Jonsi and Alex: Riceboy Sleeps

Artist: Jonsi and Alex
Album: Riceboy Sleeps
Date Released: July 21, 2009
Genre: post-rock, experimental rock
Rating: 7.8

The Mars Volta: Octahedron

Artist: The Mars Volta
Album: Octahedron
Date Released: June 23, 2009
Genre: experimental rock, prog-rock, neo psychedelia, post-hardcore
Rating: 7.6

Review: For their 5th studio release, prolific neo psychedelic rockers The Mars Volta have decided to take a deep and cleansing breath -- a welcome change after their spasmodically frenetic but brilliant The Bedlam in Goliath. Octahedron still features their characteristic power and trippiness, but the pace is taken down a considerable notch. The end result is a more listenable and intricate album where the band can showcase its song-writing talents. It's also an opportunity to hear Cedric Bixler-Zavala's vocals in a more intimate atmosphere (check out "With Twilight As My Guide" which features some gorgeous singing alongside an acoustic guitar and spacey guitar effects) . The Mars Volta remain one of the most fascinating and distinctive bands in the world.

Dirty Projectors: Bitte Orca

Artist: Dirty Projectors
Album: Bitte Orca
Date Released: June 6, 2009
Genre: indie-rock, experimental rock
Rating: 8.5

Review: Their most accessible work to date, Bitte Orca retains the experimentalism of previous releases while showcasing the Dirty Projectors' talents for complex vocal arrangements, melodies and harmonies. Bitte Orca is absolutely exploding in ideas; take "The Bride," for example, which intertwines Beatlesque harmonies and Led Zeppelin-like acoustic guitars with a modern indie touch reminiscent of Grizzly Bear. Stick with this one: it's a complex and rewarding release.

Sonic Youth: The Eternal

Artist: Sonic Youth
Album: The Eternal
Date Released: June 9, 2009
Genre: indie rock, alternative rock, experimental rock
Rating: 8.2

Review: Veteran alt-rockers Sonic Youth return with The Eternal -- an album that features many of their hallmarks (including Kim Gordon's acerbic delivery, de-tuned guitars, and flirtations with dissonance), but also a characteristic new direction established by Thurston Moore on his recent solo album, Trees From Outside the Academy (e.g. "Antenna"). One of my favorite lyrics of the year comes in "Sacred Trickster": "What's it like to be a girl in a band?/I don't quite understand/That's so quaint to hear/I feel so faint my dear."

Omar Rodriguez-Lopez: Old Money

Artist: Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
Album: Old Money

Date Released: January 27, 2009
Genre: experimental rock, neo-psychedelia, indie rock, instrumental rock, space rock
Rating: 7.6

Review: The Mars Volta's Omar Rodriguez-Lopez continues to churn out albums with disturbing proficiency -- but this one's a doosey. Old Money is a guitar lover's dream come true, especially in today's age where bombastic rock-outs and virtuosic playing are (curiously) taboo. Some might consider Rodriguez-Lopez to be a bit indulgent here, but Old Money is too good and too much fun to ignore; let the malcontents miss out on this one -- it'll be their loss.

Like the last Mars Volta album, The Bedlam in Goliath, this CD blazes forward with unrelenting intensity. Rarely do listeners have a chance to catch their breath, all while being treated to a diverse sonic palate. The ten instrumental tracks on Old Money bring together a number of influences, from 70's era Zappa and psychedelia right through to Latin music and prog-rock.

The riffs are fantastic and never overdone; the arrangements are constructed with careful precision (including crazy time signature changes, saxophone and spacey synth zone-outs), but at no time does Old Money sound over-produced. The sound is raw, fresh and frenetic --and all performed with admirable skill.

Old Money is exactly what an instrumental guitar-rock album should sound like.