Clown Core – Van

I never gave Clown Core the full credit they deserve. When they released their hit single “Toilet”, I thought it was alright, but didn’t hear from them since. However, when they released a new single—”Van”—they also released two full EPs on Bandcamp. That’s when I realized that “Toilet” was more than a single, and how dumb I was. So, as a way to catch up for my mistake, I’m recommending Van to you all. Clown Core actually has an utterly entrancing rhythm section, backed up by “horrorcore” style synthesizers and a saxophone that’s always on point, … Read more

The Sound that Ends Creation – Memes, Dreams, and Flying Machines

Texas’s Sound that Ends Creation is a one-man mathgrind operation with a bit (quite a bit) of zaniness thrown in. Think Diablo Swing, Zappa, Unexpect, and music dreamed on krokodil. Their previous album came out late last year, so this one comes less than a year after, but is an improvement on an already-successful formula. Just listen to “Slurp’n Up That Ice Cream Baby”—or any of the other singles really—to have a good idea of what to expect from it when it drops!

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R’luhh – Li

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Temple Mist – Ye Invocatioun of Hys Kynge

Just like a haunting soundtrack, Ye Invocatioun of Hys Kynge leaves you battered and confused. For this record, the mysterious entity Temple Mist improvised eerie soundscapes outside the realms of conventional harmony, even throwing away core concepts such as tempo out the window. The result is a thirty-five minute album that makes you question everything, and made people who overheard it playing at my place very uncomfortable.

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Jacob Collier – Djesse, Volume 3 (Decca (UMO))

ⅩⅪ century musical genius Jacob Collier is back with the third instalment of his Djesse suite. On … Read more

Needle Play – Death by Dying

Boston’s Needle Play claim to play “math fusion” and “jazzcore”, and they do not lie! Their sophomore release, Death by Dying—and its instrumental version, Death by Detail—proves it once again. Variable geometry riffs clash with very few things that could be labelled “jazz”, safe the occasional clean section and usual complex harmonies. Great album for angry dying.

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Otis Sandsjö – Y-Otis 2 (We Jazz)

OK, the album artwork and title might be detrimental to its first impression, but it’s all going to go out of the window once you hit play. Swedish … Read more

Aal – The Only Path

Lithuania’s Aal is bringing good old-school progressive death metal to the table. With the debut album The Only Path, the band conjures up sounds of Cynic, Exist, and even some Death! It’s definitely a strong contender for best prog death of the year, so don’t sleep on it!

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Джена [Džena / Gena] – Чур меня [Čur menja] (Фузз и Дружжба [Fuzz i Družžba])

Чур меня (Čur menja) is Russian atmospheric post-metal trio Джена (Džena)—romanized as Gena—at their best. Though not an old band, Gena really have their vision and their … Read more