In the rich landscape of Chicago’s indie rock scene, Pool Holograph deserve a spot right by their buzzing peers in Dehd and Deeper. The band, who have played in one shape or another for a decade, create forward thinking music, unafraid to explore new avenues as they wander between art rock, fuzzy pop, and minimalist post-punk.
For Ganser, steady self-reflection has always been in the cards. Just Look At That Sky sheds its skin at a regular rate, sometimes in pieces and sometimes all at once, a continuous self-metamorphosis aimed to navigate these dark and chaotic times. We spoke with Alicia Gaines and Nadia Garofalo about isolation and introspection, the new record, and more.
Sometimes out of the ashes rises something even more astonishing and beautiful than that was once before it, Knot prove that axiom to be wholly true. With their self-titled debut, the quartet have made an album full of intense questioning, rising anger and reveling in a universal interconnectedness.
Set to release their sophomore full length on September 25th via Forged Artifacts (Double Grave, Total Revenge, Dweller) the band are keeping the vibes dusty throughout Wings of Love, but it’s the laid back vibes and easy melodies that help transport everything away from our reality as the world continues to burn.
Elliott Smith’s self titled is an utterly depressing album to its core. It’s full of some of the most haunting and beautiful songs you’ll ever hear, but it’ll take a toll on your mood by the end of it. It’s littered with reoccurring themes of drug abuse, feeling strung out, and self hatred throughout the tracklist.
For everyone that needs a temporary escape from this reality and a trip into another musical dimension altogether, Mezzanine Swimmers are here for you. The solo project of Mike Green (Video Daughters) has followed up 2018’s Black Cat In Heat with Kneelin’ on a Knife, released this past Friday via Already Dead Tapes and Records.
When the world is on fire, sometimes it’s best to embrace your anger, and that’s exactly what Watcher have done with their latest album. Influenced by American death metal like Morbid Angel and Death, sludge rockers like Harvey Milk, along with Revolution Summer-era bands, Punishment is a clear refinement of Watcher’s sound.
Gone are the days of “Love, love me do”, which is why Eric Slick’s decision to make a love album, a top-to-bottom expression of sweet, childish, jealous, insecure, saccharine love, is so refreshing. It’s not cool to wear your heart on your sleeve, but Wiseacre isn’t concerned with aloof nonchalance.
Oceanator recently shared “Heartbeat,” the third and final single from their upcoming full length debut, Things I Never Said and now it has a video. The highly anticipated album, out August 28th via Plastic Miracles, captures Elise Okusami’s songwriting at it’s best, a strong effort that sits between pop, rock, and alternative radio gold.
With the exception of the title and cover, there’s no strong indication that this is a record made to fulfill an obligation required to exit a record contract. This is a fun and energetic set of songs that contains a sense of levity throughout. Even when the subject matter is weighty, there is either a tenderness or momentum.
On their third record, SUGAREGG, they’re at the top of their game, with what feels like an impossible amount of energy. It’s fascinating how easy it is to point to a song and know it’s Bully, they’re unmistakable, a band that sounds distinct in a crowded genre, in large part to bandleader Alicia Bognanno’s raspy, oft shouted vocals.
Helvetia is back with the charmingly lo-fi This Devastating Map. The solo project of Jason Albertini, an original member of Duster and former bass player for Built to Spill, each release from Helvetia manages to sound different from the last, yet usually sits within a common realm: fuzzy, home recorded psych-pop music.
Take our word for it, Leeds’ Blacklisters are the best noise rock band on the planet. We’re only a week away from the release of their third full length album, Fantastic Man, their first new LP in five years. The band continue their masterful approach at remaining willingly off the rails, but they do it with menace void of machismo, aiming just about all their efforts at showing just how dumb being tough looks.
Endless Space (Between You & I) is entirely a record of its own, suffused with a purity that only true dream pop can provide. Everything is ethereal (unsurprising from the person who released an EP titled Ethereality in 2018) and the songs never cease to sparkle, awash as they are in technicolor reverie.
