Last Friday morning I added 65 releases to my music library for review consideration. 28 passed the first round, which was still way too much for me to do in one week. Turns out exactly half of those were actually released on Feb 14th, and the other 14 (so many 14’s!) came out in the previous few weeks, but only now came across my radar. Some albums just don’t end up in the New Releases section of Apple Music right away. So here I reviewed the 14 albums that just came out last week.
There are a handful of those other 14 albums that sounded promising upon sampling, and I’m really interested in listening to and reviewing them. (Trilok Gurtu, Jim Black Trio, The Sorcerers, Christian McBride, Ben Williams, Terrace Martin, Joey Alexander, Tyshawn Sorey…all jazz(ish) artists… It might be mainly the Jazz section, and sometimes Electronic, that doesn’t always stay exactly up to date. Someone at Apple Music isn’t staying on top of their responsibilities and it’s messing up my flow!)
Anyway, here we are at another Friday, and once again, I added over 60 releases this morning as I’m finishing up this batch. So we’ll see if I ever get to those others. But in case I don’t, and you’re a jazz head, check those out too.
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On with the reviews! Lots of metal this week. But also some other great stuff. Thanks for reading!
METAL
Sutrah – Dunes If you want some new, cutting edge, technical, progressive death metal, look no further than The Artisan Era’s roster. Sutrah delivers on all fronts. Ambient Balinese Gamelan gongs is a pretty unique way to start a metal album. Then we blast into hyperdrive as the first proper song begins. Mmm love me some tech death fretless bass. Great riffage, and I’m quickly picking up on some very strong songwriting. After a 7+ minute labyrinth of riffs and guitar melodies, we are greeted with more Balinese Gamelan music, and…more sick shredding. Still loving that fretless bass! Nice guitar solo; beautiful ending with bass harmonics, into more gongs. This band rules. Yes! Bass solo in “Stargazer”! There’s enough tempo and feel variation across the album that it never gets overbearing. Uhh oh, didgeridoo interlude and another gong. Pretty unnecessary interlude track, but ok. Back to the metal! A little more melodic here, and even some melodic sing/shouting before the flurry of blasts, tremolo picked riffs, and shredding leads return. I anticipate this album will make my year end list. And, heads up, even though this album just came out, they have 28 minute, 4 song EP coming out next month. One song is streaming from that, and it’s just as good as this. — 9/10
Ihsahn – Telemark – EP I am a huge fan of all four Emperor full lengths, and every Ihsahn solo album, so a new release is always very exciting. This is the first of a double EP project, the first being super black metal, and the next to be the less metal side of his writing. The production is a little drier than his other releases, and it suits the sinister snarl right away. But the coolest thing about the three original songs on this EP is that there is a horn section largely doubling the guitar parts throughout the majority of the tracks. Ihsahn has been using scronky sax solos scattered across his last few albums, but this kind of supporting brass ensemble is a brand new thing that I don’t believe I’ve ever heard anyone do. And the horns are mixed pretty low, so they are really intended to be more of a textural element, and not a lead melodic or solo role. The EP’s centerpiece, the 7+ minute title track, seriously picks up mid way through. Low, aggressive brass punches, and a progressive, instrumental interlude take it to the home stretch, ending strong. Boy, would I love to hear some more songs like that.
Remember when I said “three original songs”? Only three!? C’mon man, at least give us four rippers before we get a batch of decidedly less ripping songs! Ok, you really couldn’t manage 4? Well I would hope that you would pick some rad covers. I see that Iron Maiden’s “Wrathchild” is the last track. Ok, that should be cool and fun. But the first of two covers is a song called “Rock and Roll Is Dead.” What the hell is that, and why am I suspicious? Oh, I’m suspicious because it’s a fucking LENNY KRAVITZ song. What in the world is going on? This is soooo boring and lame. I wasn’t familiar with the original, so I went and listened to it and it is so much better than this cover. I enjoy a couple of his hits, but this is so distractingly out of place. No European metal musician could ever possibly cover a funky, rock n roll song by an African American artist and be anything but weak and embarrassing.
Thank god that’s over. What the hell were you thinking, Ihsahn? With only three originals on a five song EP, the least you could do is include two rad METAL covers! Jeez, this is supposed to be your “back to the primitive” black metal album and you give us this limp noodle right after the best track. Way to kill the mood, man. Ok, “Wrathchild” is cool. At least he ends strong with the proper kind of cover. Still with the horns; rad. So if this was just a four song EP…yea, lets just pretend it’s 4 songs…delete. Killer EP! Looking forward to the next one! — 8.5/10
Kvelertak – Splid I’ve listened to each of this band’s previous albums once, but it’s been a while, so I can’t articulate specific changes. I’m guessing the production is a little cleaner, and the songwriting may have a little more pop flavor, but it doesn’t sound like a huge change. Troy Sanders from Mastodon guests on the 2nd track, and I’m sensing that Kvelertak is having a similar kind of evolution. The difference is that these guys have an underlying punk element. I want to say pop punk, but not the negatively-connotated whiny shit. There’s a chorus that sounded a lot like Bad Religion, and there’s just a lot of those root note constantly palm muted 8th note riffs, and syncopated accents that are such key characteristics of a lot of the more “accessible” punk bands. But the production is really thick and warm, and sweet, harmonized lead guitars color lots of parts with classic metal vibes. After continuing with the punk leanings for a while, they break out some genuine thrash, mixed with some Judas Priest riffage, and an anthemic conclusion in “Fanden Ta Dette Hull!” Next comes “Tevling” with a shimmery clean guitar that ends up sounding reminiscent of The Police’s “Every Breath You Take,” but the song still manages to rock out hard with fists in the air. More killer metal parts and even a Refused kind of vibe show up as the album continues to get more interesting and show greater depth. Through all the stylistic variations, Kvelertak always brings immense energy in full force. Even when it’s a more straightforward punk-ish part, which I normally wouldn’t pay much attention to exclusively, I can’t help but nod my head because they are really nailing it with visceral passion. I bet this band is a BLAST to see live; it must be like a nonstop party. — 8.5/10
Grafvitnir – Nahash Furious, traditional black metal. Well done, and authentic sounding, so it’s not breaking any new ground. But the tremolo picked, minor barre chord riffs, and twisting leads deliver relentlessly, and the sinister, raspy vocals keep it nice and evil. The cavernous reverb on just the toms is kind of funny, but it also helps the mix hit hard with more upfront kick, snare, and cymbals, while still providing that classic “this was recorded in a church, even though we’re satanic” sound. Save for the appropriately creepy, ambient final track, “Vastness of Death,” the album never lets up, firing on all cylinders without becoming tiring or sounding too samey. While this isn’t something I see myself returning to much, if I was more of a hardcore fan of the classic 2nd wave black metal sound, this would probably make my year end list. I’m just more drawn to artists that are forging new paths. — 7.5/10
Apokryphon – Subterra I get the desire to set the mood, but I’m just not a fan of drawn out, atmospheric intros to metal albums. When the guitars don’t even enter until past the four minute mark on track 1, and we’re still in intro territory until the…seven minute mark of a 12 minute “song,” I can’t help but roll my eyes a little. Once the song finally starts, we have some atmospheric black metal. It continues on with some occasionally interesting bass work (this is a solo project of the bassist of a band called Darkspace), but this is one of those sub-genres that I appreciate in theory, but don’t really care to spend much time with. If you like atmospheric black metal, however, this is well done and not nearly as monotonous as some bands that I’ve heard. — 6.8/10
Plague – Portraits of Mind The wave of old school death metal revival bands is a crowded scene. With most of these bands, I know I would enjoy them live if I caught them opening for a band I really wanted to see, but I don’t get enough out of just listening to the album to warrant multiple listens; or even one complete listen in some cases. This album gets my foot tapping with it’s tried and true, classic death metal riffage, but it’s pretty much just early Death worship with lower, growled vocals. — 6.5/10
Necrowretch – The Ones from Hell Vicious, thrashy, unhinged, filthy black metal. A bit primitive for my tastes, but it’s still a pretty enjoyable listen, and evil as hell. The band sticks to their guns and pulls no surprises. Good, but not great, and nothing new. — 6.5/10
Colosso – Apocalypse – EP Oppressive death metal, with mostly very low, guttural growls. Starts slow with suffocating, drony, dissonant guitars. Cool aesthetic, but 8+ minutes, the song kind of lasts too long. 2nd track, however, bursts out of the gate at a much quicker pace, and soon erupts into a flurry of double kick and blast beats. The riffs and vibe here is more like Hate Eternal with an extra layer of sludge. Melodic leads bring some much needed tonal variation. Track 3 starts with clean guitar, and quickly jumps back into blasts, but still with the more melodic riff. Then…melodic, howling vocals! Very different vibe here. Almost like an atmospheric but still really heavy Gojira sound. I like it, but I wish it developed more. Final track is the best and most furious of the 4. I’m curious how I would like previous albums. There’s some good stuff going on here, and the variation between tracks is nice, but it’s a bit uneven and occasionally under-developed for my taste. — 6/10
Frayle – 1692 This is like a goth doom version of Jucifer, but with a full band. Thick power chord riffs heave forward, while whispery female vocals float along. The band thoroughly accomplishes the vibe and ambience they’re going for, and I appreciate the aesthetic for what it is, but the music just kind of plods on by without really demanding my attention at any point. —- 6/10
JAZZ
Moses Boyd – Dark Matter Moses Boyd is fearlessly pushing the sound of jazz further into the 21st century. It’s an exciting time, as there are a lot of young jazz artists seamlessly fusing elements of hip hop, RnB, soul, electronic, and rock into their music. I listen to, love, and write about a lot of it, and this is one of the most exciting releases I’ve heard lately. Expect muted trumpet soloing over low, synthetic brass, and glitchy electronics; full horn section big band arrangements over reverb-soaked guitar and Latin grooves; dub-like bass lines; harmonized female vocals that call to mind 70’s spiritual jazz over drum n bass dance beats; real talk lyrics rapped and sung in a gospel/blues style over pounding drum loops and distant baritone sax; live jazz drumset soloing over ominous keyboards and electronics; bare acoustic piano over sped up trip hop beats and tuba bass lines; neo-soul vocals and traditional tenor sax post-bop soloing over layers of keyboards and upbeat, looped percussion; trap beats, jazz flute, pulsing, ambient atmosphere, and philosophical conversations. The amount of different, unique juxtapositions across the album is impressive and refreshing. I’m going to have to check out Moses Boyd’s first album, also, because he is at the cutting edge. — 9/10
INDIE
Cindy Lee – What’s Tonight To Eternity What a trippy journey. Hazy, soft vocals, drenched in reverb, al la Grouper, and a wide scope of music, ranging from serene to indie pop to psychedelic to nightmarish noise, often changing within one song. It’s sometimes hard to tell what instruments I’m hearing. Guitars and keyboards have a lot of effects processing, timbres are obscured, there might be loops, there might be sample drums or maybe they’re just really lo-fi. It’s quite a sonic tapestry that Cindy Lee has created for her voice to echo mysteriously behind. This isn’t the kind of thing that I go for often, but it’s effective, interesting and unique, for sure. — 7/10
ROCK
Post Animal – Forward Motion Godyssey This album jumps around so much, I’m just going to do a track by track run down while I listen through. 1) Majestic, uplifting, space rock. 2) Heavy, driving, slightly early-proggy sounding fuzz rock, like (the incredible and I can’t believe more Americans don’t know about them) Motorpsycho. 3) Light synth intro, then spacey indie pop…post-emo? My wife said it reminded her of how Saves the Day could possibly have evolved. I loved Codeseven’s The Rescue, and this has some similarities. 4) Ambient, no drums, soft string-like synths, echoing clean guitar lines, low singing. Then, biiiiiig riff! 5) Another rocker, with churning palm-muted riffs and proggy lead guitars. Yeah, this chorus is killer! It reminds me of my favorite Gentle Giant album, The Power and the Glory, but with Tony Iommi on guitar. I wonder if more of this band’s older material sounds like this. Noisy, screaming slide guitar solo! 6) Spacey and serene keyboard interlude. 7) RnB?! The singer kind of sounds like The Weeknd! This band’s vocal dept is really varied. Builds to a pretty epic, soulful rock climax, rides out an extended guitar solo, and concludes back with the groove. 8) Dance rock, complete with hand claps, tight hit hat 16th notes, and a Latin-flavored instrumental interlude. 9) More smooth, RnB singing, but with more of a space rock feel, and a heavy synth riff. 10) Another heavy psych fuzz rock with a bit of a funkier groove. 11) Epic closer, similar to intro track. Quite impressive! — 8.5/10
David Bowie – Is It Any Wonder? – EP This is a nice little collection of goodies for Bowie fans. A beautiful “deep voiced 90’s Bowie” version of “The Man Who Sold the World” and a rework of “Stay” (from one of my favorite Bowie albums, Station to Station) are the highlights. Two songs originally written for Bowie’s short-lived side project Tin Machine also appear, likely from the same 1997 sessions. “Nuts” is a drum n bass mood piece with scattered, cut-up clips of Bowie speaking, which is cool, but not really as exciting as the rest of the tracks. Finally we have a Brian Eno remix of “The Man Who Sold the World” that, despite sounding pretty dated, I still enjoy, because Brian Eno can do no wrong. So this is not really something for the casual fan, or something that I see myself returning to much, but it’s still enjoyable. — 7.8/10
Tame Impala – The Slow Rush I’ve listened to every Tame Impala album at least once, and I don’t know them very well, but I have enjoyed them. The band has been gradually moving away from their original psych rock sound, and that continues here. The psychedelic, dancy, indie pop/rock contained on Tame Impala’s 4th album is pleasant, but it doesn’t necessarily excite me. It’s easy music to put on just about any time, but I’ve listened a few times and nothing in particular really grabbed me as a standout. The production is really good, with lots of layers, and a shimmery ambience, reminiscent of Beck’s last two albums. While the hooks are sweet and catchy, nothing’s getting stuck in my head. In the end, it comes down to what I really want to devote my time to. This album is enjoyable, but it doesn’t do enough to get me really excited about it. — 7.5/10