Over four full-lengths, Young Jesus have built up a modus operandi of terse tracklists, extended instrumental workouts and satisfying buildups. It’s a formula that served their previous releases well, and Beach doesn’t deviate far from it. Post- and math-rock influences also remain but this record floats and soars with a newfound lightness.
As is often the case with a third album, the production levels have been raised. The sounds of Flower Of Devotion are glossier and crisper, the raw qualities of their indie-rock both softened and rounded. The new lushness will be more inviting to the casual listener but the basic premise of Dehd’s music is kept to satiate long-time followers.
Vicious Nonbeliever, the newest release from Mal Devisa, is a natural extension of her previous efforts from a few years ago. By pairing up with DJ LUCAS, Devisa fully hones in her vocals, creating some of her best work to date. It’s really the turn of phrases that make Vicious Nonbeliever hard to escape or ignore.
The mutant manifestations of Jordan Sobolew are all played live, contorting sounds into triggered noise and mangled industrial fury since 2014. After several EPs, the wait for Reptoid’s full length debut is nearly over with the release of Worship False Gods due out August 28th via Learning Curve Records.
Long Lost Solace Find falls within the domain of exceptionality. By being the work of a singer-songwriter connected to the world of folk, its incredibly detached from the very schemes of genre. The first work of courage is in telling, in a folk key, not the stereotype of the forest or inner peace, but rather the urban fabric of a city.
“I’ve Got A Vision,” the record’s second single was released last week for everyone’s favorite new holiday, Bandcamp Friday, and we’re excited to share the song’s accompanying video. Directed and edited by Chelsea Wright, the clip takes a serene trip though the open spaces and friendly moments Missouri has to offer.
This split EP is a brief, yet precise combination of two complementary worlds, despite being continents and languages apart. You must have heard that music is a “universal language” and you’re probably aware that long distance collabs between bands are not that rare in this time. Esmeralda fuses both notions and the result sounds awesome.
Fad may remind you of a whole host of post-punk/indie rock bands, but it won’t be easy to pinpoint exactly who and when. It’s how Silverbacks take these influences, cut them to pieces, and put them back together again that makes Fad such an impressive collage and an especially exciting debut record.
The music of Powerwasher is snarling, frantic, and uncontainable. Hailing from Baltimore and Atlanta, the band’s debut album The Power of Positive Washing is anxiety-inducing in the best way possible. The songs ooze style and melody, and the band’s use of odd time signatures and neck-jerking transitions keeps you on your toes.
There’s a repeated line in W.B. Yeats’ poem ‘Easter 1916’: A terrible beauty is born. This devastating line could describe the feeling of listening to Joy Division’s Closer for the first time. It’s a colossal work of art; a post-punk pillar; an ingenious sonic landscape; a blinding existential vision of songwriting.
Austin, TX’s Spirit Ghost have a new EP along the way, but before the band get there they’re sharing some new singles, the first of which being “Matt Demon.” Comprised of Alex Whitelaw, Tim Zoidis, and Billy Hickey, they’re following up 2018’s Skeleton Surf Rider with a batch of recordings produced by Holiday Music’s Mike Hlady.
Just Look At That Sky, the sophomore full-length from Chicago’s Ganser, is the sound of summer. Maybe not in the traditional sense of friendly fun in the sun, but as it builds on their penchant for dark, pulsing atmospherics and razor-sharp attitude, it captures the feel of a summer under lockdown and a post-punk band at their most dialed-in.
