Six Organs of Admittance "Asleep on the Floodplain" (2011)

With "Asleep On the Floodplain", Chasny seems to find the sweet spot between his acoustic Faheyfests and the more electric psychedelic freakouts.  There are some vocals & electric guitar, but it fits into the framework created by his magnificent acoustic guitar work. 

Jimi Tenor & Kabu Kabu "4th Dimension" (2009)

It takes a lot of guts to open an album with an obvious allusion to Sun Ra.  But while Sun Ra's music pushed forwards, into the space age, incorporating the history of jazz only insofar as it was needed to summarize that history, "4th Dimension" looks firmly to the past, with only illusions of progress or transcendence.  The past focused on here is not the deep history of jazz, but rather afrobeat and dance music.  Disco anyone? 

While technically sound, this lacks the true transcendental nature of more forward thinking jazz, as well as the true earthy thrust of afrobeat.

Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit "self-titled" (2009)

Extracted from the context of the Drive-By Truckers, Isbell clearly played the part of Paul to Patterson Hood's John.  Isbell's music is the more melodic, with more emphasis on southern blues and soul.  It is the more commercial of the two.  This self-titled album isn't up to the standards of the DBTs, but it is very promising.

Six Organs of Admittance "Luminous Night" (2009)

Chasny steps away from the Fahey-isms of early SOA releases & jumps into psych-prog territory with this release.  Unfortunately to my nonprog-loving ears, this sounds more like deep album cuts from a 70s prog band than anything I really want to listen to.

Peasant "Shady Retreat" (2010)

Some forms of indie rock can be quite slippery when you try to get a handle on it.  Its quiet, strummy instrumentation means the music itself isn't something that you mind holds onto easily.  What's left then is the songs themselves.  How's the melody?  Do you want to sing along?  The best material quietly insinuates itself into your head.  The merely competent fades away.  The phenomenon seems to be that 10 minutes after the album ends, I've forgotten what I've listened to.

Tom Waits "The Black Rider" (1993)

As the album opens, Waits suddenly appears as a twisted, scary carnival barker.  Is this the first time he's played this persona?  It feels so natural... of course he's a carnival barker!

Written in part with William Burroughs, this is the music for a stage production, so there is as much emphasis on the incidental music as the "songs" per se. 

While the stage production apparently lasts for 3 hours, this album is a modest 55 minutes. 

It's certainly interesting from a fan's standpoint, but a minor work compared to most of Wait's catalog.

Six Organs of Admittance "For Octavio Paz" (2003)

The clues are right in front of you.  The band's name clearly signifying spiritual quest, the album's title a nod to artistic aspirations.  For a relatively short album (under 50 minutes), we are moved along a path to transcendence, via acoustic guitar.  The playing is of the post -Fahey variety -- emphasis on drones, and fingerwork.  But very very impressive.