Lebanon - Planet Rubble

A band from Tel Aviv named Lebanon? Go figure. Well, whatever the band’s moniker, this group can certainly meld a lot of genres. The quartet gets the ball rolling with “Finland” (not a Monty Python cover) that fuses a spacey, psychedelic hue with some arty Yo La Tengo-meets-Explosions in the Sky arrangements. Lebanon also toss in some Metallica-ish metal during the, at times, breezy “Buried in the Avenue” that also has many Floydian touches. But the eerie, Barrett-like “The Dying Dying Man” seems to bring the album to another level. This format is revisited during the spooky and aptly titled “Poltergeist”. Other gems here are the winding, deliberate and somewhat dark “Megalith” and the equally pretty “Joan of Arc” with its slightly hard rock feel.

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Dub Trio - Another Sound Is Dying

If you hear the name “Dub Trio” and your first reaction is “not another sublime rip off”, be prepared to be kicked squarely in the teeth. Another Sound Is Dying goes right for the throat from the very beginning, pounding a metal riff into your skull with a pissed off fervor that can only be found in . Yes, Dub Trio have their Jamaican influences, but on Another Sound they are definitely a kick-ass rock band. Each track has moments of ear splitting guitar, gut rumbling bass and, most memorably, innovative drumming that, more than anything, will bring to mind those dirty reggae riffs this band is associated with. Still, despite each player’s obvious strengths on their own instrument (huh huh), it’s the little studio magic moments that will stick with you, like on the pulsing “Funishment”, when some metallic computer noise from hell rears its head from the deep and right into your brain.If you like your music hard, heavy and truly innovative, you’ll enjoy this set.

Mike Patton does guest vocals on the only track with any.

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