Mono

There is a long and a short way to describe Mono: A) the Japanese Mogwai; B) Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered and the Sun Shined. If you chose B, then you know about last year's excellent under-the-radar third album. If you chose A, then you are primed to discover a world of slow, jangly coma-like buildups followed by avalanches of sound delivered with extreme gravitas, courtesy of Explosions in the Sky's Asian tourmates and labelmates. Opening are two more instrumental-rock refugees from SXSW's Temporary Residence showcase: Parlour, which riffs on bands like Macha, Analogue and early Tortoise, as well as By the End of Tonight, four young spazz-rockers from Alvin, Texas.