The Hylozoists - Lile De Sept Villes

"The Hylozoists' latest release is a vocalist-free, orchestrated delight. Chock full of bountiful string arrangements and vibraphone melody lines, L'Île De Sept Villes skillfully jumps from ambient-sounding distorted strings and bowed percussion instruments at the beginning of the CD to triumphant movie soundtrack-esque tracks and classy pop rock in the latter half, all the while maintaining a cohesive and coherent feel to the album." -Gauntlet
Download: megaupload
Label/Date: Outside Music, 2009
Genre: cinematic post-rock, orchestral-pop, whole lot o vibraphone
From: Toronto
Similar/Related: Belle Orchestre, Tortoise, Silver Ray/Cam Butler, Clogs, Jaga Jazzist, DMST, Tristeza, Steve Reich, Ennio Morricone, Cue
Website : Myspace

Bell Orchestre - As Seen through Windows

"Although the band were initially spoken about as being an Arcade Fire offshoot (three amongst their number have been known to play with the Canadian stadium rockers) the band are evolving into something spectacular in its own right. As Seen Through Windows finds the group achieving a newfound maturity, setting their course for increasingly experimental sounds. Pieces like 'Water / Light / Shifts' and 'Air Lines / Land Lines' go beyond the template set out by groups such as Rachel's for alt. classical music of this ilk, and In addition to a host of inventive modern chamber compositions, Bell Orchestre take on a hugely impressive rendering of Aphex Twin's classic 'Bucephalus Bouncing Ball', resulting in an uncommonly convincing example of that oft attempted classical/electronica crossover. Recommended." -boomkat
Download: mediafire
Label/Date: Arts and Crafts, 2009
Genre: post-rock, experimental, classical
From: Montreal
Similar/Related: Arcade Fire, Clogs, Rachel's, Set Fire To Flames, GYBE!, Esmerine, Torngat, Do Make Say Think, Hrsta, Valley of the Giants, Dirty Three
Website : Myspace

Rävjunk - Uppsala Stadhotell Brinner

"Rävjunk mix long track space rock with some early Stooges psych punk for something wholly original."
Ignoring the track Hello Little Girl, which sounds like a creepy pedophile anthem, you'll find some real badass jams here. Especially VI Ses (Vid Taj Mahal) and Mahal Revisited which sound like Can rocking with Wooden Shjips and Earthless (Snöspår is also really great). If you like krautrock at all you must hear these tracks. Also Rävjunk means Fox piss. Awesome.

Download: megaupload
Label/Date: 1977, re-issue by Transubstans Records, 2007
Genre: krautrock, psych-rock, blues, garage, punk
From: Uppsala, Sweden
Similar/Related: Earthless, Can, Ash Ra Tempel, Neu!, Wooden Shjips, Circle, Amon Düül II, Grateful Dead, T2, Stooges, Hawkwind
Website : Myspace

Chico Magnetic Band

"Even though this absolutely brilliant and overwhelming album is but a half an hour in length, it is so chock full o’ balls and amazing riffs that consistently make all the right moves at the right times it’s downright scary and seems twice the length due to its raging density of vision. Given that (and that fact it seems almost entirely culled from moments of only the top tier fab waxings in my collection) it also seems far longer than THAT because everything on it counts SO BAD it lights a fire in my head, creates a fevered dickswell and comes close to bursting my heart every time I spin it.

Why? Put simply, this freakin’ album has EVERYTHING. And by that I mean it draws from elements of approaches set down by “Phallus Dei”-era Amon Düül Zwei, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Silberbart, Straight-era Alice Cooper, Can, Guru Guru, Groundhogs, Speed Glue & Shinki, Led Zeppelin, Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band, Tiger B. Smith and “Free Your Mind”-period Funkadelic (so help me Eddie) and are seamlessly wedged into one album.

Chico IS...The Man." --The Book of Seth

Download: mediafire
Label/Date: Box Office/Disques Vogue, 1971
Genre: psychedelic rock, blues, garage, experimental
From: France
Similar/Related: Amon Düül II, Jimi Hendrix, Captain Beefheart, Santana, Can, Funkadelic, Zappa, Dr John, Led Zeppelin, Booker T & The MGs
Website : last.fm

The Time And Space Machine

Volume I (2007)

Download: mediafire Thanks to psychout_cortez
"The Time And Space Machine is one half of the mysterious Beyond The Wizards Sleeve combo and here are the first fruits of their toils. Volume One comprises of eight cuts all double dipped in quality cosmic psyche, mind bending krautrock and jump-up freakbeatery. From the monster drum jam of 'Be There' to the funky drum jam of 'Lesson One' via the tripped out Acid Bath of 'Buffalo Roam' to the Gainsbourgesque 'Amourous Ways' - it's all killer and no filler."

Volume II (2009)

Download: megaupload
"Here we go again "The Time and Space Machine", featuring one half of the shadowy Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve, is back with another prime collection of psychedelic re-edits. Ranging from full on, ten-minute guitar freakouts to lysergic acid folk to warped sunshine freakbeat, 'Volume 2' is a aural head trip for the weird and wired. We have lift off..."

Genre: psychedelic rock re-edits
Similar/Related: Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve, Dungen, Caribou, Neu!, Amon Düül II, 13th Floor Elevators, Cream, Comus, The Doors, Funkadelic, Jefferson Airplane,
Website : Myspace

The Yellow Moon Band - Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World

The Yellow Moon Band have created a heady stew of groovy psych rock, folk and the occasional slab of Brit Invasion rock. All of which could be a mess in lesser hands, but the instrumental capabilities of the four-piece makes Travels a choogling joy. - musicomh.com

Download: megaupload
Label/Date: Static Caravan, 2009
Genre: Instrumental Psychedelic Jams
From: United Kingdom
Similar/Related: Dungen, The Time & Space Machine, Grateful Dead, Amon Düül II, Fleetwood Mac, Blue Oyster Cult, The Who, Radio Moscow, Ten East, Bakerton Group
Website : Myspace

The Oscilation - Out Of Phase

"Born out of the ashes of The Orichalc Phase, The Oscillation is Demian Castellanos' mightiest incarnation yet, a bewildering mix of pop songs and expansive psychedelic freakouts that demands comparison with the harder edge of the 70's krautrock scene, the lambent tones of bands like Spiritualized or Loop at their most medicated, or The Ruts battling their way out of an echo chamber to a background of white noise.

To coincide with the release of "Out Of Phase", the debut album by The Oscillation, Castellanos put together a band who have since played a selection of incendiary live show in the UK and across Europe. Look out for them in a city near yu soon!"-DC Recordings

Download: megaupload
Label/Date: DC Recordings, 2007
Genre: psychedelic rock, krautrock, dub, electronic, funk, shoegaze, prog
From: United Kingdom
Similar/Related: Silver Apples, Caribou, Porcupine Tree (old), Wooden Shjips, Holy Fuck, !!!, Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve, Time and Space Machine, Cloudland Canyon, Zombi, Ozric Tentacles, Spacemen 3, Loop, Neu!, Harmonia, Dragontears
Website : Myspace

Silvester Anfang - Silvester Anfang II

"Belgian princes of darkness Silvester Anfang have undergone some serious changes since their last full-length, embracing new members (from bands like Kiss The Anus Of A Black Cat, Ignatz and Burial Hex) and a new sound. They've even rebranded themselves as a sequel to their former selves - Silvester Anfang II, more preoccupied with classic psych rock than ever before, balancing deep drone and Germanic motorik principles with ceremonial, robe-adorned freak folk wig-outs. With tracks like 'Na Regen Komt Sondvlred', 'The Devil Always Shits In The Same Graves Pt1' and the electrified Eastern tones of 'Ossesaaddans' the group seem to have grown into a far more substantial presence, weaving a multilayered sound that manages to succeed during quieter campfire moments (such as the haunting '60s-style oddity 'Boom Van De Eerste Menstruatie') as well as on louder interjections like 'Burkelbos', which is like a krautrock-tinted take on the Acid Mothers template, full of freeform electronic thrash and groove-heavy jamming."- boomkat

Download: megaupload
Label/Date: Aurora Borealis, 2009
Genre: funeral folk, psych, drone, middle eastern, kraut, experimental
From: Belgium
Similar/Related: Harvestman, Master Musicians of Bukkake, Acid Mothers Temple, Sunburned Hand of the Man, Burial Hex, Six Organs of Admittance, Grails, Barn Owl, Kiss The Anus Of A Black Cat
Website : last.fm

Master Musicians of Bukkake - Totem One

"Master Musicians Of Bukkake’s newest record and part of a Northwest trilogy, Totem One marks an evolution from their first record “Visible Sign Of the Invisible order." MMOB has now solidified into a 7 piece cosmic psyche force. Like a reverse dark side of the New Age sound, on the Totem series Master Musicians of Bukkake perform ritualistic electric excursions into the outer and inner reaches. Relying more on the electric power of psyched guitars, analog synth chants, and exotic heavy percussion, Totem one echos with the delusions of a West Coast Death cult. Outer spaced Gamelan, dusty fuzz rock from celestial deserts, meditations of a deranged Krishna gathering, and the Blurry acoustic guitar majesty of The Cascade mountains all reveal themselves here in epic form On Totem One. Every sound and note played was put to tape by a group with a singular purging purpose. Totem one also features Vocals By MMOB honorary member Alan Bishop of the Sun City Girls." - Conspiracy

Download: mediafire
Label/Date: Conspiracy Records, 2009
Genre: psychedelic, drone, middle eastern, folk, world music, experimental
From: Seattle, Washington
Similar/Related: Featuring members of Earth, Grails, Sunn O))), Burning Witch, Sun City Girls, and Secret Chiefs 3
Website : Myspace

Whisper Room - Birch White

"Whisper Room is a trio based in Toronto, Canada featuring Aidan Baker of Nadja on guitar/effects, Neil Wiernik aka Naw on bass/laptop and Jakob Thiesen on drums. Whisper Room explores the conjunction of electronic rhythms and textures and the pulsations and psychedelics of shoegaze and krautrock."
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Label/Date: Elevation Records, 2009
Genre: drone/krautrock/shoegaze/psychedelic
From: Toronto
Similar/Related: Aidan Baker/Nadja, Thisquietarmy, Tim Hecker, Excepter, Growing, Fennesz, Mouthus, Cloudland Canyon, Valet, Religious Knives, Fuck Buttons, Eluvium, Labradford, Brian Eno, William Basinski, Stars of the Lid
Website : Myspace

Duelectrum - Electrolandia

Download: sinewave.com
Label/Date: Sinewave Net Label, 2008
Genre: Shoegaze, Noise-pop, Experimental
From: São Paulo, Brazil
Similar/Related: Jesu, Destroyalldreamers, Nadja, Flavor Crystals, Have a Nice Life, To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie, Spacemen 3, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Angelic Process, Tim Hecker
Website : Myspace

Wildbirds & Peacedrums - The Snake

Incredible singing, amazing drumming and inventive songs. I've never heard anything like this before. Some of the best music I've heard all year.

"Wildbirds & Peacedrums are a contemporary experimental two piece hailing from Sweden consisting of singer Mariam Wallentin and her husband, drummer Andreas Werliin. Their ‘instruments’ consist of her powerful vocals and his unorthodox percussion/drumming, resulting in a powerful, innovative sound. Their music is a hybrid of folk, blues and various other types of music."-lastfm

Video for There is No Light here and a good review here.
Download: megaupload
Label/Date: The Leaf Label, 2009
Genre: vocals and drums duo, folk, pop, blues, experimental
From: Sweden
Similar/Related: Björk, Nina Nastasia & Jim White, Lykke Li, Joanna Newsom, Evangelista, Efterklang, Pocahaunted
Website : Myspace

Speck Mountain - Some Sweet Relief

"Speck Mountain are an ambient-soul band possessed as much by the grit of southern soul as the spell of infinite drones. Co-leaders Karl Briedrick and Marie-Claire Balabanian provoke each other with intuitive, womb-curled melody, exploded texture, and spiky, strutting rhythm—and so far I’m just talking about the guitars. Marie-Claire also keeps a full-sized Aretha loaded in her throat like some kind of ungodly spring reverb, but has the sense to only let her uncoil just enough, never overdoing it. Karl and Marie-Claire fill out the songs with lyrics in thrall to the mysteries of compulsion, and the ache and rapture of giving in.

Sonically Speck Mountain are in thrall to vintage effects and recording techniques, although they’re always looking for the future rather than the past. Their studio mixes are subtle and painstaking, booby-trapped all over with headphone-happy detail. Their live sets project a loose, narcotic swagger, taking off from atmospheric majesty into full-on hypnotic assault." -myspace

Album removed by request
Download track: I Feel Eternal
Label/Date: Carrot Top Records, 2009
Genre: "ambient soul", blues, dream pop, psych, "drift rock"
From: Chicago, Illinois
Similar/Related: Lights, Mazzy Star, Cranes, Low, Yo La Tengo, Lau Nau, Spacemen 3, Valet, Beach House, Fire On Fire
Website : Myspace

Giant Squid - The Ichthyologist

One of the best albums of the year. It gets better with every listen. Check out three great reviews here, here and here
Download: removed by request
Label/Date: self-released, 2009
Genre: post-metal, experimental
From: San Francisco
Similar/Related: Neurosis, Grayceon, Battle of Mice, maudlin of the Well, Kayo Dot, Tusk, Mastodon, Amber Asylum, The Gathering, Intronaut, Minsk, The Pax Cecilia, System of a Down
Website : Myspace

Arriver - Vandlandingham and Zone

Sweet, ass-kicking, fun metal! Another gem unearthed by Velvety Sheath, Glistening Sword! Here's what he said about it:
"This is a concept album of the highest order, in which our hero, Halon Hong, leads the oppressed denizens of Vanlandingham into a mighty fray in the Zone against their enemies, the Long. Or, the lining of the Long, I think. Or maybe the Long are the good guys...I don't know. But there's an epic battle going on here, with majestic music to fit. This is what metal is supposed to be about: raising swords, vanquishing foes, ending tyranny. No mercy to them shall be shown, indeed. All hail Halon Hong!"
Download: megaupload
Label/Date: self-released, 2006
Genre: epic metal/prog/punk
From: Chicago
Similar/Related: Valkyrie, Clouds, Saviours, Led Zeppelin, Hammers of Misfortune, Metallica, Mastodon, Iron Maiden, Slough Feg, Baroness, Akimbo, Gospel, Genesis, Yes, Grand Magus, Thin Lizzy, Bison
Website : Myspace