Sometimes a record just completely takes you by surprise and knocks you off of your feet, leaving you completely stunned and bewildered. Battle Elf’s kosmische sonic brawl, 10, is one such record.

Released through Birdman Records, this album finds the Detroit power trio (emphasis on power) generating cosmic pools of steely, sustaining guitars, flailing snakelike solos and drums that alternate between mutated avant-jazz rhythms and churning, thunderous rolls that sound like washing machines tumbling down a flight of stairs. Between the three musicians involved, (Gretchen Gonzales and Chris Peters on guitars and David Hurley on drums), they each also utilize their instruments of choice in all kinds of unorthodox ways to produce a wall of unusual sounds, moods and textures. These are heavy experimental soundscapes that feel halfway between the chaotic astral adventures of Faust and Can and the amplified industrial KLANG! of hometown heroes like the MC5 and Sun Ra.

Psychedelic in the truest sense of the word, fiercely daring and always completely unpredictable, this is a jam album that would fit in nicely on your record shelf next to your Taj Mahal Travelers, Mute Duo and live Velvet Underground bootlegs. Check it out here.

-KH