By the time I came across this once Brooklyn-, now Berlin-based trio, they’d already discarded their dance-punk roots for the dark experimentalism of 2006’s Drum’s Not Dead. The album wasn’t a pleasant listening experience, but it was unforgettable. For Liars, Angus Andrew, Aaron Hemphill and Julian Gross haven’t abandoned their hypnotic, dystopic visions, but they have turbocharged them with a jumbo injection of good old-fashioned rock and roll. The lead track, “Plaster Casts of Everything,” discharges its bleak humor in a hail of metal guitar licks, while on “Houseclouds” the band even flirts with Beck-style white-boy hip-hop. With “experimental” indie bands like Animal Collective and Battles regular Japan visitors, could Liars be far behind? DG

Although The New Pornographers are frequently referred to as a supergroup, unless you’re a Pitchfork-reading indie-rock otaku, you’re unlikely to have heard of any of the other bands that the members belong to. In any event, now a decade into their career and onto their fourth record, the Vancouver-based group can legitimately be considered on its own merits. And the main merit seems to be an ability to channel indie-rock icons like the Pixies and Pavement with verve if not great originality. But don’t get me wrong. Challengers is a fun record, with frontman Carl Newman doing his best Frank Black and his bandmates throwing up plenty of angular hooks and sometimes, as on “All of the Things that Go to Make Heaven and Earth,” flashes of brilliance. DG

The fact that Warner’s press release trumpets the commercial tie-ups (Sony, Coca-Cola, etc.) on Rip Slyme’s new album tells you something not only about the rap group’s immense success but about Japan’s music industry. But don’t hold that against Rip Slyme. As they enter their second decade, the quintet have gone so far beyond their party-rap roots that they’ve almost invented a new genre. Trackmaker Fumiya outdoes himself with productions that range from the hard-hitting electro-influenced hip-hop of “NP” to the ska and dub-flavored “I·N·G,” while MC Pes steps up with some fine, acoustic guitar-driven productions of his own. It’s all done with the effortless aplomb one expects from Rip Slyme, who even take time to reflect wryly on the consumer culture of which they’re a part of on “Bubble Trouble.” DG

Lionized for his ability to jump from blitzkriegs of feedback to tender jazz in the flick of a pick, avant-garde lynchpin Yoshihide Otomo teams up on Sora (“sky”) with several vocalists for a more intimate outing than his recent work with his ONJO big band. Goofy-voiced Leonid Soybelman from Estonian rock group Ne Zhdali joins Otomo for two scratchy outings that vaguely recall cult noise-country artist Eugene Chadbourne. Japanese alternative music diva Kahimi Karie lends her seductive whisper to three tracks, while former Boredoms and current Rovo member Seiichi Yamamoto is also present for three. On an album whose textures encompass noise-rock, electronica and jazz, perhaps the standout song is a cover of Berthold Brecht’s “On Suicide,” which underpins its theme with leaps from contemplative jazz to disturbing, otherworldly bleepings. DG

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