Earth
‘Hex; or Printing In The Infernal Method’
Cinematic, lush, powerful and beautiful. This sounds like one of Ennio Morricone’s spacey, spaghetti-western soundtracks augmented with heavy power-riffs and some drones. Earth started off in the early 1990s by performing plodding, vocal-less, doomy metal. They helped to create a style of ultra slow, ultra heavy rock that is quite en vogue today, with bands like Sunno and Pelican garnering critical acclaim. Sure Black Sabbath and Blue Cheer made slow metal decades ago, but early Earth is REALLY slow, and REALLY powerful, as if the droning sounds of the extended riffs matter more than any song structure or chord progression. This release from 2005 is not that extreme, and actually incorporates pedal steel, trombone, and bells in addition to the guitar, drums and bass. Not at all driving or party music, the sounds are deep and soothing, introspective and moody.

Dub Trio
“Another Sound
Is Dying”
I wish I would have caught these guys at Las Montañas a few weeks back. I’ll wager that they attracted a crowd due to their name, then scared most of it off with their noisy heavy metal and dub “stylings.” I would love a show report from anyone who was there. This is aggressive and groundbreaking stuff. Dub Trio really does combine heavy metal and dub, and it works. Produced by former Faith No More frontman Mike Patton, who, with his amazingly versatile voice, adds a few sounds to this mostly instrumental experience. Mike has his hand in lots of things these days, from running his Ipecac record label to performing with his own avant-gardish rock acts Peeping Tom, Tomahawk and Fantomas — all while finding the time to add numerous contributions to other forward-thinking and noisy projects. 

Planningtorock
“Have It All”
Freaky. Another SXSW standout, Planningtorock’s live shows consist of Berlin’s Janine Rostron rapping and singing while interacting with videotaped versions of herself playing different characters with a Sun-Ra, spacey kind of vibe, complete with elaborate futuristic but tribal-looking masks. Elaborate electronics that sample sounds as diverse as boogie piano, classical strings, and her own voice provide the music, which is definitely modern and fresh, and lacking in comparison. Out-there, catchy, and fun. Check out footage of her stage show at SXSW.com. 

Black Box Revelation
“I Think I Like You”
To me, this song sounds like an Indie-rock version of the White Stripes; adding more realized arrangements and instrumentation to the gritty blues stomp of garage rock. With a great hook, this song is a quick and easy rock-n-roll fix for even the most jaded, heard-it-all-before music fans.

The Raveonettes
“Aly, Walk With Me”
Missing-in-action KOTO DJ Gus Gusciora turned me on to Denmark’s Raveonettes in 2002, when they had just released “Whip It On”, and I was hooked. I loved not only Sharin Foo’s vocals, but also guitarist Sune Rose Wagner’s distorted and feedback-drenched minor chord assault that managed to leave the pop songs and melodies intact. Not much has changed with the Raveonettes’ sound, but the arrangements have evolved. This new tune’s basic rhythm starts mellow [but distorted, of course] and slowly builds to a noisy, squelchy climax before easing back to the original line and slowly fading away. Thanks again, G-man.

Radar Brothers
“Auditorium”
Something much more subdued than the rest of this week’s list, Los Angeles’ Radar Brothers wear their influences of early psychedelica and folk on their sleeve. Languid melodies and sweet pop songwriting make this as relaxing as a sunny daydream.