David Banner

“Certified” (SRC/Universal)

Compare to: TI, Tony Yayo, 50 Cent

David Banner is an angry man, and on his newest release “Certified,” he holds nothing back, taking shots at anyone within range.

Banner isn’t scared of anyone. The rapper implies this on the second track of the disc, “Treat Me Like.”

In “Gangster Walk,” the man from Mississippi asserts his toughness and his perceived position atop the human food chain.

Although his aggression, anger and ego seem to create a combustible combination, Banner saves his disc with creative beats. Each song on the CD has a different feel, ranging from the hard sounds of “Crossroads” to the smooth R&B-styled love song “Thinking of You.”

Banner spills out all his fears on “My Life,” an acoustic masterpiece you can sit back and relax to. He bears his soul about living on the tough streets, fearing for his life at all times. “I can hear it in the cold of the night/ ya’ll [people] want to take my life/ I’ve been trying to do right/ but they still want to take my life,” shows his quest for personal good even through bad circumstances.

His roots in the deep South are worn on his sleeve, with Banner rapping with pride in “On Everything.”

He also talks about the decision to leave his home in a song titled “Crossroads” – a place he finds himself both personally and professionally.

Against all odds, Banner somehow finds a way to channel his anger into a well written, musically creative CD that shares his inner thoughts as well as his hopes and dreams.

“Burn It”

– Grant Wall

Elliott Smith

“XO” (DreamWorks)

Compare to: Nick Drake, Bright Eyes, Iron & Wine

Atrack titled “Waltz No. 2 (XO)” may be one of the most intriguing orchestrated pop songs ever written. Its creator, the soft-whispered Elliott Smith, who carried dark images in delicately crafted songs, had a bittersweet way of wrapping his listener tightly around his finger.

Friday marked the two year anniversary of the singer-songwriter’s tragic death. He was 34.

In 1998, at the age of 29, Smith released his fourth solo album and first major label release, “XO.” His fascinating and timeless characteristics – perfectly orchestrated 1960s pop melodies, quivering vocals and intricate acoustic guitar playing – are at their finest in this album.

From the simple, yet haunting finger picking on the opening track “Sweet Adeline,” to the lush harmonies of “I Didn’t Understand,” Smith weaves desolate images through a flourishing landscape. The soft piano-based “Baby Britain” channels the fluff melodies of the Beatles, and the acoustic guitar riff and drum loop of “Independence Day” back Smith’s gentle vocals.

Smith was an artist who always brought a horde of supposed mysteries along with his music. Fans indulged in these mysteries, trying so hard to unveil the “hidden secrets” and foreshadowing they thought the artist subconsciously buried in each song. And although the listeners contemplated the supposed secrets and forewarnings so intensely, the music slipped away without ever gaining the attention it so desperately deserved.

“Essential”

– Katie Piepel

Stuck With Arthur

“Stuck With Arthur”

Compare to: Green Day, Punchline, Shiloh Church

Iowa isn’t the first place that would come to mind if you were to think about America’s hot music scenes. Sure, we’ve turned out a few successful bands (Slipknot, Envy Corps, etc.), but other than that, we haven’t had much of a music reputation since the dawn of rock ‘n’ roll. That has been slowly changing in the past couple years, largely because of the affordability of instruments and recording, as well as the efforts of local promoters to bring in big acts and help give the little local guys places to play. In the past five years or so, the local Iowa scene has become packed with bands of all shapes and sizes.

Stuck With Arthur, Des Moines-based rock band, seems to have put in lots of effort with its new self-titled release. The vocals sound surprisingly Green Day-esque and the music sounds like a meld between classic punk and modern pop-punk. The album carries an upbeat and mostly happy feel from the first song to the last. Standout tracks include “What a Shame” and “Hold on to Your Tongue.” The songs are danceable and have sing-along choruses. The song “Des Moines” hits the chorus belting, “And Des Moines doesn’t have a skyline or a majestic ocean view/ and the one thing here that keeps me near is you.”

This disc is a step in the right direction for the Iowa music scene, and it should help elevate Stuck With Arthur to the top of it for a while. If you like to support the locals, this album should not be passed up.

“Buy it”

– Dan McClanahan

Dangerdoom

“The Mouse and the Mask” (Epitaph Records)

Compare to: Blueprint, RJD2, Blackstar

Why did you buy this album? I don’t know why you did, you’re stupid.”

Brak from “Space Ghost Coast to Coast” on Cartoon Network’s “Adult Swim” opens the disc with this line, beginning one of the most fun albums of the year.

Dangerdoom is made up of two of the most talented hip-hop artists of our generation. Danger Mouse, already known for his remix of Jay Z’s “The Black Album” retitled “The Grey Album” and MF Doom, known for wearing a metal mask, come together to pay homage to the world of “Adult Swim.”

This is the type of album you listen to and can tell everyone who helped create it had a blast in the studio. Guest appearances include the likes of Ghostface Killah, Talib Kweli and Cartoon Network personalities Brak and Master Shake.

On the song “Old School Rules,” Doom and Talib Kweli reminisce about Saturday morning cartoons when they were growing up. Kweli raps about how cartoons back in the day are more real than reality television because they inspired his decision to be open and listen.

The tongue-in-cheek song “Vats of Urine” finds Doom talking about people who rap about guns to be boring and asks the listeners to instead listen to the topic of urine. Although Doom has fun with the rhymes, Danger Mouse has just as much fun with the samples that he uses to create the beats of the album.

Why should you buy this album? Brak might think you’re stupid, but this is one of the smartest albums you’ll find all year.

“Buy it”

– Joe Crimmings

Sunn O)))

“Black One” (Southern Lord)

Compare to: Earth, Nortt, Isis

Quite possibly the slowest band in the history of metal, Sunn O))) has taken stretching a downtuned, droning riff and playing it at a thousand times slower than a snail’s pace for 15-plus minutes at a time, and turned it into an art form. But on “Black One,” the drummerless duo of Greg Anderson and Stephen O’Malley have taken an even more grim approach to their already bleak sound.

By incorporating elements of black metal into its work, Sunn O))) has created its darkest album, a swirling void of downtuned guitars that immerses the listener in a lightless abyss where experimental doom, lo-fi black metal and terrifying ambiance congeal into a slowly shifting, amorphous mass.

Although the album is equal parts harrowing and hallucinatory from start to finish, “Black One’s” true standout track is closer “Bathory Erzsebet.” One of two songs on the album to feature vocal contributions from Malefic of one-man U.S. black metal act Xasthur, the singer was locked inside a coffin with a wireless microphone, creating a palpable feeling of utter claustrophobia. Malefic’s demented incantations combined with Sunn O)))’s shards of glacial guitar riffing make for a truly chilling listening experience.

Overall, Sunn O))) has created one of the year’s finest avant-garde metal albums, although calling its work metal at all is becoming increasingly difficult to justify.

Anderson and O’Malley have nearly created a genre unto themselves and with “Black One” have added another piece of truly unique, dark art to their already impressive catalog.

“Buy it”

– Joshua Haun