**** cocaine *** cough syrup ** aspirin * vitamins

MILEMARKER
Satanic Versus
(Jade Tree)
****

Chicago's Milemarker mechanize post-rock with an ominous charm, weaving synthesizers, odd sound fragments, and robotic vocal distortions together to create brooding, melodic cacophonies that maintain clear structure while bleeding the lines between electronic textures and rock rhythms. The four members of the band construct noisy, mostly instrumental landscapes on this EP, adding lines here and there that rage against Big Brother and inner assholes, twisting their theories inside out as they only vaguely attempt to untangle personal and political psychology. The greater issues at hand for Milemarker are the emotional maps they outline in the throbbing pulse of low-lying electronics, chilling male/female harmonies ("The Banner to the Sick"), the crash of a cymbal, or the breakout chords of an electric guitar. The resulting sounds on Satanic Versus are both futuristically apocalyptic and intensely captivating, a mix that works to the band's benefit on this excellent disc. JENNIFER MAERZ

THE REINDEER SECTION
Son of Evil Reindeer
(Bright Star Recordings)
***

Bands born out of drunken reveries are scientific oddities: Like the high-numbered elements on the periodic table, they rarely last long enough to exist outside the studio, let alone release a solid record. It's a Nobel Prize-worthy miracle that the Reindeer Section (a Scottish supergroup featuring Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody and 26 luminaries from bands like Astrid, Mogwai, and Arab Strap) has created such a gorgeous, fully realized record with its sophomore release, Son of Evil Reindeer. While Lightbody still writes a compelling broken-hearted love song, it now sounds as if he's nursing his wounds over red wine rather than stout: The sloppy melancholia of the band's debut has been replaced with (gasp!) optimism. Even the instrumentation feels more comfortable. Thick cushions of strings and wind instruments and sweet backing vocals courtesy of Eva's Jenny Reeve soften the rough edges. Whether the Reindeer Section will remain stable for another record is questionable. Best catch a glimpse of the rare element while it exists. TIZZY ASHER

BRIGHT EYES
Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground
(Saddle Creek)
***

Awash in the familiar self-indulgence that marinates every record Conor Oberst produces, Lifted is, at first glance, another dose of pure Midwestern melodrama. Stationed among the growing prominence of now customary (and increasingly annoying) field samples and clunky monologues rest what appear to be 13 tracks of commonplace Oberst: stumbled, square-pegged analogy, histrionic quaver, and theatric soundscapes. But change appears afoot at camp Bright Eyes. Hollow chamber-hall production propels Oberst's folk leanings through an uncanny ambiance reminiscent of Springsteen's classic Nebraska recordings, as he clearly begins to outgrow his infamous prolonged adolescence. Absent is the mad cackle--the calculated torture and studied collapse that sent tragic teens across the nation into marathon swoon sessions. Though not as cohesive or successful as previous efforts, Lifted at the very least infuses slightly new breath into Oberst's wilting-flower shtick that he's now all but completely exhausted. ZAC PENNINGTON

DÄLEK
From Filthy Tongue of Gods and Griots
(Ipecac)
***

While New Jersey trio Dälek defiantly claim they're hiphop, most fans of the genre will likely scratch their heads rather than nod 'em to From Filthy Tongue of Gods and Griots. The follow-up to their excellently eccentric debut, 1998's Negro Necro Nekros, Tongue boasts production more in line with El-P's psychedelic bombast and Techno Animal's abrasive heaviness than with the fussy sterility that marks most 21st-century hiphop.

But how's the rapping? MC Dälek flows with a low-key, seething intensity, waxing spiritual about individuality and keeping hiphop (sur)real, like a subterranean Eric B. Despite being buried in the mix, Dälek's words poke third eyes, while producer Oktopus and DJ Still pile sitars, tablas, agitated scratching, and scathing white noise over lumbering funk beats.

The best hiphop scorns purism. Dälek realize this: Their music contains multitudes of disparate sonic elements. With Tongue, they levitate themselves to the proverbial next level along with hiphop innovators Public Enemy, New Kingdom, and Antipop Consortium. DAVE SEGAL

Dälek play with Bad Wizard the Fiedish Plots ad Shake City o Wed Aug 21 at ISpy.