Indian Jewelry is a strange group that frequently gets lumped into the "freak folk" category. But they are definitely more all over the map than just the freak folk scene. They really have an all over the place sound and this new CD is really well done and a little too in your face to wear the "folk" tag comfortably.

Cave sounds like a neo-Kraut band. Hunt Like Devil/Jamz is a vinyl and CD with the same music on each disc, but fancy-schmancy packaging for each one. I really love this trend of including the same music on a CD and record packaged together. The best of both worlds. This Cave was a "Release of the Week" for Aquarius and really pushes every button right. Kraut influences but an energy and intensity that keeps it from getting sleepy.

Ulaan Kohl is yet another project of Steven Smith of Hala Strana and Thuja reknown. This new CD on Soft Abuse is really great. I am always impressed by the way Smith uses similar instrumentation to pull off vastly different sounds. After just a couple of listens, I would say this is one of his strongest releases in a long while. The great thing is that this is the first disc of an expected trilogy. I can't wait for the others.

Twinsistermoon is a side project of Natural Snow Buildings, an act that has been generating quite a bit of buzz over the last few months. I haven't been able to find NSB yet, but this CD has some great pieces on it and makes me even more excited to get hold of some of them. There is a very raga-drone feel to the whole CD that reminds me of a more polished GHQ CD.

Confessional: I have always loved Nine Inch Nails. Pretty Hate Machine came out when I was first getting into early industrial like SPK and Throbbing Gristle, so NIN's rock star/Jim Foetus like take on industrial really worked for me. Then came remixes from my favorites like Thirlwell and coil, an amazing CD like Downward Spiral and the amazing The Fragile double CD. Some of the more recent CDs have bored me, but Reznor has always impressed me as an artist. The recently self released 4 CD set Ghosts, abandons the trappings of Rawk and has some of the great feel of the Fragile. Plus I have nothing but respect for the way he has released the CD and I hope it works out well for him. By releasing it under Creative Commons, it allows me to play a track legitimately.

Autechre has been another longtime favorite of mine. Consistantly Autechre has released CDs I have loved, some more than others, but always worth a listen. This new CD isn't really a CD. There is a CD version of it, but Autechre says the official version is the downloadable FLAC version from Bleep. Chaotic mechanical noises with their own machine rhythms. Autechre doing what Autechre does best.

Part Timer is an Australian act that combines many typically acoustic instruments with a skittering programmed beat and then a layer of edits and processing making for a sound that is rooted in its traditional instrumentation but really pushed past it to a new level. There are more releases from Part Timer and some related artists that I need to check out soon.

Earth is one of the legendary names in slow and heavy music. Starting with big and dirgy epics, Earth went on hiatus about the moment they became legendary. Returning a couple of years ago, Earth followed the career path of the Melvins, adding seventies hard rock influences to the big dirgy sound. Southern Lord just released their latest CD in this trend and it is epic.

Caural is a great electronic based act I have been playing since my earliest days of playing cleared music. This is a CD he has done for Mush, another longtime SR favorite. There is a great chaotic feel to this CD. I really appreciate how more and more mainstream electronica is adding an element of chaos and randomness to the mix that has lng lived in the underground.

I know very little about Winters in Osaka. I was sent this EP called Secret Roads and it is awesome. I am definitely looking for more from this noisey, but structured sounding act.

Tuxedomoon has been making interesting sounds for thirty years. A strange combination of jazz and no wave stylings with energy and ambience, they really consistantly put together fascinating music. This track is from their latest release Vapour Trails.

Steve Stapleton is one of the most prolific and consistantly interesting artists around. Nurse With Wound has a long list of amazing and eclectic releases. This piece is one of the aberrational lounge classics that NWW delves in sometimes.