Sunn O)))
Monoliths & Dimensions
(Southern Lord)

The seventh album from Sunn O))) serves as both the culmination of the duo's massive guitar drone sound and a surprising departure. The aptly titled Monoliths & Dimensions features four tracks that last almost an hour, filled with rumbling waves of feedback and scarred vocals by Attila Cshihar that sound like rotting recitations from inside a crypt. Fans will thrill to the sculpted blocks of molten sound that recall the torqued ellipses of sculptor Richard Serra, but new dimensions have been added with the subtle inclusion of strings, harp, French horns, and a Viennese women's choir. Kozmigroov jazz plays an unexpected influence as well, evidenced by contributions from trombonist Julian Priester. He's highlighted on a tribute to Alice Coltrane that employs cleaner tones and the swelling sighs of acoustic instruments. The track plays like a blissful climax, proving Sunn O))) isn't afraid to unleash beauty as well as noise.  —Jeff Jackson

Peter Mulvey
Letters from a Flying Machine
(Signature Sounds)

Give Peter Mulvey major eco props—when he hits Northampton in the fall he will have ridden his bicycle from Milwaukee. And give him some creative props as well; in an age in which single-song downloads rule, Mulvey's new CD is an integrated song/spoken word narrative. Mulvey plays sage to his young niece, his road letters to her the framing device for songs that explore adult themes that kids wonder about: fear, technology, death, the meaning of life, humankind's place in the cosmos, beauty. All is rendered with Mulvey's trademark gravelly vocals and folk blues licks that land somewhere between Chris Smither's and Greg Brown's. This album is as thoughtful as it is wise and gentle. Peter Mulvey appears at the Iron Horse on Sept. 26.  —Rob Weir

Doug Abrams
Looking Forward
(Independent)

It's difficult to write critically about jazz—it's such a broad and inclusive medium that it's tough to decide what's cutting edge and what's just plain old noise. Doug Abrams' music is, thankfully, straight-ahead in its approach, even if it wanders a bit between the upbeat and the moody. The piano used on the recording rings with a crisp resonance; one never has to struggle to hear the acoustic bass (which is ripping it up, incidentally), and the drums have a great "live" tone. Songs range from the odd-timed, Brubeck feel of "Fire Within" to the celebratory, Vince Guaraldi-ish use of timely minor chords in "Goodbye, R.B." Sometimes you can hear some slight crossover into the pop/rock realm when the piano chops up some delicious chordal passages a la Joe Jackson or Mike Garson on Bowie's Aladdin Sane. An eminently listenable album.  —Tom Sturm