#1 - Crippled Black Phoenix – (Mankind) The Craft Ape (UK)
If there are two words I could choose to summarise Crippled Black Phoenix they would be ‘bleak’ and ‘odyssey’. They play other-worldly prog rock and they have the chops and credentials to pull it off. It is an expertly crafted saga that reveals its true nature over the course of 86 gob-smacking minutes. Sure it’s a little long-winded but (Mankind) The Crafty Ape rewards the patient listener. It all appears to be very concerned with the inhumanity of man and our inevitable demise (especially on the poignant ‘Operation Mincemeat’). The comparison with Pink Floyd has always dogged Crippled Black Phoenix but they do very little to downplay it either. Taking any track you can hear as much or as little of the famous London quartet as you like. I recommend just enjoying it for the crafty apes.
Rating: A
Recommended tracks: The Brain / Poznan, Release The Clowns, Get Down And Live With It
#2 - WZRD - WZRD (USA)
Chart-topper Kid Cudi aims to lowball his audience’s expectations with the tame but audacious WZRD. No samples, no rapping, no bad language (with the exception of “pussies”, i.e. cowards), no top 40-baiting guest appearances from the likes of Kanye West or Rihanna. What it does have is a dour atmosphere in spades, impossibly downtuned guitars, awkward melodies, and a cover of a timeless folk song ('Where Did You Sleep Last Night?' as made famous by Nirvana in the 90s). Reinvention never sounded so uncomfortable which I guess was the point; Kid Cudi refuses to be pigeonholed.
Rating: C
Recommended tracks: High Off Life, Brake
#3 - Dirty Three - Toward The Low Sun (Australia)
Post-rock’s venerable old farts explode out of the gate in a veritable fireball. Opening track ‘Furnace Skies’ threatens to consume and melt any stereo it is played out of – a magical mess of discordant guitars, violin stabs, and clattering drums. Things cool off from there but there is still a hint of menace lurking just behind a calm veneer. ‘Sometimes I Forget You’ve Gone’ has the sort of swooning destabilized beat that would make Radiohead blush. Toward The Low Sun is another chapter in Dirty Three’s journey from alpha to omega and what a ride it has been so far.
Rating: B
Recommended tracks: Furnace Skies, Sometimes I Forget You’ve Gone
#4 - The Men - Open Your Heart (USA)
A coy indie rock record that celebrates youth while simultaneously contemplating getting older. Yuck, where can I get off the bus? Fortunately, Open Your Heart can be judged by the quality of the songs not the daft meta-meanings it has been prescribed by hipster music journalists. What is immediately striking about this record is how un-single focused it really is. Excluding the first two up-tempo numbers the songs tend to sabotage their own pop status at every given opportunity. Instrumental tracks, borderline-country songs: this is a party record for people who hate parties. All of this mid-life angst is fuelled by the ever beating heart of rock’n’roll. An odd beast, indeed.
Rating: B-
Recommended tracks: Country Song, Turn It Around
#5 - Soen - Cognitive (USA / Sweden)
Soen sounds like a great idea on paper. The art-metal primal scream of Tool, the angular experimentalism of early King Crimson, the jackhammer precision of Fear Factory, and the detached intellectualism of Porcupine Tree. What could possibly go wrong? The major stumbling block that Soen has on its debut Cognitive is the lack of a clearly defined self, which is a pity considering the talent behind the group. Former Opeth / Amon Amarth drummer Martin Lopez and metal bass virtuoso Steve DiGiorgio are joined by a pair of Swedes and the rest is history. They show a lot of promise I just hope that by the next album we getter a better sense of who Soen are so we can drop the Tool comparisons once and for all.
Rating: C+
Recommended tracks: Fraccions, Last Light
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