The debut from Copenhagen progressive metalcore outfit Everything Is Terrible is terribly good. The aptly-titled Intensely Distressed and on the Verge of Mental Collapse showcases a slow, heavy kind of metalcore, almost to the point of deathcore, well-infused with djent sonorities. The guitars sound thick and powerful, thanks to a precise mix and a present bass guitar. On this intense full-length, the band goes from straight-out djent, to the mellower atmodjent style somewhat reminiscent of Tesseract or Uneven Structure, and that’s a recurring theme here – atmosphere –, for as hard or tranquil as they decide to go, all … Read more
Çub – Musique actuelle
Çub is the unlikely collaborative project between experimental math rockers Ça and dub techno artist Submarine FM. As a spinoff of Ça, it had great shoes to fill in my eyes, and the dub aspect only made things more intriguing. The collaboration actually turned out pretty amazingly well! You still find the core of Ça – whacky off-kilter and odd-time riffs supplemented with onomatopoeic vocal absurdities –, but you now find a side of electronic music that’s an uncanny match, but the two marry perfectly. This lycée-themed album gives us plenty of lessons about life and music in … Read more
Silent Whale Becomes a° Dream – Requiem
Silent Whale Becomes a Dream, along with a° random degree sign (°) as part of their style, is an anonymous French post-rock group – they just released their sophomore album, Requiem, and it’s a true statement of modern post-rock. Symphonic, methodical, mournful, deep, poignant, and heartfelt, this new full-length hosts four new tracks showing restraint and abandon. The newly-become quintet summons lush, echoing atmospheres, which they mollycoddle and raise gently, slowly, with care and patience, until they become their own, full-fledged being: not a human, not a song… but a living thing nonetheless. The symphonic elements, new to … Read more
Chaos Moon – Eschaton Mémoire
The ambient black metal of American quartet Chaos Moon is unleashed upon the world with their fourth full-length, Eschaton Mémoire. Their usually quite expansive compositions are shrouded in thick fogs of ambient guitars, which sound just like keyboard pads. The album’s forty minutes follow an interesting pattern of tension and release that really drive this album home. Be sure to not miss this unique and intense release.
Giant Claw, Sridhar Varadarajan, Thot, Mino yanci, The Body, A-Live, Cara neir & Chasmbound, Nullingroots, and Trespasser
Giant Claw – Soft Channel
Keith Rankin’s musical collage project is an odd and interesting piece of, how to call it, experimental vaporwave? The plunderphonics-based experiment is a challenging piece of modern electronic music that’s slightly abstract and very artistic.
Sridhar Varadarajan – Imperfect Things
Oh, yes, math-infused post-rock, a style with delicacy and tenderness, appealing to emotions by constructing evocative passages that are assimilable by nearly everyone. Despite the broad and quasi-populist nature of it, there is some tremendously great music to be found. I think Sridhar’s little EP is very good, and much worth your time.
Thot – … Read more