Just in time to close 2017 with a microtonal bang!, composer Taylor Brook released Virtutes occultae: an exploratory double album for piano. Somewhere between procedural, improvised, and strictly composed, the eighteen parts of this magnum opus take you into the world of overtonality. In a nutshell, this album is played by six virtual pianos, each tuned to a different 11-limit just intonation tuning. The details on how Brook’s approach extends Partch’s are scarce and blurry, but, in any case, the result is utterly mesmerizing. The fact that the music is played only by pianos, virtual ones at that, … Read more
Category Archives: Mini-Review
The Big Fat Meanies, Date Stuff, Crawl across the Sky, ジズー (Jizue), Andrew McCommons, Excessive Visage, Matt Mitchell, Akakor, and Luna’s Call
The Big Fat Meanies – The Time Has Come…
Rarely have I grinned so much while listening to a recent progressive rock album. Thanks to their ska band roots and influences, Pennsylvania’s Big Fat Meanies make energetic and uplifting prog ska music on their most recent album. The Time Has Come… is over one hour long, but never feels like it’s too much. Brenna’s vocals are a perfect blend of power and emotion, and the brass and woodwinds quartet is an uncommon sight in the prog scene that adds a ton to the music. Truly, an album that shouldn’t go … Read more
Morrow – Fallow
This British septet just released their sophomore album, Fallow. The band’s raucity is most apparent in their folk-influenced, blackened hardcore sound, which covers most if not all of the playtime of this album. The most entrancing moments of this forty-five-minute album are present in its opening and closing acts; “Auguries of Menace” and “Crown in Red” respectively. Although all the songs played here reek of a sense of doom and impending destruction, the two aforementioned acts push it one step further and develop this feeling over the course of twelve minutes. Morrow‘s use of violin is genially implemented … Read more
Haunts – A Lack of Empathy
British post-rock collective Haunts recently released their debut output. A Lack of Empathy, just shy of the thirty minutes mark, is a refreshing take on the genre, thanks to Dalma’s violins expanding into reverberating swells, and Kurt’s minimalistic drumming, using a variety of rim shots and uncommon percussions to fill the available space, and, finally, the omnipresent synths, which fulfill their purpose without being overwhelming. Like clanths in an abandoned shack, Haunts remind us of old, simpler times while, on the other hand, providing us with new ways to confront the future. My favourite effort on this EP is … Read more
Außerwelt – Transitions
Germany’s post-black metal outfit Außerwelt recently released their debut full-length album, Transitions. The album starts without hesitation and into the soaring riffs of “Isolate the Sun”. Their intention is clear: Transitions is about crafting an atmospheric aura not too far from the mellower post-rock scene, but with added tremolo riffs, and other crushing chords and pounding drums. As far as post-black metal goes, this is quite on the soft side, acting as a bridge or gateway from and to post-rock and black metal. This is a really well crafted album, as each song on it thoroughly explores a theme … Read more