Take two men named John, a drum kit and a guitar and you’ve got the makings of a powerful, noisy new record, Nocturnal Manoeuvres. The eponymous JOHN hail from the UK and have channeled a brooding and primal sound on their third full-length album. Like the title suggests, the vibe is dark throughout the album’s ten tracks.
The band claims many influences from the 1960s and 70s, such as Alice Coltrane and Art Ensemble of Chicago, and most listeners can detect echoes of Stereolab and Broadcast. However much Vanishing Twin honors the past, Ookii Gekkou swirls these genres into something else ever-changing, as we would hope music in the future would.
Everything about Troper’s style is designed to deceive and confound; it’s difficult to take what he sings about at face value but, in all honesty, that’s where the fun lies. Consider that he named his latest album Dilettante, a word which means, “A person with an amateur interest in the arts without real knowledge.”
The densely layered album features a host of key collaborations from artists that Nikolas Soelter has worked with over the years, featuring production from Melina Duterte (Jay Som) and various instrumental and vocal contributions from like-minded artists like Taylor Vick, Chris Adams, and Pascal Stevenson.
The four songs come from the Emphatically No writing sessions, culled when the band wanted to create a good flow for the full-length. There might not be anything as mesmerizing as ‘“Listen to Your Heart.” “No.”’ but that’s not to say there’s no charm to be found in the B-sides; charm is something that comes to Cheekface effortlessly.
Silt feels every bit as introspective as Ben Curratto’s former collective, Cold Clod, and yet dials up the heaviness while retaining a sort of woodsy good nature. Recorded together with Jesse Moy (formerly of Giants) on drums, the duo have been working out their first batch of songs, with “This Feeling” marking their official debut.
While Audio Drag is not a perfect distillation of their live act, Gustaf’s debut is still great fun as the band leans on its storytelling ability to explore the various anxieties, desires, and fears of the titular "ego slob." Lydia Gammill gladly makes herself the joke, inhabiting a narcissistic narrator that is both self-absorbed and needy.
Taking Radar b/w Loose Cricket, due out October 29th via Chunklet (Man or Astro-Man?, Honey Radar, Spodee Boy), comes with the resilience and technicality of Unwound in their youth, built on dynamics and tension. It doesn’t even need to be said that the band are in their teens, but it does make it all the more impressive.
Styrofoam Winos is a shimmering quilt of folk, rock, post-punk, soul, pop, and country, stitched together by three incredibly strong and worth-listening-to Nashville singer-songwriters: Lou Turner, Trevor Nikrant, and Joe Kenkel. These are incredibly versatile, never in danger of sounding bland, never at risk of repeating themselves.
Chicago’s Courtesy have been doing their own thing for a decade now, making indie rock that’s both electronic and experimental, but also draws from key elements of lo-fi production and slacker punk songwriting. The band return with their latest full length, Check The Milk, due out November 19th via Seasick Records.
The Aisles EP finds Olsen journeying away from her usual songwriting and into the world of covers. Specifically, it features covers of songs from the 1980s: everyone’s favorite mullet and big sleeve decade. Everything from the songs chosen to cover art—which features Olsen sporting a mullet and bright blue eyeshadow—oozes 80s nostalgia.
