Sun o))) + Ulver – Terrestrials

As with Ulver’s Messe I.X – VI.X or Monoliths & Dimensions the devil’s what brought them here, but we find God in the details. The arrhythmic sluggish sprawl of those downtuned, feedbacking axes is still developing as a compositional tool, continuing to open up space for strings to scrape, brass to cry and keys to shower into. Those Sunn O))) long-hairs are finally following their bliss out the other side of the abyss they entered via that gaping tunnel on Monoliths & Dimensions’ cover, and the able hands and sly smiles of Ulver, Rygg and O’Sullivan greet them with signature erudite adaptability across Terrestrials’ note-perfect 35-minute brevity. Read the full review on The Quietus

Broken Bells – After the Disco

After the Disco, with the opener “Perfect World” effectively re-creating the sound of Factory Records circa 1981: the puttering sequencers and sleek-bleak synth lines recall OMD and early New Order, with Mercer doing a decent impression of Barney Sumner’s wan-but-knowing vocal style. Blessed with an infernally catchy hook, it’s the best thing they’ve done. Read the full review on The Independent

John Butler Trio – Flesh and Blood
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Nzp0XTWfjk
it should be no surprise that this album is richly textured, going from clean to feeding-back 12-string fingerstyle excursions, and then to Weissenborn–fueled exclamations (“Livin’ in the City” and “Devil Woman”), while the last quarter of the album moves to a mellower, more melodically haunting pace. It may be his best guitar record yet, and the specialness lies in that it isn’t only that. Read the full review on Premier Guitar