Here’s a fascinating new project for fans of Talk Talk and Mark Hollis. Seven musicians who were involved in the Talk Talk albums Spirit of Eden, Laughing Stock and Hollis’ solo LP have come together as Held By Trees, led by producer/composer David Joseph. They approached the recording in a similar way as they did under Hollis – emphasising spontaneous improvisation and keeping the best … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Held By Trees – In The Trees
Drongo is an eight-piece band from Oslo, Norway, playing music belonging somewhere between Krautrock, techno, afrobeat and math rock. The band’s line-up includes a drummer, one percussionist, one bassist, two guitarists and three keyboardists. ‘Neshorn’ is from the band’s debut album 1, that was released on April 16th. It swings with a primitive Krautrock repetitive intensity, gathering steam as it charges forth, all fractured, worn … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Drongo – Neshorn
Ambient / post-rock / drone / soundtrack / soundscape There’s a beautifully ponderous lumber and sway to this new post-rock track from the Toronto, Canada artist Alaskan Tapes (Brady Kendall). The lulls and gentle washing peaks are perfectly paced and giving a sense of movement that carries the listener through an emotionally melancholic six minutes. What I like is that the piece never gets heavy … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Alaskan Tapes – The Sky Sings Its Chorus (For Us Alone) [Pt. 1]
Perth, WA quintet Mt. Mountain released their new album Centre last week and earlier this year this great clip for the record’s second single ‘Peregrination’ was posted on YouTube. It shows the slow-build mastery of dynamics and interplay that the band have built into their music. Elements of post-rock, stoner, psych, Krautrock and more. They all intertwine and combine to form a wonderfully immersive and … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Mt. Mountain – Peregrination (Official Video)
We’ve always been partial to the music of The Notwist, the way they blend those beautiful sad-eyed vocal melodies with post-rock intricacy and krautrock rhythms. They exist in that sweet spot between song craft and experimental composition, always inventive and beguiling in their art-pop explorations. ‘Sans Soleil’ comes from the band’s first album in seven years, Vertigo Days, out January 29th on Morr Music. Continue reading NEW MUSIC: The Notwist – Sans Soleil
There hasn’t been a lot of heavy music this year that has moved us and it was a refreshing surprise when we came across this track from instrumental Irish group A Burial At Sea. It’s post rock at the metallic end of the spectrum where changes happen in an instant amid the guitar crunch and clever drumming. What makes these guys standout from many other … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: A Burial At Sea – Nice From Afar, Far From Nice
‘Dear Liars’ is a new track from Melbourne post-rock duo Champion Motorist. Andrew McLaughlin (guitar & synths) and Paul Shea (drums) are clearly at the atmospheric post-metal end of the post-rock spectrum and this track, from their new EP Slight Return, travels a magnificent arc from the scene-setting tension and slow build dynamics through to the four minute mark, where that dissipates into the aether before … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Champion Motorist – Dear Liars
Pascal Schumacher is a Luxembourgan composer and vibraphone player who’s built up an impressive resume playing with quartets through to orchestras. This new release comes from an EP Tropismes (The Mudam Session) where he performed at Mudam, the contemporary art museum in Luxembourg, and you get a real sense of how he operates at the nexus of classical and minimal electronic composition. The lightness and … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Pascal Schumacher – Prelude To Robert M
Let’s kick off the new week with some really nice post-rock sounds out of Kirikiriroa (Hamilton) in New Zealand. If you dig the type of music created by Mogwai and Jakob then this will be your kind of thing. ‘Ultraviolet’ is moody, dark and ominous even when it’s not heavy. It’s cinematic too, but still operates in a compositional rock format. Empasse is the work … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Empasse – Ultraviolet
Melbourne band Sunny Disposition have that certain Australian indie rock of the 00s sound in their veins. That mix of jangly guitars, angular shapes on the fretboard, jerky, curious rhythm section explorations and a fine balance between raw emotion and intellectual musings in the lyrics and vocal delivery. ‘Rain On Your Parade‘ twists and sonically wrestles with itself quite wonderfully and brings to mind Antipodean … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Sunny Disposition – Rain On Your Parade
There’s a wonderfully warm and rolling feel to this new track from The Finch Cycle. It’s post -rock at its core but it also dials into that beautifully emotive 90s/early 00s indie rock sound of Australian bands such as Bluebottle Kiss – when it was as important for the guitars to lull and serenade as much as they needed to swerve and coruscate. The trombone … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: The Finch Cycle – Forty Minus Zero
Synthesised terrains of psychedelic melancholia delivered in a weathered tone, halfway between a whisper and a growl. Following the release of A Handful Of Smoke (2009) and One More Time (2010) with The Honeyriders, his acclaimed solo albums King Of The Crystal Mountain(2014), Back To The World (2018) and last year’s singles ‘The Dream Hotel‘ and ‘Fields Of Yesterday‘, Australian songwriter Jo Meares recently began a new and creatively fertile collaboration with Melbourne musician Anth Dymke (Pony Face). Premiered on UK website Backseat … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Jo Meares – The Dirty Game Of Art
Doubtful Sounds 