Zwoyld – Zgond

This is not the first Zwoyld release we’ve featured on the site, and with good reasons! As Zgond proves again, France’s Zwoyld is capable of great things. Their progressive rock sounds closer to early seventies’ more experimental units than today’s overproduced ones. It’s a fun album full of drive and with scarce use of vocals, relegating them to only a single track. Oh, and it’s available on a voluntary basis as well, so feel free to drop a buck if you can!

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Dumb Waiter – Heck

I was going to say that if Dumb Waiter‘s new album were to be as good as their last one, it were going to be great, but it’s even better than that! Their “math fusion” compositions matured well and gives off some of the best jams the genre has to offer. If you don’t mind the foul-mouthed song titles, that is…

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Bisonwar – Tribes

Their debut album was already fairly impressive, but Tribes cranks up the trio’s “progressive meets math” rock symbiosis further. The tracks show talented musicianship and songwriting skills, to the benefit of our enjoyment. Don’t miss out!

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Firtan – Okeanos

Do you want to be overwhelmed by massive, epic walls of sound? Look no further than Firtan‘s new album, Okeanos. Their atmospheric, blackened death metal compositions reach an incredible high point on this year’s release. The album is pretty expansive and will leave you floored more than once during that time. I tell you, this is some nice music!

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Sunn Trio – Bali Kratom

Phoenix, Arizona’s Sunn Trio made a 270° turn from their debut album and their sophomore, Bali Kratom. Indeed, I have rarely seen a band release two consecutive albums that are so unlike one another. While their self-titled was an interesting free jazz album, their new one is a tapestry of contemporary gamelan music. I like gamelan music a lot, but I never really dug into it, since I was hard pressed to find modern bands attempting it. It was hinted at in Sutrah’s tech-death debut, but nothing more. However, as I’m writing this, I’ve come across two in one day! (The other one being a repress of Daniel Schmidt’s In My Arms, Many Flowers.) So, consider yourself lucky, and grab one, or two, or more!

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Kate Pass – Kohesia

Perth’s Kate Pass released her debut album, Kohesia, with her Persian jazz septet. Persian jazz? Why, yes! That’s not unlike fellow Australians Eishan Ensemble, although the two approaches differ quite a lot. While Eishan’s take was to use mostly traditional Persian instruments, Kate’s idea is to bring musical concepts from Persia to jazz, complemented with some traditional instruments, but not on the same level as Eishan’s. I love both approaches, to be honest, so take a good listen at Kohesia!

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Slowly Rolling Camera – Juniper

I’ve known Slowly Rolling Camera for being a very soul band. However, it seems that this part of them has been amputated with the departure of their singer Dionne. The result is still very good, but it does lack a big part of their… soul. Juniper remains a solid jazz album with some RnB and trip-hop embedded into it. So be sure to check it out!

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Terminus – Fortune Looming

I get some of my most pleasant surprises out of the things I expect the least. Terminus‘ latest album is one such thing! I heard about thirty seconds of Fortune Looming before deciding on saving the rest for later, and, when I finally completed my listen, I wanted more! The album has a slight influence from stoner music, but is mainly made up of addictive progressive rock mingled with alternative rock. I guess that if you’re into alt-prog entities such as Coheed & Cambria or Thank You Scientist, this isn’t too far fetched of a recommendation!

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Orchards – Losers / Lovers

Pop-oriented math rock is rarely disappointing, even if the very concept of it oftentimes defeats the namesake of “math” rock. Well, Orchards don’t disappoint for sure. Losers/Lovers is a brilliant album full of ear worms and summer jams. I need not say more, look at the album art, listen to one second of it, and decide for yourselves!