Unknown Pleasures is the debut studio album by English rock band Joy Division, released on 15 June 1979 by Factory Records. The album was recorded and mixed over three successive weekends at Stockport's Strawberry Studios in April 1979, and was produced by Martin Hannett, who incorporated a number of unconventional production techniques into the group's sound. The cover artwork was designed by artist Peter Saville, using a data plot of signals from a radio pulsar. It is the only Joy Division album released during lead singer Ian Curtis's lifetime. Factory Records did not release any singles from Unknown Pleasures, and the album did not chart despite the relative success of the group's non-album debut single "Transmission". It has since received sustained critical acclaim as an influential post-punk album, and has been named as one of the best albums of all time by publications such as NME, AllMusic, Select, Rolling Stone, and Spin. Joy Division formed in Salford in 1976 during the first wave of punk rock. Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook had separately attended a Sex Pistols show at the Manchester Lesser Free Trade Hall on 4 June 1976 and both embraced that band's simplicity, speed and aggression.[3] Forming a band with their friend Terry Mason on drums, Sumner on guitar and Hook on bass, they advertised for a singer. Ian Curtis, whom Sumner and Hook already knew, applied and, without having to audition, was taken on. After a number of changes of drummer, Stephen Morris joined the band—at that time called Warsaw—in August 1977. To avoid confusion with the London punk band Warsaw Pakt, they renamed themselves Joy Division in late 1977. After signing a recording contract with RCA Records in early 1978, Joy Division recorded some demos; however, they were unhappy with the way their music was mixed and asked to be released from their contract. The band's first release was the self-produced extended play (EP), An Ideal for Living, which was released in June 1978. They made their television debut on Tony Wilson's local news show Granada Reports in September 1978. According to Hook, the band received a £70,000 offer from Genetic Records in London. However, the band's manager, Rob Gretton, approached Wilson about releasing an album on his Factory Records label. Wilson explained that Gretton had calculated that given Factory's 50/50 split of profits, the band could make as much money with the indie label as it could by signing to a major. Wilson added that one of Gretton's main reasons for approaching Factory was so "he wouldn't have to get on a train to London every week and 'talk to nuggets'. No one could use the word 'cockney' with as much contempt as Rob". Gretton estimated that the album would cost £8,000 to produce; however, Wilson said in 2006 that the up-front cost ended at £18,000. Unknown Pleasures was recorded at Strawberry Studios in Stockport over three weekends between 1 and 17 April 1979, with Martin Hannett producing. Hannett, who believed that punk rock was sonically conservative because of its refusal to use studio technology to create sonic space, used a number of unusual production techniques and sound effects on the album, including several AMS 15-80s digital delays, the Marshall Time Modulator, tape echo and bounce, as well as the sound of a bottle smashing, someone eating crisps, backwards guitar and the sound of the Strawberry Studios lift with a Leslie speaker "whirring inside". He also used the sound of a basement toilet. Hannett recorded Curtis's vocals for "Insight" down a telephone line so he could achieve the "requisite distance". Hannett later said, "[Joy Division] were a gift to a producer, because they didn't have a clue. They didn't argue". Referring to the recording sessions, Hook remembered, "Sumner started using a kit-built Powertran Transcendent 2000 synthesiser, most notably on 'I Remember Nothing', where it vied with the sound of Rob Gretton smashing bottles with Steve and his Walther replica pistol." During the recording, Morris invested in a syndrum because he thought he saw one on the cover of Can's 1971 album Tago Mago. AllMusic wrote that Hannett's production on Unknown Pleasures was "as much a hallmark as the music itself," describing it as "emphasizing space in the most revelatory way since the dawn of dub." Describing Hannett's production techniques, Hook said, "[He] didn't think straight, he thought sideways. He confused you and made you do something you didn't expect." Hook went on to say, "Derek Bramwood of Strawberry Studios said that you can take a group that have got on brilliantly for 20 years, put them in a studio with Martin and within five minutes, they'll be trying to slash each other's throats." However, Hook went on to say that Hannett was only as good as the material he had to work with, "We gave him great songs, and like a top chef, he added some salt and pepper and some herbs and served up the dish. But he needed our ingredients."

He Has Left Us Alone but Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corner of Our Rooms… is the debut album of Canadian post-rock group A Silver Mt. Zion, who now record under the name Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra. The album was recorded by guitarist Efrim Menuck and bassist Thierry Amar at the Hotel2Tango in 1999, mostly during breaks while touring with Godspeed You! Black Emperor. It was published by the Montreal-based record label Constellation on March 27, 2000. The album was born out of a desire by Efrim Menuck to record something for his dog Wanda, who died of cancer while Godspeed You! Black Emperor were on tour. Menuck described the recording of the album as a "Jewish experience", due to his immersion within a small, friend-based Jewish community in Montreal. Indeed, Menuck also stated that, as a result of the community, the album title and songs have a sense of Judaism, although the band tried to not make it conspicuous. There is some Jewish imagery in the lyrics to the track "Movie (Never Made)", but their exact meaning remains cryptic. The album was initially to be named He Has Left Us Alone, but it was decided that this was too weak, and didn't convey the proper mood. Menuck professed that he was confused with the idea that songs or album titles should only be a few words in length and be perfectly clear.[5] Instead, Menuck believes that things of that nature can be described with many words, giving sensibility and a "frame" to the work. On the original vinyl release, the songs were arranged into two tracks; on CD releases, the songs were indexed into four parts each, resulting in eight tracks. The sleeve artwork lists inaccurate track times, all rounded to even minutes. The 5th track "13 Angels Standing Guard 'round the Side of Your Bed" was featured in Harmony Korine's movie Mister Lonely. It also features in Series 3 episode 10 of Top Boy. It was also sampled on the Injury Reserve track “What a Year It's Been” from their 2019 self-titled album. Reviewing the album for Pitchfork, Matt LeMay called the album "an accomplishment of passion, skill, and above all, an almost supernatural talent." Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra was a Canadian post-rock band that formed in 1999, originating from Montreal, Quebec. Variations of the name used on the band's releases include A Silver Mt. Zion, The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra-La-La Band with Choir and Thee Silver Mountain Reveries; the group uses the shorthand SMZ and its name is most often simplified to Silver Mt. Zion. The group was founded by Godspeed You! Black Emperor leader Efrim Menuck, who was joined by fellow Godspeed members Sophie Trudeau and Thierry Amar. Aside from these core members, Silver Mt. Zion has undergone almost yearly personnel changes, evolving by stages from a mostly instrumental trio at the time of its first recordings into an eight-piece group, and then in 2008 into a strongly vocal quintet. Silver Mt. Zion's music has been described as post-rock, though singer and guitarist Efrim Menuck identifies with the punk rock ethos and aesthetic. The band has released seven studio albums and three EPs, on the record label Constellation.

We Were Exploding Anyway is the fourth studio album by 65daysofstatic. It was recorded in Sheffield, while mixing and mastering took place in New York. It was released on 26 April 2010 in Europe and the United States, and on 19 May in Japan.[10] It was their first album to be released on Hassle Records. The two singles, "Weak4" and "Crash Tactics", were released on 18 and 30 March respectively. To promote the release of their album, the band organized a headlining European tour with the bands Nedry and Loops Haunt; beginning in the Netherlands and ending in Ireland, they have also hinted towards a future U.S. tour. The album was made available as a live stream on the band's Myspace page on the 19 April, one week ahead of its release. The album debuted at number 99 in the UK Albums Chart and number 7 in the UK independent albums chart. Musically, We Were Exploding Anyway has a stronger electronic sound, featuring more dance beats, electronic bass and drum tracks, and less complex guitar-driven patterns that distances the album from the band's earlier math rock/post-rock elements. In a review by The Line of Best Fit, "...[the album] also sees them seemingly desperate to rid themselves of their characterless post-rock moniker as they delve well and truly into the more rhythmic qualities of dance music.". The song "Debutante" was used for the E3 2014 trailer for the video game No Man's Sky. 65daysofstatic (often abbreviated as 65dos, 65days, or simply 65) are a post-rock band from Sheffield, England. Formed in 2001, the band is composed of instrumentalists Paul Wolinski, Joe Shrewsbury, Rob Jones and Simon Wright. The band's music has been described as noisy, electronic, guitar-driven instrumentals, interspersed with live drums and off-beat sampled drums akin to those of IDM artists, although they have continued to evolve their sound by incorporating electronic music, drum and bass and glitch music. They have been described as, "a soundtrack to a new dimension, where rock, dance and electronica are equals." The band's first album, The Fall of Math, was released in September 2004, to critical acclaim, described as "an album that can retain the dynamics, fraught tension and climactic explosiveness of its peers and influences, whilst still sounding like one of the most urgent and direct long-player releases of the year." The band released a further five studio albums, One Time for All Time, The Destruction of Small Ideas, We Were Exploding Anyway, Wild Light, replicr, 2019, and a soundtrack, Silent Running. During the Game Awards 2014, it was announced that they would be providing the soundtrack for the video game No Man's Sky, followed by a live performance. An album containing music from the soundtrack, entitled No Man's Sky: Music for an Infinite Universe, was released in August 2016. During September 2017, the band announced new work involving algorithmic techniques, titled Decomposition Theory. Their latest studio album, replicr, 2019, was released on 27 September 2019. The band was formed by Paul Wolinski and Joe Shrewsbury in 2001 with Rob Jones and Simon Wright joining in 2003. Much of their early work consists of remixes and mash-ups of mainstream pop artists such as Christina Milian, Natasha Bedingfield and Justin Timberlake. These releases would come to be titled Unreleased/Unreleasable. One such mash-up, "White Noise Christmas" (for which a video later appeared on their DVD Volume 3: The Kids Have Eyes), featured on the first Boomselection compilation CD. Some of these were unofficially released on Unreleased/Unreleasable Volume 1 and Volume 2 in 2003 and 2005 respectively. The band also wrote their own music, releasing their first EP, Stumble.Stop.Repeat, in December 2003 on their own label, Dustpunk Records.

Rat Saw God is the fifth studio album by American rock band Wednesday, released by Dead Oceans on April 7, 2023. It was preceded by the singles "Bull Believer" and "Chosen to Deserve". The album received high praise from critics, praising it as 'stunningly powerful" and "riveting". It was noted by critics for its depiction of life in the American South. On September 8, 2022, the band left Orindal Records and signed to Dead Oceans, releasing the single "Bull Believer". On January 18, 2023, the band released the single "Chosen to Deserve" and announced their fifth album, Rat Saw God, which was released on April 7, 2023. The album cover art is a 6' x 6' oil painting made by former bassist Margo Schultz. Rat Saw God received universal acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 89, based on 16 reviews. Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Mark Deming concluded, "Some albums sound like the artists were trying with all their might to make an epic statement in words and music; Rat Saw God sounds like Wednesday had no such lofty aims, but their commitment to the people they write about and their instincts about crafting music to match make this a stunningly powerful work that may well turn out to be a masterpiece." In Beats Per Minute, Tim Sentz claimed that the album is an example of, "a band operating at their highest most infectious potency, and the end result is riveting." Craig Howwieson at Clash described it as, "Finding magic in the mire - Rat Saw God is an emphatic, uplifting reminder of the privilege of being alive." Writing for DIY, Sam Thirwell stated that, "While some of the stylistic variation here can feel disjointed at times, there's plenty on offer to suggest a band on the rise, capable of rising even higher." In Exclaim, Dylan Barbabe claimed that, "Rat Saw God is wildly ambitious and easily lives up to the industry hype — Wednesday have succeeded once again in twisting nostalgia and existential dread into a braid of bruising, life-affirming rock music." At Paste, Samantha described Karly Hartzman's, "Lyrical precision is what makes the record shine, the fact that Hartzman can recall the exact video game, in this case, Mortal Kombat, that someone was playing when her nose started bleeding at a New Year's Eve party she didn't even want to be at." Sam Sodomsky of Pitchfork wrote, "Wednesday's noisy, rangy sound finds a home in the quiet, lonely corners of America. Their outstanding new album is why they're one of the best indie rock bands around." In Rolling Stone, Jon Dolan proclaimed that, "There's a Flannery O'Connor story collection worth of Southern fucked-up-ness going on here. But Wednesday are just as interested in sucking you in with a walloping guitar banger as they are in freaking you out with their snapshots from the ruralburban coming-of-age abyss. These songs are so catchy you almost don't notice the body count." Jeremy Winograd praised the album in the review for Slant; " All of the wobbling between tempos and styles might sound haphazard, but it's executed with precision. And Hartzman's snatches of Americana imagery—rain-rotted houses, parking lots, "piss-colored bright yellow Fanta"—ultimately cohere into an evocative portrait of the fringes of American life." Wednesday is an American alternative rock band from Asheville, North Carolina, currently signed to Dead Oceans. The band consists of vocalist Karly Hartzman, guitarist Jake Lenderman (aka MJ Lenderman), lap steel player Xandy Chelmis, drummer Alan Miller and bassist Ethan Baechtold. The band's style has been described as a mixture of shoegaze and country rock, while their lyrical content has been praised for its storytelling about life in the American south. Wednesday was formed in 2017 as a solo project of Karly Hartzman. The band added Lenderman, Chelmis, and Miller to the lineup in 2020. The band's second studio album, I Was Trying to Describe You to Someone, was released in 2020 to positive reviews, followed by Twin Plagues in 2021. The band released a covers album titled Mowing the Leaves Instead of Piling 'em Up in 2022. Months after the album's release, the band left its label and signed with Dead Oceans. In 2023, Wednesday released its fifth studio album, Rat Saw God.