Guitar notes and chords splash and chime out of a billowing ether of reverb as Heron’s song ‘Splashdown’ slowly emerges, blinking into existence. There’s a patient quality to the track with the intro taking a calm two minutes to blossom into a fuller sound when measured drums entering the equation. The post-rock band from the heart of the Pennsylvania Wilds have a second full-length album … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Heron – Splashdown
New Zealand metal band Beastwars return with their first single since singer Matt Hyde successfully underwent 6 months of treatment for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in 2016. ‘Omens’ comes from their new LP IV, due out on Friday June 28th. Hyde said that through his diagnosis and subsequent treatment, he was given an opportunity to look into the abyss beyond life as we know it. “Throughout the treatment … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Beastwars– Omens
Welsh quartet Kidsmoke may have taken their name from a Wilco song (maybe?) but other than a lazy affable strum and an affinity for melody, these four from across the Atlantic make music that is much sunnier, breezier and indie-pop centric. There’s a refreshing simplicity and economy to their songwriting as hooky guitar lines ring out across jangly chords and vocals that bind it all … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Kidsmoke – Passenger
Best known for her role as bassist for The Breeders, Josephine Wiggs is also a fine composer of atmospheric ambient music. ‘Time Does Not Bring Relief’ is the first taste of her new solo album We Fall. It’s a haunting piano-based, instrumental composition that gently pushes and pulls rhythmically across nearly five minutes, evoking the work of Harold Budd and Nils Frahm. Evocative, textural soundscape … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Josephine Wiggs – Time Does Not Bring Relief
Blistering thrash metal with a super-solid bottom end of distorted bass on this track from Worcester, Massachusetts band Möss Fölk. The riffs are relentless while the vocal totally hits the spot for us – raw, punk-metal and visceral without getting too cookie monster. The killer blow comes at 1:09 where everything drops away to reveal the grungy bass before everything collapses back in on top … Continue reading NEW MUSIC Möss Fölk – Misery Mothers
Math-rock, post-rock, call it what you will… The 90s and 00s were a goldmine for this kind of music. Knotty guitars wrestling and dancing in weird shapes, time signatures playing hopscotch and for the most part no vocals. From Slint, Pan Am and Tortoise through to Isis and Pelican the range of sonic detail and emotional outpouring and impact ran the gamut of intensity. Unwed … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Unwed Sailor – Ovid
As much as we love manic post-punk, sweet alt-country tunes and arch indie-rock, we also love to bliss out to relaxing ambient sounds. Not the cheesy lift music or Muzak or hippie-lite new age bullshit. We’re talking experimental, avant garde composition, whether it be electronic, acoustic or a combination of the two. Think Eno, Harold Budd, Fenenesz, Caretaker or Hiroshi Yoshimura. This elegant track from … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Henrik Von Euler – F-dur
Galloping ramalama psych rock hurtles straight out of the gates on this instrumental track from wild and eclectic London quartet Japanese Television. It’s like a manic sideshow ride with a streak of reverb-laden surf rock blasting out of battered amusement park speakers. The song careens along with patches of spiralling space rock sending bent organ notes exploding skyward. You think it’s over and it all … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Japanese Television – Bloodworm
Tindersticks and Stuart A. Staples are custom built for soundtrack work, such is their ability to conjure such exquisite and restrained mood and atmosphere, both musically and vocally. They’ve worked on a number of film projects in the past and this latest one by Staples is for the movie High Life, directed by Claire Denis – who Staples has worked with on seven of her … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Tindersticks Soundtrack ‘High Life’
Theory Of Why is a studio collaboration project between Anton Kropp and Julia Nova who met as college radio DJ’s at the University Of Maryland WMUC station where they continued to write and play music long after college, not stopping after they went separate ways. ‘Wrapped Up In Snow’ comes from their self-titled debut album and has a mix of Breeder’s 90s rock sounds and a … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Theory Of Why – Wrapped Up In Snow
Jackmann is the stage name of Kris Schroeder of The Basics and ‘The Wolf & The Hare’ is the first single from his forthcoming LP Low Key. He mentions Warren Zevon as an influence and was one of the first reference points that came to mind on this track. That backbeat, the clipped chop of the rhythm and the vocal sound all combine to produce … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Jackmann – The Wolf & The Hare
Malmö, Sweden duo (Ebba and Michel) Wy are set to released their second LP Softie, at the end of April and this is the title track, a swelling swoon of a song that takes in pop angst, dream-pop swirl and an indie aesthetic. At various times it reminds us of Siouxsie Sioux and Anna Calvi singing the music of Cocteau Twins. It’s emotional and passionate … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Wy – Softie
Doubtful Sounds 