When a shift in Tetchy’s line-up led to an uncertain future, Maggie Denning decided to write and record home demos on her phone, a simple exercise to keep the creativity flowing. Those demos took on a life of their own, taking shape as the latest Tetchy record, the minimalist and psychedelic Smaller / Better EP.
Spiritual Pollution, due out April 7th via Erste Theke Tontraeger (Pinch Points, Crisis Man), takes everything that made the project’s debut an underground favorite and expands on the ideas with added muscle, live drums (courtesy of Andrew Oswald) and a refined sonic focus that adds clarity without stripping the raw tension.
For Kosmetika, true craftsmanship lies in the details. “House,” the second single from the Melbourne art-punks’ new album, Illustration (due April 21 on Spoilsport Records), feels instantly familiar and comfortable. It’s full of new wave signifiers, settling nicely in the middle of a Venn diagram that includes Charlie, Le Tigre’s, and ESG.
The solo project of John Toohill, Science Man is mutant experimentation gone awry, a transmission of disgust from the gutter, as enthusiastically weird as it is forever menacing. It’s a hardcore band, to be sure, but Science Man has become as much an art project, with a cinematic component that’s become increasingly engrained in Toohill’s work.
When the days begin to run you ragged, you can always turn to the music of Lisa/Liza for an escape parts gentle, understanding, and beautiful. Set to release her new album Breaking And Mending via Orindal Records on April 28th, it’s an album that feels one with nature, a record that shines like the sun cutting through the tallest of trees.
Last year offered a window into the ever shifting patchwork psych of Webb Chapel, triumphantly lo-fi but undeniably focused, a wash of experimentation both bleak and warped. Zack Claxton (Beth Israel) returns to Strange Mono for SPEEDING, due out March 21st, a new album of originals and a batch of Mary Goes Round and Acid Freek covers.
A perennial underground favorite for nearly a decade, Sun Organ have been reshaping their sound in a constant state of sludgy pop expansion. With Candlelight Showertime, due out May 5th via Julia’s War and BLIGHT. Records, Jordan and co. continue to expand their pallet, adding a deeper sense of subtlety and a stronger emphasis on detailed lyrics.
Waste Man have moved. Originally mainstays of the NOLA scene, this tight-punk trio have made the move to NYC – and have a brand-new self-titled EP out on Feel It Records. It’s a re-positioning of its own, re-stating the central premise of their heavy-hypnotic sound, with a new framework and a laser-focus on what makes them special.
For London’s Moreish Idols, music is in constant evolution, growing upon new ideas, pulling threads to watch their framework both tighten and unravel. “Between These Ears” manifests itself without aggression, it’s tangled but calming, a piece of delicately jazzy art-rock that works atmosphere into post-punk density.
Glittering Insects and their debut album take the Mind Meld concept further, bringing together Atlanta’s Greg King (GG King, Carbonas), Ryan Bell (GG King, Predator), and Josh Feigert (Wymyns Prysyn, GG King) for a collaborative effort. While they all play together in GG King, Glittering Insects is assuredly something different.
Lil’ Peril, released via Mt. St. Mtn and Vapid Moonlighting Inc, highlights the fact that Finberg has become an exceptional producer over the years, but also that his songwriting remains intrinsically vibrant, bouncing with lo-fi mutant disco, jittery punk, agitated garage pop, bent soul, and warped yet classic psych.
Goo are set to self-release their second album, Squid Ink Sky, on June 9th. The band’s slow dripped brand of psychedelic folk and wide open expanses is void of the hustle and bustle of city life, the songs take their time to draw upon moonlight ambiance amid whispered croons, gentle acoustics, sweeping melodies, and subtle twang.
Seattle’s Telehealth is very much born of this world, a duo that embrace the ridiculous nature of modern life, and run with it at all speed, offering transmissions from the corporate future. The duo of Alexander Attitude and Kendra Cox (both also of SPASI), are making mutant pop music, heavy on synths and tongue in cheek charm.
Before uprooting from Chicago to Kyoto, Nature’s Neighbor decided to make one more record in the city where he’s developed his sound. The concept behind it is non-traditional to say the least, Mike Walker (joined by producer Seth Engel) set out to make an album where every song sounds nothing like what came before or after it.
Having shared lead single and EP opener “Copycat,” the band return with another Daydrops preview, a video (dir. by Mads Engel) for the kraut-pop splendor of “Wow Signal”. Where “Copycat” pulled at emotional heartstrings with wavy alternative rock ambition, “Wow Signal” opts for more of a hypnotic aura and a solar flare propulsion.
