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Music is probably the one field of entertainment that is never lacking in quality content for the early months of a new year, and January 2020 was no exception. Welcome to the first full year of Sputnikmusic’s ‘Album of the Month’; a feature that lets everyone express what their favourite album of the month is. This edition was jammed with numerous albums, but one album in particular really voiced itself loud and by many: the Hungarian avant-garde opus from Thy Catafalque – Naiv.
“A prophet is not without honour except in his own town and in his own home.”
“This is basically my first thought whenever I think about Thy Catafalque, because Tamás Kátai’s unique work is sadly oppressed and overlooked in the Hungarian musical culture. But even though it must be very hard to fully understand each album (both stylistically and lyrically), the reception for his music is encouragingly improving. And that fills me with great joy!
It’s not easy writing about Thy Catafalque, because they’re one of those bands that are so experimental and unique in their own right, and can go through a renewal with each release without forcing anything, that you have to expect the unexpectable at this point. This is the case with Naiv as well, despite the fact Kátai and co. haven’t really changed their sound at all, the results still feel completely fresh and new. For me, Naiv is a very exciting and dreamesque experience. I feel…
For all the claims of famine for important releases in November, it hasn’t stopped this month’s vote from being a ferocious bottleneck of runners reaching out for the top spot. So much so that the end result was a tie between Origami Angel’s debut album Somewhere City, and FKA Twigs’ Magdalene. The second round of votes between the two was as equally balanced as the first bout, but FKA Twigs just in so scrapped the win for November 2019’s Album of the Month. The experimental R&B pop sensation that is Magdalene was actually an album that slipped under my radar until this very vote, but after listening to it, I can certainly understand the appeal for its idiosyncratic ideals and unique aesthetics. For all the unpleasant emissions Magdalene’s artwork emits, the content of the album is juxtaposed with its candid beauty. If, like me, you initially missed this one, it’s well worth checking out. So with that, I’ll leave Dedex’s thoughts on why this is their favourite album from November.
NOVEMBER 2019 AOTM: FKA Twigs – Magdalene
“Magdalene, or human sexuality in music, as displayed by a Cheltenham girl. Contrary to her previous releases, where she displayed an almost animal fierceness in love, Twigs agrees here to show her vulnerability. This sensibility was always present in her art, however much more in the form (the music per se) than in the content (what she is saying to us). While she has not totally lost her violent…
George Michael – Songs From The Last Century
Monday December 6th, 1999. This day marks the release of George Michael’s surprising left-field covers album, Songs From the Last Century. As if there wasn’t enough evidence to support George’s case already, Songs From the Last Century marks as yet another clear-cut example of an artist being driven by their love of music – devoted to the craft – and not money. There was always a sense of satisfaction when George plotted his next move, as it always seemed to go against the grain on what people thought he should do next. You have to remember that Songs From the Last Century was a relatively ballsy move for George at the time, as it was succeeding his magnum opus, Older: a timeless classic that displayed a sophisticated new sound and image – a smooth, soulful and jazzy sound palette that was underpinned by macabre themes and a setup for his rawest personal-healing-lyric-writing to date. The thing is, while Songs From the Last Century sounds like an arbitrary left-turn on paper, the execution isn’t that far removed from its predecessor; the LP works as an extremely organic continuation on from Older, with the twist being that George is giving out renditions to some of his favourite songs. This project was clearly a “hobby album” – a reactionary response to getting over his 1996 classic, by making something that was fun and full of positivity. Older’s blueprint is…
September’s vote was in almost unanimous agreement, having Cult of Luna’s seventh album, A Dawn to Fear, as your go-to album for the month. October was a much different kettle of fish, however, and saw a number of albums clawing their way up to the top spot. When the dust settled though, the winner was a well-deserved one. Leprous has always been a strong and creative band, and their shifts into various sonic territories over the years hasn’t gone unnoticed (or praised) within the Sputnik community. 2019’s Pitfalls is no exception. So with that, here’s a small blurb from Toondude, explaining why it’s an obvious winner.
OCTOBER 2019 AOTM: Leprous – Pitfalls
“Drastic change can take many forms, and in this case, it takes the form of Leprous’ Pitfalls – stripping back its heavy guitars and epic instrumentation in favor of an atmospheric production with pop-like songwriting, and vocalist Einar Solberg taking center stage. Einar has almost always been a terrific vocalist (granted his harsh vocals are somewhat of an Acquired Taste *wink*), but it’s easy to call Pitfalls his best performance to date. “Below”, “Observe the Train” and “Distant Bells” are just a few examples that showcase the man’s vocal capabilities. However, it wasn’t until “Alleviate” that I began to truly realize there’s still plenty of moments for the instrumentation – particularly from bassist Simen Børven and drummer Baard Kolstad – to shine through here. In the end, Pitfalls is just another masterpiece in the band’s near-perfect discography.” – Toondude.
Frank Zappa – The Yellow Shark
Tuesday November 2nd, 1993. This day marks the release of Frank Zappa’s magnum opus – his terminal triumph. I use the word ‘terminal’ delicately here, given the context of which this very album is surrounded by, but for a man of Zappa’s stature, to have him feel like he’d accomplished something that he’d been striving towards his entire life, that should be more than enough to verify the weighty importance of The Yellow Shark: Frank Zappa’s final album. The sheer scale of Zappa’s works goes beyond even the measures of calling it intimidating. His discography alone is an intricate, sprawling, idiosyncratic maze that becomes a colossal nightmare just to work out where to start. Sitting on a massive 62 albums (over one hundred plus if you include the posthumous releases made from archived material), this is a man that explored every walk and style of music available; deconstructing these boxed and linear categories into esoteric compositions that are as perverted and humorous as they are challenging. Starting out in The Mothers of Invention, a psychedelic rock band from the 60s, he soon ventured out into the unknown reaches of sonic creativity on his own, and quickly began his mission to challenge everything popular music stood for. But for anyone who has done a little bit of research on the man, they will know that for all the good he did in the realms of rock music, his propensity…
Welcome to the final segment of Sputnikmusic’s Album of the Month – the September 2019 edition. For anyone that missed out and didn’t participate in this thing, every month I’ll be dropping a list where you vote on what you consider to be the best album from that said month. After the votes are in and we have our winner, I’ll be reaching out to the voters to see if they want to give a small blurb on why it’s the month’s best LP. September’s vote was a little late to the party, but going forward I’ll be doing these lists in the first week of every month (typically a Wednesday or Thursday), so keep your eyes peeled and your votes ready!
Getting to the topic at hand here, as voted by you, September’s vote was in almost universal agreement. Cult of Luna’s seventh album, A Dawn to Fear, has been praised and regarded as not only September’s strongest release, but a serious contender for 2019’s Album of the Year. Only time will tell… With that, I’ll pass you over to Robert Garland (Nocte), where he’ll dish out his words of wisdom on why it crushed the competition.
SEPTEMBER 2019 AOTM: Cult of Luna – A Dawn to Fear
“A Dawn To Fear isn’t an album full of comforts, relying on a core of pragmatic, yet highly transferable theology. There’s a complexity that’s both thoughtful and profound…
One Friday afternoon a few weeks ago, I was routinely digging around for new music when I stumbled across “Guilt” in the New Blood section of Spotify. Within the song’s opening seconds, I was hooked. Seeped in a thick, dismal atmosphere, this morose offering hit me in the face like 1,000 hammers. It sounded tough, menacing and, most importantly, fresh. This powerviolence trio from Manchester, UK is called Leeched and they’re out for blood. Formed in 2017, the band have already caused sizeable waves in the underground metal scene with last year’s EP, Nothing Will Grow From the Rotten Ground– an abrasive blend of grind and hardcore. 2018 is set to be an even bigger year for them as they tour with Full of Hell and prepare to unleash hell with their debut album next month. I’ve recently had the pleasure of talking to the band’s frontman and bassist, Laurie, to discuss lyrics, songwriting and what their live shows set out to create.
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Simon: Firstly, thanks for your time. I’ll break the ice by asking the obvious: how did you guys form the band and what were your goals for writing music?
Laurie: Thanks for taking an interest! Tom [drums] and I knew each other from previous bands and we knew Judd [guitar] mutually. We started Leeched as a side project which quickly took over our lives. As for aspirations, our goal was to see…
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