Kenny Becker remade Goon with new members and recorded Paint By Numbers, Vol. 1, their most cohesive release to date. Made in the style of early Goon – on a tape machine in Becker’s apartment and their rehearsal space – PBN1 may harken back to Goon’s developmental phase in spirit, but the songs are forward-thinking.
Aside from the album’s stand-out singles, “Parricide is Painless” is another highlight, on an album that’s spoiled with them. The song opens with a slinky bass and clipped snares, the entire atmosphere given a Lynchian lounge treatment. The video, directed by Alexandra Millen, sits somewhere between surrealism and dread.
Poorly Drawn House are a trio from Spartanburg, South Carolina that create an intricate blend of slowcore and post-rock, with lush dynamics and creeping tension. Out now via Candlepin Records, Poorly Drawn House were kind enough to share some of the influences that lead to Home Doesn’t Have Four Walls with us.
It’s been almost three years since the Brooklyn electronic trio released their second LP, Duo Duo—the strongest expression of the group’s krautrock, art-pop and occasionally post-punk sensibilities thus far. Deep Break is three songs long, which according to the band’s Twitter were taken from an aborted full-length album.
Curtis Godino is sort of both mastermind and middleman here, as the album is billed in the form of Curtis Godino presents The Midnight Wishers. Although full of Godino and Kramer's touches, it’s The Midnight Wishers who act as the medium to present the ideas of transporting the sound of iconic girl groups into the left-field modern age.
To commence 2022, Feeble Little Horse have released an expanded reissue of Modern Tourism via Crafted Sounds. The new ten track EP features all the original material, unreleased demos, and a My Bloody Valentine cover. Here, Feeble Little Horse and label-mates Gaadge share covers of each other’s songs.
Archive Material is a tidy 38 minute grab bag of influences that ultimately adds up to something unique. For a relatively short album, the individual songs often feel longer in the best way possible. In the landscape of dour post-punk, it’s nice to have a band stop by, roll down the windows every now and then, and let some sunshine in.
“Shot Down” is the album’s second single, a rapid fire blast of feedback riddled psych-pop. Despite the song’s hurried tempo, this one feels like classic jangle pop at its core, reminiscent of a grittier version of the band’s noted influences, The Shop Assistants and Black Tambourine in the sing-song melody.
Sonny Falls is back with the first single from their just announced full length Stoned, Beethoven Blasting. “Wringing Out My Brain” is the first preview from the Chicago-based project led by Ryan “Hoagie Wesley” Ensley. Written after nine months of no-gigs-a-go-go, “Wringing” is an impulsive celebration of collaborative creativity.
After having all of their loose material gathered on Thankology, we finally get Leeds’ best noise rock band Thank’s debut album, Thoughtless Cruelty. This is a record that is meant to be played as loud as possible, an album that is filled with clever lyrics, a clear nihilistic view of the world, and pounding instrumentals.
Hex Sign, the debut album from Ann Arbor via Nashville’s Brianna Bartelt aka Bri Barte has been a long time coming, but the album has a sense of nuance and grace far beyond your typical debut. WIth influences that include legends PJ Harvey, Fiona Apple, Björk, and Cat Power, the collective strengths are channelled throughout.
Big Thief are some of the only artists right now whose mission runs entirely counter to the world we live in. Their music leaves behind cities, machines, and rigid rhythms, where most of even our best music these days seems intent on replacing the sounds of human beings with a false mechanical magnificence.
