Blue Zero

Here's some noisy, fuzzy, kinda throwback alt-rock from Bay Area band Blue Zero.  You can hear hints of grunge and shoegaze and more '90s detritus all over "Broken by a Glance," which is music to my ears.  Check it out below and pre-order their upcoming full-length debut "Colder Shade Blue" here from the band.

Robert Ashcroft Featuring Zumi Rosow

Photographer and artist Robert Ashcroft released a great and dreamy track with former Chromatics member Ruth Radelet earlier this year, and he's now following that one up with the country-tinged "Empty Page" featuring Black Lips member Zumi Rosow.  He's now two for two.  Check it out below and download the single here from Hand Drawn Dracula.

Mother Sun

British Columbia band Mother Sun make a dreamy mix of psych, folk, and power pop with flashes of krautrock, jazz, and more.  It all makes for some fine art pop.  New album "Meadow 6" is out in October.  Pre-order it here from Earth Libraries and listen to the album closing "Giant Bog" below.

The Mellons

Here's a new track from Salt Lake City power pop band The Mellons.  Listen to "Please Baby Please" below and download the tune here from Earth Libraries.

Daily Jam - Words Come Back (Piano)

One of the artists i've been fortunate enough to discover this year is '80s Maryland hardcore punk and proto-emo band The Hated.  Much thanks to the good folks at Numero Group for reissuing the band's brief but stellar output, a highlight of which is demo piano version of the song "Words Come Back."  Check it out below, our Daily Jam.

LowFlyingHawks

LowFlyingHawks is the sludgy, doomy metal project of Dale Crover (Melvins) and Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle/Fantomas), and new album "Makebelieve" drops in October for our listening pleasure.  Check out the chugging cacophony of "Out for Blood" below and pre-order the LP here from the duo.

Johnny Bell

New Mexico artist Johnny Bell makes a kind of ambient Americana, crafting veritable sound collages from field recordings, tape loops, and improvisational banjo picking.  It creates an otherworldly vibe that's also quite familiar.  Check out the banjo drone of "25-Hour Day" below and get the upcoming "Field Trips" cassette here from Aural Canyon.

Friday Horror Trailer - Triangle

Daily Jam - Danse Kalinda Ba Doom

There's nothing quite like the bayou weirdness of New Orleans pianist and songwriter Dr. John.  Flourishes of psychedelia, world music, blues, jazz, funk, and fusion, the music can transport you away to foreign lands and times.  Check out "Danse Kalinda Ba Doom" below, our Daily Jam.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor

There is a particular sonic itch that i have that can only be scratched by the post rock and drone sounds of Godspeed You! Black Emperor.  And so, there is much excitement around these parts with the announcement of the upcoming new album "NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD."  Going by the title of the album and the songs, this will be a heavier and more anguished affair, a desperate cry and plea to end the ongoing genocide of the Palestinians being perpetrated by Israel and the Western superpowers.  The band included this message with the album release announcement:

THE PLAIN TRUTH==

we drifted through it, arguing.

every day a new war crime, every day a flower bloom.

we sat down together and wrote it in one room,

and then sat down in a different room, recording.

NO TITLE= what gestures make sense while tiny bodies fall? what

context? what broken melody?

and then a tally and a date to mark a point on the line, the negative

process, the growing pile.

the sun setting above beds of ash

while we sat together, arguing.

the old world order barely pretended to care.

this new century will be crueler still.

war is coming.

don’t give up.

pick a side.

hang on.

love.

GY!BE

Listen to "Grey Rubble - Green Shoots" below and pre-order the LP here from Constellation Records.  Free Palestine!

Daily Jam - True Love Cast Out All Evil

Here's one from Austin legend and psychedelic rock originator Roky Erickson.  From his 2010 album featuring Okkervil River as his backing band, here's "True Love Cast Out All Evil," our Daily Jam.

The Gabys

Lo-fi band The Gabys are back with a new EP of wonderful little ditties.  The new self-titled EP is not quite as fuzzy as 2022's also-self-titled EP, this time around letting the songs play like bedroom homages to the Velvet Underground.  Check out "Cursed" below and get the 7" here from Fruits & Flowers.

Daily Jam - You Broke My Heart

I love discovering old private press recordings, lost outsider art from secret musical geniuses recording their songs in garages and bedrooms across the country.  I especially love it when said recordings are as wonderful as "You Broke My Heart" from The Bob Hughes Band, from the 1978 album "The Kids Are OK!"  Check out the sweet and melancholic pop below, our Daily Jam.

GIFT

New York band GIFT just dropped new album "Illuminator," a mix of alt-rock, dreampop, neo-psychedelia, and more.  Their sound hits all the right spots for me, feeling like something that could have come out basically anytime between now and 1985, modern and timeless.  Check out the album opening "Wish Me Away" below and get the LP here from Captured Tracks.

Daily Jam - Inside Out

Admittedly, i didn't pay much attention to slowcore alt-rock band Duster the first time around back in the '90s, but i think it's wild (and pretty awesome) that they're amassing quite the following now thanks to their music being used on TikTok.  Here's a track from their 1998 album "Stratosphere."  Listen to "Inside Out" below, our Daily Jam.

Sofie Royer

Vienna based pop artist Sofie Royer put out one of my favorite songs of 2023 with the summery dreampop of "Mio."  And she's back with some new synth pop in the form of "I Forget (I'm so Young)."  Check the track out below and download it here from Stones Throw.

Daily Jam - The Trees

One of my great regrets is that i was never able to see Pulp play live.  Even with the handful of American dates that have this fall, it's just not something that's going to happen (they never come anywhere near Texas).  And so, i'm gonna mope with a track from the band's final album, 2001's "We Love Life."  Listen to "The Trees" below, our Daily Jam.

Broadcast

Next month sees the release of "Distant Call," a collection of demos recorded by Broadcast from 2000 to 2006.  And it will be their swan song.  With the passing of Trish Keenan back in 2011, bandmate James Cargill has painstakingly released as much material the two were working on and more over the last 13 years: demos, film scores, BBC sessions, and so much more.  That door finally closes with "Distant Call."  Tear.  Check out the unearthed and previously unreleased "Come Back to Me" below and pre-order the album here from Warp.

Daily Jam - Going in Circles

The Isaac Hayes estate is suing the Trump campaign for using Hayes's music at rallies, etc. without permission.  Good for them.  So let's listen to some music from the man to show our support.  Here's "Going in Circles" our Daily Jam.

Sadness

The ever prolific US black metal shoegaze project Sadness has been releasing new music like crazy this month.  The latest is new album "I Want to Make Something as Beautiful as You," and it's a lovely mix of said black metal and shoegaze, along with post rock, ambient, and more.  Check out the dizzying and soaring new track "You're the Brightest Star" below and download the album here from the artist.

Daily Jam - Come Down to Us

It's honestly weird to think that Burial has been making music as long as he has, spooky and fractured electronic opuses for the dilating masses.  I'm getting so old.  Here's one of my favorites for your Saturday.  Listen to "Come Down to Us" below, our Daily Jam.

Starflyer 59

Long running shoegaze act Starflyer 59 just dropped their 17th album last month with "Lust for Gold."  Listening to album opening "909," those guitar tones sound like a return to the mid-'90s.  Check it out below and download the album here from Velvet Blue Music (the vinyl is all gone).

Friday Horror Trailer - Ginger Snaps

Daily Jam - Dominion

Let's dig on some music from The Sisters of Mercy this fine Friday morning.  Here's "Dominion," our Daily Jam.

Geordie Greep

With the often odd and jarring post punk band Black Midi seemingly going on indefinite hiatus, band member Geordie Greep just announced a solo album of...odd and jarring post punk.  Check out the restless and frenetic "Holy, Holy" below and pre-order the upcoming "The New Sound" LP here from Rough Trade.

Daily Jam - Ataraxia

Here's a track from the short-lived Chino Moreno Deftones side project Team Sleep.  The band's self-titled, 2005 debut got the Record Store Day reissue treatment earlier this year, which basically jarred my memory of its existence.  Thanks for that Record Store Day.  Listen to "Ataraxia" below, our Daily Jam.

Prairiewolf

Colorado band Prairiewolf are back next month with new album "Deep Time" and some very Colorado-esque ambient Americana jams for your listening pleasure.  If something like "Revisionist Mystery" featuring Matt Loewen isn't the perfect accompaniment to staring off into the mountains and wilderness and the vast sky beyond, then i don't know what is.  Check it out below and pre-order the album here from Centripetal Force.

Daily Jam - A Day

And now for some darkwave from Dutch band Clan of Xymox, a band i admittedly knew nothing about until hearing a few of their songs on the soundtrack to Adam Wingard's 2014 film "The Guest."  Better late than never i guess.  Listen to "A Day" below, our Daily Jam.

Laura Cannell

Before i head to the office, join me for this odd and fascinating mix of dark folk, ambient, new age, and neo-classical music from UK composer and violinist Laura Cannell.  Her new album "The Rituals of Hildegarde Reimagined" sounds like the ancient songs for some pagan ritual that took place in the British countryside centuries ago.  Listen to opening track "The Cosmic Spheres of Being Human" below and get the album here from Brawl Records.

Daily Jam - Gave Up (Open My Eyes)

Back in the '90s, Trent Reznor used to name drop UK electronic and industrial group, and Psychic TV offshoot, Coil as an influence.  Returning the favor, Coil released "Recoiled," a collection of Nine Inch Nails songs remixed by the duo.  Check out "Gave Up (Open My Eyes)" below, our Daily Jam.

Glare

Here's some new shogaze from Texas band Glare.  Grab the new "Mourning Haze" 7" here from Deathwish Inc. and listen to the song below.

Daily Jam - Bad Penny

It's still crazy to me that we lost Steve Albini earlier this year.  Here he is with Big Black and "Bad Penny," our Daily Jam.

Boo

It's almost noon here in Central Texas, so i don't think it's too early for the techno trance club jams.  London pop and electronic artist Boo makes the aforementioned techno trance club jams that you can get on her new "Winged Victory" EP.  Grab that here from AMF Records and dance to the chilled electro-sounds of "Hyper Feminine" below.

Daily Jam - OGO

Five months later, one of the bands i'm still kicking myself for not seeing during SXSW is the UK jazz punk fusion duo O.  They bring the jams, and i should have been there to see it.  Maybe next time.  Here's their debut single, "OGO," a wild and frenetic burst of sound, and our Daily Jam.

The Smashing Times

Sounding like something that might have come out the '80s underground in either London or Athens, GA, Baltimore's The Smashing Times combine elements of jangle pop, post punk, and mod psychedelia to craft little nuggets of sound to stay in your hearts and heads for days.  Check out new tune "Tarts and Vicars" below, and pre-order this fall's new album "Mrs Ladyships and the Cleanerhouse Boys" here from Perennialdeath.

Duster & Dirty Art Club

Continuing their late era comeback and Renaissance, '90s slowcore band Duster just released a couple of new singles, a collaborative effort with North Carolina artist Dirty Art Club.  Check out "Anhedonia II" and "Ecstasy Cowgirl" below and download them here from Numero Group.

Alex Izenberg

California artist Alex Izenberg has been making music for a few years now, but somehow always remained under my radar.  That all changes with last month's new album "Alex Izenberg & The Exiles."  This is his debut with a full band, and there's a full-on '70s psych pop vibe going on throughout, giving the songs a classic and timeless feel.  Check out "Drinking the Dusk Away" below and get the LP here from Weird World.

Shovel Dance Collective

English 9-piece folk group Shovel Dance Collective are set to release their new album "The Shovel Dance" in October.  Our first taste is the epic and droning "The Merry Golden Tree," which fuses traditional British folk sounds and arrangements with some elements of psychedelia, space rock, and experimental drone.  Check it out below and pre-order the LP here from American Dreams.

OSEES

Not to be outdone by their Aussie brethren, John Dwyer's long-running band OSEES (of Thee Oh Sees, or OCS, etc.) just released their umpteenth new album with "SORCS 80."  This one leans pretty hard into garage punk, nervous and frenetic energy everywhere.  Check out "Cassius, Brutus & Judas" below and get the album here from the band.

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

Because of course they do, Australian troublemakers King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have a new album out.  Dropping a week ago, "Flight b741" is the band's 26th(!!!) full-length LP.  Check out fun new jam "Field of Vision" below, download the album here, and get the vinyl here from p(doom).

Goat

Swedish psych rock band Goat are back in October with a new album of freaky-deaky head jams to journey through the cosmos and shake your asses to.  Get the dance spasms with the radio edit of new tune "Ouroboros" below and pre-order the upcoming self-titled LP here from Rocket Recordings.

Daily Jam - (I Love You) To the Moon and Back

It really is wild how good the post-Spacemen 3 output of both Jason Pierce (Spiritualized) and Sonic Boom (Spectrum) is.  Just phenomenal work all around.  Today, let's focus on Sonic Boom and Spectrum though with the wonderfully droney and hypnotic "(I Love You) To the Moon and Back" from the project's debut album "Soul Kiss (Glide Divine)."  Check it out below, our Daily Jam.

Cindy

San Francisco band Cindy are back in October with a new EP of gentle, fuzzy lo-fi indie pop.  New tune "All Weekend" pulls heavily from the sounds of The Velvet Underground, and we're all the better for it, the perfect song to watch the summer fade out to and the autumn arrive.  Check it out below and pre-order "Swan Lake" here from Tough Love.

Friday Horror Trailer - Mute Witness

Daily Jam - Parasol

30 years on, i've heard so many bands that draw from The Sea and Cake well, that i kind of forget how no one else really sounded like the Chicago band back then.  They made a kind of alt-rock fusion of post rock, jazz, underground rock, and so on, and it's all still quite lovely.  Check out "Parasol" from the 1995 album "Nassau" below, our Daily Jam.

Peel Dream Magazine

LA's Peel Dream Magazine have been kicking around for a few years now and are ready to drop their fourth full-length album "Rose Main Reading Room" next month.  It seems like the band manages to throw some new sounds into the mix on each subsequent record, and the new one is no different, featuring bits and pieces of psychedelia, shoegaze, kosmische pop, krautrock, space age pop, and so much more.  Check out new tune "Lie in the Gutter" below and pre-order the LP here from Topshelf Records.

Chime School

Sometimes, there's just nothing that's gonna scratch that sonic itch quite like some harmonious jangle pop.  And San Francisco's Chime School can belt out the jangles like few others.  The band's new album "The Boy Who Ran the Paisley Hotel" is out later this month via Slumberland.  Check out lead off tune "The End" below and pre-order the LP here.

Daily Jam - Tiny Girls

Ladies and gentlemen, the immortal Iggy Pop.  Here's "Tiny Girls," our Daily Jam.

Seawind of Battery

And now let's try to calm ourselves back down with some East Coast cosmic ambient county and Americana from Seawind of Battery.  You can practically float away on the gentle, dusty sounds of "Blood Moon."  Listen to the track below and get the new "East Coast Cosmic Dreamscaper" LP here from WarHen Records.

Hidden Mothers

Maybe it's too early in the morning for this kind of noise, but it's hard to care when the noise rules as much as it does.  Enter Sheffield band Hidden Mothers, whose mix of post-hardcore vocals, black metal guitars, and post-rock aesthetic makes for a both brutal and soaring sonic experience.  New album "Erosion / Avulsion" is out in November on Church Road Records.  Pre-order it here and listen to album opener "Defanged" below.