Futuropaco

Ah, that library sound aesthetic, the likes of which has served everyone from underground acts like Belbury Poly or Maston to absolute legends like Broadcast and Stereolab, retro notes of psych and jazz and Krautrock meshing to create something that sounds familiar as hell, yet brand new.  Futuropaco, the project of Justin Pinkerton, makes this kind of noise in spades.  Check out "La Torre Cade" below and pre-order the self-titled record here from El Paraiso.

Exploded View - Raven Raven

September brings us a new album of warped post punk from the Mexico City based Exploded View, and the always hypnotic vocals of the Nico-channeling Anika.  Things feel icier this time around on the "Obey" LP, to where you can practically see your breath while listening to "Raven Raven."  Check it out below and pre-order here from Sacred Bones.

Dilly Dally

I caught Toronto band Dilly Dally on a whim a couple of years ago at SXSW, and the group's '90s alt-rock aesthetic just hit all the right buttons for me.  New album "Heaven" is headed our way in September on Partisan which you can pre-order here.  In the meantime, watch the video for "I Feel Free" below.

Constant Smiles

And now for some lo-fi, shoegazey, bedroom psych pop to float around and get lost in for awhile.  Massachusetts artist Constant Smiles will provide the sounds and echoes.  Listen to "Thoughts of the Past Take 3" below and download the "Lost" album here.

Death Bells

Here's some Echo and the Bunnymen-indebted, jangly guitar rock from Australian band Death Bells.  The group's new "Echoes/Move Through Me" 7" is out now on Burning Rose.  Listen to both tracks below and snag a copy of the record here.

Mass Gothic

Mass Gothic, the solo project of former Hooray For Earth member Noel Heroux, has now become a husband/wife duo with the addition of Heroux's partner Jessica Zambri into the mix.  New album "I've Tortured You Long Enough" is a kind of spousal back and forth and drops on Sub Pop at the end of August.  Check out opening track "Dark Window" below and pre-order the record here.

Friday Horror Trailer - Baskin

RIP Harlan Ellison

Sad news folks, as it's being reported that renowned author Harlan Ellison has passed away at the age of 84.  Do yourselves a favor and read something by the celebrated writer as soon as possible.  RIP Harlan Ellison.

"For a brief time I was here, and for a brief time, I mattered."

Emma Ruth Rundle

Red Sparrowes and Marriages member Emma Ruth Rundle has a new solo album of brooding slowburners headed our way in September on Sargent House.  Listen to the goth-tinged dark and heavy folk of "Fever Dreams" below and pre-order the upcoming "On Dark Horses" LP here.

Hater

Man, the Swedes sure do know how to do pop music.  Synthy pop band Hater have a new record, "Siesta," headed our way in September, and i'll let the descriptor on the group's Bandcamp page describe it, as it's way better than i could ever do:

Resolute in their sound, ‘Siesta’ is the perfect soundtrack for that summer romance and the inevitable break up. Heartbreak has never sounded so sweet!

That pretty much sums it up perfectly.  Listen to "It's So Easy" below (not to be confused with the G n' R track) and pre-order the record here via Fire Records.

Marissa Nadler

September brings us a new album of dark, goth-tinged folk from Marissa Nadler.  Pre-order "For My Crimes" here from Sacred Bones, and listen to the moody and somber album opening title track below.

Still Corners

Dreamy pop duo Still Corners have a new album headed our way in August and first single "Black Lagoon" is an airy delight.  Watch the video for the song below and pre-order the upcoming "Slow Air" LP here from Wrecking Light.

Friday (Thursday) Horror Trailer - Christine

I'll be taking a couple of days off to visit with my sister for the next couple of days, so here's this week's Friday Horror Trailer a day early...

Uniform

Industrial noise duo Uniform is now a trio, and aside from having just released a collaborative album with The Body a couple of weeks ago, the band now has a new record on the horizon as well.  "The Long Walk," inspired by and named for the Stephen King novel of the same name, utilizes those same themes and abundant cynicism to decry late stage capitalism, organized religion, and the overall ugliness of the human condition.  Watch the video for "The Walk" below and pre-order the record here from Sacred Bones.

Sam Gendel and Sam Wilkes

I only just discovered the experimental electronic jazz of saxophonist Sam Gendel a couple of weeks ago, and now the artist has another new album out, this time around as a collaboration with like minded musician Sam Wilkes.  The duo crafted the unassuming and bubbling "Music for Saxofone & Bass Guitar," a slowburn of improvisation using the aforementioned sax and bass as well as some electronic ambience and tones.  Listen to album opener "BOA" below and snag the cassette here from Leaving Records.

Vicktor Taiwò

I caught Vicktor Taiwò on a whim during SXSW at an Innovative Leisure day party, and was quite blown away by his dense, atmospheric, and smoky brand of electric soul and R&B.  His album "Joy Comes in Spirit" came out a couple of weeks ago on the label and it's definitely worth a listen.  Check out "Shovel Moonlight" below and get the record here.

ORB

Australian heavy psych band ORB have a new, as of yet untitled album heading our way sometime in the near future.  For the time being, they've released a song from said album for our listening pleasure, the thumping, crunchy "Space Between the Planets."  Listen below, and be on the lookout for that record soon from Flightless.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day!

New Parents

New Parents is the project of former Sore Eros (hey, i remember them) member Adam Langellotti.  The artist does a kind of lo-fi bedroom take on psych-tinged folk rock.  Listen to "Well" below and get the "Transient Response" album here.

The Babe Rainbow

Here's some sunshiny psych pop from Australia's The Babe Rainbow.  New album "Double Rainbow" is out next month on Flightless.  In the meantime, watch the wonderfully childlike video from "Supermoon" below.

Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread

Maryland's Michael Nau makes a kind of country, folk, and psych indebted Americana, dusty old pop songs that sound like love letters to a bygone era of sound.  His latest album with The Mighty Thread, August's titled "Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread" begins with "Less Than Positive," a little bit of wall-of-sound pop folk that's got Lee Hazlewood's influence all over it.  Listen below, and pre-order the record here from the artist.

Colin Stetson - Hereditary OST

Easily one of the most amazing artists i've been lucky enough to see perform in the last decade is the extraordinary saxophonist Colin Stetson.  Mostly known for his work with indie rock groups like Arcade Fire and Bon Iver, the artist really hits his peaks when he goes at it solo, creating all manner of haunting an exhilarating sound with his sax.  And recently, he was tapped to score the new horror film "Hereditary," which if my fellow horror hound friends are to be believed, is something quite terrifying.  Stetson's music is the perfect atmospheric match to keep the chill in your spine and goosebumps on your flesh.  Listen to "Funeral" below and get the album from Milan Records.

Empath

Noisy Philly band Empath are set to release a new 7" next month via Get Better Records.  "Environments" was conceived as a short project combining elements of warbly pop with natural field recordings and a whole lot of fuzz, with Side-A representing wind and Side-B representing water.  Watch the video for "Polyfoam" (the wind side) below and pre-order the record here.

Laurel Halo

Laurel Halo has been making odd and unique electronic music for a number of years now, and next month sees the release of her latest, "Raw Silk Uncut Wood," a collection of instrumental songs incorporate cello into slow and meditative sound explorations.  Listen to the title track below and get the record from Latency.

Father Murphy

Back in April, experimental Italian duo Father Murphy released their latest (and possibly last?) album "Rising: Requiem for Father Murphy," a thick and heady collection of dark folk and psychedelia.  The album plays off like some kind of contagious religious hysteria, all speaking in tongues and gyrations from the rafters.  Solemn psych dirges play alongside and within ominous field recordings and ritualistic pagan harmonies all with the fervor of worshipers in a centuries old cathedral.  Eat the body.  Drink the blood.  And listen to "Gradual" below.  Then get the record here via Ramp Local (if you're in the US) or here via Avant! (for everywhere else).

Friday Horror Trailer - Madhouse

Echo Beds

Denver's Echo Beds make noisy and abrasive industrial music to tear the world down to.  New album "Buried Language" is out in August on The Flenser.  Listen to "Still Body" below and pre-order the record here.

Chromatics - Blue Girl

Here's an excellent new video for an excellent new song from Chromatics.  Could the elusive "Dear Tommy" be on the horizon.  Ever the tease, Johnny Jewel, ever the tease.  Watch and listen to "Blue Girl" below.

Low

The long running and influential band Low just announced a new album headed our way in September on Sub Pop.  And they've released three new videos for the first three tracks on the record, hearkening some new sounds for the group.  The moody, slowcore stuff is still evident, but judging from these three new songs, they're incorporating some droney tones and abrasive textures into the mix as well.  And it sounds pretty damn good.  Watch and listen to "Quorum," "Dancing and Blood," and "Fly" below.

Birds In Row

Birds In Row are a French post-hardcore punk band who shroud themselves i secrecy.  They only go by their first initials and do not allow photos of their faces to be taken.  That's cool i guess, but more importantly, they've got a really excellent, moody, and aggressive sound going for them.  Listen to "15-38" below and pre-order the upcoming "We Already Lost the World" LP here from Deathwish.

Spiritualized - I'm Your Man

Ladies and gentlemen, we've got a new album from Spiritualized headed our way in September.  Jason Pierce's long running gospel-psych-pop project has been a staple on my stereo for over two decades now, and i'll always welcome new music with open arms.  Pre-order the "And Nothing Hurt" LP here from Fat Possum, and watch the video for the gorgeous and breezy "I'm Your Man" below.

Suede - The Invisibles

Remember at the end of the '90s and the early '00s when so many bands we grew up listening to called it quits?  And then remember over the last five years or so when a whole bunch of them got back together to tour and record new music?  And how now they're just keeping it going like they never took a decade or more off?  Yeah.  Anyway, Brit-pop originators Suede are following that path nicely, with their third new album since reuniting heading our way in September.  Watch the video for the single "The Invisibles" below, and pre-order the upcoming "The Blue Hour" here.

Blood Wine or Honey

I've spent the majority of my life seeking out new and interesting music, using whatever aides available to me, be it record store employees, music magazines, blogs, etc., but i've got to admit that Bandcamp delivers more than i ever could have dreamed.  It's more than i could ever possible listen to.  Anyway, check out the wild madness of Hong Kong based 3-piece Blood Wine or Honey, and their intoxicating mix of jazz, funk, psychedelia, Afro-beat, Tropicalia, post-punk, and so much more.  It's a kind of world stew of sound the grooves with unyielding experimentation and passion.  Listen to "The Undying Overrated" below and get the "Fear & Celebration" LP here via Do Right Music.

Friday Horror Trailer - The Transfiguration

Bad Times at the El Royale

Well, this looks delightful.

Wooden Shjips

Psych rock band Wooden Shjips have been kicking around for a few years now, and their latest release, "V." finds them broadening their sound into ever mind-expanding territories.  Listen to the chilled and oozing "Staring at the Sun" below and get the record here via Thrill Jockey.

Nothing

Hey, Nothing has a new album of shoegazey metal coming out this August.  Watch the video for moody first single "Zero Day" below and pre-order the upcoming "Dance on the Blacktop" LP here from Relapse.

Suspiria Trailer

I'm not against remakes, as i've enjoyed far, far too many of them to ever be so bold...but i'll admit that i had reservations aplenty when news first started to come out about a "Suspiria" remake.  I may have rolled my eyes.  But then i'd hear some casting news (Tilda Swinton!), or that Thom Yorke was providing the score, or that critics and viewers had had quite the visceral reaction to a scene premiered at a film convention, and i thought that maybe we're on to something here.  Maybe it's going to be alright.  And then yesterday the first trailer dropped, and i am in.  I mean, just look at this thing.



I love that they've kept a certain '70s horror aesthetic to the proceedings, and the atmosphere looks heavy and foreboding.  I love, love, love what i'm seeing here, and am now completely on board.  Get this film in front of my eyes stat!

Wild Nothing

It appears we've got some new and hazy dreampop heading our way at summer's end from Wild Nothing.  "Letting Go" is all airy retro-synth pop vibes with a sun tinted sheen on top, the perfect song for those last beach days when August comes to a close.  Listen below and pre-order the upcoming "Indigo" LP here from Captured Tracks.

Body/Head

You can pretty much sign me up for any and everything Kim Gordon does, and her post Sonic Youth work is no different.  Her project with Bill Nace, Body/Head, has a new record out next month on Matador.  Listen to the droning, noisy fuzz of "You Don't Need" below and pre-order "The Switch" record here.

PYNKIE

Jersey bedroom pop artist PYNKIE just released her debut full-length a couple of days ago.  "Neoteny" is a sweet collection of warbled, lo-fi pop jams that recall a certain '90s aesthetic as played on tape decks and walkmans in teenage bedroom sanctuaries.  Listen to "ballad" below, download the album from the artist here, or order the cassette here from Plastic Response or here from Gnar Tapes.

Deadly Avenger

Synth artist Deadly Avenger has a new album out of retro-electronic jams structured as a soundtrack to an imaginary Kaiju film, and i am here for it.  Listen to "Kill All Kaiju" below and get the "I Am Godzilla, You Are Japan" LP here from Burning Witches.

The Advisory Circle

The Advisory Circle has a new album of library sound indebted synth magic for our listening perusal.  "Ways of Seeing" sounds timeless and nostalgic, like background television music that embedded itself in our psyches as children.  Listen to "Flight Capture" below and get the record from Ghost Box.

Sungod

August sees the release of Austin experimental psych band Sungod's new album "Wave Refraction," an instrumental, cosmic exploration of sound.  Listen to "Hypnotism" below, on what is sure to be a brain melting kind of record, and pre-order here from Holodeck.

Friday Horror Trailer - God Told Me To