K (Ivan Kamaldinov) - Lumi (2015)

Genre: Minimal Ambient/ Drone/ Field Recordings

Country: Russia

Dreamy, Ethereal, Blissful, this album has everything you could want from minimal ambient. Ever so slow progressions and layer upon layer of lo-fi ambience build up a rich atmosphere, and a cloud of easygoing ambient synths. Small amounts of distortion and static are implemented behind these layers of silky ambience, creating a more personal relationship with the listener, but still keeping that dream-like atmosphere that makes this album so beautiful. Overall solid album, I highly recommend this album to fans of William Baskinski and Datavis. 

https://kamaldinov.bandcamp.com/album/lumi

Activity Of The Month: June 2015

Hello, my sweets. We have a new feature for you today. It's called Activity Of The Month. Once a month I shall post about one particular activity that digs deeps into my rainbow road-esque reservoir of morbidly grim entrails and inspires me to live peacefully, positively and happily. I hope my messages of light can inspire you as much as they inspire me. This month I've taken to poetry.

Expand your minds, open your hearts and loosen your buttholes for the beauty of poetry. Let the works of Emily Dickinson, John Keats, Edgar Allen Poe and Robert Frost to name a few penetrate your soul hole with their phallic literary might. Feast your hearts on this beautiful ditty written by Emily Dickinson.

"If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help the fainting robin
Unto his nest again;
I shall not live in vain.

Read this, speak this, hear this, feel this and live this every single day. The pain of life's tribulations are all too real. We all have our individual struggles that we battle with daily, struggles that can be soothed by the divine universal intervention of human compassion. So read some poems, prance around in some catmint and listen to some ethereal, blackened, celestial dream pop and live. LIVE!!!!!! WHAT SAY YOU?

Wrong Assessment & Max_M - Toe Tag (2015)

Genre: Techno 
Country: Italy 

Here's one from Wrong Assessment and Max_M. Their music comes from a abstract and techno-oriented angle. In typical Max_M-related fashion the music is dark, brooding and pulse-pounding. 

One track from each artist and the two collaborate on track as well. For fans of Regis and Vril. 


Toe Tag

Drowning The Light - From The Abyss (2015)

Genre: Black Metal
Country: Australia

Drowning The Light is one of Australia's most prolific black metal artists thanks to two things: the sheer volume of his discography (14 full-lengths, 17 demos, 9 EPs, 13 splits and 6 compilations), but in more recent years, the noticeably rising quality of it. While his work from 2003-2009 was inconsistent at best, everything from that point has really been quite good, and this year's From The Abyss may just be his most accomplished release to date. By expanding beyond his atmospheric/depressive black metal roots, this album allows Drowning The Light to explore heights that seemed previously impossible to reach. On tracks like "Cursed Voyage" harmonized guitars collide with Medieval harmonies creating something breathtaking in the process, while songs such as "Rise! Under Satans Mighty Horns" offers something a bit more visceral. Every track has its own quirk, yet is united through a permeating medieval atmosphere, making this album feel complete without also feeling monotonous. I highly recommend this release.

Also, look at that album art!

Fleeting Joys - Despondent Transponder (2006)

Genre: Shoegaze
Country: United States

This band doesn't hide the fact that they really enjoy listening to My Bloody Valentine's Loveless and it's probably one of the few albums that can do the sound justice. The male/female vocal dynamic with poppy melodies is present and the guitar tone is lush as you would expect from the genre. Nothing ever comes across as difficult to listen to nor does it cross any boundaries for the genre but it's good for what it is, MBV worship aside.

Download

Materic - меж каменных плит (2014)

Genre: Screamo
Country: Russia

Screamo from Russia (of all places) that's rooted into some aspects of shoegaze in terms of their chord progressions and post rock characteristics in terms of songwriting. Kinda generic, but the most important thing to consider here is that it's done much better than a lot of other screamo bands these days. If you're into this style of screamo, you're bound to enjoy at least parts of this record.

Bandcamp

The Brave Little Abacus - just got back from the discomfort—we’re alright (2010)

Genre: Midwest Emo

Country: United States

So this has getting a little more attention lately but it still only has roughly 4000 listeners on last.fm and that's an injustice to one of the best emo albums in recent years. If you're really into Cap'n Jazz style emo (lots of energy, whiny vocals like John Galm from Snowing, a mix of somewhat ambigious lyrics and unabashed honesty) then you're most likely to like this. What makes them sound fresh in a such a derivative scene is that they have some blatant Bomb The Music Industry! influences from the horns and the bouncy synths. It's basically if BTMI! wrote an midwest emo album. I could go on and on about what I love about this album, the lyrics, how well it flows, the well-placed Malcolm in the Middle samples, but I'll leave it as that. If you've got eponymous discomfort, you really should listen to this. Even if you don't, listen to it anyway.

Download