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Condominium

Warm Home
Independent (2011)

The title of Twin Cities trio Condominium’s latest is quite misleading. Warm Home is not the record you put on for an evening in front of the fire place with hot chocolate and a novella. This is anything but comforting. Instead, imagine the following scenario: The clock strikes 2AM just as the pot cookie you ate between your first and … Read more

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

Self Titled
Sour Mash (2011)

In the past two years there has been some speculation about the Gallagher brothers. Even during their career as Oasis the speculation was there. Many questioned with all of their issues who was the real talent driving the band. Well this is the year that the question gets answered. With the release of This record as well as the Beady … Read more

Panopticon

Social Disservices
Flenser (2011)

Did you ever just get constantly impressed with the evolution that an artist or group of artists make through the progression of their work and craft? Panopticon certainly is making that type of impression on me at this particular juncture as the one man political black metal project drops one of the more politically acerbic records that I have heard … Read more

Doomtree

No Kings
Doomtree (2011)

It’s not hard to find something to say about Doomtree. The 7-headed monster has enough disparate characters that I could fill the proverbial pages here without even addressing No Kings, their second official full-length. The band recently made some internet waves with the mash-up Wugazi project—which is where I’ll start since the opening track, “No Way,” begins with a guitar … Read more

Rome

Die Æsthetik der Herrschaftsfreiheit
Trisol (2011)

Die Æsthetik der Herrschaftsfreiheit. A three disc journey into the hearts and minds of the oppressed. An album that has become more relevant to the happenings of this past year than band founder Jerome Reuter could possibly ever imagine. At it's core, it's a record of struggle and of overcoming the boundaries set by those in positions of power. Could … Read more

Steven Wilson

Grace For Drowning
Kscope (2011)

It's pretty easy to get inside Steven Wilson's head. It's abundantly clear from his works with Porcupine Tree that the man has a fetish for 1970s era progressive rock à la Pink Floyd, Yes and King Crimson. Sure, Porcupine Tree has also picked up influences from modern extreme metal, but nobody can deny that the roots of Steven Wilson's pet … Read more

Jimmy Cliff

Sacred Fire EP
Collective Sounds (2011)

Jimmy Cliff sounds pretty spry for a 63 year-old. The reggae legend is a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer (whatever that means) and holds England’s esteemed Order of Merit in addition to releasing several notable albums. Cliff hasn’t released a record since 2004’s Black Magic, but this teaser EP for a forthcoming 2012 LP raises the bar. The CD … Read more

Giant Squid

Cenotes
Translation Loss (2011)

Well, that was a short album. At only thirty-five minutes long, doom/sludge metal group Giant Squid have almost halved the runtime of their previous album, The Ichthyologist, for the release of their third studio album, Cenotes.But what does brevity matter, when the music is top quality? This album is every bit as weighty as the giant squi--er, creatures on the … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Various Artists

Junius-Rosetta
Translation Loss (2011)

Junius and Rosetta are two odd bands to select for a split. It's hard to imagine the sonic distortion of the band behind The Galilean Satellites matching up with a band as mellow (in comparison, anyway) as Junius.Their contribution, “A Dark Day With Night,” sounds eerily ethereal; the sweet nature of the writing feels almost at odds with the sorrowful … Read more

Cloudkicker

Loop
Independent (2011)

Following the release of Beacons in 2010, musician Ben Sharp began releasing a series of short, acoustic instrumental loops on his blog. At the time, they were nothing more than a set of enjoyable curios. They sounded like some of the earlier post-rock material he had released as B. M. Sharp before starting Cloudkicker in earnest, and they were far … Read more

Brainkiller

The Infiltration
RareNoise (2011)

I was actually quite excited when I heard the trio Brainkiller's new album, The Inflitration, described as a mix between jazz, prog, and psychedelic music. I listen to a fair amount of all of those genres, so I thought it shouldn't be a half-bad listen at all. I retrospect, I suppose I should have thought it over a bit more: … Read more

Between the Buried and Me

The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues
Metal Blade (2011)

It's hard to describe the nature of Between the Buried and Me's new project, The Parallax. It is kind of like a double album, except not quite. It's divided into two releases, an EP and a future full-length album, that together tell a story about...well, honestly, I'm not quite certain. It's written pretty obtusely. But that certainly won't stop me … Read more

Beware Of Safety

Leaves/Scars
The Mylene Sheath (2011)

Beware Of Safety are a Post-Rock band. Sounds simple and plain enough. As they do reside in a genre known for aping their forefathers in a near religious way does little for any band that chooses this route. Many of these bands rely on what the first 3 Mogwai albums taught them. Start calm, build with some heavy parts, climax … Read more

Björk

Biophilia
Nonesuch (2011)

I have immense respect for Björk. She combines all of the showmanship and bombast of pop artists like Lady Gaga with the complex and intricate composition skills of electronic artists like Aphex Twin. She's one of the few pop artists that continue to push their own creativity with every release, and it is more than clear on her eighth studio … Read more

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