Vosh "VESSEL"
Originally the trio of Chris Moore (Repulsion, Coke Bust, The Rememberables), Carson Cox (Merchandise, Death Index), and Josephine Olivia (Blacksage), VOSH was built to explore an amalgam of influences that range from Bauhaus to early Ministry to Sisters of Mercy to Zounds to Killing Joke to latter day titans Nine Inch Nails. And while a wide reaching and generic term such as “synth pop” or “darkwave” could be applied to the effort in broad strokes, the drama, intensity and excellent songwriting evokes something much deeper, more sinister, and darkly beautiful. Stretching across twelve original tracks, VOSH’s debut album Vessel doesn’t just slither, it bangs and bursts with explosive energy, juxtaposing an icy goth cool with red hot heightened drama and muscle.
Vocalist, lyricist and front person Josephine Olivia is the musical centrepiece for VOSH, mixing the dreamy and ethereal approach of Hope Sandoval or Alison Shaw (Cranes), the versatility of David Bowie, and the commanding power of greats like Siouxsie, Diamanda Galas or Lisa Gerrard (Dead Can Dance). Olivia’s vocal sails above it all, presenting haunting melody after haunting melody in a dramatic and forceful manner that nods to voices from goth, dream pop, indie and elements of traditional pop music.Recorded at Moore/Olivia’s shared home in the greater Washington DC area, Moore looped in longtime collaborator/producer/engineer Kevin Bernstein from Developing Nations in Baltimore for an assist on the mix with Magnus Lindberg (Tribulation, Russian Circles, Lucifer, Hellacopters, Frida Hyvönen, etc) mastering the effort.
Can't Swim "Thanks But No Thanks"
New Jersey rock band Can’t Swim is releasing their 4th full length studio album called ‘Thanks But No Thanks’. Self-produced by Danny Rico, the band’s guitarist, the band is returning to their roots of gritty, dirty, DIY instrumentals accompanied by some of the best lyrical concepts of their career.
John Bence "Archangels"
John Bence employs music as a tangible expression of the immaterial. The British composer’s visceral and spiritual sound world probes the metaphysical. Raised in Bristol’s burgeoning underground electronic music scene and a graduate of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, John Bence manages to employ compositional complexity to manifest potent emotions. Gregorian chant, orchestral arrangements, rippling synthesizers and field recordings are equally at home in his music. Bence’s acclaimed early works focused on the human experience, charting the composer’s own experiences with addiction and alcoholism in both stark minimalism and caustic noise eruptions. Written two years into his recovery, Archangels finds the composer casting his gaze heavenward, sculpting radiant soundscapes that offer a glimpse of the divine.
Bence comes fully into his own as a composer on Archangels, deftly threading together gauzy electronic atmospheres, brooding orchestral passages and minimalist piano meditations; revealing new surprises at every twist and turn. Bence’s composing follows his daily meditation and prayer – creative and spiritual practice woven so tightly that the two became inseparable. Bence transmutes complex theological and philosophical concepts into something tangible and immediate. Rather than ascribing to any one religion or philosophical viewpoint, the composer juxtaposes myriad concepts as he does sonic elements to reveal new insights, crafting a new sonic language to articulate the inexplicable. Archangels’ opening track “Psalm 34:4” evokes “The Fool” tarot card and its promise of opportunity and new beginnings, finding the composer standing at the edge of the next phase of his life post-recovery and stepping off and into the unknown. “Metatron: Archangel of Kether” and “Gabriel: Archangel of Yesod” both draw inspiration from Damien Echols’ Angels and Archangels. Echols’ book would sit open on the desk as he drew from the Archangel into the work. The reference equally demonstrates how Bence’s work fits into the larger picture, with Kendrick Lamar also drawing energetic links to Metatron and Gabriel in “Family Ties.” Closing triptych “Anu/Enlil/Enki (The Way of Anu)” explores cosmic processes of death and rebirth through the Hindu holy trinity of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer. Each immersive, yearning movement in the album manages to be evocative and probing without ever being prescriptive.
Bence’s work excels at creating a space for contemplation. “Metatron, Archangel of Kether” pushes Kill’s sepulchral arrangements to dizzying new heights, shifting from sacred chant and crackling distortion through to an ominous drum march. “Tzadkiel, Archangel of Chesed” elevates solo piano to similar emotional impact, reflecting Tzadkiels Merciful nature. “Raphael, Archangel of Tiphareth” vaporizes the composer’s orchestral arrangements and haunting vocals into airy, shapeshifting soundscapes which reflects the angel’s healing energy in Kabbalah. Bence’s entirely modern compositions are atmospheric, creating space with their creative instrument use and contemporary electronics. Following in the footsteps of pioneers who used existing ideas and equipment to establish entirely new sonics, Bence defies compositional norms and forges new pathways through philosophical composition and electronics. Archangels is a compelling addition to contemporary composition by an artist unbound by classical traditions.
Miss Grit "Follow the Cyborg"
From Pitchfork:
The idea of Asian humanoids never seems to leave the cultural consciousness. While techno-Orientalist tropes have penetrated Western popular media for decades, appearing in sci-fi films like Ex Machina or Ghost in the Shell, recently artists of Asian descent have increasingly begun invoking the concept of Asian robots themselves: South Korean-born filmmaker Kogonada centered his drama After Yang on a Chinese automaton child, while this year Singaporean pop artist yeule explored their status as a “cyborg entity” on Glitch Princess, and Filipina-American singer and social media personality Bella Poarch cast herself as a robot revolutionary on her Dolls EP. Following this trend, Korean-American musician Margaret Sohn inhabits the role of a repressed machine on their upcoming debut album as Miss Grit, Follow the Cyborg, using the archetype to explore the complexities of selfhood.
On the album’s lead single and title track, Sohn is alienated from their own body: “I’ll wake up pretending/Then I’ll wake up again/Leave my mouth open/And let her say the rest,” they sing flatly, over a flickering drone beat. Drums, angular synths, and jagged guitars build momentum; midway through, the song is joyously elevated by saxophone flourishes. “I’m a living girl/A real living girl,” they proclaim, then announce a different identity: “I’m a living boy/A real living boy.” Offering a quiet moment of clarity after an adrenaline high, the track pulls back, and lingering piano keys dissolve into electronic dissonance. “Follow the Cyborg” gestures to a liberated future beyond binaries, and while its concept isn’t particularly new, its theatrical vision is striking.