At the risk of getting New-Age-y on yer ass, I find myself drifting more and more towards a narcotic sort of ambience when it comes to choosing music lately. I love Chillwave (a trite label for a type of music that is driven more by electronics than guitar, but seems appropriate when you dive headlong into it) like Washed Out, whose new record Within and Without is a woozy masterpiece. But even more, I enjoy the haunting, epic drama of Instrumentals - probably enabled somewhat by my choice of profession, floating around on waves of sound while I work has become one of the best parts of my day. Here's three of the best I've heard of late.

Rainforest (EP) - Clams Casino
Clams Casino = Mike Volpe, producer with a resumé that includes Lil' B and Soulja Boy, and he's put a unique spin on a sort of instrumental hip-hop with experimental but totally accessible aspirations. The project digs not subtly into a West Coast terroir (with titles like Natural and Waterfall) and when contrasted with some angelic vocal sampling and gritty noise, really takes the music into a niche that's hard to label. Unless you're an aficionado of Burial, you've never heard anything quite like this. Highly recommended for driving to as well.

Owl Splinters - Deaf Center
Haunting but not gloomy, epic sounding but not overwhelming, a cello and a piano and top notch production skills combine for a would-be soundtrack to whatever you find yourself doing while listening - profound and beautiful.

Ravedeath 1972 - Tim Hecker
A little jarring, Tim Hecker masterfully mixes church organ, shoegaze synth and industrial noise to produce a wall of dissonant beauty- it's a heavy workout but I find it infinitely rewarding.

build a rocket boys! elbow

Maturity is a bad word when it's applied anywhere in the world of rock. A world ruled by drippy pop stars who paint you escapist portraits of non-stop parties, the "empowerment" found in sex and empty-hearted revenge fantasies leaves little room for music by those who've lived a little, have a story to tell, and choose to tell you in a way that won't insult your intelligence.

I used to (flippantly) call Elbow "Coldplay for smart people," but that sells them pitifully short. Warm, meticulously detailed pop songs that are enriched by the small things: shaker percussion, carefully placed strings with a restraint that is rewarded when they kick it out and raise their voices at just the right moment. This is a band that has been making top notch pop records for several years, and hit it reasonably big last time out with The Seldom Seen Kid, which yielded "One Day Like This," a song that won them a Mercury Prize and subsequently became the backdrop for TV montages, movie trailers and hoisted what had been a cult band into an unfamiliar spotlight.

Their reaction to all that? To act like they'd been there before. To put out a record that is the sound of a band growing creatively and moving steadily forward. Listen to "Lippy Kids," "Open Arms" and "Jesus is a Rochdale Girl" and be glad that there's still bands out there that make music for grown-ups, biting but rarely cynical, able to take a look back without being too nostalgic, and warm without tripping over sentimentality. Build A Rocket Boys! came out just yesterday, and frankly, I can't wait to see what this band is going to do next.

Other great Elbow records: Cast of Thousands, Leaders of The Free World, The Seldom Seen Kid.
Other bands that sing great grown-up rock but would probably frown on that characterization: The National, Wilco.

Whatever you think you know about Hardcore is wrong.

With a nod (not a subtle one) to his previous life in Black Flag, Keith Morris puts together a band and a blistering sound that recalls the best of what was great about Hardcore with OFF!: First Four EPs.

Keith Morris has had some rough times post-Black Flag/Circle Jerks. Popping up in interviews from time to time, battling diabetes and dim job prospects (I remember an LA Weekly interview with him talking about his work in a restaurant), life has not been a bed of roses for him. But a little perseverance and a lot of help from Dimitri Coats (from Burning Brides, google "Poor House" and "Heart Full of Black" for a look at his brand of stoner rock), Steve McDonald (from underrated pop punkers Redd Kross), and drummer Mario Rubalcaba (Rocket From The Crypt, Black Heart Procession, Pinback, and my favorite reference of all, Battalion of Saints), OFF!: First Four EPs is a surprisingly restrained, completely authentic document of early 80s Hardcore that is less a nostalgia trip and more a contemporary reaction to the time we live in.

When I say restrained, I'm not referring necessarily to the music - Sixteen songs pummel you for seventeen minutes in what sounds refreshingly like one-take. It's more about the lack of finger wagging or any of that "if you weren't there you'll never understand" bullshit history lesson- just a raging set of songs that capture the fury of a time past in amber for anyone who wonders what it was really all about. Tastefully packaged with art from Raymond Pettibon (the vinyl EPs come with a booklet, complete with notes and illustrations by Mr. Pettibon that recall his best work with SST), this project is a musical, artistic and anthropological triumph.