Foxy Digitalis
Bold movements underscore the drama of Bolt Ruin’s new, imaginary soundtrack, False Awakening Loops. The Belgian producer creates tense atmospheres with gleaming melodies and scalpel-sharp arpeggios. False Awakening Loops stings with an underlying urgency to dig through the countless layers of our inner worlds, blasting through mental walls and sensitive delusions. Further, Bolt Ruin is joined by collaborators […]
Phosphene is the Portland, Oregon-based duo of Rachel Frankel and Matt Hemmerich, and on their new album, Transmute, they push their sound further into the universe. Between the vulnerability woven into the lyrics and sonic elements and the expansive palette give Frankel and Hemmerich more space to explore inside these shoegaze-adjacent, experimental pop songs. Ryan Huff’s […]
A Bird in the Hand was my first introduction to Zack Foley’s work but from the first moments of “Nooch Lady,” it stuck. The San Antonio-based improvising vocalist began exploring the use of fuzz pedals with his voice during the height of the pandemic. “My sophomore record A Bird in the Hand is the fruit of joyful experimentation […]
Continuing the thematic explorations of Changing Landscapes (Mina Las Pintadas) with the latest entry, Changing Landscapes (Zompopa), Arthur King find inspiration in an unlikely place. I won’t give it away and will let Peter Walker’s breakdown dig into the magic. These sonic landscapes are mesmerizing with their familiar ingredients presented in novel expressions. The ensemble on this album […]
There’s not much more I can say about Suki Sou’s outstanding Notes on Listening that I didn’t already say on Foxy Digitalis Daily. Still, her breakdown of the album here opened up new meanings and contexts, expanding my appreciation for it. Her openness and consideration – vividly on display on the album – shine through in this write-up. […]
I am smitten with Karen Vogt’s new album, Le Mans. As I’ve long been a fan of her work, I was shocked when I listened to this for the first time. Her music is so often ethereal and weightless, built on layers of various instrumentation and, of course, her voice (Losing the Sea is a beautiful example). […]
It’s easy to get instantly lost in the simple, weightless vocal harmonies that open Sophia Hansen-Knarhoi’s beguiling EP, Wildflowers. Effortless melodies rise skyward, propelled through space by wistful guitar motifs and lilting arrangements. I am captivated by Hansen-Knarhoi’s voice, whose velvet timbre and vintage texture imbue each passage with ageless reverence. Moments small and large punctuate […]
From the opening, frenetic bombast of “Do You Spiral Down Often?” to the downtrodden dream zones of “Sinking,” Youniss sends out a series of visceral sonic missives on his new album, White Space. Every time I’ve listened to this album, it’s stayed with me for hours after the last grinding guitar notes fade away. It’s emotionally […]
Once the neon mist lifts and we’re left with a horizon view, Polinski’s Telex From MIDI City takes flight. Synth arrangements drip with romantic longing and hazy visages from another world. Built atop a frenetic foundation of intricate, angular rhythms, vaporized circuitry finds new life as reclaimed memories from beyond the divide. Arpeggios glean the emotion from […]