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Review: Pit Er Pat The Flexible Entertainer
Label: Thrill Jockey

After a couple of albums of drab post-rock, Chicago's Pit Er Pat blossomed into a much more interesting proposition on its 2008 full-length High Time, and that bloom continues on The Flexible Entertainer. Similarities between Pit Er Pat and Gang Gang Dance exist, mainly in Fay Davis-Jeffers' narcotized-siren vocals and Butchy Fuego's lopsided, postmodern dub rhythms that push each track down unpredictable routes. Read more » 

Review: Various Artists Panama! 3: Calypso Panameño, Guajira Jazz & Cumbia Típica on the Isthmus 1960-75
Label: Soundway

Among Caribbean nations known for producing music, Cuba and Jamaica tend to soak up most of the attention, yet Panama has also proven to be particularly fertile ground for indigenous rhythms, as this latest collection of Isthmus-originated songs proves. Beginning with Lord Panama's "Fire Down Below," Panama! Read more » 

Review: Anthony "Shake" Shakir Frictionalism 1994-2009

Pick
Label: Rush Hour

Real Detroit techno heads have long been repping Anthony "Shake" Shakir's work, but only a few outside of that small scene have given him his proper due, if only because his profile's rise has been restrained by health issues and limited-run releases. Read more » 

Review: Liars Sisterworld
Label: Mute

Maybe it's the two members with art-school backgrounds, but Liars have a knack for taking clichés to sublime places. Considering that the distance between their first album—the apex of dance-punk that might also be a joke at its expense—and the post-grunge miniature songcraft of 2007's Liars seems smaller than some would have you believe, it makes sense that Sisterworld sounds like more of a conceptual wager than a stylistic one. Read more » 

Review: Martyn Fabric 50
Label: Fabric

In the age of the ubiquitous, manicured Ableton mix, it's no wonder so much attention has been paid to Martyn's decision to mix Fabric 50 live. But to focus solely on this mix's raw, seat-of-your-pants style is to miss the mark. Fabric 50 not only offers a glimpse into the sounds that influenced Martyn's superb Great Lengths, but it also stands as a testament to the contemporary amalgamation of dubstep, bass, and techno. Read more » 

Review: Emptyset Emptyset
Label: Caravan

A hybrid project based in Bristol, England, Emptyset is grimy and cryptic, driven from within by the region's body-buzzing bass culture, inspired from without by minimal techno innovations in Berlin and Detroit. The 10 short tracks—the longest clocks in at just over six minutes—seem like sketches of more epic versions and may initially disappoint. Read more » 

Review: Kasper Bjørke Standing on Top of Utopia
Label: hfn

The sophomore solo LP from Danish producer Kasper Bjørke, Standing on Top of Utopia, is a collection of solid, if unremarkable, songs on the hfn label. Known for his award-winning group Filur with Tomas Barfod, Bjørke's occasionally forgettable productions benefit from collaboration, care of guest vocalists Louise Foo, Jacob Bellens, and WhoMadeWho's Tomas Hoffding. Read more » 

Review: White Hills White Hills
Label: Thrill Jockey

White Hills' last album, Heads on Fire, flared and throbbed in the peak-era Hawkwind/Comets on Fire vein of robust space rock that appeals both to stoners and acid acolytes. However, the New York-based group considers this self-titled album, its fourth overall, to be a new phase in its evolution. "Dead," though, starts the disc with more of that roiling, majestic rock—no real departure, even with Oneida's Kid Millions playing drums. Read more » 

Review: Josiah Wolf Jet Lag
Label: Anticon

Siblings hate being compared to one another, but it's impossible to listen to Josiah Wolf's debut effort without thinking of Yoni Wolf, WHY?'s master wordsmith and Josiah's brother/band mate. Perhaps if Josiah's work stood apart from Yoni's in any real, audible way, we could ignore the fact that the two are, in fact, related to one another. Read more » 

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