Bolt Gun – Begotten (Art as Catharsis)

“Ambient noise black doom” is the tag that best describes what you’re about to hear. Although, not all at once. Begotten is a carefully constructed piece that ranges indeed from ambient music all the way to blackened doom metal and harsh noise, but the arrangement and choice of sounds on this album are downright otherworldly. It may take ages for a song to truly kick in, if it even does so, but all the buildup gives way to such a cathartic explosion it’s difficult to put words on! It’s a soundtrack to grief, … Read more

Serpents of Pakhangba – Serpents of Pakhangba

Serpents of Pakhangba is the latest project of multi-instrumentalist and composer Vishal J Singh, of Amogh Symphony fame. This new quartet errs into the sounds of avant-prog, noise rock, and free jazz, and the coalescing result of this bizarre amalgamation is truly more than the sum of its parts. The album comes out late May!

James George Thirlwell & Simon Steensland – Oscillospira (Ipecac)

The last I heard of Steensland he just released 25 Years of Minimum R&B, which is absolutely fantastic! Now, joined by composer JG Thirlwell, he appears on Oscillospira… Read more

Tyshawn Sorey – Unfiltered (Pi)

Unfortunately, Unfiltered is unavailable for online streaming, so here’s a video of Tyshawn drumming instead.

Tyshawn Sorey is a genius drummer and composer from New York, and nowhere is it clearer than on Unfiltered. The album consists of a single piece over two hours in length, split for obvious reason into three parts on disc. “Unfiltered” is an enterprise of pharaonic scale, played by a sextet of legendary musicians, including vibraphonist Sasha Berliner, whom we covered in the past. It’s a composition that takes inspirations from all across the board, from the spiritual … Read more