ALBUM REVIEW: Chelsea Wolfe – The Dark


Since we are still pretending Mistake in Parting did not happen, The Dark (Loma Vista Recordings) is Chelsea Wolfe’s ninth “official” studio album. Here is where she steps into the big time, so to speak. It only makes sense, as artists she influenced like Ethel Cain are currently playing the fabulous Ms. Wolfe, so it is her time to step out from behind the ghostly veil of reverb and prove who she is by singing out with a more stripped, organic production for the soulful “Cold” that opens the album.  Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: A.A. Williams – Solstice



A.A. Williams raised the bar for herself with 2020’s Forever Blue, making it the album that Solstice (Reigning Phoenix Music) finds itself going head-to-head with. “Poison” opens the album with the kind of brooding apocalyptic simmer that makes it clear she is not just another haunted Folk crooner, as it locks into a solid groove. There is a more depressive vibe to the second song that carries a slight drone to the minimal arrangement, giving her vocals room before swelling into something that sonically has more in common with post-Rock. “Little By Little” has more of a groove, and even with the synths darkening things in the background, it is the most accessible song thus far, thanks to how the vocals interplay with the drums, as the guitars slowly build to expand the dynamics. Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Kariti – Still Life


One of the many things I love about being a music journalist is the never-ending stream of new music that comes my way on any given day. Sometimes it’s good stuff, sometimes it’s terrible, and sometimes it’s “where have you been all my life?”  The last one is how I felt after just one listen to Kariti’s latest album, Still Life (Lay Bare Recordings). Continue reading →