A Place to Bury Strangers "Hologram (Dedstrange)"
From Dedstrange:
Hologram is the first release from New York Post-Punk legends A Place To Bury Strangers on their own newly formed label, Dedstrange. Hologram is the follow up to their highly regarded fifth album, Pinned, and is a sonic return to A Place To Bury Strangers’ rawest, most unhinged sound. With songs addressing the decay of connections, friendships lost, and the trials and tribulations of these troubled times, Hologram serves as an abstract mirror to the moment we live in. Written and recorded during the on-going global pandemic and in the midst of the decline of civilization, Hologram is a sonic vaccine to the horrors of modern life.
Bacao Rhythm and Steel Band "Expansions (Big Crown Records)"
From Big Crown Records:
Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, the mysterious steel pan outfit hailing from Hamburg, Germany have amassed a cult following around the globe. With a slew of classic 7”s and two critically acclaimed full length albums, they set a high bar for themselves, one they clearly intend on pushing even higher with this new offering. On their third album, aptly titled “Expansions”, BRSB are back with more of the same, but more of the same with them is inherently different. Covering songs that span genres and range from mega hits to album cuts, they make them their own with their unique approach to the traditional steel pans of Trinidad and Tobago.
Moon King "The Audition (Arbutus)"
From Arbutus Records:
‘The Audition’ is the latest release from Canadian artist Daniel Benjamin, to be released July 16, 2021 on Arbutus Records.
“I’ve become fascinated with actors, auditioning, ‘trying to get the part’. Things that might seem silly in a high school drama class, but stay with you. Learning how to perform – whether that’s onstage, online, or at a job”, says Benjamin on the subject matter for the new songs.
On The Audition, Moon King is in a class of his own, offering a look ‘inside the actor’s studio’ with a new set of fun, fanciful and unabashedly lo-fi synthpop, and heightening his skills as a producer in the vein of Patrick Cowley or Patrick Adams.
Graduating Life "II (Pure Noise)"
From Pure Noise Records:
It’s a good thing that Bart Thompson doesn’t believe in fate. If he did, he might have followed the signs that the universe was giving him and not made this second Graduating Life full-length. Not only was the first tour for this once-but-no-longer solo project cancelled midway through because of the coronavirus outbreak, but Thompson didn’t have a particularly enjoyable time recording it. Most artists would shy away from being so candid about the negative aspects, but Thompson isn’t most artists.
“The recording process wasn’t that fun,” he admits. “There were moments that were, but I had this falling out with the friend who was tracking us. We’re fine now, but it kind of made me realize that I just I don’t fucking care about that shit. It ruins it for me, in a way. Then when that tour, which was first tour I was able to do with Grad Life, was cancelled, it was almost like if there’s a God, it’s pretty obvious that I’m not supposed to fucking do this! It really bummed me out.”