We Is Shore Dedicated, RHINOCEroses/Rabbit Noose. The
point is not to understand what any of it means — the band name,
the album art, why exactly a Ukrainian jazz bassist is playing indie
rock — but to appreciate the music for what it is. That itself is
not always easy to grasp, but could well be the only post-modern
art-rock with country, Balkan, and Dada influences you’ll hear all
year. (Huevos Imaginary Records)
Anna Laube, Pool All the Love * Pool All the
Knowledge. Laube gave up a job at Google to tour the country with
the Gibson acoustic guitar she lovingly named Angelina. Her second
album is infused with tales and perspectives from the road, but it’s
the studio touches, like bright drums and warm harmonica solos, that
make for a great listen. Modern arrangements spice up the classic
blues-folk template. (Ginkgo Records)
Death Sentence: Panda, Insects Awaken. A flute, a
clarinet, and a drum kit: that’s all it takes for San Francisco trio
Death Sentence: Panda to make serious noise. Black Dice-y chaos and
shrill punk thrash are tempered by traditional post-punk —
traditional, that is, except for the hyper Eastern melodies on flute
and pitch-shifted clarinet and Kim West’s punchy high-pitch hollering.
(Upset the Rhythm)
MC Lars & YTCracker, The Digital Gangster
LP. Gangsters of nerdcore, MC Lars and YTCracker trade rhymes
about video games, serial ports, hacking Macs, and the like. “Oneonta”
finds YTCracker declaring himself a “nerdy Coolio” and Lars asserting
I put my headphones on and get lost in the web/I never liked
reality, I’ll stay in mine instead. (Horris Records)
