I had a good time today. It's not often that over the course of a workday I'm able to direct some attention to my periphery, just enough that I keep to the necessary tasks while engaging with something more worthwhile. In this case, I spent some time today checking out some long overdue songs and artists that I'd meaning to investigate for the past few weeks. It's been a bit since I sorted through browser tabs.  That said, there's a lot to review. I hope you enjoy. Feel free to comment.  ____________________________ Deniz Cuylan: "Hidden Language Of Four" (from Rings Of Juniper releasing 10/14/22 by Hush Hush Records ) Deniz Cuylan · Hidden Language Of Four Courtesy of C L A N D E S T I N E  L A B E L  S E R V I C E S. Deru : "The Dirt" (from  We Will Live On  releasing 10/28/22 by Friends Of Friends ) Courtesy of Terrorbird Media.  Bill Nace : "E:E" (from  Through A Room  releasing 11/11/22 by  Drag City )   Courtesy of Drag Ci...

To whom it may interest, Collecting sounds over the past couple weeks for a new entry for my  2020 Playlist . I'd been largely absent for most of July thanks to the demands of my day job, the high doses of pain killers I had to ingest thanks to a severe back issue, and other distractions and otherwise tiring things that required attention and focus. I'm hoping to have more to say in the coming months, (though I've made THAT promise before). If you've hung in there, thank you. If you haven't, maybe I can win back your approval. Hope you're all well and staying safe. Please wear your masks. Enjoy. _________________________________________ numün :  "voyage au soleli" (via Clandestine Label Services / Musique Impossible / YouTube) Album Pre-Order https://music.joelmellin.com/album/voyage-au-soleil via Clandestine Label Services Numün is a trio of New York City soundscape designers who combine a wide range of music ...

Sorry to have quiet on the singles front for a while. Enjoy. HARMS : "Car Outside" (via Good Eye Records / Substream Magazine / Soundcloud) Via Good Eye Records: While playing with his other band, What Moon Things , Brooklyn-based artist Jake Harms began to start to feel an itch to make something wholly his own. It didn't start as a record - just a group of songs that seemed to make sense out of a fog of journal entries and scraps and demos and half-finished ideas throughout the years.  Working as HARMS , the inspiration for his forthcoming, debut EP, Aquarium , came from a poem he had previously written about the feeling of living in New York City for the first time as an adult: walking around is like being at the aquarium observing 6 tons per square meter of pressure on the glass dividing you and everything else The resulting EP finds Harms crafting pressurized dark rock fusing the goth grandeur of The Cure with the lonely indie pop of Porc...

An album both despairing and lovely, I’ve been listening to Saltland ’s second LP, A Common Truth , over the last week or so. The solo moniker of Rebecca Foon , co-founder of Esmerine and member of Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra , Saltland’s latest LP is a composed reflection on climate change and its environmental and social impact. With a fascinating marriage of electronic/ambient elements and rich, textural string arrangements, plus instrumental assistance from Warren Ellis of The Dirty Three and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds , Foon’s commanding presence, both instrumentally and vocally, moves through this piece with a captivating blend of emotion and warmth. I find her vocal in “I Only Wish This For You,” particularly haunting, her inflection breathy and kind of devastating. On the instrumental track “Forward Eyes I,” it’s as if you can hear the promise of a new day being slowly eradicated as time elapses, opportunity fading into the ether as daylight fades. A C...

David Rosen : "Devil" (via Wally Madson/Soundcloud) Earthen Sea : "About That Time" (via Rarely Unable/ Kranky /Soundcloud) Serafim Tsotsonis : "Imaginary Fields" (via Terrorbird Media /Hush Hush Records/Soundcloud) Peter Broderick : "It's a Storm When I Sleep" (via Julian T. Schoen/ Erased Tapes /Soundcloud Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Child Bite   Negative Noise Housecore Records Released: 4.1.16 Kaada/Patton Bacteria Cult Ipecac Recordings Released: 4.1.16 No Ripcord review Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

For twenty years, Brian John Mitchell of Silber Records has been independently releasing ambient and drone projects from numerous performers and bands while publishing zines and comic books and holding down paid gigs in the real world.  While I have written about some of Silber's releases in the past, I thought I'd take the opportunity to throw a spotlight on the label by posting about three new releases for June.  If you like what you hear, I encourage you to head over to the site and spend a couple bucks.   Yellow6 Springsun/Conrad#2 Silber Records Released: 5.30.16 See that cover?  That's exactly what Yellow6 's two-track Springsun/Conrad#2 release sounds like.  Gorgeous and vast, it's the type of lush and ambient arrangement you want to hear as dawn transitions into morning.  You can purchase the album digitally here . springsun by Yellow6    Chvad SB Phenomenalism, Cartesian Doubt and Bomb #20 Silber Records Released: 5.3...

For this Memorial Day, I recommend All Will Prosper , the 2011 release from composer Keith Kenniff 's Goldmund project.  This release contains what I believe to be one of the most moving renditions of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" I've ever heard.  It's a loose and lonely arrangement, and it beautifully conveys sadness, struggle, and, what I imagine to be, the small glimmer of hope that a homecoming will occur.  All Will Prosper by Goldmund To all the men and women who've defended our country, I thank you.  Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

"This album contains material which a truly free society would neither fear nor suppress. In some socially retarded areas, religious fanatics and ultra-conservative political organizations violate your First Amendment Rights by attempting to censor rock & roll albums. We feel that this is un-Constitutional and un-American.   As an alternative to these government-supported programs (designed to keep you docile and ignorant), Barking Pumpkin is pleased to provide stimulating digital audio entertainment for those of you who have outgrown the ordinary. The language and concepts contained herein are GUARANTEED NOT TO CAUSE ETERNAL TORMENT IN THE PLACE WHERE THE GUY WITH THE HORNS AND THE POINTED STICK CONDUCTS HIS BUSINESS. This guarantee is as real as the threats of the video fundamentalists who use attacks on rock music in their attempt to transform America into a nation of check-mailing nincompoops (in the name of Jesus Christ). If there is a hell, its fires wait for the...

Kaada/Patton : "Immodium" (via Rarely Unable/YouTube) Dälek : "Guaranteed Struggle" (via Rarely Unable/Vimeo) Dälek - Guaranteed Struggle (OFFICIAL VIDEO) from deadverse recordings on Vimeo . So Pitted : "feed me" (via Sub Pop/Live Nation TV/YouTube) Gorod : "Inner Alchemy" (via Earsplit PR/ MetalSucks /YouTube) Kyson : "You" (via Friends of Friends/YouTube) Hooded Fang : "A Final Hello" (via Force Field PR/ Under The Radar /YouTube) Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Today, the world lost the essential component to the most essential rock group: Photo from The Beatles Rarity . Sir George Martin has passed away at the age of 90.  He was the visionary producer who'd signed The Beatles to Parlophone Records , and acted as the band's chief collaborator, arranger, and producer.  His remarkable ear and brilliance as a composer enabled him to act as The Beatles' guide through their well-documented evolution as artists and songwriters, the vast knowledge and understanding of the studio he possessed critical to the development of what are some of the greatest albums ever recorded.  To him, we owe many, many thanks. Here's a clip of Sir Martin talking about the making of "Strawberry Fields Forever:" As fascinating as he is when describing his process and how he and The Beatles were able to achieve what were, for their time, very innovative feats in sound through experimentation and educated trickery, the work itself re...

A patiently composed and theatrically stylish new single from Kaada/Patton has surfaced called "Red Rainbow."  This is the first single from the duo's upcoming release, Bacteria Cult , which is the first LP spawned from the collaborative efforts of John Kaada and Mike Patton since 2004's Romances .  With the mood of a thriller, the pace of which eventually culminates into a rather sinister finale, "Red Rainbow" is performed by the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra .  Patton's vocal melody adds character to the composition, as if to add an air of distinction.  Despite its dimension of impending dread, its captivating tone and rich undercurrents of zig-zagging harmony offer much for the ear to absorb.   Bacteria Cult is currently available for pre-order.  You can listen to the track below.  All info and links were provided by Speakeasy PR. Bacteria Cult by Kaada/Patton KAADA/PATTON SHARE NEW SONG,"RED RAINBOW," FROM THE UPCOMING ALBUM, BA...

Faith No More : "Separation Anxiety" (via Speakeasy PR/ Vice /YouTube) Matmos : "Ultimate Care II Excerpt Five" (via Thrill Jockey Records/YouTube) Richard J. Birkin : "Vigil I" (via Rarely Unable/Soundcloud) Heron Oblivion : "Oriar" (via Sub Pop/ Stereogum /YouTube) Tsyphur Zalan : "Dobryy Vechir" (via Us/Them/ Vice's The Creator's Project /YouTube) Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

The Greatest Hoax : "Opus No. 29" (via Terrorbird /Soundcloud) Kowloon Walled City : "Grievances" (via Rarely Unable/ Neurot Recordings /Soundcloud) Gnaw Their Tongues : "Through Flesh" (via Earsplit PR/ Crucial Blast /YouTube) Nicolas Jaar : "Fight" (via Force Field PR/ R & S Records /YouTube) Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead