Alone 1980 : Vol. 1-3

Alone 1980 captures a certain kind of horror claustrophobia in their music. The Sweden-based imagined soundtrack provocateur builds sonic nightmares with vintage equipment, retro vibes, and a sense that you’ve stepped into some long lost video nasty on late night cable TV in the early 80s. Though the music varies from sweat-inducing panic to almost […]

Gojira : Fortitude

You know you’ve hit a milestone of some sort when your kids start hipping you to new bands. It seems like it was only yesterday I was reliving my youth by purchasing classic OG pressings of thrash and speed metal albums on vinyl, and sharing that nostalgia with my then 10-year old son. We’d jam […]

Sparkle Teeth : Sparkle Teeth EP

On Dan Kinnaley’s debut EP as Sparkle Teeth, he locks into this sonically-rich musical world where early 90s fuzz intermingles with shoegaze pop and post-hardcore grit. In other words, if you grew up on bands like Polvo, Dino Jr, Lush, and find those vibes in modern bands like Protomartyr, Cloakroom, and Whirr, then Sparkle Teeth […]

Complex Distractions Presents : Long Story Short

I get to hear a lot of great music. So much great music I don’t always have the time to write in-depth reviews for everything. So in order to continue to share the musical love I’m going to start these ‘Long Story Short’ spots once every week or two. I’ll share four or five thoughts […]

Alessandro Cortini : Scuro Chiaro

Alessandro Cortini is an Italian-born musician who came to the US to study guitar at the Musicians Institute. He turned to keyboards and synths after graduating and never looked back. He’s the guy bands bring in when they need someone versatile to take on tour, or to help in the studio. He’s worked with Muse, […]

Colleen : The Tunnel and the Clearing

Cécile Schott builds intricate worlds in her music. Sparse songs that seem somewhat simple at first, but reveal complex and emotional pieces that balance on melancholy and dream-like atmospheres. Schott creates these worlds on her own as a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, and has been making records for around 20 years now. Her last album, 2017s excellent […]

Jason Priest : Jason Priest Is Missing

You know the saying, “role of a lifetime”? Well I feel that musician/film composer Antoni Maiovvi has found that role in the worn-out, leather boots of post-punk/new wave survivor Jason Priest. Priest is the nom de plume which Maiovvi has taken for his latest musical project, which is an all-out jagged pop album with edges […]

Daniel Davies : Spies

There’s really nothing better than when an artist not only hits expectations, but exceeds them exponentially. Daniel Davies started out as a guitarist in some successful bands back in the early 2000s. Year Long Disaster, Karma To Burn, and CKY were all bands Davies played in and did quite well in. In 2015 he began […]

Pete Dio and the Old & Dirty : Y’all Trying To Kill Me

Musician and songwriter Pete Dio knows his way around a drum kit, as he proved being the drum basher for Left Lane Cruiser. He also knows his way around a guitar and a melody. His work over the years in the Fort Wayne music scene has always dabbled in a little of everything, but roots […]

SM : Presents Pistacchio Sessions

The latest release to drop from UK electronic label Soundtracking The Void is NYC’s Salvatore Mercatante’s Presents Pistacchio Sessions. On Presents Pistacchio Sessions Mercatante trades his swaths of heavy synth for a more techno-heavy sound. He mixes the existential space drifts of last year’s The Foundations Of Eternal Sin with more dance floor-ready explorations. Though […]