Teesside, England’s Blitzkrieg Bop may have only lasted from February 1977 to February 1979, but they perfectly captured the essence of late ’70s UK punk during their brief existence.
Unassuming yet full of charm, This Book Belongs To is out August 25th, and without a doubt worth getting acquainted with.
Not to detract from their previous work, but the fourth full-length from Cantù, Italy’s Faz Waltz finds the trio fully hitting their stride.
Grumsling is a group of indie rockers from the Oakland area, and have just released their new EP __A Church, On a Boat, In the Sea,_ a follow up to last year’s Full Coverage.
“There is a very attractive pop sensibility about this group, who know when to rein in the pyrotechnics and deliver blissfully sweet harmonies over catchy riffs.”
After recovering from a spinal cord injury that left him for a time paralyzed, he is back with his new solo album, Love, Lust, and Genocide, which is imbued with a sense of spirituality inspired by his struggle.
On October 25th, 2014, Instagon came together for their six-hundred-and-sixty-sixth live performance, which proved to be quite a magical night of music.
“Everyone will hear something different in these grooves, from Tame Impala over to Pink Floyd, but no matter, this young band will not disappoint. Catch them while they’re still playing smaller clubs.”
In 1962, audio archivist, Alan Lomax, brought daughter, Anna (now head of the Alan Lomax Archives/Association For Cultural Equity), to the Caribbean island of Carriacou, Grenada, where he spent five days documenting the sound of the unique culture surrounding them.
Chicago’s Matthew Santos has the kind of voice that stands out immediately and exists only a few times a generation.
If you’re a fan of ambient dream pop in general, you’ll adore All Burn. Every element of it is pristine, poignant, and poised, basking its forlorn melodies and harmonies in glistening regality.
Veteran punk bassist, Steve Fishman (Bent, The Deadbeats, DFO, The Playboys) showcases his numerous current projects on an eclectic compilation that spans from glam to noise rock.
DELTA DEEP is Collen’s mission to bring blues music closer to its roots, and although the music feels newer and modern, it’s raw and emotionally powerful, and the lyrics remain tried and true to blues’ origins.
“Pastoral it is, especially on opening track “On The Swings”, which is a perfect little slice of summer about that unattainable woman.”
“Another stellar release from Ear to Ear Records, this double A-side single from Cambridge, England’s Tape Runs Out defies easy categorization. Imagine if you mixed ambient music with wispy dream pop, and you’ll start to get an idea.”
Chronicling an odyssey across the highest mountains and darkest valleys of American music, 9 to 3 sounds like a love letter from Mathur to all of his favorite musicians.
Ghosts of the West is an imaginative and bold creation, proving yet again that covering songs can be not only a channel for self-expression, but an art form in itself.
Genre fans may find flashier or heavier albums this year, but there’s little doubt that Everlasting Instant will rank as one of 2015’s most beautiful, tasteful, and timeless progressive rock albums.
In an homage to the live double album movement of the ’70s, Sacramento, CA noisician, Bob Scott, aka Xome, celebrates over twenty-five years of deconstructing sound with an epic live collection compiling performances from the past decade.
With a sound influenced by hip hop but stylistically closer to folk, the band isn’t entirely dissimilar to early-era Beck.
Newcomers to and admirers of Jansch will be elated with_Live at the 12 Bar_. It’s a benevolent document of the man and the tremendous powers he possessed, even later in his career.
Bachman’s newest, River, is where all the labor he’s put into his work thus far, pays off and focalizes onto one singular piece of wax.
Upstate New York’s cryptic Black Dirt Oak team up with Brooklyn’s mysterious Jantar for a split release of shadowy, spiritual magic.
South Korean-based psychedelic folk ex-pats, Language of Shapes, fully realize their sound with an EP containing three re-recordings and one new track.
Influenced by neopsychedelica and shoegaze, their lo-fi sound is based less on actual definable instruments and traditional melodies or rhythms than textures, emotions, and sensations.
Bedroom Hong Kong hip-hop producer, Little Albert, drops an EP that shows just how far around the world the genre has reached.
Songs From Suicide Bridge is not just a record for collectors. It’s an album for anyone who’s put their heart and soul into something, to see it crash and burn.
Single Drops_ is a great introduction for any newcomer of Luca Bash’s music, and will only serve as an excuse to delve further into his discography.
By no means something to put on the background and forget, Own Your Ocean is an enthralling and beautiful sucker punch straight to the gut.
Carnation (Sub Pop 2015) finds Daughn Gibson walking boldly out of the swinging doors of the saloon and into the neon new wave of the city.The transition isn’t seamless, but the singer sounds confident and relaxed.
The sound is rawer and harder than before, and there’s less of a focus on soulful melodies here than just pure grooves.
Much like 2013’s Electric, Still gives Thompson new context and the freedom he needs to continue chasing the muse.
Mirage is a bold and admirable attempt at a modern rock opera, and for the most part it succeeds magnificently.
Magnetoception is Earth music. It doesn’t have a specific locale or grab from easily accessed niche genres. It is music that is living, persisting and actively developing: it’s also one of the best albums of 2015.
Beyond cementing the idea that a lone musician can craft wonderfully emotional, colorful, and resourceful art, Olive Skinned, Silver Tongued Sirens Sing Swan Songs further demonstrates that much of the most original and impactful music of today is being made under the radar, without the financial backing, mainstream publicity, or pop culture power of many severely inferior acts.
This EP is the story of a narrator who remains cautiously optimistic in spite of everything he has seen and been through.
Melbourne, Australia’s Pale Heads, comprised of members of Batpiss, The Nation Blue and former members of The Drones and Pairs, e.g., drummer Xiao Zhong aka Rhys, erupt with a noisy debut borne from Australian angst.
New York hardcore newcomers, CHUD, make their debut with a blistering eight-song EP that goes straight for the jugular with the confidence of a puma.
Twenty-seven years after its initial 1988 release on Virgin, the lone studio album by Last Exit, the free jazz supergroup comprised of guitarist Sonny Sharrock, saxophonist Peter Brötzmann, bassist/producer Bill Laswell and drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson, emerges from history to influence a new generation of improvisation enthusiasts.
“For those familiar with the band’s majestic debut, you will be extremely happy with the gorgeous layers of lush dream pop (the phenomenal “No Happy Day”) contained herein. Think Cocteau Twins and Slowdive for a start, but expect the band’s shimmering, original take on this heavily mined genre.
Baltimore-via-Chicago duo, Wume, expand further into the universe with a second release of hypnotic “kosmische musik.”
A London trio mine some of punk’s greatest heroes in this debut LP.
The Underground Railroad to Candyland is a gloriously democratic, technicolor chaos machine.
““Diamond Girl” is my favorite track on the EP, maybe because it reminds me of what Engineers would sound like from a post rock perspective. It is a tripped out masterpiece with all the cool fx you can imagine, shoegaze with a prog sheen to it.
Bassist Dana Schechter (Bee and Flower, Angels of Light) delivers a powerful debut full-length as Insect Ark, her one-woman experimental doom project.
“Wow, what a treat! A split EP from two of my favorite psych bands, timed for release with the change into full summer. The EP title is fitting, as are track names from “dawn” to “meadowsweet” to “sunshine in my head”. Everything is lowercase, from the band names to song titles, but the music is UPPERCASE with a bang!”
“England’s Presents for Sally is reassuringly great whenever they find the time to release music.”
