Land of Buried Treasure

The very thought of a concept album can bring chills -- the bad kind. Big ideas translate into big letdowns. Land of Buried Treasure overcomes that curse, creating a disc that takes the listener on a frightening dance while breaking new ground in avant-garde noise. Recorded in a 72-hour marathon set up by Self Destruct Button's Jae Kristoff, East 36th convenes 42 different musicians (including dudes from Roué, Keelhaul, 9 Shocks Terror, and This Moment in Black History) to weave together a rust-belt symphony.

At the start, East 36th sounds like the soundtrack to an art-house horror flick about bums living in a steel plant. Clanking metal gives way to aloof piano playing over beatnik drum fills. The meat comes around track four, when guitars enter the mix. But by the sixth track, the mellow returns, as distant conversation stalks the music. It all ends with a total burner -- which is kind of how it all came together.