Sharing the sharing.
Oakland band What’s Important are releasing their latest album, bloodsoaked castle, today. Their PR refers to their sound as “mutant pop,” and their Bandcamp page calls it “castle pop.” I don’t know what either of those genres / sub-genres mean. What I do know is that bloodsoaked castle contains some glitchy, pop punk meets electro pop goodness. Check out “i think about it a lot” (below) for a taste.
bloodsoaked castle is out now via Cherub Dream Records. Get it. Enjoy.
Pioneering electronic musician and producer Prefuse 73 — aka Guillermo Scott Herren — is following up his latest album, New Strategies for Modern Crime Vol. 1 (released in March), with New Strategies for Modern Crime Vol. 2, which is set to be released at the end of June via Lex Records.
His latest single, “Vast Wildlife Poison,” (below) is a groovy, bass-heavy, jazz-tinged three-and-a-half minutes that could be plugged into any 1960’s French spy movie. Enjoy.
Oakland’s Houses of Heaven are back with their sophomore LP, Within/Without. It’s 10 solid tracks of grimy, pulsating, dark wave, mingled with early industrial elements à la Nitzer Ebb and 80s-era Ministry. Think about your scariest nightmare, this album could soundtrack that nightmare.
Check out “Within/Without” and the album standout (IMO) “Deserve” featuring Ms. Boan Mariana Saldaña on vocals (below) for a tasting.
Within/Without is out on Friday (04/26/2024) via Felte Records. Cop it. Enjoy.
billy woods, half of Armand Hammer, dropped his 13th studio album, Maps. This is his second album with producer Kenny Segal following their critically acclaimed 2019 album, Hiding Places. The duo keep building on their early 2010s underground, experimental hip-hop sound – giving vulnerable, eerie, and tense vibes throughout.
The sounds and emotions of Maps remind the listener of the self-reflection and wisdom you get while traveling. Maps leans into the honest – and sometimes frustrating – feeling of travel as well. woods and Segal brought in more featured artists this time around – including indie hip-hop heavies like Quelle Chris and Aesop Rock. And teamwork makes the dream work: the eighth track, “Year Zero,” has some of the hardest bars we have heard all year with Danny Brown bringing his heavy hitter sound of the underground hip-hop.
Maps is available now on vinyl and digitally via BackwoodzStudioz.
Mint Field are a duo out of Mexico City, Mexico. Their new album Aprender a Ser (Learning To Be) is a shimmery ride through bits of dream pop, shoegaze and trip hop (that’s a bit of a stretch, but I’m going with it). The slightly blurry, yet shiny image used for the album cover describes their sound better that I ever could. If I were to rate this it would be 5 wooden nickles!
Aprender a Ser is out on Friday 10/27/2023. You need this album in your life. You can check out the singles “El Suspiro Cambia Todo”, “Nuevo Sol” and “Orquídea” below. They represent the album well. Enjoy.
Melenas are back with a magnificent new album titled Ahora. This quartet out of Pamplona, Spain have it all dialed in – I’m talking jangly guitars, pulsing synths, fuzz, gaze, gauze, noise, you name it, it’s probably in there.
Ahora is (as I said in a previous post) 10 tracks of kraut-meets-Stereolab, electro-pop goodness. Check out “Bang” below; it’s so rad, I find myself humming or whistling it all day.
Ahora comes out on Friday (09/29/2023) via Trouble In Mind Records. You can get it on vinyl from us or from Trouble In Mind. Just get it! Enjoy.
Body of Leaves are a 4-piece band out of Salt Lake City. They self-released their debut (I believe) album, Hell Nightmare, back in May. It’s 8 tracks of really well done post-punk-dark-wave goodness delivered through driving/pounding bass and drums, piercing synths and some amazing wall of sound guitar work. It’s really damn good.
I slept on this album WAY too long, but was shown the light last night seeing them open for Sweeping Promises. Don’t repeat my mistake, check out “Follow”, “Disclosure” and “Such a Gift” below. Do it! This is the good stuff.
Hell Nightmare is out now via their Bandcamp page. Enjoy.
Memphis trio Optic Sink bring the heat on their latest release (and first) with Feel It Records, Glass Blocks. It’s a bass-driven album packed with all the synths your heart desires along with crazy-tight digital percussion. Their minimalist approach comes off warm and packs a punch. It’s a refreshing take on post-punk. Check out “Live Illusion” and “A Face In The Crowd” (below) for a taste.
Glass Blocks is out now via Feel It Records. Get it. Bop to it. Enjoy.
We are so excited for the new Melenas album that we are sharing their latest single “K2” ahead of our review of their upcoming LP Ahora.
“K2” is a synth driven, bouncy, kraut-meets-Stereolab, electro-pop tune that sticks to your brain like pine tar. This is the best kind of earworm. Check out the stream and video below.
Ahora is out on September 29 via Trouble In Mind and judging from the three available singles, it will be on lots of year end lists. Enjoy.
Ramona Lisa is the side project/alter ego of Caroline Polachek. Being influenced by the film soundtracks of horror director Dario Argento, Polachek assumed the darker persona of Ramona Lisa.
Polachek recorded most of the album on a laptop using MIDI instrumentation. She released her debut — Arcadia — as Ramona Lisa in 2014 on Terrible Records. It is being reissued today through Polachek’s Perpetual Novice.
Check out “ Izzit True What They Tell Me” below and while you’re listening you can pick up a copy of it here.