Mercury Rev - See You on the Other Side (1995)

Amazing and often overlooked album by Mercury Rev. My personal favourite of theirs, it takes you somewhere else. Essential.

Check it out.

Official site.

Sleepercar - West Texas (2008)

Country side project from Sparta and At the Drive-in's Jim Ward. Very good.

Check it out.

Official site.

Emma Pollock - Watch the Fireworks (2007)

First solo album from Emma Pollock of The Delgados. Great pop songs. Very good listen.

Check it out.

Official site.

The Delgados - The Great Eastern (2000)

The Delgados' third album. Absolutely amazing, depressing pop songs. Beautiful instrumentation, male-female vocals. One of my favourite albums. Produced by Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev)

Check it out.

Label site.

朝生愛 - Lavender Edition (2004)

An album by Ai Aso. Most is just her voice and an electric guitar. Relaxing.

Check it out.

Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow (2002)

All-around excellent album by alternative funk/hip-hop group Blackalicious. Extremely tight flows and incredibly clever wordplay. An essential, even if you're not usually much for hip-hop.

Check it out: part one, part two.

Official site.

Yo La Tengo - Today is the Day (2003)

 

Fantastic little EP of pop songs. Has a cover of "Needle of Death" by Bert Jansch.

Check it out.

Official site.

Björk - Björk (1977)

Björk's first album, released when she was only eleven. Contains a cover of "The Fool on the Hill" by The Beatles.

Check it out.

Official site.

Elliott Smith - Live at Largo (2007)

Live five song EP from the "Elliott Smith" book by Autumn de Wilde. Very good. Contains covers of Quasi and Hank Williams Jr.

Check it out.

Official site.

Elliott Smith - Either/Or (1997)

Elliott Smith's third album. I don't know what else to say about it other than that you need it.

Check it out.

Official site.

The Mountain Goats - Zopilote Machine (1995)

Fantastic album by one-man folk project The Mountain Goats. Most songs are nothing more than vocals and an acoustic guitar, but the lyrics are literate and peppered with allusions to mythology, literature, and history. Contains "Going to Georgia", one of my personal favourites by the band.

Check it out.

Official site.

Akira Yamaoka - Silent Hill 2 Original Soundtracks (2001)

Beautiful, haunting, atmospheric. An amazing soundtrack from an amazing game, even if you've never played it, it's still worth listening to.

Check it out: part one, part two.

Official blog.

Ringo Deathstarr - Ringo Deathstarr (2007)

Very noisy debut EP by shoegaze band from Austin, TX Ringo Deathstarr. Their only release to date, but very impressive.

Check it out.

Official Myspace.

Luminous Orange - Sakura Swirl (2007)

Very dreamy album by shoegaze/dream pop group Luminous Orange. If you liked Asobi Seksu, you'll probably enjoy this as well.

Check it out.

Official site.

Asobi Seksu - Citrus (2006)

Fantastic album from the New York group Asobi Seksu. Songs in both English and Japanese. Essential for a fan of shoegaze/dream-pop.

Check it out.

Official site.

朝生愛/Wata - She's So Heavy split 7" (2007)

Beautiful split single by Ai Aso and Wata (from the amazing Boris). Dreamy, too bad it's only two songs. First song is a King Crimson cover by Ai Aso, second song written by Masashi Kitamura and performed by Wata.

Check it out.

Boris' official site.

Catherine - Hot Saki & Bedtime Stories (1996)

Great Power Pop album by the now defunct 90's group Catherine. Some songs feature vocals by D'arcy Wretzky from the Smashing Pumpkins.

Check it out.

Castanets - Cathedral (2004)

Fantastic neo-folk album by one-man experimental project Castanets. Challenging songwriting and beautiful yet somber melodies.

Check it out.

Official site.

The Residents - Meet the Residents (1974)

Debut album of eccentric avant-garde and visual arts group The Residents. Deliciously odd and definitely a must-hear.

Check it out.

Official site.

Black Moth Super Rainbow - Eating Us (2009)

The new album by Black Moth Super Rainbow. Produced wonderfully by Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, Mogwai, Number Girl).

Check it out.

Official site.

12 Rods - Split Personalities (1998)

Perfect power pop album by the relatively unknown 12 Rods. I'm pretty sure this and most of their other albums have been out of print for some time now.

Check it out.

Official site.

Sylvain Chauveau - Des Plumes dans la Tête (2004)

Minimal ambient album by French composer Sylvain Chauveau. Beautiful stuff.

Check it out.

Official site.

Radiohead - COM LAG (2plus2isfive) [2004]

Check it out.

Official site.

Radiohead - Airbag/How Am I Driving? EP (1998)

Check it out.

Official site.

Radiohead - My Iron Lung (1994)

Link currently down.

Official site.

Queens of the Stone Age - Era Vulgaris (2007)

The great Era Vulgaris. Queens of the Stone Age's fifth album.

Check it out.

Official site.

Queens of the Stone Age - Era Vulgars: Bonus Tracks (2007)

All bonus tracks from the different versions of Era Vulgaris. Includes all original songs, covers and remixes.

Check it out: part one, part two.

Official site.

Queens of the Stone Age - Live @ Paradiso, Amsterdam NL (2007)

Live disc that came with some versions of Era Vulgaris.

Check it out.

Official site.

M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts (2003)

An absolutely amazing album that will swallow you whole and take you to another place. Beautiful walls of sound. Essential.

Check it out: part one, part two.

Bonus disc.

Official site.

Arcade Fire - Arcade Fire EP (2003)

The great debut EP by the Arcade Fire. Contains the original version of No Cars Go.

Check it out.

Official site.

Stars - Set Yourself on Fire (2004)

An absolutely exquisite orchestral pop album. Very beautiful, and no doubt one of my favourites.

Check it out.

Official site.

Yo La Tengo - Little Honda EP (1997)

Great little EP of covers.

Check it out.

Official site.

Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One (1997)

Fantastic and eclectic album by Yo La Tengo. An Essential.

Check it out: part one, part two.

Official site.

LSD and the Search for God - LSD and the Search for God (2007)

Shoegaze band from San Francisco. Their only release to date is a self-titled and idependently released EP, but they're showing a lot of promise. I, for one, can't wait for the LP.

Check it out.

Official Myspace.

Various Artists - Wheee! It's a Team Mint Sampler! (2008)

Mint records promo sampler. 15 songs by 15 bands and an interview with Nardwuar and Timothy Leary at the end.

Check it out.

Official site.

Pan American - Quiet City (2004)

Very chill electronic ambient album.

Check it out.

Official site.

Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism (2003)

Enjoyable pop album.

Check it out.

Official site.

Tokyo Police Club - Smith EP (2007)

Great (but very short) EP by Canadian band Tokyo Police Club.

Check it out.

Official site.

The Protomen - The Protomen (2005)

Rock opera about Mega Man. How can it be bad?

Check it out.

Official site.

Love Cup - Discography (1994)

An album and a single by the loud quiet loud band from Illinois. If you like Hum or early Smashing Pumpkins, get this.

Check it out.

Unofficial infosite.

Kría Brekkan - Apotropaíosong Armor (2008)

Self released album from the former singer of múm. Short and sweet.

Check it out. 

Official Myspace.

The Mercury Program - From the Vapor of Gasoline (2000)

Interesting album I picked up a promo of. Mostly instrumental jazzy post rock.

Or something.

Check it out.

Official Myspace.

The Depreciation Guild - In Her Gentle Jaws (2007)

Great Shoegaze/Dream-Pop/Chiptune album by Brooklyn band The Depreciation Guild. Unique sound, and the guys were nice enough to release it for free.

Check it out.

Official myspace.

Troyka - Troyka (1969)

Rock band from Edmonton, Alberta. They are relatively unknown but back in the day opened for The Byrds and Canned Heat. Enjoyable album. Pretty sure it's out of print.

Check it out.

Official site.

Official Myspace.