But musically, if it doesn't strike you, well, taste is really a matter of taste isn't it? ;)
Badawi - Soldier of MidianMiddle eastern percussion with a really rhythmic beats. Very unusual.
Secret Chiefs 3 - Book MAmazon's description: Book M is mostly made up of Indian/Asian-sounding melodies overlayed with wildly cavorting techno rhythms and a tiny bit of metal, infused with a sense of mystery and paranoia from the thematic artwork based on number theory and assumedly Hindu belief systems. The production and musicianship here is top-notch. Mimicry.
Lovage - Music to make love to your old lady bySexy, smooth, damn. Did I say sexy? Sexy. You really can make love to your old lady to this music.
Hurdy Gurdy - PrototypWell, take two hurdy gurdies and mike them up the wazoo, and capture the rather driving mix of modern and medieval musical pieces. Really unlike anything else.
Not 'oooh celtic' music. Seriously, it's not.
Asian Dub Foundation - Community MusicUK Pakistani Electronica. (Yes I like eastern sounds. I know I'm biased)
Portishead - Dummy'gloomy, tormented, and wildly melodramatic'
Mouse on Mars - IdiologyThey used *gasp* actual instruments on this one! ;) Not really for everyone, this one.
Unkle - Never, Never Land...a record that connects the dots between the creeping melancholy of Talk Talk, the scaly electronics of Massive Attack's Mezzanine and the grand sky-bound epics of the Verve. Like its predecessor, there's a proliferation of guest appearances: Jarvis Cocker, Josh Homme, Brian Eno, Ian Brown, Massive Attack's Robert del Naja. But the vocals are assimilated much more successfully here, ensuring that guest never overpowers song. Lavelle still has a fine eye for casting his songs in the grandest narratives: "Panic Attack" samples the robotic pulse of Joy Division's "She's Lost Control" and overlays it with blurred electronic shimmers and driving bass. Mind you, it might be the understated numbers--"Glow", "Inside"--that provide some of the record's loveliest moments. --Louis Pattison
Dream Theatre - Scenes from a memoryFrom Amazon: Amazon.com
Progressive rock has long been the most devalued currency in popular music, perhaps due to the culture's dumbing down, too many conceptually knotted triple-albums, or merely a Greek chorus of critics parroting the emperor from Amadeus: "Too many notes!" Maybe that's what makes Dream Theater's Scenes such an audacious rush (no pun intended). Here we have a two-act murder mystery examined from a hypnotic dream state and parlayed by "The Orchestra," as the band refers to itself here. Andrew Lloyd Webber hasn't written anything as focused--or musically audacious--in decades. And if the band attacks feverish shift meters and plows through enough structural modes and, yes, notes, to make the aforementioned emperor's head spin, they manage to keep things concise, focused, and largely effective. The addition of keyboardist Jordan Rudess has freshened the band's tack, infused now with the odd, playful ragtime piano quote and sitar sample. Vocalist James Labrie, meanwhile, amply proves that Queensryche's Geoff Tate isn't the only drama queen in prog metal. --Jerry McCulley
Mr Bungle - Disco VolanteI know, I know,
Mr. Bungle, but I really can't push this album enough. It's brilliant. Sheer genius.
Hope something here catches your attention.
:hi: