Daniel Avery "Slow Fade EP (Mute)"
Recently Daniel Avery made electronic music fans very, very happy. First, he announced that he will be back this April with the follow-up LP to his beloved debut from 5 years ago Song for Alpha. But it’s almost like he knew that we’d been waiting so long that April would sound like a million miles away. Maybe that’s why he surprised us all with a tease of an EP. Slow Fade (Mute) is a hint of what’s to come on that upcoming full-length (OH APRIL–SO MANY MONTHS AWAY!) As Daniel says in the press for this EP “I’ve become increasingly interested in those moments in a club when the outside world becomes little more than an inconsequential thought at the back of your head. Eyes closed as opposed to hands in the air. A light emerging from the darkness – this is the idea I repeatedly returned to in the studio.” Well he succeeded in doing just what he wanted, as these calming, trance-esque tracks are just what the doctor ordered for these troubled times. Beautiful, haunting, modern, comfortable and new at the same time, that’s about all you can ask for. Check out the sophisticated “Slow Fade,” or if you want to know how I feel when I’ve been in a club too long check out the nightmarish “Fever Dream.”
Typhoon "Offerings (Roll Call)"
Offerings, the fourth LP from Portland indie rockers Typhoon, is a majestic, mysterious journey. A story about the loss of memories told in 4 parts and inspired by the art singer/songwriter Kyle Morton was consuming at the time. Films by David Lynch, Christopher Nolan, Fellini; the writings of Samuel Beckett; as well as the paintings of Bosch and Rorschach paintings. The result is an acoustically led rock and roll album with a sound somewhere between The Decemberists, early Arcade Fire, Califone, and other literary rockers, but with a haunting quality that is all Typhoon’s. More haunting than an actual Typhoon? I imagine an actual typhoon is far more scarier than it is haunting, so the award goes to the band, not the weather phenomena. Check out the unforgettable “Remember.”
Jeff Rosenstock "POST- (Polyvinyl)"
I know you are a super supervisor and are used to getting this record for free, but over at Bandcamp our pal Jeff Rosenstock released his new record Post (his debut for Polyvinyl!) on New Years Day with a name your own price scheme (as is his want) with 10% of the proceeds going to the Puerto Rico relief fund. Pretty cool, ‘ay?So cool we will do the same – license the record and we will send 10% as well! With that being said it is time to crank up Jeff’s follow up to last year’s “Worry”. Wanna get back to the rock? Well then just settle in for THE resistance anthem of 2018 in “Let Them Win”.
The Body & Full Of Hell "Ascending a Mountain of Heavy Light (Thrill Jockey)"
If you’re making a list of bands that are at the forefront of modern heavy music, you’re not gonna get far in that list before you’ve written down both The Body and Full Of Hell. The two groups have been pushing the boundaries of dark, experimental music for years now. So it makes perfect sense that the two bands have teamed up to record an album. Ascending a Mountain of Heavy Light (Thrill Jockey) was written and recorded in just one week. Abrasive, throbbing, and heavier than Sleep covered in lead, this is the real deal. Agitated, stuttering electronic hints mixed with the most distorted guitars of all time, and vocals that would scare even the toughest of metal fans, this is a combo made in heaven… make that hell. If you wear a serious number of black clothes and have been known to throw the devil sign with your hands on occasion, this is the LP for you. Check out the throbbing gristle of “Earth is a Cage.”