This is Ryoji Ikeda's first full-length release of new material since 2002's orchestral Op.,however, it is a return to his original form of rhythmic clicks, sonicbeeps, high pitched squeals, and low buzz. Although the claims comethat this, the first part of the Datamatics series, is built onstructures from data, Ikeda hasn't woven data into something that'sabstract or foreign sounding. The music is rather rhythmic,challenging, and completely enjoyable: something most computer musiciantypes have failed at.

The second part in Dockstader's series of albums based around recordings of radio waves packs a powerful punch. The atmospheric and cold timbres of the first volume have dissipated and have been replaced with a collection of hot, energetic pieces. The previous album was a subdued and relaxing work but with Aerial #2, Dockstader goes straight for the face.

This supergroup among the new wave of Italian experimentersput out one of my favorite records of 2004 and returned in late 2005 withanother favorite.  Members ValerioTricoli, Claudio Rocchetti, and Stefano Pilia represent some of the mostmystical, lyrical music I’ve heard come out of Italyor anywhere in some time.  ¾, theircollaborative group, now with percussionist Tony Arrabito, make brilliantlyinviting and adaptable music mixing melancholy chamber acoustics, ambientimprovised textures, and woven electronic and mechanical effects.

John Wiese's name is becoming as recognizable as Merzbow's. His output, though not as insane as Masami Akita's, is constant and nearly impossible to keep up with. He has worked with a number of musicians and noise-makers including Sunn 0))), Wolf Eyes, The Haters, Panicsville, and Daniel Menche. Teenage Hallucination: 1992-1999 is an attempt to consolidate much of Wiese's earliest output (some of it recorded at the age of 14) on to one disc and catch everyone up with this prolific destroyer of sound.

I nearly gave up on this album on first listen, but after learningmore about the context, things fell into place and I quickly became fascinatedby it. Across 11 tracks and in styles that range from dancey techno tocrazed piano, Rehearsing My Choir covers the life of bandmatesand siblings Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger's grandmother, withGrandma herself providing much of the vocals. 

Imagine there's an old abandoned farm house on the edge of town with nothing but the woods to keep it company. Imagine a bunch of high school kids held a party there one night and didn't come back. There wasn't any screaming, no bodies were found, no signs of violence; all the kids simply disappeared and never came back. Davenport braved that farm house and made some recordings there, only when they came back there were sounds on their tape that they didn't record. There were things happening in the background that they couldn't perceive. The contents of this disc are made up of those recordings.

This four-way split from Die Stadt is a treat. It is a double 7” with a gorgeous sleeve featuring some wonderful experimental and minimalist pieces from four top-notch sound artists. Lucky early birds who get one of the first 300 copies also get a double CD of material from the same artists. Packaged in a lovely textured sleeve, the entire collection both looks and sounds dreamy.

Community Library is now one year old. Founded in part by Paul Dickow, the label released three 12" singles in 2005 and a CD EP from Sawako. With more on the way, this is a look at the Nudge and Strategy singles released last year. High quality, clear, beautiful vinyl releases were the focus for the label throughout 2005 and it shows. These are dub-touched, rock-scored dance masterpieces of a quality that makes waiting for more a frustrating experience.

Atsome point, someone is going to have to put an end to all of this. Whenit seems every new band forming is an experimental two piece that runeverything through a phalanx of distortion pedals, I have to step backand take a deep breath. It's not that I don't care for noise-rock orhave no patience for amateurism; in fact, they're two items I greatlyenjoy. But every once in a while, a record comes along that forces meto call my predilection for the two into question. This is,unfortunately, just such a record.

Thirty seconds into the first track of this CD, I thought I'd beentransported back to about 1985.  I'm pretty I heard a song just likethis at the Roll-R-Skate in fifth grade. That '80s feel was a lot more interesting when it was new.

This is the third album from the wonderfully eclectic Barbez. Mixing mainly eastern European traditional music with cabaret, avant garde and straight up rock Insignificance is both unique sounding yet it sounds utterly familiar. A less than standard instrumentation and an immensely talented singer make for a gem of an album.

I don't really give a damn about psychedelic free association or extended mind jams. Typically all any of that adds up to is a mess of strange guitar solos and warped sounds bouncing of each other, all in an attempt to sound like a German group from the 70s. Luckily the Finnish employ that nasty word in a completely different manner and, in the case of Lumottu Karkkipurkki, the music is closer to bizarre, alienating sound collages than anything produced in the '70s with a guitar and acid.

At first I thought Calla's third album was good but before long I’ve come to think of them as the sort of band that owns the entire Low back catalogue but didn’t pay attention when Low's class was in session. Collisions is an ultimately bland record, not bad enough to warrant the master tapes being destroyed but certainly not interesting enough to make new listeners want to discover older albums.

For Still Valley Mirror mainstays Andrew Chalk and Christoph Heemanncollaborated with Jim O'Rourke between May, 2002 and January, 2004.Much of Mirror's output has suffered from prohibitive pricing and/orfrustratingly limited runs but thankfully CD re-issues such as these can bring the music to more masses.

I turned on to Bpitch Control around the Berlin 2001 compilation, which at thetime was the only available CD release besides its counterpart, Berlin 2000, the first label sampler. The things that first drew me to the label were its punker-collective ethos,reflected in the sleeve designs and the prideful futurism and homogeneity ofpresentation, and the glistening, urban mash-up of their aesthetic, injectingseams of industrial grit, glitchist abstraction, and flashy homage to passétechno and trance classics into the sleek German electro sound.

The latest album from ADULT. is a fun collection of punchy electro tracks. Gimmie Troubleis more polished than previous releases and ADULT. sound more sure ofthemselves now that they have expanded to a trio. The album stumbles alittle but could be the start of something bigger and better from them.

Up until this release I've never liked Aaron Dilloway's solo material. It's always seemed a little too keen in 'going for the all out 100% sick assault' as opposed to any gradients between that and anything less than pitch black. This release sees a ditching of density in favour of a little cheap subtlety putting it up there with the best of his work with Wolf Eyes, if not amongst the best of 2005's total Noise output.

Matthew S. Waldron's releases are more like captured events than bits of recorded material. This may be the result of his chosen methods of construction or it may be the product of the information and systems that feed his non-philosophy. Several interviews reveal him to be a deeply passionate individual whose music serves as an (irrational) extension of his beliefs and thought processes; this is made quite clear on Perekluchenie. He unveils a wrecking ball of written, spoken, and musical dialogue both immersive and fascinating, a complete package of reflection and strange association.

It would be easy to not give Brakes a second chance. The Englishfoursome have all the tics and tendencies that make me want to paintthem with the “British Post-Punk” brush and move along. Spiky guitars?Yep. Pissed of vocals? Check. Record released by Rough Trade?Obviously. But there's something else here that won't let me do awaywith them just yet.

Carrying the same amount of silence, space and field recordings as itdoes accessible melody, this single forty minute piece is a patchwork ofplaces and memories. This is an album that journeys through differenttimes, styles and moments in real time stopping off every once in awhile to take in the view.