Depending on how it’s executed, music (and instrumental music in particular) has the potential to be the most transportive mode of expression. Other mediums like film, literature, and art obviously have the ability to present rich, detailed worlds beyond our own. But music can offer a blank, endless canvas for…
Editor’s Note: I’m glad to welcome longtime reader Remi VL as a regular guest contributor to our Release Day Roundup posts! He submitted several of the albums listed below. Join his Facebook group for more recommendations. -Scott Murphy Each month, we always seem to come to the same conclusion when…
Most of the time when we ask you to listen to something it’s because we think it’s good, that it deserves more listens, and that you might enjoy it. Today I’m not sure if this is good or if you’re going to like it, but it’s certainly different and probably…
“What happened to Audrey Horne?” It was a question that permeated much of last year’s Twin Peaks revival, and one which lingers long after its close. Yet, while the cult TV series’ timely return has brought such bygone contemplation to the forefront of contemporary pop culture, that very same question has been pressing upon my mind with regard to the musical sphere for some time now. Having peaked with their eponymous third album in 2010, this once lively group of Norwegians (who take their name from a prominent character in David Lynch and Mark Frost’s cult television series, in case that introduction made absolutely no sense to you) seemed to degenerate—much like Twin Peaks itself—from underappreciated semi-cult act to middling pastiche with their two subsequent records. However—again, much like the origin of their namesake—Blackout sees this bunch of retro-rock worshiping ragtags return with their strongest offering in years.
With the return of Twin Peaks only hours away, I figure it’s the perfect time to go back and give attention to something that contributed just as much to the success of the show as any of the actors or lines of dialogue: the soundtrack. The score for the show written by…
Collectively, we didn’t feel as though we had enough noteworthy “unmetal” content to fit into our typical biweekly column. I’m not one to step off the soapbox so easily, though, especially considering how many times I’ve spun the latest single from Cali experimentalists Xiu Xiu. For those of you who don’t follow my personal best-of-lists religiously, I listed Xiu Xiu’s latest album Angle Guts: Red Classroom as one of my top albums of 2014, and for good reason; everything about the project took what I love about art rock and experimental music and elevated the genres’ eccentricities to the point of sheer discomfort. It’s because of this that the band’s decision to interpret Angelo Badalamenti’s music from cult classic show Twin Peaks for Record Store Day doesn’t surprise me in the least. To the contrary, it stoked my excitement quite a bit, especially after the band posted a reworking of the band’s iconic main theme under the name “Falling.” Head past the jump to share in my chilling excitement:
