EXCLUSIVE SONG PREMIERE: uSSSy – “Western” and Review of Voyage
The Music
The Words
Moscow’s uSSSy is a long-time favourite of yours truly. Here’s a cringy post from 2013 as proof. Since their last album, Unsharp Mask, released now about five years ago, we weren’t certain that the ball was still rolling or if the group had decided to quit. A recent release of the band’s unreleased demos was an ominous sight, almost like the last nail in the coffin for uSSSy. I couldn’t have been more wrong, however, as they soon after announced the release of their newest work: Voyage.
Voyage takes off where Unsharp Mask left, … Read more
Weasel Walter, Epos Nemo Latrocinium, Jake Mehew, John Zorn, Leftyfish, Aseroe, Tower of Silence, Sectioned, and Japanski Premijeri
Weasel Walter – Skhiizm
Weasel Walter is widely known for his involvement with many influential bands, playing mostly jazz and metal. Skhiizm is his latest release, and it’s a wild ride of experimental metal, with a lot borrowed from noise metal. The compositions are lots of fun, but one thing that irks me is the poor choice of drum samples – whether they were carelessly programmed or simply used an outdated sound library. If you can get behind that, however, you’ve got a pretty killer album!
Epos Nemo Latrocinium – Iter itineris III
The third volume of Seattle experimental chamber … Read more
Cosmo Sheldrake – The Much Much How How and I
The Music
The Words
London multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer Cosmo Sheldrake released his debut full-length album earlier this month: The Much Much How How and I. The album shows the strong hand that Cosmo has on pop composition. Each of the fourteen songs on display are, in their own way, interesting, emotive, and full of ear hooks. I say “pop”, but the reality is deeper than that. Although many songs would definitely qualify as such, they are conveyed through a lush orchestration and a firm indie folk vibe; in the end, they are more than the sum of their … Read more
Negative Time Signatures (a Response to Adam Neely and 12tone)
Sorry, Adam. To be fair, I’m probably wrong, too…
Youtubers Adam Neely and 12tone recently posted videos about a concept they call “negative time signatures” (click on their names to see their respective videos). There is certainly no consensus on this, as far as music theory goes, and there maybe never will, but it’s an interesting hypothetical question nonetheless. I’m writing this post because I think I have a different way of seeing this concept from Adam and 12tone’s. It’s not better, it’s not worse, just different, as there is no widely accepted definition of the term. But before introducing … Read more