Elena Setien "Unfamiliar Minds"
Basque artist Elena Setién shapes the ethereal into immediate on the stunningly pristine songs of Unfamiliar Minds. Her command of melody and resolute voice are complemented by lush arrangements that surround the listener in a world of intimate beauty. Setién is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, collaborator and improviser, having worked with artists like Mary Lattimore and Steve Gunn as well as composing for film and television. On Unfamiliar Minds, Setién reflects on isolation, confusion and harnesses uncertainty with optimism on ten ghostly wonders that capture ineffable feelings in radiant detail.
Maya Shenfeld "In Free Fall"
Sounding like Caterina Barbieri covering Wendy Carlos’s gamechanging “A Clockwork Orange” OST, Berlin-based artist Maya Shenfeld’s debut is a thoughtful, gorgeous expression of limber synth technique and advanced compositional skill.
Shenfeld’s musical background is diverse: she’s played in punk bands, composed for new music ensembles and worked in a fine art context. On “In Free Fall” she attempts to distill her experiences into a coherent whole, and does so while taking thematic cues from German artist and theorist Hito Steyerl, whose work is referenced in the title. Shenfeld originally trained as a classical guitarist and studied composition before having her horizons expanded by punk and improv. More recently, she studied with Italian modular whizz Caterina Barbieri, whose influence looms large in Shenfeld’s harmonious synth-led compositions.
Xenia Rubinos "Una Rosa"
Rubinos’s third album, “Una Rosa,” arrives as a rich statement about finding creative freedom. “It’s a thick listen,” Rubinos said. “It was thick even for me as I was making it.” The album touches on heavy topics at a heavy moment: mourning, heartbreak, the pressures of capitalist productivity, the killing of Breonna Taylor. One moment Rubinos nimbly intones melodies from a José Martí poem through a dense glaze of Auto-Tune, the next she growls through gritted teeth over a gauzy lattice of synths.
Thoughtcrimes "Tap Night – EP (PureNoise)"
In 2019, Thoughtcrimes, the Long Island-based hardcore band featuring ex-Dillinger Escape Plan drummer Billy Rymer, released their convulsive debut EP, Tap Night. Now, not only is it finally getting the high-quality vinyl pressing it deserves via new label home Pure Noise, two previously unreleased tracks have been added.