Candy Andy / Crimson Blue - "You & Me" | Album Review
Spectral Voice - "Necrotic Demos" | Album Review
When Spectral Voice’s debut was released in 2017, they had five demos and two splits out in the world. By the album’s release they had perfected their concoction of death-doom metal. This strategy has not changed in the following years, part of what makes the Necrotic Demos compilation more compelling than it ought to be.
Soft Blue Shimmer - "Heaven Inches Away" | Album Review
On Soft Blue Shimmer’s debut album, Heaven Inches Away, the band crank up the fuzz, becoming less coltish and more stoic. Where their early work felt like a forgotten cut from the soundtrack to 10 Things I Hate About You, their latest plays more like a diegetic sound drifting in the background of a Greg Araki-directed scene.
Mourn - "Self Worth" | Album Review
Catalonia band Mourn have been making a name for themselves within the indie rock scene from quite a young age. The band members were in their teens when they released their self-titled debut album in 2015 on Captured Tracks. Mourn has continued to expand their post-punk sound and their evolution truly shows on Self Worth.
Allegra Kreiger - "The Joys of Forgetting" | Album Review
Waiting moments comprise an overwhelming majority of Allegra Kreiger’s The Joys of Forgetting. Awaiting good times sounds pretty terrific - so long as you ignore the desolation around you and the wreckage of the near and far past. For some, that is impossible. Call us empaths and/or annoying but these days, it’s tough to call us wrong.
We Are Joiners - "Clients + Carriers" | Album Review
Working with just an old BOSS BR1180 8-track, We Are Joiners recorded two EPs earlier this year. The New York independent label Totally Real Records saw potential in these: Clients + Carriers have been gathered into a double album, released on December 4th, and the decision makes sense upon listening.
Wren Kitz - "Early Worm" | Album Review
Wren Kitz’s music is tense with contrasts: with his sweet falsetto, he’s capable of working within traditional folk song structures; as a student of tape recordings, he also dissolves himself into mysterious noise. Early Worm, is carefully constructed, going from more traditional forms to the hiss of lo-fi feedback immediately afterwards.
Airhead DC - "Busted Sermon" | Album Review
Contrary to Airhead DC’s previous release, the reflectively dense Crush Hi, the goal was to create something simple, dreamy, and capable of being recorded on a four-track tape recorder, he said. To his credit, the resulting effort, Busted Sermon, which is just six songs long, accomplishes that rather admirably.
Tadzio - "That Cold Grey Light" | Album Review
Indie rock ensemble Tadzio’s latest record, That Cold Grey Light, carries a title conveying a bleak lifelessness; likewise, the music is imbued with a sense of sacrifice, and death. An unmistakable feeling of doom hovers over the album like a black cloud, but not at the expense of moments of refined beauty.
Laundromat - "Green EP" | Album Review
In just three tracks, Laundromat manages to conjure full-flavored textures that bely the snappiness of the EP. Lo-fi production ties the triptych together so it’s a testament to his innovation that so many textures and layers are evident on Green. Loops and harmonies worm themselves through the tracks, often from unexpected points.
Necrot - "Mortal" | Album Review
The ambition of Necrot is high and can be read as pompous going into the album cycle for Mortal: create a death metal classic. All the necessary components in the genre are here. The riffs are endless and plentiful; there’s plenty of blast beats to pound against your brain; and of course the lyrics deal in the particular tropes of nihilism.
Deafheaven - "10 Years Gone" | Album Review
Dr Sure's Unusual Practice - "While Aus Burns" | Album Review
Global Charming - "Mediocre, Brutal" | Album Review
The quartet make sharp and witty post-punk that discusses the banality of everyday existence. They utilize repetitive rhythm to reflect the consistent monotony of their daily routines. What saves Global Charming – and their audience – from being subsumed by the emptiness are their sharp jolts of guitar licks and self-aware satire.
Black Sabbath - "Paranoid" (50th Anniversary Edition) | Album Review
Chronophage - "Th'pig'kiss'd Album" | Album Review
Th’Pig’Kiss’d Album is their second full-length and the chaotic lo-fi spirit remains intact. It was released by the new Dutch label Soft Office, started by members of the Lewsberg (as well as Cleta Patra). Chronophage share the same DIY and post-punk tendencies as their label bosses, but overall they skew to lighter and fuzzier jangle.
Sumac - "May You Be Held" | Album Review
Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou - "May Our Chambers Be Full" | Album Review
Emma Ruth Rundle’s music has always walked the edge of doom metal. Her dark lyrics and melancholic solo outputs have seemed likely to lead to an inclusion of doom metal. So it is no surprise that the folk singer has teamed up with Louisiana sludge/doom metal band Thou for the collaborative album May Our Chambers Be Full.
