Monthly Recommendations: July 2019

by Dæv Tremblay

monthly recommendations july 2019

Joliette – Luz devora (Penelope)

Mexican mathcore act Joliette have always been cool. Today, it’s because they’ve recently released Luz devora, a massive hourlong overdriven math rock adventure. This awkward description is also why I reluctantly call them “mathcore”. They do not sound like your Car Bomb or your Dillinger Escape Plan. They’re more like a heavy math rock band with some hardcore influences. Never mind the taxonomic squabbles, try out Joliette and figure out for yourselves!

Read more.

Liquid Quintet – Bouquet (Sirulita)

Sirulita Records never disappoint, when it comes to free improvisation. The last of these … Read more

Christopher Cerrone, Bureau Berlin, Dialect Trio, Sloth Racket, Season of Sadness, and Trigger

by Dæv Tremblay

christopher cerrone bureau berlin dialect trio sloth racket season of sadness trigger

Christopher Cerrone – The Pieces that Fall to Earth (New Amsterdam)

Brooklyn composer Christopher Cerrone just released his newest album, a collection of three compositions split into a total of eighteen tracks, adding up to about forty-five minutes of material. The whole thing was recorded by Los Angeles-based Wild Up ensemble. Cerrone’s compositions offer an emotional and contemporary vision, which is perfectly executed by the Wild Up team. New Amsterdam Records keep on bringing stellar works to the table, and Christopher Cerrone is one of the most recent examples of this!

Bureau Berlin – Earthbound Akupunkture

Bureau Berlin is a … Read more

Bushwhacker – A Fistful of Poison

by Matt Matheson

bushwhacker fistful cover

I can’t remember exactly how it happened, but one night I stumbled upon a relatively unknown cluster of Pacific deep-northwest metal bands. They were mostly average in terms of musicianship and appeal, but one act with a couple of singles from a forthcoming album stood above the pack. This band was Bushwhacker, and their since-fully released third album A Fistful of Poison is one of the most creative and polished offerings to come out of any metal scene in recent memory. To call this album “underrated” would be an understatement as big as the Montana sky; at the time … Read more

Weekly Release Dump

by Dæv Tremblay

Friday, 19 July

Alarmist – Sequesterer (math rock, jazz fusion)

Brighton, UK
On Small Pond / Art as Catharsis

Read our review.

Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti – In manus tuas (contemporary classical)

Honolulu, Hawaii
On New Focus

Bushwhacker – A Fistful of Poison (post-metal)

Vancouver, British Columbia

Cat in a Bag – Cat in a Bag (experimental jazz)

Portugal
On Clean Feed

Danny Widdicombe & Trichotomy – Between the Lines (bluegrass, jazz fusion)

Brisbane, Australia
On Futurfonic

… Read more

Michael Gordon, Eight Carl, John Zorn, Daxma, TISM, and Charlie Kirchen Quartet

by Dæv Tremblay

michael gordon eight carl john zorn daxma tism charlie kirchen quartet

Michael Gordon & Deborah Artman – Acquanetta (Cantaloupe Music)

Acquanetta is a short hour-long opera written by composer Michael Gordon. This piece takes its inspiration from horror movies of the forties, telling the tale of an actress that rose to fame before vanishing from the scene. The composition is far from traditional, for an operatic work. Instead, Michael’s score feels at the same time very contemporary and much like a movie soundtrack. Needless to say, this studio-recorded version of the piece is of the highest calibre, thanks to the Bang on a Can Opera Ensemble and the invaluable vocal … Read more