On Terminus, the latest album from the project that rose from the ashes of Godflesh, Justin Broadrick once again plumbs the recesses of memory to retrieve his own signature blend of melody and heaviness.
Between the Grooves takes a deep dive into Tom Waits' Bone Machine. It's the one fans keep hidden amongst themselves, a secret treasure only the devout are privy to and the seasoned are worthy of. Simply put, it is not for the faint of heart.
Released in 2006, this live LP documents This Heat as a formidable live rock presence.
Refusing to colour within the lines, This Heat presented new and radically revised work on this 1996 compilation.
Years before rock bands regularly crafted songs of this length, This Heat presented 40 minutes of music in just two songs.
This Heat's last statement prior to their dissolution, Deceit saw the trio continuing to plot a path that harkened to other sounds of the moment, while remaining thoroughly unique.
Now available on digital formats, This Heat made what might have been a casual release into a statement of pure ambition.
On their self-titled debut, available for the first time on digital formats, This Heat delivered an all-time classic stitched together from several years of experiments.
How an audacious, daring record from disgruntled ex-Beatle John Lennon became a major musical landmark.
For being one of the defining albums of its time, Radiohead's Kid A certainly doesn't have much to "say". The band's thoughts on losing one's voice in an increasingly individualistic society suddenly takes on a much greater potency.
Radiohead recorded them at the same time, and the songs came from the same creative place. They even share a song between them. So why is Amnesiac dwarfed by the shadow of Kid A?
Radiohead's Kid A turns 20 today. Ten writers tackle each track (yes, even the bonus blip at the end), and we soon discover how, truly, everything is in its right place.
Twenty years removed from Deftones' debut album, the iconic alt-metal outfit gel more than ever and discover their poise on Ohms.
What sets experimental pop's Jonnine apart on Blue Hills is her attention to detail, her poetic lyricism, and the indelibly personal touch her sound bears.
The Flaming Lips' American Head is a trip, a journey to the past that one doesn't want to return to but never wants to forget.
Godcaster's Long Haired Locusts is a swirling, sloppy mess of guitars, drums, flutes, synths, and apparently whatever else the band had on hand in their Philly basement. It's a highly entertaining and listenable album.
Kate Bush's Never for Ever served as the stepping stone for the artist to reach her full potential as a bona fide musical genius.
Drummer Evan Dorrian makes a good argument to be the frontman of Australian improvisational band Tangents on their new album, Timeslips.
Neu!'s Michael Rother reflects on the creative environment of lockdown, the struggles of playing experimental krautrock, and the collective beauty of live performance.
Brooklyn experimental quartet JOBS don't have a conventional musical bone in their body, resulting in a thrilling, typically off-kilter new album, endless birthdays.
In honor of the band with the most U.F.O.s and robots, here are the ten best Flaming Lips songs based on all things science fiction. The psychedelic band's new LP, American Head, releases this September.
Chrome Waves, ex-Nachtmystium man Jeff Wilson offers up solo debut, Open Roads, featuring dark and remarkable sounds in tune with Sisters of Mercy and Bauhaus.
Paul Weller's On Sunset continues his recent streak of experimental yet tuneful masterworks. More than 40 years into his musical career, Weller sounds as fresh and inspired as ever.
Sublime harmonies and constant innovation make Ohmme's Fantasize Your Ghost an impressive work of modern indie rock art.
On 10:20, Wire retain the sound they've been cultivating for the last few albums and use it to reinvigorate and reinterpret tracks from their various periods.
One of the pleasures of human culture is that, as a combined stream of millions of individuals' efforts in this current moment, and millions of people's inputs across time stretching back thousands of years, no single person will ever have seen or heard it all.
Everyone's favorite noise rock curmudgeon, Steve Albini sounds off as he prepares to release an eerie score to a horror film.
Mike Patton's Mr. Bungle release a cover of the Exploited's "Fuck the USA". But what does it mean beyond its general timeliness?
Two years after Frog Eyes dissolved, Carey Mercer is back with a new band, Soft Plastics. 5 Dreams and Mercer's surreal sense of incongruity should be welcomed with open arms and open ears.
David Thomas guides another version of Pere Ubu through a selection of material from their early years, dusting off the "hits" and throwing new light on some forgotten gems.
The Universe Inside isn't a typical Dream Syndicate album. The verse/chorus structure has been neatly sidestepped in favor of a free-wheeling, improvised, truly experimental approach, and it's marvelous.
The Brazilian Gentleman's "Armageddon" is a psychedelic part of a concept album about beloved New Jersey shoegaze collective All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors.
In times of quarantine we listen and we write, so here are 20 extreme (and some experimental) records to spin during these times.
Tautology I's six songs lack the musical sorcery of post-rockers usually mentioned in the same breath as El Ten Eleven.
The Beatles' 1968 self-titled double LP has been referenced by everyone from Joan Didion to Charles Manson and analyzed literally backward and forward. Mendelsohn and Klinger, always smiling and arriving late for tea, discuss the Number 14 album on the Big List.
Oneiric Formulary being a Sir Richard Bishop record, there are moments, of course, that will blow your mind.
Chicago-based cellist, Alison Chesley (a.k.a. Helen Money) creates an utterly riveting listen from beginning to end on Atomic.
© 1999-2020 PopMatters.com. All rights reserved.
PopMatters is wholly independent, women-owned and operated.
