Heavy-hearted in the Midwest since 2011
Reviews of albums, shows, songs and the like.
It was nearly two years ago that I happened upon an article about Visions of Dune, an album by a mysterious artist named simply Z that was getting the reissue treatment. Now what caught my eye was that this album was a heavy synth concept album based on Frank Herbert’s Dune. The idea of a […]
Read More The Spice of LifeAhh, Southern California sure knows how to mold and shape guys and gals into laid back, jammy musicians. There’s this breezy, hazy vibe that comes from a city like San Diego that you can’t get anywhere else in the country. In-particular, psych rock has had somewhat of a resurgence in that area, with heavy hitters […]
Read More Monarch : Two IslesI have to admit, it took me a while to find my way to Mogwai. Even after seeing them in 2004 during an ear-shattering assault that left a good friend of mine and I stunned and shell shocked at the Curiosa Festival I still just could never bring myself to dig deeper into these Scottish […]
Read More Mogwai : AtomicUmberto’s Alienation feels like a cross between New Age, a giallo score, and a soundtrack to some strange early 80s sci fi film. Previous albums like Confrontation, Night Has A Thousand Screams, and Prophecy Of The Black Widow all took their cues from the Gothic and dark world of horror films from guys like Argento, […]
Read More Umberto : AlienationLanding seems to inhabit a musical space that resides in dreams. They create these musical patchworks that form a beautiful and surreal world where natural light and free thought connect and open doorways to ethereal universes. Of course, you have to be ready and primed to allow the music on Landing’s newest album Third Sight […]
Read More Landing : Third SightI was never much of a Cure fan in high school. In fact, I wasn’t a fan at all. I didn’t get it; the make up, jet black hair teased to the sky, mopey guys, and the doom and gloom. None of it clicked with my Midwest, meat-and-potatoes, not really Presbyterian upbringing. If there wasn’t […]
Read More Middle-Aged Melancholy : Two Dudes, The Cure, and the Windy CityI guess you could say I’ve been on a bit of a nostalgia kick lately. On a trip to my local record store recently I was given access to leaf through an as-yet put out collection of records and see if anything tickled my fancy. Within this “like, totally” 80s dive I located some truly […]
Read More Ridiculous Vinyl Purchases : Nostalgia Gets The Best Of Us AllI know what you’re thinking if you haven’t yet heard the Sean Lennon and Les Claypool collaboration called The Claypool Lennon Delirium. You’re thinking you have no interest in hearing this band. You’ve heard Primus and all the other nautically-themed records Claypool has put out over the last 20 years on his own and with […]
Read More The Claypool Lennon Delirium: Monolith of PhobosI’m still a little groggy from a three-day weekend that was for all intents and purposes a success. A success in that rest was had, art was created, and music and beer was consumed. There were also good foods made and devoured(including some homemade calzones and a plethora of grilled meats that would bring a […]
Read More Acid Crusher/Mount SwanThelonious Monk Quartet : Monk’s Dream I really can’t remember the reason why I bought Monk’s Dream. I was 21 years old and living in an apartment with my girlfriend at the time(summer/fall of 1995 to be exact.) We both had good jobs at the same company but worked different shifts, so while she would […]
Read More A Life In Albums : Part Two