El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez Lopez: Cryptomnesia I (Rodriguez Lopez Productions)
The latest in Omar Rodriguez Lopez’s ceaseless output, El Grupo Nuevo… functions as a wild Mars-Volta-meets-Hella side project, uniting key players from both outfits.
Hella beat-meister Zach Hill and synth bassist Jonathan Hischke help provide riotous rhythms with Mars Volta bassist Juan Alderete de la Peña, and Omar’s long-running musical partner, Cedric Bixler Zavala, tops eight tunes with his quivering falsettos. Omar steers the ship and does his thing, but this is a much spacier and progressive release than a Mars Volta disc.
Overlapping rhythms rule much of Cryptomnesia I, the first of three albums recorded by this super-group back in 2006. The result is dynamite, and the good news is that two more albums are in the pipes despite The Mars Volta being Omar’s top priority.
El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez Lopez: “They’re Coming to Get You, Barbara”
El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez Lopez: \”They\’re Coming to Get You, Barbara\”
Isis: Wavering Radiant (Ipecac)
Since Oceanic changed its trajectory, sludge quintet Isis has leveled epic enhancements over its weighty creations. Each successive album has found the group expanding its melodies, singing vocals, and effects, and Wavering Radiant adds a bit more to the well-established mixture.
Tracks like opener “Hall of the Dead” have a minor throwback effect, incorporating palm-muted triplet guitar riffs and growls that may not have been as throaty since The Red Sea EP. But the tune also leans on organ and synthesizer, two newer elements that crop up throughout this balanced disc.
There’s no significant change of direction here, but The Wavering Radiant is a greater step towards Isis’ sonic self-realization. Make sure to check out “Threshold of Transformation,” the great 10-minute jam and album closer below.
Isis: “Threshold of Transformation”
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Jon Hopkins: Insides (Domino)
It’s been five years since the last full-length album from London pianist / electronic producer Jon Hopkins, a widely acclaimed crossover artist that garners comparisons to Brian Eno. In the meantime, the classically trained musician has created a more-flexible, more-organic landscape to showcase his talents, which shine on Insides.
Alternately distant and engaging, Insides is a beautiful work that scores great guest cameos. Its diverse mix keeps the sound from going stale and will ensure a broad appeal.
Jon Hopkins: “Light Through the Veins”
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Nomo: Invisible Cities (Ubiquity)
Fusing funk, Afrobeat, electronica, jazz, and many other worldly elements, the style of interstate collective Nomo manages to sound much more fluid than it appears on paper.
Led by saxophonist Elliot Bergman, the group has promptly provided a sequel to last June’s Ghost Rock with Invisible Cities. Recorded during the Ghost Rock sessions, this disc scales back the electric-kalimba loops that flavored much of its predecessor, although a few pronounced moments remain — including the lead-in on “Crescent,” which sets the table for some show-stealing fancy flutework.
Invisible Cities also incorporates Latin influences (“Waiting”), funky rock (“Patterns”), a dissonant, minimalist guitar pattern with soulful backing vocals (“Ma”), and a half-improvised requiem (“Elijah”). Bands don’t often record two discs of killer material at the same time, so this compelling “sister album” may be a portent of greater things to come.
Nomo: “Patterns”
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Yoshida Brothers: Prism (Domo)
Best known in the US for their accompaniment to Nintendo Wii commercials, these shamisen-wielding brothers present an active homage to traditional Japanese music. Much more so than previous releases, Prism is greatly infused with other styles, tapping rock, folk, neoclassical, film scores, and more in collaboration with great guest musicians.
The disc opens with a bouncing rendition of “The National Anthem” by Radiohead, setting an energetic tone for an album that gracefully bobs and weaves. If you’re looking for a great introduction to the brothers’ catalog, pick this up.
Pink Mountain: s/t (Sickroom)
Another progressive super-group — albeit with much more obscure members — Pink Mountain is an avant-gardist’s wet dream.
Sam Coomes (Quasi), Kyle Bruckmann (Lozenge), Gino Robair (Splatter Trio), Scott Rosenberg (P.A.F.), and John Shiurba (Eskimo) comprise the quintet, which draws inspiration from psychedelic jams, free-jazz improvisation, prog rock, and spacey transmissions.
This self-titled disc is the group’s second release, following its little-known but acclaimed album (also self-titled) for Frenetic Records. This one is more cohesive, darker, and more progressive, and anyone into math/stoner/noise realms is sure to love it.
Read Frank Parisi’s interview with Pink Mountain.
Pink Mountain: “Ditch Witch”
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Tags: Brian Eno, Cedric Bixler Zavala, Domino, Domo, El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez Lopez, Elliot Bergman, Gino Robair, Hella, Ipecac, Isis, Jon Hopkins, Kyle Bruckmann, Lozenge, NOMO, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Pink Mountain, Quasi, Radiohead, Rodriguez Lopez Productions, Sickroom, Splatter Trio, The Mars Volta, Ubiquity, Yoshida Brothers, Zach Hill