Category Archives: Review

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

Best Rock of 2018

by Dæv Tremblay

Best Avant-Prog: Piniol – Bran coucou (Dur et Doux)

The merger of French bands Poil and Ni into the entity known as Piniol delivers exactly what I’m looking for in avant-prog: mathematically proficient, musically dense, and making something utterly novel. Bran coucou is to the genre what Bisbâyé is for metal. If you haven’t already, do yourself the pleasure of listening to this album. Oh, and while you’re here, take a listen at the honourable mentions below; they’re all equally fantastic!

Honourable Mentions

Shatner’s Bassoon – Disco Erosion (Wasp Millionaire Records)

Troot – Constance and the Waiting (Tim Root Music)… Read more

Thrailkill – Everything That Is You

by Jeff Nixon

The Music

The Words

I reviewed LA-based instrumental prog band Mammoth‘s album Deviations back in 2016, giving it much praise. Well, now they’re back with new album Everything That Is You under a new band name: Thrailkill. Frontman Wes used his last name as the band’s new name, which I think, with a last name that badass, why wouldn’t you? Of course, the music is equally badass. Chock full of melodic arpeggi and heavy riffs, this album is sure to satisfy any prog fan, from the casual to hardcore.

Overall, the songs on this album are shorter … Read more

Suess – 10 der größten Schlagerhits aller Zeiten

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

It is not every day that I am speechless in front of new music. However, the mad geniuses behind the French-based band Suess broke my inner mechanisms. 10 der größten Schlagerhits aller Zeiten is the group’s debut album, standing tall with thirty-four minutes that feels like hours. I don’t know how to describe the sounds found therein, other than they are based off of the Schlager music genre in some way.

This is an unlistenable mess… to most, if not all. However, it did strike me, oddly. I thought it was the “so bad it’s good” … Read more

Entropia – शूत्य स्थान / Vacuum

by Matt Matheson

The Music

The Words

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: a priest, a rabbi, and a minister walk into a bar. The priest is actually a huge Oranssi Pazuzu fan. The rabbi is wearing a Thy Catafalque shirt. The minister was blasting Neurosis in his car when he pulled up. The bar is actually a jazz club. There’s a swing band playing.

That’s as far as I feel like pushing the ridiculous setup, but here’s the punchline: Entropia‘s शूत्य स्थान (Shoony sthaan) / Vacuum is psychedelic blackened sludge metal with a twist—not a gimmick, mind you, but a … Read more