50-31 | 30-11 | 10-1 | EP/Live/Compilation 10. He Is Legend – Endless Hallway [Label site] // [Spotify] “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 […]

50-31 | 30-11 | 10-1 | EP/Live/Compilation 10. Gospel – MVDM: Magick Volumes Of Dark Madder [Bandcamp] // [Spotify] 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 […]

50-31 | 30-11 | 10-1 | EP/Live/Compilation 30. Ashenspire – Hostile Architecture [Bandcamp] // [Spotify] 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 […]

50-31 | 30-11 | 10-1 | EP/Live/Compilation 50. CMAT – If My Wife New I’d Be Dead [Official site] // [Spotify] 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 […]

50-31 | 30-11 | 10-1 | EP/Live/Compilation 10. Dvne – Etemen Ænka [Bandcamp] // [Spotify] While progressive sludge metal might be a rather sparsely-inhabited sub-sub-genre, Dvne have assuredly claimed their kingship over its fertile lands with Etemen Ænka. Standing tall as an epic journey built upon the stones of crushing virtuosity and wizard-level songwriting festooned in ribbons of grandiose, this Edinburgh quintet have […]

50-31 | 30-11 | 10-1 | EP/Live/Compilation 10. Gates (USA-NJ) – Here and Now [Bandcamp] // [Spotify] Here and Now sees Gates return with their first new music since 2016. Frankly, it’s like they never left, with the EP’s six songs residing firmly in the band’s sweet spot, ensconced in the lush middle of the triangle of post-rock, emo, and indie […]

50-31 | 30-11 | 10-1 | EP/Live/Compilation 30. JPEGMAFIA – LP! (offline) (online) [Official site] // [Spotify] Leave it to JPEGMAFIA to create hip-hop that’s equal parts abrasive, experimental, and just plain bold. I guess it comes as no surprise when looking at his list of influences, which includes artists as stylistically disparate as Kanye West, Bjork, MF DOOM, and even Hanson. However, LP! might […]

50-31 | 30-11 | 10-1 | EP/Live/Compilation 50. Lord Huron – Long Lost [Official site] // [Spotify] Although Lord Huron have been of note in indie folk circles for a while, the group’s fourth LP Long Lost really sees them come into their own. While still treading indie folk/Americana waters, here the band have moved into a much more lush sonic […]

50-31 | 30-11 | 10-1 | EP/Live/Compilation 10. The Ocean – Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic [Bandcamp] // [Spotify] The modern era of The Ocean Collective — a settled aggregate as opposed to the revolving door era of the early 2000s — forced audiences across the metal world to pay attention with Pelagial. Unlike the prior -centric series, it was a […]

50-31 | 30-11 | 10-1 | EP/Live/Compilation 10. Amenra – Mass VI Live [Bandcamp] // [Spotify] You’d be hard-pressed to pick Mass VI Live out of a lineup of Amenra’s studio records were you not already well acquainted with their 2017 release of the same name. The live rendition of the Belgian post-metal legends’ most recent opus is sublime, sporting better […]

50-31 | 30-11 | 10-1 | EP/Live/Compilation 30. The Weeknd – After Hours [Official site] // [Spotify] Abel Tesfaye always had the ’80s flair in him. Instead of the blatant hedonism of his reference decade, he uses the same tropes to criticize the lifestyle he lives. Self-loathing his way through new wave-y, dream-poppy R&B, Tesfaye appears less dysfunctional than ever, yet […]

50-31 | 30-11 | 10-1 | EP/Live/Compilation 50. Intronaut – Fluid Existential Inversions [Bandcamp] // [Spotify] Intronaut’s rise to fame over the last decade and a half has been anything but luck, but in a year as turbulent as 2020, the band’s Fluid Existential Inversions somehow moved past the success of their 2015 release and a change of drummers (normally a […]

50-31 | 30-11 | 10-1 | EP/Live/Compilation 10. Periphery – Periphery IV: Hail Stan [Official site] // [Spotify] Whether you love Periphery or hate them, you can’t ignore them. Well, you can, but where’s the fun in that? 2019 was a pretty huge year for the shitposting meme-lords of the progressive metal world. They started their own record label and released Hail Stan, which […]

50-31 | 30-11 | 10-1 | EP/Live/Compilation 10. Nostromo (CHE) – Narrenschiff [Bandcamp] // [Spotify] Sailing Narrenschiff (aka “Ship of Fools”) is like getting your ass kicked for 20 minutes straight by a bunch of deranged Swiss freaks. Nevertheless, this massive display of power never really gets out of control, just like an experienced fighter who always delivers his blows at the right moments. […]