This is Protomartyr’s sixth album, arriving out of a maelstrom of uncertainty and loss. The sound has turned slower, weightier and more violent. Where the band began in a spiked Fall-ish spatter, its songs now move with a ponderous nearly metallic heft . . .
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The Search For God is best served on close listen, not succumbing to its musical simplicity and charm, but sitting with the simpler and harder-to-tackle questions it poses. Whispers doesn’t bathe much in metaphor, doesn’t water it down with lo-fi glam or frills. Instead, by trimming some excess and focusing on the song craft, Whispers takes a massive step forward. Like those who are subject to his words, we are left wanting more . . .
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The Seventh Continent is classified as a family drama, but it’s undoubtedly a horror film, perhaps one of the most horrifying films ever made. It’s nihilism as an aesthetic, misanthropy as a philosophy, and construction as deconstruction . . .
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I’ve Got Me is a collection of folk songs in every sense, from Randy Newman-inspired ditties, to dew-eyed ballads, to timeless finger-picked tunes of self-discovery, each with a wonderfully distinct point of view . . .
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Welcome to the ninth installment of First & Last, a series of mixes providing a glimpse into the world of Japanese private press, or 自主盤, pronounced “jishuban”, which loosely translates to “independent board . . .
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Aquarium Drunkard speaks with Douglas McCombs about the formation of Black Duck, the approach they took for their album, the motivation behind his 2022 solo release VMAK . . .
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Via satellite, transmitting from northeast Los Angeles — the Aquarium Drunkard Show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35. 7pm California time, Wednesdays.
34.1090° N, 118.2334° W . . .
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Bar Italia occupies a shifting, shadowy ground between sunny 1960s euro-pop and post-punk, leaning one way or another depending on who is singing. Yet while each member has a distinctive timbre and personality, the song circles nonchalantly around a common theme: what it’s like to watch youth slipping away . . .
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“Get your head out of the clouds.” It’s an idiom often associated with parents, teachers, authority figures, or any sort of ‘straight folk.’ Ascribe to the mundanity of life, the endless rat race, the wheel of productivity. On Cloud Suites, California pianist and experimental composer Nico Georis offers a gentle rebuke of this sentiment with a dizzying array of stratospheric keyboard arrangements . . .
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Now taking on the mysterious role of "Gary Owens" (the young lap steel guitar player on the LP cover), Graves is the moniker of veteran indie singer-songwriter Greg Olin. While spending many years collaborating with fellow Northern California outsider musicians like Lee Baggett and Little Wings, Graves has very quietly released a steady stream of solo material dating back to the early aughts; the music's subdued folk touch accurately described as "a calmness that can't be faked" the last cycle around . . .
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Writing about The Modern Folk’s Modern Folk One in our AD 2022 Year in Review, we called it, “A blend of field recordings, astral zones, freak outs, leisurely jams, and rustique concrète from the ever-prolific Josh Moss.” That gives you a little sense of the kind of music Moss creates with his ultra-prolific recording project. Head over to his Bandcamp and you'll find dozens and dozens of releases . . .
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Freak lifer Jeffrey Alexander recently dropped Spacious Minds, a five track "EP" featuring a thirty six minute "Dark Star". Plug in and space your face . . .
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Cinematic samba-funk tinged with warm psychedelia and plenty of saudade, Curyman is a beacon of modern Brasiliana and an instant summer session staple. While Rogê would be easily at home alongside contemporaries like Sessa and Tim Bernardes on our Atençao! comp from last year, there’s a lush charm to Curyman that harkens back to the golden era of 70s MPB . . .
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If you've followed AD for a minute you're likely aware of Sam Blasucci's role as one half of the Los Angeles based Mapache. Whereas that project hones in on the sunny sonic alchemy of LA's coast and canyons, Blasucci's recent solo material works a slightly different thread, influenced both by his move from guitar to piano, and time spent in New Orleans over the pandemic. On heels of his debut long-player, Off My Stars, Blasucci's Lagniappe Session digs into the work of Mexico's Marco Antonio Solís Sosa, an old standard made . . .
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Welcome back to the stacks. It’s Aquarium Drunkard’s Book Club, our monthly gathering of recent (or not so recent) recommended reading. In this month’s stack: a pictorial guide to the Steely Dan extended universe, conversations with the musicians who've backed up Bob Dylan, John Higgs alternative history of the 20th century, On Minimalism, and a road map to the shadow worlds of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska . . .
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