Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of October 27th, 2023. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: October 27, 2023 –
Aegrus: Invoking the Abysmal Night
Genre: Black Metal
Label: Osmose Productions
Angie McMahon: Light, Dark, Light Again
Genre: Singer Songwriter
Label: Gracie
Autopsy: Ashes, Organs, Blood and Crypts
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Peaceville
Closure In Moscow: Soft Hell
Genre: Alternative / Progressive Rock
Label: Self released
DJ Shadow: Action Adventure
Genre: Electronic / Hip Hop
Label: Mass Appeal
Dokken: Heaven Comes Down
Genre: Hard Rock
Label: Napalm
Doro: Conqueress
Genre: Heavy Metal
Label: Season of Mist
Duran Duran: Danse Macabre
Genre: Pop rock
Label: BMG
End: The Sin of Human Frailty
Genre: Metalcore
Label: Closed Casket Activities
Endseeker: Global Worming
Genre: Death metal
Label: Metal Blade
The Gaslight Anthem: History Books
Genre: Indie Rock
Label: Thirty Tigers
Gazelle…
This interview was conducted and formatted by user Slex
After a ten year hiatus in which the band remained hard at work, beloved (at least on Sput) alternative rock band There Will Be Fireworks have finally returned with a follow-up to the cult classic The Dark Dark Bright. Ahead of the impending release of Summer Moon on November 3rd I was able to correspond with Nicholas McManus (vocals, synths, guitar) and Adam Ketterer (drums).
The first question I have is, did you guys ever feel burdened by the legacy of The Dark Dark Bright? At least on Sput it was hailed by many as an instant classic, did that shadow ever loom as you guys worked on Summer Moon?
NM: I think it’s all relative. We’re aware that there are these amazing little pockets online that still love The Dark, Dark Bright – and we’re really appreciative of that and humbled by it – but we’re equally aware that in the grand scheme of things we’re a little DIY band self-releasing records to a small audience. To be honest, we kind of thought everyone would have forgotten about us anyway. It wasn’t until we re-released The Dark, Dark Bright on vinyl earlier this year that we realised how many people still cared. There’s a certain freedom that comes from all that. Also, we don’t do this for a living, we’re not actively involved in any scene and we’ve not been playing shows, so for most of the last ten…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of October 20th, 2023. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: October 20th, 2023 –
Afterbirth: In But Not Of
Genre: Progressive Death Metal
Label: Willowtip Records
The Amenta: Plague of Locus
Genre: Industrial / Blackened Death Metal
Label: Independent
Angelus Apatrida: Aftermath
Genre: Thrash
Label: Napalm Records
Asagraum: Veil of Death, Ruptured
Genre: Black Metal
Label: Edged Circle Productions
Blink-182: One More Time
Genre: Pop Punk / Alternative
Label: Columbia Records
Bombay Bicycle Club: My Big Day
Genre: Indie Pop / Indie Rock
Label: Mmm… Records
The Callous Daoboys: God Smiles Upon the Callous Daoboys
Genre: Mathcore / Metalcore
Label: Independent
Catch Your Breath: Shame On Me
Genre: Alternative / Metal
Label: Thriller Records
Cirith Ungol: Dark Parade
Genre: Heavy Metal / Power Metal
Label: Metal Blade Records
City Girls: Raw
Genre: Hip-Hop
Label: Capitol Records
Daria Zawialow: Dziewczyna Pop
Genre: Electronic / Pop
Label: Sony
Dreamwell: In My Saddest Dreams, I Am Beside You
Genre: Post Hardcore
Label: Prosthetic Records
Duff McKagan: Lighthouse
Genre: Rock
Label: The World
…
yeule-softscars
I was introduced to yeule through last year’s enigmatic Glitch Princess, an ethereally digitized outpouring of self-doubt and alienation consistently channeled through the prettiest of vocal melodies. I absolutely positively did not think it could be improved upon with… of all things… the addition of electric guitars to yeule’s warped palette. What makes softscars feel like such a jump is how yeule is able to push their sophisticated songwriting into a more approachable direction while maintaining their elusive aura. They can turn what is essentially an indie guitar ballad like “software update” into one of the most over-stimulating pieces of music you’ll hear this year with no sweat. The striking amount of detail hiding within these seemingly skeletal nostalgia-laden alt instrumentals almost acts as a mirage for the sharp stabs of nihilism and the longing for real connection in the digital age within yeule’s lyrics. Contrasted with Glitch Princess, where pitch-corrected existential dread threatened to swallow them whole, softscars sees yeule finding a little solace in the struggle of being human, expressed through rawer yet familiarly chameleonic vocal stylings and all the reverb an android can process. softscars is endlessly catchy and infinitely layered and potentially the best album of 2023.
-AlexKzillion
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By Sowing
Monday October 9, 2023
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Here’s a list of notable new releases for the week of October 13th, 2023. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: October 13th, 2023 –
+++(Crosses): Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete
Genre: Alternative Rock/Electronic
Label: Warner
Amorphis: Queen of Time (Live at Tavastia 2021)
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
Label: Atomic Fire
Anna Hillburg: Tired Girls
Genre: Indie-Pop
Label: Speakeasy Studios
Beartooth: The Surface
Genre: Hardcore/Metalcore
Label: Red Bull Records
Beastwars: Tyranny of Distance
Genre: Sludge Metal/Stoner Rock
Label: Destroy Records
Blue October: Spinning the Truth Around Part 2
Genre: Alternative Rock / Pop
Label: Up/Down Records
Body Void: Atrocity Machine
Genre: Sludge Metal/Doom Metal/Hardcore
Label: Prosthetic Records
Boygenius: The Rest
Genre: Indie-Folk/Indie-Rock
Label: Interscope
CMAT: Crazymad, For Me
Genre: Country/Indie-Pop
Label: CMATBABY
Creeper: Sanguivore
Genre: Gothic/Indie-Rock
Label: Spinefarm
Free Throw: Lessons That We Swear to Keep
Genre: Emo/Indie-Rock
Label: Triple Crown
Geese: 4D Country
Genre: Post-Punk/Indie-Rock/Country
Label: Partisan Records
Goat: Medicine
Genre: Psychedelic/Folk
Label: Rocket…
Just in time for the start of pumpkin spice spooky season, here’s a list of notable new releases for the week of October 6th, 2023. Genres/labels are best guesses based on cursory Googling and should not be taken seriously. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors. Or don’t, whatever. I’m not your mom.
– List of Releases: October 6th, 2023 –
Carnifex – Necromanteum
Genre: Deathcore / Symphonic Black Metal
Label: Nuclear Blast
Citizen – CALLING THE DOGS
Genre: Alternative / Post-Punk Revival
Label: Run For Cover
Claire Rosinkranz – Just Because
Genre: Bedroom Pop
Label: Republic
Colbie Caillat – Along the Way
Genre: Country Pop
Label: Blue Jean Baby
The Dear Hunter – Migrant Returned
Genre: Art Rock
Label: Equal Vision
Dogstar – Somewhere Between the Power Lines and Palm Trees
Genre: Alternative Rock / Garage Rock Revival
Label: Dillon Street Records
Dorian Electra – Fanfare
Genre: Hyperpop
Label: Dorian Electra Inc.
Drake – For All the Dogs
Genre: Alternative R&B / Trap Soul
Label: OVO, Republic
Ethan P. Flynn – Abandon All Hope
Genre: Art Pop / Indietronica
Label: Young
EXEK – The Map and The…
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By Sowing
Monday October 2, 2023
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2023 :: Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4
Sputnikmusic Staff’s Q3 Playlist 2023
Welcome to the third installment for our 2023 quarterly playlist! Feel free to jam the playlist below while reading what our writers had to say about each selection. Tell us what your favorites are in the comments, any new artists you may have discovered here, or let us know what we missed!
Tracklist:
Angelo De Augustine – “Memory Palace”
Toil and Trouble
Proving himself as more than just the best Sufjan knockoff ever, De Augustine has now successfully built the cutest little unique kingdom all to himself, perfected on his 4th LP, and you should visit. The melancholic ivy spiraling around “Memory Palace”, in particular, is surprisingly warm. More than that: it’s the slow-burning summer HIT that never was. –Asleep
Bearings – “Howie, You’re a Freak”
The Best Part About Being Human
Every once in a while I delude myself into thinking that I have outgrown pop punk. Next thing you know, “Howie, You’re a Freak” deploys its incredibly infectious chorus to work its way into my head and overtake my summer. Dammit. At least pop punk will never outgrow me, either. –jesper
Big Thief – “Vampire Empire”
Vampire Empire…
KILL or KEEP Vol.12
Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher
someone walks into a bar. It’s someone. I am johnnyoftheWell. It was a slow afternoon, and there we were. KILL or KEEP? Aye, why not – which record? Several meaningful opuses were teased, all of them beyond the space of our timeslot. Where does gravity default to on a slow afternoon? Well… has anyone ever listened to Phoebe Bridgers on a fast afternoon? Is such a thing even possible? Please do contact us immediately if you have pulled this off. We signed our rights away. It was time: time to get punished! Has her downer norm-magnet SowingSeason “5.0 Classic” passport to all of social media all the bloody time throughout the whole pandemic aged well? Time to find out…
Rules
The team is johnnyoftheWell, and someone.
Every song must either be KILLed or KEEPed.
There is no minimum KILL threshold.
Every time a song is KILLed, the KILLer must name a vaguely Boygenius-adjacent artist whomst’ve the youthes should be consuming instead.
Okay.
Starting Impressions
jotW: Um, I expect little from this album and am ready for anything? It has disappointed me many times and probably aged more than anyone including me is/was prepared to admit. This is very exciting boy I can’t wait to see what someone does to it.
someone: I remember listening to the record a bunch back in the…
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By Dewinged
Wednesday September 27, 2023
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Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of September 29th, 2023. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: September 29, 2023 –
’68: Yes, And…
Genre: Noise Rock
Label: Pure Noise
Animal Collective: Isn’t It Now?
Genre: Alternative
Label: Domino Recording Co.
Beverley Knight: The Fifth Chapter
Genre: r&b
Label: BMG
Blackbriar: A Dark Euphony
Genre: Symphonic Metal
Label: Season of Mist
Black Stone Cherry: Screamin’ at the Sky
Genre: Hard Rock
Label: Mascot Label Group
Blonde Redhead: Sit Down For Dinner
Genre: Indie Rock
Label: Section 1
Blood Command: World Domination
Genre: Punk Rock
Label: Hassle
Caged: From Roving About the Earth
Genre: Death Doom
Label: Translation Loss
Cherry Glazerr: I Don’t Want You Anymore
Genre: Indie Rock
Label: Secretly Canadian
Code Orange: The Above
Genre: Metalcore
Label: Blue Grape Music
Ed Sheeran: Autumn Variations
Genre: Singer Songwriter
Label: Gingerbread Man
…
Who doesn’t like a good documentary? Me personally, I’m a stickler for watching anything so long as the production values are there and the editing and pacing is done well. For me, I know of Justin Pearson and his label Three One G, as well as some of his most recent projects (the excellent Deaf Club and Satanic Planet being a couple of them), but I’d only ever heard of The Locust in passing. The point I’m making here is that, Don’t Fall in Love with Yourself is one of those excellently put together documentaries where you don’t have to be a fan to enjoy the movie. For any The Locust fan or Justin Pearson follower out there however, you’re in for a real treat. Don’t Fall in Love with Yourself is a 90-minute documentary that follows Justin’s life and career – from his turbulent upbringing, right through to his bands and how he came to establish the record label Three One G. The film delves into the social landscape during his formative years in San Diego, and where he saw potential in an under-utilised music scene; the impetus for The Locust and how they came to be, following the band through Europe, Japan and the UK on their crazy shows; and all the surprising bits in between, like voice acting for cartoons and acting in movies. There’s extensive archive footage that follows all of this, but the meat of the film follows The Locust on their tours and the crazy stuff that happened…
An interview with BaselineOOO
Music has had a bad year. Sputnik has had a bad year. Awful things have happened, and the jury is still out on who to blame — silly jury! They should spend less time pointing their fingers and more time clapping their hands at the one user who can save us. After a randomised selection of noble volunteers, it was determined by fated that this user would none other than the site’s longtime dismantler of philosophies, distorter of diets, shredder of manchildren, encourager of all the most unlikely and profane interests, BaselineOOO! Here she is! There will be no images: hush and look at Baseline’s words.
* * * * *
jotW: Greetings BaselineOOO, lucky winner of the Sputnik Interview Raffle. You have appeared before us today to save Sputnik. How does this feel?
BaselineOOO: Hello, Sputnik! Baseline at your service, or should I say, at your rescue? Honestly, I’m resonating with this whole “saviour” thing, my messianic syndrome is tingling. It feels like finding a glitch in reality and riding it. Saving Sputnik? Don’t I do that every day with my succulent comments? Should be like just another day at the office for me!
jotW: Let me explain the rules: I will write in italics and you will not write in italics, otherwise the interview will break and you can’t save Sputnik. I will ask you questions and you will try to answer them. You may ask me questions in response and…
Hail the Sun-Divine Inner Tension
Swancore has become a rather hot topic over the years, either met with thunderous applause or with largely exasperated groans. The one group that has stayed strong and avoided fan burnout is Hail the Sun. Their 2021 effort was met with critical acclaim, and their latest endeavor might somehow be even better. Divine Inner Tension is a showcase of divine (haha, like the album title!) power and energy that only they seem to be able to achieve anymore. With every technically driven lead and riff, there comes a beautiful transition to a much-needed respite of calm textures and melodies straight from the mouth of their virtuoso Donovan Melero. This group has had a long time to craft and perfect their sound, which they may have just accomplished. Hail the Sun have not only become veterans of a scene they once adored, they’ve grabbed their rightful seat on the throne.
-SteakByrnes
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of September 22nd, 2023. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: September 22nd, 2023 –
3teeth: Endex
Genre: Industrial Metal / Alternative
Label: Century Media
Annisokay: Abyss Pt. 1
Genre: Metalcore
Label: Arising Empire
Bakar: Halo
Genre: Indie / Hip Hop / Electronic
Label: Black Butter Limited
Cannibal Corpse: Chaos Horrific
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Metal Blade Records
Chappell Roan: The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
Genre: Pop
Label: Independent
Dayshell: Pegasus
Genre: Post Hardcore / Alternative
Label: Independent
Doja Cat: Scarlet
Genre: Hip Hop / Pop
Label: RCA Records
Dominique Fils-Aime: Our Roots Run Deep
Genre: Soul / R&B / Dream Pop
Label: Ensoul Records
Emily Kinney: Swimteam
Genre: Pop / Folk
Label: Julian Records
Follakzoid: V
Genre: Psychedelic / Ambient
Label: Sacred Bones Records
Grails: Anches en Maat
Genre: Psychedelic / Post Rock / Experimental
Label: Temporary Residence
Grrl Gang: Spunky!
Genre: Indie Rock / Indie Pop
Label: Green Island Records
K. Michelle: I’m the Problem
Genre: R&B / Pop
Label: Atlantic
…
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By Sowing
Monday September 11, 2023
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Here’s a list of prominent new releases for the week of September 15th, 2023. Genres/labels are best guesses based on cursory Googling. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: September 15th, 2023 –
30 Seconds to Mars: It’s the End of the World
Genre: Alt/Pop-Rock
Label: Concord Records
Alkaloid: Numen
Genre: Death/Progressive Metal
Label: Season of Mist
Baroness: Stone
Genre: Sludge/Progressive Metal/Stoner Rock
Label: Abraxan Hymns
The Beaches: Blame My Ex
Genre: Alternative Rock
Label: AWAL Recordings
Chilly Gonzales: French Kiss
Genre: Experimental / Hip Hop
Label: Gentle Threat
Corey Taylor: CMF2
Genre: Hard Rock
Label: BMG
Corinne Bailey Rae: Black Rainbows
Genre: Pop/R&B/Soul
Label: Thirty Tigers
Danko Jones: Electric Sounds
Genre: Hard Rock/Heavy Metal
Label: AFM
Demi Lovato: Revamped
Genre: Pop/Rock
Label: DLG Recordings
Explosions in the Sky: End
Genre: Post-Rock/Indie-Rock
Label: Temporary Residence
Gridlink: Coronet Juniper
Genre: Grind/Metal
Label: Willowtip
K.Flay: Mono
Genre: Pop-Rock/Hip-Hop
Label: Giant Music
Kid Cudi: INSANO
Genre: Hip-Hop/Alt-Rock
Label: Wicked Awesome Records
Previous Diagnoses:
Paradise Lost|Primus|Faith No More|Paramore
Good day denizens of Sputnik, and welcome to the fifth instalment of Dr. Gonzo’s “Diagnosis Series”. Today’s issue will be on L.A. trio HEALTH; looking through their mainline LPs, with a couple of recommended supplements for you to check out, just because they’re too good to pass up. So let me put on my gloves and let’s check out what this band is all about.
Band/Artist: HEALTH
Origins: Los Angeles, California U.S.
Founded: 2005
Current Members:
Jake Duzsik: (vocals, guitar)
John Famiglietti: (bass, pedals, electronics)
BJ Miller: (drums)
Previous members:
Jupiter Keyes (guitar, synths)
Studio albums: 4
Active: Yes
Health (2007)
The Doctor’s rating: 4/5
Analysis: HEALTH’s 2007 debut is in stark contrast to what the band is producing these days, but in spite of the stylistic differences, the band’s first album is still incredibly enjoyable and displays their promising potential for the future. Since the band’s genesis was founded in the underbelly of the L.A. noise rock scene, their sound here is vastly experimental, albeit, never to the point of being obtuse. The album largely lends its sonic influences from bands like Ex Models’ Zoo Psychology or a mid-noughties Liars album, like They Were Wrong, So We Drowned, but the distinction between these examples and this is that Health…
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