I’ve been listening to Chris Whitley for more than 20 years. At first, I was resistant to enjoying his music — how ridiculous we can be. I was in my early 20s, and I met a lanky guy who had grown up in international schools, and had a penchant for open tunings. He spoke in a soft American accent, he played guitar brilliantly, and he was outrageously cool. He leant me a record called Living with the Law and I scoffed at it. The man on the cover looked trapped in that weird, out-of-touch crossroads hangover between the ’80s and the ’90s. At the time, I was discovering indie music — and this seemed the anathema to it. I mocked it, tossed it aside, and dug my heels with immature abandon.
However, I had listened to it. And after hearing it a few times, the hooks were in. The title track truly is one of the great openers of the ’90s — grudgingly, I could not deny the pockets of beauty in the space created by those soft, chalky chord changes. The voice sounds as if it comes from a wagon trail, a passenger exiting a taxi, a shortwave radio, a factory PA, or a campfire hidden in an unending canvas of pine trees. Chris Whitley sounds of the city and the country, and of any age.
Whitley never achieved much fame beyond that album; he always…
Here’s a list of significant new releases for the week of November 3rd, 2023. Please note that your idea of “significant” might not align with this list: some of you may die, but it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make. 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.
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
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
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
Welcome to the second edition of Sputnikmusic’s very special round table interview featuring the site’s Contributors! In this multi-participant discussion, the team shall face several serious and humorous questions to give them the opportunity to let them shine and introduce themselves. However, instead of throwing questions towards each other this time around, garas volunteered to be the host of this interview. We hope you’ll enjoy it!
garas:Hello everyone, it’s garas here! In the latest promotion event several new people were blessed with the opportunity to become members of the Contributor team. So, let’s start with the most important question you all are probably wondering about:
1a) What is your favourite caffeine source (if there is any), and 1b) also, who the hell are you?
Just to give an example:I love espresso con panna the most. Also, I’m garas, AKA Gary the Grumpy, the local dungeon synth/black metal enthusiast in the team. Otherwise, just a regular metalhead from Hungary who loves cats and fantasy books and games a lot.
The MoC looking sufficiently grumpy.
fogza: I’m currently in love with milk replacements, so my go-to is the coconut milk latte, or as they call it at Pret: the coco latte. I’m fogza, your regular indie fan and traditional song format enthusiast, originally from South Africa but now residing in the UK.
Here’s a list of notable new releases for the week of May 19th, 2023. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: May 19th, 2023 –
Alex Lahey – The Answer Is Always Yes Genre: Indie Rock / Power Pop Label: Liberation
Blindfolded and Led to the Woods – Rejecting Obliteration Genre: Technical Death Metal Label: Prosthetic
Brandy Clark – Brandy Clark Genre: Contemporary Country Label: Warner
They say you were something in those formative years…
For many, our love of music begins with the influence of our family and friends. I can remember my mom blasting Hendrix so loud the windows shook and I could feel it through the stool I was sitting on. Or hunched by the kitchen window watching the spread of milky coldness on the glass while my father cooked with Paul Simon singing “Mother and Child Reunion”. Still later, I would remember my brother buying Bon Jovi patches for his denim jacket.
There does come a time when something we hear goes beyond our inheritance. When I consciously chose an artist that no-one else championed, it changed what music did for me — it became an expression of my personality. Musical taste, to me anyway, is sometimes an instinctual compass that unlocks a part of who we are. These are some stories about those moments, as told by our contributor team. –fog
Red Hot Chili Peppers
My first real love in life was skateboarding. From the age of 7 upward, it was all I would do with my time. I’d take my horrible factory-made deck out into the school carpark down the road from my house and spend hours on end trying to slappy curbs and ollie manhole covers. Eventually, when I’d skinned my knees enough or twisted my ankle so badly I…
They say you were something in those formative years…
For many, our love of music begins with the influence of our family and friends. I can remember my mom blasting Hendrix so loud the windows shook and I could feel it through the stool I was sitting on. Or hunched by the kitchen window watching the spread of milky coldness on the glass while my father cooked with Paul Simon singing “Mother and Child Reunion”. Still later, I would remember my brother buying Bon Jovi patches for his denim jacket.
There does come a time when something we hear goes beyond our inheritance. When I consciously chose an artist that no-one else championed, it changed what music did for me — it became an expression of my personality. Musical taste, to me anyway, is sometimes an instinctual compass that unlocks a part of who we are. These are some stories about those moments, as told by our contributor team. –fog
U2
It’s 2005. 2006? The exact year doesn’t matter. I’m 9, maybe 10 years old, and clearly don’t know much about how the world works, but I harbor an unquenchable need — as the oldest child in my family, as the son of a teacher and a preacher, as someone with all the love and support you could ask for, Maslow’s first three needs safely met — to present…
It’s with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Brandon Scott (aka TheSpirit), a longstanding member of the Sputnik community who lost his battle with addiction. Brandon was a member of Sputnik for over thirteen years, over which time he wrote frequently as a site Contributor and made an indelible mark on the site with his kindness, wit and unquellable positivity. He wrote prolifically across the internet for a variety of platforms, significantly InvisibleOranges, and was a talented musician involved in active creative projects. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family. If you are able to, please consider contributing to his funeral expenses here.
We have compiled a short list of testimonials below; please feel free to share any of your own in the comments (or contact us via sowingsputnik@gmail.com if you would like to be included in this piece):
***
Though we were never close, I remember Brandon from my earliest days on Sputnik, and of all the people I’ve come across online, he was easily one of the best-humoured, affable and, no matter the scenario, room-brightening. The longer I spent on Sputnik, the more amazed I became at the way he maintained a cheerful spirit, brought the best out of everyone around him, faced personal hardships with vast openness and optimism, respected mutual differences, never took himself overly seriously, and yet – perhaps above all – did what he loved with total dedication without losing his heart to it. I know
The city of Columbus has changed much over the past decade. Ohio’s reputation as ‘that lame Midwestern state’ certainly persists, but it’d be hard to figure that when observing the growth of the state’s capital; it’s undergoing one of the highest growth rates of all Midwestern metropoles. It’s no longer simply a domain for the Buckeye faithful (and the broken, battered Blue Jackets fans), but a combination of diverse people arriving from all corners of the United States. It’s a change that can be observed in the heightened enrollment rates of The Ohio State University. It can be felt in the explosive crowds filling the stands of the novel Lower.com stadium. It can be witnessed in the outdoor Shakespeare shows and the sprawling Arts Festival. Most importantly, for us at least, it can be heard in the bustling live music scene.
As a consequence of Columbus’ rise to prominence, its music market has considerably increased. Beyond the multitude of stadiums and theaters that can serve as concert venues, there are a plethora of smaller locales with their own personality and show miscellany. A trip to north downtown’s King of Clubs might feature the legends of melodic death metal Dark Tranquillity, a brutal combo of Thy Art is Murder and After the Burial, or an amateur wrestling display. KEMBA Live can provide The Shins, Wiz Khalifa, or Meshuggah. For something off the beaten path, The Rambling House exhibits bluegrass jam sessions, jazz and stand-up comedy. Regardless of…
It should bear no repeating, yet I’ll do so once more for those in the back: modern metalcore is in safe hands. Bands come and go, trends rise and fall, but the genre is a resilient one; a slew of acts have come to prominence in the past decade, each one eager to carve out a slice of the heavy music listening base. After an arduous day of stress, responsibilities and other such clutter, there’s no better release than a masterful breakdown or sudden barrage of discordant riffs. It’s an adrenaline rush that continuously defines the classification in a unique manner. Rest assured, this new school has officially taken up the mantle in their own ways, be it unabashed chaos, groovy swagger, or genuine emotion. Essentially, whatever one desires out of a -core package, the genre can quickly offer an appropriate escape. Combine all three approaches and a wondrous idea is formed: a tour across the nation featuring some of the hottest names mentioned in the underground. There’s always an audience hungry for the unrelenting pandemonium live metal shows can provide — something evident in the frantic mosh pits and equally energetic stage antics. Thus, the Beautiful Coma Tour was constructed: an epic union of Limbs out of Florida, Kentucky’s own Greyhaven, and The surprisingly-not-from-Dallas Callous Daoboys. As could perhaps be predicted, it was a match made in heaven.
Fans of the expanding Columbus underground scene gathered…
Welcome to sputnikmusic’s (first ever?) roundtable interview, featuring the contributors! The goal is to create an opportunity to illuminate some of the current contributing team, like how it goes with the staffers in the ongoing Staff Wars series: questions and answers in a cozy interview. But there is a twist: we ask and answer the questions by all of us! We hope you’ll enjoy it.
List of participants (alphabetical order): dedex, dmathias52, Evok, garas, JesperL, Kompys2000, Koris, linguist2011, neekafat, Sunnyvale, tyman128, YoYoMancuso
[Because this roundtable spanned several months, some responses have been edited for clarity.]
Question 1, via garas: Who the hell are you, and what is your spirit animal?
garas: I’m the resident grumpy Hungarian who doesn’t care about just riffs and ambiance (or cats and craft beers) — I’d say it’s the perfect match to my biologist career. It’s darker than you think! [Carpathian Forest starts playing in the background] Also, my spirit animal would be:
garas’ face every morning
dedex: I’m a Franco-Belgian idiot who likes way too many genres to properly focus on one. I’m a data analyst, so I spend my days looking at stuff and listening to music — dope! My spirit animal is France’s national emblem: the rooster (also called ‘the cock’), ’cause it’s the only animal that can sing with both feet deep in…
Once again, out of sheer obsession and love for visual art, I have compiled my 100 favorite album covers of the year. Keep in mind that this list is not ranked in any way, instead ordered left to right by aesthetics, imagery, and framing, with an emphasis on color this year. There is so much great album artwork that was left on the cutting room floor, and I’m sure there is an even greater number of albums that I didn’t happen to catch. 100 seems like a lot until you have to start cutting it down! I hope you enjoy these covers as much as I do!
Click or tap the 10×10 grid to see 2021’s high-res image. To see 2020’s featurette, click or tap here. –neekafat
Photo by Andy Ford: http://andyfordphotography.co.uk/
Author’s note: This interview was conducted in April; however, due to personal reasons, it fell by the wayside until now. Because of this, a few questions and answers may be slightly outdated.
Please enjoy the interview.
UK upstarts Pupil Slicer are one of the most promising acts in modern mathcore. They may have only released one studio album so far, but that record has already received a great deal of critical praise and a rapidly growing fanbase. In this interview, I sat down with vocalist/guitarist Katie Davies and bassist/backing vocalist Luke Fabian to discuss everything from the creation of their debut album Mirrors, to how they signed with Prosthetic Records, to their future touring and recording plans, and much more.
Regarding the reception of Mirrors: this thing has been blowing up! How’s it felt for you? I couldn’t imagine how overwhelming that would be.
Katie: Yeah, definitely! We never could have expected this. We’ve even had people saying “I don’t really like metal but I really like this album”!
Luke: To give you an example: literally about five minutes ago, I just looked on the Bandcamp page to see the sales of the second pressing of the album, of which we had 100 copies. And we had ten left… and we put those up yesterday! In Gojira numbers it’s not that much, but it’s still pretty mindblowing.
While there was certainly no shortage of exceptional metalcore releases in 2018, one in particular possessed a level of ingenuity in its craft that deserved far greater praise. Despite their underground status, Noise Trail Immersion managed to emerge from the depths to secure a portion of the spotlight, revealing to a broader audience their expertise over technicality and atmosphere. Their brand of post metalcore contained a frighteningly aggressive quality owing to influence from black metal titans of the modern day. Such a combination bred a sophomore record that immersed listeners in a realm of psychological terror, portraying the decomposition of one’s mind as it travels through stages of nihilism, a loss of faith, and an eventual acceptance of cognitive demise. It was a blockbuster album towering above a stacked field of aspiring artists; few were able to contend with the level of songwriting the young group displayed so early in their career.
Creating such an experience, let alone constructing a worthy sequel, is a tall order for any collective to fulfill. After a prolonged period dedicated to arranging this long awaited album, the band joined forces with I, Voidhanger Records in order to house their latest creation. Considering how highly I value the nascent body of work cultivated by Noise Trail Immersion, comprehending the process that motivated their efforts immediately caught my interest. With the upcoming third disc approaching on the horizon, primed for takeoff to impose further dissonant riffs upon the masses, I had a conversation with primary composer…
