Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of July 14th, 2023. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: July 14, 2023 –
Aetherian: At Storm’s Edge
Genre: Melodeath Label: Lifeforce
Alaska Reid: Disenchanter
Genre: Alternative / Singer Songwriter Label: Luminelle
Calligram: Position / Momentum
Genre: Blackened Crust / Black Metal Label: Prosthetic
Cavalera Conspiracy: Bestial Devastation
Genre: Death Metal Label: Nuclear Blast
Cavalera Conspiracy: Morbid Visions
Genre: Death Metal Label: Nuclear Blast
Chamber: A Love to Kill For
Genre: Mathcore Label: Pure Noise
Cosmicdust: Sadness
Genre: Shoegaze Label: UndePanDante
Crown Magnetar: Everything Bleeds
Genre: Deathcore Label: Unique Leader
Daniel O’Sulliven: Rosarium
Genre: Chamber Pop Label: House of Mythology
Deitus: Irreversible
Genre: Black Metal / Death Metal Label: Candlelight
I had benefitted greatly from her care and yet I had always kept my heart hard to her, believing that if Weezer did make it, I would want to be free for the many superior options I imagined would be available to me.
– Rivers Cuomo on his on-off relationship with Jennifer Chiba (later Elliott Smith’s girlfriend)
No further preamble on this one (here it is): KILL or KEEP is back in full swing, and to celebrate our return with maximum hubris, we decided to sidestep our usual brief for bloated opuses in need of a butcher’s trim. Instead, we tumble headlong into one of the worst records ever made.
At a poxy 35 minutes, Weezer’s cursed flagship record Pinkerton might as well be a doe in the headlights here – can KILL or KEEP do justice to such a fragile ego death album with such, uh, vast horsepower behind it and Pheromone’s egregiously powerful foot at the wheel? What kind of justice can we do for a man like Rivers Cuomo, whose entire existence is itself above justice, logic and humanity? Let’s see…
Rules
The team is jesperL,johnnyoftheWell, and Pheromone.
Every song must either be KILLed or KEEPed.
There is no minimum KILL threshold. There was no need for a maximum KEEP threshold.
Okay.
Starting Impressions
Phero: This is a sexy album. It is an album about sex. It…
At the start of KILL or KEEP Vol.9 (Taylor Swift – Red), we promised we were getting back together.
But then, at the end of that KILL or KEEP, we broke up again.
It took some time, but an elite KILL or KEEP hitsquad eventually assembled for a champion assignment album party. It was time to do the inevitable: to look back in time, to a time before 100 gecs, before Whorecore-gate, before nu-gaze,, before retroism decided Linkin Park were good actually, and to start directly into the face of the modern music landscaping capitalism egotism vortexes. That’s right. We were to examine a record that changed the shape of commercial hip-hop and wiped its arse across the whole consenting pop landscape including, as of now the good pages of KILL or KEEP. It was a proper comeback and we took the elevator up to the top. Can we get much higher? Is he too high? Too big for his boots? If so, just you watch as we KILL him down to size.
Without further ado, I give you: Kanye West…what do you even say about the man?
Rules
The team isjohnnyoftheWell, normaloctagon, Pheromoneand Windowpain.
Every song must either be KILLed or KEEPed.
We played with a specialrule:Every song KILLed must be accompanied by a cancellable take that Kanye himself has not yet said.
Welcome to the second installment for our 2023 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, any new artists you may have discovered here, or let us know what we missed!
Tracklist:
Alfa Mist – “BC” Variables
If you’re a sucker for tricksy, stuttering drumwork, “BC” will have a firm hold on your nether regions from the jump. If you need to be wined and dined first, well, stick around for seven minutes worth of wild soloing and nimble comping before that final reprisal of the starting motif makes you want to spark a cigarette and stare at the ceiling, fully-satisfied and maybe just a little hungry. Go ahead and eat — you’ll need the energy. Those sheets aren’t gonna change themselves. –Milo
Allie Kelly – “Gunshy” GUNSHY
Like Big Thief, Allie Kelly cognizes the value of a touch of the insolite among pop structures; like Sheryl Crow, she wants her guitars to shimmer like the sun; like both, she’s capable of knocking it out of the park — 2022’s excellent Menthol with Thumpasaurus…
uhhhhhhh I made this half hour video where I talk into the camera about the Minneapolis indie rock band 12 Rods, who are releasing a NEW ALBUM, their FIRST in TWENTY-ONE YEARS, called IF WE STAYED ALIVE, this Friday!
the formatting is off, particularly in the literal like first minute of the video. I edited this on a laptop whose trackpad doesn’t work using an internet browser video editor. I used the touchscreen it’s a chromebook.
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of July 7th, 2023. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: July 7th, 2023 –
12 Rods: If We Stayed Alive
Genre: Indie Rock / Shoegaze Label: Rough Trade
Alice Phoebe Lou: Shelter
Genre: Indie Pop / Art Pop Label: Independent
A Life Divided: Down The Spiral of Soul
Genre: Industrial Rock Label: AFM Records
Amaara: Child of Venus
Genre: Dream Pop / Pop / R&B Label: Lady Moon Records Records
Anohni: My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross
Genre: Indie Pop / Electronic Label: Downtown Music
Blackbraid: Blackbraid II
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal Label: Independent
Blackscape: Suffocated By the Sun
Genre: Power Metal Label: Nuclear Blast
Welcome back! Those who have been following along know that I’ve already covered CDs on two other installments (Vol. 1 & Vol. 2) and apparel in the most recent publication (Vol. 3). I’m back with some more CDs that I hope you will find interesting/alluring; let me know what you think in the comments, and as always, feel free to share pictures of your own collections. Thanks for reading!
(1) The Republic of Wolves – Shrine
Aside from being one of my favorite bands, The Republic of Wolves are also a group that I feel a sense of closeness to. I’ve been reviewing their material since their 2009 debut EP when they were virtually unknown, and have conversed on a semi-regular basis with both their lead singer and drummer. They always have the coolest themes and artwork, and the above captures their essence: mysterious & ominous, yet full of purpose.
While the cover art shows people marching and wielding torches, the CD shows a building burning to ruins.
Signed by every member of the band; this is definitely a favorite keepsake.
(2) Ethereal Shroud – Trisagion
Another artist that I feel a sense of connection to. Ethereal Shroud is fronted by a fellow Sputnikmusic member, and his most recent 2021 LP, Trisagion, earned him critical accolades from several different publications. It’s…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of June 30th, 2023. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: June 30, 2023 –
Anberlin: Convinced
Genre: Post-Hardcore/Alt-Rock Label: Equal Vision Records
Angelo De Augustine: Toil And Trouble
Genre: Indie-Folk/Lo-Fi Label: Asthmatic Kitty
Before the Dawn: Stormbringers
Genre: Melodic Death Metal/Gothic Label: Napalm Records
Bdrmm: I Don’t Know
Genre: Post-Punk/Indie-Rock Label: Rock Action Records
The Body: I Shall Die Here / Earth Triumphant
Genre: Sludge Metal/Drone Label: RVNG
Brigid Mae Power: Dream From The Deep Well
Genre: Folk/Country Label: Fire
death’s dynamic shroud: After Angel
Genre: Electronic/Dream Pop Label: 100% Electronica
death’s dynamic shroud: Darklife Anthology
Genre: Electronic/Dream Pop Label: 100% Electronica
Delacey: The Girl Has A Dream
Genre: Pop/R&B Label: Photo Finish Records
Dwellings: Little Gardens
Genre: Post-Hardcore/Progressive Rock Label: Tragic Hero Records
East of the Wall: A Neutral Second
Genre: Post/Sludge Metal Label: Translation Loss Records
Tim Hecker’s discography is a patchwork of ambient treasures, as rewarding to the deepest pursuits of one’s navel as it is deceptively tourist-friendly. As such, in honour of his latest album, No Highs, the Staff team has undertaken to give it the Treatment. Here are our picks! Patience goes a long way with Mr. Hecker, and so we have taken a generous length of time to absorb No Highs and reflect on the rest of his corpus. We hope the wait has been worth it.
Tim Hecker’s music feels natural and synthetic at the same time; it’s therefore no wonder that he’s been drafted mercilessly into the ranks of Forward-Thinking Electronic Artists in the early part of the 21st century, with its various temporally specific concerns about the divisions between the kinds of artistic “decisions” made by a computer program and those made by those with eyes to see cathedrals everywhere.…
Hello again! I’m back to break up the monotony of CD artwork/packaging with my band apparel. It’s not as diverse band-wise as I remembered, and it turns out I’ve only really bothered to buy (or, at least keep) apparel merch from four bands: Yellowcard, Brand New, mewithoutYou, and Manchester Orchestra. In a way this makes sense, as they represent favorite bands of mine at different junctures within my lifetime.
Disclaimer: I did not, nor would I ever have the desire to, iron or even dry all this stuff just to make a blog post, so please excuse the massive wrinkle epidemic as well as any dog/cat hairs that appear. They know not what they do. If you missed the previous installments in this series, you can check out Vol. 1 and Vol.2 by clicking the links.
Yellowcard
Of the bands in this post, Yellowcard was my first love. Nothing makes me feel more ready for summer than sporting a shirt featuring this band’s name or logo, although sometimes I do feel a little self-conscious being a 30-something dude wearing stuff promoting a pop-punk band that peaked 20 years ago. But, as they say, you gotta do you.
Ocean Avenue era T-shirt. Can’t remember when I bought this but I’m fairly sure it was long after OA was released.
Hello readers of Sputnik! Those who’ve been following along are aware that I’m in the midst of a deep dive into all things physically related to music – from CDs to apparel and random memorabilia – and right now I’m here to deliver the second installment within the CD category. If you missed it, Vol. 1 can be read here.
I’ve been trying to limit this series to CDs that (A) have a great deal of personal meaning to me, (B) have particularly alluring packaging/art, or both A & B. A lot of these check both boxes, so without any additional pointless stalling, here is the next batch of CDs that I view as treasure.
(1) David Bowie – Blackstar
The CD release for the legendary David Bowie’s final album does the music, and him, justice. There’s a dark/shadowy/reflective theme and color scheme that really sells the whole “black star” concept. This is one of my all-time favorite CDs to hold in-hand as I reflect upon his legacy. It’s a thick booklet, full of mysterious images with lots of layers to the art/conceptual meaning.
The man, the myth, the legend.
Ground control to Major Tom…
Notice the reflective quality of the images and words
Look up here, I’m in heaven…I’ve got scars that can’t be seen
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of June 23rd, 2023. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: June 23, 2023 –
Albert Hammond Jr.: Melodies On Hiatus
Genre: Indie Pop Label: Red Bull
Coi Leray: Coi
Genre: Hip Hop Label: Republic / Uptown
DeathCollector: Death’s Toll
Genre: Death Metal Label: Prosthetic
Degrees of Truth: Alchemists
Genre: Progressive Metal Label: Scarlet
Fear Factory: Re-Industrialized
Genre: Industrial Metal Label: Nuclear Blast
The Heist Revenge: Scorched Earth Amusement Park [EP]
Genre: Indie rock / Emo / Post-hardcore Label: Self-released
High Priest: Invocation
Genre: Stoner Doom Label: Magnetic Eye
Infernal Curse: Revelations Beyond Insanity
Genre: Blackened Death Metal Label: Iron Bonehead Productions
Jag Panzer: The Hallowed
Genre: Heavy Metal Label: Atomic Fire
Jason Mraz: Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride
Hype is deadly. From experience, when it comes to entertainment at least, I try and live my life with having very little expectations for things and events. It was only last year I had seen Tool for the first time; despite the band being incredibly important to me, my apprehension for seeing them was palpable. To be blunt, I wasn’t really looking forward to it in a lot of ways, but then when I went, the band blew it out of the water. It was one of the best events I’d ever been to. Fast-forward to this year and I’ve been to two events this year – both of which I uncharacteristically had no filter over my excitement for seeing them. One was Darren Hayes – a bitter disappointment that has tarnished his legacy in my eyes – the other was legendary composer Hans Zimmer. While the gig wasn’t the unmitigated disaster of the former, it brought enough frustrations to the table to warrant it being a disappointment of sorts. For context, I relish in most of Zimmer’s extensive catalogue of movie scores; I listen to them as much as I listen to albums from my favourite bands and artists. His ability to keep with the times and reinvent himself with every passing decade is very impressive to behold. Coupled with the fact I’d never seen a live orchestra and the ingredients created something I couldn’t hold back – this was…
Preface: So much of listening to music in 2023 feels…impersonal. We consume and discard songs/albums/entire artists at an unprecedented rate, and thus lose out on a lot of what, at least in my experience, makes music special. At the risk of divulging my approximate age, CDs were the most popular means of listening to music for the majority of my life-to-date. I’d save up whatever money I could from my minimum wage job(s) as a kid and go buy my favorite artists’ albums from places like FYE, Walmart, Target, Sam Goody, or my local record store. There’s something about holding a CD (or, for those into it, Vinyl) in your hands that increases your connection to the music, and I think it goes beyond the mere financial investment. There’s a sense of pride in ownership, and with that comes a sense of duty to give the music the time and attention it deserves. This is far from a preaching moment – I’m now an avid streamer of music – but when it comes to the artists that I care about the most (especially those who have had some sort of nostalgic hold or notable impact on my life), there’s no substitute for having that music on me and being able to look through the pictures and/or display them.
It dawned on me that so much of my experience with music is centered around things that I physically own – from CDs to apparel – so I…
There’s a ferociousness again to Jeromes Dream, a hunger that, while scattered into tiny doses throughout 2019’s LP, is now unhinged and unleashed on The Gray InBetween. The Gray In Between goes for the throat. Between Jeff Smith screaming again, Sean Leary’s pummeling riffs, and Erik Ratensperger’s phenomenal and frantic drumming. Jeromes Dream has written an album that very much serves as the spiritual successor to 2000’s landmark Seeing Means More Than Safety. Simply put, Jeromes Dream has roared back, and let’s hope there’s no slowing down anytime soon.
…
