Isis
Wavering Radiant
Ipecac Recordings
Street: 05.05
Isis = Neurosis + Jesu + Cult of Luna + Envy + Red Sparowes
Throughout Isis’s career, the band has relied on taking musical themes and exploring and expanding upon them with unmatched passion. With Wavering Radiant, the band’s fifth full-length record, the audience is given another progression in the realm of all that is Isis, a culmination of each studio offering, be it the sludge-heavy riffing from Celestial to the beautiful instrumental and melody-challenging improvisations from Oceanic to In The Absence of Truth. The entire musical package that is Wavering Radiant is one of those musical endeavors that grabs your throat straight out of the gates and still clings on to your jugular long after the album has ended. There is beauty and darkness with Wavering Radiant; each theme demands attention, with layers of notes and atmosphere, leaving you in peaceful bliss at times and at others dragging you down through the abyss with angry possession. Once again, Isis has failed to disappoint. –Bryer Wharton

Iuengliss
Motion in Mind
Bocumast Records
Street: 04.21
Iuengliss = O.Lamm + lithium + Autechre
Iuengliss fits the self-produced artist to exacting standards. The compositions are compelling and well thought-out, but his heavy use of VST soft-synths cheapen the overall sound. It is obvious that the sounds are computer generated and the production places the listener within the computer rather than expanding sounds to reference other places such as nature or the inner city. It gets confusing when he tries to artificially inject warmth into such a cold place. It is a very peaceful-sounding album, and sent me into digital dreams every time I listened to it. This is music for the half-man, half-machine variety. –Andrew Glassett

Justin Townes Earle
Midnight at the Movies
Blood Shot
Street: 04.04
Justin Townes Earle = Devil Makes 3 + The Carter Family + (early) George Jones
I always feel so lucky when a roots record so honest and true crosses my path, because they are so few and far between. My first impression of Justin Townes Earle was that it was too slick, too clean … but upon further inspection, I discovered that it was Earle’s smooth style and his band’s high level of talent that was coming through to me. Midnight at the Movies bounces from pre-war folk and acoustic blues to ragtime and bluegrass, every song so genuine-sounding you’d swear their origins would have come straight from the Depression era. “They Killed John Henry,” a riveting bluegrass track, is just so spot-on it would give any roots music-lover chills. Throughout Midnight at the Movies is a haunting element that so many fail to capture when attempting this kind of music; it’s a true testament to the sincerity Justin Townes Earls and his band have put into their music. –James Orme

Kylesa
Static Tensions
Prosthetic Records
Street: 03.17
Kylesa= High On Fire + Big Business + Mastodon + Motorhead

Kylesa come from a state of other loved metal bands and after being around since 2001, I think they’ll get the recognition they’ve been destined for. There’s an insurgence of perfection between recording and soul-grabbing sound, I don’t see it possible for this recording to not be an epic step forward in their future. Amongst the heavy metal that dominates is a punk core that is conducive to their sound. There’s more catchy timing and the added gentle vocals of Laura Pleasants than ever before. Static Tension’s 10 songs ride so smooth that I listened to it on repeat. The album opens with “Scapegoat,” a thick speed-ridden introduction for what you already know as Kylesa. “Running Red” kicks your ass with its Slayer-ish power rock, while “Unknown Awareness” and “Almost Lost” are heavy, but more melodic. With such a stylistic upgrade, Kylesa have reached a pinnacle and it’s obvious from the sound of this album that they are here to stay. –Nicole Dumas