Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Robbie Basho - The Seal of the Blue Lotus (1969)

Genre: American Primitivism
Country: USA

Psychedelic feeling folk with old-timey American vibes that dips into the avant a bit.

Download

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Monte - "Remote Clairvoyant Continuum" (2015)

Genre: Lo-fi Ambient
Country: France?

Drowned out, lo-fi ambient music with lots of tropical vibes. Not a game changer but certainly worthwhile.

Remote Clairvoyant Continuum

Volahn/Shataan/Arizmenda/Kallathon - Desert Dances and Serpent Sermons (2015)

Genre: "Western" Black Metal
Country: United States

The Black Twilight Circle have long since been one of my favorite black metal collectives; the quality of their work never ceases to impress. Boasting an impressively diverse roster of bands from all over the extreme metal spectrum, a new Black Twilight Circle release should always make its way immediately to the top of your "Listen Now" listen. The surprise four-way split between Volahn, Shataan, Arizmenda, and Kallathon entitled Desert Dances and Serpent Sermons was released yesterday, and conceptually, it may be the most interesting thing they've ever done.

"As night sets over the horizon across the landscape the full moon signals the start of the fire ceremony.
While the sun sinks further into the haze the sound of harsh winds are howling far off.
Majestic rays soar to the east, watch it set the mountains ablaze.
Remember this moment as darkness follows. Join me in fine spirits during the fire
and listen to the voices of this land as they call to the distant stars.
Leave the tracks behind as a reflection of our journey. Let only the winds erase our trace but let them carry our name. Like the star that burns above, so does our spirit to carry on our song…

Compilation featuring Crepusculo Negro recording artists Volahn, Shataan, Arizmenda, Kallathon.
Capturing 43 minutes of western black metal."

Now the top part, to me, just seems like esoteric nonsense (maybe that was the point?), but what caught my interest was "western black metal". I don't think I've ever in my life heard something so ridiculous. All I can imagine is Immortal in ten gallon hats.However, the end result is much more satisfying. And I guess that makes sense considering where The Black Twilight Circle comes from. They've always been a group of bands who eschew the typically cold atmosphere of most black metal, and here, they perfectly conjure the heat and humidity of a sandy landscape. It's like if the lone ranger played black metal: each band contributes a track that gallops heroically through the barren wasteland, balancing the twang of western music with the grim attitude of black metal. All four tracks are excellent (Volahn's piece may be his best yet), and this is yet another solid addition to the BTC catalog. It's nice to see a genre like black metal can still throw some curves our way.






Howdy





Saturday, July 4, 2015

Axis of Advance


Genre: Blackened Death Metal
Country: Canada

Formed from the ashes of Sacaramentary Abolishment (who is also, excellent), Axis of Advance was easily one of Canada's best examples of blackened death metal. Majority of the time they were ridiculously technical and disgustingly brutal, but they had this habit of injecting soaring melodies into their songs every now and then, making for some truly great and unexpected dynamics. This is all of their albums (excluded their final mini-LP "Purify"). 

Friday, July 3, 2015

Jamiroquai - Virtual Reality


Genre: Funk
Country: England

Anyone else remember this big-hatted goofball? This song is amazing.

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Boner Jamz Vol 1.




Who: Phosphor
What: Darkwave/Coldwave
Where: United Kingdom
Why: Because they kick ass.

Phosphor is a new school band but their sound is distinctly old school. Deep layers of celestial synth that sound like they've been beamed down from the heavens merge with robotic percussion and a deep, apathetic female baritone to produce a song that sounds like it was tailormade for goth stepping in the north pole.