As important as first impressions can be, they’re often given more weight than they deserve. Lead singles often receive these types of extreme initial reactions, something exacerbated by the seemingly increasing number of pre-album tracks bands release these days. Sure, these songs can be a perfect outline for what listeners…
After five years with the blog, there are a number of posts I still look back on fondly. My interview with Lachlan R. Dale still ranks among my all-time favorites for a number of reasons. First, and most obvious, was the ability to connect with the man behind two of…
Feast of the Epiphany is a unique project. The brainchild of composer Nick Podgurski – along with collaborators Andrew Smiley and Caley Monahon-Ward – the group merges the seemingly incompatible worlds of drone, folk, psych, prog, and ambient synth (among other things) into a curious, avant-garde blend. As if that…
With my current schedule being as tight as it is, there has to be something compelling about a release to warrant one of my verbose, 1,000+ word reviews; the days where I’d publish near daily reviews on Sputnikmusic during college are long since gone. This occasionally results in more of…
There’s been much written about both the quality of vinyl and the lack thereof. I’m not interested in wading into the fidelity wars, but I do want to cite a recent “
Feature Photo by Justina Villanueva Ron Varod (Kayo Dot, Psalm Zero) has kept busy since releasing the phenomenal Deer Pink as Zvi in April. He relocated from Brooklyn to Portland (Oregon), released a collection of ambient experiments titled vus machstu, and filmed a video for one of Deer Pink’s highlight…
The quintessential difficult decision is almost always a “lesser of two evils” situation. In music, this typically manifests in an artist’s path forward; do they forge ahead along the charted path, or divert into untrodden territory? We can look at bands like Opeth, Kayo Dot and Ulver as examples of…
Despite the seemingly straightforward nature of drone, the style is a great deal more varied in practice. For drone metal in particular, the idea of drawing out doom to an even more low, slow and meditative state relies on each individual band’s interpretation of the genre they’re extrapolating from. As…
Sometimes music critics can benefit from adhering to the notion that “form follows function.” It’s an abstract use of the bauhaus principle, but one which feels especially relevant in the modern music landscape. We often slather genre tags on scenes and artists that are growing more and more stylistically agnostic,…
One of the fastest ways to a music critic’s heart is a seamless synthesis of styles. Anytime a group successfully blends adjacent or dissimilar genres, the results can push boundaries with a truly engaging, unique listen. Such is the case with Ache Pillars, the latest EP from one-person band Folian.…
