There’s a repeated line in W.B. Yeats’ poem ‘Easter 1916’: A terrible beauty is born. This devastating line could describe the feeling of listening to Joy Division’s Closer for the first time. It’s a colossal work of art; a post-punk pillar; an ingenious sonic landscape; a blinding existential vision of songwriting.
Just Look At That Sky, the sophomore full-length from Chicago’s Ganser, is the sound of summer. Maybe not in the traditional sense of friendly fun in the sun, but as it builds on their penchant for dark, pulsing atmospherics and razor-sharp attitude, it captures the feel of a summer under lockdown and a post-punk band at their most dialed-in.
Speckled with slacker anthems and folk charmers, Dark Tones’ Pulling Nails Out of Walls catalogues the loneliness, the pointlessness, and the weight of being an island. The record aims to make sense of one’s own solitude, or at least to sharpie “I WAS HERE” on the inside of a bathroom stall, just to prove one’s own existence.
Nova Scotia rockers Kestrels want to remind you of another era and their latest album Dream Or Don’t Dream is their love letter to ‘90s rock, mixing the hushed aesthetics of shoegaze with the fuzz and energy of power-pop. In its meshing of big-name rock backing talent and its commitment, Kestrels will find an interested audience.
The goal of Abscess Time isn't aimed at kicking against the boundaries of the existent heavy music scene, but rather to give better definition to those lines that have been previously drawn. I think it's clear that in refining rather than expanding their sound, Pyrrhon have given us a more precise picture of what they're capable of.
Possible Humans is a five-piece band out of Melbourne, for those that love guitars and driving bass lines. Everybody Split is their first full length, initially released in April 2019 as a small run by Hobbies Galore. This initial run was followed by a US and worldwide release in August by Trouble in Mind Records based out of Chicago.
The band sounds absolutely massive throughout the album. The instrumentals hit with precision; look no further than the guitar attack of “Processed By The Boys” and “I Am You Now,” or the push and pull of “Modern Business Hymns”. Joe Casey sounds like vintage Nick Cave, delivering fire and brimstone truths over the din.
To listen to Bananagun is to travel the world under an invigorating blend of inspiration. They are the youth basking in the glow of old styles: there are African grooves, drum and bass beats, tropicalia, and ‘60s psychedelic pop; it’s a credit to the band that their sonic melange settles so well as a whole.
Moth is the creative project of Darcy Berry, known for his punchy drumming in Melbourne’s strikingly different but equally excellent Gonzo and U-Bahn. Moth became known for their chaotic live performances around Melbourne, fleshing out the bare bones of the project with talent from bands such as Alien Nosejob and Body Maintenance.
The self-described “gunk pop” project of Seattle-based songwriter Nicolle Swims, Black Ends consists of Swims on guitar and vocals, Jonny Modes on drums, and Ben Swanson on bass. Despite postponed festivals and cancelled tours, Black Ends are still back with 13+ minutes of their finest and “gunkiest” work yet via Stay Evil.
An ape in midlife stasis; A talking bear; People in cocoons. On Magic Isn’t Real, the third album from Pile, surrealist imagery paints real crises - the feeling of monotony and parasitic relationships being just a few. While obtuse lyricism would be a defining characteristic for albums to come, Magic Isn’t Real was a defining moment in Pile’s discography.
