Review: Sevish – Rhythm And Xen

by Dæv Tremblay
Sevish has been known in the microtonal music circles for some time now, mostly due to his 2010 effort “Golden Hour”. 2015 marks the return of the man, with Rhythm And Xen, a xenharmonic effort leaning heavily on drum & bass and electronic music, as well as breakbeat and ambient music. For the uninitiated, xenharmonic is “music that does not sound like 12-tone equal temperament”, according to Ivor Darreg, who coined the term.

Therefore, the music in there might be quite hard to grasp for somebody who’s only heard 12-tone equal temperament (12-TET) all their life, taking up practically … Read more

Review: Kes – Kamlama

by Dæv Tremblay

[Stream album here]

Kes is a band from Turkey, and apparently Kamlama is their debut album. If you’re thirsty for some great instrumental progressive rock not too far off from Indukti, you won’t be disappointed!

The trio is the standard instrumental rock form: one guitarist, one bassist, and one drummer. Each with their standard number of strings and drums parts. I believe it’s quite difficult to acquire music instruments and services in Turkey, at least that’s what I’ve heard, but these guys seem to have some high-end gear and top-notch sound/mix quality. Good for them, and, ultimately, good for … Read more

Review: Spectral Lore – Voyager

by Dæv Tremblay
Spectral Lore is best known for their contemplative, mournful progressive black metal, like in their latest LP III, which we loved! However, they’ve unveiled a facet of themselves that I did not know: ambient/electronic music. Those two music genres seem pretty antipodal, but, in the case of Spectral Lore, they serve the same purpose: create an atmosphere; immerse the listener into their world. The only difference is the approach.

What they usually did with guitars, bass, drums, and vocals, they now do only with synthesizers, and the result is marvellous. It’s no surprise, because they were already incredibly talented … Read more

Review : ni – Les Insurgés De Romilly

by Dæv Tremblay
French instrumental math-rockers ni have already lobbed at us (across the Atlantic), two great, albeit short, releases: the two eponymous EPs of 2010 and 2012. This year, for the full release, the name ni just wasn’t enough. Les Insurgés De Romilly is a full-length album, clocking at around 40 minutes; 40 minutes of intense mathy prog-goodness!

ni is about intense, mathematical, challenging yet light-hearted music. With Les Insurgés De Romilly, they have achieved an otherworldly balance of dissonant harmonies, catchy odd-time grooves, and psychedelic, sometimes schizophrenic, passages. The voices, too, are in some sort of grey area that will … Read more

We’re hiring! (sort of)

by Dæv Tremblay

Yes! You’re not dreaming! The best music blog to ever be is now hiring* and you can be one of the few chosen ones to join the crew! You can write sentences in intelligible English (bonus points if you sound pretentious)? You love progressive, experimental, avant-garde, microtonal, and just plain weird music, mostly metal and rock? You have free time and are willing to work in your own [mom’s] basement? And, last but not least, you aren’t expecting any form of monetary payment* for all your hard work?! Well, all the odds are on your side!

Now you’re asking yourself … Read more