Ellington

Released on the same day as M.I.A.'s "Arular," Mahjongg approaches the afro-dancehall-indie mélange a bit more chaotically but no less engaging than young Maya. This "Ch-Ibiza-Cago" band's musical genre melding and political posturing are similar, at the root level anyway, but the outcome is more unpolished and experimental. However, this works in their favor, as they are a collective of blatant sonic alchemists whereas Maya is a solo artist- imagine a raw version of !!! meeting cLOUDDEAD by way of Talking Heads. One of the most unique releases of the year thus far, it is also one of the best- though it is not for everyone!--Alex Slawson and Herman Snell