Dälek unleash industrial-strength beats, layers of juddering ambience, and a fierce verbal polemnic. Gutter Tactics matches rough, suffocating production to brutal subject matter. A few piano figures provide relief but the general mood of uncompromising defiance is signalled by the cover depiction of a lynched human recreated as a mtuant, and an opening track sampling Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

Historically speaking most musical reunions are, to be polite, lacking. More often than not the group's are well past there prime, and appear to be doing little more than either seeking a paycheck or reclaiming their past glories as pop culture icons. That Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius' recent Cluster reunion exudes none of these qualities is not so much surprising as it is encouraging. The duo's artistic integrity can hardly be called into question after their near 40-year career, even as they are in a position to exploit their earned roles as godfathers of experimental synth music. Yet Berlin 07, a document of their first show in the city since 1969, displays the duo in fine form as they broaden their legacy by continuing to create vital and challenging music.

As far as I'm concerned, the Incapacitants are THE best noise band to ever come out of Japan.  While they aren't as prolific or esoteric as some of their contemporaries, they've consistently been responsible for some of the most complex, chaotic, loud, and downright fun releases in the genre.  Here, almost all of their cassette recordings have been complied into a lavish, lovingly presented 10 CD box set that stands up proudly with any other large-scale reissue release, and the material sounds as fresh today as it did some 10 to 15 years ago.

Although it'll probably get the most attention for the participation of Sunn O)))'s Stephen O'Malley, this is much better looked at as an ensemble work that lacks overly sustained guitar drone in place of a bleaker, more complex atmosphere that, along with the vocals of Anok Pe David Tibet, conveys darkness in a more subtle, but equally as menacing way.

Scott "Wino" Weinrich (no relation to the band also being reviewed this week by Creaig Dunton) has been in many groups over the years. Saint Vitus, The Obsessed, Spirit Caravan and The Hidden Hand. After a couple of decades moving from one classic doom band to another, this is first time releasing an album under his own name. The formation of a new band for these sessions has worked to his benefit as this is a return to form after a few years in a songwriting wilderness.

Temporary Residence has once again been the bastion of preserving little known music with this double disc compilation.  Much like the disc by The Loved last year, this 2+ hour collection compiles every single track Wino recorded or released during their brief career.  Although the band was responsible for a number of really good heavy scum rock recordings, I'm still wondering was reissuing all of them necessary.

While they had a modest hit with 2000's "Sandwiches," the DGPs aren't simply a gimmick band.  There is an explicit amount of humor to their songs, but for every sophomoric skit on this album, there's a nuanced instrumental track that demonstrates their musicianship.  With the genre hopping sound, heavy amounts of funk, a bit of rock, and a little social commentary, they really do seem the antecedents of Parliament Funkadelic.  Plus, they're also obsessed with ass.

David Reed's latest as Luasa Raelon shares more with his Envenomist namesake, filled as it is with lonesome and metallic drones. In The House of Flesh there is no soul and whatever is left in its absence is a bleak and threatening specter.

Part two of Boutique's extensive reissue campaign of obscure Mancunian post-punk group Spherical Objects, this disc collects the band's last two albums, released in 1980 and 1981, showcasing Steve Solamar's restless search for an artistic resolution to his inner contradictions. While the music here is reliably interesting in an anthropological sense, it doesn't always work.

As the centerpiece of a campaign to reissue the entire discography of Manchester's short-lived Object Music, LTM's Boutique Label presents an extensive reissue of the complete works of label founder Steve Solamar's project Spherical Objects. This disc collects the band's first two albums, which evidence an idiosyncratic approach to prevailing post-punk modes, filtering glam rock, 1960s garage psych and disco through a uniquely paradoxical artistic sensibility.

Zak Riles' solo debut on Important forgoes the rock 'n' roll of Grails for the sake of more introspective fare. Sitting at a crossroads where psychedelic meditation, classical technique, and foreign intrigue meet, Riles concocts a breathy and sultry record littered with esoteric allusions and familiar ideas.

This Swiss project has a new take on sludgy drone music: most tracks here are full of harsh noise and feedback, while others are driven by a fuzzed out bass, all paired with the infinite tones of a harmonium.  The increased sense of musicality based on a wider sonic palette makes for a better experience across the diverse tracks presented here.

While nearly all musicians use technology in their craft, few do it so literally as Skeletons Out members Howard Stelzer and Jay Sullivan; Stelzer plays tapes while Sullivan opts for vinyl. Despite a means of production that would appear to require a reconfiguring of previously recorded material though, Skeletons Out instead concoct a barren piece of industrial architecture from the sounds of the tools themselves.

Marion Maerz was possibly Germany's coolest pop star for a while in 1965, a reputation earned largely from her rather downcast hit "Er ist Weider Da" (released at a time when German pop songs were uniformly cheery). Unfortunately, she was never able to repeat her initial success and gradually faded from being a chart presence. In 1971, she attempted to reinvent herself with an album of German-language interpretations of Burt Bacharach hits. No one noticed and Marion’s second (and final) slide into obscurity began. In the ensuing four decades, this album has become a sought-after collector's item and is regarded as something of a masterpiece (according to the label, anyway).

The duo of Howard Marsden and Holy McGrail is a unit whose long excursions explore the more ominous realms of synthesizer slush. This, their second album following 2005's The Creep eschews the dark fragility of their previous effort in favor of 65 minutes of near unmoving gloom whose finale, a poem written and recited by Julian Cope, merely serves to seal the casket.

The music crafted by Strings of Consciousness could appropriately characterized as stream of consciousness: improvisation being the musical equivalent of the literary technique. Based around the core of a string quartet, the international collective, instigated by Philippe Petit, join themselves with a revolving cast of fellow musical travelers. This time they team up with Angel, who began in 1999 as duo between Ilpo Vaisanen (Pan Sonic) and Dirk Dresselhaus (Schneider TM). In 2004 Icelandic multi-instrumentalist of Múm fame, Hildur Gudnadottir, was recruited. The result has become a vehicle on which my own consciousness can travel, moving from the ominous and hyperdriven sounds of deep space to wander amidst the ancient ruins of a moonswept world.

2008 was a big year for Emeralds. Solar Bridge (released on Hanson) garnered the most widespread acclaim for the trio yet and all three members—guitarist Mark McGuire and synth players John Elliott and Steve Hauschildt—continued their solo explorations with numerous releases that garnered further praise. What Happened sees Emeralds further honing their sound as they hearken in what is sure to be another fruitful year for the unit.

This is K-The-I???'s second album of "densed-out boom bap" and first collaboration with producer Thavius Beck. Beck, who recently worked with Trent Reznor on Saul Williams' Niggy Tardust, complements K’s literate, dystopian verse beautifully with what Mush has aptly dubbed "Blade Runner beats."

Matricaria is a genus of plant well known for its powers of bio-remediation, the first to colonize lands that have been disturbed by human evil. And like the plants after which this album was named, veteran psych-folksters Tara Burke and Helena Espvall have littered this musical venture with seeds of great potential. I hope that in the future their efforts will be more cultivated and carefully pruned. Luckily, the places that needed weeding in this musical patch are passed over easily. What remains is wild in its beauty.

There seem to be two wildly different sides to this band: one that plays skittering discordant freak-outs, and one that strives for some sort of ambient/post-rock/Tangerine Dream hybrid.  I vastly prefer the freak-out side.  No one ever says "I saw the most amazing jazz duo last night, they had this virtuousic and incendiary drummer, but he concealed that extremely well and played with tasteful restraint and subtlety instead.  It was awesome!". This album lives and dies by how much drummer Thomas Stronen opens up.