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By Sowing
Wednesday January 11, 2023
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50-31 | 30-11 | 10-1 | EP/Live/Compilation
[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 — 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…
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By Sowing
Monday January 9, 2023
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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
Gaz Coombes: Turn The Car Around
Genre:
…
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By Sowing
Friday January 6, 2023
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Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | 2021 | 2020
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!
a short list of projects that probably would have had a good chance of being on this list if I had ever gotten around to listening to them:
Honestly, Nevermind
Midnights
Dirt Femme
Being Funny In A Foreign Language
Harry’s House
SOS
life
Blue Rev
The Long Count
quinn
almost certainly a bunch of other stuff I’m forgetting
projects I didn’t like as much as I hoped I would
CRASH
This one’s almost great. I wrote a whole review explaining my feelings, but it basically sums up to this being hit or miss and a great idea in theory despite the various dumb people saying she shouldn’t make pop music. Check it out, just skip “Lightning” and any songs that don’t grab you in the first 30 seconds.
Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2
This doesn’t have anything as good as “Slide” but that was a once-in-a-lifetime song. Other than that, it’s basically exactly as good as the last one, so it’s OK. It’s got some really fun songs and some very boring songs. And it has the best Halsey feature since “Closer.”
Renaissance
To be clear, I like this album! I like Beyonce’s music, I just think she can do better than this. It’s cool that each song here flows into the next – but imagine how much better it’d be if she didn’t need to sell it on LPs or whatever and just made it into one more cohesive…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of January 6th, 2023. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: January 6, 2023 –
Anathematise: Bizarre Tales from the Past and the Future
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Awakening
Beatriz Ferreyra: Senderos de luz y sombras
Genre: Electronic / Modern Classical
Label: Recollection GRM
Cicada: 棲居在溪源之上 Seeking the Sources of Streams
Genre: Post Rock / Modern Classical
Label: flau
Charaxes: Color’s Tease
Genre: Electronic
Label: Self released
Confined: Eternal Fury of the Disillusioned Ones
Genre: OSDM
Label: Vargheist
Despicable: Meditations
Genre: Experimental Hip Hop
Label: Self released
Devouring Famine: Haunting Echoes
Genre: Black Metal
Label: Self released
Earth: Even Hell Has Its Heroes (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Genre: Drone
Label: Thrones and Dominions
Fireworks: Higher Lonely Power
Genre: Indie Rock / Post Rock / Punk
Label: Funeral Plant Collective
Geolier: Il coraggio dei bambini
Genre: Hip Hop
Label: Columbia / Sony
Esoctrilihum: Funeral
Genre: Black Metal
Label:…
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By Sowing
Monday January 2, 2023
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2022 :: Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4
Sputnikmusic Staff’s Q4 Playlist 2022
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…
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By Sowing
Thursday December 29, 2022
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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!
anarchistfish, parksungjoon, ramon., Josh D., brendanstupik, Zig, TVC15, JayEnder, JamesW, untitled, theBoneyKing, Toad, deathofasalesman, TooManyFriends, SublimeSound, whitecastle142, brandontaylor, someone, arf, BrushedRed, AmericanFlagAsh, Valzentia, Shamus248, Batareziz, JayEnder, GiaNXGX, SitarHero, 0BSCURA, luci, SunBro, BlazinBlitzer, vult, gimo80, Toondude, nnpoc, thejoelsder, Romulus, 0range, MrToothbrush, combustion07, DePlazz, Poet, libraryofsalt, eMZ, BlackTemplarofAutism, TerraIncognita, SlothcoreSam, ChaoticVortex, nilsson, Boreque, victorhugotoffoli, pjquinones747, kaparoni, Slex, WoahHenny, johndavis33, trackbytrackreviews, Douglas, DoofDoof, MOYA, TheGreatEscaper, Invariance67, Gannoncannon, Edgehog61, LunaticSoul, JonWedge91, Maniac!, JoyfulPlaypus, Permafrost, Drbebop, shemson, GoldenGuy444, Chamberbelain, kildare, e210013, HstroX, ArsMoriendi, XfingTheSullen, counterparts24, Dizchu, frozencarl, claygurnz, pennyroyal22, davidwave4, Tundra, rabidfish, DeanBrown, daemonaria
Tier 2: Double Agents – These writers made the list twice!
PanosChris, NexCeleris, Biscuitborn, LemonBen, NicksMusicList, GarthAlgar, SandwichBubble, theBoneyKing, TheGlowingWeen, Get Low, hobblepot, YatMot, ConcubinaryCode, Purpl3Spartan, Scoot, SpiridonOrlovschi, DadKungFu, Minortimbo12
Tier 3: Triple
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By Willie
Wednesday December 21, 2022
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50-31 | 30-11 | 10-1
 [Official site] // [Spotify]
On March 2, 2018, the heavy music/core-sphere collectively lost their minds over Rolo Tomassi’s coming-of-age release Time Will Die And Love Will Bury It — an album that purportedly elevated them from cult status to masters of their genre-spanning scene. I say ‘purportedly’ not because there is any doubt in my mind that this is true, but because on that same day, I was re-reviewing Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago for probably the third time, somehow unaware of Rolo Tomassi’s existence — let alone the fact that they were exploding in my backyard. Despite several interventions over the next few years by friends-who-care in an attempt to turn my attention towards this magnificently mathy/metallic/hardcore act, it was somehow 2022’s Where Myth Becomes Memory that marked my first real introduction to the band — and finally, I’d like to join my cohorts in saying: holy fucking shit. In other words, Rolo Tomassi has a new disciple.
Where Myth Becomes Memory represents the ideal intersection between beauty and aggression. Listeners who can rightfully declare themselves fans already know this, but I’m still marvelling at the way the band effortlessly swivels between the shimmering and resplendent (consider “Almost Always”, replete with its breathtaking pianos and rapturous crescendo) and the nakedly aggressive (those blood-curdling shrieks in “Cloaked”). Rolo Tomassi have reached a point in their songwriting where these…
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By Willie
Tuesday December 20, 2022
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50-31 | 30-11 | 10-1
 [Official site] // [Spotify]
In spite of my overwhelming and undying appreciation for single-paragraph reviews, few things are more stressful than having to explain why an album is good in one sentence. Of course, you could just say: “it’s good”… but that’s boring and, frankly, unconvincing. You could go the opposite route and use fancy words like “enchanting” or “grandiose”, but that’s just…too much. You could, instead, simply repeat the album title: “and in the darkness, hearts aglow”…but that’s…ugh, fine, that’s kind of perfect here. Weyes Blood’s music may be good, enchanting and grandiose, but Natalie Mering’s latest record adds some surprising splashes of darkness to her palette. The album’s themes of loss and loneliness construct a sense of cohesion the slightly subdued theatricality more than welcomes. It’s an experience best experienced more than once, twice or thrice until each note subtly assumes the moment in the spotlight it deserves.
Even though this spotlight may be dim due to the surrounding darkness, “It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody” and “Twin Flame” present wonderfully memorable choruses that demand attention and repeated listens alike. However, the album’s most impressive cut comes in the form of “God Turn Me Into a Flower”: a subdued number that bathes Mering’s gorgeous voice in equally gorgeous doses of ambience, and takes its time unfolding into a truly magical meditation on loss. While I…
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By Willie
Monday December 19, 2022
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50-31 | 30-11 | 10-1
50. Crippled Black Phoenix – Banefyre
 [Official site] // [Spotify]
2022! What a year, huh? It feels like the tide has finally washed ashore all those records that were created during that long hibernation period that was the Covid pandemic. Crippled Black Phoenix are no different, and Banefyre‘s one hour and a half running time is good proof that the British squad have done their homework. Now with full-time singer Joel Segerstedt sharing vocal duties with Belinda Kordic instead of featured singers (which was a great idea by the way!), the band struck back this year with a behemoth of an album. Banefyre sounds BIG and mighty, all without losing the Phoenix’s prowess for mesmerizing melodies and suspenseful build-ups that have become the band’s seal. This is, no doubt, an imposing album — but also an incredibly rewarding experience if you have the time and the will to let it flood your senses. And I know you do; otherwise, why would you be reading this list in the first place?! –Dewinged
49. Orville Peck – Bronco
 [Official site] // [Spotify]
“Consensus” means that I have to write about my personal album of the year as if it belongs in the 49th spot. Bronco sands down the weirder edges of Orville Peck’s debut album in favor of grandiose songwriting that makes full use of…
JAWs 2022: Best debut
Hello and welcome to the first instalment of this year’s maybe-annual JAWs! 
Here are your questions:
Who Are You?
I am johnnyoftheWell!
How Are You?
I am well. I am in a cafe procrastinating an essay deadline and stressing about my laptop battery, which is not long for this world. How are you?
How Was 2022 For Music?
2022 was(/is!) pretty awesome for music! There have definitely been a few lulls, but I’ve had an overall great time digging up silly treasures, listening to people’s recs and just following them trends (which has been a good deal more fruitful than in previous years lemme tell ya). 2022 is good!
What The Flying Frick Is A JAW?
One of my best features tbh, but also um, it had a definite phrasing and I forgot it. (This one’s for you, Cimnele:)
It might have been an acronym for something like Johnny Awards Winners or Jackpot Ablutions from the Well, but I think in my head at the moment it’s a syllabic abbreviation from Jotw AWards or maybe JotAWwww. It is absolutely not an initialism – say Jay Ayy Double-you out loud and I will slap you and eat mx.
tl;dr it’s a nice way to spotlight some year highlights that I think deserve to be spotlit.
I’m not posting a full list from the year or declaring an AOTY at this point because the Cram is still in session…
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By Sowing
Monday November 28, 2022
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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
Olly Murs:…
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By Willie
Monday November 28, 2022
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Another year down… As always, these were my favorite albums of the year regardless of originality, impact on any genre, or any other superfluous qualifier. The only thing that mattered was how much I personally enjoy it. As has kind of been my thing, instead of rambling on my own for 50 entries, I prefer to highlight some of the other users on the site and their opinions. I think it breaks up the monotony. Thank you everyone for another year of music and thank you to the users whose posts I’ve highlighted below.
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50. Shadow of Intent – Elegy
Genre: Symphonic Blackened Deathcore // Review
Recommended Track: Elegy II: Devise
** Absolutely brutal. Now THIS is how you mix an album. The sound production is clean yet retains extremely heavy crushing guitar tones that pierces through an epic melodic soundscape. Vocals are powerful and dirty to the core. Phenomenal release here. I just seriously don’t get the dislikes for this. I love it all. — ShadowNeko
** Doesn’t have the same lightning in a bottle magic of Melancholy, but Shadow of Intent are very good at what they do. There isn’t a bad song here, but comparing the relatively tame Reconquest to Melancholy’s phenomenal Dreaded Mystic Abyss represents the gap between the two albums. That said, been spinning Saurian King and the title track(s) since release; Elegy II: Devise is…
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By Sowing
Saturday November 26, 2022
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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!
50-31
#50 – Sea Power: Everything Was Forever
Official Site // Review
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.
#49 – Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Cool It Down
Bandcamp // Review
After nine years, Yeah Yeah Yeahs return just as bold and confident as ever. Cool It Down, a warm and dreamy…
Upon being asked how they would like to be introduced, Victor Pakour and Wyatt Ininns admitted they were not quite sure how to do that themselves – and perhaps that is the best introduction to Ruby Haunt. While the dream pop duo have been putting out albums at a rapid pace since the mid-2010’s, their presence in the reverbed-out DIY Bandcamp scene can only be described as reminiscent of the very music they release: rather subdued and introverted.
Thankfully, their music speaks for itself. This year’s Cures For Opposites is a gorgeous collection of ethereal songs blending synths and gaze in a way few other bands are capable of. While they may be in a state of constant creation with seven full lengths under their belt, the duo found some spare time to chat with Sunnyvale and JesperL (the proud co-founders of Sputnikmusic’s Ruby Haunt fanclub).
This sheer size of the Ruby Haunt discography, some seven years in, might actually be the best place to start: could you describe what your process is like? How have you gotten to a point where you can release so much music without it detracting from the overall quality of the music?
Victor: We don’t overthink the process or set unrealistic goals. We both love working hard and are very passionate about writing / making music. The feeling we get from making and subsequently sharing demos is so special and I don’t think that feeling will ever change. I think that’s why we…
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