Australian purveyors of caustic and slow-burning sludge, Sundowner, have dropped a music video for a new song titled ‘Substance Abuse’, which is taken from the band’s second full-length album Lysergic Ritual due out on April 20th.
The album sees the band continuing its heavy dirge of grim, feedback laden, nihilistic sludge first offered on their 2021 debut album Guns, Knives And Tyre Irons. Lysergic Ritual is the best representation we’ve put together of what Sundowner is; just dirty, noisy, heavy sludge,” says the band.
“Having previously done everything on our own: recording/mixing/mastering etc, this time we decided to bring in Jason Fuller from Goatsound Studios to mix the album and Dav Byrne from Iridium Audio to master it, both based in Melbourne, Australia.”
Intoxicated, bluesy and corrosive riffs permeate the album from beginning to end, all mixed with an aggressive and intense mid-tempo swing and violent hardcore punk passages; for the burnt out and downtrodden.
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Drawing on inspiration from the likes of Eyehategod, Iron Monkey, Buzzov-en, Weedeater and a slew of other miscreants, Sundowner play sludge intended for those set on personal annihilation to drop out of life and embrace the sacred ritual of the riff. It’s an uneasy listening for troubled times.
‘Inspired By Me’ is the second single to be taken from ‘In This Light’, the forthcoming fifth album by Swedish dark-pop act Principe Valiente. Marking a bold evolution in the group’s decade-plus journey, ten meticulously crafted new songs lay bare the signature ethereal soundscapes and dreamy ambient allure that initially propelled them onto the alternative scene with the release of their self-titled 2011 debut album.
’In This Light’ is a symphony of mellotrons, samplers and analog synths harmonising with the celestial resonance of Rickenbacker 12-string and Gretsch guitars played by Jimmy Ottosson, further enriched by melodic piano and distinctively distorted driving bass all enveloped in the enigmatic voice of singer Fernando Honorato.
‘Inspired By Me’ follows the new album’s introductory single, ‘Something New’, which signalled a shift in direction for the current duo line-up with its dream-pop approach.
Amidst Wardruna’s songwriting hibernation, the group resurface to offer a taste of their next album with the single release and music video for the song ‘Hertan’ on 5th April.
About the new single Einar comments: “’Hertan’ is the proto-Scandinavian word for ‘heart’ and that is exactly what we explore in this in this song and film. The duality of the heart with the rhythm, flow and pulse we can see, hear, and feel in nature and in all forms of life – and the more abstract idea of the heart, The rudder on the ship of emotions, our decisions, and our true desires.”
Once again, Wardruna teamed up with Finnish director and photographer Tuukka Koski for the video production of Hertan. Koski has previously directed Wardruna´s videos for ‘Raido’, ‘Voluspá’, and ‘Grá’. This time, the production mainly took place during some freezing nights in northern Finland at the island of Hailouto.
“It is always a true pleasure to create art with Tuukka and his colleagues at Breakfast Helsinki! His experience and eye for detail as well as the ability to always conjure up next-level material, is very inspiring to be part of. Three days, three locations, no sleep but a lot of heart. This is how it went down. Hope you will enjoy the result!” – Einar Selvi
Seattle’s ‘turbowave’ pioneers, DUAL ANALOG just unveiled their new single, ‘Slave’. The song challenges perceptions and takes listeners on a journey through the complexities of desire and intimacy.
At first glance, "Slave" may seem to explore themes of S&M, but as with all things DUAL ANALOG, there’s more than meets the eye. The lyrics, cloaked in provocative imagery, actually delve into the realm of dissatisfaction and disappointment in sexual encounters, turning the traditional narrative on its head.
“We wanted to play with perceptions of sex and challenge our audience to think beyond the surface,” says vocalist Chip Roberts. “The S&M angle is like a lure, drawing listeners in, but once they dive deeper, they’ll discover the true essence of the song.”
With its pulsating beats, hypnotic melodies, and raw, emotive vocals, ‘Slave’ captures the essence of frustration and longing, painting a vivid picture of the complexities of human relationships. As with their previous releases, DUAL ANALOG delivers a sonic experience that transcends genres, blending elements of post-industrial, Neue Deutsche Härte, and aggrotech to create a sound that is uniquely their own.
LIP CRITIC are back with ‘In The Wawa (Convinced I Am God’, the latest cut from their forthcoming LP ‘Hex Dealer’ (out 17 May).
‘In The Wawa (Convinced I Am God),’ the latest single from NYC’s Lip Critic, combines banshee-possessed samples and furious percussion to create a sonic environment something like a f**ked-up rave that a bunch of hardcore kids and punks showed up to. This thrilling piece of electronic punk is an inquisition into the state of spiritual marketplace and the isolating results of consumption. The accompanying official video follows a band as they raid their label’s offices to reclaim their music.
Lip Critic’s debut album Hex Dealer will come out 17 May via Partisan. Behind previous singles ‘It’s The Magic,’ ‘The Heart,’ and ‘Milky Max,’ the band was one of the breakout artists of SXSW (“they made for an anarchic, categorization-defying experience that got better and weirder the longer it went on.” – Rolling Stone). The music has earned additional praise from Consequence (“hits like a cannonball to the chest”), Paste (“the B-52s on ketamine”), Matt Wilkinson gave them a 5/5 and Loud & Quiet said “the band has gone from conquering their neighbourhood venues to becoming one of NYC’s most talked about acts.” The album announcement in Feb came with features from NME (cover story) and DIY who said “Lip Critic are taking what it means to be a musician in 2024 and pushing all boundaries.”
Watch ‘In The Wawa (Convinced I Am God)’ here:
LIP CRITIC – UK TOUR DATES:
14 May – The Deaf Institute (The Lodge) – Manchester, UK
SUMAC the Northwest-based trio consisting of guitarist/vocalist Aaron Turner, bassist Brian Cook, and drummer Nick Yacyshyn have announced their new album The Healer, out on June 21st on 2xLP/CD and DL. Alongside the album’s announcement, the trio have shared the single ‘Yellow Dawn,’ an epic that churns meditative organ by Faith Coloccia into a glacial stomp that the band obliterates into swirls of airtight riffing and untethered, intoxicating improvisations.
On The Healer, recorded and mixed by Scott Evans (Kowloon Walled City, Thrice, Great Falls, Autopsy), SUMAC deepens its multi-faceted exploration into the parallel experiences of creation and destruction. Over the course of 4 tracks in 76 minutes, SUMAC presents a sequence of shifting movements which undergo a constant process of expansion, contraction, corruption and regrowth.
This musical methodology reflects the thematic nature of the record – narratives of experiential wounding as gateways to empowerment and evolution, both individual and collective. The group’s interpolation of melody, drone, improvisation, and complex riffing becomes a transmogrifying act embodying the depth of human experience. In its highest aspiration it mirrors our ability to endure mortal and spiritual challenges, through which we may emerge with an increased capacity for understanding, empathy, love of self and others. Dismal though the subterranean pits of The Healer may at first appear, from them can be felt the unwavering determination to embrace life, acknowledge interdependence, and honour the gift of existence.
On the eve of their album release, CNTS, the Los Angeles-band featuring members of Dead Cross, Retox and Qui, have shared a video for the title track from their new album, Thoughts & Prayers (out tomorrow, 29th March).
"’Thoughts & Prayers’ was inspired by a bad day I was having during recuperation after my accident and subsequent surgeries. I was angry and in a lot of pain, struggling to get through the day while not exacerbating my injuries. In the US, "thoughts and prayers," is a common banal response to tragedies. Whenever someone shoots up a school or an airplane crashes into a shopping mall or an entire city overdoses on fentanyl, pundits and politicians flock to the cameras and social media with, "our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families… It’s stupid and insulting." – Matt Cronk
Ahead of the release of their new album A Chaos Of Flowers, out April 19th, BIG|BRAVE have released the striking new single ‘canon : in canon,’ featuring one of the album’s featured performances by acclaimed guitarist and label-mate Marisa Anderson. Vocalist/guitarist Robin Wattie leads the ensemble with a deeply affecting melodic turns and subtly ecstatic vocal effects, while Anderson and guitarist Mathieu Ball billow in plumes of distortion and slow arpeggio beneath drummer Tasy Hudson’s delicate cymbal work.
About the track Robin Wattie comments, "I took a risk and went full R&B and to my great surprise everyone was super down. I took another risk by trying to convey the slow and heavy nature of witnessing yet another sunrise in the throes of deep sadness, grief or depression… and the sense of failure when you’re unable to navigate the outside world that seems to carry on and disregard the severity of these emotional and mental states. Marisa Anderson amplifies the track to a beauty I couldn’t have imagined."
Listen to ‘canon : in canon’ here:
BIG|BRAVE tour dates
May 3 – Duisburg, DE – Stapeltor May 4 – Brussels, BE – Les Nuits Botanique May 5 – Paris, FR – Pointe Ephemere May 6 – Bern, CH – Dachstock May 7 – Schorndorf, DE – Club Manufaktur May 8 – Graz, AT – Orpheum Extra May 9 – Budapest, HU – Durer Kert May 10 – Wien, AT – Chelsea May 11 – Krakow, PL – Kamienna12 May 12 – Warsaw, PL – Hydrozagadka May 14 – Prague Bike, CZ – Jesus May 15 – Berlin, DE – Kantine am Berghain May 16 – Aarhus, DK – VoxHall May 17 – Sonderborg, DK – Mejeriet May 18 – Copenhagen DK – A Colossal Weekend May 20 – Den Haag, NL – Paard May 21 – Antwerp, BE – Bouckenborgh May 22 – Ramsgate, UK – Ramsgate Music Hall May 23 – Brighton, UK – The Green Door Store May 24 – Bristol, UK – Dareshack May 25 – Leeds, UK – The Lending Room May 25 – London, UK – Portals Festival
German psych-rock collective Ornamental have just unveiled a new song off their first studio album Verwandlung Im Schlaf, which is scheduled to be released on April 11th via Pink-Tank Records.
Listen to this new seven-and-a-half beast of a track titled ‘Methastasis’ here:
Combining elements of heavy, psych-rock with 80’s influenced synthesizers, the quartet sound like the Germanic counterpart of King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. Verwandlung Im Schlaf takes listeners on a exciting journey through various musical landscapes, and sometimes during the duration of just one song. ‘Esoteric Warfare’ for instance, send us on a drive through a desolate and monochromatic desert, while ‘Maelstrom’ sweep us off the road and transports us straight to space.
Originally formed as a solo project of Sidney Jaffe (Arcane Allies, Burnpilot) the band transformed into a power quartet with Jonas Hehemann (Burnpilot, Tv Strange) on bass, Rouven Bienert (Tv Strange, Ruins) on Guitar/Synth and Lennart Uffmann (Brandmann) on the drums.
Australian instrumental post-rockers sleepmakeswaves have released another single from their forthcoming album "It’s Here, But I Have No Names For It" following the addition of two more US shows to their growing world tour dates. The band took to social media to tell fans about the new single:
"’Ritual Control’ was first demoed as ‘Dr. Riff Has Arrived’. I still wonder whether we were mistaken to have not kept the old title. Otto originally presented the song skeleton to us with the concern that maybe the riffs were "too dumb". In fact, Tim and I responded, they are the *perfect quantity* of dumb. Sure, these riffs aren’t going to earn a PhD. But they will hold down a full-time job, get the kids to school on time and read the occasional piece of challenging non-fiction on weekends. Courageous and heartfelt conversations like this are the core of what effective post-rock songwriting is all about. New album out next month!" -Alex
Listen to ‘Ritual Control’ here:
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The new album It’s Here, But I Have No Names For It, released on 12th April, was produced by the band themselves, at Golden Retriever Studios in Sydney, Australia. Written during the pandemic, it was originally recorded during 2022 just before the band embarked on a 3 month tour for their previous EP trilogy ‘these are not your dreams.’ Further recording was completed in 2023, including string arrangements by Simeon Bartholomew (SEIMS). The record was then mixed by Andrei Eremin (Closure in Moscow, Tash Sultana, G Flip, Luca Brasi) in Philadelphia USA and mastered by Jeff Lipton and Maria Rice at Peerless Mastering in Boston USA.
The first single ‘Super Realm Park’, prefiguring the record as a whole, is a majestic return to the classic hallmarks of the band’s melodic post-rock sound, whilst introducing new production and arrangement elements. Fans of the band’s heavy bombastic aggression will resonate with tracks such as ‘All Hail Skull’ and ‘Ritual Control.’ They also shine with invigorated melodic and emotive performances and arrangements on tracks like ‘Black Paradise’ and ‘Terror Future.’ Retaining their signature approach to heavy dynamics and crescendos the band are still at their unmatched peak when they turn their hand to cataclysmic emotional epics such as the title track and the album closer ‘This Close Forever.’
The band released a statement to fans, saying:
"The mysterious phase of nothingness, crucial to the smw creative process, is over: our new album is finally done. Thank you so much to all our listeners for your patience. It has been a slow but intense labor of love and we are proud of the songs on this record, and grateful for the many people who helped bring it to life. Hope to see you on the road in 2024, more show announcements to come, and we truly hope the new music we’re about to release resonates with you in the same way it does with us. Love smw”
Aural Aggravation 