What is that accent? Northern English, Scottish, Welsh or Irish? Actually, it’s Greek.
The myth of teenagers being only interested in American Idol, Disney princesses, etc. gets further dispelled by the arrival on the international scene of this cracking young Irish quartet.
Hailing from London, Cosines offer a brief glimpse into their multifaceted repertoire with two songs that could come from two different bands.
Having begun his musical career as a piano and harpsichord tuner for the likes of La Monte Young and Glenn Gould, Rhys Chatham went on to create his own style of avant-garde composition, blending minimalism, punk rock and his studies under electronic composer Morton Subotnick into a single unique vision.
And now for the filthy side of the Athens, GA music scene.
Sophie Cooper comes from Stoke on Trent, but now lives in Todmorden, West Yorkshire.
As well as writing for Mojo, The Wire and Quietus, Brighton’s Joseph Stannard is known in the UK for organizing The Outer Church, a recurring event that brings together experimental electronic musicians and underground filmmakers.
When searching for engaging, consistent, emotional American noise, we need not look further than Southern California’s +DOG+, whose body of work remains unpredictable and unapologetic.
Over the past 30 years, Kazuyuki Kishino has made his name in the Japanese experimental rock scene in bands such as Zeni Geva, Absolut Null Punkt and YBO2, as well as releasing a steady stream of noise releases establishing him as the reigning prince of Japanese noise, second only to Merzbow.
Alcest is one of the original progenitors of metalgaze, that conceptually curious but practically successful hybrid of heavy metal and dreampop.
Unafraid to do their own thing, or even add influences from other genres, Oakes & Smith have created a fine album with influences of 60s and 70s folk icons like Paul Simon and Cat Stevens clearly shining through.
Edward Giles, aka Ed Nervo, has made noise in Final Solution, Eckankore, Caveat Emptor, DDDD, +DOG+ and Home Audience, to name a few.
As Early Songs proves, Pola’s headphone music was pacifying and pleasing right from the get-go.
In Pennsylvanian folklore, the Albatwitch is a small Sasquatch-like, apple-loving creature rarely seen around Chickie’s Rock on the outskirts of Columbia, PA.
Vancouver-based indie pop quartet, Lakefield, is calling it a day. After five years and only one full-length album, the band is closing the book with their final release, the aptly titled EP, Swan Songs.
With an album title like Progtronica, it definitely seems like Gumshen is trying to invent a new genre, and they certainly attempt it here.
This new EP from Portland, OR folk-rocker Marble is centered around a song from his 2012 third LP Where the Knives Meet Between the Rows.
Howe’s strong voice and her smart, personal sense of lyricism, make her one of the greatest and most exciting musicians in country music today.
Who’s going to pick up the mantle of contemporary Mississippi blues? If Sabougla Voices is any indication, it’s Leo Welch.
The Plum Magnetic explores every aspect and type of jam band from jazz freestyle to the psych-folk of the Grateful Dead and the prog of Yes.
A 150 year old band featuring members of groups like Indigo Girls, the New Mongrels are set to release their first album in over fifteen years.
This lo-fi holiday EP makes for a pleasant soundtrack to your next blanket-draped, cider-sipping wintry evening in front of the fire.
Guitarist Patrick Higgins is perhaps best known for his work in Zs, though, on his own, he is an accomplished modern classical composer with several opuses to his name.
Gary Lucas has collaborated with Captain Beefheart, Lou Reed, Nick Cave and David Johansen, to name a few, though his true passion has always been film soundtracks, an obsession that eventually allowed him to compose some of his own scores.
The Escape has a deeper, more dynamic full band sound, while still retaining all of their debut LP’s spacious, sweeping, and snowpeak-scaling folk-rock beauty.
The ever-mysterious Martin Jenkins, aka Pye Corner Audio, reemerges under a new name with a series of ambient sonic textures that are as firm as they are fluid.
Including every song from the Ghost Stories EP, Monks of Mellonwah offers more of the same great rock, and they certainly have expanded and more fully defined their sound from their first releases.
Whereas other folk revivalists are content with creating empty anthems disguised with acoustic guitars, Matthews is the real thing, intent on making you think and carving his own path.
Occasionally, Morrone drifts towards the love-it-or-hate-it humdrum of Jack Johnson, but there are enough interesting ideas that this will end up being the perfect music to play to your mother.
The appeal of Summer’s vocals lie not in power or over-doing it, but instead, restraint and inflection. Every word, every syllable is carefully considered, and the result is full of emotion.
On their debut full-length, this Austin, TX quintet bombards you with spacious, stratosphere-scraping keyboards and crescendoing cloudbursts of guitars.
When free jazz met the moshpit, Shining Wizard was born, it’s a powerful first offering by two musicians ascending to the peaks of their wizardly powers, perfectly in step.
“God’s Dream” would not be out of place on a Pale Saints album, but it stands on its own as a classic slab of ‘gaze.
Beach blends folk, alt-country, noise-rock, and post-punk in almost equal measure, never fully succumbing to one style.
In summary, I have a feeling I’ll be listening to this one year-round as this is not just a holiday novelty record.
This Chicago trio jettisons the harsh ‘n’ heavy rock/post-punk that dominated 2012’s Separation Anxiety, in favor of a more subdued approach.
Elliott’s been continually perfecting her craft since her 2007 debut, and it pays dividends on this sumptuous, beautifully produced five-songer.
This is no mere coffee table book. While there are plenty of pictures, there is also a good amount of substance with autobiographical info, recording details, and a complete gigography.
Known primarily as half of Dead Fader, Berlin via Brighton’s John Cohen strikes out on his own with his debut full-length, a haunting collection of dark sonic textures, sinister beats and rhythmic noises that is as soothing as it is disquieting.
Other than a general sense of fun that is communicated through the grooves, what also makes this such a great listen is Ali’s hook-filled songwriting.
Gypsy Pervert is an album beautifully laid-bare and rings of a purity almost unheard of today. Mannequin Pussy is the reason to be excited about music not only coming out of NYC, but anywhere.
Wyatt Parkins has a knack for finding artists whose music stretches across the sonic palette, and this is a compilation of many colors.
Glasgow’s ultra-prolific improvisational multi-instrumentalist, Richard Youngs, has collaborated with the likes of Jandek and Matthew Bower while making a name for himself as a solo artist.
For all the Castlevania fans, New York’s Ghost & Goblin deliver a debut that could have come from the mind of Simon Belmont himself.
The smoothly ominous bass lines will suck you straight in, as witnessed by the deceptively dreamy “Milk and Honey”.
Live sheds favorable light on an unfairly overlooked band, and makes its case as EK3’s ultimate document.
This unconventional, left-of-center Cleveland duo release an elaborate, freeform 22-minute single.
Soft makes the case for the theatrical/visual group’s music as equally compelling home listening, too.
Omnivore has been good to fans of 90s alternative pop princes Jellyfish. While last year’s Stack-a-Tracks explored the band’s instinct for lush and psychedelic pop arrangements, Radio Jellyfish presents the essence of the band.
