Summertime Blues

Man, this has been a weird summer. This is the first summer where it didn’t feel like a house with kids and two working parents. It’s felt like a house with adults and almost-adults doing adult things; like working, getting wisdom teeth removed, arguing, bickering, buying new appliances to replace broken ones, looking for a […]

Wilco’s “Love Is Everywhere(Beware)”

After three years of side projects, solo albums, and the occasional concert, Wilco are now readying their follow up to 2016s Schmilco. Ode To Joy is set to drop on October 4th, 2019 on Wilco’s own dPbm label. From the sound of first single “Love is Everywhere(Beware)” we’re going to be treated to a bunch […]

Complex Distractions Presents : The Videodrones Starter Pack

Videodrones appeared out of the ether and buzzing drones of modular synths back in 2016. The Danish electronic duo of Jakob Skøtt and Kristoffer Ovesen took their love of sleazy Video Nasties of the 70s and 80s and combined that with their equal adoration of the music of Popol Vuh, Ennio Morricone, Fabio Frizzi, Marcello […]

METZ : Automat

Metz have obliterated car speakers and ear drums quite easily since their Sub Pop debut album back in 2012. Their sound is like Tinnitus feedback served over a post-hardcore back beat with a healthy dose of primal screaming sprinkled on top. The Bleach and In Utero comparisons aren’t without merit, but there’s more to the […]

Umberto : Helpless Spectator

Matt Hill, aka Umberto, has been making eerie, haunting electronic noise now for the better part of our current decade. Capturing the queasy vibes of 60s psychedelics and 70s Giallo into his own musical prism, Umberto played a big part in helping to create the imagined soundtrack universe. Ranging from subtle techno pulses, to dense […]

Drab Majesty : Modern Mirror

Drab Majesty creates in light and dark. There’s the Gothic chill of Pornography-era Cure and the synth pop lift of early OMD, Talk Talk, and Animotion. Deb Demure started Drab Majesty while still drumming for Los Angeles experimental rock band Marriages. Donning white make-up and a white wig Demure hides all traces of some bloke […]

Videodrones Ready ‘Atavistic Future’, out August 2nd; Listen To Mesmerizing “Church”

Videodrones is the electronic duo of Jakob Skott and Kristoffer Ovesen. The two create music in a buzzing electronic world of modular synths and circuital improvisation. Their 2016 debut Mondo Ferox was a mixture of Komische and Berlin School headiness, but existed as a soundtrack to some back room horror film. One of those Betamax […]

Complex Distractions Presents : Favorite Albums of 2019 – January to July

It’s been a pretty amazing year for music, I gotta tell ya. So much to dig into and get lost in. There have been some pretty great music years over the last few years, with 2012, 2014, and 2017 standing out considerably. Record labels such as El Paraiso Records, Holodeck Records, Azure Vista Records, Burning […]

What, Me Worry?

I grew up reading MAD Magazine. My dad, before he became a dad, husband, and clock puncher for 50 years at the same printing company, was an aspiring artist. He’d even applied at the Art Institute of Indianapolis his senior year of high school and was accepted, but due to lack of funds he didn’t […]

Thom Yorke : Anima

Thom Yorke’s output sans Radiohead has been both more dystopian and personal. A mish mash of jittery electronics and claustrophobic vocals; it’s as if he was creating these songs locked away in a darkened room with no windows or signs of life to speak of. Trapped with nothing but a laptop and a looming existential […]