Heavy-hearted in the Midwest since 2011
Arthur King is an art collective led by multimedia artist Peter Walker. He runs AK Studio and assembles musicians, sculptors, designers, and filmmakers to collaborate on various projects. It’s the kind of collective any artist dreams to be able to work within; sharing their skills, knowledge, and imagination with other like-minded creative types. One of […]
Read More Arthur King : Mina Las PintadasThe latest to drop from SFI Recordings is the cosmic and expansive Warning Sense by Mnemonic Pulse. Over the course of four slow-building heavy synth tracks you get tension and release; early 80s Tangerine Dream(think Exit) combines with ambient-heavy early 80s synth scores. Portland, Oregon’s Caitlin Love, aka Mnemonic Pulse, has been releasing heady and […]
Read More Mnemonic Pulse : Warning SenseOver the course of three albums in as many years the prog/math/avante rock band Black Midi have gone to great measures to make densely-layered and technically jaw-dropping albums that the simple passerby’s frontal lobe would melt from after listening. This isn’t the kind of rock music you put on for a chill session. The UK […]
Read More Black Midi : HellfireIt feels like this was bound to happen. A decree by the power pop Gods from high, even. At some point you just knew there was going to be a She & Him covers album filled with Brian Wilson covers. The Zooey Deschanel/M. Ward project has been a source of pop song comfort since their […]
Read More She & Him : Melt Away : A Tribute To Brian WilsonTy Segall might be the busiest man in indie rock. He’s certainly one of the most prolific, dropping something new seemingly every 6 months. Whether it’s solo albums or with one of his many side projects, Segall seems to have a mind that runs 24/7. Albums spanning garage rock, psych folk, wonky synth workouts, and […]
Read More Ty Segall : Hello, HiThere’s an uninhibited joy on Fischer & Forde’s debut album It’s Just Business. The dance/disco/house LP begs you to unplug from the big machine, put on your dancing shoes, and give into the grooves. It’s the kind of album you decimate your eardrums with in the car and drive an extra couple blocks just so […]
Read More Fischer & Forde : It’s Just BusinessGreetings fellow space travelers, time bandits, and cosmic riders, welcome to another exciting edition of Complex Distractions’ Long Story Short. Here’s where I chat up an album I’m digging in a paragraph or three. I’m getting caught up on some amazing records that have been released over the course of the last three or so […]
Read More Long Story Short : Steve Hadfield, Cinchel, zake, Coral Club zakèEvery once in a while an album works its way into your brain that truly soothes the soul and calms the buzzing mind. 2020 was a year that I subsisted on ambient and drone music. It was the kind of music that offered what my weary head and heart needed so badly, a reprieve from […]
Read More Marine Eyes : ChamomileOne of the most prolific Fort Wayne artists is easily Sankofa. There’s a monolithic creative force behind the man known in everyday life as Stephen Bryden. When he grabs the notebook, the mic, and puts on the fly kicks he becomes one of the finest rappers in the Midwest. With a catalog years deep and […]
Read More Sankofa : BLKTCHP2Today I’m covering albums from Audio Obscura, Henning Zinoviev and Floating Candles, Andy Fosberry, Social Union, and Bagaski. Lot’s a great stuff to dig into from some of the finest independent artists and labels currently filling our brains. Make sure to hit them up and snag it if you like it. Now grab a cup […]
Read More Long Story Short : Audio Obscura, Social Union, Bagaski, Henning Zinoviev and Floating Candles, And Andy Fosberry