Inhale, breathe quickly, exhale.
Melt-Banana, "3 + 5" (A-Zap). Skittermachine noiseriff screechbabble from Japan doesn't seem like your thing? Wait until you're stuck in traffic again, and you'll be screaming at Siri to play the new set from this long-running duo of vocalist Yako and guitarist-programmer Agata, whose intelligence, passion and hyperspeed precision can make you feel as though we humans, for all our failures, might have a shot at coming out on top. For those who acquire the CD and own a magnifying glass, the printed lyrics are desperate urban poetry worth reading. Nervy music, not just nervous. Watch the video for Melt-Banana's "Stopgap" here.
SML, "Small, Medium, Large" (International Anthem). Five musicians improvised live at Highland Park's now-shuttered ETA, then tripped out for months cutting up the results into hi-caf percolations that make way more sense than your day job. Anna Butterss, Jeremiah Chiu, Josh Johnson, Booker Stardrum & Gregory Uhlmann tapped electronic loopery and freakery to bust stereo walls and your funnybone; inventive and curious, this is Another Green World (Eno) for a tenser time. Listen/buy here.
Hans Fjellestad, "Monocular." Veteran analog synthesist Fjellestad invites you to sit in a metaphorical well bottom and await the progress of the sun until it arrives directly overhead. If you hear angels' voices meanwhile, or if you forget you're hearing anything at all as the gentle drones swell inside your head, that can only be a good thing. And what are you thinking about for 37 minutes? The sun. The SUN! Listen/buy here.