At the end of World War II, the victors, i.e. the USA and USSR, split the territories they’d defeated along ideological lines.

By the 1990s, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins had been relegated to the annals of obscurity.

What if pop music actually aspired to be art? Honnda, aka Brooklyn’s Amnon Freidlin (Mouthguard88, Normal Love, ex-Zs), makes it happen on his brilliant collection of spastic cartoon dubstep/house hybrids.

After eleven years of mind-blowing releases, Italy’s Black Rainbows deliver their sixth, best, most solid album yet.

In the middle of political turbulence, modern American punk rock seems oblivious and apathetic, even in the face of underground clubs closing doors across the country.

Springfield, MO synth punks Kudzu return with a sophomore effort full of driving beats and infectious melodies.

Though hip-hop has historically been male-dominated, a few strong women have risen over the years to remind the boys that the girls can dish it out even better.

In 1997, guitarist Eddie Glass and drummer Ruben Romano left stoner rock kings Fu Manchu to pursue a slightly different sound than their alma mater.

In May of 2017, Spain’s Wau y los Arrrghs!!! played their final show, ending an uncompromising fourteen-year garage onslaught.

After the demise of Throbbing Gristle in 1981, frontman Genesis P-Orridge formed Psychic TV with former bandmate Peter Christopherson as an audio/visual enterprise building on the mindset of their former group.

Political electronic pioneers Meat Beat Manifesto, led by lone remaining founding member Jack Dangers, continues evolving their ever-morphing sound with a nod to ’90s darkness on their first album in seven years.

By 1975, sex-funk queen Betty Davis had assembled her own band, about half of which were family, and poised to conquer the music industry with her tightest, heaviest album to date and debut for Island Records.

Hailing from Crete, residing in Athens, Greece, female/male bass/drums duo Hand & Leg offer a perplexing full-length that weaves post-punk, goth and noise rock into a unified vision.

Kobe, Japan’s Gutara Kyo explode with an impressive blast of early ’80s-style hardcore, reminding us that there’s more to the Land of the Rising Sun than noise.

Four recently discovered archival recordings of furniture designer/sculptor Harry Bertoia join a fascinating documentary short made while the artist was still alive for an essential deluxe release.

Between blowing minds with Zs albums, sax god Sam Hillmer devotes time to his solo noise/drone project Diamond Terrifier.

By mid-1970, singer/producer/songwriter Lee Hazlewood had broken up with his girlfriend and his label LHI Industries was floundering.

For eleven years, Michigan’s Grand Valley State University New Music Ensemble has received deserved accolades for their interpretations of Steve Reich and Terry Riley.

New Orleans funk originators The Meters never saw mainstream success but are continually revered for their unique contributions to the genre.

In celebration of what would have been his sixty-seventh birthday, a third volume of Patrick Cowley’s unreleased electronic compositions pairs his famed gay porn soundtracks with demos for his seminal 1982 album Mind Warp (Megatone), plus a few archival recordings, into what is probably his most coherent posthumous collection to date.

Just in time for Samhain, Gundella’s classic obscure educational record about witchcraft sees its very first reissue for the millennium’s uninitiated.

San Francisco space cadets Turn Me On Dead Man return with their fifth offering of psychedelic interstellar metal.

Three years after their stellar eponymous debut, The Luxembourg Signal deliver a strong sophomore followup.

German trio Mother Engine return with their third full-length of sprawling prog-inspired instrumentals.

Italy’s heaviest band delivers a sophomore monolith that makes them serious contenders in the global doom coliseum.

Historically, music has been an extraordinarily potent form of rebellion.

Paul Snowden, the brain behind London’s Time Attendant, returns with a new LP that successfully bridges the gap between glitch beats and Berlin school electronics.

Roman power trio Fvzz Popvli celebrate fuzz their own way on a debut full-length that will likely leave many scratching their heads.

Nearly two decades on, Brooklyn’s twelve-piece afrobeat ensemble Antibalas shows no signs of slowing down on its powerful sixth full-length.

Before becoming a revered Oscar-nominated A-list actor, Will Smith was one half of a hip-hop duo who not only placed Philadelphia on the map, but also achieved wide mainstream success with the genre’s first double LP.

Before Bruce Dickinson became known as the wailing banshee of Iron Maiden, he fronted Samson, a vehicle for Paul Samson, a guitarist who peacefully resides as an unheard giant of the new wave of British heavy metal.

In 1989, Ravi Shankar delivered a powerful dance-drama, sort of an Indian ballet, to the Birmingham Touring Opera Company on commission.

Between 1964 and 1968, Loma Records, an imprint of Warner Brothers that began as a commercial enterprise, became the conglomerate’s soul division under label head Bob Krasnow (formerly of Del-Fi, Autumn, and King Records).

During his lifetime, West Yorkshire, UK-born Alan Sutcliffe (1930-2014) founded the Computer Arts Society, produced animation for Ridley Scott’s 1979 film Alien (seen in the cover art) and acted as part-time director for Electronic Music Studios, creators of the EMS Synthi AKS.

Sardinia’s The Rippers return with their fifth full-length that shows their blistering freakbeat at full tilt.

Before poet Allen Ginsberg recorded the legendary sessions that would end up on last year’s phenomenal The Last Word on First Blues collection, he paid tribute to his hero and inspiration William Blake by setting the master’s words to music for what would be his debut non-spoken word album.

Two and a half years after their beautiful, stellar debut, The Luxembourg Signal finally return with an expanded lineup and a pair of excellent songs.

New Yorker Edward Rogers returns with his strongest and most varied album to date while examining America’s cultural obsession with the boob tube.

Kiwis are generally known for being polite, but Auckland’s Cavemen strive to destroy that stereotype with yet another blast of feral trash rock slime.

Through the ’70s and into the ’80s, Yuri Morozov recorded over 46 albums in numerous genres that were passed around Russian underground music circles in defiance of Soviet control.

English electronic music pioneers Coldcut join forces with the godfather of British dub Adrian Sherwood, aka On-U Sound, for sixteen slabs of heavy dub infusion.

Barcelona, Spain’s Cachemira explode with a stoner-friendly debut straight out of the Summer of Love.

A large part of what made Jennifer Kent’s 2014 horror film The Babadook so effective was Jed Kurzel’s unsettling score.

Milan, Italy’s Giöbia see their undisputed 2015 masterpiece remastered, repackaged and reissued for all the world to finally hear properly.

In case you haven’t heard, B-52s vocalist Fred Schneider has been active with his new band The Superions (Noah Brodie and Dan Marshall) for over a decade.

Shanghai, China’s Round Eye return with a referendum on last year’s election that offers an insightful glimpse from outside the United States.

Having already established herself as a prominent side-player to the likes of William Parker, TV on the Radio and Spoon, trumpeter Jaimie Branch delivers an outstanding debut as band leader that showcases the full range of her talent.

By 1995, Swans had evolved through several styles of music, from no wave skronk to punishing industrial sludge to Southern Gothic ballads to driving, droning guitar rock.

Between 1967 and 1971, directors John Palmer and David Weisman, fixtures of Andy Warhol’s Factory, filmed Superstar/“It” girl Edie Sedgwick in what would ultimately prove to be the defining role of her short life as Susan Superstar, the subject of 1973’s Ciao! Manhattan.

Japanese noise god Masami Akita, better known as Merzbow, teams up with Nine Inch Nails keyboardist Alessandro Cortini for a mutual celebration of the famed EMS synthesizer.

New Paltz, NY ambient duo Arranged Marriage NP deliver a stunning debut that merges Indian classicism with Brian Eno’s sonic manipulation.

San Francisco synth-punks Inhalt deliver their first full-length in the form of a “best of” session for the celebrated Part Time Punks radio show.

Split between Bahrain and the UK, Flamingods persist, releasing a third studio album that reaches beyond earthly exotica into alien territory.

To celebrate a decade of sonic disturbance, NYC’s Pharmakon, aka Margaret Chardiet, delivers a full-on assault on the senses in the form of her third full-length.

Former members of Brooklyn’s Livids reconvene for a scorching debut as Moral Panic.

Berkshire, UK trio Revbjelde deliver an astonishing debut that blurs so many lines between genre boundaries the entire concept becomes irrelevant.

As a founding member of both The Jam and The Style Council, as well as a prolific solo artist, Paul Weller has done much to help shape British rock’n‘roll.

Melbourne, Australia’s Brad Pot deliver a positively scorching debut full-length that continues the legacy of Oz punk greatness.

In the 1920s and ’30s, Hayes McMullan played blues around his home in the Mississippi Delta.

Nomadic songwriter Wilson Getchell (Wall-Eyed) lands in North Carolina to form the perfect band for his eclectic talent.

Never ones to stay quiet for long, Los Angeles rock’n‘roll heroes Dr. Boogie drop a song into cyberspace just to remind us that they’re still kicking.

Holbrook, Long Island’s Foresterr brave the fashion punks, cover bands and emo-kids-who-think-they’re-hardcore dominating their local scene with an uncompromising brand of spastic noise rock.

Madrid, Spain’s Biznaga deliver their first domestic LP of punk rock en Español just in time for the leader of the free world to announce his war against the majority of the Spanish-speaking world.

After five years of flying under the radar, Brooklyn’s The Modern Airline finally follow their eponymous 2011 debut full-length with a strong 7” that shows where they’ve been and where they’re going.

Before Al Jourgensen became defined by the metal industrial sound he pioneered, Ministry began as a synthwave band blending elements of post-punk, goth and electronic krautrock into a unified sound.

Following the box set documenting Harry Bertoia’s complete Sonambient catalog comes a brand new release of previously unheard recordings that further the legacy of the legendary sculptor/composer.

To celebrate their ten year anniversary in 2013, London noisemongers Hey Colossus assembled a “best of” compilation, originally released on cassette by S.O.U.L. with only 50 copies made.

Having released a slew of 7“s and a lone full-length, New Jersey’s Personal and the Pizzas finally return with another long player that reminds us why they’re the greatest thug rock band in the world.

Inspired by the scene happening around them along with punk rock from England, The Smart Pills formed in New York City in early 1978, but relocated to Topeka, KS after finding themselves completely destitute.

According to lore, Chinatown’s producer Robert Evans disliked Phillip Lambro’s original score so much, he hired Jerry Goldsmith to compose an entirely new one.

In 1970, Lee Hazlewood left his shambling record label Lee Hazlewood Industries, broken relationship with longtime partner Suzi Jane Hokom and the Vietnam War, which threatened to draft is only son, for the calmer pastures of Sweden.

Though not necessarily a “singles artist” per se, Tim Buckley recorded 10 singles throughout his eight-year career.

New York-via-San Francisco’s Our Daughter’s Wedding only lasted from 1979-1984, yet, in those five years, they toured with Iggy Pop, U2, Duran Duran and The Psychedelic Furs, appeared on a budding MTV as guest hosts and delivered a synthpunk masterpiece that, sadly, became lost to time.

In 1979, James Chance & the Contortions delivered Buy, the seminal New York no wave album that bent brains and bones with its twisted take on post-punk, skronk and funk.

Thalia Zedek teams up with Neptune’s Jason Sanford and Gavin McCarthy of Karate for an art-noise trio that recalls the heyday of ’90s Touch and Go while looking forward to a bleak, uncertain future.

Veteran New Jersey-via-North Carolina soul singer Lee Fields returns with long-time collaborators The Expressions for yet another powerful album that sounds like it warped out of the ’70s.

Just in time for the Halloween season, ’50s teen heartthrob Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon celebrates the legacy of Chicago horror host Svengoolie with a rockin’ theme song backed by LA’s rockabilly surf punk pioneers The Gears.

Three years after their side of a split 7” with Ethical Debating Society blew minds here in the US, London’s Skinny Girl Diet finally give us a full-length that fully delivers on everything promised on that initial release.

Athens, GA’s Muuy Biien show just how far they’ve progressed beyond their dark ambient/hardcore origins with a bona fide garage classic of a third full-length.

Nearly forty years after their inception and six years into their acclaimed reformation, Bristol, UK’s The Pop Group follow 2015’s excellent Citizen Zombie with the culmination of their entire two-part career.

Dark SoCal punk trio Girl Tears finally follow their excellent 2014 debut with an even angrier sophomore release.

Bronx-based spastic punks Poor Lily reach new heights with an ambitious thirty minute punk rock opera about the NSA and mass surveillance.

A year after Tim Buckley delivered his 1966 eponymous debut on Elektra Records, the label asked for a followup album, as well as a standalone single.

Between 1973 and 1975, electronic composer/hi-nrg disco producer Patrick Cowley recorded several tracks with friend/occasional lover/adult film icon Candida Royalle for her performances with Warped Floors and White Trash Boom Boom, as well as The Angels of Light, a performance troupe that had splintered from the legendary Cockettes.

San Francisco’s Hornss follow their excellent 2014 debut with an even more powerful second offering that clearly shows the trio growing further into interstellar space.

Iconic French guitarist/electronic music pioneer Richard Pinhas (Heldon) continues his collaborations with Ruins drummer Tatsuya Yoshida and Masami Akita (Merzbow) by bringing them together for a constantly flowing album of droning industrial spacerock.

In July 1971, Italy’s premiere singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti delivered an unprecedented concept album that would ultimately be the turning point in his career.

Berlin, Germany-based synth punk weirdos Puff deliver a strong debut full-length in both English and German that will make you dance while scratching your head.

In the midst of This Heat’s dissolution, drummer/vocalist Charles Hayward went into the group’s Cold Storage Studio to record some songs with sound engineer Stephen Rickard and bassist Trefor Goronwy, who had filled in on This Heat’s final tour.

Legendary Bronx rapper Kool Keith (Ultramagnetic MCs, Dr. Octagon) returns with this finest album since 2006’s Nogatco Rd. (Insomniac) with a little help from his friends.

During WSB100, a month-long celebration of William S. Burroughs’ 100th birth in April 2014, actor/director Steve Buscemi teamed up with experimental composer and longtime collaborator Elliott Sharp for an entertaining, yet mesmerizing reading of the late author’s writings.

On her sixth solo album, Thalia Zedek compiles the past into the present for her strongest recording to date.

After a slew of releases on various labels, Los Angeles, CA’s Cosmonauts return with a fourth full-length that proves to be their strongest to date.

As the unexpected collaboration between political journalist-turned-musician Anika (BEAK>, Michael Rother, Jandek) and her backing band – Martin Thulin (Crocodiles), Hugo Quezada (Robota) and Hector Melgarejo (Jessy Bulbo, Nos Llamamos) – while on tour in Mexico, Exploded View fully live up to their name with an absolutely stellar debut full-length.

Leeds, UK trio Cowtown evoke SST Records and ’90s Southern noise rock on their powerful fourth full-length.

After two failed albums, Los Angeles new wavers The Heaters felt disenfranchised by record labels, producers, studios and the industry in general.

Grand Rapids, MI trio Heaters return with an excellent second offering that perfectly blends Nuggets psych and raw Hawkwind spacerock with just a touch of surf for proper propulsion.

On their third full-length, Long Island’s A New Bug expand their scuzzy, fuzzy psychedelic onslaught for their most diverse release to date.

Following the unprecedented darkness of their previous effort, The Barbarellatones lighten up a bit for an album that most clearly defines their unique outsider sound.

Saxophonist/experimental composer Lea Bertucci follows her extraordinary collaboration with cellist Leila Bordreuil with a trio of spacious tracks that reside within the realm of Dante.

Though not heralded as a bastion of underground music, the college town of Lawrence, KS actually sported a close-knit DIY scene through the ’80s that centered around The Embarrassment and The Micronotz, whose entire discography gets digitally reissued, as part of Bar/None Records’ 30 year anniversary celebration.

Among his contemporaries, Little Richard was an icon.

After last year’s highly impressive debut, London/Bristol fuzzmongers The Fireworks return with a four song EP that shows their sound evolving.

Tenor saxophonist Albert Ayler was an innovator beyond his contemporaries, though his earliest known session with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Sunny Murray most clearly defined his futuristic sonic path.

London’s Cosines return with four songs that show the group growing at an exponential rate.

Thought to be just a rumor for nearly fifty years, some digging into the Columbia vaults has uncovered the legendary sessions for Betty Davis’ unreleased first album, produced by then-husband Miles Davis and featuring musicians from his and Jimi Hendrix’s bands, alongside some earlier recordings made with her previous beau, Hugh Masekela.

In January of 1980, a relatively unknown post-punk quartet from Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK (a town just 24 miles northwest of Greater London) called Funboy Five released their debut – and only – 7”, “Life After Death” b/w “Compulsive Eater.”

Veteran Stereolab keyboardist, Morgane Lhote, turns more toward the light on her sophomore single as Hologram Teen.

Nancy, France’s Slit Plasters return with a brief blast of their signature psychotic fury on a limited one-song flexidisc.

Long before “Walk Like an Egyptian” soared to number one in the late ’80s, The Bangles were a group of girls playing melodic garage rock as part of LA’s Paisley Underground movement.

Inspired by a new rhythm section, guitarist/founder Kawabata Makoto takes Acid Mothers Temple into the loudest, heaviest parts of the universe for what could possibly be their best album to date.

In 2010, Michael Gira resurrected Swans after fourteen years of inactivity with My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky, which blended the gospel overtones of 1987’s Children of God with his more recent work in Angels of Light.

Los Angeles, CA’s Dr. Boogie turn to ’70s hard rock for inspiration…and succeed!

Lecce, Italy’s Bistouries debut with two sides that heavily nod to the melodic jangle of late ’70s UK power pop.

Back in 2000, Ice-T and Kool Keith (Ultramagnetic MCs, Dr. Octagon) joined forces with Marc Live, Black Silver and producer Pimp Rex for a mindbending hip-hop album that, somehow, barely blipped on the radar.

In 1979, Martin Bramah finally tired of Mark E. Smith’s antics and left The Fall to form his own band.

Tuscon, AZ-based psychedelic warlords The Myrrors return with another dusty tome of desert-fueled spacerock.

The ever-prolific Kristin Hersh returns with hard-hitting power trio 50 Foot Wave for another EP that packs an album’s worth of ideas into six songs.

Continuing on their well-received resurgent wave, The Pop Group dig further into their vaults of previously unreleased material for an official “bootleg” of volatile live performances recorded around Europe between 1979/80.

Though known primarily as a poet, Allen Ginsberg also recorded several albums of music during his lifetime.

With her third album, the ever-wandering Lizzy Mercier Descloux turned to South Africa for inspiration.

In 1980, Brixton, England’s This Heat followed their groundbreaking 1979 proto-industrial/experimental punk debut with a two song EP that saw them pushing those genres even further.

High on a lavish deal with MGM, Lee Hazlewood had money to burn in 1966.

Polish saxophonist/clarinetist/flutist, Mat Walerian, the last artist to be approved for ESP-DISK by the late Bernard Stollman, returns with a sophomore collaboration with pianist Matthew Shipp, featuring drummer Hamid Drake, that recalls the classic sound of the legendary label.

Baltimore’s Horse Lords give Zs a run for their money on their third proper full-length.

Thirty-eight years after its original release and twenty-five years after initially reissued, Heldon founder Richard Pinhas’ electronic epic based on Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel, Dune, receives a proper remastering, as well as its first vinyl edition since the original 1978 Cobra LP.

Originally released only on CD by WIN Records in 1996, the solo debut from That Dog vocalist and Charlie Haden daughter, Petra Haden, finally sees its first reissue – on vinyl, no less.

Having collaborated in several bands over four decades, Glyn Bush (Lightning Head, Rockers Hi Fi) and PK Chown (James Beige, Mr Liquorice), aka Julius Vanderbilt and Sinjin Makepeace respectively, celebrate their friendship with a new band and an off-the-wall debut that combines their quirky sense of humor with innovative musical precision.

In June of 1971, sitar legend Ravi Shankar gave one of his many morning concerts in his home on Highland Blvd. in Hollywood.

Los Angeles electro hip-hop pioneer, Egyptian Lover, finally receives a long-deserved anthology documenting his early groundbreaking recordings.

Always looking for new modes of expression, Neorev’s Michael Matteo steps away from the hip-hop, dubstep and electro-pop of his previous releases to deliver a compelling collection of ethereal instrumentals that could easily be classified as electronic shoegaze.

Forty years ago, New Orleans blues pianist, Professor Longhair, played an electrifying set at the University of Chicago Folk Festival, which was also broadcast on WFMT-FM Chicago.

New York-based electronic experimentalist, Lesley Flanigan, reaches angelic atmospheres on her new recording.

Originally released as two cassette volumes during the first half of the ’80s, Devo’s off-kilter instrumental renditions of their songs have long been out-of-print, making them much sought-after collector’s items.

New Jersey-based EDM producer, Mike Simonetti, follows his highly successful and sold out “Bossa Nova Civic Club Bootleg” 12” with two minimal acid grooves featuring Santana, vocalist of the French group Claap!.

Beijing, China’s Noise Arcade, aka American ex-pat Michael Cupoli, delivers his most focused effort to date without losing any of the signature psychedelic swirl.

Queens-based rapper, Lo Vega, turns in an impressive full-length debut sure to please those who yearn for a return to the hip-hop of the ’90s.

Françoise Hardy finally peaked in 1966.

Having released several cassettes on Hausu Mountain and Ehse, Baltimore composer and Horse Lords saxophonist, Andrew Bernstein, releases his first multi-format full-length, an exercise in minimalist intensity.

After This Heat disbanded in 1982, guitarist Charles Bullen recruited drummer Julius Samuel, aka Dub Judah, to create an album inspired by the music he heard in the streets of his Brixton neighborhood.

North Carolina-based composer, Zach Cooper, delivers a stunning debut that weaves minimalism, avant-garde jazz and tape collage into a single sonic thought.

London’s Desert Mountain Tribe deliver an astonishingly excellent debut full-length sure to propel the trio to stratospheric heights.

NYC singer-songwriter Edward Rogers delivers a well-rounded followup to his fifth album, Kaye, that sees him fully embrace the role he was always meant to fulfill.

When Portland, OR’s premiere experimental analog synth/clarinet duo, Golden Retriever, join forces with neighboring Pakistani-born folk singer, Ilyas Ahmed, true magic happens.

London’s Witching Waves return with a second full-length of dark post-punk excellence sure to expand the trio’s fanbase beyond the confines of their home country.

For her 1980 sophomore effort, Parisian New Yorker Lizzy Mercier Descloux traveled to Nassau, Bahamas with the goal of bringing Island and African rhythms into her unique post-punk sound.

San Francisco-via-Memphis’ prolific Useless Eaters return with yet another genre bending burst of dark, synth-driven punk rock.

San Francisco, CA’s Scraper return with second full-length of pure punk rock negativity that’s sure to get your legs shaking and your beer drinking.

Originally released thirty-six years ago, The Pop Group’s scathing sophomore effort receives its first proper reissue, unleashing their confrontational post-punk defiance on a new generation of budding revolutionaries.

Inspired to action by the tumultuous current events in their own back yard, some people in Greece assembled an epic transnational compilation, spanning the European continent and beyond, to benefit the Syrian refugees in the Dodecanese Islands.

Captain Beefheart/Jeff Buckley collaborator and prominent solo/session guitarist, Gary Lucas, rekindles his love of soundtracks with an enthusiastic tribute to the Betty Boop and Popeye the Sailor cartoons that so shaped his upbringing.

The Dead C’s Michael Morley answers the criticisms aimed at 2010’s A Republic of Sadness (Ba Da Bing!) by pushing those perceived flaws even further into his new album.

Just when you thought you were intimately familiar with every band to grace the CBGB and Max’s Kansas City stages in the late ’70s, another one emerges from the echoes to completely reorient everything you thought you knew.

When Brixton, England’s This Heat delivered their self-titled debut in 1979, few people heard it, but, thanks to radio DJ John Peel, they garnered enough attention to release two more studio recordings before eventually disbanding in 1982.

Cajoled out of self-imposed early retirement by a young Nancy Sinatra, Lee Hazlewood returned with his fourth solo album and first for MGM in 1966.

By the time she released her fourth album in October 1965, Françoise Hardy had grown into a full-fledged pop icon.

Osaka, Japan’s premiere ex-pat improvisers, Out of Dust, continue pushing the boundaries of jazz on their sixth release of new material.

In the mid-‘70s, Animals founder and former keyboardist, Alan Price, basked in the glow of his own successful solo career.

Brooklyn-based psychedelic improvisers, Rhyton, return with a fourth album of mind-expanding spacerock fit for the Winter Solstice.

It could be said that Alan Lomax did more for folk music, both at home and abroad, than anyone else.

To celebrate the release of their excellent debut album, The Conjuring, NYC experimental jazz trio, Premature Burial, assembled a group of like-minded musicians for an eclectic night of captivating performances.

New York City-based experimental jazz trio, Premature Burial, deliver a mind bending debut that serves as a wormhole to the other side of the universe.

French experimentalist Delphine Dora teams up with Northern England’s Sophie Cooper for an album of dank, murky improvisations recorded in Todmorden Unitarian Church in West Yorkshire, UK.

In the early ’90s, Swans released two albums that would provide the sonic blueprint for their 2010 reemergence.

In early December 1994, Suicide’s Alan Vega, Big Star’s Alex Chilton and singer-songwriter Ben Vaughn crammed into a lower Manhattan studio for two nights to record with no boundaries, structured songs or preconceived notions of what they were supposed to do.

In a cybernetic bizarro universe, Baltimore’s Drew Owen, aka one-man garage punk band Sick Thoughts, teams up with NYC synth pop composer Don Seun for twenty minutes of teeth-gnarling lo-fi industrial punk as Cellulite.

California noisemongers, +DOG+ end the year with forty-eight minutes of depressive industrial sludge.

In the 1950s, renowned sculptor/furniture designer, Harry Bertoia, had an epiphany when he realized the possibilities of sonic resonance that lived within his creations.

In 1964, France’s Françoise Hardy fully hit her stride on her third album, having somehow convinced her label, Disques Vogues, to send her across the Channel to record with London-based Joe Meek protégé, Charles Blackwell.

As Antlered Aunt Lord, Tunabunny drummer, Jesse Stinnard, serves up his solo debut of odd, incongruent lo-fi recordings that somehow make sense as an album.

DC/Philly-based improvisers, Kohoutek, add to their legacy with two sides of mind-expanding psychedelia.

Kurt Stenzel’s heady electronic soundtrack for Frank Pavich’s 2013 film, Jodorowsky’s Dune, finally sees an official release that stands on its own as a classic of electronic music.

Los Angeles-based composer, Mark Van Hoen, has delved into electronic music for nearly thirty-five years with records running the spectrum from Berlin school pulses to throbbing EDM, all of which influence his latest ethereal synth-driven release.

Long Island’s Neorev finally returns to the physical format after six years with bona fide “best of” that collects collaborative highlights from his now out of print Bandcamp EPs with some stunning new material, proving, once and for all, that he is the best electronic artist you’ve never heard of.

Osaka, Japan’s genre bending jazz maestros, Out of Dust, team up with controversial saxophonist, Gilad Atzmon, once again, this time in the studio for another eclectic collection of music.

Second in a series of reissues following “Tous Les Garçons Et Les Filles”, Françoise Hardy’s sophomore French-language LP receives its first proper domestic release, restored to the original mono mixes.

Brooklyn-based heavy blues power trio, Courtesy Tier, showcase their talent for solid songwriting with an edge on their new three-song release.

Long before it was a US state, Hawaii was revered as an exotic, mysterious paradise of relaxation and cool in mainland popular culture.

Sydney, Australia’s The Necks return with their eighteenth album of jazz deconstruction, which finds their improvisation floating on an ominous note.

Known primarily for his innovative work as a Hi-NRG disco producer who assembled hits for Sylvester and Paul Parker, Patrick Cowley also composed sprawling electronic Berlin school-ish instrumentals, which drew on influences like Tomita and Wendy Carlos.

Though the title boasts “Vol.1,” Ireland/UK-based United Bible Studies have existed for well over a decade with an ever-changing lineup.

The Chapin Sisters, Abigail and Lily – daughters of folk singer Tom Chapin, return with their fourth full-length and third of original material since 2010’s Two.

Composer and Zs guitarist, Patrick Higgins, lovingly embraces the work of Johann Sebastian Bach with arrangements for classical guitar that also reflect his penchant for experimentalism.

Years before The Pentangle, even before his eponymous 1966 solo album, guitarist John Renbourn was a nineteen year old kid traveling the English countryside, meeting new friends and playing his guitar for anyone who would listen, all the while exploring and refining his finger-picking technique.

Wilco guitarist, Nels Cline, returns to his experimental roots on the sixth offering from New York psychedelic freakout duo White Out.

In late 1962, French singer-songwriter Françoise Hardy collected her first three EPs for the Disques Vogue label into an eponymous full-length, which was retitled The“Yeh-Yeh” Girl From Paris! when finally released domestically in 1965 by 4 Corners Of The World/Kapp.

Charleston, SC’s A Fragile Tomorrow return with a bang on their fifth album in twelve years.

Named after the street of ill repute where most of the cab-driving band members cruised to score their junk, Phoenix, AZ’s Van Buren Wheels took their town by storm, started an underground garage scene and promptly imploded due to rampant drug use.

Hailing from the Greek island of Crete, the mysterious duo known as Thee Koukouvaya deliver a solid electric pulse that is both compositional and danceable on their debut full-length.

Feelies guitarist/vocalist, Glenn Mercer, builds on ideas explored with bandmate Bill Million in their side-project, The Willies, on his first solely instrumental solo album.

Beijing, China’s Noise Arcade returns with a short player comprised of ambient reworkings of songs from the 57471C F4D3Z remix compilation based on Shanghai metal band The Machinery of Other Skeletons’ Static Fades EP.

Tuscon, AZ’s Wanda Junes deliver an astonishingly powerful debut that examines the darkness and sorrow of country music.

Boyracer’s Stewart Anderson teams up once again with frontman Justin Burch (Soft Paws/Inspaceno!) for a second offering of oddball pub rock.

Lower Manhattan native, Odetta Hartman, debuts with a quick and quirky cassette of psychedelic bedroom folk that ranges from bluegrass to soul in only twenty-two minutes.

As Mulva Myasis, Davis, CA noisician Noa Ver uses homemade synths and oscillators, aka her “friends,” to create the sound of electronics in pain.

Osaka, Japan’s Out of Dust team up with controversial saxophonist Gilad Atzmon and upstart guitarist Takumi Mura for an explosive two-set night of hard bop mixed with fusion tendencies recorded live in Kobe.

Though they reached notoriety with the bizarre single, “Janitor,” Long Beach, CA’s Suburban Lawns remain a criminally ignored footnote in the annals of LA’s new wave history.

London, England’s unsung urban folk heroes, Band of Holy Joy, return with yet another instant post-punk classic that focuses on their unique style of storytelling.

Chicago piano/drums duo, The Claudettes, now expanded to a trio with the addition of vocalist Yana, attack the blues with the ferocity of punk rock on their sophomore album.

NYC’s ever-morphing Tarana, led by drummer Ravish Momin and currently flanked by trombonist Rick Parker, release an astounding full-length that melds so many musical genres, it defies them all.

England’s Presents for Sally continue their spacey shoegaze pop excursions on their long-awaited sophomore full-length.

Brooklyn-based bass clarinetist and ISSUE Project Room Artist-in-Residence, Lea Bertucci, teams up with French-born cellist, Leila Bordreuil, for a series of unsettling improvisations that push their respective instruments to their limits.

York, Pennsylvania’s The Owls Are Not What They Seem return with a shortened name and new material that delves further into occult ritual blackness.

In 1966, an Amarillo, TX group called The Illusions moved to Hollywood, CA and auditioned for Lee Hazelwood, who declared them his first signing for Lee Hazelwood Industries under the name The Kitchen Cinq.

Fredericksburg, VA’s Static Daydream follow their acclaimed 2014 “The Only One” EP (Moon Sounds) with a hazy full-length blast of melodic melancholy.

Japan’s Acid Mothers Temple triumphantly return with their version of Osamu Kitajima’s 1974 prog paean to the Shinto goddess of water, language and music.

Washington, D.C.-via-Detroit-based electro-charged female duo, Noon:30, explode with an EP that runs the spectrum of rage – from quiet to crushing.

UK-based folk singer/guitarist, Sarah McQuaid, presents her fourth solo album, which shows the songwriter flourishing within her realm.

Tragically forgotten to the passing of time, French transplant Lizzy Mercier Descloux blossomed in the late ’70s downtown New York art/punk scene amid friends like Patti Smith and Richard Hell.

Paris-via-Newcastle-based producer, Will Archer, aka Slime, places himself on the map with a heady full-length of relaxing trip-hop lounge.

Los Angeles, CA-based songwriter, Chelsea Wolfe, delves deeper into electronic darkness on her fifth solo effort.

Experimental composer Steve Holtje weaves an album of haunting soundscapes for a film soundtrack that stands on its own without having to see the movie.

Shanghai, China’s Round Eye returned to New York City in support of their stellar self-titled debut album on Ripping released earlier this year.

Songwriter/actress Eszter Balint (Louie, Trees Lounge) finally returns to music after eleven years with a third album that accentuates her power as a musician.

For three years, London’s Exotic Pylon Records documented England’s experimental underground with a passion for art rarely seen from the business end of the music industry.

Italian duo, Snow In Mexico, return with their third four-song EP, which takes their hazy electronic sound further into the neon underground.

Intercontinental mod-psych supergroup, The Safe Distance, follow their stellar debut 7” with a full-length that shows the group becoming more focused in their mission.

Guitarist Debbie Smith (Curve, Echobelly, Snowpony) debuts her new band, Blindness, with a solid full-length that brings her versatility as a musician and songwriter to the forefront.

Ireland’s The Debutantes, featuring Sarah Grimes and Paula Cullen from The September Girls, reissue two songs from their out-of-print self-titled debut cassette on vinyl because they’re that good.

Emotional Response Records showcase their roster with an excellent collection of lo-fi pop nuggets.

Philadelphia, PA’s Satellite Hearts continue their exploration of eclectic rock’n‘roll with a powerful sophomore effort that nods heavily to the ’70s.

In 1977, Chris Ashford kick-started the Los Angeles DIY punk scene when he released a 7” by a few friends who called themselves The Germs. Now, with his directorial debut, he pays homage to another set of friends and the music he found so inspirational almost forty years ago.

Glam rock surfer goth weirdos, The Barbarellatones, return with a new album that finds songwriter Robbie Quine delving into his darkest territory yet.

Teesside, England’s Blitzkrieg Bop may have only lasted from February 1977 to February 1979, but they perfectly captured the essence of late ’70s UK punk during their brief existence.

Not to detract from their previous work, but the fourth full-length from Cantù, Italy’s Faz Waltz finds the trio fully hitting their stride.

On October 25th, 2014, Instagon came together for their six-hundred-and-sixty-sixth live performance, which proved to be quite a magical night of music.

In 1962, audio archivist, Alan Lomax, brought daughter, Anna (now head of the Alan Lomax Archives/Association For Cultural Equity), to the Caribbean island of Carriacou, Grenada, where he spent five days documenting the sound of the unique culture surrounding them.

Veteran punk bassist, Steve Fishman (Bent, The Deadbeats, DFO, The Playboys) showcases his numerous current projects on an eclectic compilation that spans from glam to noise rock.

In an homage to the live double album movement of the ’70s, Sacramento, CA noisician, Bob Scott, aka Xome, celebrates over twenty-five years of deconstructing sound with an epic live collection compiling performances from the past decade.

Upstate New York’s cryptic Black Dirt Oak team up with Brooklyn’s mysterious Jantar for a split release of shadowy, spiritual magic.

South Korean-based psychedelic folk ex-pats, Language of Shapes, fully realize their sound with an EP containing three re-recordings and one new track.

Bedroom Hong Kong hip-hop producer, Little Albert, drops an EP that shows just how far around the world the genre has reached.

Melbourne, Australia’s Pale Heads, comprised of members of Batpiss, The Nation Blue and former members of The Drones and Pairs, e.g., drummer Xiao Zhong aka Rhys, erupt with a noisy debut borne from Australian angst.

New York hardcore newcomers, CHUD, make their debut with a blistering eight-song EP that goes straight for the jugular with the confidence of a puma.

Twenty-seven years after its initial 1988 release on Virgin, the lone studio album by Last Exit, the free jazz supergroup comprised of guitarist Sonny Sharrock, saxophonist Peter Brötzmann, bassist/producer Bill Laswell and drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson, emerges from history to influence a new generation of improvisation enthusiasts.

Baltimore-via-Chicago duo, Wume, expand further into the universe with a second release of hypnotic “kosmische musik.”

Bassist Dana Schechter (Bee and Flower, Angels of Light) delivers a powerful debut full-length as Insect Ark, her one-woman experimental doom project.

Delaware’s Teen Men offer a debut that draws from ’80s atmospheres for inspiration.

“But I already have this stuff,” you say. Guess again, Billy.

Indonesian psychedelic gods, Napolleon, deliver an astounding debut of heavy, effects-laden mind bending.

Former guitarist for Medway, UK’s The Dentists, Bob Collins, offers a debut solo album that owes as much to his psychedelic garage background as to power pop.

St. Louis, MO garage rockers, Bunnygrunt, return with another loud, fuzzy concoction hoping to shed the “twee” tag once and for all with Black Sabbath references and even forays into krautrock.

Originally released in 1982, the first “deep trance electronic album” by Texan minimalist composer, JD Emmanuel, gets a remastered reissue that includes two bonus tracks cut from the original LP.

Germany’s (and possibly the world’s) premiere electronic Medieval fantasy band, QNTAL, use Romantic literature to expand their scope on the group’s seventh full-length.

The Shoe Birds, from Mississippi, offer an eight song debut born from the Southern experience.

Lyricist Stephen Kalinich (Beach Boys) and songwriter/producer Jon Tiven (Alex Chilton, The Jim Carroll Band, Frank Black) team up for their third album of psychedelic soul, continuing the partnership they began with 2012’s double album, Shortcuts to Infinity/Symptomology (MsMusic).

Former Prefects/Nightingales guitarist, Joe Crow, released his debut solo 7” on Cherry Red in 1981. Now expanded to five tracks and remastered, this reissue shows the Birmingham, UK musician coming into his own.

Originally released in 1978 on his own Oblique Records in London, the seminal synthpop debut by Thomas Leer (Act) finally sees an expanded remastered reissue including two bonus cuts.

Under his more common nom de plume, Time Moth Eye, dark folk minstrel Timothy (Stone Breath) delivers a massive work of music and art that fully displays the depth of his talent and passion for rebellion.

Controversial Shanghai, China freakout art punks, Round Eye, finally deliver their long awaited full-length debut and, yes, it was worth the wait.

Osaka, Japan’s freeform improvisational ex-pats, Out of Dust, return with a sophomore release that shows them growing into an even more cohesive unit.

New York City’s Video Beast emerge with an explosive debut that nods heavily to ’90s grunge and alternative rock, but without nostalgia.

New York City’s Little Lesley & the Bloodshots boldly defy the rockabilly status quo with a new EP of original songs that properly deliver roots rock with a punk rock attitude.

Osaka, Japan’s premiere ex-pat free improvisation group, Out of Dust, debuts with an astonishing collection of wholly spontaneous music.

Folk singer, Tom Chapin, celebrates his 70th birthday on his 24th album, further cementing his well-deserved legendary status.

Austerlitz, NY’s Pigeons have undergone many changes, both in sound and lineup – a flexibility that has allowed them to deliver a masterpiece of genuine psychedelia on their eighth full-length.

While battling brain cancer that finally ended his life at the age of thirty in 1988, German punk, Thomas Eicke, aka Tom Diabo (Envelope, X-112 for Dancing, Western Force), recorded a series of extremely personal songs to 2-track that chronicled his thoughts on life, death and the short time he had to live.

On his sophomore album, baritone saxophonist Jonah Parzen-Johnson continues pushing the boundaries of jazz, folk and electronic music to create a unique, mesmerizing sound.

Elephant 6 alumnus, Andy Gonzales (ex-of Montreal, The Music Tapes, Mind Brains, returns to his Marshmallow Coast moniker for the latest chapter in his prolific musical career.

Queens, NY-based soft rock duo, Frog, offer their sophomore release, a bona fide full-length that should garner the group more notice than their largely overlooked eponymous 2013 EP (Monkfish).

Friends for thirty-five years, Massachusetts songwriters David Greenberger (Men & Volts, The Duplex Planet) and Chandler Travis (The Incredible Casuals, The Chandler Travis Philharmonic, The Catbirds) deliver a compilation that documents their multifaceted collaborations over the past two decades.

Two years after their debut, Northampton, MA trio, Colorway, hone their sound with a solid, no-frills sophomore release.

Under the helm of seven-octave range vocalist, Claudio Milano, Italian multimedia art collective, NichelOdeon/InSonar, deliver yet another boundary-pushing statement, this time focusing on the aquatic world.

Instrumental South Central Pennsylvania quartet, Night, fully come into their own with a full-length that finally captures the textured atmospheres in their music.

France’s bizarro garage rockers, The Slit Plasters, continue their campaign of psychosis with a new 7” that contains some of their best material to date.

Six years after the release of their third album, Paradise Square, Memphis-via-New York-based country/blues group, The Kropotkins, return with their fourth.

Los Angeles-based power trio, Lunar Electric, unleash their bombastic heavy rock with a four song EP that evokes classic rock without resorting to mere mimicry.

On their fifth studio album, Edmonton, Canada’s iVardensphere take their tribal industrial sound to new heights.

In 1985, The Apartments, from Brisbane, Australia, released an LP on Rough Trade that was heralded as an immediate classic. Remastered for the first time, this expanded reissue compiles that seminal LP with the group’s earliest singles and demo recordings for a comprehensive look at their origins.

Enigmatic songwriter, Connie Converse, composed a number of songs during the 1950s American folk revival in New York City that largely remained unheard before she became disenchanted and moved to Ann Arbor, MI in the early ’60s, where, in 1974, she wrote goodbye letters to friends and completely disappeared, whereabouts still unknown.

A little more than a year after their stellar debut, Long Island’s A New Bug continue their foggy haze of hard psychedelia with a solid sophomore selection of songs.

Returning with an adventurous sophomore effort, Kentucky-based collective, Plastic Bubble, allow their unique psychedelic pop vision to grow into a fanfare of artistic melody.

Born when Charles Bert of Math & Physics Club and Boat’s Dave Krain recruited Jigsaw label owner Chris McFarlane to record some songs outside their respective bands, Seattle-based indie poppers, Unlikely Friends, serve a solid debut on a golden platter.

Mysterious fuzz poppers from the Four Corners Desert, American Culture, offer an excellent debut full-length that perfectly encapsulates their name.

Unable to play guitar for over two years due to chemo treatments stemming from a long battle with cancer, veteran lower NYC songwriter, George Usher, wrote lyrics from his experience, which, in turn, were set to music by friend, Manhattan mainstay Lisa Burns.

La Spezia, Italy’s sea-obsessed rockers, King Mastino, prove they are the spice of Italian garage rock on their third full-length.

Transatlantic trio, Fractal Mirror, continue their unique brand of dreamy prog with their second album.

Building on the success of their debut, Town and Country (Eggsong, 2012), Norfolk, UK’s The Vagaband return with their emotionally charged sophomore effort.

After a slew of privately circulated EPs and full-lengths, songwriter Sahm Zalta, aka Nola Gras, delivers his debut public release, a powerful, dreamy, introspective work of art.

Experimental London-based singer, Portia Winters, offers a compelling debut that shows just how far pop music can go.

Returning for their second full-length, filthy Brooklyn punk rockers, Nuclear Santa Claust, prove that the old hardcore sound can still be infectiously exciting in this jaded day and age.

Brooklyn-via-Detroit singer-songwriter, Chris Moore – perhaps better known as Negative Approach drummer, Opie Moore – continues his penchant for dark, edgy Americana with a strong full-length collection of songs.

Gritty Los Angeles power trio, Wake Up Lucid, offer their fourth release in six years, showcasing a maturity as songwriters.

Hailing from Gothenburg, Sweden, Animal Daydream debut with four songs nodding to the mellow sounds of ’70s soft rock.

Flagstaff, AZ’s Wall-Eyed deliver an ambitious full-length that shows the group’s songwriting growing in leaps and bounds.

Mysterious Simi Valley, CA-based improvisational industrialists, The Croatoan, return with their fourth release on the Love Earth Music imprint.

Thirty-five years after their last studio album, 1980’s For How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder? (Y/Rough Trade), Bristol’s The Pop Group return with a new album that is as challenging as their most revered work.

London/Bristol-based fuzz-pop quartet, The Fireworks, finally release their explosive debut full-length, proving the anticipation was well worth it.

While cleaners worked over several months, harpist Áine O’Dwyer was granted access to the pipe organ in St Mark’s Church, Islington .

Ambitious Denton, TX indie rockers, Fishboy, return with yet another narrative concept album.

St. Petersburg, Russia-based shoegazers, Pinkshinyultrablast, explode with a debut that is anything but derivative.

Back with their first full-length of new compositions since 2010’s New Slaves (The Social Registry), Brooklyn, New York’s Zs, currently a trio consisting of saxophonist Sam Hillmer (Diamond Terrifier), guitarist Patrick Higgins and drummer Greg Fox (Guardian Alien, Liturgy), continue pushing the avant-garde well beyond its fluid boundaries.

Portland, OR’s P.R.O.B.L.E.M.S. finally return with a blazing two song slab of vinyl that shows them growing as songwriters without slowing down.

Comprised of former and current members of The New Sound of Numbers, Of Montreal, Dark Meat and Olivia Tremor Control, Athens, GA’s Mind Brains tap into an extra-terrestrial future with their brain-warping debut.

Beijing, China’s Noise Arcade returns with another fascinating play on electronic music.

Thirty-year veteran of the Italian underground music scene, Francesco Paolo Paladino (A.T.R.O.X., The Doubling Riders, Nosesoul, Alio Die), offers his latest multimedia solo extravaganza to an unsuspecting public.

Back with a jaw-dropping sophomore full-length, Northern England’s Hookworms set the controls for the heart of the black hole and frolic in the confusion.

Red Lion, PA’s premiere anarcho-black doom folk noise duo return with a vengeance on their sophomore effort.

Back with their third full-length in almost a decade, NJ’s Stuyvesant continue their crusade of infectiously catchy rock’n‘roll.

Where most hardcore bands go soft shortly after their debut, ten years of rage have only made Blackout Shoppers meaner and better on their long overdue sophomore full-length.

After the departure of six-year guitarist/vocalist, Steven Schayer (The Chills), The Black Watch’s mainstay, John Andrew Fredrick went into a studio with drummer Luke Adams to make an album almost entirely by himself.

Having existed for twenty-two years with numerous CDs, cassettes and downloads to their name, Instagon return with what is very likely their very first vinyl release.

+DOG+ in the studio and +DOG+ live are two different animals cut from the same breed, as documented in this second volume of performances from Southern California’s premiere noise group.

From Beijing, China’s dark underbelly, Thruoutin and Torturing Nurse emerge with a furious blast of harsh noise.

Recorded between 1975 and 1977 before either of the artists had fully established themselves, the mind-blowing collaboration between Hi-NRG producer, Patrick Cowley, and Jorge Socarras, vocalist for SF/NY new wave band, Indoor Life, finally receives its first official vinyl release.

Following 2013’s self-released A Mixtape for the Honeybees, Oakland, CA-based chamber folk experimentalist, Stella Peach, offers her label debut showcasing her vast knowledge of traditional styles within her own unique persona.

Forty-four years after the release of her debut album, Just Another Diamond Day (Philips 1970), but a scant nine years after her sophomore Lookaftering (Fat Cat 2005), legendary Northern English folk-singer, Vashti Bunyan delivers her third and final album, a staggering statement of raw emotion that ends the songwriter’s career with dignity.

After four years of silence, Boyracer reemerge for their final release – four snappy songs defiantly lacking the drama that would ordinarily accompany such an announcement.

With twenty years of collaborating under their belts, Boyracer’s Stewart Anderson and Eric Stoess of Louisville, KY legends, Hula Hoop, get together again for another small slab of vinyl.

Adding to his super-extensive discography, Boyracer’s Stewart Anderson joins Sarandon’s Crayola and David Nichols from Cannanes and Huon for an indie pop extravaganza spanning three continents (North American, Europe and Australia, respectively) and heavily rooted in the psychedelic garage rock of the second Nuggets box set.

A year after releasing their debut EP, No Rest for the Unseen, Paris’ Noise Generator prove how far their industrial sound has expanded on their first full-length.

Since it opened, Beast of Bourbon in Bed-Stuy has proved to be not only an enticing neighborhood bar, but a great venue for events as well, so, logically, it was the spot of choice for New Year’s Eve, with no knowledge of what would be in store.

After seven years with Sony followed by a robust fan-funding campaign, Australia’s Kate Miller-Heidke independently releases her fourth album, highlighting her vocal talents as well as her pop sensibilities.

Out of print almost immediately after it was released, Crayon’s sole full-length, one of Sebadoh founder Lou Barlow’s top ten albums of 1994, finally receives its first reissue – on vinyl, no less.

Philadelphia, PA’s explosive Split/Red finally deliver their debut EP containing six caustic songs that live up to the title in every sense.

Fifteen years into their heady brand of sonic mind expansion, New Hope, PA’s Birdie Num Num and the Spirit Squad, the brainchild of vocalist/guitarist Joe Ujj, drops their sixth album like a flaming pile of space junk.

Before he became known as a composer of microtonal electric guitar symphonies, Glenn Branca released several no wave/art rock records that pointed directly to his later work.

Better known as Fantasic Planet in the US, 1973’s French/Czech Cannes award-winning La Planète Sauvage was a masterpiece of psychedelic animation that still resonates today.

Formed in 1972 and finished by late 1975 without releasing an album, Electric Eels (aka “electric eels” in reference to poet e.e. cummings) gave Cleveland, OH the much unwanted slap in the face it deserved.

Having performed together live a few times, guitarist Fred Frith (Henry Cow, Massacre, Naked City) and saxophonist John Butcher (Anemone, The Apophonics, Thermal) entered a studio in 2009 and recorded ten tracks with no overdubs.

After nine years of relative silence, Screaming Headless Torsos, the prog-funk vehicle for virtuoso guitarist, David Fiuczinski, deliver their first studio album with new vocalist, Freedom Bremner.

West Yorkshire, UK folk experimentalist, Sophie Cooper, delivers her breathtaking third full-length under her own name, cementing her status as the Northern English princess of psychedelia.

In a truly bizarre meeting of the Eastern Asian underground, Beijing, China’s Cat AIDS and Osaka, Japan’s Go Tsushima get together for a mind-boggling split cassette release.

A whole year after its initial release as book and CD, Throwing Muses’ epic ninth studio album finally sees a proper vinyl release.

For his umpteenth release, the creepy, crawly surf master of The Barbarellatones, Robbie Quine, delivers a toned-down, darker version of his vision that still retains all the dry, silly humor we’ve come to know and love.

Triumphantly returning after their 1992 demise, Coventry, UK’s The Primitives deliver their first full-length of original songs in twenty-two years.

Thirty-four years after initially released, the lone non-cassette LP by experimental industrialist, Philip Johnson, finally receives its first proper reissue.

A dozen or so years into her solo career, Los Angeles singer/songwriter, Arrica Rose, continues her musical journey with an album that focuses on the duality of the vinyl format while retaining a solidarity in sequential listening.

Bristol’s post-punk pioneers, The Pop Group, continue their mission of revitalization with a collection of non-album singles, live tracks and previously unreleased songs and takes recorded throughout their career.

Seminal UK post-punk band, The Pop Group, ushers in a series of reissues with a re-release of their 1980 final statement.

York, PA hardcore trio, Police State, offer a smashing debut built on the sonic chaos of crusty thrash punk.

Known for creating dark, atmospheric, at times brutal, soundscapes inspired by writer H.P. Lovecraft, Bobby Yagodich, leader of York, PA’s The Owls Are Not What They Seem, expands his sound with guest performers to create an aurally enthralling fourth full-length.

Returning for their fourth release, the ever-present Thurston Moore and Sunburned Hand of the Man drummer, John Moloney, continue their improvised sonic explorations into ear-splitting black metal intensity under the moniker of Caught on Tape.

Perhaps best known as Vashti Bunyan’s guitarist, Glasgow’s Gareth Dickson offers a collection of live solo recordings that effectively uses environment as an accompanying instrument.

Tenor saxophonist, Matt Nelson (tUnE­-yArDs, Battle Trance), delivers a solo debut that explores sonic textures ranging from melodicism to outright noise.

Brooklyn-via-Atlanta-via-Pennsylvania married folk duo, Mark Rogers (The Loom, Myssouri) and Mary Byrne (Hot Young Priest), delivers an intimate debut that is deceptively dark beneath the acoustic lyricism.

On her tenth album, LA singer-songwriter, Mia Doi Todd, explores her love of nature with covers of her favorite Brazilian songs sung in their native Portuguese.

Hailing from the bustling music scene in Brighton, UK, Slum of Legs finally deliver a debut single that shows a penchant for melodicism beside a sneering, aggressive taunt.

Returning to the duo of Timothy and Prydwyn that dominated 1998’s A Silver Thread to Weave the Seasons, Red Lion, PA’s Stone Breath continue their haunting minstrel folk journey of nineteen years.

Shortly after an excellent 7”, The Luxembourg Signal, i.e., the UK/LA dreamgaze supergroup comprised of members of Aberdeen, Fonda and Trembling Blue Stars, deliver their debut masterpiece of fluid melodies, spacey drones and dark mystery.

True to form, Nick Oliveri’s debut album under the Uncontrollable moniker boasts squealing guitars, pounding rhythms and driving songs – staples of the musician’s long, vibrant career built on Kyuss, The Dwarves, Queens of the Stone Age and Mondo Generator.

Building on the strength of their 2011 eponymous debut, Three Minute Tease, the Pan-European trio of songwriter Anton Barbeau with Soft Boys/Egyptians alums Andy Metcalfe and Morris Windsor, deliver an even better sophomore effort that effectively blends psychedelic pop with glam rock and power pop.

As one of no wave’s original skronksters, Arto Lindsay pushed the guitar to its noisiest extremes with his improvisational trio, DNA, yet, as a solo artist, he recorded beautiful, soulful music informed by the sounds of his Brazilian heritage.

Boasting twelve songs in nine minutes, LA’s Girl Tears do punk right with quick blasts of energetic fury.

Comprised of members of Mac DeMarco’s backing band, Montreal-via-Vancouver-based Walter TV finally see a proper release of their oddball first album posted on Bandcamp in 2012.

Having not collaborated on vinyl since 2009’s Concordia Dischord 7”, two stalwarts of the Southern California noise scene, +DOG+ and Actuary, come together once again with a dark noise attack perfect for the burgeoning fall.

Rising from the primordial ooze of prehistory, Bastard Noise return with another textured onslaught of powerful caveman electronics.

Continuing on their path of sonic destruction, +DOG+ unleash a sneering twenty-seven minute sendoff to all the people that are no longer needed in the ubiquitous collective’s lives.

After many years immersed in the underground noise scenes in Los Angeles and New York, sound artist and curator of Brooklyn’s Ende Tymes Festival of Noise and Experimental Liberation, Bob Bellerue (Half Normal, Kilt), finally joins the LEM roster with a major slab of high fidelity vinyl comprised of two sides recorded live at Goodbye Blue Monday in Bushwick within the past five years.

Now gaining momentum after the success of their debut album, Cardiff, Wales-based Joanna Gruesome return with three new songs backed by some friends from Brighton, Trust Fund.

Despite being spread throughout three cities across the US (Boston & Leverett, MA and Chicago, IL), Siamese Twins offer an astonishingly excellent dark dream pop debut that nods heavily to the early ’80s while remaining fluidly current.

Delivering her first solo album after years away from music, former Band of Susans and Rhys Chatham guitarist, Karen Haglof, rediscovers her electric guitar with twelve songs heavily rooted in the blues.

Three years after the release of their critically acclaimed third studio album and now based in Maine, alt-country band, O’Death, reconvene with a sparser, brooding live sound to contradict the massive production of their previous effort.

Hot on the tail of their Southeastern US tour, World War IX returned to New York with a vengeance.

Finally, a long forgotten entry into Rome, Italy’s Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, arguably the first experimental composers collective featuring famed soundtrack composer, Ennio Morricone, on trumpet, sees its first reissue since it was released in 1973.

As one of San Francisco’s first punk bands formed in 1976, Crime garnered a reputation for bombastic live shows, though they only released three 7” singles before their dissolution in 1982.

After five years of self-releasing tapes and CDs (some of which are on Bandcamp for free), Mega Bog’s Seattle-based bandleader/songwriter Erin Birgy releases her triumphant statement of retro-futurist lounge weirdness.

Six years into their musical life, Bradford, UK’s The Hobbes Fanclub finally release a debut album that fully delivers on the sound developed on their early CDr and 7” releases.

Massively produced by Martin Bisi (Swans) for maximum effect, Brooklyn’s Cinema Cinema gleefully deliver a punishing third album that attacks at full throttle.

11pm may seem like a strange time for an entire show to start, but when a phenomenal band from the Shanghai, China scene pairs up with the monsters of Kabuki surf punk, attendance becomes imperative.

Having changed their name back to Lunchbox after releasing an album as Bird of California last year on Jigsaw, the Oakland, CA-based duo of Tim Brown and Donna McKean (both members of Hard Left) finally release their third full-length release under their proper moniker.

Originally released in 1972 on French label, Saravah, Brigitte Fontaine’s eponymous second solo album finally arrives stateside.

Originally released on a small French label in 1975, Heldon’s heady second album finally receives its first proper domestic vinyl release.

After an enthusiastic reception to his first volume of home recordings, 1984-1990 (HHBTM, 2011), Dead Milkmen guitarist, Joe Jack Talcum, graciously presents his humble sequel.

Unavailable domestically since the mid-‘90s, The Gun Club’s highly influential 1981 debut finally gets the proper reissue it deserves.

After being tragically out of print for at least ten years, The Flesh Eaters’ seminal second album from 1981 finally receives a proper reissue on both vinyl and CD.

After a pair of excellent 7“s, North London synth-pop quintet, Cosines, finally deliver their debut album and fulfill the promises made on those initial short bursts of vinyl.

In a hybrid of Northern and Southern California dance music production, Motofightr, comprised of San Francisco’s Miles Gabriel and Los Angeles-based Alec Feld (Expensive Looks), delivers an innovative five-song EP that draws heavily from vintage European disco.

Shortly after transitioning into a sextet with the addition of NYC soap maker/vocalist, Missy Bly, Burlington, VT’s The Smittens deliver a powerful mini-album of dreamy pop with a dark sense of humor.

In a striking departure from their respective styles, indie rocker Joel RL Phelps of Silkworm and Downer Trio fame, and G. Stuart Dahlquist, bassist of Burning Witch, Sunn O))) and Asva, join forces to create a compelling duo born from their respective strengths.

After the success of their debut, La Busta Gialla, Il Sogno Del Marinaio, the trio of bassist Mike Watt, guitarist Stefano Pilia and drummer Andrea Belfi, return with a more focused effort that clearly defines the band’s sound.

After forty-two years of relative obscurity, songwriter PF Sloan, the man who penned Barry McGuire‘s “Eve of Destruction,” Johnny Rivers‘ “Secret Agent Man” and “A Must to Avoid” for Herman’s Hermits, delivers an ambitious album that blends classical music with a keen pop sensibility dedicated to composer Ludwig van Beethoven.

After a series of highly regarded EPs, London-based artist/musician, Paul Snowdon, AKA Time Attendant, finally delivers his astonishing debut album.

With numerous albums under his belt, underground folk singer, Stanley Brinks, collaborates with his old pal, French solo singer-songwriter Freschard, for a dull collection of duets that stands out as a low point in their respective careers.

On Christmas Day, 2013, Beijing, China’s swamp rock stomper, GuiGuiSuiSui, and electronic experimentalist, Noise Arcade, joined forces to record a perplexing album that, somehow, perfectly blends the two artists’ distinct styles.

Hailing from England’s Sussex countryside, Men Oh Pause deliver four dark, anxiety-ridden synthpunk tunes awash in paranoia.

Forty-four years after releasing her first solo album, 1970’s Constant Companion, Ruthann Friedman, the mysterious writer of The Association‘s 1967 hit, “Windy,” finally delivers her sophomore effort.

Dedicated to founding member of Soft Machine and prolific solo artitist, Kevin Ayers, NYC-based singer-songwriter Edward Rogers delivers a powerful fifth album inspired by the psychedelic rock of 1970s England.

For their final album, Shanghai, China’s Pairs return to their scrappy punk roots for an exciting last statement that marks a high point in the duo’s catalog.

On his sophomore effort, Craft Spells creator Justin Vallesteros tones down his sound, opting for the mellower aspects of the ’80s.

For their final release, Shanghai, China’s self-described “spazz pop” trio, Hu Jia Hu Wei, deliver five powerful songs that perfectly blend dissonance with melody.

On his debut album, novelist Tommy Wallach expands on the sparse sound of his eponymous 2008 debut EP (Decca) with rich production that perfectly compliments his dramatic, literary style.

At last, Helios Creed has delivered an album under the Chrome moniker that not only lives up to the name he established with founder Damon Edge (RIP), but also rises as a high point in his entire career as a solo artist.

On their third album, Welsh duo, The Lowland Hundred, complete their trilogy of spacious anthems with an astounding work that blends ambient sound with music concrete and pop sensibility.

Comprised of Yorkshire, UK-based Matt Bower (The Revenant Sea, Wizards Tell Lies) and Louisiana’s April Larson, Isobel Ccircle~ deliver a debut so disturbing it should be the soundtrack to a horror film.

Brighton, UK’s premiere experimental jazz dynamic duo return for a monolithic collection of sprawling explorations into surreal darkness.

Under the pseudonym of Joseph Nanner, a mysterious character from New York City, known only Owen, delivers his stellar debut recordings as a cassette double pack via London experimental label, Exotic Pylon.

Two years after their debut, Who’s a Fuzzy Buddy?, Roanoke, VA’s The Bastards of Fate continue their uncompromising onslaught of demented pop with an incredibly strong sophomore effort.

For their second full-length collaboration, improvisational guitarists Tom Carter (Charalambides) and Pat Murano (No-Neck Blues Band) deliver an intense double LP comprised of four tracks clocking in at one side each.

Picking up right where they left off, C86 compilation heroes, Scotland’s Close Lobsters, return with their first new recordings since 1989.

On her third solo album since 2007, Matteah Baim (ex-Metallic Falcons) builds on her dark psychedelic sound by adding lush production and orchestral accompaniment to her wistful compositions.

Previously one half of Oakland lo-fi industrial duo, Primary Colors, San Francisco artist, Michael Wood, releases his debut solo album, a continuation of his budget wave electronic signature.

Comprised of Dutch italo disco producers Alden Tyrell and Mr. Pauli with vocalist Zarkoff, Sumerian Fleet finally releases their powerful debut full-length after four years of collaboration and a pair of EPs.

For the second spoken word album by Canadian poet, Brian Brett, producer Andy Meyers constructed backing tracks from samples of his late ’70s/early ’80s (and reformed as of 2008) Toronto proto-art punk band, The Scenics, to create a dark, visceral backdrop for Brett’s words.

Back in the ’80s, Death of Samantha dominated Cleveland, OH’s underground rock scene with their off-kilter brand of rock’n‘roll fueled by bizarro live shows and a twisted sense of humor.

After twenty-six years of philosophy and theoretical physics, Steve Weinstein finally returns to music with his first album since 1987’s Walkin’ by the Light of the Moon.

Thirty-four years after their stellar debut album, Rockin’ At Ground Zero, Los Angeles punk rock icons, The Gears, finally return with their followup, a perfect sequel to the legendary LP that defined them for so long.

18 months after their debut LP, Big Cats Can Swim, Athens, GA’s Eureka California have slimmed down to a bassless duo for their second collection of fuzzy, in-the-red songs.

Rising from the wreckage of San Francisco punk band, The Jack Saints, Hornss erupt with volcanic ferocity, boldly announcing their existence with a debut album that sheds the confines of two-minute trash rock in favor of slower tempos and outright heaviness.

Though most of China’s underground music seems to come from Shanghai, the country’s capital, Beijing, has its own burgeoning scene. Now, two of the city’s foremost experimental electronic musicians come together for a second split release.

Comprised of famed producer Butch Vig and Phil Davis from Fire Town and brothers Frank and Pete Anderson from Call Me Bwana, The Emperors of Wyoming finally release their debut album domestically with three tracks not on the original UK release.

In anticipation of their planned demise, Pairs teams up with fellow Shanghai ex-pat Adam McRae, aka Reykjavictim, for a second-to-last recording that finds the expanded duo building off the electronic experimentation of Your Feet Touch Ground, A Carousel and heading deep into psychedelic territory.

On her ninth studio album and seventh recorded by Jeff Stuart Saltzman, Portland, OR’s Rachel Taylor Brown explores the meaning of “family,” from a strict nuclear meaning to a broader sense relating to community, religion and duty.

Flagstaff, AZ isn’t exactly known for its thriving music scene, though somehow DC transplants Wilson Getchell and Robert Keane have managed to make one all their own with Wall-Eyed, a quartet that combines ’90s alternative rock with folk-rock Americana and Southwestern desert mystery for a unique sound that encapsulates the entirety of their vision.

Former members of Los Angeles’ defunct, but beloved, Aberdeen reunite for a new band that continues the jangly indie pop sound while drawing heavily from the ’80s.

Since their blistering debut, This Is What Your Mind Imagines (HHBTM), two years ago, Muuy Biien have honed their craft and expanded their sound while remaining true to their hardcore punk and ambient noise roots.

Since Calla‘s seemingly indefinite hiatus in 2007, frontman Aurelio Valle dropped off the musical radar, save a few film soundtracks here and there.

On their second release, Brooklyn’s Flutronix push the boundaries of soul music by incorporating elements of jazz, electronic music, hip-hop and funk into their unique vision.

As Grandma Sparrow, Joe Westerlund (Megafaun, Califone) explores the fun and silliness of children’s albums through lavish orchestration and sound collage, creating a debut full-length full of smiles, laughter and psychedelia.

Another fine example of China’s ever-growing music scene, Beijing’s Luvplastik, a bass/drums duo comprised of British ex-pats (one of which is Dann Gaymer from GuiGuiSuiSui & the Electric Shadows), deliver a strong debut built on fuzzy ’70s garage rock.

A year after their debut 7”, London’s Cosines release yet another small slab of vinyl that shows the band growing heavier, both sonically and lyrically.

On his first proper full-length debut, Brian Magar (Pyroclastix, Denier, Albatwitch), the sole member of Layr, fuses black doom with his noise roots and stark religious imagery for an epic tome of warfare and decay.

Hailing from South Central Pennsylvania, both Night and Layr create powerful, engaging music the stems from a black metal base, but adds other elements that twist it into something else.

Under the moniker of Cute Heels, Colombian-born Brussels resident, Victor Lenis, releases a thought-provoking debut electronic music album that explores the darker elements of electronic instruments while avoiding the standard 4/4 thump of generic house music.

After eight years of existence, New York City’s largest electronic music showcase, Warper Party at The Delancy, finally releases its first collection of music from artists associated with the event.

For her fifth offering, Pantaleimon, aka Andria Degens, delivers nine songs of dark, dreamy psychedelia with the help of co-producer and former Bad Seed, Hugo Race.

Record Store Day just got a lot more exciting with this double vinyl package from Northern Spy documenting the first ever performance of J. Spaceman (Spacemen 3, Spiritualized) and Kid Millions (Oneida) as a duo.

Turkey’s Ekin Fil, aka Ekin Üzeltüzenci, has recorded since at least 2008, though her tracks are filled with an eternity of mystery that could only come from a country so steeped in civilization’s history.

In a celebratory merging of the East and West Coasts, two veterans of avant-garde music collaborate for a Record Store Day 7” that’s sure to get all salivatory juices running.

Paul Mill‘s ultra-rare 2009 debut album as The Lord finally sees the light of day again as yet another ultra-rare release from the premiere English noise label, Exotic Pylon.

Cornetist Rob Mazurek and drummer/persussionist Chad Taylor team up once again for an album that uses jazz to deconstruct modern music.

Long Beach, CA noisemongers, Gang Wizard, are back with their fifth properly manufactured full-length in their 19 year career.

For their seventh album, New Zealand duo Claypipe brought their instruments to the beaches of Dunedin, where they explored their signature improvised noise drone among the ocean waves, sand and birds.

In a bold, unexpected move, Athens, GA’s Tunabunny drop the Fall-like post-punk that had come to define them in favor of electronic music, yet somehow create an album that is wholeheartedly rock at its core.

Returning for their first physical release of original songs in five years, Athens, GA’s Casper & the Cookies offer a collection of catchy post-punk and punk songs showing that the time off was time well spent.

Always unpredictable, Instagon return with a collection of spacey, yet sparse, previously unreleased recordings from 2007 and 2008.

After a slew of 7“s released in the UK, US and their home country, Hamburg, Germany’s Tripping The Light Fantastic finally deliver a strong debut album that hearkens to the ’80s in its retro sound.

Long Island’s music scene may be dominated by tribute and cover bands, but once in a while a band of striking originality crawls out of the cesspool.

The ever-prolific Neorev continues his collaboration with Long Island rapper Marcuss with a collection of originals, remixes and instrumentals that builds on the sound established on the previous Make Your Body Sway EP.

Bordeaux, France is known mostly for wine and history, two subjects that certainly influence the married duo of Pascale and Michael, aka Watoo Watoo.

Shanghai, China’s Pairs are back, this time with compatriots Stegasaurus?, for a twisted little split where they cover each others’ songs and toss in an original to boot.

London’s Band of Holy Joy began 30 years ago as a dark electronic group along the lines of Cabaret Voltaire and early Human League, eventually morphing into the type of dramatic British art rock that Jarvis Cocker delivered on his solo albums.

Over 50 years, ESP-Disk has released some of the most ground-breaking albums in the jazz arena. Chicago’s explosive Tiger Hatchery continue in that tradition, delivering what could be the most extreme record in the label’s catalog to date.

After several European albums since their forming in 2006, Czech duo Dva finally get their first domestically available American release.

Since the mid-80s, Sea Monster has successfully straddled the opposing worlds of suburban Long Island and New York’s punk scene.

Paris’ Noise Generator has provided Neorev with some of his best remixes, though on their debut release, the duo reveals their true nature, and it’s not necessarily what we would expect.

Bassist Michael D. Donnelly played in such London-based experimental rock bands as Delicate AWOL, Rothko and Elite Barbarian before striking out on his own with this, his disturbing first solo release.

On their first US release since 2007, Aa create the cybernetic march of the future with tribal drumbeats, synthesizers and Auto-Tuned vocals, while somehow recalling the early ’80s.

Black Dirt Studio in Upstate NY has hosted many fine clients over the years, including artists on Thrill Jockey, Northern Spy and Sub Pop.

From the ashes of Crank, Upstate NY’s Cell 63 continue the noisy punk onslaught with four songs that show the trio at the top of their game.

An “antimacassar” is the doily placed over the back of a chair or on the ends of the armrests to prevent soiling, a practice that began in Victorian England with the popularity of Macassar oil, the contemporary hair grease.

England’s countryside is rife with myths and legends concerning strange creatures and magical places.

What happens when you combine the spawn of a Beatle, Deerhoof‘s drummer, a Ceramic Dog and a projectionist? You get Crotesque.

Featuring members of Pylon and Olivia Tremor Control, Athens, GA’s New Sound of Numbers deliver a post-punk spacerock masterpiece with their sophomore LP. Prepare to have your mind blown.

The world’s best underground electronic artist triumphantly returns yet again, this time adding hip-hop to his repertoire.

Though Verna Brock may be more well known for her contributions to ’90s indie rock with Northern California bands like Holiday Flyer and Rocketship, she also recorded several 7“s and EPs as Beanpole, her 4-track persona.

What is that accent? Northern English, Scottish, Welsh or Irish? Actually, it’s Greek.

Hailing from London, Cosines offer a brief glimpse into their multifaceted repertoire with two songs that could come from two different bands.

Having begun his musical career as a piano and harpsichord tuner for the likes of La Monte Young and Glenn Gould, Rhys Chatham went on to create his own style of avant-garde composition, blending minimalism, punk rock and his studies under electronic composer Morton Subotnick into a single unique vision.

And now for the filthy side of the Athens, GA music scene.

Sophie Cooper comes from Stoke on Trent, but now lives in Todmorden, West Yorkshire.

As well as writing for Mojo, The Wire and Quietus, Brighton’s Joseph Stannard is known in the UK for organizing The Outer Church, a recurring event that brings together experimental electronic musicians and underground filmmakers.

When searching for engaging, consistent, emotional American noise, we need not look further than Southern California’s +DOG+, whose body of work remains unpredictable and unapologetic.

Over the past 30 years, Kazuyuki Kishino has made his name in the Japanese experimental rock scene in bands such as Zeni Geva, Absolut Null Punkt and YBO2, as well as releasing a steady stream of noise releases establishing him as the reigning prince of Japanese noise, second only to Merzbow.

Edward Giles, aka Ed Nervo, has made noise in Final Solution, Eckankore, Caveat Emptor, DDDD, +DOG+ and Home Audience, to name a few.

In Pennsylvanian folklore, the Albatwitch is a small Sasquatch-like, apple-loving creature rarely seen around Chickie’s Rock on the outskirts of Columbia, PA.

Guitarist Patrick Higgins is perhaps best known for his work in Zs, though, on his own, he is an accomplished modern classical composer with several opuses to his name.

Gary Lucas has collaborated with Captain Beefheart, Lou Reed, Nick Cave and David Johansen, to name a few, though his true passion has always been film soundtracks, an obsession that eventually allowed him to compose some of his own scores.

The ever-mysterious Martin Jenkins, aka Pye Corner Audio, reemerges under a new name with a series of ambient sonic textures that are as firm as they are fluid.

Known primarily as half of Dead Fader, Berlin via Brighton’s John Cohen strikes out on his own with his debut full-length, a haunting collection of dark sonic textures, sinister beats and rhythmic noises that is as soothing as it is disquieting.

Glasgow’s ultra-prolific improvisational multi-instrumentalist, Richard Youngs, has collaborated with the likes of Jandek and Matthew Bower while making a name for himself as a solo artist.

For all the Castlevania fans, New York’s Ghost & Goblin deliver a debut that could have come from the mind of Simon Belmont himself.

For what is very likely their first non-European release, White Zoo brings us San Francisco’s Glitz, a group who sound like they walked right out of the pages of Please Kill Me.

The three songs presented here would have been right at home as a Dangerhouse or What Records? 45 thirty-five years ago.

Not ones to shrink in the face of adversity, Brighton, UK experimental duo Noteherder & McCloud took a live recording accident and used it to their advantage.

And now for something completely different…at least as far as Pairs are concerned.

Interestingly, it’s the female-fronted bands, Australia’s Stranglehold and especially Santa Cruz, CA’s Custom Fit that stand out the most.

This is truly modern music that acknowledges the past while striving for the future.

On their sophomore effort, the Bronx-based trio outdo themselves with a raging collection of songs that recall ’90s noise rock as much as SST hardcore.

Featuring vocalist/keyboardist Cee-Q from Marquee VII and Pairs drummer Xiao Zhong on guitar, the duo delivers eight haunting tracks of dreamy sadness that’s as engaging as it is depressive.

While these track are highly compositional and tightly controlled, they lose none of the organic elements that make music so immediately tangible and accessible.

From the “tribute band” obsessed enclave of Long Island, NY comes the unlikely spazz-rock Bangladeafy, a duo whose music twists in a tornado of various styles.

For his first widely distributed solo release, psych-metal/alt-country guitarist Jenks Miller (Horseback, Mount Moriah) delivers a dusty slab of improvised and loosely structured country-blues Americana.

Seattle’s Week of Wonders is probably the most un-Seattle band you’ll ever hear.

The frigid tundra of Northeastern China seems an unlikely place for a swampy punk band, yet the UK ex-pat led GuiGuiSuiSui & The Electric Shadows are just that.

For their third release, Los Angeles-based Blue delivers thirty and a half minutes of lo-fi harsh noise reminiscent of Japanese greats Aube and mid-80s Merzbow.

Exploring negative emotions is probably an extremely unpleasant experience for most people, but for Manos Michaelides, aka Athens, Greece’s Ego Death, it provides catharsis.

With a sound recalling Merzbow‘s early tape-loop driven cassette releases, C.C.C.C.‘s Hiroshi Hasegawa brings us into an electric forest of live wires and motherboards.

Imagine hiking in the Himalayas, rounding a corner and discovering the alien spaceship responsible for the world’s religion and technology.

Originally released as an extremely limited cassette in 1990, Independence Day quickly became a seminal release and template for the American oi scene.

MFP continue in the Beantown tradition, adding their name to the list of hardcore greats.

Got the 7” blues? Pick this up for an instant cure-all and a pick-me-up that’ll last as long as the damn record plays!

From the bustling Shanghai underground music scene comes Naohai, a Chinese trio whose dreamy, emotional music nods heavily to American indie rock.

Connecticut is known more for spawning The Carpenters and Moby than UK-fueled goth rock, but in the mid-80s, The Dispossessed, from Hartford, made their mark with their own vision of dreamy death rock.

While spacerock typically conjures the vast openness of interstellar space, Brooklyn’s Oceanographer nods more to the unknown territory of the deep sea.

Through the use of blips, beeps, tones and squelch, Hoofus weaves soundscapes of crashed cyberpunk epics, nightmarish video games from 15 years ago and post-krautrock electronic melodies.

It’s rare for a band that’s been on hiatus for over 25 years to come back and do anything worthwhile.

Four songs clock in at slightly over six minutes – you know what you’re in for.

Queens, NY’s Endangered Feces return with another furious blast of melodic hardcore that celebrates the virtues of excessive booze and poop.

You know that feeling when you hear a band for the first time and it’s everything you’ve been looking for without realizing it?

Like contemporaries The Will and Brainbombs, The Terrors have tapped into a unique style of horrifying rock, something that doesn’t rely on makeup or dark Ramones riffs.

The biggest problem with Cheap Sleaze is the unforgivably boring songs.

Having grown up listening to Klaus Schulze as a child in my father’s apartment, it’s nice to hear my dad’s favorite electronic composer, who subsequently became one of mine, hasn’t lost his touch over his 45 year career.

For two guys, Noteherder & McCloud sure make one helluva racket.

Grain is comprised of two 20+ minute tracks that ebb and flow like a Throbbing Gristle outtake.

This set, assembled for the Japanese-themed LA shop Popkiller, consists of three CDs and three cassettes, showcasing the various sounds, moods and insanities of the eccentric label, Come Records.

Thee mighty World War IX return with their second EP, five more songs recorded by their best lineup to date.

It’s the excitement of being in a band, loving every practice, every wrong note, every show, every argument and loving it so much you never want to do anything else.

Once again, Athens, GA’s HHBTM hits a home run, this time with an English band sure to be dominating the Indie charts in months to come.

With their debut LP, the trio delivers a definitive statement of disenchantment that adds to the annals of great bands from Athens, GA.

It’s rare to find such unpretentious, well-written pop songs crafted with such instinctive ingenuity.

So they successfully got back together and produced some damn good rockin’ tunes that show they’ve still got it in ‘em.

The ever eclectic Instagon take a left turn at jazz, or more accurately, jazz-fusion, on this 20th anniversary release that documents recordings made throughout 2012 with a multitude of musicians.

Where Children of the Vortex, their previous effort for Love Earth Music, was the noise equivalent of an ’80s hardcore punk record, Adrenalflag Cirrosismantis Livormortis seems to have more in common with black metal.

While this is certainly Instagon’s darkest release to date, it is also one of their most powerful – a raw, spontaneous outburst of twisted psyche.

Over-modulated static twists and morphs, creating a wave of horrifying squelch intent on crushing everything in its path.

Recorded live on the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the USS Titanic, this extremely limited cassette release shows the improvisationally inclined Instagon in a sparse, but powerful, lineup that successfully tackles one of history’s greatest failures.

Now on the fourth EP generated from his Children of the Bomb franchise, Matteo delivers yet another superb collection of remixes, reboots and brand new tracks guaranteed to drive all cyber knights out of their coffins and into the glowing neon sprawl.

High Expectations is about as lo-fi as you can get, sounding like it was recorded on a cassette 4-track in a living room.

While the guitar/drums duo thing is tired, passé and generally a bore, Pairs, comprised of drummer/vocalist Xiao Zhong, aka Rhys, and guitarist F have somehow hit the nail on the head.

The girl’s got pipes. I mean, she can really sing.

Summoning the spirit GLITCH is serious business, as it takes patience, precision and perfection to perform such a feat.

The music of Faz Waltz is firmly rooted in early ’70s glitter.

While there is a sailing motif to the band, it doesn’t impact the music which is firmly rooted in the road rock of Radio Birdman.

Q: When is a saxophone not a saxophone?
A: When it’s handled by John Butcher.

Decent shows are slim pickings when your days off are Tuesday and Wednesday.

This brilliant four disc box set compiles all of Zs’ releases through their first five years as a sextet consisting of saxophonists Sam Hillmer and Alex Mincek, percussionists Alex Hoskins and Brad Wentworth and electric guitarists Charlie Looker and Matthew Hough.

Sometimes it’s necessary to get away from all the noise and grit of the city and retreat into a paradise of soothing sonic waves.

The Italian/Spanish White Zoo Records continues its obsession with Killed By Death-style punk with this raging slab of darkness.

This is one of those rare moments when I kneel down and genuflect in humble admiration for a contemporary hero.

Now firmly within the grasp of bandleader Josh Dobbs, The RunnAmuckS have produced their finest album to date, an epic reflection on aging, relationships and punk rock frustration that is as honest as it is succinct.

The first question that comes to mind when listening to a new Neorev release is, “How in the hell does Michael Matteo keep getting better?”

While not really a black metal band per se, York, PA’s Night successfully conjure the dark atmospheric quality of the genre, creating post-rock atmospheric tracks that draw as much from Mogwai as they do from Burzum.

So what happens when you have a wife, a kid, a house in the suburbs, a steady job, you’re living the American dream, but still full of the angst that drew you to punk rock when you were young?

With Fuck Faced Failures, leader Steve Davis delivers an album so quietly frightening that nightmares seem preferable.

Being an outsider in a Norman Rockell-esque town would certainly lead to psychosis, channeled here in musical form by three unbalanced individuals whose true calling was probably a circus sideshow.

Brutal Poodle are incomprehensible.

Just when you though noise was getting all wussy, Medicine Cabinet’s Marc Schneider releases his second album in a successful effort to make your ears bleed.

On this rare 12” outing, Merzbow joins forces with San Pedro’s premier black-grind-noisemongers for an epic release that will be a worthy addition to any noise fan’s collection.

While it contains elements of harsh noise, Conscious Summary’s 7” effectively departs from the mold, bringing more music than power electronics.

After a couple cassette EPs, founding Zs member, Sam Hillmer, finally delivers his solo album, an introspective journey that successfully expresses Hillmer’s starkly unique vision.

Once again, Neorev returns with music so astonishingly excellent that one truly has to wonder why Michael Matteo isn’t one of the top electronic producers of the moment.

Thee mighty World War IX have weathered yet another lineup change and, honestly, have truly hit their stride with the absolute best grouping to date.

This is ’70s debauchery at its best. Forget retro, this is the real thing.

It’s the kind of music that makes you want to guzzle beer amongst friends in your favorite scummy punk rock dive while the band plays a most awesome set that makes the hangover the next day totally worth it.

Where the majority of contemporary punk rock tends to be tired, lacking in imagination and incredibly boring, Silver Cocks possess the beautiful spark that ignited their heroes so long ago.

This third record from Transex is the first from Southern Italy’s, White Zoo Records and a strong debut from a label devoted to bringing us the best Italian KBD punk.

This is true punk rock – the sound of alienated individuals venting their innermost feelings in an attempt to connect with anyone who will listen.

It’s a bit like slowly scanning the dial of a shortwave radio, trying to reach that transmission, but just missing it every time.

In the late ’80s/early ’90s, Stephen Svanholm played guitar in UK thrash-funk-metal band, Ignorance, releasing two albums on Metal Blade before settling down to study music seriously and become a full-fledged opera singer.

This is garage punk of the highest order, which makes sense considering the band contains members of The Radio Reelers, The Complaints and The Trust Fund Babies.

With this collection of rare early releases and previously unreleased live and rehearsal recordings from Brazil’s black/death/thrash barbarians, Metalhit.com finalizes its most recent trilogy of South American extreme metal.

This is furious rage in its purest form, unapologetic, unsympathetic, uncompromising, uninhibited animalistic fury that attacks only to kill.

The music of Bestial Holocaust falls somewhere between Sarcófago’s first two albums, INRI and The Laws of Scourge.

Where many death metal bands look to the Swedish scene of technical proficiency and high-end equipment for inspiration, Deathronation take a more old school, analog approach.

For those who prefer a bit of melody with their metal, there’s Britain’s Forefather.

With full-production and epic sound-quality, Consummatum Est is a solid statement of razor-sharp black metal with a death metal edge.

With this collection of tracks, Neorev proves to be a solid force in underground electronic music.

Suicide never sounded so lovely.

Straight out of a after-hours basement cabaret, Amour Obscur give us a glimpse into their upcoming Vic Thrill-produced full-length.

Pink Eye showcases the true eclecticism of Instagon, compiling fully improvised noise and music from 1998, 2007 and 2011.

Children of the Bomb is a bona fide electronic classic composed with integrity and produced without pretension.

Oh, this one was painful…

In a genre as rife with clichés as stoner/doom metal, it’s nice to hear a band who actually get it.

Moot Point perfectly encapsulates the experience of LA life for the outsiders who don’t buy into the fairy tale.

This is absolutely one of the best metal releases I’ve ever heard, and one that deserves to be heard by anybody who appreciates metal in any way.

The music on Terrorstorm is perhaps best summed up by the album’s third track, “Black Thrash Assault,” where grooving thrash metal riffage converges with grim black metal vocals and tight blast beats.

Death metal isn’t exactly the type of music I seek out but, for the most part, when it’s handed to me for review, I give it a fair listen and usually really enjoy what I hear, as on this filthy slab of vomit.