16-17 – Phantom Limb (Trost)

Phantom Limb stems from an instrumental recording from 1995 of Naked City-esque noise jazz, to which was superposed a vocal recording in 2018! The result is something that’s at the same time straight out of the nineties and right at home in the twenties’ contemporary music scene. It’s noisy, it’s aggressive, it’s hectic, and it’s all the more beautiful for it!

Tiny Planet – Tiny Planet

Nothing kicks off the year quite like a Panzerballett-lite! While the compositions on the Seattle band’s self-titled debut aren’t near as intellectually strenuous as the jazz-metal legends’ … Read more

The Antistandard – All of Them! (Discordian)

The Antistandard is a Barcelona-based avant-garde jazz quintet conducted by saxophonist El Pricto and his graphic scores. Featuring established members of the contemporary music scene like guitarist Diego Caicedo, The Antistandard is a solid recording of new extreme music.

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Staghorn – Wormwood Ⅲ

Chicago band Staghorn has been a really nice late surprise to me! On Wormwood Ⅲ, the band brings their finest crafts and exposes us their quasi-apocalyptic anti-capitalist concept story in spoken word with accompanied post-metal soundtrack. This is an amazing release, it’s only too short!

Montecharge – Demons or Someone Else (Wooaaargh)

Switzerland, as I’ve said many times before, is a hotbed for really good blackened music, and Montecharge is only the latest example of this. Demons or Someone Else is an aggressive blackened hardcore album exploring creative ideas on the genre and its usual … Read more

Shipley Hollow – Infinite Zest

Toronto-based math rock band Shipley Hollow just released an incredible EP of catchy odd-timed songs that follows up from their 2017 Eating the Entertainment and improves on its formula! The title itself is brilliant on its own, but the various tracks on the record, alternating between instrumental and vocal tracks, are great and a lot of fun so don’t miss out on it!

Awes – Modern Love

Awes are awesome, Their 2018 demo already drew comparisons to Hella from me, and this one, their actual debut album, only goes further in all the things … Read more

The Bureau of Atomic Tourism – Eden (Rat)

Jon Irabagon’s Bureau of Atomic Tourism is a highly eclectic and mind-blowing sextet project. On their debut release, Eden, the group takes many detours and experiments in contemporary jazz ensemble composition, and the result is amazing! Eden is full of quirks and surprises!

Sasha Berliner – Azalea

New York-based vibraphonist and composer Sasha Berliner just released Azalea. First off, the vibraphone and nonchalant swing might give you a “dark jazz” feel, but the album gleefully explores various genres and headspaces, from the aforementioned soft, moody jazz to the modern, alternative … Read more