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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

Elder

Elder: Innate Passage
Genre:
Stoner Rock/Progressive Rock/Doom Metal
Label: Armageddon Shop

flaming swords

Fievel Is Glauque: Flaming Swords
Genre:
Indie-Pop/Jazz
Label: MATH

High Command - Eclipse Of The Dual Moons

High Command: Eclipse Of The Dual Moons
Genre:
Punk/Thrash/Hardcore
Label: Southern Lord

In the Woods... - Diversum

In The Woods…: Diversum
Genre:
Progressive Metal/Black Metal
Label: Soulseller Records

Jamie Lenman - The Atheist

Jamie Lenman: The Atheist
Genre:
Folk/Metal
Label: Big Scary Monsters

Judicator - The Majesty of Decay

Judicator: The Majesty Of Decay
Genre:
Power Metal
Label: Prosthetic Records

Katia Krow - Julfar

Katia Krow: Julfar
Genre:
Ambient/Drone
Label: N/A

Lykotonon: Promethean Pathology
Genre:
Black Metal
Label: Profound Lore

Mylène Farmer

Mylène Farmer: L’emprise
Genre:
Pop
Label: Stuffed Monkey

Neptunian Maximalism - Finis Gloriae Mundi

Neptunian Maximalism: Finis Gloriae Mundi
Genre:
Jazz/Psychedelic/Drone
Label: Utech Records


Ofdrykkja: After The Storm
Genre:
Doom/Black Metal
Label: AOP

RZA: Bobby Digital In Digital Potions
Genre:
Hip-Hop
Label: MNRK HEAVY

The Smith Street Band

The Smith Street Band: Life After Football
Genre:
Folk Punk
Label: Pool House

SpiritWorld - Deathwestern

SpiritWorld: Deathwestern
Genre:
Death Metal/Thrash/Hardcore
Label: Century Media

Stormzy

Stormzy: This Is What I Mean
Genre:
Grime/Hip-Hop
Label: Hashtag Merky Music 34 Limited

Thy Catafalque - Mezolit - Live at Fekete Zaj

Thy Catafalque: Mezolit – Live at Fekete Zaj
Genre:
Progressive Metal/Black Metal
Label: Season of Mist

Waajeed

Waajeed: Memoirs of Hi-Tech Jazz
Genre:
Jazz
Label: Tresor Records


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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

Candlemass: Sweet Evil Sun
Genre:
Doom/Heavy Metal
Label: Napalm

Divisive

Disturbed: Divisive
Genre:
Nu-Metal/Hard Rock
Label: Reprise

Gatherers
Gatherers: ( mutilator. )
Genre:
Post-Hardcore/Emo/Progressive Rock
Label: No Sleep

World Record

Neil Young & Crazy Horse: World Record
Genre:
Folk/Rock
Label: Reprise

Nickelback

Nickelback: Get Rollin’
Genre:
Grunge/Pop-Rock
Label: BMG

Tempus

Pole: Tempus
Genre:
Electronic/Techno/Minimal
Label: Mute

Richard Dawson

Richard Dawson: The Ruby Cord
Genre:
Folk/Experimental
Label: Domino Recording Co

Roddy Ricch Feed Tha Streets III Canvas Poster Bedroom Decor Sports Landscape Office Room Decor Gift Unframe-style12x12inch(30x30cm)

Roddy Ricch: Feed tha Streets III
Genre:
Hip-Hop/R&B
Label: Bird Vision Ent

Röyksopp

Röyksopp: Profound Mysteries III
Genre:
Electronic
Label: Dog Triumph

Ruby Haunt: Cures For Opposites
Genre:
Dream-Pop/Indie-Rock
Label: Haunt

slowthai - UGLY

slowthai: UGLY
Genre:
Hip-Hop
Label: Interscope

Tallah

Tallah: The Generation of Danger
Genre:
Nu-Metal/Hardcore
Label: Earache

Thaiboy Digital - Back 2 Life

Thaiboy Digital: Back 2 Life
Genre:
Hip-Hop/R&B
Label: YEAR0001

Dividing Lines

Threshold: Dividing Lines
Genre:
Progressive Rock/Metal
Label: Nuclear Blast

And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow

Weyes Blood: And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow
Genre:
Folk/Psychedelic/Ambient
Label: Sub Pop

The Wombats

The Wombats: Is This What It Feels Like to Feel Like This?
Genre:
Indie-Pop/Alt-Rock
Label: The Wombats


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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.

– List of Releases: November 11, 2022 –

Actress

Actress: Dummy Corporation
Genre:
Techno/House/IDM
Label: Ninja Tune

Black Eyed Peas

Black Eyed Peas: ELEVATION
Genre:
Pop/Hip-Hop
Label: BEP Music, LLC

Only The Strong Survive

Bruce Springsteen: Only the Strong Survive
Genre:
Rock/Americana/Folk
Label: Columbia

Chelsea Grin
Chelsea Grin: Suffer in Hell
Genre:
Metalcore/Death Metal
Label: Chelsea Grin

Redcar les adorable etoiles

Christine and the Queens: Redcar les adorables étoiles
Genre:
Pop/Electronic/Indie-Pop
Label: Because Music

Colin Stetson: Chimæra
Genre:
Jazz/Minimal
Label: Constellation Records

Constellatia

Constellatia: Magisterial Romance
Genre:
Shoegaze/Black Metal/Progressive Metal
Label: Season of Mist

Dream Unending: Song Of Salvation
Genre:
Death/Doom Metal
Label: 20 Buck Spin

Drowse: Wane Into It
Genre:
Shoegaze/Ambient/Folk
Label: The Flenser

Drudkh

Drudkh: All Belong to the Night
Genre:
Black Metal/Folk
Label: Season of Mist

Dysgnostic: Scar Echoes
Genre:
Death Metal
Label: Transcending Obscurity

Epica feat. Shining, Charlotte Wessels & Myrkur

Epica: The Alchemy Project
Genre:
Power Metal/Classical/Gothic
Label: Atomic Fire

Fitz & The Tantrums

Fitz & the Tantrums: Let Yourself Free
Genre:
Indie-Pop
Label: Elektra

Revisit other SputStaff Top 10 Lists:

| Bon Iver | Kanye West | Mastodon | mewithoutYou | My Chemical Romance |

| The National | Say Anything | Taylor Swift | Thrice |

Foreword:

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!


Honorable Mentions:

15. I’ve Seen It All

14. Possibly Maybe

13. Arisen My Senses

12. Aurora

11. Hidden Place


Sputnik Staff Top 10 Bjork Songs:

(10) “Crystalline”

from Biophilia (2011)

Everyone likes “Crystalline”! It’s the sole track outside of Bjork’s…

Free Photography of Cat at Full Moon Stock Photo

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!

Playlist Contributors:

mkmusic1995(for Ptolemaea, Ronin, Vlastimil)

AlexKzillion(for Centurion, Photograph, Pamela)

SlothcoreSam(for The First Dead Body I Ever Saw, Satanic Slumber Party Part 2, subtle-body-horror)

Sowing(for Nuages, Ghostland, Laguna Seca)

Hyperion1001(for Mangled as the Hideous Feed)

Sunnyvale(for You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween)

PitchforkArms(for Dead Friends)

dedex(for Welcome to Hell, Bites on My Neck, Nabokov)

izakaya(for Vanity)

cold(for Blue Chalk, Golgotha)

JohnnyoftheWell –…

Revisit other SputStaff Top 10 Lists:

| Bon Iver | Kanye West | Mastodon | My Chemical Romance |

| The National | Say Anything | Taylor Swift | Thrice |

A to B: LifeCatch for Us the FoxesBrother SisterIt's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright!Ten StoriesPale HorsesPale Horses: AppendixUntitledUntitled Album

Foreword:

We’ve arrived at our ninth installment of this wonderful little series, which happens to land on a group that has recently (and amicably) disbanded. mewithoutYou developed a cult following early in their career with A to B: Life and Catch For Us The Foxes before 2006’s Brother, Sister turned them into key players in the indie-rock/post-hardcore scenes. As the band pushed into the latter years of their career, they delivered some of their strongest material with the apocalyptic Pale Horses and the emotionally unhinged [Untitled] LP. Throughout their existence, they always delivered music that meant something. Frontman Aaron Weiss wielded his pen masterfully for two decades, in the process curating a world that often felt like it blurred the line between the playfully imaginary and sobering reality. In a way celebrating the life of this poetic and emotive vessel, the staff here at Sputnikmusic have created a list of the ten best mewithoutYou songs. We hope you enjoy.


Honorable Mentions:

15. Messes of Men

14. Magic Lantern Days

13. The Fox, the Crow, and

2020 | 2021

2022 :: Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4

Sputnikmusic Staff’s Q3 Playlist 2022

Welcome to our third 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.


Tracklist:

The 1975 – “I’m in Love with You”
Being Funny in a Foreign Language

I’m historically mixed on the results whenever The 1975 go straight at their default, somewhat-played ’80s pop throwback sound. For every instant classic like “If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)” there are a handful of overbaked, cloying cuts which end up with titles like “She’s American” and “She Way Out”. Thankfully, the genuinely adorable “I’m In Love With You” leans towards the quality of the former; an irresistible groove underpins a hook that I’d describe as repetitive if it wasn’t so lovable. “I’m In Love With You” is so cutesy you may feel your strings being yanked, especially watching the too-twee video with Matty Healy doing silent slapstick and a Phoebe Bridgers cameo — but if I’m gonna have good vibes force-fed to me, it may as well be via a…


Revisit other SputStaff Top 10 Lists

| Kanye West | Mastodon | My Chemical Romance | The National | Say Anything |

| Taylor Swift | Thrice |

For Emma, Forever AgoBlood Bank [Explicit]Bon Iver (album) - Wikipedia22 (Over Soon) [Explicit]I,I

Foreword:

Welcome back to the SputStaff Top 10, where we answer the music-related questions that keep you up at night. On today’s menu is Bon Iver, everyone’s favorite snowed-in log cabin dwelling acoustic guitar wielding vocoder falsetto warbler. You might remember the name from any number of mainstream pop artists who have featured him in their songs in a vain attempt to forcibly acquire indie cred (often stylized as “ft. Justin Vernon of BON IVER”). Vernon’s name has become virtually synonymous with the indie/folk genre, and he’s arguably one of the most popular and influential artists ever to grace that scene. Our staff decided to review his entire discography and enshrine his ten best songs to-date; no simple task but also one that we were excited to undertake. Scroll down to see the complete list (including five tracks that narrowly missed the cut) as well as a Spotify playlist where you can jam all of Bon Iver’s greatest songs in one place. Enjoy!

 


 

Honorable Mentions:

15. Skinny Love / Naeem  [TIE]

14. Beth/Rest

13.

New year 2010 pinned on noticeboard 2010 pinned on noticeboard 2010 stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images

I’ve always been a huge fan of two things: playlists and nostalgia. Lo and behold, I present to you that point of intersection! Since I first became an avid consumer of music back in 2010, I’ve been secretly compiling “greatest hits” versions of each year I’ve been on Sputnikmusic (I’m not counting 2008 or 2009 because I was barely present). It’s a hobby, sure, but it’s also a superhighway to connect me to any given point in time within the last decade or so. It goes without saying that these installments will be subjective in every conceivable way, but I also think that listeners – particularly on this website – might get something out these posts because my taste in music is essentially a product of what I’ve discovered on Sputnikmusic. I invite you to click ‘play’ on my selective 25-song 2010 playlist and get whisked away to some twelve year old memories. Because it obviously will not be the same as your 2010 experience, I invite you to share your own favorite songs in the comments below. Thanks for listening!

The Seer

Release Date: August 28, 2012

Anniversary: 10 years

Genre: Noise/Post-Rock

The vast majority of the time, I don’t actually know if an album is going to leave a lasting impression when I first hear it (despite the many insta-5’s). There are LPs that seem immediate and others that feel like they’ll end up growing, but no matter how I feel about them initially, time is the only real measuring stick when it comes to determining a classic. With that said, there have been very, very few records (in fact, only two come to mind) that were so towering and so unique that the second I laid ears upon them, I just knew. Sufjan Stevens’ Carrie & Lowell was the first, and Swans’ The Seer was the second. In The Seer‘s case, it had such an impact on me because I’d literally never heard anything even remotely close to it in style or breadth. It demolished me upon first listen, leaving goosebumps on my skin and my jaw upon the floor. The second, third, and fourth listens yielded the same results. Now, ten years and countless listens later, my reaction to The Seer hasn’t changed one bit.

This is an unsettling experience that makes you feel like you’re living in an eerie post-apocalyptic realm: there’s witch incantations (‘Lunacy’), weird quiet laments (‘The Wolf’), sprawling 32-minute drone tracks (‘The Seer’), creepy-as-all-fuck borderline-industrial rockers (‘The Seer Returns’), the aching, creaking, churning wheels of hell (’93 Ave. B Blues’)…and that’s all before…

Yellowcard - Southern Air - Amazon.com Music

Release Date: August 14, 2012

Anniversary: 10 years

Genre: Pop-Punk

The best music appeals to us emotionally, which leads to future feelings of nostalgia. I’m not going to pretend that every album I’ve enjoyed has had this effect; Kid A, while indisputably and objectively better than any Yellowcard album, provides me no rose-tinted glimpses of the past even though I consider it to be one of the most groundbreaking records to come out in my lifetime. Perhaps that’s because it’s an inherently cold record, or maybe it’s because I was barely in middle school when it dropped. Musical nostalgia at its very best requires a precise blend of intangibles; where you are in your life, what kind of music you’re listening to, what happens to get released at that exact moment, and whether or not you encounter it. The stars must align perfectly. For me, only a few albums have struck such a chord – and among those, Yellowcard’s Southern Air tops them all.

As Southern Air turns ten years old today, I’m amazed by its ability to instantly transport me back to the most turbulent, yet amazing, year of my life. 2012 began as no picnic: my heart was left in shambles by a girlfriend who moved out of state with a fiance she never told me she had; my “career” had stalled at a dangerous and low-paying entry level position; my roommate and I were gradually drifting apart; my…

Revisit other SputStaff Top 10 Lists

| Kanye West | My Chemical Romance | The National | Say AnythingTaylor Swift | Thrice |

WorkhorseLeviathanBlood MountainCrack the SkyeThe Hunter [Explicit]Once More 'Round the Sun [Explicit]Emperor of SandHushed and Grim

Foreword:

Greetings, and welcome back to Sputnik’s semi-famous “SputStaff Top 10” series, in which – and get this – our site’s staff members pick their favorite 10 somethings! In this case, we had Mastodon in our crosshairs, a natural progression from June’s feature on Taylor Swift. If you are brave enough for infallible truths, then dare to proceed below to witness the top 10 Mastodon songs of all time — but be sure to also stop by the honorable mentions section to see what barely missed the cut! If you’re new to Mastodon and are just looking to get your feet wet, you might scroll all the way to the bottom of this feature to locate our Spotify playlist, where you can find the ten best Mastodon tracks all in one place for your convenient consumption. Hold onto your hats, here we go!


Honorable Mentions:

15. Blasteroid

14. Iron Tusk

13. The Hunter

12. Siberian Divide

11. Colony of Birchmen


Sputnik Staff Top 10 Mastodon Songs:

(10) “The Wolf Is Loose”

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Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of July 29th, 2022.  Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.

– List of Releases: July 29, 2022 –

Anberlin

Anberlin: Silverline

Genre: Alt-Rock/Pop-Punk/Post-Hardcore
Label: Equal Vision

Arch Enemy

Arch Enemy: Deceivers

Genre: Melodic Death Metal
Label: Savage Messiah

Belphegor

Belphegor: The Devils

Genre: Black/Death Metal
Label: Nuclear Blast

Beyoncé

Beyonce: RENAISSANCE

Genre: Pop/R&B/Soul
Label: Parkwood Entertainment LLC

Chat Pile

Chat Pile: God’s Country

Genre: Noise Rock/Post-Hardcore
Label: Flenser

Dance Gavin Dance

Dance Gavin Dance: Jackpot Juicer

Genre: Post-Hardcore/Progressive Rock/Math Rock
Label: Rise Records, Inc.

Florist

Florist (NY): Florist

Genre: Folk/Indie-Pop
Label: Double Double Whammy

Expectations

Hayley Kiyoko: PANORAMA

Genre: Pop/Electronic
Label: Atlantic

Ithaca

Ithaca: They Fear Us

Genre: Hardcore/Post-Rock/Metalcore
Label: Hassle Records

King Princess

King Princess: Hold On Baby

Genre: Pop/R&B/Indie-Pop
Label: Zelig Records

Kuedo

Kuedo: Infinite Window

Genre: Electronic/IDM/Ambient
Label: Brainfeeder

Maggie Rogers

Maggie Rogers: Surrender

Genre: Indie-Pop/Folk
Label: Debay Sounds LLC

Of Montreal

of Montreal: Freewave Lucifer F<ck F^ck F>ck

Genre: Psychedelic/Indie-Pop/Funk
Label: Polyvinyl Record Co.

Murder By Death

Murder by Death: Spell/Bound

Genre: Indie-Rock/Folk/Americana
Label: Many Hats Distribution

Orbital

Orbital: 30 Something

Genre: Techno/Electronic/Ambient
Label: Orbital Recordings Ltd

Perfume - PLASMA

Perfume: Plasma

Genre: Electronic/Pop
Label: Universal J

Reeking Aura

Reeking Aura: Blood And Bonemeal

Genre: Death Metal
Label: Profound Lore

Spectre

Stick To Your Guns: Spectre

Genre: Hardcore/Metalcore
Label: Pure Noise Records

Triumvir Foul: Onslaught to Seraphim

Genre: Death/Black Metal
Label: Invictus Productions


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Sputnik Roundtable #1: Music Assessment

All discussion prompts submitted by the user nightbringer.

So far this year, we have implemented a handful of new, different ideas of our website’s staff blog — while some have predictably flamed out, others have endured and seem primed for a bright future. About four months ago, I surveyed our collective userbase for additional concepts, and this latest one came to us from nightbringer, who suggested all seven of the below discussion topics. We organized a small committee of writers (granitenotebook, JesperL, JohnnyoftheWell, and myself) to answer as we saw fit. In this first installment of what will hopefully be many, we observe the nature of music critique: from “what makes a classic” to how album art influences our perception of the music we hear. If you have questions you’d like to submit for future Sputnik Roundtable installments, please submit them here. Thanks, and we hope you enjoy the article!

Free Question Marks on Paper Crafts Stock Photo

(1) What are music reviews for?

Sowing: A music review is really just a persuasive argument.  Yes, we critique the art based upon its objective merits as well as its subjective implications, but there’s a reason we don’t merely assign it a number and move on. The objective is to sell that opinion to the consumer and convince them that your take is the correct one. Why else would someone be reading – or thanks to YouTube – watching a music review? Outside…

2020 | 2021

2022 :: Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4

Sputnikmusic Staff’s Q2 Playlist 2022

Welcome to the second installment of 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.


Tracklist:

Artificial Brain – “Celestial Cyst”
Artificial Brain

Unsurprisingly, the eponymous third chapter from Long Island’s singular dissonant machine stands as one of the finest death metal albums to come out in the first half of 2022. The first single, “Celestial Cyst”, with its dense psychedelic(ish) slow-paced section, is not only Artificial Brain‘s most iconic moment, but also epitomizes its unforeseen emotional weight. –TheNotrap

Asian Glow – “Look Close, Nose the Reflection”
Stalled Flutes, means

The biggest and bestest track on Asian Glow’s tangled knockout of a new album might just be the most impressive thing to come out of the whole of 5th wave emo. It is momentous; it is ambitious, perhaps a little too much so; it is maudlin yet you can almost dance to it; it has best bits and they don’t last forever. It’s

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