MONO "Snowdrop"
When MONO recorded their previous album, OATH, with longtime production partner and friend, Steve Albini in 2023, they never fathomed that it would be the final studio album they made together. Albini tragically died the following year, and that loss left MONO faced with profound grief and uncertainty. Albini had become a fundamental part of MONO’s unmistakable sound, and the thought of replacing him was daunting, to say the least. Enter: Brad Wood (Touché Amoré, The Smashing Pumpkins).
Chosen for both his familiarity with MONO’s creative and technical working process – as well as his decades-long friendship with Steve Albini – Brad Wood entered Albini’s storied Electrical Audio studios in September 2025 to record what would become Snowdrop. Once again working with Chicago-based conductor and orchestral musical director, Chad McCullough, MONO enlisted a 10-piece orchestra as well as an 8-piece choir for the eight massive pieces that make up Snowdrop. Mixed by Wood at his Seagrass home studio in Los Angeles, the album is equally intimate and enveloping.
Where there could easily be a pall hanging over Snowdrop, there is instead an extraordinary air of gratitude. Rather than steep in heartache, there is a poignant appreciation for the resonance of life well-spent with a dear friend – and the yearning for what may come. Snowdrop is the sound of a band turning shock and sadness into hope and wonder – and finding renewed focus in the freedom of unknowing.
credits
BIG | BRAVE "in grief or in hope"
in grief or in hope marks a shift for BIG|BRAVE towards denser, guitar-oriented compositions. With longtime touring bassist Liam Andrews (MY DISCO, Aicher) joining guitarist/vocalist Robin Wattie and guitarist Mathieu Ball in the studio for the first time, the pieces are keenly layered with a rich tapestry of harmonics and tonal intricacies. Each piece is its own biome of distortions starkly contrasted with delicate, even tender, moments. Wattie writes: “I wanted to explore catchy, melodic phrasing weaved throughout the intensity of the instrumentation and drony chord changes. All that I could reflect on was grief and hope; death and life; cause and effect; shared experiences of being a human person.”
Together the trio deliver emotional momentum that vividly describes the complex and deep feelings of struggle, pain, and transcendence. in grief or in hope transmits that sense of humanity with every gesture.
Ori Kaplan & Lihu Melamed "Reverie"
Reverie is the first full-length collaboration between Ori Kaplan and Lihu Melamed – a cinematic, soul-soaked LP that drifts between modal jazz, cinematic scores and psychedelic rock.
There’s a strong cinematic undercurrent throughout Reverie. Think Charles Heston wandering through an Old Testament epic; Ennio Morricone soundtracking a desert horizon; Nino Rota scoring Fellini’s Rome; or Pasolini filming in Ethiopia. Minor-key strings, modal structures and unhurried grooves sit alongside echoes of Mingus and Yusef Lateef, with Ori’s baritone sax and flutes guiding the listener through shifting scenes and moods.
Reverie is not about nostalgia, but about continuity – the passing of musical language from one generation to another, reshaped by experience, curiosity and trust. A debut LP that sounds lived-in, expansive and quietly confident.
Bob Bert "Beach Bongo Bloodbath"
Most music gourmandizers know the name Bob Bert as the drummer for Sonic Youth in their formative years.
With BEACH BONGO BLOODBATH Bob Bert is finally stepping out under his own name for his first true solo album. For this outing he has seriously re-worked a number of cover songs into a veritable audio soundtrack for the movie of his life. Surprisingly for a guy who has slammed away for some very noisy guitar outfits, this is an album with NO guitars or bass.
Bob utilizes a variety of drums and percussion sounds as well as piano, synths, theremin, Farfisa, Rhodes, etc creating a new world of sound. There are six originals and eight covers that play to his love of campy teenage horror flicks, art damaged punk fuk-u-ness and Warholian underground groover vibes. Let the BEACH BONGO BLOODBATH begin………..