To dismiss Laibach's work as ersatz, corny, fascist, or communist is the easy way out. The group has always let conceptual content dictate formal content. For over the quarter century of the group's existence, their work has been one over-arcing concept: control. Laibach's oeuvre is an exploration of how states, religions, and corporations manipulate our behavior.

Minimalism of this sort makes for a difficult proposition on the part of the composer. It takes an extremely talented artist to shape quiet sound into something that compels the listener to pay attention despite its inherent subtlety.

Released in 1973, this is the first CD version of this psychedelic pop album. Much of the inventive melodies, delicate harmonies, and breezy guitars are rooted in the '60s Western tradition but contain enough twists on the genre to give the tunes a subtly unique flavor. While not terribly groundbreaking, this album does hold the distinction of being the first available psychedelic album from Indonesia.

The debut album from the latest Bad Seeds off-shoot is a breath of fresh air compared to the recent stodgy and MOR output of Nick Cave. What the Bad Seeds did years ago with the blues, Grinderman have done with garage rock. Eleven songs of no bullshit and no fucking about with song structures or melodies have resulted in an exciting album. To paraphrase Cave, Grinderman is old farts making music for old farts (and Martyn P. Casey's "I love Status Quo" haircut certainly backs up this statement). Well if this is growing old, then I cannot wait for my bus pass to arrive!

Kevin Barnes becomes a glam-rock icon named Georgie Fruit on this record, or so he claims. Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? has been described by Barnes as a conceptual project for just this reason, but no matter how many cultural references he might make in his lyrics I don't keep coming back for them, nor do I find them particularly appealing. Of Montreal's latest record is enjoyable because it's catchy, not because there's anything special about Barnes' brand of peculiarity.

This compilation of Harvey's various works for film mostly covers his work for obscure German and Australian indie films (most of which I have never heard of let alone seen). Harvey has an exceptional amount of skill that is hidden much of the time, even on his own solo albums. Here he explores palettes and tones of a much more subtle manner compared to his day jobs. The emphasis is, of course, on mood and tension. Not all of the compositions are brilliant but most of them are prime examples of Harvey firing on all cylinders.

This 2CD and 2DVD box set is much better than expected. Not being a fan of the last Bad Seeds album made me think twice about buying this but despite focusing heavily on songs from The Abattoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus double album, this is a nice addition to the Bad Seeds back catalog. It is by no means the best of Cave's live albums or DVDs but it is still well worth investigating.

With their fourth full length, Dälek leaves the noise and skree of Absence behind them and offer up instead a more contemplative effort.  This album demonstrates that you don't need to clobber people over the head with sonic violence to get the point across.

Nathan Michaels' music could be nothing short of massive. Aphotic Leech is no happy experience, but it is a commanding piece of music with no shortage of powerful moments.

We all know Kieran Hebden is a big jazz fan, nearly all of the samples used in Four Tet recordings originate from jazz records, but it's undeniable that he has continuously made his mark in the pop framework. This third collaborative release with drummer Steve Reid explores the more pop side of things with ten tunes that average between the three and six mintue mark, ripe with riffs, and just about ready to be turned into hit singles.

When I saw Yellow Swans back in August of 2004, at the late, great Schoolhouse in Hadley, Mass, I liked their performance well enough to pick up a couple of their records. Unfortunately, those records, and the wave of hype that soon followed, left me feeling pretty lukewarm towards the band. They have grown a lot in the past two and a half years, however, and this particular trilogy of recordings shows that off. 

This is a case where the cover definitely matches the book. Upon seeing Seldon Hunt's artwork for this release my first thought was "it looks like prog rock meets black metal." And while it doesn't quite sound like the paring of Rick Wakeman and Malefic, it does have that mix of lush symphonic electronics combined with metal riffing. The duo of Aidan Baker and Leah Buckareff have created another successful release on the always excellent Archive label.

Myth of the Love Electrique is another scorcher from these ridiculously prolific psych masters. While navigating their massive catalog can be an intimidating endeavor, this album is notable for being the debut of their newest band member: Kitagawa Hao. He fills the void left by the departure of Cotton Casino a few years back. Kitagawa's presence doesn't dominate the recording by any means, but her contributions nicely complement the swirling chaos the group generates.

Some uncompromising records of good quality seem predestined for neglect or obscurity. So it is with this taut and melodic release; an interesting mix of jaunty minimalism, baroque abstraction and a smidgen of the kind of understated, introspective instrumentation that is to myths of the American Old West as beer foam is to a glass.

Amid the Noise is a meditative affair that almost seems therapeutic with its stark but invigorating compositions. These fragile songs have a way of both cleansing and purifying the ears, as if erasing the damage done by the sounds of hectic urban life that invade on a daily basis.

Bostonian Glenn Jones isn't only one of the greatest modern acoustic guitar players of our time, but he's also one of the most genuine and open human beings who happens to be a musician. This release is a testament to both of these claims—and then some—with 11 fantastic and personal solo guitar pieces accompanied by an excellent booklet detailing stories behind each of the songs and even his own contact information!

The change in sound heralded on the Silver EP is taken further on this new album. The melancholic ecstasy of the debut album has now taken on a more hopeful tone. Instead of the thick and syrupy atmosphere present before, Justin Broadrick has opened up the music of Jesu to a more expansive feeling of freedom. The shift in sound is mirrored in the artwork of Conqueror: stretches of sky dwarfing the industrial buildings below, a far cry from the agoraphobic view out of the window that adorned the first album, dominate the record. It takes a little more listening to get into than previous Jesu releases but is definitely worth the effort.

This international release of the Swedish singer's 2005 debut (originally only released in the icy north of Scandinavia) is a joyous collection of gentle pop music. The music is quite retro sounding, harking back to the likes of Joni Mitchell but less cloying and with enough of an edge to set it apart from the thousands of other singer songwriters that have passed through my tired ears. Until Death Comes is not a perfect album but it is a perfectly good way to spend half an hour.

This collection acts as a fantastic introduction to Sally's solo work and fronting the Sumacs. A versatile singer and talented composer with work in various genres, Doherty's name shouldn't be unfamiliar with Sol Invictus fans and those who trolled the World Serpent catalogs ages ago. This disc compiles music from her albums from 1996 through 2002, mostly originally distributed by World Serpent, along with some previously unreleased material.

Over two years after becoming the first dubstep producer to drop a full length album on a high-profile indie label, Mark Foster follows up his unshakably steady stream of vinyl-only classics with a sophomore selection full of explosive exclusives.