“It’s not unheard of, but certainly rare when a band 25 years old and eight albums deep into their career create a record that could be in contention as their best, but if there was any group who could it, it would be He Is Legend. And guess what? That’s exactly what they’ve done with Endless Hallway. Tonally, it suggests one of their most divisive efforts since Suck Out the Poison — it’s dark, heavy, sludgy, and one of their most narrative driven releases — but it has all of the finesse of their post-reunion material. Speaking of heavy, Endless Hallway may be their most brutal outing to date, oscillating between near djent riffcapades and slower, churning swamp metal throwdowns — there is no shortage of headbanging moments strewn throughout the record. However, this uptick in viciousness does little to deter Schuylar Croom from crafting some of the most memorable hooks of his career. As always, the frontman has a very distinct sense of melody, writing passages that make use of odd harmonies but are still impossibly catchy. Endless Hallway is somehow He is Legend at their peak, and I can’t see any fan of the band being disappointed with this one.” —Brandon Scott / TheSpirit
It’s hard to write about this album without letting Brandon’s words really describe it. The day Brandon left was a tough one –one that is sure…
If The Loser proved Gospel wanted to go proggier, MVDM proves they really are a prog band that just couldn’t do without infusing some mid-’90s screamo into their Yes worship. Having gone through the perilous (but succeeded) step of coming back, nothing holds the band back from showing what nerds they are — look at that goofy-ass title — a good reminder that prog was never cool. So crafting a sprawling tune whose shtick is to build tension through retrofuturistic synth and keyboards was ultimately Gospel’s ipseity — it just took them 15 years to figure out how to properly forge that version of themselves. Maybe that’s why they never showed signs of existence during that period: Gospel could only be MVDM. –Erwann S. / dedex
They say not to judge a book by its cover, but from the instant I saw the album cover for Bleed the Dream, I knew exactly what I was in for. The depiction of blood on a music box is a perfect metaphor for this EP. Aggressive music expresses an abrasively gorgeous duality; there is beauty in the breakdown. Bleed the Dream is a brutally raw and urgent collection of songs recalling early-2000s metalcore that is
The overall takeaway from multiple 2020 releases was this overbearing sense of isolation. Across the globe, seclusion was imposed to alleviate a growing pandemic, and its sudden necessity caused a mass dissolution of social connections and relationships. Perhaps, as a response, 2021’s cycle had a bevy of familiar faces delivering solid, safe records, offering comfort that had previously been dismantled. Toss that all out the window — it is 2022, two years removed from when life shut down and power systems demonstrated their profound weaknesses when addressing it. Ashenspire’s purpose on Hostile Architecture is to survey the damage; their scathing social critique takes aim at calculated oppression, malignant government bodies, and the widening divide between the haves and have-nots, firing with such precision that it’s impossible to not envision burgeoning crowds stocked to the brim with pitchforks and torches aplenty. It came out of left field, but the Scots’ sophomore release was certainly something that the new decade’s omnipresent uncertainty was craving.
Given the subject matter at hand, Hostile Architecture is appropriately claustrophobic, erecting shadowy soundscapes that echo about crumbling cities, ringing in the alleyways and reverberating in shelters as frustration bubbles to a boiling point. The band’s grab-bag of influences and contributing elements that they use to portray this hauntingly real dystopia possesses incredible depth. Dissodeath and black metal forge a mesmerizing foundation, while touches of post-punk…
CMAT resides in the soft, pillowy safety of a thought bubble, in the sunset hues of daydream and if-only. Hers is a particular longing, and who can blame her, for the tropes born of country denizens Dolly Parton and Glen Campbell — she wants the tall boots with spurs, the rodeos, and the heartbreak that birthed all those lovelorn Foghorn Leghorn country classics. She wants a slice of the adulation reserved only for pop megastars the ilk of Taylor Swift and Lana Del Rey. She wants not to be tangled up in the humdrum of abject normality.
If My Wife New I’d Be Dead plays out like a self-exposing fantasy, a simulation as far removed from reality as possible. It’s full of biting humour aimed very much inward — album standout “No More Virgos” frames her failing relationships as being astrologically determined, denying any possibility of her own shortcomings and pithy demands. On “Every Bottle (Is My Boyfriend)”, a bittersweet romp on the subject of over-imbibing in the face of the absence of romance, she geo-locates herself as being very far away from Nashville indeed with a reference to the Gaelic Athletic Association: “Honky tonk girl of the G.A.A., with about the same glamour and half the game.” But ultimately, CMAT’s reality is right in front of us. There’s no character work…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of January 13, 2023. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: January 13, 2023 –
Ahab: The Coral Tombs
Genre: Doom Metal Label: Napalm
Ashen: Ritual of Ash
Genre: Death Metal Label: Bitter Loss
BabyTron: Bin Reaper 3: Nеw Testament
Genre: Hip-Hop Label: N/A
Belle and Sebastian: Late Developers Genre: Baroque Pop / Indie Rock Label: Matador Records
Beyond the Black: Beyond the Black
Genre: Power Metal/Classical Label: Nuclear Blast
Billy Nomates: CACTI
Genre: Folk-Punk/Post-Punk Label: Invada
Circa Waves: Never Going Under
Genre: Indie-Pop/Rock Label: Lower Third
Cursed Excruciation: Arcane Diabolism
Genre: Black/Death Metal Label: Iron Bonehead Productions
Declaime & Madlib: In The Beginning (Vol. 3)
Genre: Hip-Hop Label: SomeOthaShip Connect/Fat Beats
Defy the Curse: Horrors of Human Sacrifice
Genre: Death Metal/Sludge Metal/Punk Label: Hammerheart
Gabrielle Aplin: Phosphorescent
Genre: Folk/Pop Label: Never Fade
Since the turn of the decade, we’ve amassed 389 staff-selected songs for our ever-growing playlist, which equates to just under 30 hours of music. Here you can find all of our favorite songs from 2022 (for previous years, follow the links above) — from metal to indie to hip-hop to whatever obscure genre you can think of, it’s most likely represented here. We’re a proudly eclectic website, so if your aim is to broaden your musical horizons, then you’ve arrived at the perfect spot!
The playlist below encompasses all 143 songs that our staff hand-picked from the past year. Please join us on a retrospective journey through 2022: listen in order for the chronological Q1 –> Q4 experience, or shuffle the playlist for more of an even flow. Spotify’s embedded playlist only shows the first 100 songs, so be sure to launch the spotify app or web browser to listen in full. From our administration and staff to you, we hope you had a safe and wonderful holiday season. Happy listening!
Welcome to our fourth installment for our 2022 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, as well as any new artists you may have discovered here — or, alternatively, tell us what we missed! Thanks for reading/listening, and stay tuned for the cumulative 2022 playlist later this week and the Community’s Top 50 LPs (and Top 10 EPs/Live Albums/Compilations) of 2022 next week!
Tracklist:
16 – “The Floor Wins” Into Dust
The sludge metal veterans returned this year with a brand new, uncanny full length that further explores the misery, deception and sad realities of American life. Centerpiece “The Floor Wins” peeks into the ugly downward spiral of drug addiction that haunts the country right now. The scorching riffs and aggressive vocals create a suffocating atmosphere that works really well with the lyrical content. –Raul Stanciu
The 1975 – “Wintering” Being Funny in a Foreign Language
I’m not exactly a fan of The 1975 in general for plenty of reasons that many of this music site could articulate. “Wintering” doesn’t really set itself apart from all my…
One of my goals in 2022 was to spend more time reading user content, which resulted in the monthly Best User Reviews lists. There is a a lot of talent hidden beneath the “official” ranks of this website, and below is a list containing many of those writers. Consider this a heartfelt thank you to everyone who put time and effort into creating worthwhile content over course of the past year. So without further ado, please join me in congratulating the below users for their efforts!
Category I: User Recognition
Tier 1: These reviewers made one appearance on the monthly “best-of” list for user reviews. We’d love to hear more from you!
Here’s a list of major new releases for the entire month of December 2022. These releases have been condensed into one post as, historically at least, December is a slower time for new musical releases. In the meanwhile, our staff will be working on compiling their highly anticipated “Top Albums of 2022” feature, so stay tuned to see what we anoint as the album of the year. With regards to the below releases, please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums. From our staff and userbase to you, we wish you and your loved ones a safe and happy holiday season. We’ll see you in January!
– List of Releases: December 2, 2022 –
brakence: hypochondriac
Genre: Hip-Hop/Pop/Electronic Label: Columbia
Celestial Season: Mysterium II
Genre: Doom/Death Label: Burning World Records
Galcher Lustwerk: 100% Galcher
Genre: Electronic/House/Techno Label: Ghostly International
Hammers of Misfortune: Overtaker
Genre: Power/Progressive/Heavy Metal Label: Metal Blade
Isafjørd: Hjartastjaki
Genre: Post-Rock Label: Svart Records
John-Allison Weiss: The Long Way
Genre: Indie-Rock/Pop-Punk Label: Get Better
Leftfield: This Is What We Do
Genre: House/Techno/Electronic Label: Virgin Music
Metro Boomin: Heroes & Villains
Genre: Hip-Hop Label: Republic
NOFX: Double Album
Genre: Punk/Pop-Punk/Hardcore Label: Fat Wreck Chords
As we reach the end of another incredible year of music, I’ve decided to deviate from my typical awards ceremony in favor of something a little more traditional. Maybe I’m just getting old, but the thought of constructing yet another bloated set of “categories” with GIF-hyper presentation and endless embedded videos made me feel…tired. So, in retiring that format at least temporarily (RIP Sowing’s Music Awards, 2014-2021), I present to you — plain and simple — my Top 50 Albums of 2022. I hope you find some quality releases and/or songs here that you might not have otherwise discovered. Thanks for a great year, and I hope you have a very safe and enjoyable holiday season. See you in 2023!
Oscillating between power and beauty, Everything Was Forever is grandiose and thrilling at its best and still very solid/serviceable even at its perceived worst. This band was one of my favorite discoveries of 2022; just high quality indie-rock with no unnecessary frills.
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of November 25, 2022. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: November 25, 2022 –
Black Lava: Soul Furnace
Genre: Death/Black Metal Label: Season of Mist
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of November 18, 2022. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: November 18, 2022 –
Anna Mieke: Theatre
Genre: Folk Label: Nettwerk
Candlemass: Sweet Evil Sun
Genre: Doom/Heavy Metal Label: Napalm
Disturbed: Divisive
Genre: Nu-Metal/Hard Rock Label: Reprise
Gatherers: ( mutilator. )
Genre: Post-Hardcore/Emo/Progressive Rock Label: No Sleep
Neil Young & Crazy Horse: World Record
Genre: Folk/Rock Label: Reprise
Nickelback: Get Rollin’
Genre: Grunge/Pop-Rock Label: BMG
Pole: Tempus
Genre: Electronic/Techno/Minimal Label: Mute
Richard Dawson: The Ruby Cord
Genre: Folk/Experimental Label: Domino Recording Co
Roddy Ricch: Feed tha Streets III
Genre: Hip-Hop/R&B Label: Bird Vision Ent
Röyksopp: Profound Mysteries III
Genre: Electronic Label: Dog Triumph
Ruby Haunt: Cures For Opposites
Genre: Dream-Pop/Indie-Rock Label: Haunt
slowthai: UGLY
Genre: Hip-Hop Label: Interscope
Tallah: The Generation of Danger
Genre: Nu-Metal/Hardcore Label: Earache
Thaiboy Digital: Back 2 Life
Genre: Hip-Hop/R&B Label: YEAR0001
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of November 11, 2022. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
Welcome to the final SputStaff Top 10 of 2022! For this installment, our staff decided to dive into Bjork’s extensive discography and select her ten best songs. We felt it was a good time to reflect given the recent release of Fossorra — so if you’re new to Bjork, this might be the perfect place to catch up! Below are five honorable mentions who narrowly missed the cut, followed by the official list itself. Don’t miss out on the Spotify playlist near the end of this article either, where you can jam our selections all in one easy-to-access place. So without further ado, please continue below and enjoy!
As part of a new tradition, Sputnik will be putting together seasonal playlists to celebrate some of our favorite holidays/times of year. The first installment in this series is for the spookiest/eeriest tunes of 2022, just in time for Halloween! It’s a pretty eclectic mix, featuring everything from hip-hop to doom metal, so hopefully there’ll be something for everyone (even though I know that the lone Muse track will be the one that everyone jams relentlessly). This playlist was compiled by both users and staff utilizing only songs from 2022, which admittedly limits the output but also ensures that while listening, you can feel like you’re on the cutting edge of creepy music — a hallow-hipster, if you will. So to all of our readership, enjoy this round of fresh tunes on us. Have a scary but safe Halloween!
