Good morning, Midweek. Spring is officially here. I've opened the windows.  First thing I checked out today was the title track of the upcoming new collaboration between Danny Brown and JPEGMAFIA , Scaring The Hoes .  The distinct and character-rich voices of each artist aside, the snare beat sounds like it was mic'd in a crawlspace, scratchy tenor sax scribbles across the track like a kindergartner enthusiastically dragging a marker across paper with a tight fist. Add a simple bass groove and claps.  I love it.  When thinking about minimalism in terms of production, the tinniness and sonic anemia of trap/drill beats and the ubiquity that this sound has had over the last decade or more across a multitude of artists hasn't had consistent appeal for me. That said, I get it: soundtracking a club, the bass drops are effective and the vibe is the draw.  But, "Scaring The Hoes" is minimalism done well. Looking forward to this album. __________ The Laurie Anderson all...

Translated, "en glad stund" means "a happy moment."  A saxophone wheezes, light gasps taken between straining exhalations that barely gauge an audible whisper until a few clear and flatlined phrases are achieved overtop a sinister and steady tonal pulse. The eerie and suffocating environment that's composed and performed for "THERE ARE SOME WORLDS WHERE ALL DREAMS DIE (en glad stund)," the recently shared new single from the upcoming LP,  THEIR POWER REACHED ACROSS SPACE AND TIME​-​TO DEFY THEM WAS DEATH​-​OR WORSE , does not convey "a happy moment." Instead, these "worlds where all dreams die" facilitate an obviously intentional dystopian flavor, and it's difficult not to imagine some near-salvation scenario where the victim is close to safety but suddenly struggling as the advantage has changed hands and cries for help are buried as death envelopes the victim like a soundproof shroud. There's a lot of drama in those seven ...

Papa M performing at Underground Arts, 4/24/19 Pre-pandemic Philly, April 24th, 2019: I had the pleasure of seeing David Pajo (likely best known for his work with Slint) under his Papa M handle open for Sunn O))) at Underground Arts. Sat alone on a stool and hunched over his guitar, Pajo offered an understated and relatively quiet solo performance which at the time seemed adverse to the ensuing intensity of the Stephen O'Malley/Greg Anderson dronequake. I'd seen Sunn O))) a couple times by this point preceded by loud-as-fuck performances by Eagle Twin and Dead In The Dirt, so I was intrigued that they decided to not double-down on the loud, but instead offer sonic respite before the crowd even knew they'd need it.  Considering, though, how open to collaboration Sunn O))) has been over the years, incorporating both the expected metal alum (Attila Csihar, Wrest, Scott Conner, Ulver, Boris) with creative partnerships based outside the genre (Julian Cope, Scott Walker, Hildur ...

So, that's another November billed and submitted for review. It's early 12/1 and I'm an hour into the workday, taking healthy swigs from a lukewarm large cup of 7-11's finest blend and struggling to stay focused on any task that needs to be handled and completed today. Focus has been a problem, something I mean to fix this coming year. Due to the frequent interruptions and fire drills I'll experience over the course of a day, the need for me to pivot at a moment's notice often leaves me unable to keep track of my prior tasks. I'll repeat steps and miss others. It's yet another boundary that I need to be able to set and communicate to workplace peers: "Yes, I'll take care of that in a minute, but please let me finish what I'm working on."  I'm turning 46 in 20 days. You'd think I'd have my shit together at this point. In line with getting ones shit together, "Best Of"s and "Favorites Of"s lists are being c...

It's a Wednesday evening of sorting through browser tabs. Some tracks for your perusal:  Russian Circles: "Gnosis" (from Gnosis  releasing 8/19/22 by Sargent House ) Courtesy of Rarely Unable.  Buñuel : "It's All Mine" (from Killers Like Us released by Profound Lore ) Courtesy of Rarely Unable.  Child Bite : "Erect for Dystopia" (from Multicult / Child Bite split 12" by Hex Records ) MULTICULT/ CHILD BITE split 12" by Multicult/ Child Bite Kali Malone : "Living Torch II" (from Living Torch by  GRM Portraits ) Living Torch by Kali Malone Die Welttraumforscher:  "Glücklich. Traurig. Seltsam" (from Liederbuch releasing 8/19/22 by Bureau B ) Liederbuch by Die Welttraumforscher Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

I'm a sucker for a muddy bass line. Insect Ark , owned and operated by the excellent Dana Schechter , has a new release coming out called, The Vanishing . Out on 2/28 via Profound Lore, Insect Ark, now with the aid of drummer Andy Patterson , continues to marry eerie soundscapes with hypnotic rhythmic loops. This project grows with every release and the results are always worth a listen. Audio, links, and info provided by Earsplit PR. INSECT ARK: Instrumental Psychedelic Doom Duo Completes Work On New Album, The Vanishing , Set For Release February 28th Through Profound Lore Records; New Track Streaming Photo by Chad Kelco INSECT ARK — currently made up of founder Dana Schechter ( Swans ) and Andy Patterson (ex SubRosa ) — have been crafting uncomfortable soundscapes that feel both intimate and icy cold since 2011. Nightmarish horror film-like visions, outer space travel, and gritty noir textures were explored in their previous offerings — the much-praised Portal / We...

Some new singles and others I've been meaning to post. Enjoy. Death Valley Girls :  " More Dead " (via Stereo Sanctity /  Suicide Squeeze  / YouTube) Via Stereo Sanctity: After recently announcing that their new album Darkness Rains is set for release on Oct 5th via Suicide Squeeze Records, Los Angeles doom boogie/dystopian punk/occult glam rockers Death Valley Girls have shared a new single & video entitled " More Dead ". Speaking about the new track, the band commented: "After having experiences with people we love struggling to stay alive, we believe the harder the battle, the less one is able to ask for help. We wanted to write a song about how important and necessary each person is, especially these days. We need numbers now more than ever to fight the good fight." The video director Dylan Mars Greenberg went on to add “I wanted to create a video that dealt with a serious issue that affected both Bonnie and I but in an abs...

Sunn O))) is now twenty years old. For those of you who've breathed the frequency all these years and accepted that maximum volume does indeed yield maximum results, the story begins with the LA Rehearsal/Rifftape March 1998 demo, which was recently issued and quickly bought up from Sunn O)))'s webstore.  Following that release, the band's WHITE1 and WHITE2 albums have been reissued.  Myself a fan of both albums, I am very excited about these reissues, which have been repackaged as 180-gram white vinyl double-LPs with posters.  Both are now available to purchase from the webstore .   Please leave me a couple of copies: I have to wait a full week until payday. If you're interested, you can find more Sunn O)))-related stuff here: • A review of 2009's Monoliths & Dimensions   • A review of the 2011 reissue of ØØ Void • A review of Soused , Sunn O))) 's collaboration with Scott Walker •  A review of 2015's Kannon from...

Boris Dear Sargent House Released: 7.14.17 No Ripcord review Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Boris Pink (Deluxe Edition) Sargent House Released: 7.8.16 Originally released: 2005 via Diwphalanx Records (Japan); 2006 via Southern Lord Recordings (U.S.) I Heart Noise review Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Boris   Pink (Deluxe Edition) Sargent House Released: 7.8.16 Originally released: 2005 via Diwphalanx Records (Japan); 2006 via Southern Lord Recordings (U.S.) * I'm in the midst of finishing up a review of the Pink reissue for I Heart Noise .  I'm hoping to have that out very soon. ** While the tendency for Boris to genre-hop isn't necessarily something one can glean from a single track, this aspect of the band makes them difficult to readily categorize and I think Isabella picked up on that.   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...