Local cd roundup — Marijuana Deathsquads and Wize Guyz

Artist: Marijuana Deathsquads

Album: “Crazy Master”

Label: Totally Gross National Product

After a month-long residency at Los Angeles’ Satellite (formerly known as Spaceland) — a 260-person venue that’s housed everyone from the Arcade Fire to the Foo Fighters — Minneapolis’ 10-member noise-rock collective Marijuana Deathsquads finally started to come into their own. Featuring a rotating all-star cast of Twin Cities talent that includes Ryan Olson (Gayngs), Stef Alexander (P.O.S. and Building Better Bombs),the group comes close to being considered the Twin Cities’ latest artistic super group.

But Marijuana Deathsquads doesn’t sound quite like a super group. Hell, it doesn’t even sound much like music. Marijuana Deathsquads sounds more like a psychological meltdown, a mechanical body of sound propelled by cyborg-synths, distorted vocals and menacing drum beats.

“Crazy Master” runs for nearly 40 minutes but says all that it needs to say with the nine-minute opening title-track. Lead singer Isaac Gale shrieks in the distance beneath a sheet of sonic clutter and outstanding drum work. And with some minor variations here and there, that’s really the gist of it.

The songs don’t seem to follow any linear structure, oftentimes digressing into prolonged bouts of dissonant noise — which is fine, because “Crazy Master” is more an exercise in ambience and experimentation than songwriting.

After a while it all just starts to mesh together into one dreary sonic malaise that seems to take more pleasure in style and attitude than coherence. It’s music that’s meant to be experienced in a live setting, but don’t expect “Crazy Master” to draw many converts. Sometimes it’s interesting, other times it’s terrifying, but most of the time it just seems downright aimless.

2 out of 4 stars

Artist: Wize Guyz

Album: “’85”

For far too long Rhymesayers has had a monopoly on Twin Cities hip-hop. While the Midwest’s ever-burgeoning empire has paid its dues and earned a respectable reputation, far too many rap outsiders caught beneath their tall shadows have gone unnoticed over the years.

But with the release of their debut album, “’85,” local emcees Lojik and Dextro of Wize Guyz defy all those local hip-hop norms with boom-bap production, soul-influenced grooves and enough streetwise swagger to keep even the most astute rap junkie’s heads ringing.

It’s an album that hearkens back to the genre’s all-but-forgotten golden age while avoiding cheap imitation. There’s plenty of classic hip-hop tropes on “’85,” and what the duo might lack in terms of originality, they more than make up for with their verbal prowess and delivery.

From the head-banging production on “Above Ground” to the superb front porch romp “Circa ’85,” Wize Guyz stagger on rarely missing a beat occasionally flanked by local cats that include human beat box Carnage the Executioner and recent Picked-to-Clicker MaLLy.

It’s hard to say whether or not Wize Guyz will ever reach the local status of such powerhouse names like Brother Ali or Dessa, but their debut is a testament to their passion for the art form. And sometimes that, joined with a little talent and persistence, is all you really need.

3 out of 4 stars.