ElectrelaneNo Shouts, No CallsToo Pure
We happen to know for a fact that No Shouts, No Calls is Electrelane’s best work to date. Behind the subtle female vocal melodies and clean, driving guitars lurks a sadness present only in weirdo-pop bands like Camera Obscura and Sonic Youth. These guys have got it right!

Black LipsLos Valientes del MudoNuevoVice
With song names like “Hippie, Hippie, Hoorah” and “Sea of Blasphemy,” these guys are on one. If Hot Snakes teamed up with Charles Manson, they’d beg that this addition to the Vice roster open for them in every city.

Bunny RabbitLovers and CryptsVoodoo Eros
References to crack cocaine and general extreme misanthropy can either serve a gnarly, natural artistic mission or may just act as cheesy shock-value lyricism. In the case of Bunny Rabbit, you know it’s pure authenticity. This is female rap that is as fucked-up as it is creative. Imagine Joanna Newsom rolling around in a dumpster with an MPC instead of a harp.

LowDrums and GunsSub Pop
It’s almost February and it’s time to get in bummer mode. What better way than listening to Low’s maddeningly trance-inducing new record? It’s pop, it’s slow, it’s glitchy, and it’s different from anything else they’ve released. Stay at home and let it run its course.

The Society of Invisibles S/T Baby Grande
Cage once released a record entitled Hell’s Winter, but we think it may have been a more apt title for The Society of Invisibles’ new one. Fueled by the fire of the most guttural, foul-mouthed MCs around, this society follows in the same horrorcore vein as that of Necro, Ill Bill, and the like. This is far from a utopian society.

TitanA Raining Sun of Light & Love, For You & You & YouTee Pee
Often, songs that exceed seven minutes become more repetitive than the drone that pushes them forward. But in the case of New York’s Titan, there’s not a moment’s rest. These epic prog-scapes will destroy you with every note.

GescomMinidisc: 45 TracksOr
Not just another Autechre side-project, Gescom’s Minidisc, originally released (appropriately on minidisk) in 1998, is comprised of 45 tracks sliced into 88 portions of gnarly samples and metallic bliss. Shuffle through and listen to the sound of geniuses at work.

RihannaA Girl Like MeDef Jam
Screw the major-label haters. Screw Marc Almond purists and others who can’t deal with a hot track being made even hotter (Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love” nicely nicked for the radio hit “S.O.S.”). This one’s been on blast at XLR8R HQ for a while now, and it’s our Friday iPod-dock tester of choice at the moment.

Six Parts Seven Casually Smashed to PiecesSuicide Squeeze
While guitars have dominated this week’s top ten, it seems absurd not to include the craft of Six Parts Seven. As pretty as it is introspective, slide guitars bush against horns and layered arpeggios for another hit from one of Suicide Squeeze’s finest.

AerogrammeMy Heart has A Wish That You Would Not GoSonic Unyon
Who says that orchestral rock is played out? Well, they may be right, but Aerogramme is the exception. The Glasgow lads have mastered the art of piano- and string-based jams that’ll make sensitive men out of the most bad-ass dudes. Sonic Unyon is on the come up.

Other Top Ten Album Picks
January 12