5 am

The house is as quiet as it ever gets at 5 am. A darkly-lit vacuum where the only sound that can be heard is the coffeemaker if I remembered to set it the night before. Not even when they were little did our kids get up this early. My wife doesn’t get up until 6:30 […]

The Lemon Twigs : Everything Harmony

Brothers Brian and Michael D’Addario, aka The Lemon Twigs, hail from New York and since their first album in 2016 have made a name for themselves as the preeminent purveyors of 60s/70s power pop. Combining elements of garage, psych, power pop, and 70s AM these brothers have built a discography that looks and sounds as […]

Take A Walk

I was never much of a runner. Or, a runner at all. As a kid in gym I was usually the last to finish the mile, with the exception of one or two others in class. I never completely stopped running, but I would slow to a jog or speed walk while holding my side […]

If All Else Fails, Be Kind

I’ve learned something over the last few months, and that is that people can be good. It’s much easier to see differences; political, religious, ideological, social, and just automatically build a protective shell between you and them. I’ve done it. It’s natural to protect yourself from those you view as the “enemy”. Some folks can […]

zakè, Marc Ertel, James Bernard, From Overseas : Live At The Gothic chapel

The last place you’d think would be the home base of one of the most prolific and forward-thinking ambient/new age music record labels is Indianapolis, Indiana. But then again, why not? Past Inside The Present has proven to be a most prolific home to the world’s finest purveyors of ambient/new age, putting out music by […]

Hello From Wherever This Is

Hey. Yeah, I’ve been a little absent this week. Call it mental fatigue, preoccupation, or just a lack of hard drive space in the brain to sit and write, I just haven’t been in the right place to expound on albums or tell more Midwest tales of growing up. Sometimes things happen and you start […]

“in the shadow of memory/spirit”: Neil Lord talks Future Museum’s New Album ‘Dorsal Fin’

Future Museums is the musical project of producer/musician/songwriter Neil Lord. Lord locks into both the Komische/Berlin School world of artists like Cluster, Ash Ra Tempel, and Klaus Schulze, as well as ambient/New Age vibes of Windham Hill and Private Press releases of the 70s/80s. There’s always an ethereal and naturalistic approach to his work. Nothing […]

Weird Things On Shelves Are What Life Is

Been awhile since I’ve sat down to just empty the old brain of all the clutter that’s accumulated. Have I been too busy for the mental upkeep? I don’t know, maybe. I doubt that, though. Even at my most time-lacking moments I’ve made space to sit and click and clack on the keyboard to release […]

Rob Mazurek/Exploding Star Orchestra : Lightning Dreamers

Rob Mazurek makes music that tows the line between chaotic musical abstractions and groove-oriented excursions. Composer, cornetist, and visual artist that came up in the Chicago underground music scene, Mazurek made his name in bands like Chicago Underground, Isotope 217, Black Cube Marriage, as well as his project Exploding Star Orchestra. He locked into the […]

Temples : Exotico

Temples dropped their debut Sun Structures in 2014, perking ears with their retro look and sound, locking into the psych pop/rock resurgence brought to the mainstream by Kevin Parker and Tame Impala just a few years earlier. Their 70s haircuts and Partridge Family-adjacent outfits matched perfectly with their slightly woozy but pop-centric sound. Temples has […]