METAL
Leeched – To Dull the Blades of Your Abuse Leeched is not messing around on their sophomore record for Prosthetic Records. The influence of Converge and Neurosis is very clear in their music, but Leeched does a good job of not sounding too much like either (which cannot be said for some others heavily indebted to those legendary bands). This music is nasty, noisy, abrasive, confrontational, and seriously pissed off. After a pretty abstract minute plus intro of screeching feedback, distorted drums and unnerving samples, the band smashes you in the face with the first of many slamming sludge riffs. And the sonic destruction rarely lets up for the remaining 35 minutes. This record also reminded me of two other bands that I adore: the now-defunct Swarm of the Lotus, and Yautja (who I initially fell in love with because they reminded me of Swarm of the Lotus). Like those bands, Leeched takes the weight of Neurosis’ heaviest moments, and plays them with the energy and fury of Converge’s heaviest, noisiest mid-tempo and slower parts, with occasional faster moments. Drums pound along with dissonant guitar squeals and bends, in between thick sludge riffs. Meanwhile, the vocals bark along with a low, throaty hardcore/metalcore-ish scream. Impressively, the band manages to gradually get more intense as the record progresses. Also worth noting is the fact that this formula of wall-of-noise sludge riffs and high-pitched, dissonant guitar squeals has been pretty common in this scene for quite a while now, and I’m still interested in listening to Leeched more. If you’re in the mood for an uncompromising sonic assault, check this out. — 8/10
Moloken – Enveilance of Dark Matter Another stellar band from the “Cult of Neur-Isis” school, Moloken keeps their songwriting lean and mean. 11 tracks in 42 minutes, with only one song breaking the 6 min mark, is pretty brief for a subgenre that regularly sees bands writing 10-12 min songs, and albums that pass the 1 hr mark. The riffs carry the weight of thick and dirty “post-metal,” but the tempos are faster than average, generally in the medium to medium-fast range. This works to the band’s advantage, as the momentum and energy rarely wavers. It also gives them a slight hardcore vibe, similar to Neurosis’ faster moments. Another significant strength is in Moloken’s vocal attack, phrasing, and arrangements. All three string players regularly contribute mid- to low-pitched, raspy shouts, screams, and howls, which adds an extra layer of dynamics. Recommended! — 8.5/10
Sonus Mortis – Hold This Mortal Coil Sonus Mortis creates a unique blend of gothic death/doom metal, with an almost symphonic black metal atmosphere. With most tracks in the 6-10 min range, they shift from one sound to another, often many times within a song. I’m not generally a fan of the melodramatic, low pitched, melodic goth vocals (or really any goth vocals, for that matter), but they don’t really wear out their welcome here, thanks to the wide range of growls and screams that show up in the death/doom/black metal parts of the music. On first listen, I kept thinking that I might end up stopping and deleting the album before it finished. But it managed to bring enough different elements as it played on to keep me interested in what was still to come. In the end, this style of metal is just not one I’m drawn to very much. But for anyone who does consider themselves a fan of gothic death/doom, Sonus Mortis pulls of the sound very well. — 7/10
ELECTRONIC
Squarepusher – Be Up a Hello If you are a fan of glitchy, high-energy electronic music, you’re probably already familiar with Squarepusher. Now on album #15 (!) he sounds as invigorated, familiar, and fresh as ever. A lot of the album is the fast-paced, frantic, highly percussive sound that Squarepusher helped pioneer. Notably, it starts out with the melodic elements being very uplifting and beautiful at times, then gradually gets more menacing and aggressive as the album progresses; the final track being incredibly dark and unnerving in comparison to the feel-good vibes of the opening track. Scattered tracks are slower and/or ambient, providing enough variation that the onslaught of breakbeats and mechanical near-chaos never becomes tiring. Squarepusher remains a master and leader of forward-thinking electronic music and there is a lot to digest here, worthy of many listens. —- 9.5/10
Dan Deacon – Mystic Familiar I listened to one Dan Deacon album years ago and it didn’t make me want to listen to more. I also saw him once as an opener and was kind of bored. So I went into this hesitant, but open to the possibility of being pleasantly surprised. As the album began, I was intrigued and hopeful. Dancing and cascading pianos begin a very uplifting, atmospheric, spacey opening track, followed by a Tangerine Dream-inspired slowly swirling synth lead on track two. But then the dance beat comes in on track three… I’d imagine that a lot of Animal Collective fans also love Dan Deacon, but there is only a small amount of Animal Collective music that I care for, and it’s not this kind of jittery, indie techno dance stuff. Also, Deacon’s vocals remind me of Wayne Coyne (Flaming Lips) when he trys to actually sing well, but he can’t. This kind of thing goes on for about 5 tracks. After the 4 part “Arp” suite, we have a beautiful, spacey interlude with briskly arpeggiating cello and theremin, which lead to bright, pulsing synths. The best thing since track 2! Do I only like Dan Deacon’s spacey tracks and interludes that don’t have drum beats? It seems so, because the next two tracks have regular beats and I’m pretty indifferent. Last track, kind of ambient and spaced out, with incessant drums, but no vocals, so that’s a plus. —- 5/10
Sweatson Klank – Good Days Chill, lo-fi-ish, jazzy beats, leaning to the slightly more electronic side of the legions of J Dilla disciples. Tenor sax melodies, warm electric piano, feel-good grooves. Not much that sets it apart from other similar artists, but I enjoy every one of them, so that’s not really a complaint. — 8/10
INDIE
Loving – If I Am Only My Thoughts Lo-fi, hazy indie rock with a sweet, laid back vibe, and thoughtful arrangements. There’s a definite Beatles & Beach Boys influence in their approach to chord changes and rhythms, and vocal melodies, but it’s never too obvious. Recommended for fans of early Dr. Dog. — 8/10
JAZZ
Antoine Berjeaut & Makaya McCraven – Moving Cities This album grooves so hard. It came out back in Dec, and I missed it until now, but it would have ended up in my Best Jazz Albums of 2019 list, so it’s worth writing about now. Antoine Berjeaut is on trumpet and credited as co-composer, along with Makaya McCraven, who is a beast on the drums, and a visionary creative force in the jazz world with his modern approach to production. Sometimes it sounds like a high octane, drum n bass-influenced update on the sound of early electric Miles Davis. Other times it’s more rnb/funk influenced. Outstanding musicianship. — 9/10
RnB / SOUL
KIRBY – Sis. Though this debut, 7 song, 21 minute EP, is Kirby Lauryen’s first release under her own name, she is an accomplished songwriter, having co-written songs for Rihanna, Kanye, J.Lo, Common, and Ariana Grande. It sounds like Kirby grew up listening to a lot of Erykah Badu. There are plenty of young RnB/Soul artists who came up through the school of Badu, but not many releases get as close to Badu’s early sound as this EP. Some listeners may be a little critical of that fact, but I’m a huge Badu fan, and this is just fine with me, especially since the Queen of Neo-Soul hasn’t graced us with a record in 5 years. Kirby’s vocals are soft, dreamy, and soulful, with an impressive range. Paired with thoughtful, pensive arrangements of gentle acoustic guitars, occasional jazzy electric guitar flourishes, organ and electric piano coloring the background with warm tones, and organic hip hop beats, she delivers an impressive debut. — 8/10
Christian Kuria – Borderline So many young RnB/Soul artists releasing 7 song EP’s these days! (3 just this week!) Christian Kuria leans a little closer to a modern sound than, but still has more of a warm, laid back, organic vibe compared to a lot of what’s been coming out lately. The fact that this release made it past my initial new release screening round is already a compliment, as there are way more female than male RnB/Soul artists that stay in my library more than a week. That said, it is decent, chill vibe music, although there is not much that really grabs my attention or sets him apart from the pack. — 6.5/10
Peyton – Roller Coaster The third 7 song RnB/Soul EP of the week comes from Peyton, yet another student from the school of Badu. (The cover art is kind of annoying, but it doesn’t represent the music inside very well.) This one leans a little more to the electro side of things. She released another EP last year that was alright, but didn’t quite make the cut for me. Roller Coaster is an improvement. The arrangements are interesting, the beats have lots of nice subtleties, and Peyton gives a strong performance. But it’s lacking in hooks. Everything she does sounds nice, but the melodies are often kind of meandering, and I found it hard to remember anything she had sang once a song was over. After 3 or 4 listens, I’ve decided that probably not much more is going to stick. Hopefully Peyton will continue to improve in the songwriting department, as everything else is going very well for her. — 6.5/10