Big Business

Looking up new music headed our way this year, and it appears we've got a new record on the horizon from metal duo Big Business coming out in April.  This is most welcome news.  "The Beast You Are" comes out April 12th on Joyful Noise.  Pre-order it here and listen to album closer "Let Them Grind" below.

Ritual Howls

As 2019 starts to get going, the new album announcements roll out and get me all excited.  March brings us the latest from Detroit post punk band Ritual Howls, and if you pony up the cash, you can get an accompanying leather bound book of the lyrics to all the band's songs.  While you consider this, listen to the Americana vibes of "Alone Together" below, and then pre-order the "Rendered Armor" LP (with or without the book) here from Felte Records.

The Mountain Goats

Generally speaking, i've got to be in the right frame of mind before listening to The Mountain Goats, but when that frame of mind hits, the band is utterly divine.  New album "In League with Dragons" and its accompanying fantastic album artwork are headed our way in April from Merge.  Listen to first single "Younger" below to warm yourself up, or if anything, just to marvel at the songwriting ability of John Darnielle.  Check it out and pre-order the record here.

Claude Fontaine

Innovative Leisure's latest signee is LA artist Claude Fontaine, and at her first at bat, the singer combines elements of reggae, dub, and Ye-Ye style French pop into the lovely single "Cry for Another."  Listen to the song below and download it here from the label.

Beth Gibbons and The Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra

Beth Gibbons of Portishead fame has a new album heading our way in March.  Recorded live with The Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2014, Gibbons sang soprano for a performance of composer Henryk Gorecki's "Symphony No. 3."  Watch a trailer for the accompanying performance film below, and pre-order "Henryk Gorecki: Symphony No. 3 (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs)" here from Domino.

Dominique Guiot

Swiss label WRWTHWW (We Release Whatever The Fuck We Want) Records has issued some interesting stuff in its short history, from bonkers soundtracks to obscure weirdo, avant garde artists.  Last week, the label released the long out of print "L'Univers De La Mer" LP, a synth/prog/folk/library 1978 oddity from French artist Dominique Guiot.  The whole thing plays like this weird fantasy new age thing, a veritable time machine of sound that will take you back to that little shop run by the hippies that sold all of those crystals.  Listen to "La Danse Des Meduses" below and get the record here, as original copies will set you back a few hundred bucks.

DOOMROAR

Yeah, the name is something an '80s preteen would have come up with for a D&D avatar or some code name for a second tier Rob Liefeld comic character, but the chilled and warped synth wave coming from French artist DOOMROAR is full of that contagious synthetic sound that my brain is just wired to dig on.  Check out the hazy "Sagittarius" featuring an assist from A.L.I.S.O.N. below and get the "Night Stories" cassette here from Midwest Collective.

Toy

London band Toy make a catchy brand of rock music that fuses elements of psych, krautrock, alt-rock, post punk, and Britpop that gets in the ear canals and stays there.  New album "Happy in the Hollow" is out now on Tough Love Records.  Order it here and watch the video for "You Make Me Forget Myself" below.

Munya

Montreal dreampop artist Munya popped up on my radar last year with her "North Hatley" EP.  She followed that up with another EP, and now March brings us a third, "Blue Pine," which essentially finishes the trilogy.  Also in March, Luminelle will collect the three EP's on one self-titled album.  Listen to the latest, "It's All About You," below and pre-order the album here.

Geheimnisvoll

It's fun when you see the name of an artist and instantly have a pretty good idea of what they sound like.  And then you see their album art which cements that idea even further.  And then you read the album title, which again, cements that idea even further.  And so, we have the crusty black metal sounds of Geheimnisvoll and their "Venomous Sorcery Through Hidden Darkness" EP.  It's a cacophonous 20 minutes of noisy surge that sounds like it was recorded in a cave on a beach on a stormy night.  Listen to the title track below and get the whole thing here from Knife Vision for a dollar.

FACS

I got turned on to Chicago experimental rock outfit FACS a year or so ago at the cheerleading from producer John Congleton.  And Congleton knows his stuff.  The band fuses elements of post rock, math rock, shoegaze, industrial, and noise to create a mess of sound that can be both jarring and hypnotic at the same time.  Listen to "In Time" below and pre-order March's Congleton-produced "Lifelike" LP here from Trouble In Mind.

Klack

Sounding like a B-sides collection from a Skinny Puppy or Nitzer Ebb side project in the mid-'80s, Madison, Wisconsin's Klack creates throwback electronic industrial music that's just begging you to wear black and head out to some seedy party held in a dilapidated warehouse on the wrong side of town.  Listen to the thumping "With Precision" below and download the "Introducing the 1984 Renault LeCar" album here from the artist.

Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation

It looks like we've got a new album from Swedish psych band Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation heading our way in April.  This time around, the group seems to be pushing a more synth-oriented kind of space-rock sound with their usual brand of psychedelic kosmische pop.  And i am here for it.  Listen to "Desire" below and pre-order the upcoming "Sacred Dreams" LP here from Rocket Recordings.

Roger Molls

French composer/producer Roger Molls makes a kind of epic and cinematic hip-hop.  It's part film score and part trip-hop, borderline neo-classical music with beat you can rhyme to.  New album "Melography" is out now.  Listen to ominous album opener "Night Is Here" below, get the record here from DLoaw, and dig on the killer album art.

Friday Horror Trailer - Terrified

Laure Briard

It's no secret around here that we are deep in the pockets of French pop, so it's wonderful news that we've got a new album from Laure Briard heading our way in February.  The "Un peu plus d'amour s'il vous plait" LP finds the artist mixing Ye-Ye indebted French pop with some kosmische psychedelia and some world and bossa nova flavors.  Listen to album opener "Marin Solitaire" below and pre-order the record here from Midnight Special.

Marijuana Deathsquads - The World Beyond

I caught a performance from Minneapolis noise band Marijuana Deathsquads many years ago at SXSW as part of showcase of Minneapolis artists that culminated in a performance from Gayngs, a kind of Minneapolis supergroup that featured essentially every single performer that was there that night.  They were great.  They were noisy.  They totally dropped off my radar after that, but now have a new benefit single out for the One Tree Planted organization.  Check out their weird and murky cover of Swamp Dogg's "The World Beyond," and get it here from Joyful Noise.  All of the proceeds go to the charity.

High Tides

High Tides is the duo of Warren Kroll and Steven Lutes, and they craft hazy, neon-tinged pulses of synth wave goodness, the kind of thing that wouldn't be out of place on an early Michael Mann film.  Check out "Swaying Palms" below, and pre-order the "Paradise Daze" LP here from the always excellent Rad Cult.

Ty Segall & Freedom Band Live!

March brings us a new live album from the ever-busy Ty Segall along with his backing band from last year's "Freedom's Goblin."  "Deforming Lobes" looks to be a loud and raucous fist pumping finale for this era Segall's particular brand of garage rock.  Listen to "Love Fuzz" below and pre-order here from Drag City.

The Telescopes

Long running UK psych/shoegaze outfit The Telescopes have a new album headed our way (their 11th) on February 1st.  Watch the video for the mellow, "slowcore"-vibed "Until the End" below and get the upcoming "Exploding Head Syndrome" LP here from Tapete Records.

BurningTapes - Black Lake

Burning Witches Records has a pretty good track record when it comes to spooky synth releas, so even when i'm unfamiliar with the artist (BurningTapes), and unfamiliar with the movie the score is to ("Black Lake"), i'm still totally there for it.  From what i understand, "Black Lake" is a horror film that will be hitting the festival circuit this spring.  And the score from BurningTapes is an eerie, synth-laden accompaniment.  Listen to the whole thing below and get it here.

The Murlocs - Comfort Zone

Ambrose Kenny of King Gizzard fame, fronts an excellent side project as well, The Murlocs.  The band just released a new single and video for the Elton John-tinged "Comfort Zone," a wonderful little psych pop ditty.  Check out the video filled with revenge below, and be on the lookout for a release on Flightless.

KOKOKO!

As i'm gradually investigating the list of artists i've never heard of who will be attending this year's SXSW, one that has stood out thus far is the fusion of world beat and post punk from the Democratic Republic of the Congo's KOKOKO!  Rhythms abound.  Listen to "Affaire A Mbongo" below and get the "Liboso" EP here from ICI.

Music For Sleep

I stumbled upon the ambient work of Berlin artist Music For Sleep last night when i was laying in bed reading.  Soothing, meditative, and sprawling pieces of sound, the music proved to be the perfect accompaniment to said reading.  The artist's latest, "Infinite Tape Loops: Vol. 1," came out last month on Rohs! Records, and has kind of William Basinski "Disintegration Loops" vibe to it, very peaceful, but somber.  Listen to "Spirits Drifting (Tape Extended Version)" below and download it here.

Black Rain

Black Rain makes a kind of gray, bleak, and moody form of bedroom techno, subdued beats laid along droney ambience and darkened cinematic flourishes.  It's kind of plays like a soundtrack for an imaginary cyberpunk movie filmed in black and white.  New album "Computer Soul" is out now.  Get it here from Blackest Ever Black and listen to the gloomy album opener "City of Atomic Ghost" below.

Shana Cleveland

Surfy garage rock band La Luz's Shana Cleveland is striking out on her own for a solo record of sci-fi psychedelic beach pop.  Listen to the haze of "Face of the Sun" below and pre-order April's "Night of the Worm Moon" here from Hardly Art.

Friday Horror Trailer - The Children

Harlem

I knew that Austin garage rock band Harlem (now a duo) were back at it and working on new music, but i did not realize that said new music is headed our way in February on new album "Oh Boy," the band's first since 2010's excellent "Hippies" LP.  Judging by the three songs i've heard so far, the band is going for a more laid back vibe, contemplative and melancholy, a far cry from their more raucous garage bangers, but a mood a can get behind nonetheless.  Listen to album closer "Queen of Mosquitos" below and pre-order the record from the band here.

Hante.

A month or so ago, French synth artist Hante. released a teaser for her upcoming new album "Fierce," which comes out tomorrow.  And now we've got a full track, and it's a cold and moody pop banger.  Listen to "Wild Animal" below and get the record here from Synth Religion.

Tredici Bacci

New York band Tredici Bacci's particular brand of Morricone soundtrack-inspired Italian pop music was far and away one of the most entertaining things i saw at SXSW a couple of years ago when the group performed one of the day parties i attended.  And now, with a new record headed our way in March, i can only hope that means that a return to Austin is in store for us as well.  Listen to the JG Thirlwell assisted "Emmanuelle" below and pre-order the "La Fine Del Futuro" LP here from NNA Tapes.

Uncle Acid and The Deadbeats

Speaking of music i missed out on last year, holy shit the new record from Uncle Acid and The Deadbeats.  The British metal act, known for their mix of stoner metal and prog, add some layers of psychedelic cosmic choogle and a sound damn near approaching glam rock.  It's amazing, a sound i didn't know i needed, but will travel with me evermore.  Listen to the album opening jam "I See Through You" below and get the "Wasteland" LP from Rise Above Records.

Yves Tumor

Continuing to find stuff from last year that i missed, experimental electronic artist Yves Tumor released the complex and eclectic "Safe in the Hands of Love" on Warp back in September.  The album fuses pop, noise, trip-hop, R&B, and more more more into its audio tapestry to create something at once familiar and wholly unique.  Check out the frayed and noisy album closer, that somehow never completely flies of the rails, "Let the Lioness in You Flow Freely" below and get the record here.

Xeno & Oaklander

March brings us a new release from synth duo Xeno & Oaklander, which is always most welcome news.  New album "Hypnos" looks to continue the band's sonic explorations with a whole mess of analog synthesizers in hand.  Listen to "Angélique" and pre-order the record here from Dais.

Le Groupe Obscur

French band Le Groupe Obscur are set to unleash their debut "Selesȼa" EP digitally later this month, with a very limited press vinyl edition coming out in March via Midnight Special.  The band's fusion of dreampop, shoegaze, and new wave hits the ears in all the right places.  Listen to "Piȼedelula" below, and pre-order here.

Khana Bierbood

Western pop culture has pretty much invaded every corner of the globe now, and will probably only continue to do so as the world gets more and more connected.  And while there are certainly pros and cons to this movement of culture, i have to say that i love, love, love different countries' interpretations of Western psychedelic rock.  They're generally more faithful to their forebears, but often better and more original than the sound they're aping.  Take Thailand band Khana Bierbood for instance.  Their debut full-length album, "Strangers From the Far East," could have been plucked right out of the '60s, and yet they sound leaps and bounds ahead.  Listen to the garagey "Plankton Bloom" below and snag a copy of the record here from Guruguru Brain.

Ash & Herb

The state of Maine doesn't really make me think of psychedelic cosmic Americana.  To me, it's more trees and child-eating clowns, but here we are with the wonderful upcoming new 7" from psych folk rock duo Ash & Herb.  Their latest is "Salt Lick," a veritable swirling kaleidoscope of trippy, organic sound.  Listen below and pre-order the 7" here from Flower Room.

Bananagun

As it's been for the last decade, Australia continues to churn out a steady stream of psychedelic rock to expand and melt our brains to.  Let us hope that it continues on ad infinitum.  Anyway, one of the continent's latest is the Eastern-tinged Bananagun.  The band's "Do Yeah" 7" is out next month on Anti Fade.  Listen to the title track below and pre-order here.

Business of Dreams

LA artist Business of Dreams put out a pretty good album of smoky, dreamy synth pop back in 2017, and now a follow-up is headed our way next month.  "Ripe For Anarchy" drops on February 1st on Slumberland Records.  Listen to album closer "Keep the Blues Away" below and pre-order the album here.

Men I Trust

Montreal's Men I Trust make sweet and dreamy pop music, and the word on the street is that they're prepping a full-length record for release some time this year.  Listen to the melancholy "Say, can you hear" below, and download it here from the band.

Jozef Van Wissem & Jim Jarmusch

Experimental lute player (one of the funnest combinations of words ever) Jozef Van Wissem has paired with filmmaker/musician Jim Jarmusch for the upcoming album, "An Attempt to Draw Aside the Veil."  Eerie, oozing, minimalist drone, the album sounds like the beginning of a ritual or the end of the world depending on your mood.  Listen to "Concerning the White Horse" below and pre-order the record here from Sacred Bones.

Hollydoom

Have you been reading the relaunch of Fangoria?  Well, you should be.  And i guess to encourage you to do so, the magazine has assembled a soundtrack of sorts of 10 synth wave artists to provide just the right amount of horror synthesizers to accompany said reading.  "Hollydoom" features jams from Power Glove, Carpenter Brut, Umberto, Wojceich Golczewski, John Carpenter, and more.  Listen to the whole thing below, download it here from Lakeshore, and subscribe to the magazine here.

Krallice - Wolf EP

Had it not been officially released at the end of 2017, New York black metal band Krallice's "Go Be Forgotten" LP would have easily been one of my favorite albums of 2018, its mix of brutal noise and icy, astral wandering serving as the perfect soundtrack for the encroaching end times.  And now the band has released a surprise EP, "Wolf."  This one's a little more straight to the point, a pounding cacophony of spit and sound.  Listen to album closer "Time Rendered Omni" below and get the EP here from the band.

Friday Horror Trailer - Neon Maniacs

Jorge Elbrecht - Coral Cross

Jorge Elbrecht has been making music for years in various forms (Lansing-Dreiden, Violens, etc.), and it runs the gauntlet from dreampop to new wave to industrial.  His latest, which is either under the moniker of or titled Coral Cross does all of that with some added metal elements as well.  Listen to "Emerald Gasp" below and pre-order the upcoming "Coral Cross - 002" LP here from the artist.

The Coathangers

I don't think i've ever truly appreciated how prolific the raucous Atlanta punk trio The Coathangers are, except that i seem to be posting about a new record of theirs at least once a year.  Anyway, new album "The Devil You Know" is headed our way in March from Suicide Squeeze.  Listen to the kinder, gentler (and catchy as hell) version of the band on "Bimbo" below and pre-order the record here.

Priests

April brings us new music from DC punk band Priests, and if the title track of the upcoming "The Seduction of Kansas" is any indication, these guys and girls are growing in all kinds of different directions.  Notes of cowpunk and post punk abound on the new single, all tied together with an avant garde groove.  More like this please.  Listen below and be on the lookout for a pre-order soon from Sister Polygon Records.

Qlowski

London by way of Italy band Qlowski released their second EP, "Pure as Fear," back in November, and it's a burst of crusty, lo-fi post punk, garage new wave, and pop glory.  Listen to "Taking Control" below and order the 7" here from Maple Death.

Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith

A number of years ago, i tried to get into yoga, implementing it into a workout routine to drop weight, get in shape, and blah blah blah.  It didn't take, my doughy body refusing to twist and hold itself int position.  But, i totally get why some people get way into it, the mix of pain and stillness i guess offering some kind of transcendence or inner peace or whatever.  Anyway, i've long been a sucker for cheesy new age music, the kind that would fit perfectly in a planetarium or a yoga studio, and electronic artist and analog synthesizer enthusiast Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith has created a record of just that, but minus the cheese.  Originally released digitally in 2014, but now getting its first physical release, "Tides: Music for Meditation and Yoga" sounds just like its namesake, the tides of the ocean moving and flowing and ebbing, intricate little pieces of synthetic sound to be played with eyes closed, mind open, and body relaxed...or in screaming pain.  Listen to "Tides III" below and get the record here from Touchtheplants.

ll nøthing ll

Houston's ll nøthing ll makes a kind of smoky, dreamy electronic music that feels like sitting in a large chair and then sinking into it for the rest of your days, the linger bits of electric hum, hazy jazz, and smooth, disintegrating hip-hop beats enveloping you like a warm ooze.  Listen to the artist's "Higeki" EP below and get it here.

Buck Gooter

Virginia duo Buck Gooter are described as primal industrial blues...and yeah, that pretty much nails the sound right there.  New album "Finer Thorns" is out in February on Ramp Local (pre-order it here).  In the meantime, listen to album opener "Peace Siren" below.