Sad Cactus’ next release is an exceptionally great split between NYC’s Gorgeous and Hadley, MA’s EIEIEIO (mems of Maxshh, Tundrastomper, Wishbone Zoe, etc), due out this Friday July 16th. The record is quick and experimental, pushing their art punk, post-hardcore, and freaked out indie rock toward something truly unhinged.
In a Vermont town that even Joe Biden wouldn’t be able to locate on a map, lives a hermit who has released over 35 albums in ten years, including an undecuple on Youtube. Chris Weisman is a great songwriter, jazz musician, conceptual artist and the only person in the world who has really taken seriously the lo-fi dogma.
The catchy songwriting of Gash was on full display with their 2018 album haha and while it comes into play in moments on Leftern, it feels like less a focus on individual songs and more on the album as a whole. The record rewards repeat listening, with different aspects of the band’s writing revealing itself with each subsequent listen.
Jason Albertini’s latest Helvetia album, Essential Aliens, is a masterclass on how lo-fi recording at home can be a vehicle to showcasing a vision of unavoidable, but captivating quirks and laconic storytelling. That story is one of a recurring dream Albertini had wherein his life is upended by ghosts.
North Carolina’s Wednesday are set to return with their next proper album, the excellent Twin Plagues. Due out August 13th via Orindal Records (Lisa/Liza, Karima Walker, TJO), the band’s sophomore effort expands on the sounds and themes of their debut, but stretches out in territory the band have not previously explored.
Open For Business, the latest from Baltimore-via-Australia’s Smoke Bellow, is that kind of record that makes you want to stop everything and listen with undivided attention. Their sound can be described as minimalist, but the record is far from sparse as they weave and loop melodies into psych, post-punk, dream pop and kosmiche exploration.
Sydney’s Shrapnel has come a long way since 2013. In the intervening eight years, he’s consistently nourished the project with an expanded lineup and on Alasitas, their latest album, there’s now six members throwing everything at it, including a flute, a synth, and clarinet to embellish the trusty guitars, and it gives the record a renewed lush feel.
New York City’s Snakeskin is set to follow up their incredible 2019 effort, Hangnail, with a new EP, Heart Orb Bone. Due out on July 13th via State Champion Records, the release is part of a trio of picture discs with custom screen printed art that also includes new EPs from Noun (aka Marissa Paternoster of Screaming Females) and TVO.
In 2009, four Japanese women met in Brooklyn and decided that they really wanted to start a band. Master Cat is their third album and a remarkably strong one considering none of them were musicians beforehand. It does mean that the songs in Master Cat are raw and real but they carry them all with an underlying intelligence of craft and ambition.
Following a full length and a two song single last year, Lane return with If You Say, a new EP that pushes further toward their experimental side. The band, comprised of Wes Kaplan (The Channels) and Jesse Weiss (Pet Fox), describe the sound of their latest EP as “polyrhythmic hyper pop shoegaze,” as fitting as anything else we’d call it.
Slowcore has always been the perfect music for feeling sad. A genre that allows you to ruminate in your emotions and all that is going on. On their self-titled debut, St. Louis band Sinwat shows that this has not changed. What they have created are nine songs that all capture the feeling that the best slowcore has always been able to convey.
The time to catch up on the unabridged Post-Trash “Mid-Year Report” has come, with releases big and small - albums that went under the radar, the hidden gems, and the essential records from the past six months. This is our semi-comprehensive guide to our favorite releases of the year so far without a pre-determined length.
Planet (i) swiftly follows Squirrel Flower’s debut, and offers an even further improvement in voice, production, and style. The reoccurring lyrical themes, the diverse yet consistently focused sonic palette, and some of the most well written songs in the Squirrel Flower catalogue proves this to be their strongest statement to date.
Philadelphia’s Psychic Flowers keep pushing forward. Led by David Settle, the band have been continuously upping the ante and they continue to do so on the upcoming For The Undertow. Due out July 30th via Living Lost and RIP Records, the LP was recorded with Leo Suarez on drums and mixed/mastered by Justin Pizzoferatto.
Sweet Williams occupies a unique space, taking influence from sludge, noise rock and following in the tradition of bands like Unwound and Lungfish. They have found a sweet spot. Though it’s tempting at times to compare them to one band or another, it’s clear that What’s Wrong With You defies any attempts at labelling this band.
Mia Berrin, with a blistering attitude and personal freedom indebted to self-discovery, establishes herself as a songwriter of raw pathos. The kind where every plucked string is a “fuck you.” The kind where snark and melodrama are cherished tenets of a sound and style. The kind that’s so fundamentally queer, it’s inspiring.
