At The Drive-In - Relationship of Command (320) (2000)

Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez's band before they splintered off and formed The Mars Volta. Post-hardcore cornerstone. Masterpiece. Just listen to it.

Arcarsenal

TV On the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain (V0) (2006)

Per request. TVotR returns with some new faces, including David Bowie, who does guest-vocals on the track Province, and Jaleel Bunton, who provides the first actual drums on a TVotR album.

TvOTR don't really deviate from what made Desperate Youth such a great album. Instead, they treat their sophomore effort as an outline and use Cookie Mountain as a medium to flesh out the finer points. I Was A Lover is one of the better opening tracks I've heard, with Massive Attack's Teardrop used as a very basic sample before TV On the Radio layers it with horns, guitar, and Malone and Adebimpe's unique vocals. Wolf Like Me is probably the closest TVotR has ever come to actual in your face, driving rock-and-roll. For my money, the strongest track is the second-to-last one, Tonight, featuring what I firmly believe is the strongest vocal effort on any TVotR album.

Bottom line is that TV On the Radio isn't doing much of anything differently here, they're just doing everything better, which is pretty damn impressive and makes for a great listening experience...or ten.

Your rusty heart will be fine, in its telltale time

State of Mind - Faster Than Light (320) (2009)

Drum N' Bass.

Division Ten.

Boris At Last -Feedbacker- (320) (2003)

Jonathan Davis of Korn was once quoted as saying this on an advertisement of a video game called Haze: "Gaming for me is a religion. And Haze is the shit. I had to come up with a track that can hit up that kind of rush I get from the game and I think we really rocked it!!"

Now that quote by itself sounds both stupid and ridiculous. But if we change several words in that quote, it can sound like he is talking about Boris. "MUSIC for me is a religion. And BORIS is the shit. I tried to come up with a track that can hit up that kind of rush I get from FEEDBACKER and I think we really FUCKED it UP!!"

And there you have it. Jonathan Davis loves Boris. A random review of this album I remember reading described this album by saying it was as diverse as Akuma no Uta, and as cohesive as Flood. That sounds like a good way to describe it. Why the hell not, right?

It probably has more in common with Flood and Amplifier than it does with Heavy Rocks or Pink, if that helps as a point of reference. The album was written to be experienced as one long track, and it is about 43 minutes long. The first track is about ten minutes of building up for the second track, so keep that pacing in mind. Expect serene soundscapes being slowly overtaken by electric wail (provided by the Les Paul wielding guitar goddess Wata) before exploding into gorgeous amounts of feedback and percussive stomp. If that sounds like your thing, this album is for you. It's fair to say this may not be the perfect starting point for Boris, as that role might be filled better by Akuma No Uta or Pink, but it's definitely worth a listen.

Cover kinda creeps me out, though.

The Roots - Organix/Do You Want More?!!!??! (320) (1993/1995)

Per request.

Dubious Edit: Just dropping in to remind you that the Legendary Roots Crew is better than you.

Organix
Do You Want More?!!!??!

TV On the Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes (V0) (2004)

TV On the Radio are a band that are, among other things, impossible to pigeonhole, and it is perhaps this single quality that makes their sophomore album as good as it is. There are so many different influences that intermingled to create this sound that trying to identify them all would probably feel like a really awkward family reunion where everyone is technically related but no one really knows anybody else, so I will avoid trying to list them all and instead hit a few of the key ones: soul, funk, jazz, electronic, hip-hop, and even doo-wop.

What makes this album work is not just the obscenely good vocals of Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone, but the perfection in which they are implemented within each track: sometimes soft, letting the often industrial guitars and programmed drums drive the song (King Eternal); at other times forceful and demanding to be the center of attention (Dreams). The middle track, Ambulance, is completely a cappella--a risk for any band to take, but which Adebimpe and Malone pull off flawlessly. Lyrically, the album is sublime and deep, covering topics from racism to war to love while never missing a beat.

If you've never listened to TV On the Radio before, they can sound disjointed at first--even awkward. I would classify this album as a grower simply because I believe it takes multiple listens to appreciate every subtlety that the band buried deep into this record.

Staring at the sun