Melbourne’s Heir Traffic make brooding post-punk reminiscent of hometown legends The Birthday Party and The Drones, combing a sinister sense of gothic folk into the well-crafted dissonance. They’ve shared a pair of singles since forming back in 2019, but this year marks their full length debut, No Hearth, out 8/26 via Marthouse Records
Mushfoot arrive like “a rose from the concrete,” a band making beautiful music out of harsh production and thickly layered noise pop. Comprised of Greg Albert (The Rainbows, Spite FUXXX), Katie Vogel, and Ian Davis, what began as demos eventually became Time Before Land, the band’s debut album, out September 30th via Moone Records.
Alayne May’s exceptional songwriting is in revelatory form and if the singles are any indications, this record is shaping up to be real special. No doubt a choice cut, “Beast” contains a chorus boasting an inescapable hook where May’s twangy vocal intonations and moving chord progression propel the song into ear worm territory.
Primitive Man’s latest release, the EP Insurmountable, builds on their brutal foundation over four tracks spread out over forty minutes. At no point does the EP prove to be an easy listen, but inflections of groove and harmony offer a little bait-and-switch that leads listeners right back into the pit of chaos that the band curates so well.
The teenage band, part of the same burgeoning scene as Horsegirl, play with an adventurous sense of volume, tonality, and the kind of raw musical insight that drove the catalogs of legends like Fugazi and Unwound. Lifeguard chase their own tangents, digging between post-hardcore dexterity and the refined sense of post-punk precision.
No band to play with, no audience to play for, and the weight of so much change in so little time, Katie Alice Greer began a project that would become her first solo album, Barbarism - writing, performing, producing, and mixing an entire record herself, building something that could expose who she is creatively when no one else is looking.
Sophie Weil’s solo project is rooted in stark minimalism, but where her previous album embraced an almost ambient/drone approach, she’s pulled away on upcoming album The Code. Due out 8/19 via Post Present Medium, Syko Friend’s latest favors skeletal string performances, focusing on both acoustic and electric compositions.
Kieres Agua is straightforward enough to speak volumes about its intent. These songs feel like individual statements, a series of "installations" that you can spin through while grappling with how the record at-large will land within your life. Not every path is as interesting, but it helps you explore your biases and favorites in a way that all great art should.
Philly/NYC five piece The Human Fly are gearing up to release their third studio album Thrill of Living on August 5 via the always reliable Dead Definition. While it feels like Robert Mathis is the primary songwriter, The Human Fly is very much a band and Thrill of Living is their tightest and most ambitious project yet.
Me You Us Them are starting anew, set to follow 2010’s Post-Data with new album, Sound Confirms. The band have been working on and off over the past decade, which included a break-up after the initial sessions. They couldn’t stay away though, and persisted in building on their shoegaze, post-hardcore, and 90’s “space rock” influences.
On Soul Chateau, Dimples’ often defines the experience of looking at natural phenomenons. The songs dip listeners into a blue pool of vibration, guitar twangs and a creeping beat. Where “the night is young and the road bends,” Dimples’ psychedelic obscure-rock compositions give dusty and warbling landscapes.
We present our “Mid-Year Report," a comprehensive guide to our favorite releases of the first half of this year, without any pre-determined length or insignificant rankings. If we’re into it, we're including it (unless we plumb forgot it or just haven’t spent enough time with it… which happens, in which case our sincerest of apologies).
Sled Island was back this year, taking place June 22nd through the 26th. The festival takes place in downtown Calgary, Alberta over five days at a bunch of different venues throughout the city, featuring over 200 artists in rock, hip-hop, and experimental music. Post-Trash’s Matt Watton reported on some of the best acts he saw.
This year marks the return of Eerie Wanda, but like much of her career to date, Marina Tadic is once again taking a shift in her sound. Internal Radio, due out 9/23 via Joyful Noise Recordings, pulls away some of the buoyancy and breeziness of her past work, instead opting for something shadowier, with heavy keys and smoky atmospherics.
