by Conor Lochrie, Dan Goldin, David Wilikofsky, Evan Welsh, Jonathan Bannister, Kris Handel, Mick Reed, Patrick Pilch, Taylor Ysteboe, and Thrin Vianale

Where do we even being with 2020? It’s been one long ass year and it’s only June. Without delving too far into what is happening in the world (because there are smarter folks who can do that for you), we do want to mention two important things. As per Covid, wear a damn mask (we’d all like to go to shows again at some point) and it’s more important than ever to buy music and merch from your favorite artists and labels. In terms of the Black Lives Matter movement, this is of the utmost importance and will be an ongoing fight for years to come. The protests are encouraging and it’s super important to keep up doing whatever it is you can do to make your voice heard. We recognize that a large majority of our coverage is of white artists and we promise to do our best to add diversity as best we can. If there are new releases from black (and brown) artists that might not be on our radar, you can always reach out. Post-Trash is here for you. This is a tough time and music writing feels trivial, but music can be healing, cathartic, and transformative. We also welcome anyone interested in writing for the site, as always.

Our “Mid-Year Review" is a semi-comprehensive guide to our favorite releases of the year so far without a pre-determined length. If we loved a record, we're including it. Simple as that (unless we just plum forgot it, in which case our sincerest of apologies). It's impossible to listen to everything released and everyone has different tastes, but we feel pretty great about these particular records. Your next favorite band could be out there, it's just a matter of listening to something new. Journey down this rabbit hole with us. Together, we've profiled a good chunk of the releases that make Post-Trash the site that it is, with countless others recommended as "further listening," a section for releases you might have missed, and we might not have spent enough time with. We're not saying these are the definitive albums, but rather our favorites. Discover something new. Buy some records. Support the music you love. Thank you for reading Post-Trash and help spread the word if you like what we’re up to. - DG

J A N U A R Y :

Featured

ALIEN NOSEJOB | "Suddenly Everything Is Twice As Loud"

Anti Fade / Drunken Sailor Records

Alien Nosejob, the ever evolving (and devolving) solo project of Australia’s hyper-prolific Jake Robertson (Ausmuteants, Hierophants, School Damage) is created without limits, without restrictions. Suddenly Everything Is Twice As Loud might be essential Alien Nosejob. Lead single and album opener “Television Sets” is a barn-burning synth punk track that rattles with hypnotic energy and a driving energy that’s heavy without being aggressive. It’s a ripper, bursting straight out the gates, with a dense guitar choogle and quickly snapped vocals that frame a the ghost-town mentality of society as everyone becomes increasingly engrained in the TV. The album twists and turns from there, a smattering of all Alien Nosejob can offer, both old and new. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

CHUBBY & THE GANG | "Speed Kills"

Static Shock Records

I didn’t really like Chubby & The Gang upon first listen, but there was something about their album that kept calling to me, drawing me in to give it another try until it hooked me, and sure enough, it did. Speed Kills is a rapid fire album that feels like the punks decided to party, really really hard. The pacing is relentless but there’s plenty of fun to be had in the blasting drums, short fused riffs, and the gang shouted vocals. Chubby & The Gang are kicking up dust in fast-forward, creating modern street punk fueled on beer and unbridled energy. It’s not the most dynamic album but it rips hard and works exactly as it intends to. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

CLAMM | "Beseech Me"

Self Released

CLAMM emerged like a shattering force on the Melbourne music scene, almost unexpectedly. Band members Jack Summers and Miles Harding were part of other notable local bands - Gamjee and Dragoons - and the CLAMM project was initially meant as a mere exercise to work on a heavier sound than those other outfits afforded. Such was the success of the experimentation, however, that we now have one of the strongest recent records to come from that city in Beseech Me. It’s heavy, certainly, but the righteousness sound is underpinned by a steadfast thoughtfulness; CLAMM belong to that new category of punk, all self-aware and considered. - Conor Lochrie || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

EN ATTENDANT ANA | "Juillet"

Trouble In Mind Records

Paris, France’s En Attendant Ana released their full length debut back in 2018 on the esteemed Trouble In Mind Records, a welcome introduction to the band’s dreamy-pop and swirling indie rock sound. Their sophomore album, Juillet, is a stunning pop record that is fueled by the same sort of fuzzy brilliance as Alvvays, that AM-gold sound that feels ever so surreal but utterly infectious. The quintet, led by Margaux Bouchaudon, create a blanket of keys that fill the space before the sprightly rhythm and bouncing melodies sink in. The band take the sweet and ultra-catchy and slowly unravel it with perfection. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

HELVETIA | "Fantastic Life"

Self Released

The world’s most underrated band Helvetia aka Jason Albertini (also of Duster) released a collection of 4-track cassette recordings called Fantastic Life, and I’ll be damned if two weeks into the year this one won’t remain one of the best come December. Energetic and bursting with bent and distorted pop bliss, Albertini proves that even a skeletal recording set-up lends itself to his impressionistic songwriting, warbling between psych pop sketches and a downer-pop drawl to create something that feels vibrant and heartfelt, like his being working to jump right out of his body. There’s lots of fuzzy guitar noise to feast your ears upon and the warm tape wizardry captures it at the songs’ height of noise pop exuberance. Duster is cool… but Helvetia is the best. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

MR. ELEVATOR | "Goodbye, Blue Sky"

Castle Face Records

Things over at Castle Face Records have been getting progressively more progressive in recent times… from the Oh Sees embrace of prog to bands like Once & Future Band and now Mr. Elevator. Having just released Goodbye, Blue Sky , the album is built on stacked synths and songwriting that feels like the furthest cosmic reaches of the 70’s never left. It’s one of those albums you really need to immerse yourself in, and thankfully, it’s really easy to do it as you’re whisked into another galaxy right from the instrumental opener “Waiting” and placed gently back to Earth just at the close of the reverb soaked “Patterns.” The shapes and structures of the songs feel surreal, bending with a liquid like retention, steadily flowing but never sitting back to reflect, instead pushing deeper into new realms of outer consciousness. It’s a great listen whether you’re zoning out or intensely dissecting it. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

OSTRAALY | "Misery Guests"

Tenth Court Records

Ostraaly’s latest album Misery Guests was released back at the start of the year but we didn’t hear it until December, and that’s okay, because despite what some would you to believe, music doesn’t go away a month after being released. Their album makes me wish I had been listening for the past twelve months, because it’s easy to love. The Melbourne based band have combined an Australian version of dusty country, folk, and twangy art rock into something blissfully calming, but willing to get noisy when the opportunity presents itself. It’s pretty damn incredible and Katharine Daly’s accented vocals are the icing on the home baked cake. Her voice wavers and trills with beautiful control over precision layered front porch melodies, setting like the most exquisite of sunsets. (h/t to RSTB for brining this one to our attention) - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

THA GOD FAHIM | "Lost Kingz"

Nature Sounds

In this strange year, 2020, my most listened to artist was the ever prolific Tha God Fahim, who released two exceptional solo records, as well as a slew of collaborative releases. The Atlanta based MC makes his home in the South, but his delivery definitely has a kinship to the East Coast rappers of the 90s. On Lost Kingz, easily my favorite hip-hop album of the year, Fahim burns over atmospheric beats with a casual stroll, keeping his words crisp to the point where each bar feels as though it could snap at any moment. There’s almost a hypnotic quality to the record, but it’s the ever consistent delivery of TGF that keeps lines like “eating rappers food, I treat this game like a picnic” or “ it’s not about the canvas more like how you paint it, stay out the way so many people tainted” feeling like he’s ascended above the competition, or if TGF is playing in another league altogether. Tha God Fahim is able to drop knowledge, street music, and inspiration at a whim, a diverse threat that moves far beyond meaningless boasts and endless lyrical violence. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

YOUBET | "Compare & Despair"

Ba Da Bing Records

The more you listen to Youbet, the more you love their music. Nick Llobet’s project makes pop music for an alien planet, one we should all hope to voyage to some day. The record wriggles through consciousness with a focused center and blurred edges, a melancholic swirl that spirals out at the seams. As vivid and glistening as the album’s album cover, the bent chord progressions and whimsical lyrics work together in surrealist fashion, snaking in out and of pop structure with an optimistic glow, leaving the wake of eruption behind for the desire to feel good. Compare and Despair is one of the year’s early essential releases. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

Further Listening:

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ARBOR LABOR UNION | "New Petal Instants"

Arrowhawk Records

After a stint with ol’ Sub Pop Records, Atlanta’s Arbor Labor Union are back home with Arrowhawk Records for the release of their first new album in four years, New Petal Instants. The record embraces damn near everything that makes this band so special, their cosmic Americana boogie meets post-hardcore structures and general barn-burning hippie disposition. This time around however, Arbor Labor Union up the twang and lean in with a classic rock stomp that choogles in a Crazy Horse or Howlin’ Rain way. There’s a big muscular jangle that feels like its been frying in the sun for eternity, dashed together with the type of dusty country living and well-placed dissonance that make Arbor Labor Union such a unique band. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

BAMBARA | "Stray"

Wharf Cat Records

With Brooklyn post-punk trio Bambara’s last album, Shadow On Everything, still fresh on our minds, the band released their follow-up, Stray. The heavily toured band remain in fine form, cranking out the finest gothic-tinged story-telling this side of Nick Cave and Iceage with a caustic darkness. Songs are constructed with serrating guitars and quick tempos, the band’s ever pulsating rhythm section leading the way for the drifting storm clouds of noise that pepper in the atmosphere. Reid Bateh’s vocals paint tragic and ominous portraits of the characters on-hand, the type that feel destined to unseemly acquaintances and inevitable doom. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

BOLDY JAMES & THE ALCHEMIST | "The Price of Tea in China"

ALC Records

If this year was slowing down productivity, no one told Boldy James. The Detroit rapper released no less than four great records. It’s an achievement to release four records in a year, and it’s another level altogether when each one is great. From The Versace Tape (his Griselda debut), to Real Bad Boldy, and Manger on McNichols (his jazz rap odyssey with Sterling Toles), Boldy was constantly in the limelight, offering cold bars over focused beats, each record with it’s own vibe and mentality, shaped by hard unflinching lyricism. The highlight of the four comes in The Price Of Tea In China, Boldy James’ latest full album collaboration with The Alchemist. The pairing is perfect, with beats that slowly bang and grind soul samples into the pavement, Boldy James flexes his bars with street wisdom (“the more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in combat”) and mafioso boasts (“my witness ain't show up to court, the judge, he had to weigh the trial, they say I got a morbid sense of humor, but that made me smile”). - DG || LISTEN: Spotify

CINDY LEE | "What's Tonight To Eternity"

Superior Viaduct Records

Ever since Calgary’s ultra-influential band Women broke up, the band’s mastermind Patrick Flegel has been making music under their drag guise Cindy Lee. The project’s fifth album, What’s Tonight To Eternity, welcomes us once again to the thick and surreal dreamworld of Flegel’s music, rooted in 60’s girl group pop and R&B but filtered through a foggy lo-fi lens that contorts the would-be-pop sound into something far more experimental. This album is on the accessible end of Cindy Lee’s ethereal nature, twinkling under blankets of whirring guitar noise like a lost soul nugget rescued from tape warped to time. It’s a gorgeous record, built on a juxtaposition of swooning progressions and the hazy recording giving it that special kind of glimmer. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

DRAGOONS | "Horrorscope"

Tiny Town Records

Australia’s Dragoons (who share members with CLAMM) have made a record that defies all expectations. If you’ve heard any of their previous releases, you might expect something in the lo-fi psych realm of post-punk and indie rock. Horrorscope however is instead a primarily instrumental affair (though the rare inclusion of lyrics hits all the better), with each song offering it’s own meditative rumination from free jazz and space odyssey punk to skin tight post-hardcore and cosmic psych. It is a low key release with nothing to lose and yet it feels refreshing, a reflective recording that creates its own space and time. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

FRIED E/M | "Modern World"

Lumpy Records / La Vida Es Un Mus

Missouri punks Fried e/M have released their full length debut, Modern World, a raw and brash record that takes mid-paced elements of greasy hardcore, basement punk, and noise rock and it makes it as ugly as they can. It finds a perfect home at Lumpy Records (as their sound is reminiscent of Lumpy & The Dumpers), built on a blistering collection of sandpaper riffs and heavy rhythms that oscillate between dense thuds and breakneck d-beat pounding. The agitation runs deep throughout Modern World, and that feeling of disgust and disapproval is exactly where the brilliance of these filthy barn-burners lies. Fried e/M don’t necessarily want to change the world around them, but they’ve come to revel in the forever erupting chaos, adding their own sordid ferocity toward all that cross their path. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

HOLIDAY MUSIC | "Certified Ailments"

Super Wimpy Punch Records

We simply can’t get enough of Holiday Music’s new album Certified Ailments. It’s full of woozy indie rock that feels bent in time and manipulated in space with memorable lyrics, warped atmospheres, and just the perfect touch of experimental slowcore and shoegaze influences. It’s always subverting expectations, taking what is otherwise simple fuzzy rock music, and tweaking the formula ever so slightly. The album closer “No Return” is a prime example, an immediate song with layered hooks and “slacker” charm that bleeds into the night sky and bursts with a syrupy pop sludge. This one has flown under the radar, but could be one of the year’s best. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

RATBOYS | "Printer's Devil"

Topshelf Records

What does home mean? Vocalist/guitarist Julia Steiner contemplates this question and the broader theme of growing up and evolving throughout Ratboys’ third record, Printer’s Devil. Formerly a duo comprised of Steiner and guitarist Dave Sagan, the Chicago-based band has expanded to a four-piece that also includes bassist Sean Neumann and drummer Marcus Nuccio. Steiner’s smart songwriting focuses on small, concrete details as a way to touch on these bigger concepts of alienation and wanderlust. The band never loses its momentum with its thoughtful storytelling and melodies that are at once heart pounding and heart wrenching. In these ten songs, Ratboys are sifting through the past like one would open dusty, nearly forgotten boxes in an attic. - Taylor Ysteboe || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

SHELL OF A SHELL | "Away Team"

EIS Records

Nashville’s Shell of a Shell is releasing their demons on their latest offering, Away Team. At just under 45 minutes, this album weaves its way through a repertoire of hard-hitting emotions, catchy and tumultuous riffs, and lyrics that get to the root of what it is to be a person, more specifically, to be on your own. On first listen, I was struck by the group’s ability to vacillate between harsh dynamics throughout songs in a seemingly effortless way, and yet maintain one common mood that characterizes the album as a whole. Away Team gives you moments of quiet reflection, a relatable voice of one’s inner monologue that’s rife with anxiety, confusion, a sense of impending doom, perhaps. - Thrin Vianale || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

SOAKIE | "Soakie"

La Vida Es Un Mus

Soakie is here with their debut self-titled EP and it is an unrelenting, powerful fist coming straight for your face. In true hardcore punk fashion, Soakie rips through seven songs in under fifteen minutes and never once gives you a second to catch your breath. This group, with members originally from New Zealand and the US, formed in Melbourne in 2018, and we should all be grateful that they managed to cross paths from such far stretched roots. Tracks like “Or You Or You” and “Ditch the Rich” are perfect representations of how to describe this band to others. It’s snotty, it’s fast, it’s mean, and it’s telling you to get out of the way because Soakie is here to fuck shit up. For example, “Hey, hello, how are you, I don’t want to talk to you, I don’t want to talk to you, or you.” Piercingly strained screams on top of crazy fast drums, and ripping overdriven guitar make their message perfectly clear. Soakie has more on their mind than just telling you to get lost. - Jacob Saxton || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

Further Listening:

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CABLE TIES | "Far Enough"

Merge Records

Cable Ties’ Far Enough contains rallying cries against power, gatekeepers, cynicism, greed, and all the other obstacles that attempt to wear and beat people down till they’re too exhausted to fight back. It’s all housed in thick, driving bass lines, quick, steady drums, and stabbing guitar work. It’s punk rock music that is still incredibly catchy and hook laden. Seriousness in the message doesn’t always have to be abrasive in the music. It provides the outlet to move and dance and release all that tension and energy in healthy constructive ways. Shauna Boyle and Nick Brown do impressive work as the rhythm section, providing a strong foundation for Jenny McKechnie’s guitar work and lyrics. - Jonathan Bannister || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

COLD MEAT | "Hot and Flustered"

Static Shock Records

At a time where we where all quarantined in our homes, Cold Meat released their first full length, Hot and Flustered, an early contender for “punk album of the year.” It’s a whirlwind twenty three minutes from the Perth, Australia band, blistering with agitated guitars and an ever brilliant vocal performance. With lyrics that are biting and sarcastic, revolting against big money, big egos, sexism, and the privileged, Cold Meat sound fired up and anthemic, creating scathing punk songs you’ll be shouting along with in no time. The band dig and grind into sharp corners and ferocious riffs, paired together with the harsh but charismatic vocals that add nuance to the otherwise straight-forward crack of their energetic mayhem and pissed off aura. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

DAMP | "Damp"

Self Released

DAMP is the Brooklyn based duo of Rebecca Ryskalczyk (Bethlehem Steel) and Nick Dooley (ex-Flagland), joined on their self-titled debut by friends Alex Molini (Philary, Pile), Mike Quigley (Washer), Karna Ray (The Kominas), and Christina Puerto (Bethlehem Steel). Set for a proper release and accompanying tour at some point in the future, the band decided to share their EP out of necessity during the COVID-19 crisis as tours have been cancelled as well as service industry jobs put on hold while the city is shut down. Their record shares similarities with Ryskalczyk’s main project but DAMP goes for a sludgier atmosphere, darker and heavier in its brooding and its destructive nature. The strength of Ryskalczyk’s voice and sentiments is as powerful as ever, combining crushing emotional heft with a ringing sense of honesty. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp

EYE FLYS | "Tub of Lard"

Thrill Jockey Records

There is a special kind of density and disgust to every one of Eye Flys’ earthshaking riffs and head splitting drum cracks. While the band (who feature members of Full of Hell) may be named after a classic Melvins track, the Philadelphia quartet tend to stray closer to the classic Helmet sound, with that harsh thwack of every hit landing like a ton of bricks in a way that hasn’t been heard too often since Meantime and Betty. Their full length debut, Tub Of Lard, is vicious enough to wake the dead and full of brute intelligence. With lurching starts that would make their namesake proud, the band heave into crushing riffs and harshly barked vocals. The compressed primal aggression partners up with a landslide of guitar distortion that trickles at rapid speed, sounding something like a carefully constructed aural infestation. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

FACS | "Void Moments"

Trouble In Mind Records

Chicago’s FACS have been releasing records with a great deal of urgency since coming together from the ashes of Disappears. Void Moments is their third LP in as many years, each one building on the framework of the last but offering something new and expansive. They trio aren’t afraid to shift outward, to build on their experimental sounds, and see what may come, but they’re constructing with purpose and direction. On their latest album that’s a heavy driving feeling that can’t be shaken, these songs are “songs” at their core, and there’s more of a focus on relative post-punk accessibility as overall minimalist sonic assault. The band still bend and contort repetitive structures into hypnotic shadows, but there’s something memorable wavering in the din, something that hooks you in without the use of traditional frameworks. It’s challenging yet mysteriously inviting. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

HORSE LORDS | "The Common Task"

Northern Spy Records

The almighty Horse Lords returned and it’s reason for celebration. It’s been four long years since their last official record and the experimental Baltimore quartet are still creating music at its most inventive and hypnotic. The Common Task is a wild voyage between disjointed and jagged post-punk filtered through experimental jazz and Saharan modalities. It’s freeform in the way that Horse Lords thrive, moving from one section to the next, following the path where it leads rather than trying to wrangle everything neatly together. The band dig into the rhythms and soar far beyond them, always locked in but forever progressing the structures to new realms. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

STEVE HARTLETT | "Solitude For Dummies"

Self Released

As the creative force behind Ovlov and Stove, Steve Hartlett has been responsible for so much of our favorite music over the past decade, and in 2020, he’s shared his first official solo album, Solitude for Dummies. From the big pop dance groove of the intro to “156 Dance Song” to the contemplative calm of “Instrumental Breakdown (Rusty Chain),” the album runs many moods and temperaments, a quick but nuanced flip through Hartlett’s warm and familiar songs. The feelings are relatable and open, with an earnest charm to their self-doubt and sense of cracked hope. Songs like “Helen’s Hand” takes a dreamy approach to creating a world of its own, one where all is what you make it, as notes delicately skitter across the acoustic strumming. “Favorite Friends” has a steady pulse and fluid progression that feels something like watching water run down stream. There’s hooks everywhere you look, delivered with an ever subtle touch. Solitude For Dummies has room to breath, evolving at its own gorgeous pace. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp

VIAGRA BOYS | "Common Sense"

Year0001

Sweden’s Viagra Boys returned with a surprise new EP, Common Sense, a new collection of songs that promises a record to come, and new directions explored. Known for a sordid sense of humor and a depravity that still feels like it comes from a good place, their full length debut Street Worms is one of those records you can’t help but love, both dumb and increasingly brilliant. While the lead single and title track of their latest hints that maybe Viagra Boys are taking themselves slightly more serious, the very next track “Lick The Bag” proves they’re still the drug-addled knuckleheads we’ve grown to cherish. “Sentinel Island” could be the half-way point between aesthetics, a song that strides with the best of Street Worms; their tongue in cheek post-punk lyricism colliding head first with their agitated skronk and motorik boogie. - DG || LISTEN: Spotify

Further Listening:

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BAD HISTORY MONTH | "Old Blues"

EIS Records

Bold, profound, and stunning, Bad History Month’s Sean Sprecher has proven once more as to why he is considered by many to be one of DIY’s all time great songwriters. On his latest album, Old Blues, the Boston musician confronts lessons learned at an early age and the way those have constructed the person he is today, and he tells these tales with both grim determination, philosophical introspection, and a shinning sense of humor that keeps the effort from feeling like a ton of bricks placed directly on your chest. Old Blues is an album that rewards (and possibly requires) repeat listens, with plenty to unpack, rethink, and to lose oneself within. It is a world of thought and contemplation with a smirk, turning self-seriousness into lighthearted yet mind-blowing profundity and Sprecher’s signature guitar style giving emphasis to his lyrics. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

BLACK CURSE | "Endless Wound"

Sepulchral Voice Records

Hold on to your butts. Black Curse’s debut album, Endless Wound, it’s a rampant barrage of death metal, doom, grind, and black metal, and it crushes in an apocalyptic kind of way. The Denver based trio (which features members of Spectral Voice and Primitive Man) have painstakingly layered riff after riff with stampeding rhythms and enough disgust to last a lifetime. Maybe its “the times” but I’ve been listening to a lot of death metal recently and Black Curse is a great addition to the genre’s finer moments, just utterly relentless, like a herd of elephants running (and running fast) over scorched earth, as riffs just keep shifting and shifting and shifting. For anyone that likes the forward thinking heaviness of Blood Incantation or Oranssi Pazuzu, check this one out. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

C.H.E.W. | "In Due Time"

Iron Lung Records

Step out of your skin and into In Due Time from Chicago hardcore punk band C.H.E.W. Back in 2018 these face mulchers released the phenomenal Feeding Frenzy, a raw, exposed swath of human nervous system, infected with all manner of hungry psychic vermin. It's been entirely too long. C.H.E.W.'s style is at once both familiar and alien. An interstitial plane of eye-brow whitening fury and fountainous vomiting angst, spilling out from your speakers and corroding the linoleum. There is a tendency to want to slot them into traditions of wiry bandsaw punk pioneered by Negative Approach, Ill Repute, and the like. To an extent, this is right on the money,but such a comparison does not capture the free-fall rush of C.H.E.W.'s obstreperous commitment to delivering a full dose of mind unwinding venom with each song. With each greasy, untamed lick, they drag you further into the sub-basement of the human mind, to confront memories and feelings long forgotten and cemented into the earth. - Mick Reed || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

ES | "Less of Everything"

Upset The Rhythm

London synth punk band Es has arrived with Less of Everything, their full length debut, out via Upset The Rhythm (Primo!, Handle, Kaputt), and it’s a bold statement in our age of constant overexposure. Regardless if the title deals with minimalism within our reality or within their skeletal punk songs, there’s no distractions within their debut, just primal focused post-punk that’s tense, commanding, and eager to disrupt any sense of complacency. The band - Maria Cecilia Tedemalm (vocals), Katy Cotterell (bass), Tamsin M. Leach (drums) and Flora Watters (keyboards) - keep a close focus, opting to create a claustrophobic aura with thick as bricks bass and ominous synths that underline Tedemalm’s sharp lyricism, pointed against systematic oppression, self-serving individuals, and destructive personalities. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

FIONA APPLE | "Fetch The Bolt Cutters"

Epic Records

Odds are you’re already aware Fiona Apple has released her new album Fetch The Bolt Cutters. Odds are you already know it’s great. The release hardly needs our support, but that doesn’t change the fact that is without a doubt one of the year’s best albums thus far, which shouldn’t come as a surprise as Ms. Apple has released absolutely nothing but classics since her debut album. On Fetch The Bolt Cutters, the record builds on an expansion of her last two records, throwing out the meticulous for a sense of casual production (stomping, dog barks, lack of post-song editing) to counterbalance the not so casual lyricism. Fiona Apple’s lyrics are pointed and critical, pushing nerves with brilliant thought and clear comprehension. Fiona Apple is a unique artist that stands in a class her own, and every album only adds to her timeless legacy. - DG || LISTEN: Spotify

MELKBELLY | "PITH"

Wax Nine / Carpark Records

Pith is the third full length from Chicago-based noise punk quartet Melkbelly, and within it is a barrage of hook filled knottiness with a bit more development and breadth. On previous recordings Melkbelly took full advantage of their raging power and created moments of visceral release that was full of energy and utter abandon that took no prisoners. Those characteristics are still readily apparent here but there is a sort of cautious sweetness on Pith to temper the causticism without stripping it entirely. The production on this record is a bit brighter which lends to a more alive and in your face record while allowing the songs to fully blossom and reach maximum impact. - Kris Handel || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

NNAMDÏ | "BRAT"

Sooper Records

The phrase “I need you, need something new,” is interwoven through the entirety of BRAT, the latest album from Chicago multi-instrumentalist NNAMDÏ (aka Nnamdi Ogbonnaya). It is a mantra that signifies the central tension explored through the album’s colorful 42 minutes—the question of what was and what will be and the difficult decision of accepting change and growth. NNAMDÏ’s exploration of this push and pull within himself and in his relationships to others expands and contracts from track to track as he wanders through different musical styles, paces, and tones. It would be a disservice to solely look at the wonderful depth of BRAT without acknowledging just how fun, exhilarating the experience of the album is. In a year that has felt increasingly depressing and grey, BRAT shines through the malaise. - Evan Welsh || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

ONCE & FUTURE BAND | "Deleted Scenes"

Castle Face Records

We’ve been utterly floored by Once & Future Band since first hearing them back in 2017 (their self-titled album was one of our absolute favorites that year) and we’re thrilled they’re back. On their sophomore album, Deleted Scenes, via Castle Face Records, the Oakland quartet are once again making pitch perfect prog rock with touches of psych and power-pop that feel downright blissful. With sweeping orchestral movements and a kaleidoscopic core, the record is essentially stadium pop from a bygone era. There are just enough structural shifts to keep the framework forever wobbling between complex rhythmic wonderment and an epic nature, but Once & Future Band manage to keep their cool with a graceful brilliance, everything falling perfectly in place for a band who can count both Tool and Oh Sees as former tour mates. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

ORANSSI PAZUZU | "Mestarin Kynsi"

Nuclear Blast Records

There was a lot of talk about masterpieces in April and, well, Oranssi Pazazu have certainly released one of them. Its been four years since the astounding, Värähtelijä (a masterpiece in its own right), and the Finnish experimental metal band have unleashed Mestarin Kynsi, another mind-blowing space odyssey from the depths of darkness. There is truly nothing that sounds quite like Oranssi Pazuzu’s sordid and forward thinking metal, built on black metal but influenced by psych, krautrock, prog, and avant-garde electronics. From the ominous black hole warp of “Ilmestys” to the massive stampede of “Taivaan Portti,” the band’s croaky visions of the cosmos shift between orchestral assaults and glitched terror; everything cohesively working together to transport listeners to a galaxy dark and heavy. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

PEEL DREAM MAGAZINE | "Agitprop Alterna"

Slumberland Records

New York City composer and multi-instrumentalist Joe Stevens founded his DIY outlet Peel Dream Magazine in 2017. He’s been releasing exquisite shoegaze music both familiar and unfamiliar since then. His sound carries the trademark swirling noise of the genre (escapist music in the time of quarantine) that makes one feel at once connected and disconnected, involved and dissolved, but there is more to consider here than other shoegaze contemporary companions. While Stereolab, Ride, and obviously, My Bloody Valentine, are ingrained in all such bands, it's rare to find one with Stevens’ level of intelligent lyricism which is so in evidence on new album Agitprop Alterna. This is esoteric and cerebral rock. - Conor Lochrie || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

PRIMO! | "Sogni"

Anti Fade / Upset The Rhythm Records

Sogni Is the third release from Primo!, a quartet from Melbourne, Australia who follow a nervy yet very groovable path laid down by impressively flexible musicianship. The follow up to highly acclaimed debut full length Amici, Sogni shows off some new tricks learned in the interim. Where the debut was full of brittle and fairly acerbic post-punk influenced garage punk, Sogni shows a little more flexibility and space for bouncy and constantly shifting rhythms for their guitars to slice through. There is also a little bit of a brighter experimental approach that plays well with the solid foundations that the band has laid down. - Kris Handel || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

STUCK | "Change Is Bad"

Born Yesterday Records

If change is bad, Stuck makes the best of it. The record, front to back, is solid. It’s as dense as it is brief - the band wastes zero time plunging to exceptional depths in both arrangement and lyricism. Stuck’s debut contains the kind of post-punk precision and detail begging for repeated listens. Nothing’s overthought, but it’s all thought out. Everything is deliberate with Change is Bad, yet it still feels natural. This is one of those records where you’re always anticipating the next track. There’s this unforced momentum. Stuck’s members work on a string. Their movements are like clockwork, calculated with aptitude and flair. Each motif is hardly presented the same way twice. - Patrick Pilch || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

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BEAUTY PILL | "Please Advise"

Northern Spy Records

Describing Beauty Pill’s sound has become near impossible, but it doesn’t mean we won’t try, as Chad Clark and company continue to be one of this generation’s most important voices. Following 2017’s pure masterpiece, Describes Things As They Are, the DC based project returns with Please Advise, a new EP that shares different tracks with each format. Take the album’s second single, “The Damnedest Thing,” led by Clark (while the first single was led by Erin Nelson), it is quintessential Beauty Pill, which is to say it’s high art and high concept, with an experimental touch, brilliant orchestration, and a calming demeanor. With manipulated marimbas, rhodes, and duel guitar tracks, Chad Clark waxes poetic about “what if the thing that helps you live, is also the thing that will get you killed.” The band branch out throughout the EP into realms of discordant pop in a way that is informed by jazz, electronic pop, and art rock. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

BRIGID DAWSON & THE MOTHERS NETWORK | "Ballet Of Apes"

Castle Face Records

The Brigid Dawson years of Thee Oh Sees were some of the finest the long running band has had to offer. While still a frequent collaborator (but no longer a core member), it stands to mention that her presence has always made the band better, offering vocals and keys and a slightly more refined touch to the ever shifting garage punk freakshow (this is meant as a compliment). Now, after all these years, Dawson has released her solo debut, Ballet of Apes, billed under the great name of Brigid Dawson & The Mothers Network. While intrigue had this record among our most anticipated, the album is utterly brilliant, a timeless gem of a debut that gets better with every listen. Recorded with contributions from Mike Donovan (Peacers, Sic Alps), Mikey Young (Eddy Current, Total Control), and Sunwatchers, there’s an old soul to Ballet of Apes, but a sound that refuses to sit still, channeling floral psych, acid folk, reverberating soul, and caustic balladry. Each song moves within its own unique space and time, with Dawson’s gorgeous voice and contemplative songwriting the thread that ties it all together. This is one of the year’s best records. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

CONWAY THE MACHINE | "No One Mourns The Wicked"

Big Ghost LTD. Music

On his second independent release of the year (following the Alchemist produced LULU), Buffalo’s Conway The Machine teams up with producer Big Ghost LTD for No One Mourns The Wicked, a release that cements the Griselda rapper as one of the best without high profile features or any elaborate roll-out. Over menacing boom-bap beats that feel near tailored for horror-core rap, Conway sounds entirely focused, going in with hard street lyrics that take aim at both the industry and fake MCs that talk hard about lives not lives. For better or worse, Conway speaks of violent streets and gun fire as a product of his environment, something he’s both experienced and grown from. There are less ad-libs than other releases, instead Conway stays on-track and it sounds utterly ruthless. For anyone that misses the early days of 90’s rap, the members of Griselda are consistently delivering at the highest of levels. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

DEERHOOF | "Future Teenage Cave Artists"

Joyful Noise Recordings

It seems almost impossible to say after all these years, but Deerhoof’s latest album, Future Teenage Cave Artists might be their best. The record is full of noisy brilliance, avant-garde pop, and all the mutant funk, soul, and punk that trickles its way into a Deerhoof record and comes out as something entirely their own. There’s a vibrancy to it that radiants from songs both overblown and those that feel more subtle. The record’s on the surreal end of the spectrum, but still glistening with signature Deerhoof unpredictability. The tranquility is rather gorgeous, the hooks rhythmically making an impression before unraveling with spectacular warmth and an undeniable glow. The legendary band have spent decades proving their creativity over and over again, and rather impossibly, they are still getting better. Their new record a genuine cacophony of sounds, significantly experimental and disfigured, but constructed in an alien way that somehow still sounds like accessible pop in the end. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

DUMMY | "Dummy EP"

Pop Wig

The Los Angeles quintet has created a lush mix of shoegaze, krautrock, noise pop, and everything else that is both hazy and dreamy. Led by former members of Wildhoney, the band take an almost meditative drift toward motorik composition, easing their way into swells of minimalist layering, vocals that blend together, and grandiose blankets of noise. It’s a very strong debut that knows exactly what it wants to be, and is all the more confident for it. While a lot of bands toy with the dynamics of shoegaze and dream pop, trying to find that perfect balance of tranquility with muscular heft of loud as hell guitars, Dummy are operating at a scientific level from the start. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp

FREDDIE GIBBS & THE ALCHEMIST | "Alfredo"

ESGN / ALC / Empire Records

Following last year’s Bandana LP with Madlib, Freddie Gibbs returned with a new full length, Alfredo, entirely produced by The Alchemist, their second album length collaboration (following the Curren$y assisted Fetti). Surprise released in the wake of the latest reminder of never-ending police brutality and systemic racism, Freddie Gibbs keeps it in the streets with his latest, including stand-out “Frank Lucas,” with boasts of “boosting the crime rate” without concern, while proving his knack for grimy lyricism never flinches. Freddie Gibbs is one of this generation’s best MCs go in over haunting minimalist beats with extended verses that speak violently against the feds and authorities in the name of the hustle, with more than a little braggadocios flair to keep up appearances. This isn’t exactly hip-hop for social justice or conscious though, but it’s hard-nosed rap that makes no apologies. -DG || LISTEN: Spotify

MAL DEVISA | "Vicious Nonbeliever"

Self Released

Whenever Mal Devisa aka Deja Carr releases something it’s always reason to get excited. While somewhat reclusive, Carr is without a doubt one of most incredible musicians releasing music these days. Her album Kiid is a genuine masterpiece, and the sporadic releases that have followed always feature that same visionary spark. From minimalist ballads with just bass and Carr’s soulful vocals to booming rap tunes where she absolutely bodies the beat with intelligent lyricism, the past five years or so has proven Mal Devisa is one of the best across all genres explored. Vicious Nonbeliever is a collaborative with producer DJ Lucas, and while the songs aren’t all new, they’ve been missing from the internet for quite sometime. The songs all favor Mal Devisa’s hip-hop side, with a selection of beats that only Carr’s chameleonic delivery can possibly wrangle into a set of complex smash hits. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp

MAXSHH | "Half A Loaf"

Sad Cactus Records

While the future of Tundrastomper is uncertain, the members have found themselves busy with new projects. Last year Skyler Lloyd released the beautiful Lrrr album and last month Max Goldstein released a new album with his instrumental freak-prog band Fred Cracklin. Less than a month later, Goldstein returns with Maxshh’s full length debut, Half A Loaf, an incredible new record that is quickly proving to be one the year’s best surprises. Hell, I can’t stop listening. We already know that he’s one of the best drummers of the DIY world (and proves it all over this record), but his songwriting is really radiant as well, landing an array of orchestral prog, free jazz, dreamy and disjointed indie, tangled bedroom punk, and knotted experimental pop over shifting polyrhythms that sound like they’ve come hurtling down a mountain. You probably won’t hear anything quite like this again this year, but Half A Loaf is a masterclass in scattered ideas strung into a cohesive statement of intent. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

MELENAS | "Dias Raros"

Trouble In Mind Records

Melenas hail from Pamplona, Spain, a city known more for the running of the bulls than its music scene. After multiple releases on local labels, they have signed with US based label Trouble in Mind to release Dias Raros. If there is any justice, the band has created an album that should put their local scene on the map. The elements of these songs are familiar, but the way Melenas combine them creates something unique. You can hear driving motorik beats and washes of shoegaze fuzz mixed with jangle pop hooks and girl group harmonies. Tracks like “Primer Tiempo” or “Tres Segundos” display the alchemy of these elements perfectly. Both of these songs are instantly catchy, yet a closer listen reveals many layers. The music here is effervescent and full of an energy that transcends linguistic boundaries, taking us on a trip through indie pop history; because of all the references you can pick out, it feels like both an old favorite and a new discovery. - David Wilikofsky || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

OLD MAN GLOOM | "Light of Meaning" + "Darkness of Being"

Profound Lore

The legendary Old Man Gloom announced a new record, Seminar VIII: Lightness of Meaning for release in May and then the band decided to “Reverse Gloom” us all and surprise release that record’s previously unannounced companion, Seminar IX: Darkness of Being just a week later. For those unfamiliar with the band, Old Man Gloom is the long-running project of Aaron Turner (Sumac, ISIS), the late Caleb Scofield (Cave In, Zozobra), Nate Newton (Converge), and Santos Montano (Zozobra), joined this time around by Stephen Brodsky (Cave In). Since 1999, they have been releasing the most incredible of art metal records, built on booming ferocity, experimental dissonance, passages of ambient noise, and elements of hardcore, punk, and end of the world primal aggression. These albums are an amalgamation of their sound, everything congealed together to create something impossibly dynamic and unbelievably cohesive at the same time. Old Man Gloom have created a monstrously personal album, built to exercise demons and crush skulls all the same. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

POWERPLANT | "A Spine / Evidence"

Static Shock Records

Back in May, London’s “egg punk” extraordinaries Powerplant followed up their great debut, People in the Sun, with the equally great EP, A Spine / Evidence on Static Shock Records. While Powerplant began as Theo Zhykharyev’s one-man band, they project has since grown into a full line-up and that added power is felt throughout the weird and wonderful new set. “Good Time” is our choice for a stand-out, though the entire record rips in a series of unusual ways. With it’s slurred attack that feels equivalent to an avalanche hurtling downhill, “Good Time” mixes hard barked punk with psych croons and a haunting bridge that feels almost sarcastic if it didn’t bounce back with its own sleazy garage punk bliss. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

THA GOD FAHIM | "After Every Dark Day Comes Sunshine"

Self Released

As the months continued and my obsession with Tha God Fahim continued to grow, along came his second album of the year, After Every Dark Day Comes Sunshine, a hip-hop record like no other released this year. For everyone that’s had a tough time (and I think that’s near everyone) this year, this album is for you, as the Dump God blesses every single track with an unwavering positivity. It’s not something that happens in hip-hop (at least not non-corny hip-hop), but TGF goes in on the uplifting messages, and at a time when the world really needed it most. Sometimes it feels the dark clouds may never dissipate but Fahim reminds us, “People will celebrate your victories, but laugh when you fall, but it’s triumph over tragedy, be happy that’s all.” - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

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ARMAND HAMMER | "Shrines"

Backwoodz Studioz

The duo of Billy Woods and Elucid have been doing there thing together as Armand Hammer for the better part of a decade, and we’re real late to the party, but happy to be here. The New York rappers are two of the best and most versatile lyricists in modern hip-hop and they push boundaries all over their work together. Shrines is a gift of out-of-the-box hip-hop, with production that dips between funky, psychedelic, bossa nova, and beyond, the picture constantly changing shape while Woods and Elucid remain laser focused, their rhymes hard-nosed and pointed, their deliveries raw and chaotic. It’s hip-hop with a great amount of attention to detail but without the unpolished glow of the underground in tact. The duo keep it tough on the exterior, but it’s the brains of their message that radiates the loudest. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

CORIKY | "Coriky"

Dischord Records

Odds are you’ve already heard about Coriky, but then again, odds are you’re still excited about it, even with the record out in the world. The new band from Ian MacKaye, Joe Lally, and Amy Farina (which you can look at as half of Fugazi plus Farina… or as The Evens plus Lally) released their self-titled debut album via Dischord after some Covid related delays that felt extra long, and as far as anticipation went, this album delivered on every bit of it. The general sound of the album resides somewhere between later-era Fugazi and The Evens, which is to say it’s brilliant, thought provoking, and dynamically constructed with interlocked rhythms and urgent melodic force. This album is far from just a retread of their collective pasts, Coriky is a record that is very much of this era, driven by wise songwriting and a calming demeanor that still feels immediate. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

DISHEVELED CUSS | "Disheveled Cuss"

Sargent House Records

Tera Melos mastermind Nick Reinhart released his self-titled solo debut as Disheveled Cuss in June on his long running home via Sargent House. Flexing his muscle at early 90’s alternative rock bliss with a touch of mathy power-pop (imagine Weezer meets Pinback), the record is a display of syrupy melodies so thick, they’ve been rattling in our heads all this time since the release. There’s plenty of joyous shredding throughout, but it’s the inescapably colossal melodies that really cement Reinhart’s latest project. Combining the larger than life hooks with fractured rhythms and jagged riffs creates some both accessible and avant-garde, a balance that leaves something for both the casual listener and the diehards alike. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

GALORE | "Galore"

Rocks In Your Head Records

Following a demo from 2018, San Francisco’s Galore released their self-titled debut album, a record we anxiously waited to hear in full as the release date was pushed back. It’s an earworm mix of punk, post-punk, jangly psych, and a hint of garage twee, and everything works to complement their songwriting throughout the album’s ten catchy songs. The band have earned comparisons to Melbourne’s Parsnip, and it’s not a bad fit, but Galore’s sound is a bit heavier and less whimsical. The quartet are never quite aggressive, but there’s a definitive drive to most of their songs, whether it’s pedal to the floor or a dreamy drift, Galore have made a promising debut of dynamic and easily enjoyable punk songs. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

GUM COUNTRY | "Somewhere"

Self Released

On Somewhere, Gum Country collects pieces of everyday minutiae and collages them into a portrait of a young life lived. From abstract, micro, innocuous, important, the record runs the gamut on scope, while treating each of these details as if it were no more important than the last. Focusing on textural and tone control, the duo’s sound mimics their lyrical attention to the small stuff. The California-via-Canada transplants build upon the sunny guitar pop Courtney Garvin cut her teeth on with her project The Courtneys, adding in elements associated with cerebral 90s rock: swirling interplay between instruments, cascades of synth lines, even some vocoder use here and there. Connor Meyer’s metronomic drumming grounds these layers, in the same way Tim Gane’s rhythm guitar guides stray discordance into order with Stereolab. - Elise Barbin || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

HUM | "Inlet"

Earth Analog / Polyvinyl

The almighty Hum returned with their fourth album, Inlet, dropped out of nowhere and it feels like the small miracle we’ve all been waiting for. Having reformed to play shows sporadically throughout the past decade, the Champaign, IL based quartet have always kept it humble, playing fuzzy “space rock” while remaining grounded with the spectacle of it all (hell, I went to Chicago to catch them play a pizza shop for PRF BBQ in 2014). The band’s first album in 23 years is nothing short of incredible, a new benchmark for bands that have taken the extended hiatus. Inlet sounds as though it was recorded in the months that followed the eternally classic Downward Is Heavenward, capturing the same muscular shoegaze and laid back post-hardcore the band made their signature in the 90’s. Everything is well conceived and natural, without a forced idea in the bunch, and the band exude patience to let the record evolve at a lumbering pace. It’s everything we’ve ever loved about Hum, done to perfection, just as one may expect. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

LITHICS | "Tower of Age"

Trouble In Mind Records

As one of the ongoing (and going and going) post-punk revival’s absolute best, Portland’s Lithics work with a steely resolve, one that sparkles with personality by offering a blank facade. It’s not drab experimentalism or overly hip posturing, but a musical (and vocal) deadpan that feels robotic and yet radiant in its repetitive melodic ideas and unshakable rhythmic excitement. The quartet released Tower of Age via the venerable Trouble In Mind Records in June, built on their hypnotic punk charm while really letting the guitars wander off track with disjointed and distorted leads that add a corrosive texture to the otherwise regimented sound. Loose and buoyant, the band’s guitars bounce back and forth between ears, darting around circular motorik beats, and shredding their way into the hooks. The whole thing bounces and Aubrey Hornor’s light vocal melody is the thread that holds everything together, though only at the seems. For a band that has mastered the snapped in mechanical sound of post-punk, this is what it feels like when things begin to skitter off the rails, a welcome turn in their evolving discography. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

MEYHEM LAUREN | "Glass 2.0"

SRFSCHL

One of our favorite rappers of the past decade, Meyhem Lauren has been on a never-ending hot streak since he first caught our ear on Action Bronson’s classic Dr. Lecter. This month he’s returned with Glass 2.0, a new full length collaboration from producer Harry Fraud, the companion to 2018’s Glass. While many of the tracks were previously featured on Extra Glass, the record comes together to sound cohesive, with Meyhem Lauren offering both mafioso gangster rap and enough wavy and fly lyricism to keep his Queens swagger celebrating through the toughest of times. This isn’t really a reflection of current events, as most of the songs come from sessions that began several years ago, but Laurenovich rides each beat with crime boss status, his low-profile delivery offset by his high-profile lifestyle. “Brunch at the Breakers” in next level hip-hop and Meyhem Lauren absolutely bodies Fraud’s beat. - DG || LISTEN: Spotify

NNAMDÏ | "Black Plight"

Self Released

If you didn’t already know, NNAMDÏ can do it all. While he’s gained national notoriety over the past few years for creating his own brand of spaced out R&B and experimental hip-hop, he’s also proven over and over again to be one of Chicago DIY’s best musicians, from post-hardcore to prog and math rock, playing all instruments with expert intricacy. Black Plight (which incredibly raised over $10,000 on a single Bandcamp Friday) is a heavy effort, both lyrically and musically, a blistering set of post-hardcore songs that are focused on the recent tragedies of police violence against the black community. NNAMDÏ addresses it head on, tearing against those that want to keep black voices silent and the police that perpetrate the murders of innocent black men and women again and again. It’s all a call to arms and one that can’t be made in vain. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

OBNOX | "Savage Raygun"

Ever/Never Records

Cleveland’s Obnox remains an inspiration, an artist who has worked tirelessly over the last decade to create a dense catalog of concept albums that draw no lines between hip-hop, punk, soul, garage rock, psych, and experimental music. From freak jazz to militant rap and fried punk, Lamont “Bim” Thomas has been using his voice to create music with expressive freedom, using his words to often convey his experience as a black man in America and the injustices that result. He’s been doing this since the beginning, but his latest double album, Savage Raygun, has an immediate impact now more than ever. Released via Ever/Never Records, the album seamlessly blends together everything that makes up Obnox’s swirling lo-fi world in a way that no one else could. Combining hip-hop and punk with psych and soul rarely works, but Obnox makes it feel effortless, just a slew of ideas that came together naturally to share his message. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp

OHMME | "Fantasize Your Ghost"

Joyful Noise Recordings

I was late to the Ohmme party, and I do apologize for that. Since the released of the first Fantasize Your Ghost single, “3 2 4 3,” from the Chicago duo’s sophomore album, I’ve been utterly enamored. The record takes the band’s art-rock aesthetic in a raw and primal direction, working with a determinedly dense rhythmic framework and vocal harmonies that weave both together and apart as the tension permits. Every song unwraps its own unique way, some with blissful resolve and others without any resolution at all, instead opening to fits of artful noise. There are motorik grooves and a kinetic energy often rendering what comes beyond irrelevant as you’ve already been sucked into their reimagined world of post-punk minimalism and swirling noise pop. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

PYRRHON | "Abscess Time"

Willowtip Records

New York’s Pyrrhon are easily one of the most exciting bands making technical death metal these days, and they’ve been steadily pumping out great records for near ten years. While we’re pretty new to their music (don’t worry, we’re making up for lost time), their albums offer maximalist impact on first impression, a whirlwind of knotted technicality, carnage, and forward thinking structures that are as dark and dismal as they are intelligent and destructive. The band’s latest album, Abscess Time is out via Willowtip Records, and it is relentless, built on dexterity that bounces around pulling influences from noise rock, prog, grindcore, and black metal into their sound. Pyrrhon reshape those influences under a death metal fury, void of subtleties, but erupting with a depraved brilliance. There’s so much to unpack with this record. Just keep listening. - DG || LISTEN: Bandcamp | Spotify

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Post-Trash's Best of 2020: A Mid-Year Report

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by: post-trash staff