Daughters is a strangely grooving maelstrom.

Around since ‘01, the Rhode Island hardcore group has worked through a bevy of lineup changes while maintaining the same dizzying fret work and guitar leads that sound like tornado sirens.

Underneath the madness is a behemoth low end and series of gnarly rock riffs, not unlike Lightning Bolt at times. On top of that are spoken vocals in the vein of The Jesus Lizard, Cougars, etc.

With just its third “full-length” album since 2003 (and first over 25 minutes), Daughters has lengthened its songs a bit, pressing into three- and four-minute territory to expand and better realize its style. Powerful, progressive, and full of grooves, Daughters is the band’s best release to date.

Imperium Dekadenz: Procella Vadens (Season of Mist)

As self-described “intelligent black metal,” the music of Germany’s Imperium Dekadenz reflects influences from its Scandinavian counterparts, but with a stronger balance of melodies, epic arrangements, and acoustic passages.

Haunting minor-key piano melodies and acoustic guitar lead or augment assailing mid-tempo black metal, which levels diminished keys over the steady pounding and relentless double-bass beats of drummer Vespasian.

Joining Vespasian is guitarist/vocalist Horaz, who shares instrumental duties for sorrowful, reverberated clean-channel guitar and a synth-pad backing.  Horaz adds pained shrieks and growls, often recalling Sweden’s At the Gates, and the result is an album that isn’t far removed from the dark beauty of the Swedes’ Slaughter of the Soul.

Imperium Dekadenz: “An Autumn Serenade”
Imperium Dekadenz: \”An Autumn Serenade\”

Liars: Sisterworld (Mute)

Following lengthy stints in cities around the USA and abroad, adventurous art-rock trio Liars has returned to LA and released an album that was inspired by the city of its origin.

Fans of the band have known to expect the unexpected, and Sisterworld is no different.  “Scissor,” the album’s opener and successful single, morphs from harmonized wails to big rock action.  Beautiful ascending strings, guitar, and piano highlight “Here Comes All the People,” which builds to a tension.

Other pieces either hit or miss: “Drip,” for example, essentially is circular noise until a piano wanders into the frame, taking attention off unnecessary vocal offerings.

Nevertheless, Sisterworld is another bold effort from a group that is keeping “post-indie” rock interesting.

Aloha: Home Acres (Polyvinyl)

Known by many as “that indie-rock band with the marimba,” Aloha is now four albums into its era with T.J. Lipple, a multi-instrumentalist producer who helped expand the band’s style with Here Comes Everyone in 2004.

Home Acres continues lengthening the quartet’s reach ever so slightly.  Original tracking for the album took place back in 2007, and since that time, Aloha rebuilt a number of songs with different instruments.

“Moonless March” is one of the album’s hardest-rocking tunes, with distorted bass and snare rolls as the foundation for the song’s melodies.  “White Wind,” though a bit new for Aloha, reflects the mood of modern indie music with soft, multi-tracked vocal harmonies taking the spotlight.

In all, it’s another sound effort.  Fans won’t be disappointed.

Aloha: “Moonless March”
Aloha: \”Moonless March\”

Honorable Mentions

Acrassicauda: Only the Dead See the End of the War (Vice)

Besnard Lakes: Besnard Lakes are the Roaring Night (Jagjaguwar)

Eluveitie: Everything Remains: As it Never Was (Nuclear Blast)

Gonjasufi: A Sufi and a Killer (Warp)

Gorillaz: Plastic Beach (Virgin)

Iannis Xenakis: Works with Piano (Mode)

Zu: The Way of the Animal Powers reissue (Public Guilt)

Shepard Fairey's artwork for Li(f)e by Sage Francis

Shepard Fairey, one of our least favorite pop-culture artists, has created the artwork for the album Li(f)e by Sage Francis, one of our favorite pop-culture artists.

“I really wanted to get a Shepard Fairey album cover sometime in my career,” Francis explains. “I eventually sent him a picture of me which was taken at my most destitute time when I didn’t have anything and I was crashing on my friend’s floor. I was making music but I had to obscure the way I looked because it didn’t fit in with the way people thought hip-hop was supposed to be. But eventually I just took this really ugly photo of myself in all my mutton chop biker mustache whiteness and made it my logo. And Shepard used that old photograph to make this amazing image for the album’s cover.”

Sage Francis Tour Dates:

SXSW @ The Independent on Thursday, March 18 at 12:30 a.m.

05/12/10 Cambridge, MA Middle East Downstairs 480 Massachusetts Ave

05/13/10 S. Burlington, VT. Higher Ground 1214 Williston Rd

05/14/10 Portland, ME. Port City Music Hall 504 Congress St

05/15/10 Ottawa, ON. Ritual Nightclub 137 Besserer Street

05/16/10 Toronto ONT The Opera House 735 Queen St. East

05/18/10 Detroit, MI. Alvin’s  5756 Cass Ave.

05/19/10 Detroit, MI. The Bottom Lounge 1375 W Lake St

05/20/10 Milwaukee, WI. Turner Hall 1032 North Fourth St.

05/21/10 Minneapolis MN First Avenue, 701 First Avenue North

05/22/10 Columbia MO, The Blue Note 17 North Ninth Street

05/24/10 Englewood, CO. Gothic Theatre 3263 South Broadway

05/25/10 Salt Lake City, UT. Urban Lounge 241 South 500 East

05/26/10 Missoula MT. Badlander 208 Ryman St

05/28/10 Edmonton, AB. The Starlite Room 10030 102 Street NW

05/29/10 Calgary, AB. Distillery 615 7 Ave

05/31/10 Vancouver, BC. The Biltmore Cabaret, 2755 Prince Edward St.

06/01/10 Seattle WA, Showbox SoDo 1700 1st Ave.

06/02/10 Portland, OR. Berbati’s Pan 231 SW Ankeny

06/04/10 San Francisco CA, The Fillmore 1805 Geary Blvd.

06/05/10 Santa Cruz, CA. The Catalyst 1011 Pacific Avenue

06/06/10 Los Angeles CA, Henry Fonda Theater 6126 Hollywood Blvd.

06/07/10 Solana Beach, CA. Belly Up Tavern 143 S. Cedros Ave.

06/09/10 Pomona, CA. The Glass House 200 West Second Street

06/10/10 Tempe, AZ. The Clubhouse 1320 E. Broadway Rd.

06/11/10 Tucson AZ, Club Congress 311 East Congress

06/12/10 Albuquerque NM Sunshine Theater 120 Central Ave. SW

06/14/10 TX, .DALLAS Granada Theatre 3524 Greenville Avenue

06/15/10 Austin TX, Mohawk, 912 Red River

06/16/10 Houston TX House of Blues – Houston 1204 Caroline Street

06/18/10 Orlando FL Club at Firestone 578 North Orange Ave.

06/19/10 Atlanta, GA. The Loft 1374 W. Peachtree

06/21/10 Carrboro , NC. Cat’s Cradle 300 East Main Street

06/22/10 Washington DC Rock and Roll Hotel 1353 H St. NE

06/23/10 Baltimore MD, The Ottobar, 2549 North Howard St.

06/24/10 Philadelphia, PA. Trocadero, 1003 Arch Street

06/25/10 New York NY. Webster Hall, 125 East 11th St.

Going way back with Sage Francis, rapper B. Dolan is a like-minded MC and slam poet whose style isn’t terribly dissimilar to that of his long-time friend.  The two co-founded knowmore.org, a resource for raising awareness about corporate practices, and his inclusion on Francis’ label is fitting.

Fallen House, Sunken City is Dolan’s second full-length for Strange Famous, and it’s full of the sociopolitical themes (if often in quick blasts or asides) and contentious delivery for which he’s known.

What combines to make the album a great hip-hop disc is the A-list production by Alias, whose ability to shift gears keeps Fallen House, Sunken City fresh.  This is particularly true when it shifts gears to jams like “Border Crossing,” a tune that evokes a group like Slavic Soul Party with Balkan-flavored horn cuts and marching-band accoutrement.

In addition to some seemingly personal lyrics, Dolan takes passing shots at big business, taxation, the pharmaceutical industry, the concept of ownership of natural resources, the Israeli razing of Palestinian developments, and, among many other things, the so-called new world order — dropping clips of Dick Cheney and George H.W. Bush in “The Reptilian Agenda.”

On top of these strengths, P.O.S and Cadence Weapon appear on “The Fall of T.R.O.Y.”  When 2010 is said and done, Fallen House, Sunken City should stand as one of the year’s best hip-hop releases.

B. Dolan: “The Reptilian Agenda”
B. Dolan: \”The Reptilian Agenda\”

Mortemia: Misere Mortem (Napalm)

Norwegian one-man band Morten Veland has decades of experience in the Scandinavian metal scene, notably with goth-metal groups Tristania and Sirenia.  Now, after beginning a new solo endeavor as Mortemia, Veland delivers an epic fusion of black metal and classical, with vocals that alternate between his growls and grandiose choirs.

On the heels of great releases by Japan’s Sigh, Norway’s Shining, and Greece’s Rotting Christ, Mortemia adds to what already was a great winter for soaring, adventurous metal.  The project maintains some of the gothic influence of his former groups, and at times, especially with Veland’s vocals and piano lines, it draws parallels to Cradle of Filth.

Absent are the female lead vocals of the older projects, which often came off as melodramatic.  Many also will dub Mortemia as campy, but there’s no denying the striking musicianship of Veland, who remarkably performs and programs every instrument on Misere Mortem.

Mortemia: “The New Desire” (edit)
Mortemia: \”The New Desire\”

Architect: Consume Adapt Create (Hymen)

Many electronic artists prefer to record under an assortment of aliases, and Daniel Myer is no exception.  Operating as half of German live-IDM duo Haujobb, Myer owns a rap sheet of solo and group projects, and one notable credit — in addition to his soundtrack work for XBox game Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus — is Architect.

Each track is different, but Consume Adapt Create is best defined by its hard-hitting breakbeats and synthesized industrial.  Still, there are plenty of dance and groove elements, and like other Architect releases, this should appeal to different segments of the electronica crowd.

Architect: “Fast Lane (Freeze Frame)” (excerpt)
Architect: \”Fast Lane (Freeze Frame)\” (excerpt)

Honorable mentions

Jaguar Love: Hologram Jams (Fat Possum)
Loscil: Endless Falls (Kranky)
Motorpsycho: Heavy Metal Fruit (Rune Grammofon)
Rogue Wave: Permalight (Brushfire)
The Ruby Suns: Fight Softly (Sub Pop)
Stake Off the Witch: Medusa (Fuzzorama)
V/A: Next Stop…Soweto (Strut)
Josiah Wolf: Jet Lag (Anticon)
Yellow Swans: Going Places (Type)

Currently, P.S.1 is housing Argentinean artist Leandro Erlich’s Swimming Pool, a site specific installation created to trick the viewer’s perspective. Erlich constructed a full size pool that, when approached from the first floor, visitors see people, fully clothed, standing, walking and breathing underneath the surface of the water. However, once entering the basement of the duplex, visitors recognize the pool is empty and only a visual trick.

2822 Records (PS1), 1987-2009 by Christian Marclay is also on display through April 5 and consists of 12 inch records from every musical genre and style laid out over the space’s floor. Marclay invites visitors to walk on the artwork, highlighting the experiential qualities of music and vinyl.

P.S.1 presents over fifty exhibitions each year including site specific installations, artists’ retrospectives, historical surveys, art from across the country and world, plus a full schedule of performance and music programming.

Leandro Erlich

Christian Marclay

Gallery Spotlight, by Shelby Blitz, is a series of weekly short features on art exhibitions, and the galleries that host them, from all corners of the world.

Five years have passed since we’ve heard the powerhouse melodies of Norway’s Jaga Jazzist, the conception of brothers Lars and Martin Horntveth. Though the band is much closer to elaborate post-rock or “nü-jazz,” a few of the group’s winding passages and pieces of its instrumental setup reflect the genre for which it is named.

One-Armed Bandit, immediately the group’s best album, resembles symphonic prog rock, arguably a few steps removed from parts of Frank Zappa’s expansive catalog and closer to countryman Jono El Grande’s diverse and theatrical style.

This album, however, is much more cohesive than either of those comparisons suggest, and at times it is nearly overwhelming with grooves and harmonious refrains. Though there is no shortage of talent, there also is no shortage of accessibility.

After an instantly hummable call-and-answer melody, the album’s title track shifts to a trio of passages that sound as though they were designed for the slot-machine artwork that accompanies the album. Marimba, harpsichord, fuzzy bass, and slide guitar steal much of the show on this first standout on a disc of standouts, and the group’s noted assortment expands from there.

If you’re already a fan or have never heard Jaga Jazzist, One-Armed Bandit is not to be missed.

Jaga Jazzist: “One-Armed Bandit” (edit)
Jaga Jazzist: \”One-Armed Bandit\” (edit)

Rob Swift: The Architect (Ipecac)

Turntablist/DJ Robert Aguilar, formerly of the X-ecutioners, has long utilized his love of jazz, R&B, and other musical movements to create compelling hip-hop instrumentals while displaying his tight beat-juggling skills.

The Architect is Swift’s foray into the classical world. In addition to a multitude of sampled styles and sounds, classical cuts comprise a substantial chunk of this Ipecac debut. Rearranged strings, organ, and horns often make the foundation of a given track, occasionally evoking high-tension Italian Westerns, as Swift’s scratches dance atop banging beats.

A few pieces are separated into movements as certain sounds act as themes, and guest MC Breez Evahflowin (the album’s only vocalist) continues the homage while rapping about the album’s concept on tracks “Principio” and “Ultimo.”

Though some may pigeonhole The Architect because of its direction, the truth is that it’s an eclectic instrumental album — a dynamic DJ disc that certainly should be experienced live. Pick this up.

Rob Swift: “The Architect”
Rob Swift: \”The Architect\”

High on Fire: Snakes for the Divine (E1 Music)

Stoner-metal trio High on Fire has built a devoted following over the past dozen years as fans fell in love with Matt Pike’s gruff vocals and thunderous guitar riffs.

On Snakes for the Divine, Pike uses his throat to channel Lemmy Kilmister; meanwhile, the band has picked up its pace and crafted an album that isn’t as outstretched. Hard-hitting riffery leads an effort that, though diverse at times, may be the band’s most driving release.

The production by Greg Fidelman (Metallica’s Death Magnetic) is getting a lot of attention, and rightfully so — the kick drum often sounds like a popping thud, and the vocals are too high in the mix. But overall, the mix is beefier and conveys a sense of urgency; High on Fire hasn’t sounded quite like this before.

High on Fire: “Snakes for the Divine”
High on Fire: \”Snakes for the Divine\”

Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté: Ali and Toumani (Nonesuch)

As two of Africa’s most internationally renowned musicians, guitar legend Ali Farka Touré and kora phenom Toumani Diabaté have displayed impeccable abilities while integrating the styles of other cultures into their ethnic sounds.

Each Malian, the two collaborated for the acclaimed In the Heart of the Moon in 2005, shortly before Farka Touré’s passing in 2006.  Fortunately, the two set aside time to record new material before touring for In the Heart of the Moon, and the result is another beautiful set of duets that sees a posthumous release.

Throughout Ali and Toumani, Farka Touré roots each creation in melodious African-blues pieces.  Diabaté’s virtuosity accents each track in the form of fanciful scales, which at times evoke classical harpsichord passages, perhaps most notably on “Sabu Yerkoy.”

The album most certainly will garner major accolades in world-music circles.  More importantly, it will stand as a final remembrance for Farka Touré.

Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté: “Ruby” (excerpt)
Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté: \”Ruby\” (excerpt)

Valgeir Sigurðsson: Draumalandið (Dreamland) soundtrack (Bedroom Community)

Icelandic producer Valgeir Sigurðsson has worked with a host of high-profile artists: Björk, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Nico Muhly, Múm, and many more.  But despite nearly a decade of noteworthy production work, it wasn’t until 2007 that he released his first official solo album, Ekvílibríum, a dreamy electro-acoustic work.

Now Sigurðsson has released the soundtrack to Draumalandið (Dreamland), a documentary about the exploitation of Iceland’s natural resources.  The score, a gentle and mini-orchestral work, is a much more elaborate affair — but one that manages, despite its layers, to feel as sparse as much of the Icelandic landscape.

Swelling and crackling electro-folk turns into uneasy chamber pieces.  Often, the score is circular and dramatic, as in the title track, based on a simple up-scaling piano progression that is complemented by a glockenspiel or xylophone. The tempo of “Dreamland” picks up and slows at key spots, capturing an important dynamic.

Muhly and countrymen Sam Amidon, Ben Frost, Daníel Bjarnason, and a host of others lend their talents to Dreamland, a score that proves Sigurðsson capable of much more than augmenting the work of others.

Valgeir Sigurðsson : “Dreamland”
Valgeir Sigurdsson: \”Dreamland\”

Rotting Christ: Aealo (Season of Mist)

Despite the shock-value name, Greek black-metal quartet Rotting Christ is much more than a sacrilegious aggro band.

For more than 20 years, the Athens band traversed different directions on the metal path.  However, with its last release, Theogonia, the group released a striking, original album that fused its dark sound to the ethnic sounds of its ancestors.

Like its predecessor, Aealo features female Benedictine chants, lingual pipes, and a medieval feel.  Combined with dueling high-pitched harmonies and powerful guitar work, these new elements highlight an album that should be among the most original metal releases of the year.

Rotting Christ: “Aealo”
Rotting Christ: \”Aealo\”

Honorable Mentions

Cindy Blackman: Another Lifetime (tribute to Tony Williams) (Four Quarters Entertainment)

Johnny Cash: American VI: Ain’t No Grave (American)

Eluvium: Similes (Temporary Residence)

Quasi: American Gong (Kill Rock Stars)

Terry Riley: Autodreamographical Tales (Tzadik)

Jack Rose: Luck in the Valley (Thrill Jockey)

Misrach was considered by many a pioneer in the 1970s for his use of color photography and his work can be seen in over fifty museum collections worldwide. With this series, he again pushes the boundaries; his photographs range in size from 4 by 6 feet to nearly 8 by 10 feet and are almost all created without film.

Through digital photography, Misrach creates images of landscapes and seascapes in reverse color spectrum by using a positive capture (the equivalent of a negative from a film camera). This series continues his work in photographing the American landscape but transforms it into an alternate reality.

The ocean takes on pink and red hues while rocky landscapes along the coast of Oregon look like ice sculptures. His subjects look other worldly yet familiar at the same time.

Pyramid Lake (at night), 2004

Gallery Spotlight, by Shelby Blitz, is a series of weekly short features on art exhibitions, and the galleries that host them, from all corners of the world.

The Bastard Noise / The Endless Blockade

A spinoff of treasured “power-violence” hardcore group Man is the Bastard, The Bastard Noise is approaching its 20th anniversary of creating noisy electro-doom brutality.

To its credit, The Bastard Noise continues to push boundaries, and for this split release with hardcore/punk experimentalists The Endless Blockade, the group utilizes the trademark drum-and-bass style of Man is the Bastard in combination with its far-out sounds.

Death-metal growls and demonic shrieks cover doom riffs and crushing bass chords, which quickly shift into progressive leads. Squealing, whirring electronic sounds further the ominous style — one that fans of the genre surely will love.

The Endless Blockade contributes three tracks to the release — one 14-minute epic and two avant-garde remixes. In “Deuteronomy,” the marathon jam, hardcore/punk aggression gives way to circular, high-pitched effects and sludge breakdowns.

The first remix, “Advanced Directive,” is an interpretation by Noah Creshevsky, a peerless patchwork composer/re-arranger who just released his own disc of inspired creations. The result, to say the least, is wild.

The Bastard Noise: “Mutant World of Shame / Underworld”
The Bastard Noise: \”Mutant World of Shame / Underworld\”

Freeway & Jake One: The Stimulus Package (Rhymesayers)

Continuing his life after Roc-A-Fella Records, former freestyle star Freeway now makes his debut on Rhymesayers, a fitting new home — if only temporary before a move to Cash Money.

Fellow Rhymesayers standout Jake One provides a funky, malleable backdrop for Freeway’s fiery delivery and lyrics that are alternately personal and light in content. And though Freeway deserves his accolades, Jake One’s production is the MVP of this collaboration.

Jake One’s capabilities are on display from the get-go, as the party jam “Throw Your Hands Up” follows a soulful R&B intro track. A few tracks later, “Never Gonna Change” presents one of the most unique tracks on the album with a shifting rhythm (4/4 to 3/4 and back), glockenspiel, harmonized backing vocals, and sampled strings.

If you dig the music, be sure to pick up a physical copy. The Stimulus Package comes complete with awesome monetarily themed packaging.

Freeway & Jake One: “Know What I Mean”
Freeway & Jake One: \”Know What I Mean\”

The Souljazz Orchestra: Rising Sun (Strut)

Ottawa’s Souljazz Orchestra, now with a quartet of expertly delivered albums, is much more than just another Afro-jazz ensemble.

With just six core members, the group uses its newest full-length — its first all-acoustic effort — to twirl through funk, Latin, African, down-tempo jazz, and big-band bits.

After a stirring piano-led intro and the full-blown Afrobeat of “Agbara” (heard below), “Negus Negast” vies for the title of album’s best with a grooving marching-funk foundation that supports a dazzling Asian flavor.

Rising Sun is challenging but accessible, and it never loses sight of its inherent mission: to get listeners moving. When 2010 comes to a close, this should stand among the best jazz-crossover discs of the year.

The Souljazz Orchestra: “Agbara”
The Souljazz Orchestra: \”Agbara\”

Mako Sica: Dual Horizon LP (La Société Expéditionnaire)

A translation of the phrase “land bad,” Mako Sica has more than a nominal Native American influence; the trio’s distant vocal reverberations and dirge-inspired tunes recall the spirituality of America’s original inhabitants.

Between the vocalizations of Brent Fuscaldo, the melodies of guitarist Przemyslaw Krys Drazek, and the rhythms of drummer Michael J. Kendrick, Mako Sica maintains a strong balance of abilities — with a brooding combination of jangly guitars, reverberated vociferation, and instrumental dynamics.

Though this is just the trio’s debut, Mako Sica already has been featured on NPR’s acclaimed world-music program, Radio M — and it won’t be the last time if the band continues what it started on Dual Horizon.

Mako Sica: I’Itoi
Mako Sica: \”I\’Itoi\”

Carolina Chocolate Drops: Genuine Negro Jig (Nonesuch)

Beholden to the traditions of Americana and early African-American folk, the string trio Carolina Chocolate Drops continues blurring the lines of old and new.

On Genuine Negro Jig, the group’s fifth album, a few original numbers and a trove of traditionals take root in banjo, fiddle, and percussion. Three-part harmonies shimmer on the famous folk tune “Trouble in Your Mind,” and simplicity shines on gripping renditions of “Why Don’t You Do Right?” by Kansas Joe McCoy and “Trampled Rose” by Tom Waits.

Most surprisingly, Genuine Negro Jig includes an enjoyable rendition of “Hit ‘Em Up Style,” an unintentionally farcical pop hit by Blu Cantrell, a multi-talented producer who is best known as an early-2000s one-hit wonder. Easily the most mainstream cut on the disc, the song (reenacted with beat-boxing) describes the shopping-spree revenge of a woman who gets back at her unfaithful man by snatching his credit cards.

Carolina Chocolate Drops: “Hit ‘Em Up Style” (excerpt)
Carolina Chocolate Drops: \”Hit \’Em Up Style\” (excerpt)

Honorable Mentions

Dday One: Heavy Migration LP reissue (Crosstalk Int.)

The Seven Fields of Aphelion: Periphery (Graveface)

V/A: Next Stop Soweto: Township Sounds From The Golden Age Of Mbaqanga (Strut)

Known for his dynamic process by carving, scratching or flattening paint and picture plane, Schneider looks at himself as a subject of his work. In Self Portrait as Missing the artist’s body is completely missing except for a silhouette sitting on a couch surrounded by brightly colored, empty bottles.

I’m All Around You depicts a picturesque village scene, reflected in crystal clear water and devoid of human interaction. Here, Schneider attempts to show what is important to humans and what exactly is missing. While Thanks For Sharing shows a picnic table filled with food and only arms reaching in from the edges of the canvas.

I'm All Around You

Thanks For Sharing

Gallery Spotlight, by Shelby Blitz, is a series of weekly short features on art exhibitions, and the galleries that host them, from all corners of the world.

This time around Botha decided to be the subject of a series of photographs taken by Cape Town photographer Gordon Clark. The pair were strangers going into this project but in the end found out they had a lot in common.

The main theme to the series of photographs is mortality and immortality, how much time do we have left on the earth and how will we be judged once we die? Looking at the pictures many viewers wind up asking themselves, “What’s normal?” which is what Clark said he was going for. He wanted to show reality and not hide it.

Botha is definitely the right subject to do just that. The pictures are shocking, surreal and sometimes hard to look at.  Botha appears super fragile, like in “Last Round” where he is in a boxing ring wearing shorts that seem way too big and boxing gloves that look like they are weighing down his arms. Or on the other hand, he can look beastly, like in “See No Evil 1 and 2” where he is painted completely red and holding a butcher knife.

Gallery Spotlight, by Shelby Blitz, is a series of weekly short features on art exhibitions, and the galleries that host them, from all corners of the world.

Gil Scott-Heron: I’m New Here (XL)

An iconic poet/musician whose soulful spoken-word style helped give rise to rapping, Gil Scott-Heron has been proclaimed a major influence in hip hop, neo-soul, and acid jazz. His political activism has been at the forefront of his noted career, which includes the acclaimed poem/song “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.”

Now, marking another landmark moment in his career, Scott-Heron has released I’m New Here, his first full-length since the 1994 album Spirits, which too was something of a “comeback” — his first studio album since 1982.

Produced by XL label owner Richard Russell, who convinced Scott-Heron to go back into the studio, I’m New Here is an atmospheric, down-tempo disc of diversity.

Acoustic pseudo-ballads are accented by electronics, dramatic strings, and piano in a combination of new poems, covers, and interludes. It’s a release that feels extremely personal, whether from the lyrical content or Scott-Heron’s familiar voice.

Gil Scott-Heron: “Where Did the Night Go”
Gil Scott-Heron: \”Where Did the Night Go\”

Pillars and Tongues: Lay of Pilgrim Park LP + download (Endless Nest)

With just three members, Pillars and Tongues manages to craft powerful folk abstractions and interwoven, trance-inducing vocal dynamics. Both composed and improvisational, these shifting forms evoke spiritual vibes in their soulful essence, heavenly harmonies, and repeated patterns.

Violin, upright bass, and drums and other percussive elements slowly build and fall. Each member contributes to the layered vocal harmonics, often trading rounds of the same melody or balancing pitches as a low or intermediate voice begins a wordless refrain. Fans of Huun Huur Tu, Charming Hostess / Jewlia Eisenberg, and other vocally driven experimentalists will love this.

Pillars and Tongues: “The Center of”
Pillars and Tongues: \”The Center Of\”

Arsis: Starve for the Devil (Nuclear Blast)

A major force in metal just six years after its debut, Arsis is a Virginia quartet that boasts tireless harmonized shredding. Thrash and black metal, gently crossing into death metal, form the basis of a sound that leans on flawless technical proficiency in accessible time signatures.

Starve for the Devil trends towards the melodic end of the band’s material, but there’s no shortage of full-speed aggression. Riff lovers will get their money’s worth with this one.

Hot Chip: One Life Stand (Astralwerks)

Hot Chip’s brand of synthesized dance pop has allowed the keyboarded quintet to climb the UK charts and garner heaps of attention in the United States.

One Life Stand is another disc chock full of dance-floor albums, albeit a bit more restrained than on albums past. The gentle vocals of Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard will continue receiving much of the attention from casual listeners, but One Life Stand really shines with its diversity of synth sounds and instrumental complements (such as the touches from Trinidadian steel-pan player Fimber Bravo).

Massive Attack: Heligoland (Virgin)

Seven years after its last studio offering, commercially thriving electronic producers Massive Attack — closely tied to the trip-hop explosion of the early 1990s — have finally released their long-awaited fifth album, Heligoland.

With Grantley Evan Marshall, a.k.a. Daddy G, back on board in the studio, the group attains a multitude of electronic styles on Heligoland, thanks to its divergence of tastes as well as the usual assortment of guests.

This time, Massive Attack collaborates with Tunde Adebimpe (TV on the Radio), Damon Albarn (Blur), Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star), Martina Topley-Bird, Adrian Utley (Portishead), and Billy Fuller (Beak). The result is a minimalist electro dreamscape, one that should appeal to a sizable cross-section of music fans.

Honorable Mentions

Bluebrain: Soft Power (Lujo)
Galactic: Ya-Ka-May (Anti-)
Georgia Anne Muldrow: Kings Ballad (Ubiquity)
Shining (Sweden): VI / Klagopsalmer (Indie Recordings)
This Moment in Black History: Public Square (Smog Veil)