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Here’s a list of prominent new releases for the week of September 8th, 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. Or don’t, whatever. I’m not your mom.

– List of Releases: September 8th, 2023 –

(G)I-DLE – HEAT (EP)
Genre: K-Pop
Label: Cube Entertainment

Allison Russell – The Returner
Genre: Contemporary Folk
Label: Fantasy

Anjimile – The King
Genre: Avant-Folk / Art Pop
Label: 4AD

Ashley McBryde – The Devil I Know
Genre: Contemporary Country
Label: Warner Nashville

The Chemical Brothers – For That Beautiful Feeling
Genre: Alternative Dance / Progressive House
Label: Virgin EMI

Courtney Barnett – End Of The Day
(Music from the film Anonymous Club)
Genre: Ambient
Label: Milk!, Mom+Pop

Cryptopsy – As Gomorrah Burns
Genre: Technical Death Metal
Label: Nuclear Blast

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Cyanotic – The After Effect

Genre: Industrial
Label: Glitch Mode

Dying Fetus – Make Them Beg for Death
Genre: Technical Death Metal
Label: Relapse

Finsterforst – Jenseits (EP)
Genre: Viking Metal / Folk Metal
Label: AOP

The Flower Kings – Look at You Now
Genre:


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Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of September 1st, 2023.  Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.

– List of Releases: September 1, 2023 –

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Aviations: Luminaria

Genre: Math Rock / Emo
Label: The AV Collective

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Eclipse: Megalomanium

Genre: Hard Rock
Label: Frontiers

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Empire State Bastard: Rivers of Heresy

Genre: Grindcore / Alt Rock
Label: Roadrunner

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Frankie and the Witch Fingers: Data Doom

Genre: Rock / Funk / Prog
Label: The Reverberation Appreciation Society

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Hey Colossus: In Blood

Genre: Post Punk / Post Rock
Label: Wrong Speed

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Icona Pop: Club Romantech

Genre: Pop
Label: Record Company Ten

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Imperial Crystalline Entombment: Ancient Glacial Resurgence

Genre: Black Metal
Label: Debemur Morti

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Jeff Rosenstock: Hellmode

Genre: Punk
Label: Polyvinyl

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Jessika: World Ain’t Ready

Genre: Pop
Label: BMG

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Marduk: Memento Mori

Genre: Black Metal
Label: Century Media

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The Natvral: Summer Of No Light

Genre: Folk
Label: Dirty Being

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Outergods:


Previous Diagnoses:

Paradise Lost|Primus|Faith No More

Young handsome physician in a medical robe with stethoscope

Good day denizens of Sputnik and welcome to the fourth instalment of Dr. Gonzo’s “Diagnosis Series”. Today I will be looking at Paramore, the Franklin, Tennessee outfit that captured the hearts and minds of an entire generation back in the mid-noughties, with their own brand of pop-punk. So, get out of the waiting room chair and observe the doctor, as I go through all six of their studio albums and conclude if they’re worth half a damn or not. 

Band/Artist: Paramore

Origins: Franklin, Tennessee, U.S.

Founded: 2004

Current Members:
Hayley Williams: (vocals, keyboards)

Zac Farro: (drums, keyboards)

Taylor York: (guitar, keyboards)

Previous members:

Josh Farro (guitar)

Jeremy Davis: (bass)

Jason Bynum: (guitar)

John Hembree: (bass)

Hunter Lamb: (guitar)

Studio albums: 6

Active: Yes

All We Know is Falling (2005)

Paramore_-_All_We_Know_Is_Falling

The Doctor’s rating: 3/5

Analysis: For me, All We Know is Falling is fine. It’s a decent first album that lays down the groundwork for future records. Hayley delivers some great performances on the likes of “Pressure”, “Emergency” and “Conspiracy”, and the music does a decent job of toeing the pop-punk line with some energetic drum work and infectious guitar melodies. Other than that, there’s not much else to say here.


Previous Diagnoses:

Paradise Lost|Primus 

Young handsome physician in a medical robe with stethoscope

Hello music enthusiasts and welcome to the third instalment of Dr.Gonzo’s ‘Diagnosis Series’, where I go through a band or artist’s studio recordings and find their strengths and weaknesses, recommending a few things along the way. Today we’ll be looking at San Francisco’s venerable legends Faith No More to unpack their capricious career, which ultimately led to a sublime streak of near-perfect albums, as well as the iffy ones. So grab Bjork’s fish and prepare to gasp in excitement or terror.

Band/Artist: Faith No More

Origins: San Francisco, California, U.S.

Founded: 1979

Current Members:
Mike Bordin (drums)

Billy Gould (bass)

Roddy Bottum (keyboards, rhythm guitar)

Mike Patton (vocals)

Jon Hudson (lead guitar)

Previous members:

Mike Morris (guitar, vocals)

Wade Worthington (keyboards)

Courtney Love (vocals)

Mark Bowen (guitar)

Chuck Mosley (vocals)

Jim Martin (guitar)

Trey Spruance (guitar)

Dean Menta (guitar)

Studio albums: 7

Active: Hiatus(?)

We Care a Lot (1985)
Faith_No_More-We_Care_A_Lot

The Doctor’s rating: 2/5

Analysis: I feel like Faith No More’s trajectory was very similar to how Iron Maiden started out their career. Like Iron Maiden, FNM started out with a very different sounding vocalist for their first two albums, and although Di’Anno and Mosley both bring…


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Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of August 25th, 2023.  Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.

– List of Releases: August 25th, 2023 –

Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper: Road
Genre:
Hard Rock/Metal
Label: earMUSIC

The Armed

The Armed: Perfect Saviors
Genre:
Hardcore/Noise Rock
Label: Sargent House

Ashnikko

Ashnikko: Weedkiller
Genre:
Hip-Hop/Pop
Label: Parlophone

Asking Alexandria

Asking Alexandria: Where Do We Go From Here?
Genre:
Metalcore/Post-Hardcore
Label: Better Noise Music

Disharmonium - Nahab

Blut Aus Nord: Disharmonium
Genre:
Black Metal
Label: Debemur Morti Productions

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Camille: Magie
Genre:
Art Pop
Label: MOSTIKO

Candlebox

Candlebox: The Long Goodbye
Genre:
Alt-Rock/Grunge
Label: Round Hill Records

Charlotte Cardin

Charlotte Cardin: 99 Nights
Genre:
Pop
Label: Atlantic

Cinnamon Babe

Cinnamon Babe: Fatherless
Genre:
Nu Metal
Label: N/A

Concrete Castles

Concrete Castles: Brand New Me
Genre:
Alt-Rock/Pop-Rock
Label: Velocity

Metalocalypse: Dethklok

Dethklok: Dethalbum IV
Genre:
Melodic Death Metal
Label: Turner Music Publishing

Filter

Filter: The Algorithm
Genre:
Industrial/Alt-Rock/Metal
Label: Golden Robot Records

Heirloom & Judge & Jury

Heirloom: Romanticize
Genre:
Math Rock/Indie-Folk
Label: Judge and Jury Records


Previous Diagnoses: Paradise Lost

Young handsome physician in a medical robe with stethoscope

Hello music enthusiast, and welcome to the second edition of Dr.Gonzo’s ‘Diagnosis Series’ – where I go through a band or artist’s studio recordings and find their strengths and weaknesses. Today we’ll be looking at the eccentric El Sobrante trio, Primus, delving into their weird and wonderful world filled with renditions of old children’s stories, big brown beavers, race car drivers, and fishermen. So grab a cold one and prepare to sail the sea of cheese.

Band/Artist: Primus

Origins: El Sobrante, California, U.S.

Founded: 1984

Current Members:
Les Claypool (vocals, bass)

Larry “Ler” LaLonde (guitars)

Tim “Herb” Alexander (drums)

Previous members:

Todd Huth (guitars)

Vince “Perm” Parker (drums)

Peter Libby (drums)

Robbie Bean (drums)

Tim “Curveball” Wright (drums)

Jay Lane (drums)

Brain (drums)

Buckethead (guitars)

Danny Carey (drums)

DJ Disk (turntables)

Studio albums: 9

Active: Yes

Frizzle Fry (1990)
Primus-Frizzle_Fry

The Doctor’s rating: 5/5

Analysis: Primus are one of those rare cases where an act will walk right out of the gates with their sound, ready and willing to discharge it onto the placid masses. Unlike Paradise Lost who spent decades honing their craft, Primus busted out Frizzle Fry and unleashed a sound so idiosyncratic, it’s eccentricities would blindside an entire…


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Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of July 7th, 2023.  Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.

– List of Releases: August 18th, 2023 –

After Earth: The Rarity of Reason
Genre:
Melodic Death Metal
Label: Independent

Ally Evenson: Big Lie
Genre:
Indie Pop
Label: Independent

Amaka: Oasis
Genre:
R&B / Soul
Label: Venice Music

Atreyu: The Moment You Find Your Flame
Genre:
Metal
Label: Spinefarm Music Group

Birdy: Portraits
Genre: 
Indie Pop / Pop
Label: Warner Music UK

Ciara: CiCi
Genre:
R&B / Pop / Hip Hop
Label: Beauty Marks Entertainment

The Circle: Of Awakening
Genre:
Post Black Metal / Melodic Death Metal
Label: AOP Records

Caroline Cotter: Gently as I Go
Genre:
Indie Folk
Label: Independent

Cyhra: The Vertigo Trigger
Genre:
Melodic Death Metal
Label: Nuclear Blast

Dizzy: Dizzy
Genre:
Indie Pop
Label: Royal Mountain Records

Genesis Owusu: Struggler
Genre:
Hip hop / R&B
Label: AWAL Records

Gregory Alan Isakov: Appaloosa Bones
Genre:
Indie Folk
Label: MNRK Records

Gretta Ray: Positive Spin
Genre:
Folk / Pop
Label: Ballarat Pty

Horrendous: Ontological Mysterium
Genre:
Melodic


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Chepang-Swatta

Chepang are a mostly Nepali grindcore band. On Swatta, Chepang get a little crazy. The way they do it, a slow-motion, frenzied collapse of their furious machine through the gradual opening of the insanity throttle over 50 minutes resonates pretty deeply, given the various cultural crossroads we find ourselves at. The gleefully frenzied envelope-push of Sides B, and especially C, are grandma’s cozy cableknit sweater knitted from miles of talent and that wonderfully punked-out grind desire to get completely batshit. The hay we could make of Side D’s absolute fuckstorm of an AI driven genre disintegration could feed the entire farm. But Chepang’s thrills ain’t cheap, and even when they’re immediate, they’re well earned. There’s a carefully thought-out progression to their program, to their gradual rattling loose of all but the barest ideas of structure and composition and the tropes that make up the genre. It’s a program that tries, patiently and gradually, to shake off all order, to leave just the boiling cerebral fluid of the genre formerly known as grind. By the end of this thing, the feeling arises that punk is dead, grind is dead, humanity is dead, the idea of grind as a category characterized as the sum total of its musical elements has been fed through a wood chipper and glued back together like a grotesque humanoid meat sculpture. Things get a little crazy sometimes. Things fall apart, the center cannot hold, mere anarchy and all that. Sometimes our obsession with order, with


“[to ‘live in the metaverse’], as a statement, more or less demands poetic interpretation… Because otherwise, it’s, you know. Stupid. Because your body won’t fit inside the wires.”

-Dan Olson, THE FUTURE IS A DEAD MALL

 

It’s never enough to predict the future one time, eh?

At one point in time, argue amongst yourselves when, Grimes HAD IT. Whatever “it” was- the outsider electronica dabbles, the chibi-sweet chirping vocals, the grungy art-kid look, the incendiary social media quotables- Claire Boucher had it had it had it, that cool new thing that could be your life, that “your favorite artist’s favorite new artist” JE NE SAIS QUOI. But points in time pass, the oh-so-forward-thinking dazzle of today becomes the stale gimmickry of tomorrow, and people start to notice things they didn’t at first. That firebrand eclecticism starts to look more like indecision or even rote copyism, those arresting timbres grow grating with repeat use, the tenuously-radical optics, when inspected closely, reveal only empty provocation (oh why EVER can’t we just “allow individual companies to… power our lives”). Newer newnesses show up hawking bolder and brighter and better builds of your shit (t. Kero Kero Bonito, Charli XCX, literally any artist describable as “hyperpop”), and suddenly here we are: a once-ahead-of-the-curve mood board dilettante reduced to (or revealed as?) the most exhausting, vapid techno-fetishist NFT shill in music. Like the web3 snake oil salesmen that have seemingly eaten her entire brain, Boucher cannot move on from selling us the future…


Young handsome physician in a medical robe with stethoscope

By absolutely no demand, welcome to Dr.Gonzo’s Diagnosis series, where I go over a band or artist’s career and by the end of it pick out their roaring strengths and vulnerable weaknesses. Today’s edition follows Northern England hard-lads Paradise Lost, on their epic thirty-five-year peregrination that sees a sprawling sixteen studio albums, a fuckload of drummers, and an impressively disparate array of genres to pick from. So sit still and await the verdict.

Band/Artist: Paradise Lost

Origins: Halifax, West Yorkshire, England

Founded: 1988

Current Members:
Nick Holmes (Vocals)
Gregor Mackintosh (Lead guitar)
Aaron Aedy (Rhythm guitar)
Steve Edmondson (Bass)
Guido Montanarini (Drums)

Previous members:

Matthew Archer (Drums)
Lee Morris (Drums)
Jeff Singer (Drums)
Adrian Erlandsson (Drums)
Waltteri Väyrynen (Drums)

Studio albums: 16

Active: Yes

Lost Paradise (1990)
lostparadise

The Doctor’s rating: 3.3/5

Analysis: Lost Paradise is the very definition of diamond in the rough. A good chunk of the band’s adulated elements are present here, but they are ill-defined and go largely unchecked. Lost Paradise’s biggest crime is its myopic scope which becomes samey after a while and lacks the distinction their other works would later seize. That said however, this thing can be fucking heavy at times and the band’s proclivity for turning their death metal leanings into this Sabbath-styled sludgy, doom-y dystopia serves them well overall.…


My wife and I spent a good chunk of yesterday evening at the Crystal Ballroom, a small venue in the Boston suburb of Somerville. The main attraction was The Clientele, a cult band making their very first live appearance in the US since all the way back in 2017, with this concert marking the kickoff of a short August tour through the US before fall tour dates in the UK and continental Europe.

 

The crowd to witness this was pretty small, even by the standards of a rather snug (if classy) venue. My untrained eye would estimate 150 people at most, or perhaps only a 100, all clustered close to the stage to watch the British trio do their thing. If it was a touch disappointing to see a thin turnout for a veteran act with an excellent discography who are still at the top of their game (as listeners of last month’s new record I Am Not There Anymore can attest), the relative quiet and intimacy of the small venue and even smaller crowd was ultimately fitting. The Clientele are, after all, a band known for their gentle and atmospheric sense of melancholy, and if their song interpretations were a bit more rocked-up and loud presented live compared to in studio, they maintained this trademark throughout. The results were captivating.

 

Following a set by Baltimore-hailing openers The Smashing Times (an interesting act with an album out Oct 30th which I will be checking), The Clientele’s time on


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Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of August 11th, 2023.  Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.

– List of Releases: August 11, 2023 –

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Andrew Hung: Deliverance

Genre: Electronic / Chiptune
Label: Lex

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Anyma: Genesys

Genre: Ambient / Electronic / Trance
Label: Afterlife / Interscope

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Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy: Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You

Genre: Americana / Folk
Label: Drag City

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Caskets: Reflections

Genre: Heavy Metal
Label: SharpTone

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Cystic: Palace of Shadows

Genre: Death Metal
Label: Chaos

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Cunabula: The Weight of Sleep

Genre: Post Black Metal
Label: Sleazy Rider

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Dead and Dripping: Blackened Cerebral Rifts

Genre: Brutal Death
Label: Transcending Obscurity

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Deafcult: Future Of Illusion

Genre: Doom / Pop / Industrial / Noise Rock
Label: Hobbledehoy

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George Lynch & Jeff Pilson: Heavy Hitters II

Genre: Hard Rock
Label: Deadline Music

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Hail the Sun: Divine Inner Tension

Genre: Post Hardcore
Label: Equal Vision

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Hemina: Romancing the Ether

Revisit other SputStaff Top 10 Lists:

Bjork | Bon Iver | Kanye West | Metallica | Mastodon | mewithoutYou |

 My Chemical Romance The National | Say Anything | Taylor Swift | Tim Hecker | Thrice

Queens of the Stone Age - ...Like Clockwork (Full Album Live) - YouTube

Foreword:

The year is 2023 and rock ‘n’ roll is officially dead in the ground, as recently cemented by Queens of the Stone Age’s latest record In Times New Roman. Sad? Well lemme tell you, this time ten years ago many thought the same – they thought rock’s parent bands had split up prematurely, failed to split up at a dignified age, failed to move with the times, or flat-out lost its grit. Radiohead had once promised us the future: the future was Muse, Coldplay and The Killers. The future haemorrhaged its savings accounts on Chinese Democracy and The Endless River and left a creative dearth so dearth-like that we are today surviving our way through the legacies-to-be of Black Midi and The 1975 because the hacks finally have someone to talk about again.

Dad said everything would be okay as long as rock ‘n’ roll could save us. Fuck you, dad.

Back in the ’10s people thought rock had failed to find new parents. They were (dubiously, but prevailingly) wrong! Radio rock didn’t need a stepdad – it needed a dad who stepped up! The dad was Josh Homme, second only to Dave Grohl on extending gruff-pop-music-played-on-guitars’ lease on popular life, allowing us to remember and savour that ten years before that, the man was churning out classic bangers to which good, dumb, good times were (probably) had in fraternal multitudes.…


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Here’s a list of noteworthy new releases for the week of August 4th, 2023.  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: August 4th, 2023 –

An Autumn for Crippled Children – Closure
Genre: Blackgaze
Label: Prosthetic

Annie Hart – The Weight of a Wave
Genre: Indietronica
Label: Uninhabitable Mansions

Approaching Mountains – Ley
Genre: Ambient / Drone / Field Recordings
Label: [digital file]

Art School Girlfriend – Soft Landing
Genre: Art Pop / Progressive Breaks / Indietronica
Label: Wolf Tone

Aubs Eternal – Xenia Ohio. Xenia Ohio.
Genre: Instrumental Hip-Hop / Plunderphonics
Label: Starrcade

Beth Bombara – It All Goes Up
Genre: Americana
Label: Black Mesa

Blight House – Blight the Way
Genre: Deathgrind / Noise Rock
Label: Syrup Moose

Cowgirl Clue –  Rodeo Star
Genre: Electropop
Label: Vada Vada

Crypta – Shades of Sorrow
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Napalm

Girl Ray – Prestige
Genre: Indie Pop
Label: Moshi Moshi

Holy Wave – Five of Cups
Genre: Neo-Psychedelia
Label: Suicide Squeeze

Homeboy Sandman – Rich



 

Two years on from the critically acclaimed third album from Musk Ox, Inheritance, and a lot has happened in that time. Evan, the band’s violinist departed from the band this year to pursue other creative ventures, Raph has continued to tour extensively with both his solo work and Leprous, and the band’s founder and guitar player Nathan Larochette, it seems, has been very busy indeed. On 21st July Nathan released his second solo album, Old Growth – an austere dark-folk album with an incredible array of tactile moods and an underlining poignancy. I recently caught up with Nathan to discuss his new album, a slew of new content headed our way soon, live prospects, and Musk Ox’s future.

Earth and Sky was seven years ago and since then you’ve done Inheritance, so what made you want to release this album now? 

It’s funny because I recorded the album in September/October of 2020, so I’ve had it for a while now and some of the older songs date back maybe ten years. It’s been a project that’s slowly come together, because the main focus was finishing the third The Night Watch album and then working on Musk Ox’s third album, Inheritance – which were these big projects that took so much effort and work. Whereas this album [Old Growth] had similar challenges, but it was a reaction to those other records; they were albums with big, long songs that made it intense, so I really wanted to…


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