Gate, The Wisher Table (CD)

While some Gate records deviate far from the Dead C's formula, 1997's The Wisher Table lies closer to that group's typical palette. While the album features occasional twists in its palette and approach (like the recognizable keyboard sounds on "Spirit"), Michael Morley builds most tracks around his primitively-recorded vocals and growling guitars. Without Robbie Yates's incessant drumming, the percussion is less propulsive, and it often feels a bit more laid-back than the Dead C as a result. The structures also resemble the classic Dead C formula, with repeating melodies and parts that never follow a classic song structure. The packaging is beautiful, with a blurry photo on both sides of a nice fold-out, paper sleeve. The sound quality is of course rough and mid-range-y—I can't imagine this music any other way.

Tuxedomoon, Pinheads on the Move (side C)

Pinheads on the Move is an impressively thorough 1987 collection of early (1977-1983) Tuxedomoon oddities. The group's work varied a lot at the time, from more new-wave-like singles to extended abstractions, and this compilation covers it all. Some things were released as 7"s or on classic compilations like Can You Hear Me? and Subterranean Modern, while others are identified as "rehearsal recording" or even "recorded live on the back of a carnival float". "Joeboy the Electronic Ghost" from the first 7" is of course particularly memorable. The mastering and pressing is surprisingly good for 1987, but the packaging would make more sense with their work from that era than it does with this compilation.

Freiband & Machinefabriek, Oahu (CD)

Oahu features two Dutch electronic musicians collaborating to process a lap steel recording. Freiband is Frans de Waard of Kapotte Musiek and Beequeen, while Rutger Zuydervelt seemed incredibly prolific in 2008 (when Oahu came out) making music as Machinefabriek. The music here is typical of their work—it floats slowly with drones and electronic glitches intersecting to create something of a narrative flow. There are occasionally harsh sounds, but it's mostly beautiful. The acoustic recording rarely turns up recognizably in the remixes, so its rare appearances are a jarring break from sounds that are generally far detached from the original source. The sound quality is generally clean without any purposeful use of digital artifact, and the Digipak looks nice, with some gently doctored nature photos.

Minny Pops, Sparks in a Dark Room (side A)

Minny Pops' use of electronics, processing, and awkward song-like structures is distinctive, if not entirely original, in the post-punk genre. The weak point of 1982's Sparks in a Dark Room is the vocals, which are very derivative of Ian Curtis without being particularly powerful. Minny Pops hailed from Amsterdam and released several singles in addition to this album. Sparks in a Dark Room sounds good and looks great, with impressively austere packaging that looks both commercial and worn-out. I also find it interesting that the Plurex label, which members of Minny Pops helped form, released the Twinkeyz album.

Archie Shepp, Life at the Donaueschingen Music Festival (side A)

This one is a live album, even if the title gets a bit confusing. Life at the Donaueschingen Music Festival was recorded in 1967, but not released until '72. It marks one of Shepp's earliest extended chaos experiments after his earlier albums had more recognizable tune structures. At this point, the playing itself often directly references jazz, even if the structures do not. Shepp is clearly aware of his contemporaries—the minimal "small instrument" percussion surrounding the opening bass section recalls Roscoe Mitchell's work at the time, and some of the group interplay shows a bit of Ayler's influence. The group here is among Shepp's most impressive, with Rudd, Moncur, Garrison, and Beaver Harris accompanying him. The live recording doesn't sound great, especially all of the weird space around the drums, but its flaws have aged nicely. Despite the apparent misspelling of "live", the front cover looks great, with Shepp's dashiki referencing playing cards! I'm still trying to determine whether the trombonist warming up in the back or the fellow intently watching Shepp is Roswell Rudd—they both look a bit like him.

Richard & Linda Thompson, Hokey Pokey (side A)

While 1974's Hokey Pokey retains the dark lyrical themes of so much of Richard Thompson's writing, it approaches them with more levity than on the duo's other canonical albums. Emphasizing the levity is the fiddle, which plays in a light and somewhat antiquated style. The songs, while great, aren't quite as memorable as on Bright Lights Tonight or Pour Down Like Silver, and the backing group is Thompson's usual from this era apart from Timi Donald on drums. The old-fashioned cover design is fun, and the recording sounds great. Unfortunately, my early-80s Carthage pressing uses overly-glossy paper and was mastered too bright/present.

John Fahey, Volume 6: Days Have Gone By (side A)

1967's Days Have Gone By precedes by a year Fahey's notable "out" works like Requia and The Yellow Princess. It marks a transition from his earlier, more folk-inspired works, into this unconventional territory. There are bits of technology and oddity, a clear influence of Indian music, and more explorations with space and slow tempos. At the same time, Days Have Gone By does not hint at the confusion and insanity that would turn up only a year later. It's a beautiful album with a great cover design, clear (if slightly bright) guitar recordings, and some memorable song titles like "A Raga Called Pat".

Harold Budd, Lovely Thunder (side A)

1986's Lovely Thunder features an impressive cast of collaborators, including Simon Raymonde, Robin Guthrie, Michael Hoenig, and even cover art by Wire associate Russell Mills. Some of the album is standard/pretty ambient tracks that remind me of Budd's other work from this era. A couple of tracks here do stand out as special within the constrained genre. "Ice Floes in Eden" features occasional low-frequency thuds that almost leap out of the otherwise floaty mix. A notable track is "Flowered Knife Shadows", Budd's collaboration with the Cocteau Twins. It features the reverb and processing for which the Cocteau Twins were known by 1986, inside of a composition that is recognizably Budd's. The pressing is better than many others on EG, but Mills's cover art, while tasteful, has not aged as well as his work with Dome.

Charles Tyler Ensemble, Charles Tyler Ensemble (side A)

The fact that many artists on ESP continue to perform live has helped to keep them visible. While he was quite active up until his passing in 1992, Charles Tyler's profile has unfortunately not seen the resurgence that some of his peers have experienced. Tyler worked with Albert Ayler for many years, and parts of 1966's Charles Tyler Ensemble resemble Ayler's work at that time, with bop-like energy juxtaposed against lines far more abstract and less tonal than would be typical in be-bop. Other parts seem almost like a precursor to Julius Hemphill, utilizing bits of chamber jazz and slower tempos. The instrumentation is unusual too, with Joel Friedman's cello and Charles Moffett's very present drums accompanying the more typical alto/bass/drums. Unfortunately, Henry Grimes's bass is hard to hear on the overly-bright album.

Red Krayola, Hazel (side A)

Like so many Red Krayola albums, 1996's Hazel is a diverse and confusing listen. After 1994's relatively straightforward (by the group's standards) Red Krayola, Hazel marks a gradual return toward chaos, in part because it employs a larger and more varied set of musicians. Some songs have energy and propulsion, while others are acoustic and folk-y. Some are well-recorded, while others have obvious flaws (including a moment of very exaggerated and unwelcome sibilance). It's not quite as perverse as Fingerpainting, which followed it, and it still has enough of Mayo's beloved "cheesy bits" to seem engaging through the detachment. It's less fun than Kangaroo?, but nowhere near as off-putting as Coconut Hotel. The strange cover image somehow fits the music, but the bland font seems less appropriate.

The Feelies, Crazy Rhythms (side A)

Listening to 1980's Crazy Rhythms reminds me that it deserves its canonical status. It's not really the best recorded album, but the sound is not so bad as to get in the way. At least the guitars sound weird in an interesting way—the bass, on the other hand, is particularly muffled and hard to hear. The performances are particularly remarkable, vaguely close to the first Dream Syndicate album and really not much else. Much like the Dream Syndicate, the Feelies' later output never lived up to the promise of their amazing debut. The cover design is great too, though I have a hard time picturing Anton Fier wearing bright colors!