June 2, 2006

Russian Circles Enter [3/5] Since the early ’90s, approximately 90 million instrumental-rock bands have filled the underground with difficult time signatures, finger-tapped guitar lines and big dynamic shifts, and none of them has yet eclipsed the colossal figure of Don Caballero. And while Chicago trio Russian Circles aren’t there yet, either, they’re closing in fast....

Path Of Resistance Can’t Stop The Truth [2/5] When the Earth Crisis side project Path Of Resistance debuted in 1997 with Who Dares Wins, the world was a much different place. Metalcore wasn’t all over commercial radio; being vegan was still radical; and most people thought XXX meant, well, porno. While musically, Can’t Stop The...

Ocrilim Anoint [4/5] Mick Barr has recorded solo before: His releases under the name Octis feature his guitar backed by wild drum-machine eruptions. But Anoint is his venture into (sort of) ambient music–assuming you’re the kind of person who finds the endless looping cycles of Steve Reich relaxing instead of maddening. Once again, as he...

The Melvins Houdini Live 2005: A Live History Of Gluttony And Lust [3/5] Produced by Kurt Cobain, the Melvins’ 1993 major-label debut, Houdini, was mostly notable in that it 1) didn’t make the Melvins the next Nirvana; 2) contained the most boring Kiss cover (“Going Blind”) this band could have done; and 3) likely spent...

Lair Of The Minotaur The Ultimate Destroyer [5/5] Don’t let the stinging guitar leads and the huge, thumping drums (from Pelican’s Larry Herwig) fool you: Lair Of The Minotaur’s old-school thrash metal isn’t retro as much as it is classicist, and the Chicago trio are more than willing to embrace recent trends, like ultra-distorted shrieking...

Kalas Kalas [2/5] While it’s kind of sweet to think that Kalas’ lineup includes Andy Branton, whose resume includes not only ’90s crust-punk weirdoes Grimple and Econochrist, but also a stint in Samiam, the second the vocals kick in on the band’s self-titled debut, you know who’s the star here. Setting aside his ax to...

Don Caballero World Class Listening Problem [4/5] It may be weird to see Don Caballero–who released their last album in 2000 prior to, for all intents and purposes, breaking up–reformed with a new lineup around drummer Damon Che, but it’s not hard to believe. For the past 15 years, Che’s polyrhythmic, octopus-limbed drumming–not to mention...

Scott Walker The Drift [5/5] Find yourself wondering just what’s “alternative” anymore? Try this uncompromisingly penetrating work-the latest from a 63-year-old expatriate Yank who, before leaping into the avant-garde deep end with The Drift (and, before it, 1995’s Tilt), made his name blending the stained soul of Jacques Brel into a Sinatra-smooth package of crooning...

MSTRKRFT The Looks [3/5] The distortion-heavy death-storm duo known as Death From Above 1979 are fucking awesome. You understand this. Now, imagine that band channeling their love for noise-caked Black Sabbath licks into pulsating club anthems, and what you get is the two-headed (literally, DFA79 bassist Jesse F. Keeler and producer Al-P) dance monster MSTRKRFT....