Forever Honey understands the importance of personal reflection. On Pre-Mortem High, the band explores the relationships we have with each other and with ourselves, through catchy dream pop and jangly 80s new wave anthems. The band have turned the coming-of-age anxiety we feel in our 20s into music that’s brimming with life.
Nothing about Macula Dog has ever screamed pop. Imagine mutants soundtracking their life in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, and you can approximate the territory Macula Dog covers. Their live shows only add to this image, with elaborate video setups and/or lifesize puppets. Yet, with the new EP Breezy, they seem to be making pop moves.
The phrase “I need you, need something new,” is interwoven through the entirety of BRAT, the latest album from Chicago multi-instrumentalist NNAMDÏ. It is a mantra that signifies the central tension explored through the album’s colorful 42 minutes—the question of what was and what will be and the difficult decision of accepting change and growth.
Blood is a septet from Austin, TX who have cemented themselves as a live staple in their own prospective scene as well as abroad, with two national tours under their belts. Their shows are dynamically rich and cathartic, which translates wholly into their debut EP, Why Wait Till ’55, We Might Not Even Be Alive.
Aaron Maine is never anything but himself in his music. Under the Porches moniker, he’s been releasing albums infused with all of the ecstasy and ache of being in and out of love. Ricky Music is no different, an at times erratic, fragmented and chaotic listen - heartbreak is always messy, though, so it shouldn’t sound any other way.
CLAMM was initially meant as a mere exercise to work on a heavier sound than their other outfits afforded. Such was the success of the experimentation, however, that we now have one of the strongest recent records to come from Melbourne in Beseech Me. It’s heavy, certainly, but underpinned by a steadfast thoughtfulness.
With NYC’s powerful punk group Pinocchio, the mission seems to be providing an intentional chasm of disorder alongside its almost instantaneous withdrawal. Fuzzy guitars thrashing across booming kicks and tom hits yield to surprising seconds of silence; it is these contrasts that prove their meticulous and thoughtful musicianship.
True to the nature of self-titled albums, Ringo Deathstarr condenses everything special about the shoegaze purveyors into one complete package, but it also feels like a self-conscious look back at where they’ve come since. It may not bear the visceral punch of their earlier material, but it feels more esoteric, more open to other influences.
Blending subtle vocal melodies with droning guitar static, and upping the songwriting by creating wholly-complete though still intoxicatingly-short ballads, the band’s latest full-length LP Gifts of Consciousness displays Sorespot’s growth and illuminates the potential for the four-piece to become a mantel in the hallowed walls of indie rock.
Now on his fourth album, Embarrassed Landscape, Edwin Stevens is using tension and release as his plaything on an LP that flits between murky angst and heart-wrenching sensitivity. The Welsh-born Glasgow-residing musician has taken the diverse range of ideas from his previous work and raised the bar for the lo-fi psych-rock genre.
Pith is the third full length from Chicago-based noise punk quartet Melkbelly, a barrage of hook filled knottiness with a bit more development and breadth. There is a sort of cautious sweetness on Pith to temper the causticism without stripping it entirely, as the production allows the songs to fully blossom and reach maximum impact.
The talented three-piece based out of Brooklyn, NY released Everything Rots That Is Rotten in June via Corpse Flower Records. The EP fits nicely into their macabre discography. The project, available digitally, is only about seventeen minutes long but chock full of introspective lyrics and avant-garde rock instrumentation.
Nap Eyes have been releasing under the radar masterpieces for the past half a decade. Starting in 2014, they’ve been steadily growing their following in the indie world with each new release. Snapshot of a Beginner, the first album where they’ve worked with guitarist extraordinaire James Elkington, is poised to be their biggest album yet.
