Tag Archives: free jazz

Lunatic Tone Orchestra, Forelunar, Brendan Byrnes, and Spinifex

by Dæv Tremblay

Lunatic Tone Orchestra – Chronicle of Faith


Take symphonic metal and J-pop, what do you get? If you thought Babymetal, you’re not far off! While the emphasis is less on high-energy rock anthems or mellow ballads, Lunatic Tone Orchestra—狂奏楽団 (Kyō sōgaku-dan) in Japanese—is focused more on the prog aspect of the genre, calling themselves “progressive philosophy metal”, whatever that means. If you have a Coexist sticker on your car, you better start listening to this album right away!

Forelunar – Beloved and a Thousand Seraphim


Iran is undergoing some kind of turmoil these days. Look it up, it’s a revolution!… Read more

Backxwash, Adapar, Cydemind, and Horse Lords

by Dæv Tremblay

Backxwash – His Happiness Shall Come First Even though We Are Suffering


Backxwash—Montréal-based rapper Ashanti Mutinta—just released their new album: His Happiness Shall Come First Even though We Are Suffering, the final part of the trilogy that began with 2020’s God Has Nothing to Do with This Leave Him Out of It. So-called “horror rap”, this is some real heavy hip-hop on the more experimental side of things. I mean, it’s got features from Pupil Slicer (mathcore) and Ghais Guevara (another experimental hip-hop artist I like), so I’m already sold on it! As dmaestaz puts it so brilliantly… Read more

Best of Noise Rock 2021

by Dæv Tremblay


I want to hear crass distortion, bass-heavy songs with harsh vocals! This is noise rock!

Number Five: Изразец – Изразец


Изразец (Izrazec) is… noise jazz? This one is somewhat hard to classify, as I first put it into the jazz category, before listening to it again more closely and ranking it with noise rock. Well, one thing is for sure, that blend is rather unique, and it’s also super satisfying! One discovery for you!

Number Four: Guzzlemug – Uncarved


Guzzlemug is a strange thing, and on Uncarved we get to hear two of their long-form compositions shine their brightest. It’s … Read more

Best of Modern Jazz 2021

by Dæv Tremblay


Here’s some of the best jazz albums of 2021!

Number Five: Wood River & Cantus domus – Sediments We Move


On Sediments We Move, Charlotte Greve takes us on quite the panoramic tour! Backed by the Cantus domus choir, this is jazz with choir, and it’s positively disconcerting. I love it so much!

Number Four: Skrim – The Crooked Path


The avant-garde jazz journey of Skrim’s Crooked Path release is one you can’t easily forget, as you’ll constantly be thrown this way or that, to the whim of the composers-improvisers leading the boat. An amazing album!

Number Three: Patrick

… Read more

Best Improvisation 2021

by Dæv Tremblay


Improvisation is often seen as inseparable from jazz. Sure, you often have to improvise in jazz, but improvisation is not bound to any one genre, and I’m going to prove that to you. Here are my favourite improvised pieces of music from 2021!

Number Five: i.o – The Complete 2021 Releases


Taken together, Blasted Sentinel, No Guardians for Rusted Remains, and The Same as My Red add up to an insane 2 309 minutes! That’s about 38 hours and a half! And before you ask: yes, I listened through it all. Not in one go, I paused for … Read more