What an absolutely sublime record performed by two legends, released on one of the best labels in operation today. From Room40’s Bandcamp site: “Evening Air is the result Loren Connors and David Grubbs’s first trip to the recording studio in the two decades since their first duo album, Arborvitae (Häpna). Continue Reading
Australia
Willebrant – Coastal___
Karl Willebrant released an EP’s worth of meditative music that would be appealing to fans of groups like Embryo and Popol Vuh. The tunes are gentle, a bit on the kosmische side, and well-balanced in terms of its sonic character. This is a rather fine little release.
Love 666 – Take a Chance on Death
A quick warning ahead of time – do NOT put this in your hi-fi stereo system. Love 666’s latest album is about as lo-fi as it gets, and considering the audience chatter, this has to be a live recording. The music is harsh, brutally in-your-face noise-rock that bands like Les Continue Reading
Dirty Three – Love Changes Everything
After a long, rather painful, but necessary break, we are back! Thank you kindly for your patience. We start off with an album I’ve anticipated for awhile now, as I have been immersing myself in the works of Dirty Three’s leader Warren Ellis and his collaborations with Nick Cave as Continue Reading
Chapovski – Fogged, Encased
Bleak and morose, this is the debut recording (as far as I know) of Alexander Chapovski, related to the Čapovski clan of musicians from North Macedonia. There’s a thread of Tindersticks, Leonard Cohen and Swans in this piece, perhaps a neofolk influence as well. I look forward to hear his Continue Reading
Willebrant & Williamson – Night Daze
I was introduced to a project new to me coming from Australia. From Karl Willebrant’s Bandcamp site: “Night Daze blends immersive textures and emotive expanses that invites the listener to conceive a visual experience through soundscapes and drones utilizing bass, trumpet, field recordings, and improvised performance. The album evokes themes Continue Reading
Helen Svoboda – The Odd River
Helen Svoboda is a Finnish-Australian composer, double bassist and singer whose work reminds me in some way of Laurie Anderson’s work, but perhaps denser and more lush. This makes for a pretty phenomenal listen.
Shūko No Omit – 秘密の回顧録 (Secret Memoir)
Ramble Records out of Australia have published a unique album here – one that should be seen as a modern psychedelic rock masterpiece. From their Bandcamp site: “Shūko No Omit, the name of the band, featuring Yonju Miyaoka on guitar and Vocals, his older brother Taiju Sugimori on bass and Continue Reading
Jeff Gburek and A.J. Kaufmann – Jazzisthmus
Had I not known the previous (impressive) works of both Jeff Gburek and A.J. Kaufmann, I would have happily believed that this was a lost psychedelic music gem long forgotten about in a basement studio recorded during Soviet times. While the tones are dulcet, you never really get a chance Continue Reading
Emma Caterinicchio & Pete Swinton – Celloscapes II
Cellist Emma Caterinicchio collaborates with Indonesia-based composer and sound designer Pete Swinton for a rather blissful and drone-laden album perfect for relaxing your mind for a spell.