Coming at you with all kinds of video game music this week, from yesterday’s Cool Maritime track to today’s Halosar teaser. If you were a fan of some of the sonic directions that Oneohtrix Point Never was taking on Age Of, with its bending strings and cascading digital harpsichords, you’ll enjoy this new track from duo Halosar “Pretzel Summit”. The song is the most recent single off their upcoming debut album New Forge, out TOMORROW (March 18th) via sound as language.
Did I check this track out solely based on the cool tree frog art on the cover? Partially, but I’m glad I did anyways. Cool Maritime (aka Sean Hellfritsch) is putting out his new album Big Earth Energy via Western Vinyl on May 20 – this new track “Temporal Dryft” is the first taste, and after listening + reading the press release, I’m EXCITED about this record. I should also mention the cover art (and video for the song) is done by a favorite artist + gremlin conjurer of mine, Jordan Speer – check out his work HERE.
Only five albums this month. Sure there was loads more music, high profile stuff at that, but nothing grabbed me the way these next five albums did. I listened to a few other things that were pretty good, like Sally Shaprio and Carmen Villain, but yeah – these are the jams. Take a look, y’all.
If a song is described as “hypnotic” in a press release, with mention of swirling synths and vaguely clubby drum programming, there’s a very high chance I’ll like the song. So when the newest single from Tess Roby dropped in my inbox not too long ago, I knew I had to check it out. And here it is.
Another find from my 1980s plundering – the fantastic Synthesist from Harald Grosskopf! I had seen this record once before, albeit in a different state. In 2011 or so, RVNG put together a winning team including CFCF, Stellar Om Source and Oneohtrix Point Never to cover each song on the record. I saw sites like Altered Zones (RIP) post about the record, but I never dove in (likely because it was ahead of my time). Now I’m dipped in silver paint and ready to go into electronic kraut heaven with Harald.
Oh baby, this one’s a heater. After giving us one of the best albums of 2021 in Promises, Floating Points brings us back to the club with a head-spinning new track “Vocoder”, out today. If you like his more confrontational, architectural techy bangers, you’re in for a treat.
Get to know Minneapolis musician Joe Rainey, an Ojibwe Pow Wow singer that just recently joined Justin Vernon + Aaron & Bryce Dessner’s 37d03d record label, a spot that pretty routinely supports righteous, out-there music. I really wasn’t super familiar with the specifics of pow wow singing, but from I’ve heard and read, a steady, powerful drum beat is needed, along with both soloing and choir vocals, polyrhythms and a euphoric, high pitched register. Take this long, sacred art and pair it with modern electronics and you’ve got Joe Rainey’s “no chants”, a first taste of an album that is shaping up to be required listening for folks in the US.
I know a lot of music nerds out there have listened to King Crimson’s Discipline before, but I hadn’t until this month. Yeah, it’s really good. I had always thought of the band as really maximal and theatric like most other prog bands, but man, “Matte Kudasai” kinda just sounds like a The Blue Nile or Peter Gabriel track. It rocks. The whole album is great. Check it out if you wanna get taken on a journey.
If you’re a fan of hissing, boiling noise rock baked into delightful, indie pop treats, get to know Seattle’s Star Party and put their upcoming album Meadow Flower on your release calendar. The album drops March 11, but listen to second single “Shot Down” below. The guitars feel scalding hot, while an incessant drum machine punches through panes of glass. It’s a rip-roaring good time, and is consistent with the rest of the LP. Don’t miss!
Oh baby. If you’re a reader of the blog, you know I’m a fan of some deep, dark, menacing shoegaze. I’m not sure if this technically even qualifies (but who’s gonna come foul me? A shoegaze referee?), either way, Just Mustard’s new single is loud, it’s buzzing, and it’s addictive. Gotta love the clock-tower like bass note that punctuates the buzzsaw guitars, and the lead singer’s vocals almost try and lure you into a dream-like state despite the horrors about to confront you. Check it out –>
Warm Visions 