Transforming Music

By staff Monday November 30, 2020

Do you ever listen to music and feel like it was made for you, when it clearly wasn’t? Sometimes even when you know an artist absolutely has not had the same experiences, something about their music feels personalized, as if they were watching your life and wrote it with you in mind. I can’t speak for the entire transgender population, obviously, but I have a theory that trans people face this more than other people. We don’t have the privilege of being surrounded by art that was created by people like us, for people like us. As much as trans music has achieved more mainstream acceptance in the past decade (looking at you, Arca, SOPHIE, and 100 Gecs), there’s still very little out there, especially for people who like music that isn’t pop-adjacent experimental electronic. I think there is a lot of discussion to be had about what makes some music so relatable to certain trans people (read: me, a trans woman). So that’s what this is about – music that isn’t specifically for or by trans people that feels like it is.

First on my list is “Morning Train (Nine to Five)” by Sheena Easton. This song is very traditional in its portrayal of gender roles, glorifying a man who works hard to find his (narrating) wife waiting for him when he gets back home, fucks her that night, and then continues the cycle the next day. It’s understandable that from an outside perspective, this…

Sowing’s Top 25 Albums of 2020

By Sowing Wednesday November 25, 2020

80 Comments

Category I: Welcome

It’s the conclusion of yet another interesting year in this, um, “unique” corner of the internet. Our site’s aesthetics may be firmly entrenched in 2010, but this “best of” feature ushers 2020 out of our collective memories. For many of us that brings immense relief, even if most of the same issues that plagued this year will follow us right into January. Still, there are reasons for optimism as we delve further into this still young decade. One of them is how music stepped up to the plate in a time of crisis. It’s during humanity’s most trying times that art seems to give us the most hope, and from invigorating protest music to pensive quarantine albums, musicians acted like first responders to our emotional needs in 2020.

Everyone’s way of navigating this crazy, chaotic year was different – a fingerprint consisting of our own unique challenges. Personally, I found myself relating to mellow folk (and even country!) as an escape from the psychological stresses caused by the pandemic and its consequences, but it’s just as understandable for others to have taken solace in elated pop, metal, or woke hip-hop (and there’s a little of each here!). It was all we could do not to sink into despair, basically. That’s part of the reason I decided to, at least temporarily, retire my Sowing’s Music Awards shtick (2014-2019, RIP) – replete with its “worst album” and “biggest disappointment” categories…

Post-Metalcore: The Little Genre That Could (Part II)

By staff Wednesday November 25, 2020

31 Comments

Post-Metalcore:
The Little Engine That Could

A four-part series by MarsKid

[Part I] || [Part II] || [Part III] || [Part IV]

Part II: Underground Alone

The blueprints for post-metalcore had been amassed over the course of the 1990s. Once the genre began near the early 2000s and stepped into a new century, the efforts of groups past started to coalesce into products that combined their influences into the primary works of the post-metalcore catalogue. The overarching category as a whole was readying to embark upon a renaissance period that would result in an explosion of new acts. A changing of the guard was occurring as the hardcore acts of yesteryear passed the torch on to nascent crews. Those that survived the shifting of years, like The Dillinger Escape Plan, Converge, and Zao continued to accrue relevance, with the former two bands hitting their stride in the initial half of the new decade — Miss Machine would arrive in 2004, while the iconic Jane Doe would storm the metal world in 2001, forever changing the category it was attached to. It was in this period that an affinity for melody was championed, which found a home in the spacey soundscapes of Hopesfall and the addicting passages of Misery Signals. Norma Jean was starting to wreak havoc. Underoath was slowly starting…

Weekly Releases 11.27.2020

By Sowing Monday November 23, 2020

21 Comments

Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of November 27, 2020. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.

– List of Releases: November 27, 2020 –

How Beauty Holds The Hand Of Sorrow

Ane Brun: How Beauty Holds The Hand of Sorrow
Genre: Folk/Indie-Rock
Label: Balloon Ranger

No Fun Mondays

Billie Joe Armstrong: No Fun Mondays
Genre: Punk/Rock
Label: Warner Bros.

Lightning To The Nations 2020

Diamond Head: Lightning To The Nations 2020
Genre: Heavy Metal/Hard Rock
Label: Silver Lining Music

Distant Memories - Live in London

Dream Theater: Distant Memories: Live In London
Genre: Progressive Metal
Label: Century Media

Weight Of The False Self

Hatebreed: Weight Of The False Self
Genre: Hardcore/Metalcore
Label: Nuclear Blast

Plastic Hearts

Miley Cyrus: Plastic Hearts
Genre: Pop/Psychedelic
Label: RCA

While Time Disappears

Our Oceans: While Time Disappears
Genre: Progressive/Post Rock
Label: Long Branch

Plini: Impulse Voices
Genre: Progressive Rock/Metal/Jazz Fusion
Label: N/A

Beyond The Shores (On Death And Dying)

Shores of Null: Beyond The Shores (On Death And Dying)
Genre: Progressive/Melodic Death Metal
Label: Spikerot

CYR

Smashing Pumpkins: CYR
Genre: Alt-Rock/Shoegaze/Grunge
Label: Sumerian

Lost Machine - Live

Voivod: Lost Machine – Live
Genre: Thrash/Progressive Metal
Label: Century Media

Black Heart

Within The Ruins: Black Heart
Genre: Death/Progressive Metal/Metalcore
Label: eOne Music

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Post-Metalcore: The Little Genre That Could (Part I)

By staff Wednesday November 18, 2020

36 Comments

Post-Metalcore:
The Little Engine That Could

A four-part series by MarsKid

[Part I] || [Part II] || [Part III] || [Part IV]

Part I: Roots

What Rolo Tomassi managed to accomplish in 2018 deserves to be remembered for decades to come. The year 2018 as a whole was a landmark for the metalcore genre in the modern era of its existence, but Time Will Die and Love Will Bury It attained mainstream attention that wasn’t matched by peers who performed a similar style. Across metal music platforms, the British collective dominated front pages and earned acclaim for a sound that wasn’t often brought to the forefront of the scene. Perhaps most surprisingly was the crossover appeal that the group cultivated; individuals that had not a care for metalcore or even metal overall discovered that the band scratched a very particular itch few other acts could offer. However, I’d argue that this phenomenon was inevitable, not shocking. It’s imperative to note that Rolo Tomassi were not an unknown entity, as their impressive body of work in the underground demonstrated a gradual progression to a magnum opus — Grievances was enough of a hint that a masterwork was imminent. Other than that fact, the precise presentation the group engaged in was a methodology that had been quietly developed in the background for years. It took a tremendous year for metalcore to expose…

Staff’s Q4 Playlist

By Sowing Tuesday November 17, 2020

8 Comments

2020: Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4

Sputnikmusic Staff’s 2020 Q4 Playlist

Welcome to the fourth installment of our 2020 quarterly playlist/mixtape! 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.

Tracklist:

zombie girl

Adrianne Lenker – zombie girl

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a song that will make you feel warmer inside than ‘zombie girl’. It portrays sad romance and hopeful longing: “I sworn I could’ve felt you there, and I almost could’ve kissed your hair” / “Then the next night, dreaming I could feel your skin, but the dream escaped so easily”. songs follows suit as one of the most moving folk albums of 2020; a piece that consistently portrays total intimacy and crushing vulnerability. — Sowing

Collapse Under the Empire – Red Rain

Many of the genre’s stalwarts have released a new record this year, but I haven’t heard something that whets the third-wave whistle in Q4 quite yet, so I’m banking on the German

…

Weekly Releases 11.20.2020

By Sowing Monday November 16, 2020

23 Comments

Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of November 20, 2020. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.

– List of Releases: November 20, 2020 –

Super Deluxe [Explicit]

Bearings: Hello, It’s You
Genre: Pop-Punk/Post-Hardcore
Label: Pure Noise

Real Me [Explicit]

Brit Taylor: Real Me
Genre: Country
Label: Cut a Shine

Vasto

Cabaret Voltaire: Shadow of Fear
Genre: Industrial/Post-Punk
Label: Mute

Hiding from the World

Communic: Hiding From The World
Genre: Progressive Rock/Thrash Metal/Power Metal
Label: AFM

Only Time Will Tell

Contrarian: Only Time Will Tell
Genre: Death/Progressive Metal
Label: Willowtip Inc

Moment

Dark Tranquillity: Moment
Genre: Progressive/Melodic Death Metal
Label: Century Media

A Philosopher At The End Of The Universe

Darzamat: A Philosopher at the End of the Universe
Genre: Black Metal/Gothic
Label: Sleaszy Rider

Ring Road

Dirty Projectors: Ring Road
Genre: Indie Folk/Pop
Label: Domino

Alive in Melbourne (Live) [Explicit]

Jinjer: Alive In Melbourne
Genre: Progressive Metal/Metalcore/Death Metal
Label: Napalm

Reluctant Hero [Explicit]

Killer Be Killed: Reluctant Hero
Genre: Thrash Metal/Metalcore/Hardcore
Label: Nuclear Blast

K.G. [Explicit]

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard: K.G.
Genre: Psychedelic/Progressive Rock
Label: KGLW

III

Lindstrøm and Prins Thomas: III
Genre: Electronic/R&B
Label: Smalltown Supersound

Origin of the Alimonies

Liturgy: Origin Of…

Black Stallion

By Sowing Friday November 13, 2020

23 Comments

White Pony (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) [Explicit]

I’m not normally one who appreciates remixes. Usually they just feel like bad covers designed to take advantage of club goers and helpless mainstream addicts who want the same three beat variations for the rest of their lives. However, I’ve been proven wrong a lot lately when it comes to music, and I think that’s something that’s important to admit when you’ve been analyzing and critiquing music for well over a decade. Sam Amidon’s self-titled album of mostly early-1900s folk/Americana covers was released last month and completely altered my view on what a “covers album” is capable of, and now Deftones might be on the cusp of changing my mind about remixes. These two similar but separate avenues of re-imagining art have always been throwaways, but the tide is changing.

The myth of Black Stallion has been a topic of discussion for years in diehard Deftones circles, and now we’re finally getting it on December 11th via the White Pony 20th Anniversary Edition. I have to say, the two remixes released so far (‘Knife Prty’ and ‘Passenger’) have done more than merely avoid disappointment – they’ve caused real excitement from a fan of the band who just spent the last 2 months relentlessly jamming Ohms and who should be tired of the band’s sound by now. Purity Ring’s ‘Knife Prty’ remix is something to behold – a gorgeous, dazzling blend of keyboards, synths, and drums that has a smooth glazed finish and a downright haunting air. It…

Weekly Releases 11.13.2020

By Sowing Tuesday November 10, 2020

20 Comments

Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of November 13, 2020. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.

– List of Releases: November 13, 2020 –

POWER UP

AC/DC: POWER UP
Genre: Hard Rock
Label: Columbia

Spirit World Field Guide

Aesop Rock: Spirit World Field Guide
Genre: Hip-Hop
Label: Rhymesayers

DEMIDEVIL [Explicit]

Ashnikko: Demidevil
Genre: Hip-Hop/Pop
Label: Parlophone

Szabodelico

Causa Sui: Szabodelico
Genre: Psychedelic/Stoner Rock
Label: El Paraiso

Starting Over

Chris Stapleton: Starting Over
Genre: Country
Label: Mercury

Night Network

The Cribs: Night Network
Genre: Indie-Rock/Post-Punk
Label: Sonic Blew

Off the Deep

The Darcys: Fear & Loneliness
Genre: Indie-Rock/Shoegaze
Label: The Darcys Inc. Records

Buddies II: Still Buddies [Explicit]

Frank Turner & Jon Snodgrass: Buddies II: Still Buddies
Genre: Folk/Rock/Punk
Label: Xtra Mile Recordings

Survival Kit [Explicit]

Goodie Mob: Survival Kit
Genre: Hip-Hop
Label: Organized Noize/Goodie Mob Worldwide

Terminus

Jesu: Terminus
Genre: Shoegaze/Drone/Post Metal
Label: Avalanch Recordings

Renegades

L.A. Guns: Renegades
Genre: Hard Rock
Label: Golden Robot

Trip

Lambchop: Trip
Genre: Country/Americana
Label: Merge

Through Shaded Woods

Lunatic Soul: Through Shaded Woods
Genre: Progressive Rock/Ambient/Psychedelic
Label: KSCOPE

Carnival Of Killers

Macabre:…

Weekly Releases 11.06.2020

By Willie Friday November 6, 2020

17 Comments

Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of November 6, 2020. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.

– List of Releases: November 6, 2020 –

Alter Bridge: Walk The Sky 2.0
Genre: Hard Rock
Label: Napalm Records

Déluge: Ægo Templo
Genre: Post Black Metal
Label: Metal Blade Records

Fates Warning: Long Day Good Night
Genre: Progressive Metal
Label: Metal Blade Records

Kylie Minogue: Disco
Genre: Pop
Label: BMG

Lal: Meteors Could Come Down
Genre: Electronic
Label: Coax Records

Little Mix: Confetti
Genre: Pop
Label: Sony UK

Madison Cunningham: Wednesday
Genre: Americana
Label: Verve Forecast

Novo Amor: Cannot Be, Whatsoever
Genre: Indie Folk
Label: All Points

Ólafur Arnalds: some kind of peace
Genre: Ambient
Label: Mercury

Sangre de Muerdago: Xuntas
Genre: Folk
Label: Independent Release

Sólstafir: Endless Twilight of Codependent Love
Genre: Post Black Metal
Label: Season of Mist

Surma: The Light Within
Genre: Symphonic Metal
Label: Metal Blade Records

Teen Daze: Reality Refresh 4
Genre: Electronic/Dream Pop
Label: Flora

Tunning: DEAD CLUB
Genre: Indie Pop
Label: Full Time Hobby

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Weekly Releases 10.30.2020

By Sowing Monday October 26, 2020

23 Comments

Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of October 30, 2020. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.

– List of Releases: October 30, 2020 –

The Human Demands

Amy MacDonald: The Human Demands
Genre: Alternative Rock
Label: Infectious Music

HARK!

Andrew Bird: Hark!
Genre: Indie-Folk/Classical
Label: Loma Vista

After The Great Storm

Ane Brun: After the Great Storm
Genre: Folk/Indie-Rock
Label: Balloon Ranger

Ariana Grande: Positions
Genre: Pop/R&B
Label: Republic

Black Foxxes [Explicit]

Black Foxxes: Black Foxxes
Genre: Alt-Rock/Emo/Post-Hardcore
Label: Spinefarm

The Human Condition

Black Stone Cherry: The Human Condition
Genre: Hard Rock/Blues
Label: Mascot

POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL HORROR [Explicit]

Bring Me The Horizon: Post Human: Survival Horror
Genre: Metalcore/Post-Hardcore/Pop-Rock
Label: RCA

Despicable

Carcass: Despicable
Genre: Melodic Death Metal/Grind
Label: Nuclear Blast

Crack a Light

Dope Body: Crack A Light
Genre: Noise-Rock/Punk/Grunge
Label: Drag City

Under A Godless Veil

Draconian: Under a Godless Veil
Genre: Doom Metal/Death Metal/Gothic
Label: Napalm

Are We Alright Again

Eels: Earth To Dora
Genre: Indie-Rock/Indie-Pop/Lo-Fi
Label: E Works

Hey Clockface

Elvis Costello: Hey Clockface
Genre: Pop-Rock/Post-Punk
Label: Concord

May Our Chambers Be Full

Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou: May…

Weekly Releases 10.23.2020

By Sowing Tuesday October 20, 2020

22 Comments

Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of October 23, 2020. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.

– List of Releases: October 23, 2020 –

songs and instrumentals

Adrianne Lenker: songs
Genre: Indie-Folk/Country
Label: 4AD

Adrianne Lenker: instrumentals
Genre: Indie-Folk/Country
Label: 4AD

Karma & Desire

Actress: Karma & Desire
Genre: Techno/House/IDM
Label: Ninja Tune

Punching the Sky [Explicit]

Armored Saint: Punching the Sky
Genre: Heavy/Thrash Metal
Label: Metal Blade

Paperback Writer (In Isolation)

Blossoms: In Isolation
Genre: Indie-Rock/Pop
Label: Virgin EMI

Wachito Rico [LP]

Boy Pablo: Wachito Rico
Genre: Lo-Fi/Indie-Rock
Label: 777 Music

Letter To You

Bruce Springsteen: Letter To You
Genre: Rock/Americana/Folk
Label: Columbia

Celestial Season: The Secret Teachings
Genre: Doom Metal/Death Metal/Stoner Rock
Label: Burning World Records

Visions of Bodies Being Burned [Explicit]

clipping: Visions of Bodies Being Burned
Genre: Hip-Hop/Industrial/Experimental
Label: Sub Pop Records

Order of Magnitude - Empath Live, Vol. 1 [Explicit]

Devin Townsend: Order Of Magnitude – Empath Live Volume 1
Genre: Progressive Rock/Metal
Label: InsideOutMusic

All Blessed [Explicit]

Faithless: All Blessed
Genre: Electronic/Trip-Hop/Trance
Label: BMG

III

Fuzz: III
Genre: Psychedelic/Sludge Metal/Stoner Rock
Label: In the Red Records
…

Weekly Releases 10.16.2020

By Sowing Tuesday October 13, 2020

21 Comments

Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of October 16, 2020. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.

– List of Releases: October 16, 2020

Dark Hearts

Annie: Dark Hearts
Genre: Pop/Electronic/Indie-Pop
Label: Annie Melody

SIGN

Autechre: SIGN
Genre: IDM/Experimental/Ambient
Label: Warp

Fake It Flowers [Explicit]

Beabadoobee: Fake It Flowers
Genre: Grunge/Indie-Pop/Indie-Rock
Label: Dirty Hit

Legacies [Explicit]

Chaos Divine: Legacies
Genre: Progressive/Death Metal
Label: Chaos Recordings

The Rockfield Files - EP

The Damned: The Rockfield Files
Genre: Post Punk/Gothic
Label: Spinefarm

Impossible Weight

Deep Sea Diver: Impossible Weight
Genre: Indie/Alt Rock
Label: High Beam

The Time it Takes (Transparent Marigold Orange Vinyl)

Goldmund: The Time It Takes
Genre: Classical/Minimal/Post-Rock
Label: Western Vinyl

Gulfer

Gulfer: Gulfer
Genre: Emo/Post Rock/Math Rock
Label: Topshelf

DISCO4 :: PART I [Explicit]

HEALTH: DISCO4 :: Part I
Genre: Noise Rock/Alt-Rock/Electronic
Label: Loma Vista

Horse

Holy Motors: Horse
Genre: Alt-Rock/Dream Pop
Label: Wharf Cat

Sundowner

Kevin Morby: Sundowner
Genre: Indie-Folk/Rock
Label: Dead Oceans

Wildhorse

Malin Pettersen: Wildhorse
Genre: Country
Label: Die With Your Boots On

Serpentine Prison

Matt Berninger: Serpentine Prison
Genre: Indie Folk
Label: Concord

Anime, Trauma and Divorce | Open Mike Eagle

Open Mike Eagle: Anime, Trauma and Divorce
Genre: Hip-Hop/Experimental
Label: AutoReverse

I Don't Feel Well

Pluralone: I Don’t Feel Well
Genre: Indie-Pop/Alt Rock
Label: Org Music

All of Us

Sam Roberts: All Of Us
Genre: Indie-Rock
Label: Known Accomplice

Big Vibe

Seaway: Big Vibe
Genre: Pop Punk/Emo/Pop Rock
Label: Pure Noise

Strange Days [Explicit]

The Struts: Strange Days
Genre: Pop Rock/Indie Rock
Label: Interscope

Ta-ku: All Things Considered Vol. 1
Genre: Hip-Hop/Ambient/Electronic
Label: 823 Records

Projections

Tomberlin: Projections
Genre: Folk/Ambient
Label: Saddle Creek

S16

Woodkid: S16
Genre: Folk/Alt-Rock/Electronic
Label: Island

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Weekly Releases 10.9.2020

By Sowing Wednesday October 7, 2020

21 Comments

Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of October 9, 2020. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.

– List of Releases: October 9, 2020

Sad Hunk

Bahamas: Sad Hunk
Genre: Indie-Folk/Alt-Rock
Label: Brushfire/Universal

The Symbol Remains

Blue Oyster Cult: The Symbol Remains
Genre: Hard Rock/Psychedelic
Label: Frontiers Music SRL

Skeletons

Brothers Osborne: Skeletons
Genre: Country
Label: EMI Nashville

Ellengæst

Crippled Black Phoenix: Ellengæst
Genre: Post/Progressive/Stoner Rock
Label: Season of Mist

Dealing with Demons I [Explicit]

Devildriver: Dealing With Demons I
Genre: Thrash/Melodic Death Metal
Label: Napalm

Tragic Separation

DGM: Tragic Separation
Genre: Progressive Rock/Metal
Label: Frontiers Music SRL

April/月音

Emmy the Great: April/月音
Genre: Indie-Pop/Folk/Electronic
Label: Bella Union

As Long As You Are

Future Islands: As Long as You Are
Genre: Indie-Rock/Pop/Electronic
Label: 4AD

The Affair of the Poisons [Explicit]

Hellripper: The Affair of the Poisons
Genre: Thrash/Black/Heavy Metal
Label: Peaceville

Somewhere Nowhere

Hundredth: Somewhere Nowhere
Genre: Shoegaze/Hardcore/Post Metal
Label: Hundredth

Moon Piano

Laraaji: Moon Piano
Genre: Ambient/Experimental
Label: All Saints

Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory: 20th Anniversary Edition [Super Deluxe Edition] | Craft & Vinyl - #YouBelongHere

Linkin Park: Hybrid Theory – 20th Anniversary Edition
Genre: Nu-Metal
Label: Warner Records

A View Of U (SILVER, BLACK, WHITE MARBLED VINYL)

Machinedrum: A View Of U
Genre: House/IDM/Electronic
Label: Ninja Tune

Silver Ladders

Mary Lattimore: Silver Ladders
Genre: Ambient/Minimal/Experimental
Label: Ghostly International

Atlas Vending

METZ: Atlas Vending
Genre: Noise Rock/Post Punk/Hardcore
Label: Sub Pop Records

SISTER

Mina Tindle: SISTER
Genre: Pop/Folk/Soul
Label: 37d03d

Space For The Earth

Ozric Tentacles: Space For The Earth
Genre: Psychedelic/Progressive/Jam Rock
Label: Kscope

I Wonder

Teramaze: I Wonder
Genre: Progressive Metal/Power Metal/Progressive Rock
Label: Wells Music

Lament

Touché Amoré: Lament
Genre: Hardcore/Emo/Post-Hardcore
Label: Epitaph

10 Songs

Travis: 10 Songs
Genre: Britpop/Indie-Rock/Pop
Label: BMG

Sleepless Night

Yo La Tengo: Sleepless Night
Genre: Indie-Rock/Shoegaze
Label: Matador

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Weekly Releases 10.2.2020

By Sowing Thursday October 1, 2020

42 Comments

Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of October 2, 2020. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.