Yaldabaoth – That which Whets the Saccharine Palate (Lycaean Triune)

Here’s a gargantuan Alaskan black metal band: Yaldabaoth. I’ve been waiting over a year for That which Whets the Saccharine Palate to whet my saccharine palate. It was almost released in early 2019, but soon after the announcement it was taken offline and I didn’t hear from it until very recently, when it officially released! Enter, seeker of dissonance, and find what thou seekest!

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Syzygy – Xendeavor One

When will we run out of microtonal calembours? Hopefully never! Here’s Xendeavor One, from John Lervold’s electro-xenharmonic project Syzygy. The follow-up to Ouroboros expands a lot on its predecessor, with almost forty minutes of new material divided among thirteen tracks in nine temperaments. It’s a gorgeously diverse and fascinating album filled with uncommon harmonies and unexplored possibilities.

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Y/N – Part Ⅰ: It’s Glass & Part Ⅱ: It’s Also Glass

Experimental pop artist Y/N released, a few years ago, Larry and the Eternal Light, one of my favourite albums of the year, and so it is with much excitement that I present to you a double EP release about… glass? and brains? and aliens? Honestly I’m not entirely certain what it’s about, but I know the music’s great! Y/N’s very idiosyncratic approach to composition still shine and make this diptych one really fun ride!

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Souphl – Commérages

Souphl is definitely one of the strongest newcomers from the Québec death metal scene. Unafraid to experiment with harmony, rhythm, timbre, excerpts, and structure, Commérages is instantly a memorable release, and a staple of its genre. The album revolves around the concept of commérages (gossips) and their impact, with the phrase de médisance à calomnie (from scandal to slander) being quite à propos.

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Jon Hatamiya – More Than Anything (Orenda)

Jon Hatamiya‘s More Than Anything is a collection of compositions for septet (plus one for sextet). Stemming from one of the biggest griefs one can encounter in life, the nine pieces nevertheless go through a wide range of feelings, from the expectedly mournful, to hope, and acceptance. It’s a wonderful record!

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Cocanha – Puput (Pagans)

I fell in love with the Occitan folk trio Cocanha with their previous album, I ès ?, and only fell deeper with the release of Puput. The three women sing with energy and euphoria polyphonic compositions in the folkloric tradition, accompanying themselves with hands, feet, and stringed tambourine. They also like to experiment with temperament from time to time, and voice is the best instrument to experiment with when you control it so masterfully. Case in point: move to about 2:20 in “La sovenença” and rejoice in the beautifully horrific harmony there!