they've probably already heard this guy) due to the record's uniqueness.

MP3 320

Mihai Edrisch - L'un Sans L'autre

Mihai Edrisch are a screamo band from France. after they broke up, one of their members became part of Daïtro and i'd say Mihai have a fairly similar sound albeit the post-rock elements are almost nonexistant and the majority of the album is pure chaotic screamo. this band is also more solid proof that anything sung in French manages to be excellent. (i don't know what else to write, but this band is very good)

MP3 V0

Animals as Leaders - Animals as Leaders

guitar solo-core mostly done by one guy. uh, the guitarwork is definitely a standout (as it should be). unlike other 'technical metal' this album isn't really just solo after solo, there's a lot of variety and different styles utilised throughout the album giving it a uniqueness and keeping the listener's attention for the 50 minutes it runs for.

MP3 V0

Busdriver - Computer Cooties

(this is not the cover of the album which google / what.cd failed to provide me with. but "Deer God" is a song on this album so i just decided to grab this instead.)

Computer Cooties is a new mixtape recently released by Busdriver. sampling a huge amount of artists ranging from indie rockers Wolf Parade's "You Are A Runner And I Am My Father's Son" to Flying Lotus' (who, along with being sampled, also features on another song) creative instrumental hip-hop track "Computer Face: Pure Being". those are the only two songs i immediately recognized but there are most likely a ton more with Busdriver's ridiculous lyrics and delivery providing a different outlook on each of the songs. oh and there are a bunch of remixes of songs too, none of which i know but whatever.

MP3 192 (input your e-mail and it gets sent to you for free, it's also being streamed here)

Bailter Space - Robot World

Bailter Space are a shoegaze / noise rock band who are hugely underrated. this album, Robot World, was released in 1993 by a bunch of guys in the middle of nowhere (AKA New Zealand). it is basically a primitive version of A Place To Bury Strangers (maybe not as heavy on the industrial elements), lots of feedback and noisy guitar riffs. listen to it on a high volume.

MP3 V0

Future of the Left - Travels With Myself And Another

Future of the Left, formed after mclusky broke up, released their second album Travels With Myself And Another last year which is another kickass punk-influenced noise rock record. the crunchy guitars and vocalist Andy Falkous' ridiculous lyrics are present as usual yet the overall sound of the record is slightly toned down (...very slightly) and more varied, giving this record a refreshing quality compared to the rest of the band's material

MP3 V0

The Paper Chase - God Bless Your Black Heart

God Bless Your Black Heart is what i would consider The Paper Chase's 'ballad' album, similar to their previous, more lo-fi albums but not quite as noisy. there is a greater focus on the quieter, less insane songs, though their are some moments where the grating guitar riffs become the main focus. vocalist John Congleton is as dividing as ever with his nasally vocals not being the most pleasant thing to listen to but fit the lyrics (usually about some horrific occurance) perfectly.

MP3 V0

31knots - Worried Well

31knots are an indie / math rock band who serve up a solid album full of brilliant hooks from both the piano player and guitarist. the music is supported by the dynamic vocalist who is reminiscent of John Gourley (of Portugal. The Man) with a bit more of an aggressive edge - which is a pretty good description of their music as well. the album also features modest experimentation with a few strange ambient interludes scattered throughout the album.

MP3 V0

Daïtro - Y

Daïtro's third release is a fantastic mixture of post-rock and energetic screamo. the post-rock elements combined with the vocalist singing in french make this a beautiful yet ferocious album and probably one of the best screamo albums released in 2009.

MP3 V2

Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz

as someone who had never listened to Sufjan prior to this album and was not expecting much from the descriptions i was surprised to find that it is actually pretty good... it's somewhat orchestral indie 'pop' with some electronic elements thrown in (apparently one of the first times he's used them, and they work well). there are some moments on this album which really impress me (most of the 25 minute final track) and some moments which annoy me (the 5 or so minutes of autotuned vocals on the final track) but this is worth listening for anyone who likes 'indie' music.

MP3 V0

Cloudkicker - Beacons

Cloudkicker is a very impresive one-man metal project that mainly takes influences from technical and progressive metal. unlike many 'technical metal' projects, Cloudkicker isn't just mindless guitar wankery and shows restraint and emotion which brings freshness into what could be considered a stale genre.

get it in lots of formats (buy it if you want, or leave the price box at 0)

Marnie Stern - Marnie Stern

Marnie Stern's 2010 self-titled is, as to be expected, full of incredibly technical guitarwork that was present in her previous releases. it's pretty obvious that one of her main influences is Hella - and with Zach Hill drumming it's easy to make comparisons. i felt that on her 2007 release Marnie's vocals - which can get a little annoying after repeated listens - were far too prominent, and this release tones them down more, so for me this is definitely preferable.

MP3 320

Rome - Flowers From Exile

Flowers From Exile is my personal favourite album by neofolk artist Rome. on this album he drifts away from his earlier work which focused more on martial industrial and focuses on the neofolk elements. the result is an emotional, passionate and touching album that, in my opinion, any lover of folk (or good music in general) should listen to.

MP3 V0

A Silver Mt. Zion - Kollaps Tradixionales

ASMZ's 2010 release, Kollaps Tradixionales, again proves to be a far cry from their early works, both with ASMZ themselves and Godspeed. this release sees them expand more on the almost punk-influenced post-rock (for the most part it defies classification) that was present on 13 Moons For Thirteen Blues with Efrim's wailing vocals being a main source of the passion that, while not sounding traditionally 'good' certainly add to the music's atmosphere.

MP3 V0

Acid Mothers Temple & The Cosmic Inferno - Starless And Bible Black Sabbath

most fans of experimental / psychedelic rock have heard of the Acid Mothers Temple, or at least one of the five hundred names they go by. Starless And Bible Black Sabbath features a 35 minute long track (as well as a shorter 7 minute long track) of constantly changing and evolving psychedelic rock that makes its way through a myriad of guitar riffs and solos.

MP3 V2

Envy - Recitation

new Envy!!! it is really good and every bit as beautiful and crushing as their previous albums, as is to be expected. personally i'm definitely not disappointed with this.

MP3 256

Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Trout Mask Replica

yeah, it's this album... it's not unlistenable, though! while this would be considered incredibly weird back when it was released, it's mostly just out-of-tune experimental folkish rock music with some spoken word tracks and all manner of bizarre vocals. very fun and silly music.

MP3 320

Afraid! - Megaloklift

Afraid! is... not sure what to call them. psychedelic post-hardcore, i guess? this release, Megaloklift, is less about heavy or violent music and more about bizarre sounding guitarwork. whenever i listen to this, i want to listen to it about 3 more times just to understand what the hell it is.

(been very lazy with posting. didn't help that the power went out last night. will get more links up soon... maybe)

MP3 V2

DJ Scotch Egg - Drumized

DJ Scotch Egg remains as experimental as ever on this 2008 release, Drumized. on this album, DJ Scotch Egg ventures into a multitude of genres including grind and jazz using only chiptune sounds (and the occasional drum / guitar cameo), along with the regular fare of noisy and creative IDM / breakcore madness.

MP3 V2

Hangedup - Hangedup

unlike Hangedup's other two albums, their self-titled (and their first release) is not overly powerful. the duo is still impressive in terms of technical skill yet this is more subdued than their later, more experimental releases (though it does have a couple of songs that showcase their later energy) and as such is probably their easiest album to get into. not a bad thing by any means though!

MP3 V0

Irepress - Samus Octology

Samus Octology is the debut album by post-rock band Irepress. they play instrumental (unlike their second album) post-rock that occasionally mixes with sludge metal. pretty similar to bands like Pelican who also mix post-rock/metal yet remain progressive and interesting enough (saxophone makes an entry on a song or two, and works its way into the songs perfectly) to differ from the masses of "crescendocore" clones.

MP3 V0

Experimental Dental School - Jane Doe Loves Me

"experimental" sure is right... this is a mixture of math rock / noise rock, punctuated by strange sing-along vocals and all kinds of electronics that work together with odd, dissonant guitar riffs to create music that sounds like it's been thrown together yet remains strangely coherent.

MP3 V0

The Body - All The Waters Of The Earth Shall Turn To Blood

2010 has seen some especially creative releases that range from brilliant (Zs - New Slaves) to absolute rubbish (Sleigh Bells). All The Waters is yet another interesting album by a virtually unknown band who fuse dark, droning sludge metal with neoclassical elements, specifically bizarre chants. this is quite a difficult listen yet anyone who thinks they would enjoy this type of music will probably find this very rewarding.

MP3 V2

Hot Cross - Fair Trades and Farewells

Fair Trades and Farwells is an EP by post-hardcore / screamo band Hot Cross. while there isn't any full blown screaming on this album, Billy Werner's passionate, shouted vocals fit perfectly. this EP also features some incredibly technical and impressive guitarwork that is reminiscent of Drive Like Jehu (except not quite as harsh).

MP3 V0

Foetus - Thaw

Thaw is a much heavier release than the other two Foetus albums i've posted here, and the jazzy instrumentation takes a back seat (though there are two tracks that resemble some sort of demented classical music). one particular standout track is English Faggot / Nothin Man, which features a barrage of drums along with Thirlwell's trademark gritty vocals pushed to the extreme. though really, the whole album is solid.

(link removed as per request. if you want it, buy it here)