Volcano the Bear's ability to swing between the experimental, the traditional, energetic performance and pop structure means there are high expectations on Aaron Moore and this, his solo debut. Not only does this package include an exceptional album but the quick to purchase can also find accompanying visuals on a DVD constructed by Italian filmmaker Francesco Paladino (and an extra unreleased track).

London's Bush Chemists are practioners of dub, but it ain't yourgranddaddy's dub. Imagine if Lee Perry had been into the UK housescene, dropping E instead of puffing ganj and gyrating to pulsing highnotes rather than grooving to throbbing basslines. Where Perry and likeluminaries were noodlers—fooling around with tracks in the studio,throwing in a horn, fading out a guitar at random—the Chemists' musicfeels like they're trying to be scientists, using structured originalcompositions rather than dubbing out existing tracks.

I'd love it if someone put out a new slab of roller-rink rockingelectro every few months so that I could at least daydream aboutrollerskating while I'm in my car with the subwoofer thumping funky 808throbs at me.  Jimmy Edgar's newest is such a record: a lovelyslice of new school meets old school on wheels.  If I can leaveall of the record's fashion-conscious hoo ha behind, I'll be just fine.

Lavishly packaged in a beautifully presented wallet, this two-disc recording of Earth live in New York serves as a wonderful epilogue to their recent album Hex. Featuring the same line up as on that album, Live Hex sees Carlson and company showcasing their latest material and applying their newer, sparser sound to older songs from Earth’s back catalogue.

RazorX is the production team of Brits The Bug (Kevin Martin of TechnoAnimal, God, Ice, and more) and The Rootsman, who make blistering,aggressive hardcore dancehall tracks with the levels pinned to the redunderneath some of some of the most creative Jamaican MCs, and thisawesome two CD set collects the first ten 7" singles.

I Am Spoonbender is one of a handful of groups in serious danger offalling through the cracks merely because they were unfairly andinaccurately lumped in with the glut of trendy Electroclash groups thatfound brief, faddish popularity in the early 2000s.  After the wreckagecleared and everyone came to their senses, it seemed that IAS and a fewother bands only tenuously connected to this scene were effectivelydisposed of in certain critical circles, like the proverbial baby with the bathwater, despite thefact that they significantly preceded the trend and differdrastically in their musical approach and content.

A collection of previously unreleased early material, Epidose 1showcases 14 heavily textured songs that are impressively strong, andit's not hard to see why they caught the attention of the majors. TheDrops somehow manage to be noisy and catchy, silly and heavy, all atthe same time.

Like label-mates Landing, Bright dish out melodic tracks rooted in '70sprog rock, but with a distinctively modern feel and looks ahead asmuch as it looks to the past. With its heavy repetition and psychedelicfeel, it's also an eight-song spiritual journey.

Nonplacelabel founder BurntFriedman is one half of Flanger with Uwe Schmidt (Atom Heart, Atom™,Senor Coconut) and Jaki Liebezeit should need no introduction as thelegendary drummerfor Can. Both men are no strangers to collaborations and thisparticular combo is now going on its fourth year of releases and liveshows. This disc unsurprisingly picks up right where the first oneand the in-between Out In the Sticks mini-LP left off. 

This is the kind of debut that knocks on the door of Kranky andConstellation only to be carried directly into the pressing plant on asilver platter decorated with rose petals. This six tracker from mwvm(aka Michael Walton) shows a grasp of the ‘isms’ (minimalism, hypnotismand droneism) that’s already beyond the reach of acts with six times asmany members.

A rerelease from 2000, $100 Room is awkward, rough, and soundslike a demo recorded on a crappy 4-track in someone's rec room—andit's also beautiful. The cover image echoes the songs inside: roughlyscrawled and amatuerish, but sweetly so.

One of my main criticisms of Merzbow is the lack of quality control. Everything he records seems to be released whether it’s good or bad. The idea of good noise, however, is oxymoronic, but in comparing this release to some of his better works and other more fruitful collaborations, it nearly ends up as a complete dud. Akita’s contribution is nothing but “Merzbow by Numbers” and only some deft work by Tamarin makes this record anything more than bargain bin fodder.

Edward Ka-Spel's appearance on the upbeat and bubbling "Globally Yours" is the cream of the crop as far as this record is concerned. I avoided listening to this record for longest time after reading the puerile lyrics for "Monoball," but after giving it a chance it's now obvious that this release needs memorable tunes more than anything else.

The lost and forgotten member of Company Flow is back with a gritty andsearing if slightly uneven clarion call-out. Long playing the Flav toEl-P's Chuck D, Bigg Jus hit an early peak as one-third of industrylegends Co-Flow. But unlike El-P, Jus has yet to make a solo effortworthy of holding a candle to Funcrusher Plus.

The third single off Thrills,Allien’s most recent full length is actually one of my least favoritetracks from a record that has taken some time to get used to.  After Berlinette,the artist’s blissful attempt at incorporating glitch and pop elements into herunique blend of sleek post-electro and handmade futurist techno, Thrills seemed a rather straightforwardattempt at bringing her art back to the dancefloor: it's certainly addictive butfor many a sideways step. 

Landing's latest full length album is more of a single symphony than fiveseparate tracks; Brocade is not a song-based album but one longcontinuous work. The music unwinds at a leisurely pace and is bestappreciated all in one sitting.

Prefuse 73 follows up his last, guest-filled full length with thisstripped-back instrumental "mini album" dedicated to the rigors oftraveling to promote and perform his music. This is cut up hip hop forthe short attention span set, and should satisfy the folks who criedfoul when he littered his last hip hop record with (gasp) rapping!

Neil Campbell’s sixth volume of his solo efforts away from Vibracathedral Orchestra’s more democratic accommodating approach is an outstanding collection of different musical pieces. Volume 6 is probably the best yet, running the musical gamut between experimental, melody, drone and fun. The only way I can think to recommend this series anymore would be for me to go around selling it door to door.

Very little on this eleven track remix project moves me to endorse it. The prospect of Gruntsplatter and Troum remixing Aidan Baker's varied catalogue is exciting, but many of these revisions add up to little more than frivolous games played with choice sampling material.

With the recent explosion of interest in the noise scene, a number ofartists, some worthy and some not, have gotten a taste of (relative)success that in years past would have been unheard of. ChristopherForgues, the man behind Kites, utilizes a phalanx of pedals, circuitbreakers, microphones, and amps to achieve his unusual and bracing takeon music. Live, he screams, hisses, and flails into his mics and amps,achieving an unworldly scream of sound that it truly impressive for aone man band.