UMO has an undeniable trademark, a yin and yang of experimental and accessible that rejects clout and idolatry while being primed for remixes and festivals. It may seem as though this trademark has been minimally changed. Upon first listen, V is an album that amalgamates the group’s previous inquiries into an hour of ascension.
Over a decade into their partnership, Kelley Deal (Breeders) and Mike Montgomery (Ampline) feel continuously in sync. The two have extensive history as friends, colleagues and musical partners. Pulling from their individual artistry, R. Ring represents a satisfying detour that allows for at will experimentation and forward-thinking jams.
After five long years, the trio return with Neither The One Nor The Other, But A Mockery of Both, a new EP, surprise released without fanfare via 12XU. The title, a reference to the fact that the record was re-recorded several times over the past few years, is a gift of their debased sense of humor, a sign that the years haven’t left them embittered.
Furling is a work of pure artistry; A no gimmicks, straight-up gorgeous folk record that’s perfect for keeping you company on a long, contemplative drive. Meg Baird has always been a great artist, but this feels like a big leap forward for her sound. Her addicting style of psychedelic folk will have you constantly coming back for more.
How do you sort the recording of an album when everything seems to be shutting and places feel alienated? Ulrika Spacek’s latest album, Compact Trauma, arrives as a sharp, psych-blowing, krautrock-flavored manifest of a band coming back to surface after a self-imposed banish and overcoming the strangeness of its own ethos.
What started as a collection of iMessage demos sent back and forth between the two in 2021 eventually became a full-blown collaborative effort. While easy to describe as “timeless,” there’s a subtle modernity poking through nearly every moment of the ‘70s inspired homespun folk songs on Mind Palace Music.
Good Girls Go to Heaven, Bad Girls Go Everywhere is the full length debut from Melbourne punk sextet Blonde Revolver, an album rife with venomous jabs and unabashed innuendo and ribald. The record has a ferocious bite and a relentless energy through ten songs that weave through touch points with passion on all fronts.
Comprised of members of Kal Marks, Bethlehem Steel, Baglady, and Ex-Breathers, the Providence quartet is a unique configuration of hard-hitting super-indie rockers. What Mulva have done — expertly split the difference between ambient and sludge diffused through an indie rock filter — is wildly compelling.
Tha God Fahim, for the authentic rap fanatic, is an established name: the Atlanta emcee and producer has claimed his spot in the underground and, in many ways, has had a heavy influence in its direction over the years. His latest solo effort, Iron Bull, is about having the first word on that legacy: one that is still wet yet cementing by the day.
Indie-gazers Bleary Eyed have released their latest four track EP after signing with Born Loser Records, a Philly music staple. Bleary Eyed can be seen as an “evolved” sound as it contains familiar shoegaze undertones from the band’s prior release Guise, combining with the new EP’s indie-pop choruses and dreamy synths.
On Desire Pathway, Screaming Females pull absolutely no punches in their riffy, hard hitting approach to songwriting, with Marissa Paternoster's enigmatic, distinctly dense vocal performance taking center stage. They hold onto their powerfully driven brand of rock writing, while breaching a level of relatively new accessibility.
In the Midnight Hour is easily CT band Perennial’s most fully realized offering in a discography getting to be full of high concept, high energy punk rippers. They retain everything that made them great previously – incendiary performances, huge sounding riffs with teeth, an interest in the studio – and tightened it up to surgical precision.
Abi Ooze is the recording project of Jade Baisa, an alumni of the NWI underground scene, Baisa continues to churn out records among the most genuinely melodic in punk. Forestdale Sessions, released by Rotten Apple, balances between rambunctious and intimate. This is power-pop for basements, alleyways, sidewalks, and bedrooms.
Lockstep Bloodwar is the second album from Sightless Pit. The first featured a third collaborator, Kristin Hayter (Lingua Ignota), who split from the group on good terms between installments. Now a duo, Lee Buford (The Body) and Dylan Walker (Full of Hell) sought to fill the void left by Hayter with a dizzying array of guest features.
