This is about as slow a burn as you can get. Touted as post-rock for fans of Cult of Luna and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, there is only slight connective tissue to the genre here. Instead ‘This Earth…’ finds the artists formerly known as Yodok (they gained the III when multi-instrumentalist Kristoffer Lo and drummer Tomas Järmyr invited celebrated ambient […]
Read moreIt feels incredibly safe to say that ‘Seven Horses for Seven Kings’, the latest record from German sound designer Marc Richter, won’t be for everyone. For some, just the haunting, harrowing drones of the opening track will be too much noise terror to handle. Others though, those brave enough to go on, will experience an unforgettable hour of music. ‘Ten […]
Read moreIt would be a damn shame if this got lost in the annual listmageddon and new year turnover period- ‘The Absurd Man’ is essential listening. In just under a quarter of an hour, Brighton-based four-piece Earth Moves pivot from slow-moving post-rock, past cinematic quiets and furious louds, to a searing instrumental ending. Actually one epic track cut into four, you […]
Read moreThis is quite rightfully being talked about as an important record. The debut proper from London outfit Itoldyouiwouldeatyou is a searing and personal examination of gender, sexuality, politics, and philosophy. Track by track, band leader Joey Ashworth delves into a life of discrimination and isolation for inspiration. It’s heavy going at times then, but ‘Oh Dearism’ rarely threatens to buckle […]
Read moreWhile Hammock’s last album was born from tragedy and cast in shadow, ‘Universalis’ is about survival, recovery and hope. It looks towards the light. Andrew Thompson and Marc Byrd continue to employ the neoclassical sound they’ve so brilliantly evolved over the last few years so some of this is a little sombre by default but strings now seem to soar instead of swirl, […]
Read moreSome music works as background listening. And that’s fine. But some music refuses to exist anywhere but in the closest foreground. So damn close. The latest album from Bristol doom crew Sonance is firmly in the latter category. Oh, you can try and ignore the opening, ambient movement here but when ‘Manipulation Domination Control’ finally explodes it will stop you […]
Read moreHowls are apparently not dead yet but there’s no denying they have been very very quiet for almost two years now. If this brilliant double-header does turn out to be the Brighton bunch’s last hurrah then it’s a compelling bang to go out on. ‘Eye to Eye’ and ‘Brick by Brick’ aren’t new songs though, they actually pre-date the band’s […]
Read moreThis is a special record. In fact, ‘Death Spells’ isn’t just another record, this is a real work of art. And this is one of those works capable of moving you, transporting you, maybe even changing you. This isn’t just another record, it’s a long hard stare out into the dawn or the dusk or some other time of low […]
Read moreThere’s a chance that Pijn get passed over. The Manchester-based outfit specialise in ambient drones, fraught, repeating noise, and the slowest of slow-burning post-metal. And this, their first full-length is over an hour of musical catharsis made without approval or acceptance in mind. Perhaps you expect nothing less from a paean to grief in all of its forms written by […]
Read moreThis is great. ‘Snuff’, the sophomore album by Lingua Nada, is a kid that can’t sit still, a glitter cannon fired straight into your brain, an audacious, bodacious triumph. While the German band’s debut tried and perhaps mildly succeeded in pulling away from an indie rock template, this thing is just something else. Opener ‘SVRF Party’ starts exactly like its […]
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