Fall Album Frenzy: New Local Albums You Need to Know

Tussle, Tempest
Sept. 25 on Smalltown Supersound
Should appeal to: Disco misfits; neo-Krautrock aficionados; James Murphy acolytes
Why it's interesting: An evolving project since 2001, Tussle has managed to hold on to its sound despite drastic personnel changes. Tempest, its fourth studio album, continues that trend with long improvisatory jams that unravel the semiotics of no wave and dance punk to their stripped-down and tripped-out — but still danceable — core. To do that, the group flew to Scotland and enlisted the production abilities of JD Twitch (aka one half of punky Glaswegian party-starters Optimo). The new LP also features guest appearances by members of original NYC funk-deconstructors Liquid Liquid. It might be fall soon, but this record will keep you on your feet like it's summer all over again. Derek Opperman

Mark Eitzel, Don't Be a Stranger
Oct. 2 on Merge
Should appeal to: Downbeat Mission denizens; slowcore disciples; sad people
Why it's interesting: Eitzel's American Music Club was long one of S.F.'s leading purveyors of slow, gorgeous, too-smart-for-its-own-good music, perfect on a forlorn late night. The band has dissolved — drummer Tim Mooney sadly passed away in June — but Eitzel is still working. He went back into the studio seeking to make a record like Harvest or Five Leaves Left, and Don't Be a Stranger is what resulted. First single "I Love You But You're Dead" is somehow weightless in its gloom and exquisitely detailed in its imagery, telling the story of one strange, loud night, and hinting that Eitzel might have reached his highest creative point in years. I.S.P.

Peter Varshavsky

Hadero and Quinn make a natural pairing — even on a Patti Smith song.

Naoki Onodera

Tussle: “I’ll see your bloopy synth and raise you a disco bassline.”

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• Sean Hayes
• Mark Eitzel
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• Indie Rock and Indie Pop

Tamaryn, Tender New Signs
Oct. 16 on Mexican Summer
Should appeal to: Stomp-box collectors; those who look at their Doc Martens a lot
Why it's interesting: Tamaryn pretty much rocketed to the top of the S.F. shoegaze crop with her lauded debut album in 2010, and Tender New Signs will be the test of whether she can stay there. First single "I'm Gone" is as woozy and reverb-damaged as you'd expect, but the melodies shining through the din are prettier than they used to be, raising our hopes for this second batch from the newly blond singer. Hey, it's hard to go too wrong melding moody vocals with noise-soaked guitar-pop. I.S.P.

Main Attrakionz, Bossalinis & Fooliyones
Oct. 23 on Young One
Should appeal to: Lil B refugees; the perennially lifted
Why it's interesting: Loftily billing themselves as the Best Duo Ever, MondreM.A.N. and Squadda B have seen their music tagged as "cloud rap" thanks to a series of free downloads that definitely land on the breezier side of the genre. But the 17 tracks that make up Main Attrakionz's retail debut hint at a harder sound, with New York hitmaker Harry Fraud and Chicago unit Supreme Cuts contributing production. Tattoo-obsessed trap rapper Gucci Mane also snags a cameo on "Superstitious," but things come back to the bay with guest raps from local faces DaVinci and Shady Blaze. p.M.

The Soft Moon, Zeroes
Oct. 30 on Captured Tracks
Should appeal to: Post-punk synth nerds; anyone who leaves the house in all black
Why it's interesting: Already a member of lauded S.F. psych outfit Lumerians, Luis Vasquez earned even more critical adulation with his brooding solo project, The Soft Moon. His pulsing 2010 debut echoed the chilly atmospheres of Gary Numan and Joy Division with a dose of industrial menace, and earned invitations to tour from Interpol and Mogwai. Recorded with assistance from S.F. producer/engineer Monte Vallier, the teaser track "Die Life" from the forthcoming Zeroes finds Vasquez taking his sound even further down the monochrome rabbit hole than last year's deliciously bleak Total Decay EP. D.P.