On Labyrinthe, (Self-Released) prolific, anonymous, French genre-defying duo Non Serviam lean into their Goth-Noise tendencies with a lo-fi collection of ghostly, ghastly gloom and dread.
Originating as a solo project ten years (or more) ago, it was once they became a duo (and released debut full-length Le Cœur Bat) in 2021 that Non Serviam really got going. Continue reading
Eye is the new project of MWWB (formerly Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard) frontwoman Jessica Ball and Dark Light marks its debut following MWWB’s 2022 album The Harvest. Joining Ball in her latest venture are keyboardist Jonny and Drummer Gid Goundrey (Gulp/Ghostlawns/Martin Carr). Continue reading
Mirza Ramic doesn’t do anything halfway.
The musical artist and producer helped to found Arms And Sleepers, an electronic trip hop outfit that was formed back in 2006 and has since released 13 full-lengths and 20 EPs in that time. His latest effort is no less impactful.Continue reading
Venerated singer-songwriter PJ Harvey has returned with her tenth album, the first since her 2016 release The Hope Six Demolition Project. This new record is entitled I Inside the Old Year Dying (Partisan Records) and Harvey has once again collaborated with producers Flood and John Parish.
Brooklyn, New York trio Spotlights (Sarah Quintero – bass/vocals, Mario Quintero – guitar/vocals/keyboards and programming, and Chris Enriquez on drums/percussion/vocals) have been releasing music since 2016 when they debuted with the Tidals album. Since then they have garnered fans such as Chino Moreno and have toured with the aforementioned’s band Deftones as well as Refused, Quicksand, and Mr. Bungle.
Gothic rock Norwegian heroine Liv Kristine is integrity personified when it comes to representing her chosen genres, the ideal ambassador of grace, fun, shimmery, and shadowy melodic reflection. River Of Diamonds (Metalville Records ) is one of her most digestible yet nonetheless compelling efforts yet, the closest comparison is a merging of a lighter variant of the love rock of H.I.M. with the captivating gothic roots she is known for.
Reminiscence (Eisenwald Records) is the first full-length album from Germany’s Ellereve (the alias of singer-songwriter Elisa Giulia Teschner), following an EP and several singles.
GGGOLDDD, based in the Netherlands, have for the past decade been releasing material that defies genre conventions and blurs the boundaries between all manner of musical styles, from Metal, to post-Punk, to Pop, to Trip-Hop. Their fifth full-length release, This Shame Should Not Be Mine (Artoffact Records) is based around deeply personal themes to vocalist Milena Eva, who uses this record, conceived during the 2020 lockdown, to address traumatic events including sexual assault.
Deftones had a banner year in 2020, dropping their impeccable Ohms (Reprise Records, review here) and celebrating the 20th anniversary of arguably their best album, White Pony. Unbeknownst to fans, and music journos, there is an entire secret history of White Pony the band revealed this year. For years we had been hearing that the band was interested in a remix album, either of an entire past release or perhaps a new album. It turns out, the band always intended White Pony to have a companion album or EP of remixes, called Black Stallion. Among the fanbase, this potential release lived in the lore of their minds, as much or more than the Eros sessions we may, or may not ever see the light of day (and we understand why guys). Now the band has capped off their year with the fleshed out and realized Black Stallion release (also Reprise).
Success has a way of messing with a good band. First world problems compared to the millions of bands that never make it, sure. However, so often when an emerging band that has fast become a genre leader, big corporate record labels can foul up the flow. This was almost the case of White Pony by Deftones, and the case where the hype was lived up to by pencil pushers, bean counters, and greed almost wrecked the game. White Pony is the band’s pivotal third album, where they built off the stylistic changes that came in with Around The Fur (Maverick) and pushed their sound further than before. In the process, they severed themselves far from the Nu-Metal wave that was exploding at the time and firmly created a new camp of “Deftones Music” as a category. That is, until, the label got in their business later on.Continue reading