The Secrets of Underground Medicine

You will get diverging opinions about Kleinzeit. Some people say it is No Secrets in the Family's finest; others condemn it as their worst. And truth be told, both camps are right. Simply put, the Schönholzers went overboard on this album, an adaptation of Russell Hoban's novel Kleinzeit, itself a very strange story about hospitals, love, pain, and medical devices. The songwriting is definitely a few steps higher in terms of complexity and experimentation, something Rock in Opposition fans will appreciate (particularly fans of News from Babel, although not for the vocals). On the other hand, the album misses the unbridled humor found on Play & Strange Laughter. Despite a lot of quirks and fun passages, Kleinzeit is serious business and, because of that and its duration (67 minutes), it gets slightly tedious.

Looking back at The Black Angels' 13-year career, it's a wonder it took the group so long to name an album Death Song. The Austin-based collective originally took its name from The Velvet Underground classic "The Black Angel's Death Song," as befits its dark, droning take on hard-edged psychedelia. The Black Angels' Death Song, however, is far from some kind of VU tribute. While continuing to evolve the seething, hypnotic tradition laid down by Lou Reed, John Cale, and company in the 1960s, The Black Angels have delivered an enormous and frighteningly timely fifth album full of uniquely trippy anthems to oblivion.