Like Mirage recalls one of Eno’s latest works, Small Craft on a Milk Sea — a self-proclaimed soundtrack with no movie. The soundscapes are grand and cinematic, but push far beyond Earth. The soft pulses of “Brute Neighbors” are like cosmic waves, lapping against a small boat. Those waves later wash onto lunar shores on “Sunday Brunch.”

The soft taps of the drum machine drifting through the drone on “Astronomy Is a Natural Science” are expected, but the band willingly steps out from the ambient shadow. They’re not afraid to add live drums and faster tempos, such as during the second half of “Brute Neighbors.”

Moholy-Nagy probably doesn’t seem like most of today’s music, but it is actually part of the burgeoning outer sound genre, alongside groups like Collections of Colonies of Bees and Julianna Barwick. Like Mirage draws from the past, looks to the future, and fits in seamlessly with the present.

(Temporary Residence Ltd., PO Box 60097, Brooklyn, NY 11206)

Recently, it seems like Robbins has been content staying behind the board, producing albums by bands like Braid, the Promise Ring, Against Me!, and Lemuria. But his new band, Office of Future Plans, seems to have fallen together perfectly.

Robbins asked bassist/multi-instrumentalist Brooks Harlan, drummer Darren Zentek, and cellist/guitarist Gordon Withers (who released an album of Jawbox songs played on the cello) to back him on what was initially a one-off solo show in 2009. But all four musicians clicked, and you can hear it on their debut self-titled album.

Office of Future Plans features Robbins’s angular guitar, but it’s not just a Jawbox rehash. Wither’s cello swoons around the riffs, both majestically (“Riddle Me This,” “Abandon”) and diabolically (“The Beautiful Barricades”), and the rhythm section keeps the vast, textured sounds moving forward.

Even though Office of Future Plans was sort of an accident, J. Robbins proves that he’s still got it, even out from behind the production board.

(Dischord Records, 3819 Beecher Street NW, Washington, DC 20007)

Classics of Love’s eponymous album is their first full-length, and their follow-up to the 2009 EP Walking in Shadows. The new album hits the ground running, from the first flash of feedback and rapid fire of snare drum on the opening track, “What a Shame,” to the classic ska-punk sound of “Castle in the Sky,” and the ’80s hardcore feel of “World of the Know.” As the music blasts through song after song, Michaels’ observations ring in your ear: “Life is a game where you see who can make the most money/Life is a game where you see who can get the most power” from “Stronghold,” or “Cut down from those heights/we’re here to reject you,” from “Would-Be Kings,” which envisions the rejection of those with the money and the power.

If you are looking for a high-energy album to get you through this warm winter then you are in luck. The 13 tracks clock in at 22-and-a-half minutes. Click here to listen to “Dissolve.”

(Asian Man Records, PO Box 35585, Monte Sereno, CA 95030)

Jucifer have recorded for major labels, large indies, and everyone in between. They now choose to live a nomadic life in an RV traveling around the country from gig to gig.

This newest release comes from 1994, which is the beginning of their long, strange journey, when they were just starting out, living in a run-down house in Athens and enjoying the life of young, noisy bohemians. Recorded to four-track, these are some of the band’s earliest songs. In order to get this up to snuff, they turned these recordings in to Scott Hull for some remixing and remastering before releasing them as a three-way split between Grindcore Karaoke (digital), Handshake Inc. (vinyl), and the duo’s own Nomadic Fortress label (CD).

Nadir is a raw recording, but it makes for a great snapshot of a band at their inception. “Prime” starts things off with slow, heavy grooves and monstrous, sludgy riffs, while “Hachimantaro” veers slightly into noise rock territory before continuing with the slow motion pounding. “Crossless” achieves a creepy weirdness with Valentine’s whispered vocals working in tandem with the riffs to create an atmosphere of menace and dread. She sounds like a banshee calling from beyond the grave. “Glamourpuss” closes it out with some cool stop/start rhythms.

This is some essential listening for all fans of the band and all people who like the slow, heavy, sludgy stuff. It shows that the duo’s sound was fully formed from the outset — since this first assault, the band has not given up an ounce of their intensity. This is a good example of musical archaeology at its finest.

(Handshake Inc., 1562 Shore Road, London, ON  N6K 4Z6 Canada)

Birds In Row play at the dirtier end of the hardcore pool, with a sludgy, noisy sound that is full of hooks. While not quite as discordant as noisecore, their sound is distinct enough to draw the interest of people who like their hardcore offbeat and raging.

Opener “Among The Ashes” mines a dirge-like groove, until it detonates two minutes in and continues its frantic pace until it ends. “Word Of Astaroth” mines a pummeling mid-paced bass and drum groove before the guitars kick with their noisy, angular viciousness, while “Ace Of Fools” is an up-tempo, frantic number. The band throws the listener a curveball with “Cottbus Outro,” in that it relies on acoustic guitar, handclaps, and stomping percussion to obtain an edgy, old-time blues appeal. The interestingly titled “Die, Testosterone, Die!” rages, while “Phoenix” breaks into fiery bursts of energy to close out the set.

At present, the band is recording a full length, so it’s worth discovering (or rediscovering) this band with this reissued and repackaged set. It contains some urgent and excellent music, and the deluxe packaging is the cherry on top.

(Vitriol Records, 6015 Sheridan Way, Buena Park, CA 90620)

Toronto’s The Darcys have done just that. Lead singer Jason Couse might channel Thom Yorke, but the band’s self-titled album isn’t OK Computer II. The Darcys’ heavy atmospheric rock actually sounds more like Klaxons or Bloc Party mixed with Wild Beasts.

The Darcys’ huge rock sound would make them a perfect opening act for any arena-filling rock band — maybe even Radiohead. The band’s latest, their first for Arts&Crafts, is available on vinyl or for free download only.

(Arts&Crafts, 460 Richmond St. W #402, Toronto, ON M5V 1Y1 Canada)

This split record from Exit Stencil Recordings feels a bit more like two EPs played end to end than one cohesive album, but this is forgivable because of the overall quality of the album.  The transition between artists is a little jarring on the digital version, but once the transition to Summer People takes place, it settles into its own groove.  This record would probably play better on vinyl for one key reason: flipping a vinyl disc provides a momentary pause, cleansing the audio palate before sinking teeth into the artist on the other side.  When listening to Do It digitally, that pause is noticeably absent.

The eclectic act that is Summer People is definitely worth a momentary pause before listening.  The eight members of the New York band make highly varied music, and somehow it never seems to sound cluttered, which can be a challenge for a group half their size.  It would have made more sense to me to have their song “94 Chapin” as the first track on the their side, as that song flowed more naturally with the sound of HotChaCha.  “The Fox and the Hound” makes for a jarring transition due to a cascading wave of percussion that escalates through the song.  The final two tracks sound more similar to each other, the dirge-like “Et Cetera” and “Baseball Bat.”  As a final, eclectic note, unless I am mistaken “Et Cetera” features a lyrical reference to Wu-Tang Clan’s Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).

(Exit Stencil Recordings, 159 Newel Street Apt. 4R, Brooklyn, NY 11222)

The most striking thing about Knife Man is the quality of the lyrics.  Sixteen songs, 16 variations on a single theme:  ”Mean people suck.”  Yet it never gets old or repetitive. Andrew Jackson Jihad are storytellers. The standout track to my ear is the song “Back Pack,” which sounds like nothing else the band has done. It is slow, almost mournful, and it is one of the most troubling “murder ballads” I have heard in a long time:

You were dead by the time that I had found you.
Your blood was spilled on the couch where we had first kissed.
So I carried you west to the sea so I could wash you.
Your body felt just like a back pack.
And I don’t know what they did to your face.
And I don’t like it.

No doubt some listeners will hear the song and question whether it is “punk” at all — but they miss the point. Punk rock is in a new and exciting phase. The ethos is intact, but there is striking diversity in the sounds that constitute the genre. The days when it seemed that punk had been reduced to some simple sonic formula are past — and I hope they are gone for good.

When you hear a record like Knife Man you are opened up to the possibilities, and reminded that great songs are an act of creation. You will also know you are in the presence of a great and important band making music at a very high level.

(Asian Man Records, PO Box 35585 Monte Sereno, CA 95030)

Enter Dead to Me with their latest offering Moscow Penny Ante. Dead to Me sounds exactly like you would expect a punk band to. Up-tempo tracks with simple music and shouted lyrics are pretty much par for the course here. By “par for the course” I mean that every song sounds the same. They are completely acceptable punk songs, but feel dated. None of them say anything important and, frankly, sound like a rehash of a Face to Face greatest hits collection…from 2002.

I’m not asking for every band to write lyrics like Rage Against the Machine or Propagandhi. But there is nothing concrete here that hasn’t been performed before or even better. Moscow Penny Ante is a decent punk record, but there isn’t anything special about it. It just merely exists in the flow of pop-punk.

(Fat Wreck Chords, PO Box 193690, San Francisco, CA 94119)

So here you have two versions of the same record to pick over. Disc one has the rawer, more “punk” rock mix — murkier than the version on disc two, which has vastly improved sonic clarity. Personally, I prefer the rawness of disc one, though which mix you favor will depend on your opinion of what a hardcore recording should sound like.

Regardless, this is a seminal piece of hardcore. Coalesce were on the more “arty” and experimental side of the 1990s hardcore equation, trailblazing new and interesting ways to pummel you into submission.

There are Sean Ingram’s vocals — more than just shouting, at times he sounds like a wounded bear, and gets even more interesting when he breaks into one of his David Yow-esque tortured vocal turns. He comes off sounding more like a tortured loner than someone who is a cheerleader for the scene. Guitarist Jes Steineger plays notes in odd time signatures, and is not above tossing some good old fashioned feedback-laden grenades into the mix. This style made Coalesce darker, dirtier, and far more interesting than many of their peers who were doing the cookie-cutter “chugga-chugga” breakdown thing. Coalesce must have seem like they came from another planet — I guess for some people, Kansas City is close enough.

This is a great time to pick up this seminal record and revisit the beginnings of one of the true monster bands of modern hardcore. Plus, the CD package includes liner notes from Steineger, which adds perspective to the record.

(Relapse Records, PO Box 2060, Upper Darby, PA 19082)

“Mouth Breather” from PROTECT benefit album

“Have Patience” from Give Them Rope