Nine Black Alps - Locked Out From the Inside (320) (2009)

I'm not too familiar with Nine Black Alps, but Everything Is enjoyable, no? This album was released on their own label "Lost House Records" which may account for the very small amount of attention it's received. After two listens, the album proves itself to be better than Everything Is, both lyrically and sonically. Nine Black Alps manages to do the whole "HEY! We got melody AND Heaviness!" thing without settling for mediocre elements of both like many modern groups.

Then again, this is all opinion and from an author that has terrible taste in music, so keep that in mind.

Seriously, I'm a Yeezy fan. I'm so mainstream.

Queens of the Stone Age - Queens of the Stone Age (320) (1998)

Ah yes, QOTSA's self-titled debut. At the time of this album's recording, the line-up consisted of Joshua Homme, Alfredo Hernandez, and Homme's alter ego - Carlo Von Sexron. It's sound is quite different from it's follow up "Rated R," and it's kind of surprising how even people familiar with QOTSA's work have never listened to this album.

The album doesn't have the production work or variety of QOTSA's later albums, but it is still a vital part of the band's discography and some of the Homme's best work. A sort of heavy-metal minded attitude to riffing and distortion dominates the albums sound, but not in the way the average listener would expect. It's feels warm and fuzzy, rather than aggressive and crushing. Hardly surprising if one is familiar with Homme's work. Can't accuse him of treading the beaten path.

This life is a trip you're psycho in love, and I know.

Cherry Ghost - Beneath This Burning Shoreline (320) (2010)

I haven't as of yet heard Cherry Ghost's debut record, but after listening to this one I won't be wasting any time in checking it out. This is a very mature-sounding record, similar in sound to a band like Tindersticks or The National: an indie, post-punk tinged chamber pop record. And it's very awesome. Simon Aldred's voice fits these songs like a glove, and the production brings everything together--not lo-fi, but definitely not clean, either, a bit raw. Definitely one of the top albums of the year, and I have a feeling this one will continue to grow on me as I delve deeper into the songwriting.

Been kissing strangers