This Month's Soundtrack, February 2009

By EM Editors | Sun, 01 Feb 2009

These releases encompass a diverse range of styles and composition methods, from metal and pop to avant-garde and improvisation.

	THE SKEIN (ANDREA PARKINS AND JESSICA CONSTABLE): CITIES AND EYES (HENCEFORTH) Art song meets electroacoustic and laptop improvisation in a set of wonderful, challenging, and sometimes folky pieces.
	YXIMALLOO: UNPOP (ESP) Two dozen catchy, lo-fi ditties by a Japanese outsider who cleverly mixes electronics and microcassette vocal recordings. Musique concrète meets J-pop.
	CHAS SMITH: NAKADAI (COLD BLUE) Intense and drony, yet luscious. A welcome reissue of microtonal pieces by this important Los Angeles-based instrument builder and pedal steel guitarist.
	OBI BEST: CAPADES (SOCIAL SCIENCE) Charming songs, creative arrangements, and enchanting vocals make Alex Lilly's first album a winner. For fans of the Cranberries or Stereolab.
	METALOCALYPSE: SEASON II: BLACK FIRE UPON US (WARNER HOME VIDEO) Eighteen brutal episodes that chronicle the outrageous stupidity of Dethklok, the world's most popular animated dark-metal band.