cex's sketchi is a nice departure from his recent output and makes me miss his earlier lo-fi ambient stuff which was kinda brilliant. rattler bin

dntel's dumb luck is a bit of a let down. dumb luck

paul duncan's (pictured) above the trees is a bit too folky/country for my taste but when the results can be quite stunning when mixed with the right amount of chamber pop (think lambchop). the fire

31 knots' the days and the nights of everything anywhere is, ummm, interesting. the vocals get a bit on my nerves but the songs are damn good. manbecomeme & for what it is like when it is all instrumental, the kickass immitation flesh

arboretum's rites of uncovering is another a-bit-too-folky-for-me one but if you turn up the amps a bit i'll be happy. pale rider blues

low's drums and guns i just don't seem to get into. breaker

radicalfashion's odori is sort of max richter + some electronics. shousetsu

i have been surprised by a few releases this year. lcd soundsystem's , which previous album i absolutely loathed, new one is actually a lot of fun. and, yes, i hate to admit it. i also didn't think modest mouse and marr would mix so nicely. actually, i didn't think it would mix at all but it is certainly better than their last one. and somehow, although i really liked their last album, i wasn't really expecting much from blonde redhead. but 23 takes a step backwards and in some ways reminds me more of their first two albums (which also happen to be their best).

Planningtorock - When are you gonna start

james murphy mentioned this video being genius in a pitchfork interview. not sure i agree but judge for yourself

big business vs. battles

music has become wimpy. have people forgotten rock is supposed to rock? so it is big sigh of relief when a band like big business comes around a makes a big racket. even if you sometimes suspect it may be little tongue in check. but big riffs, big vocals - what more could you ask for. if your kid is looking a little wimpy this is the perfect prescription. grounds for a divorce. and conveniently, another song of theirs over at pitchforkmedia: just as the day was dawning.

& battles... these guys are definitely wimps. mathrock, of course, was rock for geeks and wimps. but battles are damn good at it. ok, sometimes it borders on stupid wankery but there are moments of brilliance here that cannot be denied. much of it is thanks to addition of manipulated vocals. at first it makes the music sort of cartoonish but once you get over the cartoonishness it is actually quite enjoyable - at least most of it. i didn't care too much for first single, atlas. but i think leydendecker kills.