The Skull Defekts are great because you never know what they're gonna do on their next release (except Drone Drug, the was kinda obvious). But seriously, they could do a noise album, some intense drone, or a straight up sexy rock record like The Temple. DFX falls into the noise/drone category.
2 long untitled tracks, pretty much all electronics. The first track starts out with some heaving thrum, gets performance anxiety and starts juicin, turning itself into an introverted industrial monster spawned from the gutters of scum who's hellbent on mayhem. In a kinda pretty way.
The second piece is a bit more in your face abrasive, multi-layered mumbling with thrashy static lazerz and lawn sprinklers spewing caustic green acid. It's totally fuckin crazy. Not in a pretty way.
It's a shame DFX is sold out because the packaging is killer. But I won't even bother describing it because it'd probably just make you jealous. Instead you can just...
Forest World are honestly one of the best bands out there right now. Not sure how they're not blowing up all over the fucking place. They do the raddest minimal chiptunes ever (like on Fvtvre) and then they do sweet electro pop (with plenty of chiptune elements like on Super Bright Skullz) and all of it is just super fucking great.
MMX is their newest output and it's mostly the electro pop stuff, although there are a couple of straightup chiptune tracks. The music they make isn't some lush elaborate grandeur of emotions, it's just really straightforward and stripped down pop. And for music this basic to be so goddamn good means these guys are seriously fucking talented. They must have this super secret formula for all the right buttons to push to elate you and get your feet moving.
I really don't know how they do it. I mean, there seems to be an infinite number of other people doing almost exactly the same thing, but everyone else just falls flat. Forest World nails it every fucking time. And they're making sure you have multiple options for listening to MMX: buy the handmade physical copy for $5, stream it or download it for $4 on Bandcamp, or share it and get a free download.
They're on tour right now and you should definitely go out to seem them because I missed them when they stopped in Boston and that's a fucking tragedy. :(
P.S. There's a "hidden track" that's a MIDI cover of "Like A Prayer" that is probably the funnest Madonna cover ever.
P.P.S. Watch the insanely twisted video for the single "Jodie Jensen" because it gives an entirely different meaning to the song.
"Radiant Arc," one of my favorites, gets in a rad as fuck groove, somehow both chill & rocking, and stays there the entire time with droning organ melodies and intermittent squelches of electronics. I could just listen to that jam for the entire album, eyes closed, head keeping in time with the propulsive beat, and letting the CEV take over.
"Rainbow Bloodsucker" is the title track from Doomstar!'s latest BandCamp EP. It's a loud jangly mess of garage psych pop from Boston that's ridiculously pleasing on the ears. The echoed vocals, the sweet catchy riffs, the relentless drums, this is some high quality/high energy shit that fits right into what's going on in Boston right now. You can grab the whole EP for just $5.
Boston electronic dude Symbion Project has a video for the new track "Exploited & Exposed" directed by David Altobelli. Loud, quiet, extreme, chill, back and forth. It's good stuff. It's got lots of abstract organic things, some digital, some real? I don't know. I'm exhausted. Watch this while I go take a nap.
Another limited slice from the fine people at Native Parts, Utom Alla'sVärldens Minsta Häst was supposed to be their contribution to a split release with Flora V. Fauna, but FvF broke up before that happened. That doesn't mean Utom Alla's music shouldn't be enjoyed, though! A pat on the back for Native Parts coming through on their end.
Världens Minsta Häst is one of those weird, nearly indescribable records that can only come from Sweden. It's got sounds, lots and lots of sounds, and they rarely make sense, either collectively or individually. The only way this album can make any sense is if you just assume it's haunted. There's phantom bird tweets, stuttered ghostly vocals, growling dead engines, audible but stationary chimes, rewound wind, explosive micro-blasts that leave no damage, basically a bunch of sounds coming from nothing and leaving no trace behind. Listen to this enough times and you'll end up going insane. I think.
Truth be told, Utom Alla kinda scare me. I'm not really sure how someone from this dimension could make a record like this. It's some DAMN fine music, and I just know I'll end up listening to Världens enough times to lose my mind. I can't help it, though. Not when it's this fantastic & intriguing. Only 50 copies of this bad boy, so hurry your ass up. Just don't say you weren't warned.
This is another one from the last batch of Dynamo! Sound Collective stuff, a split 20 minute tape between 2 Pittsburgh dudes both wading waist deep in the drone.
D!SC head Hunted Creatures starts things off with a murky bog of evil purity on "Ode To Spunky (Saved)" that's all groaning Goblin synth and amplified tape hiss. On the first half. The latter part of the song chills out and is a beautifully somber organ piece, sweet melancholic melodies soaring above a throbbing hum. Definitely getting a "saved" feeling from this part, going to heaven and all that jazz. And honestly, if heaven sounds like this, I'm all for it. This is some seriously gorgeous stuff.
D/S/Miller's side is broken up into 2 tracks, the first one "Blowing Out A Match" clocking in at 7 and a half minutes and fuck it is really awesome. Lots of warble and skittering hiss, a highly elaborate landscape of texture. It could probably be found on some icy minimal electronics comp and it wouldn't seem very out of place. Its foundation of drone eventually gets flushed out, getting thicker & denser, while the entire thing ramps up in volume & intensity without adding a whole lot else to the mix. It never really climaxes, though, just gets loud enough to be super fucking cool and then drops out like you're not good enough for it.
The second, shorter track "Mesocyclone" is a quick stint of subtly blippy glitched high end drone that cleanses your ears with golden mist before prepping you for another go.
Honestly, there are a lot of things $6 can get you, but I'm pretty sure none of them are as high quality as this tape right here. Limited to 50 hand numbered copies, I'm sure you need this, even if only for that superb John Lennon looking dude praying on the cover art.
Felix Kubin & Jessica Rylan: the deadpan spoken word stuff wasn't especially my kinda thing, but all the crazy electronics, muy amazing, and Jessica's voice, always intense
Felix Kubin & Keith Fullerton Whitman: cosmic cavemen playing Kerplunk, air bubbles popping underwater, malfunctioning retro sci-fi equipment
And the best part of the evening, Kubin did a live score to René Clair’s silent short from 1924, Entr’acte. Totally awesome. But no photos, obviously.
This is one of the many infinitely limited releases that's sold out from the brilliant CD-R label Mystery Sea. Usually only 100 copies of each album, and every goddamn one is a fucking beauty. Tzesne'sCliffs Under The Mist is no different.
You should be able to guess what this sounds like just on the name alone. Super minimal, gorgeous, haunting drone. 3 looong tracks clocking in around 50 minutes total. I think it might be made entirely of field recordings, too. The liner notes don't list any instruments, just various coves from where sounds were gathered. Which is awesome because it doesn't always sound like field recordings, unless there were low flying jets with extra resonant engines that day.
It's called Cliffs Under The Mist but sometimes I get much more of a "cliffs under the sea" kinda feeling from it. It's more rich & dense than I imagined mist would be, and there's a shimmering quality like looking up at the sun from the bottom of the ocean. Not like I think the album is poorly titled. In fact just the opposite. The title is what originally drew me in before I bought it and it still does a good job of getting the point across.
It's all 100% magnificent, if not overtly stunning. It's heavy and intense, moody to the point of being emo (but never ever 'cause emo drone? exactly. never), and so soporifically textured it doesn't matter that it's not the most blissful drone under the sun (or mist (sorry)).
Why it took me 3 years to review this is beyond me. But whatever because now it's sold out and probably never coming back and I'm being a nice guy and sharing it with you all because it deserves to be heard by more than 100 people.
I Want To Review Your Music If you make music and you want it reviewed on my blog, just send me an e-mail. I would love to hear what you're making and give you a little more exposure in the process.
Disclaimer All of the music on this site is for promotional and sampling purposes only. If you enjoy it, please consider buying the record or going to see the band live. They will appreciate it, I promise. If you own the rights to a song on this site and you would like it removed, please contact me and I will do so as quickly as my tiny paws allow.
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