El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez Lopez- Cryptomnesia [2009]

Released on Cinco de Mayo, Cryptomnesia (defined as "inadvertent plagiarism") is the first of three recordings done in 2006 by El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, a side project of the guitarist and producer of the Mars Volta. Rodriguez-Lopez enlisted the talents of bandmate Juan Alderete on bass and Zach Hill and Jonathan Hischke of Hella on drums and synth bass, respectively, along with Mars Volta frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala for lyrics and vocals on eight of the album's 11 cuts. Rodriguez-Lopez has been prolific since the middle of the aughts, issuing no less than ten previous recordings on various labels since 2004! While the most recent ones have revealed a more experimental and formal compositional bent and elaborate production, this earlier material is no less wildly creative and daring, though it can be seen as a much more logical extension of the Mars Volta's musical adventures than as something with his own complete musical stamp on it, as his more recent recordings have been. Cryptomnesia is a tough, rugged, and wildly ambitious set of far-reaching -- sometimes overly so -- compositions reflecting the rapid growth of one of the new century's most genuinely talented and visionary musicians.- Thom Jurek

Cryptomnesia [2009]

Warren Oates

Myspace

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Sharpen Your Teeth [2002]

The story behind Sharpen Your Teeth is odd yet plausible: a mentally unstable character named Edgar Graham (calling himself Ugly Casanova) met up with Modest Mouse, followed them around on tour, recorded some songs, gave the recordings to labels, and then mysteriously disappeared. Songs on tapes discovered by Sub Pop were later recorded by Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse in hopes that Grahamwould resurface. The first solo record from the singer/guitarist, Sharpen Your Teeth, cuts into raw indie rock with spells of country and folk, while allowing Brock to explore a varying scope of sounds. He gets help from Brian Deck (whose production credits include Tortoise and the Sea and Cake), Tim Rutili of Red, Red Meat and Pall Jenkins of the Black Heart Procession. Ranging from heartfelt acoustic numbers ("Cat Faces") to outright bizarreness with grating vocals ("Diamonds on the Face of Evil"), there's no doubt that the mood sometimes coincides with the enigmatic Graham.- Kenyon Hopkin

Barnacles

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