Saicobab "San Se Pirani Bab (Thrill Jockey)"
The debut from Japanese quartet Saicobab is likely going to take you by surprise. Their strange mix of traditional Indian music and decidedly non-traditional instrumentation and production mixed with almost math-rock rhythms and unexpected vocal turns makes their debut, San Se Pirani Bab (Thrill Jockey) unlike anything you’ve ever heard. Imagine Mike Patton, Deerhoof, and Ravi Shankar recording an album, and you’ve got sort of a vague inkling of what to expect here. Take a deep breath, because you might never be the same, and check out “Bx Ax Bx.”
TRØN & DVD "Afraid Of The Dark (Kiam)"
Brothers Norvin and Darian Van Dunk, known here as TRØN & DVD, have been making rap music for as long as they can remember. But Afraid Of The Dark, their Kiam debut, is also their first proper album released by a label. Sys Norvin: ““When we went in [to Kiam Records Shop], we gave [Jennifer O’Connor] our CDs, and she liked it enough to help us out and sign us, which is cool, cause we were always doing everything ourselves.” Credit where credit is due, Nyack News and Views (Kiam Record IS from Nyack after all) said it best when they said “Afraid of the Dark’s paranoid sonic landscape stems from indie rock as much as it does Wu-Tang Clan or Eminem.” Get ready to fall in love with the mixture of TRØN’s easy, smooth flow mixed with DVD’s gravely, bellowing delivery. Not to mention guest turns from Kiam label mates Amy Bezunartea, Jennifer O’Connor, as well as co-production from Tom Beaujour. Favorite line on the record? “They be thinkin’ we went Paleo we go against grains.” #sogood Check out the vital “Vigilantes.”
Watter "History Of The Future (Temporary Residence)"
Watter, the instrumental post-rock trio featuring members of Saint and Grails, are back! When their debut album This World was released, no one was sure if this would be a one off or a full-fledged project. Well after turning the US with Om, they returned to the studio to record their follow-up, the unexpectedly gorgeous History Of The Future (Temporary Residence). Imagine if Pink Floyd’s last album, The Division Bell, had been good (and instrumental), and add like a 10% modern electronic music twist to it, and you are getting close to the sound of this soaring, majestic, triumphant album. Check out the first single from the album, the epic sounds of “Shadow Chase.”
And So I Watch You From Afar "The Endless Shimmering (Sargent House)"
Belfast post-rockers And So I Watch You From Afar are back! 2 years out from their last collection of instrumental rock mayhem, they have gifted the world with The Endless Shimmering (Sargent House). Recorded over 9 days while they were snowed in at Machines with Magnets in Rhode Island, the band emerged with a completed album just as the snow had begun to melt. Now that album, with a sound that is a combination of The Fucking Champs, Grails, and Yes, is here to melt your face, and your ears, and your stereo. Don’t worry, not in a real way–although don’t turn it up TOO loud, after all I did see Jimi Hendrix’s “Machine Gun” once turn a speakers tweeters into a black viscous goo when turned up too loud, and this is just as punishing as that… Anyway, let the heavy metal triumph of “A Slow Unfolding Of Wings” get you to where you need to go. Enjoy!