For the love of music
Taking in any Of Montreal record requires a certain degree of endurance and stamina on the part of the listener. Sure, more people would probably opt for a listening session of Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? over Dream Theater’s Images and Words, but Kevin Barnes’ technicolor potpourri of lascivious glam-pop and spastic psychedelia is … [Read more...]
Sear Bliss can best be described as a non-conventional, atmospheric black metal band from Hungary. Their new album Eternal Recurrence on Candlelight Records is their seventh full length release since their inception in 1993. This is my first foray into this audial madness and from my first overall impression it seems a worthy offering to the … [Read more...]
So it seems that the new year will begin much like it ended; reviewing albums crafted by a one man band. Thy Catafalque are an avant-garde metal band that hail from Hungary. The year 2011AD brought the release of their fifth full length album Rengeteg on Season of Mist records. Let’s see what mastermind and sole member, Tamas Katai has in … [Read more...]
Through many kinds of sounds, styles and substance, Björk has always supported a poignant affection of splendid music. For practically twenty years the Icelandic musician has stepped out of her skin, time after time, to craft some of the better albums of these decades. Post and Vespertine nestle within the realm of masterpiece territory and much … [Read more...]
Too often bands release b-sides and rarities as compilations. Too often these releases seem like a desperate attempt by the record label to capitalize on the success of said band. I typically scoff at this maneuver as I believe there is a good reason these tracks weren't included on the original albums...they're not worthy. They didn't … [Read more...]
With a solo catalog that spans not even 10 years yet boasts more than a dozen (and counting) albums of original material, it seemed sort of inevitable that songwriter and guitar demigod Omar Rodriguez Lopez would try his hand at tidying up more than 150 tracks worth of volatile experimental rock and whittling them down to a judicious collection of … [Read more...]
Based around the compositions of singer Claudio Milano, Nichelodeon fits into a category all its own – avant-garde progressive opera. As the band’s first studio album (and follow-up to the live LP, Cinemanemico), Il Gioco del Silenzio (The Game of Silence) is a strange and hauntingly poetic piece. While the histrionic aspects aren’t for … [Read more...]
Through the aim of making something conceptually rich but without the fear of having to commit to a single idea, Beep deliver what is truly a sprawling array of sounds with City of the Future. Relying on the use of colorful instrumentation and raw musicianship, the experimental trio has found an assorted collection in delivering compelling new … [Read more...]
The cover art that accompanies the latest collection of new music from Los Angeles based guitar virtuoso Bryan Baker gives more than a hint of what the listener can expect from this latest foray into the avant-garde. Like the image that represents it, these compositions sound like slabs of cool steel flecked with an icy frost; everything on this … [Read more...]
In our lives we rarely come across music that is so shamelessly unconcerned with conventions of genre, that when we do actually hear these types of sounds emanating from our musical devices it deserves at the very least to be heard. I looked in my inbox on Wednesday and I saw the title of an album that sounded more like a secret government project … [Read more...]