Br’er
City of Ice
Edible Onion
Street: 11.22
Br’er = Philip Glass x (Marc Almond + Swans)
Hand-numbered and gorgeously packaged in a recycled-paper sleeve with moody black-and-white photos gracing the lyric booklet, this CD is a work of art before it’s even in your player. The aptly titled album features 11 bleak pop tunes by songwriter Benjamin Schurr, who also produced the CD. The outstanding single, “You Go, We’ll Stay Here,” reminiscent of Soft Cell, tells a tale of needful transformations and the fear of those who don’t understand. Dark violence underpins the narrative on tracks like “Safeword” (a spoken-word noise collage) and the textured, layered “Oestrus.” With the contributions of several musical “one-night stands” that Schurr met at parties, recorded, and then generally never saw again, the album reflects a seedy but ultimately empowered sexuality, a control of the artist’s own vision, and a demand for acceptance. Beautifully done, and an artist to watch. –Madelyn Boudreaux

The Brains
Drunk Not Dead
Stomp
Street: 10.25
The Brains = Gutter Demons + the Rockets + Rezurex
Psychobilly is a genre of creativity and originality, so when a band come out sounding just like Demented Are Go or any other of the defining names of psycho, it’s disheartening to me, because the spirit of this music is all about concocting your own mix. The Brains are a breed all their own—it’s obvious to me that they’ve got all the right influences, but they also have the right idea as far as not sounding too much like any of them. Drums and standup bass pump unrelenting rhythms while the tempos of this record never drop below rapid, but that is not to say the melody is at all forgotten—the guitar sound is as rich and colorful as it is snarlingly aggressive. The song “Six Rounds” is among the most atmospheric psychobilly I’ve ever heard. These Canadian psychos change up the language with the French, “Pourquoi Me Laisser” and throw down some Spanish lyrics on “Gato Calavera.” Any stagnancy in the psychobilly genre will soon be cleared out by this band and this record. –James Orme

Cass McCombs
Humor Risk
Domino Records
Street: 11.08
Cass McCombs = Jeff Tweedy x Leonard Cohen
Humor Risk is the second album Cass McCombs has released this year, coming from the same sessions as Wit’s End. Humor Risk presents slightly lighter fare, with a bit more winking humor in the lyrics (“Daniel was a good guy, but a saint he ain’t”), even as Biblical references abound—the title track is “Love Thine Enemy,” and “Mystery Mail” tells of Daniel rotting in a California prison for killing lions. The lyrics here display McCombs’ characteristic close attention to character and narrative, but the songs hew more closely to rock n’ roll than acoustic folk. If levity is a risk, it’s paid off. –Nate Housley

Chasma
Declarations of the Grand Artificer
Moribund Records
Street: 11.22
Chasma = Wolves in the Throne Room + early Immortal + Pelican
Hailing from the school of atmospheric US black metal, Chasma’s album is brutal and atmospheric, the meeting point between rapid blastbeats and doom-laden sludge melodies. Across three lengthy tracks, Declarations of the Grand Artificer is a bleak, emotional piece that blends depressive progressions with the intensity and theater of black metal. Chasma’s riffs build up intensity only to disperse into moody, clean guitars. Instead of getting caught up in experimentation and virtuosity, however, these passages contribute to an overall sense of hopelessness and despair. –Henry Glasheen

Cloud Control
Bliss Release
Ivy League Records
Street: 05.23
Clound Control = The Mamas and the Papas + all that was awesome about the 60s + The Shins + Talking Heads
With beautiful artwork and drawing comparisons to such acts as Fleet Foxes, 60s psych and Jack Kerouac literature, I was more than anxious to dive into this album by Australian band Cloud Control. The album starts like acid. It rolls in with flawless boy/girl vocal harmony before a buzzsaw guitar slides in and shreds everything with gorgeous texture. An organ and sun-drenched guitar floods over it all and thus starts this masterpiece. The entire album has a very live feel and shows how masterful this band is. Seemingly infinite layers intertwine to form indie-pop perfection. The multiple singers in this band often use their voices as instruments. I’m shocked to see that they are a four-piece, being that the album is surprisingly full. The name of the album is Bliss Release, and it is more than fitting. This album is joyful and beautifully chaotic. It’s childlike and playful, yet mature in its instrumentation. –Tom Bennett