This feature is part of a hopefully ongoing series aimed at exploring the discographies of interesting and/or important bands whose wider body of work is often overlooked on this site. There will be lots of words and a few pictures, but the main deal is that if a band features here, they are good and you should listen to them! And if you already jam them, hit up the comments and explain where and why this is wrong! Get going!
“I saw Stereolab in Bellingham and they played one chord for fifteen minutes / Something in me shifted / I brought back home belief I could create eternity.”
This is unfortunately not my anecdote, but rather a disconcertingly well-timed snippet from Phil Elevrum’s reminiscences on the new Microphones album. It stands out as the only moment on that record that I paused and rewound on first listen last night to confirm that I had heard it correctly, and it solved the problem I had been grappling with as I came to the end of marathoning the Stereolab discography: how on earth do you go about writing a fresh introduction to such an iconic, influential and well-chronicled band?
Fortunately, Phil was so kind as to answer this question by (probably) confirming my loose theory: pick out any forward thinking artist active in the indieverse over the last two and a half decades or so, and…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of August 7, 2020. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: August 7, 2020
Avatar: Hunter Gatherer
Genre: Melodic Death Metal/Heavy Metal
Label: Century Media Int’L
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of July 31, 2020. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: July 31, 2020 –
Alanis Morissette: Such Pretty Forks In The Road
Genre: Pop-Rock
Label: Epiphany Music
Alcatrazz: Born Innocent
Genre: Heavy Metal/Hard Rock
Label: Silver Lining Music
Brandy: B7
Genre: Hip-Hop/Pop/R&B
Label: Entertainment One
Creeper: Sex, Death & The Infinite Void
Genre: Gothic/Pop-Punk/Emo
Label: Roadrunner
Disavowed: Revocation of the Fallen
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Brutal Mind
Fontaines D.C.: A Hero’s Death
Genre: Punk/Post-Punk
Label: PTKF
High Spirits: Hard to Stop
Genre: Rock/Heavy Metal
Label: High Roller
Hockey Dad: Brain Candy
Genre: Alternative/Indie Rock
Label: BMG
Imperial Triumphant: Alphaville
Genre: Black/Death Metal
Label: Century Media
Katalepsy: Terra Mortuus Est
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Unique Leader
Land of Talk: Indistinct Conversations
Genre: Alt/Indie Rock
Label: Saddle Creek
Here’s a small list of some new releases for the week of July 24th, 2020. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors, and by all means, feel free to leave a comment as to what’s missing. How Sowing does this every week is beyond me.
– List of Releases: July 24th, 2020 –
The Acacia Strain – Slow Decay
Genre: Deathcore
Label: Rise Records
Bombay Bicycle Club – Two Lives (EP)
Genre: Indie Pop
Label: Mmm… Records
Courtney Marie Andrews – Old Flowers
Genre: Singer/Songwriter, Americana
Label: Fat Possum
Defeated Sanity – The Sanguinary Impetus
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Willowtip
Gaerea – Limbo
Genre: Black Metal
Label: Season of Mist
Haken – Virus
Genre: Progressive Metal
Label: InsideOutMusic
The Irrepressibles – Superheroes
Genre: Art Pop
Label: OND Recordings
Jessy Lanza – All the Time
Genre: UK Bass, Synthpop
Label: Hyperdub
Kamaal Williams – Wu Hen
Genre: Jazz/Funk
Label: Black Focus
Katie Dey – mydata
Genre: Art Pop
Label: Run for Cover
Logic – No Pressure
Genre: Hip-Hop
Label: Def Jam/Visionary Music
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of July 17, 2020. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: July 17, 2020 –
The Aces: Under My Influence
Genre: Indie-Pop/Rock
Label: Red Bull
Bing & Ruth: Species
Genre: Ambient/Classical
Label: 4AD
Blu & Exile: Miles
Genre: Hip-Hop
Label: Fat Beat
Dark Sarah: Grim
Genre: Metal/Gothic
Label: Napalm
The Chicks: Gaslighter
Genre: Country/Pop/Bluegrass
Label: Columbia
Ellie Goulding: Brightest Blue
Genre: Indie-Pop/Electronic
Label: Polydor
Eremit: Desert of Ghouls
Genre: Doom Metal/Drone
Label: Transcending Obscurity
Kansas: The Absence Of Presence
Genre: Progressive Rock
Label: InsideOutMusic
Khthoniik Cerviiks: Æequiizoiikum
Genre: Death/Black Metal
Label: Iron Bonehead
Kllo: Maybe We Could
Genre: Soul/Electronic/IDM
Label: Ghostly International
The Lawrence Arms: Skeleton Coast
Genre: Pop Punk
Label: Epitaph
Lianne La Havas: Lianne La Havas
Genre: Pop/Soul
Label: Warner
Lonely Robot: Feelings Are Good
Genre: Rock/Pop/Progressive
Label: InsideOutMusic
Mystras: Castles Conquered And Reclaimed
Genre: Black Metal/Folk
Label: Divine Element
Oliver Tree: UGLY IS BEAUTIFUL
Genre: Hip-Hop/Pop
Label: Atlantic
Pretenders: Hate for Sale
Genre: Punk/Rock
Label: BMG
First and foremost, it’s very unlikely that you’ll have heard of Eric Solomon. The Canadian artist briefly surfaced sometime between the late 2000s and early 2010s, most notably with the release of electro-pop single “A.L.L.” in 2010; I remember hearing that on constant rotation, here in Vancouver. At one point it even reached top 20 in the Billboard chart, in no small part thanks to an MTV appearance by Eric on defunct docu-drama The Youth Electric. Perhaps it would be a disservice to Eric Solomon’s musical abilities to focus on the trajectory of his (no longer) public image, but when you have a copy of his EP that no longer seems to exist on the Internet, you can’t help but wonder how someone who achieved a decent amount of radio play and publicity has, quite simply, disappeared from the Internet.
(In fact, “A.L.L.” wasn’t even the only song of Eric to have received radio play; I recall that “I Found Love” and “Lottery”, which both fall into the same stylistic vein, were both on air at some point. Strangely enough, the latter can now only be found in remixed versions.)
Search results reveal no social media presence, as well as few download or streaming links to his material — YouTube comes up with autofill results for song titles that lead to no actual video, and anything that does pop up on video sites…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of July 10, 2020. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: July 10, 2020 –
Battle Dagorath: Abyss Horizons
Genre: Ambient/Black Metal
Label: Avantgarde Music
The Beths: Jump Rope Gazers
Genre: Indie/Alternative Rock
Label: Carpark Records
Dawn Of Ashes: The Antinomian
Genre: Industrial/Black Metal
Label: Artoffact Records
DMA’s: The Glow
Genre: Alt/Indie Rock
Label: Infectious Music
Ensiferum: Thalassic
Genre: Folk/Melodic Death Metal
Label: Metal Blade Records
Inter Arma: Garbers Days Revisited
Genre: Sludge/Black Metal
Label: Relapse Records
The Jayhawks: XOXO
Genre: Country/Americana/Alternative Rock
Label: SHAM
Julianna Barwick: Healing Is a Miracle
Genre: Ambient/Indie-Pop/Dream Pop
Label: Ninja Tune
July Talk: Pray For It
Genre: Rock/Blues
Label: BMG Rights Management
Kacy Hill: Is It Selfish If We Talk About Me Again
Genre: Dream Pop
Label: Kacy Hill
Margo Price: That’s How Rumors Get Started
Genre: Country/Americana
Label: Loma Vista
The Midnight: Monsters
Genre: Indie-Pop/Electronic
Label: Counter Records
Welcome to the second installment of our 2020 quarterly playlist/mixtape! Below you will find hand picked songs from April to June. 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.
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Tracklist:
Ad Infinitum – Marching on Versailles
Do a quick Google search for Melissa Bonny; she’s hot. Not just physically, but vocally. She seems to specialize in power metal, symphonic metal, and is also one of the more convincing female growlers out there. “Marching on Versailles” displays that ability with one of her many bands, Ad Infinitum. “Marching on Versailles” shares a lot in common with the proggy symphonic power metal of a modern Kamelot album execept heavier without nearly as much theatrics and cheese. — Willie
Andrew Judah – Hair of the Dog
If you’re into the theatrical, progressive rock of The Dear Hunter, then allow me to introduce you to
Haru Nemuri is a Japanese singer and rapper based in Tokyo. Her style is self-described as hip-hop with the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll, and her2018 debut Haru to Shura became a viral cult classic, leading to a successful Europe and UK tour in 2019.
She was scheduled to tour America for the first time in March, but all performances (including a SXSW appearance) were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. These have been rescheduled for a September tour. Her new minialbum LOVETHEISM released digitally March 20th and was followed up with a 12” vinyl on June 12th.
In between all these developments and rearrangements, Haru found the time to chat with Sputnikmusic about her release and her experience as a Japanese artist on the world stage.
****
JohnnyoftheWell/Sputnikmusic: Hello!
Haru Nemuri: Hello!
How’s it going in Tokyo?
While almost all the music industries in Tokyo have not turned back to normal due to the Coronavirus situation, some people get on trains every morning as usual. I think what they think about this situation depends on their standpoints.
Your tour was cancelled, but you managed to reschedule – thank goodness! Can you tell us what it was like for you when things got chaotic and all your plans started changing?
It was so disappointing to postpone my first North American tour and I cursed this terrible situation. Like an insect waiting for the spring in the ground, I could do nothing but sleep and make music in my room.…
It’s easy to dismiss recent works by The Flaming Lips. 2017’s Oczy Mlody is insanely trippy, but not very memorable outside of small handful of sneaky hits. 2019’s King’s Mouth is overbearing in its ridiculous concept, which features a giant baby who grows up to become a king – who then swallows the universe in order to save its inhabitants from an avalanche. I mean, it’s The Flaming Lips – so these sort of out there stories are accepted as the norm – just as they were back in 2002 for their famed classic Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. They’ve always been easy to enjoy, but difficult to take seriously.
‘Flowers of Neptune 6’ strikes a slightly different tone. While the song still retains the band’s classic penchant for psychedelia and casual drug references (“doing acid and watching the lightbugs glow like tiny spaceships in a row“), the music itself feels much more accessible – rooted in acoustic guitars and soaring verses rather than impenetrable synths or exotic instrumentation. In the video, frontman Wayne Coyne can be seen adorned in an American flag, and also walking through a burning field in a bubble. The imagery isn’t lost on listeners in 2020, where COVID-19 has forced us to live in metaphorical bubbles while the world around us is seemingly in flames. While we do not yet know if there’s a central motif or theme surrounding the band’s upcoming September 11th release American Head, ‘Neptune…
It’s back! By popular demand, some of us contributors (current, former, and new) sat down to introduce ourselves to genres that people in general and we in particular tend to avoid, as recommended by you, the users. Here’s what we thought…
HARDCORE PUNK
Recommended by cvlts
Assigned to neekafat
Before listening to your two songs, what’s your opinion of hardcore punk?
I mean, all that I really know about the genre is from the classic days of the Misfits and Minor Threat. I’m admittedly not super into those bands (I know, heresy), which is probably why I haven’t looked too deep into the modern equivalents. There’s something so simple about the musicianship to those bands that never quite got me interested (if I want aggression I’d probably just listen to thrash or something), but I’ve always respected the genre and try to keep an open mind.
Nails — “Endless Resistance”
Okay so I won’t lie, I know this band from my decade cram list last year (I jammed Unsilent Death), and I thought these guys were technically grind? This song is definitely not dissuading me from the fact that this is more metal than anything, but I’m kinda into this. The vocals have a weird nu-metal vibe to them and the pace is a bit more sluggish than I’m used to from hardcore. The guitars…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of July 3, 2020. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: July 3, 2020 –
Boris: NO
Genre: Drone/Doom Metal
Label: Inoxia
Convocation: Ashes Coalesce
Genre: Death/Doom Metal
Label: Everlasting Spew Records
Dream Wife: So When You Gonna…
Genre: Punk/Electronic
Label: Lucky Number
Holy Wave: Interloper
Genre: Psychedelic/Rock
Label: The Reverberation Appreciation Society
Paul Weller: On Sunset
Genre: Pop/Alt-Rock
Label: Verve Forecast
The Rentals: Q36
Genre: Indie-Rock
Label: The Rentals
Willie Nelson: First Rose Of Spring
Genre: Country/Folk
Label: Legacy Recordings
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve had a strange fascination with the end of the world. I know, I know – it’s practically a worn out cliche in 2020, when everything from SARS-CoV-2 to militarized police brutality casts an apocalyptic shadow over our lives…but I just can’t help myself. Part of it is a product of my religious upbringing – even if I’ve become a skeptic over time, certain things still temporarily give me pause. For example, I watched with fascination as mysterious trumpet-like sounds blasted out of the sky from every corner of the globe – knowing that there’s a scientific explanation (stealth aircrafts, the hum of a meteor, HAARP experiments), but also allowing myself to tumble down the rabbit hole enough to imagine that we’re actually hearing some sort of ominous preamble to Revelation‘s famed seven trumpets. Toss in the blood moon tetrad from 2014-2015 (“The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord”), rampant locust outbreaks, COVID-19, riots, and now a historic continent-spanning dust storm that is blotting out the sun in certain regions – and it’s enough for even a cynic to begin wondering.
From a musical perspective, mewithoutYou’s 2015 LP Pale Horses rekindled my obsession with “the end” via terrifying accounts of a nuclear holocaust which fused Biblical and secular imagery. Trump’s shocking election the very next year and…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of June 26, 2020. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: June 26, 2020 –
Ahab: Live Prey
Genre: Death/Doom Metal
Label: Napalm Records
Arca: KiCk i
Genre: Electronic/Experimental/IDM
Label: XL Recordings
Art Feynman: Half Price at 3:30
Genre: Psychedelic/Electronic
Label: Western Vinyl
Bad Moves: Untenable
Genre: Alt/Indie Rock
Label: Don Giovanni Records
Bell Witch And Aerial Ruin: Stygian Bough Volume I
Genre: Doom Metal
Label: Profound Lore
Carach Angren: Franckensteina Strataemontanus
Genre: Black Metal/Classical
Label: Season of Mist
Catafalque: We Will Always Suffer
Genre: Black Metal/Experimental
Label: Mom+Pop
Corb Lund: Agricultural Tragic
Genre: Country/Folk
Label: New West Records
Dirty Projectors: Flight Tower
Genre: Indie-Pop/Folk/Experimental
Label: Domino Recording Co
Evening Hymns: Heavy Nights
Genre: Alt-Rock
Label: Outside Music
Gordi: Our Two Skins
Genre: Indie-Pop/Folk/Electronic
Label: Jagjaguwar
Grey Daze: Amends
Genre: Grunge/Rock
Label: Loma Vista Recordings
HAIM: Women in Music Pt. III
Genre: Indie-Pop
Label:…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of June 19, 2020. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
![Dreamland [Explicit]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81vMxIyDZ9L._SS500_.jpg)
![New Truth [Explicit]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61yFXd4RoyL._SS500_.jpg)
![Yōkai [Explicit]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91ctQzJfv-L._SS500_.jpg)
![Sucker's Lunch [Explicit]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81NO4vRDJfL._SS500_.jpg)
![Under My Influence [Explicit]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71X0OP4BvuL._SS500_.jpg)
![Miles [Explicit]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/A1foMHfVTbL._SS500_.jpg)
![Gaslighter [Explicit]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71-pO9-Rp6L._SS500_.jpg)
![Brightest Blue [Explicit]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71nGbZyxRQL._SS500_.jpg)
![Skeleton Coast [Explicit]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/712D1o2Ui3L._SS500_.jpg)
![Ugly is Beautiful [Explicit]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81ZGkTNdZiL._SS500_.jpg)
![Pray For It [Explicit]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81paYw4sBML._SS500_.jpg)
…
![So When You Gonna... [Explicit]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71iEU5qVcqL._SS500_.jpg)
![Q36 [Explicit]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/811Zwy1IcRL._SS500_.jpg)
![KiCk i [Explicit]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81fOuS8eSTL._SS500_.jpg)
![Lamb of God [Explicit]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81wWV4BUtZL._SS500_.jpg)
![A Wonderful Life [Explicit]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91mQ9nZaK5L._SS500_.jpg)
![Goodbye Guitar [Explicit]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/8170D7zI-KL._SS500_.jpg)
