Release Surfer – The most interesting new releases of the week – 10/16

With hundreds of new releases every week, it's becoming harder and harder to decide what to listen to and what to leave behind.
This new OndaRock column will be with you every Thursday, helping you choose which waves to ride in the sea of albums coming out the following day.

Fontaines D.C. – Dopamine Chamber (indie-rock, post-punk) – What's probably the most anticipated alternative album of the year has been preceded by the weakest singles the Irish post-punk outfit have ever put out – only the one featuring Rosalia managed to raise the bar of interest even slightly. Did they just pick the wrong appetizers, or is this really a misstep?

Mars Volta – Lucro sucio; Unfinished Business (progressive rock, art rock) – Twenty-one years after "Scab Dates", a new live album. Built with fan input by sifting through hours of recordings, it's described on the InsideOut label's Bandcamp page as a "deep reinterpretation" of "Lucro Sucio; Los Ojos del Vacío" — deep enough to turn the barely five minutes of "Voice In My Knives" + "Poseedora De Mi Sombra" into a single, nearly twenty-minute-long flow.

Two Shell – Infinite Now (electro, techno, future pop) – Second album from the English duo made up of Jack Benson and Patrick Lewis. Infinite Now serves up ten light, catchy tracks, with cotton-candy-coated choruses designed to warm up the coldest winter nights.

Richard Thompson – Hippies, Thugs and Heroes (folk-rock, psych) – The legendary English guitarist's 20th album. The tracklist features thirteen songs telling stories of swindlers and eccentric characters. Backing the former Fairport Convention man are his trusted collaborators Taras Prodaniuk (bass), Michael Jerome (drums), David Mansfield (guitar and violin) and Zara Phillips (backing vocals).

Eels – COOKIE HAPPENED (singer/songwriter, indie-folk) – With this new, cookie-themed title, Mr. E and his eels are up to a whopping sixteen albums! The singles released so far are delightful, pointing toward a record built around small everyday victories, which naturally come hand in hand with small everyday dramas.

The Avalanches – No Bad memories (plunderphonics) – With a whopping thirty-one tracks and guests ranging from Panda Bear to Mike Patton, from Jamie XX to Karen O, the fourth album from the Australian DJ collective is shaping up to be a party built on ravenous sampling and laid-back beats.

Caspian – Caspian (post-rock, quiet/loud) Since debuting in 2005 with the EP "You Are The Conductor", America's Caspian have become an institution within the composite scene spanning post-metal, instrumental progressive rock, and quiet/loud dynamics in the style of Explosions In The Sky. Their sixth album arrives a full six years after its predecessor: on Reddit, the first tracks shared have already got fans of the genre buzzing with anticipation.

Geologist – The Sirens (electronic) – The premise behind the new album from the Animal Collective founding member is, to say the least, bizarre. A giant telescope aimed at the moon was hooked up to sensors capable of turning light into electrical pulses, which were then used to modulate synthesizers. Will the result be just as strange, or will it surprise us all?

Holy Motors – Heaven's Night (slowcore, dream-pop, psych-pop) – The most American-leaning band to come out of Tallinn has returned to Estonia to produce its third album, the first recorded entirely on home turf. The local cold and fog may well have added extra mystery to their already hazy, seductive sound.

The Owl Service – Tied To The Land (wyrd folk, progressive folk) Among the cult names of the 2000s folk-rock revival, Britain's Owl Service arrive at their fourth album after a ten-year hiatus. Promising a body count higher than a slasher movie, the band vows to pick up its reimagining of Albion's traditions right where it left off, amid enchanted woods, murder ballads, and decidedly dark, "wyrd" paths. Fans of Pentangle, Steeleye Span, Comus, and Espers have reason to be intrigued.

Ride the wave of great music

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