Filastine, "Singularities"
Electronic artist Filastine draws widely from musical traditions from across the globe, pulling in bits and pieces from many cultures to assemble his songs. What could sound eclectic doesn't come off that way, it instead is more like a kaleidoscope - assembling a fractured image into an interesting whole.
The Dead Milkmen, "Tiny Town (Live)"
Is this one of the rare live albums that elevates past just being a worse-sounding collection of their studio hits? One of those shining gems that comes across just often enough for me to keep buying live albums like a big fuckin' chump? Reader, it is not. It is fine.
Rilo Kiley, "The Execution of All Things"
My favorite Rilo Kiley album, this is the title track, and a perfectly good illustration of what you'll get. It's extremely well-executed rock, catchy and fun to listen to. I'm not sure I have a ton to say other than that.
Tackhead, "Ska Trek"
Been a little bit since we've had a true oddball track around here! Tackhead is producer Adrian Sherwood teaming up with the Sugar Hill Records house band (you know them as the folks who laid down the groove in some of hip-hop's foundational documents like "The Message", "White Lines", and of course "Rapper's Delight"). It's a mix of dub, funk, and industrial that doesn't really sound like anything else.
And even on a pretty unique record (this is from Friendly As A Hand Grenade), there was still strange stuff, like this 48-second warped ska thing, launched well before the third wave was a thing.
NoMeansNo, "I'm An Asshole".
Same, NoMeansNo.