Lipsticism is Chicago-based electronic musician Alana Schachtel. The project has a new record via Earth Libraries on 12/2 called Two Mirrors Facing Each Other, and today we’ve got a sneak preview of the accompanying visuals to “Worth.” The video follows a digital humanoid and their stuffed rabbit reanimated by a spectral mirror hand.
At some point in 2020, Andy Molholt felt it was time to call it a day on Laser Background. While it was sad to see it come to an end, in reality, it was more the retiring of a name, and a chance for Molholt to start anew. Special World is that fresh beginning, a new solo project that explores similar psych territory but pushes further into alien terrain.
Formed by Joel Harries (72%) to make a cavalcade of guitar and synth noise, the collaborative roots of the current iteration later emerged, with Harries joined by Luc Hess (Coilguns) and Thomas Lacey (Cower). There’s a noticeable dread and claustrophobia to Catalogue of Errors, captured with harrowing tension and fury, equal parts sludge and abrasion.
Following a half decade playing in shoegaze band Coaches and a slew of engineering credits that include Infinity Girl, Matt Bachmann, and work on the Red Dead Redemption 2 soundtrack, Brady Custis is ready to step out on his own. His latest project, Brady Only, is a somber solo affair, blending his musical roots into more traditional folk.
Kingston, NY duo Rider/Horse ain’t no one trick pony, as they prove on their second album, Feed ‘Em Salt. The pairing of Cory Plump (Spray Paint, Winged Wheel) and Chris Turco (Les Savy Fav, Trans Am) have headed back to the swarm, to bring us their next chapter, one that is constantly rattled, repetitive, and eerily engaging.
Ohio art punk quartet DANA like to keep things weird. It’s just more enjoyable that way, always has been. Following last year’s “Blueteeth” single, DANA are back at it with “R U Dead?” a song that finds the band very much alive. With their signature space-age theremin trails leading the way, the band dive into a jangly punk bounce.
Due out on November 4th via Hex Records (Still/Form, Multicult), Making Friends’ is dense and well… unfriendly music, revolving around deep low end, a primal sense of dread, and harsh rhythmic fury. They teeter between noise rock and grunge in a way similar to Helmet or Unsane, bulking up their scourge with sustaining melodies.
The world is about to get more Smirk, as Nick Vicario (Crisis Man, Public Eye, Cemento) returns with his first true full length, Material. Due out November 18th via Feel It Records, the album is a whirlwind of twangy post-punk and raw garage rock, picking up somewhere between The Gun Club and a dizzyingly raw knack for basement punk.
For Squirm Records, a new label founded by the members of New York duo Gorgeous, the catalyst of the label is Anyhow, the solo project of Asheville’s Matt Giegerich. A screenwriter and USA Today bestselling mystery author by trade, Longtime Sunshine is Giegerich’s full length debut as Anyhow, due out November 11th.
Fans of bands such as Night Sins, Old Moon, and The Cure, assemble! One of Boston's best alternative bands, The True Faith’s upcoming LP, Go To Ground, is just around the corner in January 2023. "Feet Held To The Fire" immediately gives you a floating sensation and feeling of romanticizing heartbreak through Travis Benson's yearning vocals.
Quagga is the project of Philadelphia’s Josh Mackie, a musician and artist best known as a member of Gunk and Dark Mtns, among a cavalcade of other increasingly experimental projects. In the past six years, he’s released over fourteen releases, and he’s got a new album, 77.7FM "The Spirit”, due out November 18th via Strange Mono.
London’s Shake Chain make “unhinged” music. That really isn’t up for debate, and the band prove it throughout their upcoming debut album, Snake Chain, due out November 18th via Upset The Rhythm. While the sound of their music is nestled snuggly within the energetic side of post-punk, it’s vocalist Kate Mahony that really sets the band apart.
It feels like Glenn Donaldson plucks his songs out of mid-air. The hyper-prolific San Franciscan’s latest project, The Reds, Pinks and Purples, continues the tradition of catchy Bay Area pop. The second single from the upcoming Slumberland mini-LP, They Only Wanted Your Soul allows Donaldson’s bitter assertion to cut through clearly.
Set to release a new record in 2023, Tedward are sharing their latest single, “Ablona,” a song about a pilgrimage to see a rare performance from a favorite band in a fictional Ohio town. From the warped pull of the overdrive to the sweetened vocal melody, Terence Lee sets an immediate tone, capturing the lo-fi fuzz and melodic heft.
In anticipation for their upcoming hometown show and the Pavement dates, Weak Signal are sharing a video for WAR&WAR’s “Consolation,” one of the record’s more ominous tracks. The track itself, while subdued and shadowy, takes influence in the opposite, derived from a Simone Weil quote, “Love is not consolation. It is light.”
