Category Archives: Mini-Review

Jackie Frank Russell III – I’m So Fucking Lonely

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

Jackie Frank Russell III made some waves, last year, with Outward Calm, Inward Chaos, his debut album. The Illinois composer comes back with I’m So Fucking Lonely.

The album takes a side step from its predecessor in that it’s much more heavily influenced by electronic music than it appeared in the previous one. This statement is evident on the opening track, “Softly Asking for the Attention of Kings”, while songs like “This Bad Won’t Leave” retains much of its metallicity, with few of the new electronic music elements. One of the pleasant side effects … Read more

Facegrinder – Kugelblitz

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

If the name itself of the band—Facegrinder, Face. Grinder. GRINDER OF FACES—doesn’t invoke visceral sentiments, or if the album’s title, Kugelblitz—a black hole made of pure energy—, doesn’t resonate with higher orbital levels, then let the music speak for itself. The Perthbound deathgrind trio just released one of the big titles for today’s grinding repertoire.

The band’s sound is harsh, raw-sounding; thanks, in part, to the absence of a bass guitar to the mix, giving the wall of sound a razor sharp quality that often is a hallmark of grindcore as a genre. … Read more

Bollywood – Bollywood

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

Experimental is the land of all possibles. Bollywood paints a rather stellar example of this in the realm of jazz with their self-titled debut album. Released on 12 August, it was briefly available through TVL Rec‘s page, and abruptly taken down—forbidding my sharing it. However, this can’t stop me from talking about it.

A few minutes over thirty, Bollywood is an album of what sounds like free jazz meets lowercase music, with each track fronted by a different solo instrument—here saxophone, here bass, and so on—backed by insectile percussions, noise backing tracks, or electronic experimentations. … Read more

Ring van Möbius – Past the Evening Sun

by Jeff Nixon

The Music

The Words

Ring van Möbius released their debut album Past the Evening Sun back in May, containing three very proggy tracks, including an epic twenty-one-minute title track, the full video of which is featured above. The Norwegian trio provide a hefty dose of Hammond organ, mellotron synths, and strong instrumental grooves, right out of 1971. There are lots of prog bands that take influence from that era, but few that make it sound new and original. Ring van Möbius are one of those few.

The lineup consists of Thor Erik Helgesen on lead vocals and keyboards, Håvard Rasmussen … Read more

EXCLUSIVE STREAM: The Mercury Tree and Cryptic Ruse – Cryptic Tree

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

It’s here! It’s finally here! Listen to the Cryptic Tree EP in full right now, 24 hours before its official release! Let’s bask in the glory of heptadecaphonic music, and the occasional polyharmonic passage with icositritonic tuning, crafted in collaboration by Portland, Oregon’s The Mercury Tree and Seattle, Washington’s Igliashon Jones of Cryptic Ruse.

I shan’t say more! Let the music speak for itself. This record is mind-blowing, so check it out!

The Links

Bandcamp – The Mercury Tree
Facebook – The Mercury Tree

Bandcamp – Cryptic Ruse
Facebook – Cryptic Ruse

The Recs

Cryptic … Read more