Tarquin Manek

Tarquin Manek is one half of the experimental electronic, kind of darkwave Australian duo Tarcar (whom you should totally check out), but has just released his first full length solo effort on Blackest Ever Black.  Here's how they describe the album:

"A unique synthesis of time-dilating folk-jazz romanticism, brittle chamber dub and plasmic post-techno electronics."

That's better than i could ever hope to do.  At any rate, the songs are weird and hypnotic and fascinating.  Listen to "Sassafras Gesundheit" below and get the "Tarquin Magnet" LP here.

Squadra Omega

Still combing through 2015 for releases that i missed, though 2016 offers up some goodies today (Bowie!), and i find myself tripping through Italian jazz-fusion-krautrock-psych troubadours Squadra Omega's May release "Altri Occhi Ci Guardano," and man is it something.  The record ebbs and flows and pushes your brain inwards and outwards, smearing your grey matter across an ever expanding universe.  It sounds like John Zorn and Ennio Morricone making a record with Goblin.  Start your trip now.  Listen to the desert guitar/surf-tinged "Sospesi Nell 'Oblio" below and grab the record from Sound of Cobra.

White Denim - Holda You (I'm Psycho)

Hey, there's a new White Denim jam out there.  New album "Stiff" is due in March on Downtown Records, but listen to the first taste, "Holda You (I'm Psycho)" below.

Odd Nosdam - T r i s h

It's hard to believe it's been almost 5 years since we lost Broadcast's Trish Keenan.  In 2013, Anticon member/producer/musician Odd Nosdam released a very limited cassette EP tribute to the late singer, and it's getting a vinyl reissue this month on Sonic Cathedral.  It's hazy.  It's beautiful.  It's wonderful.  Listen to "T r i s h" below.

Cross Record

It's always a joy to find new music growing in your own back yard.  In the case of Cross Record, that would be Dripping Springs, Texas, a small town right outside of Austin.  A blend of dark folk, goth, psych, and drone, with a light layer of doom, the band's music is somehow dreamy, haunting, hypnotizing, and foreboding all at the same time.  Get the upcoming "Wabi-Sabi" LP later this month from Ba Da Bing Records and listen to "Basket" below.

Teeth of the Sea

UK experimental weirdos Teeth of the Sea released their fourth album, "Highly Deadly Black Tarantula" a couple of months back, and it feels like the culmination of everything the band has produced up this point.  A wonderful mix of prog rock, industrial, electronic, noise, drone, and endless experimentation, the record can certainly be a challenge, but a highly rewarding one.  Get the album from Norman Records or here, and listen to the crawling closer "Love Theme for 1984" below.

Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld

Here's another one of those records from last year that for some reason or another completely fell off my radar.  Saxophonist Colin Stetson and violinist Sarah Neufeld (of Arcade Fire) create complex and breathtaking compositions, the two instruments pulsing and throbbing against each other, fingers massaging your cranial cavity, the sounds pushing you further in, a fantastic inner journey.  It's almost overwhelming.  Listen to "The Sun Roars into View" below and get the "Never Were the Way She Was" LP from Constellation Records.

Turbo Kid

I posted about the Le Matos and Pawws track "No Tomorrow" from the "Turbo Kid" soundtrack last year when Mondo/Deathwaltz released the 7" single.  The score itself is pretty amazing too.  The LP appears to be sold out, but you can still grab the download or CD here.  Listen to "Wasteland" below.

Arca - Urchin

2016 is here.  Happy New Year everybody.  Here's a new, free track from producer Arca called "Urchin."  Listen and download below and enjoy.

Happy New Year!

And 2015 is done.  Just like that.  Whatever you decide to do tonight, just be sure to be careful out there.  Happy New Year!