"Self-Portrait In A Convex Mirror,” one the album’s many highlights, is a radiant ballad, with augmented synths really setting a stunning foundation before the rhythm arrives, snapped into place with a steady beat and syrupy groove. The video, directed by Tobias, opens like a one-man show, with the stage set for him to approach the mic.
Manchester’s Historically Fucked arrive in a state of hysteria almost immediately. It’s really quite something how fast their music crumbles to pieces. Joining a rare breed of bands that include perhaps PRE, Mi Ami, Melt-Banana, and US Maple, the band reside in a space where impulse, chaos, and lunacy meet head-on.
In the years since we last heard from Graham Brouder, he’s returned to Virginia, this time situating in Richmond, and the music that he previously wrote solo has turned into a new band, Hearts In Exile. With a self-titled album in the works, the band introduce themselves over the jangly crawl of the record’s lead single, “Language Is The House”.
The Melbourne post-punk outfit creates flashing art pop and whip-smart dance grooves, pulling influence from its members’ backgrounds in jazz, punk, and rave culture. Electric Party’s sub-three minute tracks cut to the chase, sticking to a superb, hip-shaking formula while taking subversive, non-adhesive notes from no wave.
With brevity always at the forefront, EIEIEIO create tangled music that never feels grandiose or overthought. Everything seems off the cuff, potentially combustible from one moment to the next. Following a split with Gorgeous, EIEIEIO return with “Gentleman Stop!”, a new cassette due out December 2nd via Sad Cactus Records.
Philly’s Labrador make alt-country music to lift you up. It’s not always bubbling with positivity, but they’re here to remind you you’re not alone, and that good times are just around the bend. They take those sentiments to heart on Hold The Door For Strangers, the follow-up to 2020’s A Car That Works EP.
Plan Pony, a solo project turned duo built on caterwauling saxophone and harsh electronics, skews closer to noise music than noise “rock” music. With several releases over the past couple years, they’re set to share their latest, the Flocking EP, out today via Nim Brut. The pair obliterate senses with “Can’t Say, Won’t Say,” the album’s centerpiece.
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.
