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).