After a series of engrossing and tantalizing singles, EPs, and guest appearances, youthful UK songwriter King Krule finally delivers his eagerly-awaited debut full-length, and whoa Nelly, was it worth the wait. Archy Marshall captivated from the beginning with a truly unique sound; his impressively clean and fuss-free instrumental palette blends jazz-guitar licks copped from endless hours studying Django and Jaco albums, whilst simultaneously fusing together the stark punk/funk minimalism of Lizzy Mercier Descloux's Press Color or ESG's Come Away with the efficiency of UK jungle and grime, not to mention the lush sensuality of Arto Lindsay's solo material. 6 Feet Beneath the Moon is a beautiful, odd, and wholly endearing album of surprising intimacy, an album that sees a young man coming to terms with the realities of the human condition, waxing lyrically on the struggles of social interaction, the dramas of failing relationships, and the joys of the simple pleasures of being in the company of loved ones, but delivered via a streetwise perspective that lets sensitivity shine brightly behind his deceptive vocal style. I've said in the past that Marshall's voice often recalls the world's most sensitive football hooligan, his deep and marbled baritone essentially spitting lyrics in a style not far removed from hip-hop and grime MCs, yet the one person I'm honestly most reminded throughout is none other than Chet Baker -- not so much in sound, but in the way that both men's oddly endearing and unorthodox voices are able to elicit an intimacy that few vocalists ever manage to touch with a ten-foot pole.

The production -- by both Marshall and Rodaidh McDonald, who has helped the xx, Adele, and Savages craft similarly sensual atmospheres on their respective albums -- helps push that intimacy to its natural limits, crafting stark yet lush soundscapes that are often carried by little more than Marshall's signature guitar work, a minimal, skittering beat, a deep, soft bass or warm, liquid synth cloud, and pillows of cavernous reverb. It makes for one of the year's most unique, and most satisfying records; while it's perhaps not for everyone, it's a stunning and admirable achievement that fuses together the emotional nudity of the xx with the rugged, assured (yet professedly sensitive) swagger of contemporary hip-hop, the raw DIY energy of punk, reggae, and grime with the technical sophistication of jazz and R&B, all of which he loves and from which he takes equal inspiration. This is music for dark, late night lamentations, social sessions of bottomless imbibing and conversing, and stolen glances toward a loved one between the lines, be they reciprocated or unrequited. King Krule has stepped up to the plate and proven to be one of the most unique talents making records as of recent, and this sound is truly his own. I give three cheers to his 6 Feet, and you should, too. [IQ]

On their debut effort, London's Aluna Francis and George Reid smoothly and sensually epitomize the buzz currently surrounding much of the British electronic-soul-pop scene. After two years of strong singles and collaborations (not to mention taking second place in the BBC Sound of 2013 poll), the duo's widespread attention is officially merited on Body Music.

Built on a simple R&B beat and Reid's trancey synths and keyboard blips, album opener "Outlines" is a slow and velvety romance sprinkled with Francis' delicate voice. Though the song is sweet and sexy, it's only a warm-up for the next few cuts that roll in. One after the other, the singles ("You Know You Like It," "Attracting Flies," and "Your Drums, Your Love") hit hard. Built upon poppy techno glory, the songs are sassy, catchy, and successful; the hooks are always strong, and the smooth arrangements behind them are even stronger. While Francis easily steals the spotlight with her sweet and airy vocals that cover each tune with sass and soul, Reid deserves just as much attention for his familiar but fun and freewheeling approach to the album's production, and it's this teaming that ensures the rest of the record stays right near the quality of the singles. These songs beg for dim lights and candles while simultaneously exploring the realities of why two individuals can or cannot work well together. Kudos to AlunaGeorge for taking the familiar sounds of contemporary mainstream pop as we know it and tweaking it into a subtle transformation that they grab with a firm hold, transforming the simple sentiments of the love song into a more complex and enticing listen. [MM]

The Third Eye Centre is a collection of the most recent non-album cuts from Belle & Sebastian, a band who has a history of slipping some of its finest songs onto tiny, inconspicuous EP and single offerings. Spanning the past ten-odd years of the group's existence, the compilation gives a nice overview of the changes that the band has made in its sound and overall image; they've more fully grabbed hold of pop at its purest, balancing glamorous strutting swagger, as well as a more nuanced and less precious quietude in their more sedate moments. Belle & Sebastian experiment with stomping rockers, breezy bossa nova, and even a bit of pulsating club-pop psychedelia via remixes by the Avalanches, Richard X and Miaoux Miaoux. Rather than the chronological documentation of their previous EP collection, Push Barman to Open Old Wounds, The Third Eye Centre is sequenced to play as both an album and mixtape, where the eclecticism of latter-day B&S shines rather than baffles in the way it first seemed to do for listeners expecting more of the bashful intimacy upon which the group built its reputation. The packaging is lovely as well, offering contextual reflections by the respective song's author, as well as lyrics for each; it's arguably the first time that the band has provided so much history and context, yet still admirably displays the commitment to fans that they have always given. It's a fine collection that proves Belle & Sebastian's second act still has powerful legs, while offering up some of their finest recent songs in the process. [IQ]

Vinyl comes in two versions. The Standard 2LP is pressed on 120 gram while the Deluxe 2LP is pressed on 180 gram and is housed in a high gloss sleeve.

This very cool and limited triple-12" set features a trio of different, yet equally enjoyable interpretations of the opening track from Yo La Tengo's most recent full-length, Fade. The original album version of "Ohm" (included) is the perfect encapsulation of this beloved band's balance of pop and drone, with Georgia, Ira and James offering up an almost seven-minute-long, dazed swirl of distorted guitars and mesmerizing percussive drumming, with its hushed, group-sung melody cutting through the din. Of course, this longstanding trio has never been a one-trick pony; a live acoustic version strips the song down to its bare essentials and the results are both hypnotizing and gorgeous. The live rock version of "Ohm" sticks closer to the original heard on the album, but with a little more spontaneity and squall to the guitars, and some crashing drums at the end. Each take of the song is backed by a different mix of YLT's atmospheric soundscape, "Oriole," first featured as a bonus track on the deluxe pressing of Fade, and which sees the band creating a stunning, pulsating cloud of minimalist orchestral overtones more akin to composers La Monte Young or Charlemagne Palestine than anything out of the rock school of thought. With the exception of the original album version of "Ohm," everything here is unreleased until now, and each 12" is accompanied by a different colored printed flat and housed in a four-box poly shower curtain display case, with metal grommets for easy hanging. [GH]

English singer/songwriter Lloyd Cole has long been a personal favorite; the three albums he made in the mid 1980s with his band the Commotions remain in my life's regular heavy rotation, as does his 1990 eponymous solo debut. He's had a long and fruitful career since then, evolving his sharp, witty, and sophisticated songwriting with tight, jangling hooks and lyrics brimming with multilayered nods to literary, cinematic, and musical works. The past ten-odd years have seen Cole at perhaps his most experimental, exploring everything from more DIY-minded one-man production operations in which he handles nearly all of the instrumentation himself, to a series of albums centered around a sound of more autumnal balladry, to even an album of keyboard- and synth-heavy instrumental pieces recorded with Cluster's Hans-Joachim Roedelius (released earlier this year and available for sale here).

Standards is a stunning return to the sound of his early, formative years, bringing his career full-circle and delivering some of the catchiest, most sophisticated rock songs found in his discography. It's also a reunion of sorts for the band that recorded his 1990 solo debut, as he's joined throughout by a core group of drummer Fred Maher (perhaps best known to OM readers for his work with Scritti Politti, Bill Laswell's influential post-punk funk collectives Material and Massacre, and on Richard Hell & the Voidoids' Destiny Street album), bassist Matthew Sweet, and Commotions keyboardist Blair Cowan. The presence of deceased guitarist Robert Quine, also a longtime member of Cole's solo ensemble, is sadly missed here, and while one can't help but wonder what his excellent playing might've added to the stellar work already on display, they collectively bring a swift, tight muscularity and a lithe fluidity to these excellent songs that makes Cole's cool confidence all the more striking; the album's sound recalls to these ears everything from Dylan to Felt's classic swansong Me and a Monkey on the Moon, with a rich, literary lyricism and soulful heart that Cole's classic work has also held. To call this a return to form is a bit of a slight toward the consistency of Cole's impressive discography, but this is certainly among the greatest albums the man has made, easily ranking up there with his aforementioned finest hours. Longtime fans will find MUCH to love here, and if you're new to Cole's work, this ranks up there with Rattlesnakes and the 1990 solo debut as one of the best (and admittedly more easily obtainable) entry points into the man's discography that you'll hear. Highest recommendation on this one, folks; it's easily found itself settled cozily into my Best of 2013 list. [IQ]

It's been four years since we last heard from Franz Ferdinand, and even as the Scottish group arguably released one of the best rock debuts of the past decade, it's hard to tell if anyone really missed them. Looking back, the band's arrival back in 2004 couldn't have been better timed, right as the Strokes-led garage-rock revival seemed to be winding down and disco-punk was revving up its cowbell-piston engine. Franz Ferdinand might have been the perfect bridge between the two, placing the spiky guitars and punky swagger of the former atop the dance-floor friendly rhythms of the latter, all delivered through a particularly Anglo indie/post-punk filter, with a little glam stomp to boot. Perhaps, then, there is some truth to the "absence makes the heart grow fonder" adage, as their fourth album is an unexpectedly welcome return, with Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action containing many of the band's best songs since their self-titled debut.

Granted, at first listen, not much has changed in the world of Franz Ferdinand; all of their classic hallmarks are here, from the head-bobbing rhythm section, angular dueling guitars and melodic bravura of frontman Alex Kapranos in the opening "Right Action" (think of the Stranglers, Orange Juice and That Petrol Emotion all wrapped together) to the peppy, glammy new wave of "Love Illumination," which plays like this album's "Michael," but with an added horn section and some organ soloing. That said, it's all in the details, and even tracks like the anthemic dance rocker "Stand on the Horizon," which bounces atop a slippery disco bass line, makes an unexpected detour through a synth-fueled refrain that wouldn't sound out of place on a Hot Chip album. Later, in "Goodbye Lovers and Friends," most of the guitars are replaced by chugging synthesizers as Kapranos playfully dismisses the afterlife in a breathy croon, instructing his future funeral goers, "Don't play pop music/you know I hate pop music/just sing the means in godless grace." And we even hear the group borrowing a page out of the Difford and Tilbrook songbook during the Squeeze-esque "Fresh Strawberries," with Franz Ferdinand's always-flawless harmonies proving perfect for the task. At four albums in it's probably too early to pronounce Right Thoughts... a comeback, but it is a solid return from an invigorated band who seem to just now be entering their prime. [GH]

For those of us still high on Italian producer Donato Dozzy's hypnotic techno collaboration with Neel, last year's magnificent Voices from the Lake album, here is a new long-player that surprisingly pairs him with yet another maverick from the electronic underground, Philadelphia-based experimentalist Chris Madak. Since 2006, Madak has built himself a reputation as Bee Mask with intricately detailed sub-heavy music, which brings together elements of drone, ambient, and techno. Equally daring but more geared towards the dancefloor, Donato Dozzy has been consistently pushing the boundaries of dance music with a singular brand of deep, transcendental, and airy techno. Despite these distinctly individual affinities, they bonded over a shared sensibility when they met at a festival in Japan in 2012, which led to Dozzy being commissioned a remix of a Bee Mask track -- "Vaporware." Invigorated by the material he received, Dozzy returned with almost an hour worth of music, and seven radically different takes on the same track, which is now released by Spectrum Pools, the label housing Madak since he made his name in the cassette/CDR underground.

Not as much collaboration as comprehensive reworking, Donato Dozzy injects the sound world of Bee Mask with the narrative focus he masters so gracefully on his other releases. The effect is blissful and transforms the latter's often alien and abstract impulses into glorious melancholy elegies. The tone is set with "Vaporware 01," which introduces a thick, seemingly everlasting stream of rain through which complexly arranged bell tones emerge over dream-like synth lines. This gives the sense of music suspended in time, with sounds delicately taken out of their original context and re-introduced in dazzling new loops and patterns -- the flow is static with ever-shifting textures and melodies. Halfway into the album, Dozzy introduces rhythmic movement, further expanding in perfectly timed kosmische drive. There is undoubtedly something odd about listening to different versions of the same track successively, but Dozzy's immaculate sense of timing, as well as his deep understanding of the different ways sounds can be decoded and curved into new forms, make this an exciting listening experience as a whole. Introducing a wicked sense of playfulness in Bee Mask's often dense and ominous universe, Donato Dozzy's interpretations turn out to be utterly fascinating over the course of the album's 52 minutes. [NVT]

Milton Bradley's K209 imprint has been putting out some great stuff, but it's been pretty hard stocking a large enough quantity of any of the label's releases to keep on our shelves for very long. We've got a handful of this single, however, which finds Bradley himself sharing the 12" with Henning Baer. These are two minimal warehouse techno masters who scratch a similar itch as productions from industrial techno guys like Pom Pom, Traversable Wormhole, Regis, Cassegrain, etc. Milton Bradley's got two high-end jams featured here; "Psychotropic," is beautifully done, boucin' and swingin' with clanking metal and echoing finger snaps that give it a perfectly dovetailed, warehouse techno/minimally jacking house vibe -- a real tone-setter. B-2, "Emotional State of Shock," is more of a softly stomping, droney techno jam, drilling and panning around the room -- deep, powerfully focused and massive! With "The Promise," Henning Baer delivers more of a minimal stomper via reverberant, echoing, vibrating drones accented with a big, dry clap, along with the more mysterious, trippy "Lucent Face." So far we've never been able to re-stock copies K209 releases after the first batch sold out, so be forewarned! [SM]

Just in! With two new full-lengths reportedly on the way (one being all acoustic), Beck has just released a pair of 12" singles that are available at a handful of independent record shops. The gauzy, electronic-driven "Defriended" is backed by an extended 14-minute version of the track on the flip. With his "I Won't Be Long" single, Beck dips his toes into lush, mid-'80s radio pop, a la shades of Alan Parsons Project's "Eye in the Sky." The B-side features a 15-minute extended version with additional vocals from Kim Gordon. Neither of these songs will be featured on the upcoming albums.

Volume 10 in the iconic Bob Dylan Bootleg Series has landed, and Another Self Portrait sheds brand new light on one of his most divisive albums. While it was universally panned when it was first released in 1970, generations later there are armies of Dylan fans who swear by Self Portrait and consider it one of his finest recordings. The 2-CD version and 3-LP/2-CD set contains 35 unreleased songs and demos plus a giant booklet, and for the real Dylan aficionado there's the deluxe 4-CD package which tacks on a live disc with the classic Isle of Wight concert from 1969 (featuring the Band) and a remastered version of the original album. This set also includes two beautiful hardcover books.

Out now, issue #35 of Arthur featuring an 11,000-word, eight-page spread on Michael Hurley, written by Byron Coley, accompanied by rare photographs, comics and a big color portrait by Liz Devine. Also inside: journalist/photographer Rjyan Kidwell stops by Baltimore's Tarantula Hill and talks to Twig Haper, Carly Ptak and the Wild Shepherdess; Jay Babock interviews guitarist/composer/analog synthesizer pioneer Bernie Krause (with illustrations by Kevin Hooyman); Stewart Voegtlin traces John Coltrane's course from bebop to more experimental, modal and free jazz territories; and much, much more.

THIS WEEK'S CONTRIBUTORS

[GH] Gerald Hammill
[IQ] Mikey IQ Jones
[MM] Matthew Malone
[SM] Scott Mou
[NVT] Niels Van Tomme



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