Heavy-hearted in the Midwest since 2011
Currently on day three of not much sleep. The dog for the past three nights has had little to no interest in staying in bed when we go to sleep. He’ll hover for a minute or two, then jump down and go to the bedroom door and scratch as if he wants to go out. […]
Read More Dog Tired On Hump DayI’ve never cared for the whole blowing shit up aspect of the Fourth of July. The smell of sulfer, potassium nitrate, and charcoal wafting in the air like poison fog as drunk weekend warriors dig into their grab bag of legal explosives and giggle like overgrown baby ogres. Your burgers are burning, moron. Listen, I […]
Read More The FourthI’m always enthralled by the work of zakè. The ambient/new age composer has spent the last several years building a catalog of forward-thinking, thoughtful, and intellectual albums. Records that accumulate beautifully orchestrated sound collages and sonic realms that put you, the listener, in a state of contemplative and meditative bliss. Using electronics to create both […]
Read More zakè : Orchestral Tape Studies IIIf you weren’t an awkward headbanging teen in the late 80s then you wouldn’t understand. To be a fan of hair metal was to suffer through a cavalcade of lousy dime a dozen rock bands. Most, you’d hear about once and then they’d disappear in a haze of White Rain. It was a constant process […]
Read More Extreme : SixThe last two days here in Northeast Indiana have been low air quality. How low, you ask? Well, a normal AQI number around here is 45-50. That is Good to Moderate. We have a lot of allergens in the air around here; from mold spores to pollen to just people having burn piles. But despite […]
Read More Every Breath You Take…I’ll Be Choking YouLightning Dust started as the electronic/pop side project of Black Mountain members Amber Webber and Joshua Wells, but after 2016s IV, Webber and Wells left the Canadian psych/prog behemoth permanently so they could concentrate on other things, including Lightning Dust. The band released the excellent and more Gothic-tinged Spectre in 2019, the same year that […]
Read More Lightning Dust : Nostalgia KillerIt’s been a few years since I’ve sat down to do a mid-year album review for Complex Distractions. Not sure why I’ve let that go by the way side. Granted, it’s a lot of work for me. Making lists the old fashioned way, by pen and paper; ranking albums in accordance to my adoration and […]
Read More Complex Distractions Presents : Favorite Albums Of 2023(Mid-Year Edition)It’s been a long week. There were a couple days at work where we struggled to be busy for even half the day. Now I’m not opposed to slacking off for a day and getting paid to sit at my desk, read up on world news online, and wait for someone to ring the door […]
Read More The Weekend, Work Wear, And We’re Not The Party Animals We Used To BeJames McKeown’s electronic music project Hawksmoor goes deep. McKeown’s sound is dense, heady, and pulls from the best that the early German electronic scene had to offer. Combining the warmth of analog via Moogs, Modular synthesis, guitar, and bass with a rhythmic backbone that feels more implied through mood, Hawksmoor makes the kind of music […]
Read More Hawksmoor : Telepathic HeightsI think I really do underestimate the power of a really good hang. I’ve become a much more solitary creature as I’ve gotten older, so much so that the idea of being social gives me anxiety. The preparation, the anticipation, and the fear of how do I remain interested talking for more than a 30 […]
Read More Nothing Like A Good Hang