2010 - An Alternative Preview

For those of you with an ear for the slightly less accessible, more experimental or just plain noisier, here is a wee preview of some of the releases 2010 has in store for you. If any of them are half as good as I’m expecting, this is going to be a good year for music…

Daughters – ???

Rhode Island mathcore marauders Daughters will be unleashing their as-yet-untitled 3rd full length studio release on March 9th through Hydra Head Records. The band have stayed tight-lipped on what this album will offer, but hopefully it’ll be more punishing burts of noise with Alexis Marshall’s drunken preacher vocals toying with your sanity.

Fang Island – Fang Island

Daughters’ guitarist Nicholas Sadler’s side project Fang Island release their debut album through Sargeant House on 23rd February. From the sound of the first single Daisy, this album will feature more group vocals, more of the bouncy, raucous riffage that made their last two offerings (Day Of The Great Leap and the Sky Gardens EP) so enjoyable, and could possibly be the happiest album of the year.

Cave In – Planets Of Old

In 2006 Cave In, one of my favourite bands, went on indefinite hiatus and this made me very sad. Then last year they played a one-off reunion show and released 4-track EP Planets Of Old which made me wet myself a little. The EP is scheduled for CD release on 26th January and will be packaged with a DVD of the reunion show, and as the band played a string of shows last November maybe 2010 will see more from the Boston quartet. One of the songs from the forthcoming live DVD can be found here.

Zechs Marquise - ???

Texan prog-rockers Zechs Marquise are apparently close to finishing recording not one but two albums to follow on from 2008’s deliciously psychedelic Our Delicate Stranded Nightmare. The first of the two is due to be released in spring this year with the second following in 2011. Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez (younger brother to Omar of ATD-I and Mars Volta fame) confirmed in an interview that the first of the two upcoming releases will feature “a lot of funk and a lot of soul”. I’m listening…

Maps & Atlases - ???

After three EPs, each one more incredible than the last, the utterly unique Maps & Atlases are due to release their debut album this year and I don’t think I’ve been more excited about an upcoming release. If you’ve never listened to M&A before I urge you to get hold of their last two EPs Trees, Swallows, Houses and You And Me And The Mountain. Here’s a video of the band performing Ted Zancha:

2010 will also have more BSM releases to look forward to, a new Venetian Snares album (I actually have no idea whether there will be one or not, but the man has pumped out at least one album a year since 1998 so go figure), and rumoured releases from Jimmy Tamborello projects Dntel and Figurine. It’s going to be a good year.

Marko

Ps. Dear 2010, could you manage to squeeze the new Glassjaw album out sometime this year? It’s only been 8 years since the last one…