There are a few artists in history whose identity is shrouded in secrecy – The Residents, Buckethead, the majority of Goat and Darkplace. In an age where social media is so prevalent and where privacy is seemingly such a dirty word, it’s refreshing that Darkplace has chosen to keep himself/herself(?) anonymous so as to let the music do the talking. Based in Sweden About the End of the World (Icons Creating Evil Art) marks the mysterious entity’s debut full-length.
For reasons well documented that we are not going to touch on here, notverynicecream (Hassle Records) the sophomore record from Bristolian avant-garde noise merchants Phoxjaw, finally sees the light of day some six months after first scheduled. And focusing solely on the music, is this a record that was worth the wait? In a nutshell … Yes!
They say (well, Turisas did, which is probably as unlikely a band to reference in the introduction to a review of a solo album by the vocalist from The Menzingers as you’re going to get) no good story ever starts with drinking tea. But, maybe, just maybe this one does. For the journey of Don’t Go Throwing Roses In My Grave (Epitaph Records), the first solo album from Gregor Barnett begins with the premature closing of one adventure and the unplanned void of returning home to… no plans. Just peace, quiet, solitude, and, well, whatever hot drink of choice our man from Pennsylvania chooses to imbibe the morning.