Archive for the ‘Singles and EPs’ Category

Watch: ‘Living Sin’ by Lord Sin

Posted: 28 November 2024 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
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Enigmatic doom and psychedelic rock duo Lord Sin has released a haunting new video for their track ‘Living Sin,’ taken from their highly anticipated sophomore album Confessions, due for release on December 13th via Larvae Records. The video premiered at Heavy Blog Is Heavy, who praised the band’s ability to capture both the fragility and finality of mortality, stating: “Mysterious duo Lord Sin capture both sides of mortality with their eerie combination of doom and psychedelic rock. Their music is largely improvised and built in layers, the two feeding off the haunted rituals of doom metal and infusing them with the unnerving unpredictability of occult rock.”

‘Living Sin’ perfectly encapsulates the spirit of Confessions — a mesmerizing mix of haunting melodies and deeply atmospheric riffs. Watch the video here:

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The band shared their thoughts on ‘Living Sin,’ explaining: “’Living Sin’ depicts a phase in the life of someone close, where, on their deathbed, they confess all their sins to a loved one, burdened by the weight of pressure just before their last breath. This person lived their life like a specter, which is why the album is titled Confessions.”

Formed in 2020, Lord Sin made a powerful debut with Portrait of the Devil (released October 11, 2020, via Miasma of Barbarity Records), which laid the groundwork for the duo’s unique blend of improvisation, doom, and psychedelic dark rock. Now, with Confessions, the band has taken their raw, spontaneous approach to new heights.

The new album was recorded live in March 2021 at Rock’n’Raw Studios in Alfornelos by Bruno Jorge, capturing the visceral energy of Lord Sin’s performances. The raw guitar and drum takes were recorded in a single live session, followed by the addition of bass, guitar, vocals, and keyboards to complete the immersive sound. Mixing and mastering was done by Ricardo Towkuhsh Rodrigues at ERRE Estúdios in September 2022, giving the album a polished yet organic quality that retains the essence of Lord Sin’s gritty, improvisational style.

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Bloom – The Season – Xmas mouse mix

Posted: 26 November 2024 in Reviews, Singles and EPs
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26th November 2024

Christopher Nosnibor

Deborah Fialkiewicz has been keeping busy – as usual. Composer of contemporary classical, ambient, and dark noise works both as a solo artist and in various collaborative permutations and guises, she’s back with a new BLOOM release in collaboration with Daniel James Dolby. And it’s a Christmas single.

I’ve never been rabid about Christmas, and the last three years have seen a succession of difficult Christmases for me personally. In December 2021, my wife was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. We weren’t even sure if she would be home for Christmas. She was, but was incredibly weak after three weeks in hospital, and that she was able to sit at the table for Christmas dinner felt like a miracle. We were in shock, and she was clearly unwell. Having made substantial improvements in rebuilding her strength through 2022, she deteriorated with the onset of winter, and again was weak and struggling over Christmas. It still doesn’t seem real that she only had another three weeks. And so Christmas 2023 was the first with just me and my daughter, aged twelve. We made the best of it, but it wasn’t the same. I detail this not for sympathy, but purely for context. It means that while around this time of year it becomes nigh on impossible to avoid festive fervour, with adverts depicting happy couples and radiant nuclear families, all the usual Christmas tunes and an inbox busting with new ones clamouring for coverage, and Facebook friends and work colleagues are dizzy with excitement over getting their decorations up, sorting secret Santa and planning social activities, I’m not feeling much enthusiasm, concerned primarily with getting through it and hoping distant relatives don’t think I’m rude or twatty for not sending cards out for the second year in succession.

When writing about music, I am often – and perhaps increasingly – aware that how we engage with it, how it affects us, is intensely personal and involves multitudinous factors. Sometimes, it’s something as arbitrary as the mood we’re in when we hear a song that will determine our response. And the chances are – and I’m no doubt not alone in this – hearing chirpy tunes when I’m down isn’t going to cheer me up, it’s going to really piss me off, or set me off. It’s impossible to predict. To be safe, I tend to try to avoid Christmas songs, which involves avoiding TV and radio – which is surprisingly easy if you spend large chunks of your time in a small room reviewing obscure music – avoiding shops – manageable – tacky pubs – easy – and ignore review requests for Christmas singles.

But there is always space for an exception, and Bloom’s ‘The Season’ is it. Deborah may have been posting pics on Facebook of the ‘festive mouse’ in the studio to mark this release, but said mouse is looking over a piece of kit called ‘Psychosis Lab’ made by Resonance Circuits. The cuddly cartoon cover art for this release is misleading, and for that, I am grateful.

It’s five minutes of deep, hefty beats melded to a throbbing industrial synth bass. Atop this thumping dance-orientated rhythm section, there are synths which bring a dark 80s synthpop vibe. In combination, the feel is in the vein of a dance remix of Depeche Mode circa ‘85 or ’86, around the point they began making the transition from bouncy pop toward altogether darker territories. It’s repetitive, hypnotic, pulsating, big on energy. But there are eerie whispers which drift through it all, distant wails like spirits rising from their graves. These haunting echoes are more evocative of Halloween than Christmas – and this is a significant part of the appeal. It’s a curious combination of ethereal mists and hefty, driving dance groove, which is simultaneously uplifting, tense, and enigmatic. It is not schmaltzy, cheesy, twee, or saccharine. It’s the season, alright. The season to be weird, to be unconventional, to accept those darker moods and remember that they will pass. It’s a Christmas anthem for those who aren’t feeling festive. And I will most certainly drink to that.

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Listen: ‘Kerkermoasta’ by Gràb

Posted: 26 November 2024 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
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GRÀB unveil the lyric video ‘Kerkermoasta’ (English ‘dungeon keeper’) as the first single taken from their forthcoming new album Kremess (English: ‘funeral feast’’ German ‘Leichenschmaus’). The sophomore full-length of the Bavarian black metal duo has been scheduled for release on February 21, 2025.

GRÀB comment: “Our first advance single ‘Kerkermoasta’ is probably the most in-your-face track of the album”, vocalist and lyricist Grànt states. “It also shows a wide range of basically everything that makes our sound unique. Some parts remind me of the best days of such bands as the Norwegians Gehenna. There is also a dulcimer that introduces the melody, mid-tempo, blast beats, groove, and a slow ending. On the lyrical side the Bavarian word ‘Kerkermoasta’ literally translates to ‘Dungeon Master’. The dungeon keeper in question is the Grim Reaper himself. In other words: Life creates the doorway, death holds the key.”

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Listen: ‘Shreds’ by Wench!

Posted: 23 November 2024 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
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It may have been out a few weeks now, but it would be remiss of us to pass on the opportunity to shout about the debut single from Hull trio Wench! following their blistering York debut…

Bursting out on to Hull’s vibrant live music scene are WENCH! & they’ve already made a massive impression at a handful of explosive gigs & local festivals. Fuelled by female rage, this angry punk trio now share their debut single ‘Shreds’ – a track about being wronged in a relationship & getting emotionally ripped to shreds by the experience.

Produced at Hull’s renowned Warren Records studio by local indie, alternative producer Adam Pattrick, ‘Shreds’ is about the courage it takes to allow yourself to be
vulnerable in situations & how this is often disrespected by abusive people we come across in the everyday.

The band explain:

“’Shreds’ is a song for anyone who feel intimidated by social situations to an extent they don’t say what they mean. We believe in expressing ourselves in a raw & unfiltered way which can sometimes backfire but enables us to speak from the heart. As a band, although we feel our songs can have a deeper meaning, we like to describe said songs
in just a few words, being direct while refusing to be polite & quiet about the issues we face”.

The innovative WENCH! comprises Kit Bligh (Lead Vocals, Drums), Hebe Gabel (Bass, Flute) & Sev Speck (Guitar, Backing vocals). Fusing Riot Grrrl punk with & alternative rock & pop, this all-female, all-queer outfit are actively speaking out about misogyny & mistreatment of women, ensuring their gigs are a safe space. Inspired by a whole host of artists including Eddi Reader, Steve Gadd, Patti Smith, Lambrini Girls & Hull’s burgeoning folk scene, the band were formed while at college, with each member
coming from a differing musical background. Sev being influenced by folk, Hebe by blues & Kit by a mix of soul, jazz & rock, but with a common bond of aspiring to be in a riot grrrl-style band.

WENCH!’s music is for those who feel they’ve been mistreated, for the powerful women who’ve been tied down by the patriarchy, for the weirdos who’ve been told they don’t fit in, as well as anyone who wants to have a memorable time at a one of their sweaty gigs.

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Listen: ‘SINGLE’ by …(something) ruined

Posted: 23 November 2024 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
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It’s been over four years since …(something) ruined unleashed their debut EP, bearing the utilitarian self-explanatory title of EP.

Absent from the live circuit, one may be forgiven for thinking that that was it. But no.

Seemingly out of nowhere, today sees the arrival of a new release, a AA-sided single, containing two slabs of truly brutal anti-corporate, antagonistic, antisocial, annihilative noise.

Prepare to be ruined.

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Watch: ‘Empty Palaces’ by Craneium

Posted: 22 November 2024 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
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Finnish progressive heavy psychedelic rockers Craneium are thrilled to announce they’ve officially signed with Majestic Mountain Records. To celebrate this exciting occasion, the band will release their brand-new single Empty Palaces’ today, available on all digital platforms.

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In a statement from the band, guitarist Martin Ahlö shared: “A friend of the band gifted us a book on old Egyptian magick, and some of the spells carried really empowering messages. It also inspired the themes that we explored a lot in our music at the moment: the inevitable decay of mankind’s empires and monuments at the hands of nature and time.”

Drummer Joel Kronqvist added, “We’re beyond excited to share a new single called ‘Empty Palaces’ with the world. This track is the perfect blend of our signature 90’s edge mixed with the soulful, retro vibes of the 70’s.”

Known for their ability to seamlessly blend classic riffing with dynamic atmospheres, Craneium explores the ebb and flow of light and heavy, drawing inspiration from ’70s hard rock, ’90s desert psychedelia, and various other musical influences. Their sound stands as both timeless and uniquely their own.

Formed in 2011 in Turku, Finland, Craneium has made a name for themselves with electrifying live performances across the Nordic countries and Europe. Having shared the stage with acts such as Skraeckoedlan (SWE) and Mars Red Sky (FRA), Craneium continues to spread their powerful sound to fans worldwide.

The band has already released four albums and two split releases and is currently working on a new full-length album, tentatively scheduled for release in 2025, now under the wing of Majestic Mountain Records.

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Watch: ‘I’ve Been Told – Absolution’ by Tulipomania

Posted: 20 November 2024 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
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Philadelphia-based art-rock duo Tulipomania are back with ‘I’ve Been Told – Absolution’, the first offering from their sixth album Absolution, inspired by an invitation from acclaimed author Jeff VanderMeer to contribute music as part of the publication of his latest novel Absolution, the surprise fourth volume in his award-winning ‘Southern Reach’ series.

With a pressingly mournful urgency, this soundscape resonates with the complex energies enveloping VanderMeer’s novel, the author having invited the duo to create music inspired by ‘Absolution’ while still a work in progress. Hearing that VanderMeer took inspiration for the ‘Absolution’ novel from their Dreaming of Sleep album, the duo enthusiastically accepted the challenge.

Alternately categorized as cult synth punks, glam-leaning, post-punk, art-rock and muscular chamber pop, Tulipomania is Tom Murray (lead vocals, synthesizer, electronic percussion) and Cheryl Gelover (synthesizer, background vocals) – they first began their collaboration through projects for experimental film and animation classes. Tulipomania evolved from those experiences. Their new Absolution album includes four new tracks inspired by VanderMeer’s new novel, plus ten alternate versions of the songs that originally sparked VanderMeer’s interest, reimagined as a cohesive sonic experience.

It’s an exciting development for the duo to be involved in this new chapter of the Southern Reach Trilogy with Absolution being the brilliant, beautiful and terrifying final word on one of the most provocative and popular speculative fiction series of our time. An instant sensation, it has been celebrated by the New York Times, Stephen King and many others. With each volume climbing the bestsellers list, accruing awards, it was ultimately adapted in a movie – now a cult classic. The trilogy has now sold more than a million copies, securing its place in the pantheon of 21st century literature.

In the liner notes to the album, VanderMeer lends insight into his creative process: “I remember being in the middle of the ecstatic visions that formed my novel Absolution and discovering Tulipomania’s music for the first time, around August of 2023 – this very album’s doppelganger, in fact. The original mix of ‘Dreaming of Sleep’. It felt like a revelation – hypnotic, pulsing music that got deep hooks into my brain, so I couldn’t stop listening to the songs. Like a lighthouse’s roving light, the songs felt like a beacon, and the recursive nature of the composition, the sense of a beating heart, a thick muscle at the core of them, combined with the surreal lyrics got deep into the novel’s DNA. … So I was really pleased that this opportunity for this wonderful contamination of (novel / album) to go the other way – the Absolution remix of ‘Dreaming of Sleep’, with four new Absolution tracks! I really love this band so much – to the point I’ve listened to and recommend their entire back catalogue – that it’s an honor.”

On Absolution, Tulipomania is immersed fully in electronic means of creation – the exception being a sole accent played on electric guitar on the last track. This record involves Executive Producer Howard Thompson, renowned as a record industry executive (Elektra, Island, Almo Sounds), credited for having discovered and / or worked with Adam and the Ants, Billy Bragg, MC5, Mötorhead, PiL, Psychedelic Furs, Robyn Hitchcock, The Sugarcubes and Suicide, among others.

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Listen: ‘Ruby Red’ Amber Asylum

Posted: 19 November 2024 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
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AMBER ASYLUM reveal the title track taken from their forthcoming new album Ruby Red. The tenth regular full-length of San Francisco’s neoclassical dark ambient quartet has been slated for release on February 14, 2025.

AMBER ASYLUM comment: “The title track of our new album, Ruby Red, is a poignant dirge that directly addresses the pain and loss inflicted by the pandemic, riots, war, and the looming specter of death”, frontwoman Kris Force writes. “Its haunting melody resonates with the collective sorrow and anguish felt in the aftermath of recent upheavals. Through mournful vocals and evocative instrumentation, the song serves as a solemn elegy, amplifying the echoes of grief caused by these tumultuous events. Each note carries the weight of collective sorrow, inviting listeners to confront the harsh realities of our world and to find solace in shared experience.”

Listen here:

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In times of trouble, women have often had to bear an even heavier burden throughout history. On their tenth full-length Ruby Red, San Francisco based all-female quartet AMBER ASYLUM offers a haunting reflection on turbulent eras, and blends instrumental passages with evocative lyrics. Ruby Red combines dirges, introspective laments, and powerful songwriting that evoke both despair and hope. The album transitions between themes of pain, loss, empowerment, and mortality, while creating a sonic landscape that is both raw and introspective. "Ruby Red" features bass, classical strings, percussion and kit, modular synthesis and female voices.

Ruby Red differs from its predecessor in the expansion of focus and depth. While earlier albums centered more on personal emotions, relationships, and journeys, Ruby Red broadens its scope to address global issues such as societal upheaval, war, and human rights. This album navigates both the personal and the global, and aims to illuminate the seen and unseen forces that influence our shared reality.

Musically, AMBER ASYLUM balance driving neoclassical elements with the raw power of pounding bass and drums, adding a potent, rhythmic force that contrasts beautifully with the quieter, brooding strings on Ruby Red. The bass and percussion create a compelling pulse that underpins the tracks, adding both intensity and depth to the album’s darker moments.

AMBER ASYLUM have taken inspiration for the lyrical concepts of Ruby Red from significant global issues such as the pandemic, riots, war, political turmoil, the threat to women’s rights, and empowerment, all while maintaining a deep connection to the extramundane. It reflects on mortality and the inevitability of death as part of a greater cosmic order, intertwining these global crises with metaphysical reflections on the resilience of the human spirit.

AMBER ASYLUM were conceived by composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist Kris Force in the Californian city of San Francisco in 1990. Throughout their ever-changing musical evolution, the band has shifted throughout a variety of styles and collaborated with a host of musicians such as Steve van Till (NEUROSIS), Sarah Schaffer (WEAKLING), John Cobbet (HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE), Leila Abdul-Rauf (VASTUM), among many others. 

With Ruby Red, AMBER ASYLUM perfectly capture the growing dread and horror of many of a new dark age falling in our time. Yet the Californians balance the eerie and unhinged with a fragile beauty and blossoming of hope. Ruby Red is a most fascinating soundtrack of all that is to come. Listen carefully.

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Listen: ‘Big Idea’ by Wylderness

Posted: 18 November 2024 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
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Cardiff Shoegazer’s ‘WYLDERNESS’ are back with a brand new single. ‘Big Idea’ will be released digitally on Monday 18th of November 2024.

Taken from their forthcoming new EP entitled ‘Safe Mode’ which will be released in 2025.

Woozy sun-drenched pop wrapped in a wall of stabbing fuzzy guitars and mesmerising shoegaze,echoing the sounds of Ride, DIIV, Sonic Youth and Yo La Tengo.

Wylderness’ eponymous debut album, released in 2018, was championed by Steve Lamacq (BBC 6 Music), Huw Stephens (BBC Radio 1) and was part of Radio 1’s Best of BBC Music Introducing. It garnered critical acclaim from Clash, DIY and Drowned in Sound, with the song On a Dais being featured on the US version of the TV show Shameless.

Wylderness have played shows for Huw Stephens, Sonic Cathedral, Swn Festival and support with Acid Mothers Temple.

The Cardiff band’s second album, Big Plans for a Blue World (2022), was recorded with an expanded line up and featured added layers of vintage synths and clarinet. It placed no.28 in Far Out Magazine’s Best Albums of 2022 and charted in the North American College & Community Radio Chart.

Wylderness are Ian (guitars/vox), Jim (bass/guitars), Ben (drums/percussion), Dan (guitars/vox), and Harri (clarinet/keys).

Hear ‘Big Idea’ here:

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Listen: ‘Comme les enfants savent aimer (How children know to love)’ by Jean Claude Vannier

Posted: 17 November 2024 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
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Ipecac is honoured to release the new album from legendary musician, composer and arranger, Jean Claude Vannier. Jean Claude Vannier et son orchestre de mandolines, out on Feb 14th, 2025 is a playful album of beautiful reveries composed on mandolin and accordion, that are both poetic and unrestrained. As of now, the new track ‘Comme les enfants savent aimer’ is shared.

About the new track, Vannier comments;

“When I was a child, my parents often took us to dinner at the restaurant in Parc Montsouris. There was a bandstand by the lake, with a few mandolins playing fashionable tunes, and the moon was shimmering on the surface of the water, where an enigmatic boat was moored.
I would have loved to have gone with the waves, with the mandolines.
Later, I spent many a night lying in the boat, dreaming of this music of love.
All these memories led me to record this album with my mandolinist friend, Vincent Beer Demande.”

A pinch of strings, a hint of childhood, melodies that touch the heart, orchestration that is always unexpected… these are just some of the elements to emerge from this album.

Hear ‘Comme les enfants savent aimer’ here:

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Photo credit: Léo Alestro

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The album title translates as Jean Claude Vannier and his mandolin orchestra, and this marks the first time that the ever-creative composer has written specifically for the mandolin. The album features fellow enthusiast Vincent Beer-Demander, whose mandolin is multiplied by an orchestra to form a singular sound palette, carefully combined with the accordion of Grégory Daltin.

Mike Patton, who collaborated with Vannier on the 2019 release, Corpse Flower, has this to say about getting to put out his new album on Ipecac, ”Jean Claude is a dear friend, mentor and a wonderfully gifted and decorated composer. Read: LEGEND. To have worked with him is an unmitigated honour. His writing and arrangements have influenced an ocean of artists and I call myself one of the lucky ones who have crossed his path. He was writing ground-breaking stuff before I was born. He has affected me deeply and I’m forever grateful and in AWE.”

The album was created as a music score for a non-existent silent film, and tells the love story of a young boy we follow through time. The second single tells more of the story…

So at night, during the week, I’d climb the facade of her building, we’d kiss through the glass and me hanging off her balcony.

On the third floor.

It felt like a condom, this cold tile between her lipstick and our two tongues working like crazy.

We loved each other like children know how.

As if for the last time.

Jean Claude Vannier, whom the press refer to as “the rare bird”, has worked over the past 60 years most famously with Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin, as well as artists such as Beck and Sean Lennon. He’s worked on countless soundtracks, released six solo albums and is a French pop-culture icon who’s composed for Eurovision, directed videos, exhibited paintings, hosted radio shows and published short stories.

This new album features mandolin virtuoso Vincent Beer-Demander, who has won multiple awards and collaborated with the French National Orchestra, Czeske Philharmonic, Mid-Atlantic Symphonic Orchestra and hundreds more around the world. Sounding like nothing else that either Demander nor Vannier has done before.

Also featured is Grégory Daltin, whose accordion playing brings another dimension to this beautiful album.

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