Protomartyr : Ultimate Success Today

Let us rejoice, for Protomartyr have returned from the Motor City to deliver unto us another sermon of epic proportions. Their rapturous mix of post-punk and art rock combined with front man Joe Casey’s pulpit tirades and apocalyptic urban decay manifestos are the kind of serious talk we all need to hear right now. In […]

Secret Drum Band : Chuva

featured photo by Marcus Fisher It’s hard to describe Secret Drum Band’s Chuva, the Portland music collective’s second full-length album and first with the great Moon Glyph Records. It’s nothing like anything Moon Glyph has dabbled in before, with the focus here on rhythm and powerful soundscapes created with intricately orchestrated percussion, ambient electronics, and […]

My Morning Jacket : The Waterfall II

It’s been over five years since My Morning Jacket have released an album. That album was The Waterfall, a solid set of pop and rock tunes that followed in the footsteps 2011s Circuital. Circuital seemed to be looking for a middle ground musically between the shoot-for-the-moon audacity of Evil Urges and the band’s earlier, more […]

Zombi : 2020

In a year of near post-apocalyptic proportions, which includes a lockdown-level pandemic, protests worldwide against police brutality, a near authoritarian regime in the US that’s doing nothing to bring us together, music is something I’m finding much solace in. Back in April or May one of my favorite artists announced a new LP, their first […]

Dream Division : The Devil Rides Out

Dream Division works within the electronic/heavy synth world, but stands apart from the crowd. The one-man project is helmed by UK musician and producer Tom McDowell, and he makes a brand of interstellar, cosmic dread all his very own. Since 2017 McDowell has been putting out wobbly, DIY occult and sci-fi-inspired sounds and his music […]

Deadly Avenger & Si Begg : Yokai

Yokai: “a class of supernatural monsters, spirits, and demons in Japanese folklore. The word yōkai is made up of the kanji for “bewitching; attractive; calamity” and “spectre; apparition; mystery; suspicious.” Yokai is also the name of the newest release from musician/producer Deadly Avenger(aka Damon Baxter) and musician/producer Si Begg courtesy of the always excellent Burning Witches […]

Glass Parallels : Aisle Of Light

The name Justin Pinkerton is synonymous with California psych. He’s played in Golden Void, Roots of Orchis, and Corsic, and in 2018 Pinkerton released and album as Futuropaco, an amazing Italio/psych groovefest. That record was this time capsule to mid-to-late-60s Italy and European countrysides, slathered in masterful drums, fuzz guitars, and the feeling of losing […]

Minos : S/T

“NARRATIVE MUSIC FOR LUNATIC PEOPLE” This is the bold-faced, all caps mission statement that hits you head on when listening to Minos’ self-titled album on their Bandcamp page. That’s not a statement to take lightly, folks. And while I wouldn’t label listeners that dig this album lunatics, I would definitely say it’s narrative music. The […]

Electric Moon : Stardust Rituals

Occasionally a band will pop up on my radar that I missed. Sure, it happens. When there’s a whole world filled with amazing artists the odds you’re going to miss one or two first time around are pretty great. Fortunately what that means is that you’ve got plenty of opportunities to find them somewhere down […]

HRZL : Subtopia

Electronic label Soundtracking The Void is never one to release an artist that’s less than stellar. STV gives a stage to forward-thinking artists pushing the boundaries of their music and electronic music in general. The latest in their releases is no different. Say hello to Germany’s HRZL(aka Herzel.) According the Herzel’s biography, “Born in Macedonia, […]