Under the Radar Albums 2009

Shining the spot-light on three albums and two EPs from 2009 that everyone should be listening to and talking about:

William Basinski - 92982

Known best for his awe-inspiring Disintegration Loops (2002, and followed by parts II, III, and IV in 2003), William Basinski is a classically-trained American composer who deals in loops and experimentation. 92982 (see Cokemachineglow's excellent review), brought out from Basinski's archives and originally recorded around 1982, provides slowly unraveling loveliness, shifting from loops towards ever-expanding, dreamy sound-scapes.

Schuyler Fisk - The Good Stuff

Schuyler Fisk, actress and singer-songwriter, released her debut album The Good Stuff earlier on this year. Standing out from the crowd with her spirited, smoky vocals tying in directly with her lyrics, and with a straight-from-the-heart conviction often missing from similar-genre artists across the charts and radio. Stream album highlight "You're Happening to Me" over at Last.fm.

Natural Snow Buildings - Daughter of Darkness
Natural Snow Buildings, who were recently included in our 15 Brilliant Out of Print Albums feature, have been gaining ground across the blogosphere as of late with their Daughter of Darkness 5-cassette (!), drone-fest limited to 150 copies, briefly available via Blackest Rainbow in January. The mysterious French pair that make up this group, TwinSisterMoon and Isengrind, have managed to put together one of the most awe-inspiring albums I have heard to date. It seeps into your consciousness, surreal and layering itself deep into your mind... Check out this rare interview with them over at Foxy Digitalis.

Spectrum - War Sucks EP

Formerly of Spacemen 3, Sonic Boom's group Spectrum have just released the War Sucks EP last month- two originals, "Razzle Dazzle Mind" and "Over & Over", a wonderfully reworked "War Sucks" (originally by avant-garde 60's act the Red Krayola) and a cover of Laurie Anderson's "Walking & Falling", a tasty psych-pop jumble indicative of a beauteous meshing a bit like 13th Floor Elevators-meets-Suicide. A full-length album is planned for later this year. Have a listen to Sonic Boom's guest DJ set and WFMU interview!

Spider and the Flies - Something Clockwork This Way Comes
Spider and the Flies is the music of Horrors band members Tomethy Furse and Rhys "Spider" Webb (who traded bass-for-keys and keys-for bass, respectively, on the new Horrors album: Primary Colours). Allowing for further exploration of their love of BBC Radiophonic music, this new EP makes for a curiously fun listen and is further evidence to support the theory that the Horrors lads just might be the coolest around in music right now.
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Suggest your 'under-the-radar' favs in the comments- we'd love to hear about them!