Foxy Digitalis
At the heart of Mat Muntz’s new album, Phantom Islands, is the idea of radical syncretism, music from everywhere and nowhere. “This is a “counterfeit folk dance” which I imagine to be from the phantom island of Satanazes, a nonexistent place off the coast of Iberia,” Muntz explains. Muntz and the stellar ensemble concoct imaginary sonic […]
After they contributed to Lee “Scratch” Perry’s Guide to the Universe (by New Age Doom) and only spoke on the phone once, Tim Lefebvre and Gregory Macdonald started a new collaborative project. With Lefebvre improvising beats and basslines in his studio, Macdonald took those pieces and molded them into tracks. The result is one hell of a […]
“Trolley Portal” tiptoes in at lightspeed before a quick pause, then jettisons into a bright, mythical universe. Andy Loebs creates their own narrative map that sparks from countless perspectives, leading to this joyful spread of intersecting sonic matrices. Bass slaps dance atop swirling pulses, all of which send askew looks at the cut-and-scrape sax samples […]
As a phrase, Jasmine on a Night in July perfectly sums up the atmosphere created on Scree’s debut studio album.Late nights and summer breezes flow through the trio’s wistful inquisitions throughout the first single, “Questions For the Moon,” situated somewhere between quiet bliss and longing. Guitarist and principal songwriter Ryan El-Solh captures a pensive spirit with […]
There’s a revelatory catharsis running through “Jesus Knew” like a vein of gold hidden under a mountain of rubble. Guy Barash is joined by an incredible cast of artists for Killdeer: pianist Kathleen Supové, guitarist Eyal Maoz, trumpeter Frank London, and author Nick Flynn. Sonic atmospheres simmering with tense electronics and angular guitar explorations lay the […]
A breathtaking mix of catharsis, weariness, and aspiration flickers like golden fireworks through “Nazama,” the final track on Nyokabi Kariũki’s forthcoming FEELING BODY. Borne from a period of extended illness, a gauntlet of emotions emerges from an aqueous soundworld, where recovery opens pathways to growth and reflection. Kariũki uses layers of her voice to create her […]
Lackadaisical melodies gather strength inside our afterthoughts, collapsing into melodic personal narratives adrift in light-as-air aural mazes. The Seattle trio of Lena Farr-Morrissey, Sam Fason, and, for the first time, Cam Hancock glide through diaristic dream zones. Farr-Morrissey’s plaintive delivery pulls us into this vibrant cocoon. “Copycat” is surprisingly lush, reminiscent of 90s indie pop […]
Radio fragments are the unexpected guideposts throughout Lia Kohl’s ambitious new album, The Ceiling Reposes. Static-laden voices pepper the glassine synth expressions and waving cello arrangements, tethering sonic ephemerality to a moment of familiarity. From a Vashon Island (where these radio samples are from) weather report that might as well be an inner mantra, “Weather, as […]
Floating somewhere in the ephemeral drifts in between worlds, Lunar Corp’s forthcoming album, Tourism, is a guided journey through sonic worlds. Opener “Poetic Complications” combines organic undercurrents with soaring synth melodies. Birdsong and square waves hold candles against the fading light to bring these emotive chord progressions back into their warm cocoon. Lunar Corp’s Dandyano Zentveld […]