First Pass – Week of November 29th, 2019
Every Friday is new music release day. I dig through new release lists from sources like All Music, Metal Injection, Pitchfork, and Bandcamp to put together a queue of releases from bands and labels that might interest me. As I listen through the list, I add the stand out albums to a playlist for revisiting. This list is what I refer to as the First Pass. Some of the albums make it to my best of the month playlists. Others get tossed upon further review. Below is a list of albums from this week that made the first pass.
4th Curtis
Invisible Ax
Indie Rock
A quirky and fun EP from LGBTQ musicians. Two wins in one small package.
Mother Augusta
Fragile
Blackgaze
I really like the guitar work on this album; a solid blend of genres.
Teeth
The Curse of Entropy
Death Metal
Vibrant and crushing, much like the album artwork.
Mara
Rök
Black Metal
An enjoyable listen from one of my favorite genres.
First Pass – Week of November 22nd, 2019
Every Friday is new music release day. I dig through new release lists from sources like All Music, Metal Injection, Pitchfork, and Bandcamp to put together a queue of releases from bands and labels that might interest me. As I listen through the list, I add the stand out albums to a playlist for revisiting. This list is what I refer to as the First Pass. Some of the albums make it to my best of the month playlists. Others get tossed upon further review. Below is a list of albums from this week that made the first pass.
Vi Som Älskade Varandra Så Mycket
Det Onda. Det Goda. Det Vackra. Det Fula.
Post-Hardcore, Screamo
Pretty much anything released on Zegema Beach Records is going to be worth checking out.
Upset
Upset
Indie Rock, Punk
Lauren Records is another label that keeps releasing excellent content.
Diploid
Glorify
Hardcore, Grindcore
This album comes at you from all sides, an excellent assault on the ears.
Downhaul
Tornado Season
Indie Rock, Emo
This band released an awesome album earlier this year. This four song EP is a nice follow up.
The Sound That Ends Creation
Music Designed to Give You Ideas… In Case You Should Run Out of Ideas
Mathcore, Grindcore
This album is a noisy mess of awesomeness.
Buildings
Negative Sound
Noise Rock
I am wearing a Gilead Media hoodie as I type this up. I love everything the label puts out. This album is not as heavy as some of its label mates, but it is solid nonetheless.
Lord Mantis
Universal Death Church
Sludge, Black Metal
This album has a layer of that scuzzy feel that sludge brings to metal, but still retains a lot of what makes black metal so appealing.
YNW Melly
Melly vs. Melvin
Hip-Hop
I think this guy was charged with multiple counts of murder recently.
KING
Coldest of Cold
Black Metal
Cold and black as advertised.
Kevin Devine & the Goddamn Band
Nevermind
Indie Rock
An album of Nirvana covers from Kevin Devine. Enough said!
Third Chamber
Harvesting Our Decay
Death Metal
This album may not defy any expectations for the genre, but it is short enough to not wear out its welcome.
Unfathomable Ruination
Enraged and Unbound
Brutal Death Metal
Another solid release for the genre with great album art.
Moonreich
Wormgod
Black Metal
This is the kind of band that will fall under most people’s radar, but is worth giving a chance.
Blood Incantation
Hidden History of the Human Race
Death Metal
If you follow metal music at all, this album is getting praised on year end lists. I am not sure I feel the same about it, but there is something here worth spending more time with.
First Pass – Week of November 15th, 2019
Every Friday is new music release day. I dig through new release lists from sources like All Music, Metal Injection, Pitchfork, and Bandcamp to put together a queue of releases from bands and labels that might interest me. As I listen through the list, I add the stand out albums to a playlist for revisiting. This list is what I refer to as the First Pass. Some of the albums make it to my best of the month playlists. Others get tossed upon further review. Below is a list of albums from this week that made the first pass.
Warp
Traffic Control
Hardcore Punk
Aggressive and awesome. This one has been on Bandcamp for a few weeks, and I have listened quite a few times.
Origami Angel
Somewhere City
Emo
Up to this point, I had only heard some fast paced EPs by this group. The full length is more nuanced, and I can see it continuing to grow on me.
Abigail Williams
Walk Beyond the Dark
Black Metal
Do not let the name of this band fool you, these guys will tear your eardrums apart.
Half-Handed Cloud
Gathered Out Of Thin Air
Indie Pop
This is a collection of material from the last decade filled with short, but excellently crafted songs. If you are a fan of artists like Sufjan Stevens, Danielson, or The Polyphonic Spree, this is for you.
Despised Icon
Purgatory
Deathcore
A nice mix of brutal vocals and cool breakdowns.
Blue Ray
Live Love Laugh
Lo-Fi, Punk
A live album that highlights this band’s cool, lo-fi aesthetic.
Left Behind
No One Goes to Heaven
Hardcore, Sludge
Grimy and heavy. There was a band with this name when I was in high school. This seems to be a different group, but I like what I hear.
A Paramount, a Love Supreme
Crisis Meditations
Post-Hardcore, Screamo
This is a shorter album, but it has everything you want from the genre.
Raw Hex
Always High, Always Low
Blackened Hardcore
A successful merging of genres.
Vatican
Sole Impulse
Metalcore
A lot of metalcore turns me off when it goes to the cleaner parts of songs, this album does not have that problem.
Kublai Khan TX
Absolute
Hardcore
The lyrics on this album may eventually turn me away from it, but the breakdowns are lots of fun. It reminds me of hardcore in my high school days.
First Pass – Week of November 8th, 2019
Every Friday is new music release day. I dig through new release lists from sources like All Music, Metal Injection, Pitchfork, and Bandcamp to put together a queue of releases from bands and labels that might interest me. As I listen through the list, I add the stand out albums to a playlist for revisiting. This list is what I refer to as the First Pass. Some of the albums make it to my best of the month playlists. Others get tossed upon further review. Below is a list of albums from this week that made the first pass.
Macseal
Super Enthusiast
Emo, Math Pop
Fun and upbeat energy. A solid listen.
slow
VI – Dantalion
Doom, Funeral Doom
I do not like doom much, but certain albums, like this one, manage to sneak into my brain.
Fern Mayo
Week of Charm
Indie Pop
This album might be one song too long, but it has a lot of good on it.
Wells Valley
Reconcile The Antinomy
Sludge, Doom
Let the heaviness wash over you.
Pendant
Through a Coil
Rock
There seems to be a crop of bands putting out rock music influenced by bands from my youth. I can get behind that.
Hideous Divinity
Simulacrum
Technical Death Metal, Brutal Death Metal
This is in your face metal.
Grumpster
Underwhelmed
Pop Punk
This is a super catchy album.
Second to Sun
Legacy
Black Metal
A solid album for the genre.
Wiki
OOFIE
Hip-Hop
Interesting arrangements and flows.
Crimson Throne
The Resilience of Life & Death
Black Metal
This is just a two song seven inch, but the songs are great.
Hawthorne Heights
Lost Frequencies
Emo, Post-Hardcore
This is a collection of b-sides, rarities, and covers. It is solid, fun stuff.
Liturgy
H.A.Q.Q.
Black Metal, Experimental
This band puts out genre bending content that may be too weird for some, but it is really intriguing.
Mono
Before The Past – Live From Electrical Audio
Post-Rock
Three songs at thirty minutes; a serene live experience.
Sertraline
These Mills Are Oceans
Atmospheric Black Metal
Exactly the type of black metal that I enjoy the most.
First Pass – Week of November 1st, 2019
Every Friday is new music release day. I dig through new release lists from sources like All Music, Metal Injection, Pitchfork, and Bandcamp to put together a queue of releases from bands and labels that might interest me. As I listen through the list, I add the stand out albums to a playlist for revisiting. This list is what I refer to as the First Pass. Some of the albums make it to my best of the month playlists. Others get tossed upon further review. Below is a list of albums from this week that made the first pass.
Sammi Lanzetta
Ceiling Mirror
Indie Rock
If you cannot tell from the cover, this album is a lot of fun.
Frail Body
A Brief Memoriam
Post-Hardcore, Screamo
If you like the genre, I think you will like this.
Rational Anthem
It’s Only Permanent
Punk Rock
An immensely solid punk rock album.
Cartel Madras
Age of the Goonda
Hip-Hop
Twelve minutes of excellent hip-hop, and a cool backstory to the group.
Une Misère
Sermon
Hardcore
Heavy and exciting. Plus the cover is beautiful.
Ahem
Try Again
Dream Pop, Indie Rock
Short, but sweet. I dig the vibe of this album.
Counterparts
Nothing Left to Love
Melodic Hardcore, Metalcore
Consistent energy and aggression.
Garden Centre
A Moon For Digging
Indie Pop
The vocals might be too strange for some, but a solid album overall.
Sleeping At Last
Atlas: II
Indie Rock
This is a collection of previously released singles, but if you have never heard the band, the songs are beautiful.
Black Kirin
秦淮
Folk Metal
The majority of this album is a re-issue of an old EP, so I am not sure it belongs in this list. However, the new song is great, and the mixture of metal with Chinese instruments is damn cool.
First Pass – Week of October 25th, 2019
Every Friday is new music release day. I dig through new release lists from sources like All Music, Metal Injection, Pitchfork, and Bandcamp to put together a queue of releases from bands and labels that might interest me. As I listen through the list, I add the stand out albums to a playlist for revisiting. This list is what I refer to as the First Pass. Some of the albums make it to my best of the month playlists. Others get tossed upon further review. Below is a list of albums from this week that made the first pass.
Frostmoon Eclipse
Worse Weather to Come
Black Metal
Good atmosphere, solid vocals, and cool riffs make this one worth another pass.
Black Marble
Bigger Than Life
Coldwave, Post-Punk
There is something really relaxing about this album, and some solid melodies that keep things interesting.
Raat
Déraciné
Atmospheric Black Metal, Blackgaze
Black metal with a positive vibe.
Malevich
Our Hollow
Grindcore, Blackened Hardcore
Noisy, loud, and full of angst.
Great Grandpa
Four of Arrows
Indie Rock
Great melodies enhanced by excellent vocals.
Dawn Ray’d
Behold Sedition Plainsong
Black Metal
Solid vocals and song craft accompanied by a violin.
Dogbreth
Ever Loving
Indie Rock
There is a lot of depth to this album. I kept getting pulled in as it progressed.
Vamachara
Hereafter
Hardcore, Beatdown
Short and to the point like hardcore is meant to be.
Cigarettes After Sex
Cry
Ambient Pop, Dream Pop
The whole vibe of this album is soft and comforting.
Cloak
The Burning Dawn
Black Metal
The slower pace of the album is what stands out to me.
Amy O
Shell
Indie Pop, Lo-Fi
Excellent songwriting sets this one apart.
The Great Old Ones
Cosmicism
Atmospheric Black Metal
Eerie and foreboding; these guys have a dark majesty to them.
Night Surf
The End of the World With…
Punk Rock
I like the vocals and the energy.
Rings of Saturn
Gidim
Technical Death Metal, Deathcore
I love the sci-fi vibes of this band, and the guitar work is excellent.
Kanye West
JESUS IS KING
Hip-Hop, Gospel Rap
This album cover is awful, and I’m not sure all the tracks can even be considered songs. However, Kanye is always worth a few listens if for nothing else but to admire the excellent production.
Aephanemer
Prokopton
Melodic Death Metal, Symphonic Metal
Typically I am not into metal with any type of clean vocals, but all the elements on this one work together so well.
Apollo Brown
Sincerely, Detroit
Hip-Hop
Joined by a huge list of guest rappers from Detroit, this album highlights the city’s place in the world of hip-hop.
The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die
Assorted Works
Emo, Indie Rock
I normally would not include a collection of previously released material, but this band deserves to be highlighted whenever possibly.
Norma Jean
All Hail
Metalcore, Mathcore
After more than 15 years, this band still delivers blazing, brutal music.
First Pass – Week of October 18th, 2019
Every Friday is new music release day. I dig through new release lists from sources like All Music, Metal Injection, Pitchfork, and Bandcamp to put together a queue of releases from bands and labels that might interest me. As I listen through the list, I add the stand out albums to a playlist for revisiting. This list is what I refer to as the First Pass. Some of the albums make it to my best of the month playlists. Others get tossed upon further review. Below is a list of albums from this week that made the first pass.
Face to Face
Live in a Dive
Punk Rock
I usually do not highlight live albums, but this has some great banter between songs and an excellent selection of material from the band.
Grayling
Low
Shoegaze, Emo
At only five songs, this album does not take up a lot of time. And from a first pass, the time it does take is worth it.
Jeff Rosenstock
Thanks, Sorry!
Punk Rock, Indie Rock
Another live album to make the list this week. Jeff Rosenstock is one of the best songwriters around right now, and this album highlights his genius in all its live, wild glory.
Dead Soft
Big Blue
Rock, Grunge
Soft, noisy moments countered by splashes of energy made this album catch my attention.
Mass Worship
Mass Worship
Metal, Hardcore
Solid riffs and energy. It hit the right notes for me.
Hovvdy
Heavy Lifter
Lo-Fi, Indie Rock
The feel of bedroom pop with strong songwriting chops.
Mover Shaker
Midwest Amnesiac Blues / Service Provider
Indie Rock, Grunge
A two song single that previews an upcoming album, but the two songs are good.
MERDA MUNDI
Hatred
Black Metal
A lot of albums in the black metal genre all start to run together. I am happy when albums stick out to me enough to want to revisit them.
McCafferty
The House With No Doorbell
Emo, Punk Rock
I do not remember how I originally stumbled upon this band, but I am glad I did. I have enjoyed everything that they put out. Smart songwriting all around.
Guerilla Toss
What Would the Odd Do?
Noise Rock, No Wave, Art Rock
This band is weird, noisy, and unpredictable. I am not always into their albums, but the latest has a lot to like.
Bruce Lee Band
Rental!! Eviction!!
Ska Punk
This album is only twelve minutes long, but it is fun and plays a lot with tempo from song to song.
White Reaper
You Deserve Love
Rock
At this point, rock music is pretty much dead, but there are a few bands that still do things right. White Reaper is one of them.