Category Archives: Music

Nonlocal Forecast – Bubble Universe!

by Matt Matheson

The Music

The Words

Angel Marcloid does not quit. From the experimental vaporwave of Fire-Toolz to the longform atmospherics of Mindspring Memories, along with myriad other boundary-pushing projects, the Chicago artist has uploaded enough complex and challenging auditory and visual material to crash the kind of ancient computer on which it seems appropriate to engage it. Under the new moniker Nonlocal Forecast, Angel quite literally synthesizes some of her biggest influences from the eighties’ and nineties’ prog rock, smooth jazz, and new age scenes using almost entirely digital instrumentation and programming. The result, Bubble Universe!, is an … Read more

Eric Thorfinnson, Navi, and Starpilot

by Toys Etcetera

Eric Thorfinnson – Qwag (avant-pop, folk)

Eric Thorfinnson is best known as main-brain and frontman of Toronto progressive metal band Autocatalytica. With a distinctly art pop sensibility, this one’s a significant departure from what we’ve come to expect. Electro-based gems to acoustic folk, this collection of Eric’s music is mighty diverse. Even tho it’s considered a compilation of one-offs, there is a fluidity here that makes for a unified listening experience. In addition to Eric’s stellar guitar work, haunting vocal arrangements and audio production, three tracks from Qwag also finds an additional dimension brought to the fore by collaborator … Read more

William Covert, Key to Abyss, Wing Walker Orchestra, Allison Miller, Quinsin Nachoff, and Dieu

by Dæv Tremblay

William Covert – Music for Synthesizer and Drums (Coup sur coup)

Highly anticipated on my end, William Covert‘s solo album doesn’t disappoint in the slightest. The seven tracks on display are based on keyboard motives, atop which drums are played, half-written, half-improvised. Thanks to the odd metres often found in said tracks, the vibe is very much into progressive rock territory. Music for Synthesizer and Drums is excellent, and it’s quite enjoyable just letting it drone on in your ears.

Key to Abyss – Beautiful Demons [2-disc]

Key to Abyss‘s Beautiful Demons is a free jazz concept double … Read more

Nudo, Lost Crowns, Uswa, Spinifex, Emile Parisien Quartet, The Moon Project, MRW, Strata, and Shrimp

by Dæv Tremblay

Nudo – La última de las burocracias

Nudo is a duo from Buenos Aires playing some really impressive, rhythmically challenging jazz. La última de las burocracias is their debut album and consists of seven tracks exploring the piano and drums duo, but also the use of tuned and un-tuned percussions. It’s a highly energetic and rewarding avant-garde jazz album to listen to, not too far off from another great piano-drums duo called Dialectical Imagination.

Lost Crowns – Every Night Something Happens (Bad Elephant Music)

Lost Crowns is a retro prog band that seemingly aims to recapture the more psychedelic … Read more

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO PREMIERE: Shelter – “Mercure”

by Dæv Tremblay

Hailing from Lyon, France, the Shelter quintet crafts high-quality progressive rock fusing jazz elements into a cohesive yet chaotic whole. After their 2017 EP Spetsnaz, they’re back with the single “Mercure”, filmed and recorded live. As explicit by the very first few seconds, the rhythm is an important part of Shelter’s identity, soon followed by the effects-laden trumpet and groovy drums. Obviously, the two guitars in the band play their own important role, bringing in complex harmonies and rhythmic patterns conflicting and complementing each other.

The seven-minute track is, I hope, the first of many more to come. For … Read more