Om
Pilgrimage
(Southern Lord)
Categories will only get you so far with Om. The bass-drum duo specialize in dishing out epic head-banging riffs, but their music is also woven from minimalism and trance, chanted vocals and intricate percussion patterns. Pilgrimage throws these elements into starker relief. The delicate drones of the meditative title track and its reprise stretch across half the album, a suite of hushed vocals and gently undulating grooves. For those who prefer sub-woofer shaking volume, there's the punishing metallic swagger of "Unitive Knowledge of the Godhead" and "Bhima's Theme." The metaphysical lyrics probably chart some sort of journey, but it's best to treat the words as yet another rhythmic layer in the surprisingly subtle and satisfying sonic framework.
—Jeff Jackson
Saviours
Into Abaddon
(Kemado)
Oakland, Calif. has an impressive metal scene. That's where Saviours are from. They make pounding, raw rock that charges with skull-crushing sonic force, whipping out the heavy chunking riffage offset by sucker-punch tempo shifts and grand double-guitar leads. There's also a stoner rock taste for head-nodding jams, which keeps these songs from being overly athletic and hot-doggy. Saviours have toured with like-minded bands such as Mastadon and the Sword. Listen for hints of Motorhead, High on Fire and fellow Bay Area metal masters Drunk Horse.
—John Adamian
Moziak
Changing Trains
(Compass)
The latest by string band extraordinaire Moziak is just your run-of-the-mill Irish-Dutch-Hungarian-Appalachian fusion album. This is a stunning collaboration filled with all manner of polysemous melodies, cross-cultural vocals, and break-down-the-border instrumental break-outs. Check out Andy Irvine's Irish-Hungarian take on "The Wind Blows Over the Danube," or "The Humours of Parvo," on which Donal Lunny plucks away on bouzouki while the tune's namesake, Nikola Parov, trots out nickleharpa and numerous other instruments, including a bowed gadulka, for a vaguely India-meets-the Middle East bridge in which Rens van der Zalm trades guitar for oud. You couldn't locate most of these tunes with a GPS system, but globalism has never sounded so good.
—Rob Weir
The Hickups
The Hickups
(Troutcat)
If you're sick of slick country rock, the Hickups have come to your rescue. This hardworking Connecticut quintet is fronted by Kriss Santala Crowder, who channels Emmylou and Lucinda and makes you believe, as she sings on the self-penned "Heaven," she's "tried to run from the devil, but he don't let me run too far." Bass player Bob Elliott also shares vocals and wrote most of the tunes, including "Hold On," on which you'd swear he was Levon Helm. Best of all, they cover "Tag Sale" by Tom Hearn, giving it a Herb Alpert twist. Everything must go, indeed.
—Alan Bisbort
