Boston-native Daniel Lopatin produces a unique and gripping, but nebulous brand of ambient-noise. His proclivities span the spectrum from hazy, drone-like tones and noise orchestras to heavily sequenced and layered synthesizer pieces reminiscent of nature documentaries and Boards of Canada. The integration of these two approaches gives Betrayed in the Octagon an uneasy feel, like a science fiction nightmare come to life.
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On their much-anticipated follow-up to Cryptograms, Deerhunter are mellower but more focused than ever. A greater transparency in their songwriting reveals tighter arrangements and considerable restraint in their use of strange textures and ambient noises, instead saving them and their loud guitars for moments of maximum dramatic impact. Relying on clarity rather than obfuscation, they manage the rare feat of evolution without sacrificing their unique qualities in the process.
The two discs in this collection make up the full soundtrack to the film by CS Leigh of the same name. As Ikeda's first film soundtrack, it comprises not only the actual musical elements, but ambient sound as well. Even without the visual accompaniment, the music and sound create a vivid picture, but unfortunately Ikeda's work seems to be underrepresented in the overall mix. 
As one of the co-founders of the Raster-Noton label, Olaf Bender, a.k.a. Byetone, is no stranger to the cold, clinical school of electronic music that his label is known for. However, on this album he takes a somewhat more organic, less esoteric approach that is both danceable, and strangely dissonant.
Deer Tick's reissue has a couple of absolute gems and new cover art cleverly suggesting that they seek a rewardingly unfashionable sound midway between The Flying Burrito Brothers and The Mountain Goats.
Boston's Keith Kenniff is a frustratingly saccharine composer with plenty of talent but little equilibrium. His sober, painstakingly crafted arrangements are gorgeous hymns to the idea of beauty itself, at least in theory. In reality, some of his work is just a bit too stiff and composed for my ears.
The title of this album couldnt possibly be more descriptive: using only audio recordings of Cosey Fanni Tutti’s voice, COH (a.k.a. Ivan Pavlov) uses her as an instrument. Small fragments of voice become melodious elements, phonemes become drums, and the smallest syllables are shaped into synthesizers. The result is an electronic work that simultaneously manages to be beautifully organic and completely alien.
As one of the early pioneers in the industrial and noise fields, Bianchi never quite attained the same status as Whitehouse, Throbbing Gristle, or SPK. This might be because of his relatively short career: beginning as Sacher-Pelz in 1979 and continuing on under his own name until 1984, his time on the scene was brief, but prolific. This reissue of one of his classic albums is augmented both with bonus tracks and a second disc of obscure/bootlegged tracks that showcase one of the bleakest, most desolate musicians of his time.
In recent years, Greg Anderson and Stephen O'Malley have pushed the live sound of Sunn O))) away from the typical riffs, robes, and dry ice formula. This release documents one of two site-specific performances given in Europe since 2006; here their hyper-amplified doom is played out within the confines of Bergen's Domkirken cathedral and utilizes the church's organ as well as its massive acoustics (the other performance being the Moog Ceremony concert in Brussels). Joined by some Sunn O))) regulars (as well as Lasse Marhaug), this is one of the better live albums by a group whose discography is peppered with savage live recordings.
With their new album, Digital Darkness, Somatic Responses lay down the raw anger and metallic, broken, saw-edged decay of seized-up industrial breakdown. Their use of jagged, spastic beats, quickfire stabs of rusty chainsaw buzz, and acid-oil-tinged spikiness recalls the social price that was paid when the coal-mining industry in the South Wales valleys was devastated in the last century.
