Benoît Pioulard is the project of Thomas Meluch, whose latest release, Lasted, mixes a dark, dreamy side of pop with one more experimental. “Shouting Distance” sides on the former, with more playful vocal and instrumental melodies. This is where Meluch shines, and it shows in the video for the song. “Shouting Distance” may just be footage of young kids skateboarding, but the film that’s used and the lighting give it a very cool retro feel. You can’t place it in time, but nor can you do …

Brutal insanity might be less dark than Black Earth by Implodes. Blending drone with hints of fuzz and immense, everlasting soundscapes, Implodes’ new album is a mysterious, intriguing work of art. It’s one thing to listen to Black Earth through speakers – it only gets better when imbibed through headphones. And I’d place a fair bet on it being something astonishing to take in live.

Ambient soul is how Nudge describes their music on MySpace; an odd combination initially difficult to comprehend. But add two additional descriptors, experimental and shoegaze, and one can begin to piece together the eccentric music Nudge makes. Their latest, As Good As Gone, capitalizes on all four defining terms in songs like the epically smooth “Two Hands” and the trippy “Burns Blue”.

OK, so a quick one here, especially since there aren’t any tracks cleared for posting. Kranky is set to release the new LP by Greg Davis, and while this is my introduction to the artist and the man, I can easily say I am intrigued. Davis’ tunes are of a highly minimalist nature; on Mutually Arising, Davis channels early minimalist German electronica a la Klaus Schulze.

Kranky is known for putting out great releases that edge toward the avant-garde and the drone-heavy by artists like Deerhunter and Windy & Carl. Their latest release, Tape Chants by Gregg Kowalsky, fits the mold perfectly. In support of Tape Chants, Kowalsky will head out on the road to roam the states and avoid the Pacific Northwest.

Windy & Carl dawned on the radar for many with last year’s subdued masterpiece Songs For The Broken Hearted, but what probably came as a surprise to many first-time listeners — myself included — was that this mellow, shoegaze duo already had a pretty impressive library of released material under their belt.