#9 Nine Horses: Money for All

The eight song Money For All EP is the newest batch of music from the group (who is now Sylvian, Jansen, and Friedman), and it features three new tracks along with a couple remixes of those tracks and different versions of songs that appeared on their first album. Like the debut, it's another hit-or-miss effort, with great tracks offset by less exciting ones. Musically, it starts out just fine with a clunky beat and some chopped-up vibes and harmonica on "Money For All." Punctuated with some gospel-style backing vocals, Sylvian takes on the US administration with his lyrics, it's so heavy-handed and obvious that it becomes distracting.

"Get The Hell Out" is another track in which the lyrical content (very direct lines about an abusive relationship) feels like an odd fit with the music, until an orchestral ending that pulls things together. Fortunately, the middle of the release is a little bit more subtle, and it's here where it's the strongest. "Birds Sing For Their Lives" features Nordenstam singing lullaby-style vocals over a gurgling, orchestral ambient track that scrapes along with dread, while the remix of "The Banality Of Evil" by Friedman fractures the original even more, layering the piece with a hissy, almost deconstructed feel while throwing in little bits of keyboards, scratchy bits of sampled horns, and soft waves of guitar feedback. Nine Horses is a different spin on electronica/rock but maybe its for you.

#8 Utabi: Machurian Candy

Manchurian Candy is 15 tracks and just over an hour of hyperactive Nintendo melodies, chopped-up beats, and enough silly soundbites and headspining programming to keep your ears perked. The first three tracks are all about the rhythm, too, as they burst out of the gate with stuttering, slamming beats and only enough breathing room to fire off some indecipherable samples. It's on "Three Tennies," though, that the melodic side of the release first makes and appearence and gets stuck in your head. With playful melodies that rival the bubbly sounds of great Mouse On Mars tracks, the entire thing bounces along and builds nicely, punching and pulling the beats appropriately.

The rest of the album wildly swings back and forth between more hyperactive beat programmed tracks and ones that rely more on melody. One of the best examples of a blending of the two arrives on the title track of "Manchurian Candy," as hyper cut-up vocals stick and bounce at mindboggling speeds, recalling some of the great work of Aphex Twin. Overall, the album runs a tad on the long side, though, as the release blurs together a bit too much during a couple different places as similar-sounding tracks pile onto one another. Just when you think things are simply too crazy, the album closes with the absolutely amazing "Cassia Angustifolia," an ambitious 12-minute track that features vocals, trombone, melodion, and guitar in a track that bucks some of the micro-processed sounds for a more song-like track that's one of the better electronic pop tracks I've heard lately. There's definitely some fun to be had besides the closing track, but if it's any pointer in the direction of future music by Utabi, there's even better work to come.

#7 The Czars: Absalom Records Rules

In case you haven't heard of it, Absalom Records is releasing two different series of 3" CDs. One series focuses on electric performances while another focuses on acoustic (although there is some back-and-forth between the categories). Since a CD that size can only hold less than 25 minutes worth of music, it's both a good way to get introduced to bands that you may have never heard of before, as well as a way for more well-known bands to release some work on the side and have some fun with things. The four songs are not only very good, but the group manages to pull off several different sounds in a short time, making me wonder just how many tricks they have up their sleeve.

The disc opens up with an almost four minute instrumental track entitled "Interlude," and while it doesn't break a lot of new ground musically, it's a very nice intro and with twinkling piano playing off shimmering guitars, it sounds like something that the Rachels might have created. From there, the group goes into "Drug," and it might just be one of the best sad, slow songs I've heard this year. It's fairly simple with only an acoustic guitar and two-part vocals, but the lyrics cut straight through and drag you down with them. Again I command you to heed my recommendation and listen to them.

#6 Iron & Wine: Sam Beam

I've been a solid follower of Sam Beam since I first heard his album The Creek Drank The Cradle a couple years back. Since that time, I've snagged up all his subsequent releases and have been surprised by his rather prolific output and also the high quality of most of his work. In the course of about two years, he's now released two full length albums, 2 longer EPs and one short EP. Granted, he's not putting out 70-minute albums packed to the brim, but he's still on a roll. I command you to check him out. muahahaaha (maniacal laugh)