For the past decade, US musician Helen Yee has been honing her craft. By live looping her violin with various other instruments and electronics, she creates otherworldly and delicately balanced compositions, collected carefully on her debut album, Orchestrope. While Yee ostensibly put much effort into the composition and production ofContinue Reading
Studies have shown that rock music affects psychological tension, albeit not always for the better, with one study showing it can increase hostility, sadness, tension, and fatigue. That study didn’t use Mind Party by Myopia in its trials. This new album from the English upstarts utilises rock music’s oscillatingContinue Reading
English electronic musician LateNightBeatFeast may not boast the most urbane stagename, but his music is cleverly assembled and sophisticatedly produced. The elusive artist doesn’t share biographical information like their real name, gender, age, or musical history online, so there’s no way of knowing who is behind this energetic sonicContinue Reading
The line straddling accessibility and innovation is hard to draw, perhaps no place more so than in art. Artists risk either alienating their audience or insulting their intelligence, with little breathing room between the two extremes. And while combining frantic jazz piano, wizardly electronics, and effervescent drumming in an avant-gardeContinue Reading
NY-based artist John Beckmann is having a purple patch. Since 2022, his work as Mortal Prophets has yielded three EPs, numerous singles, and five albums. The latest album, ICNCLST/, is billed as an EP, but with seven tracks, it also meets the criteria for an album by some metrics. ThoughContinue Reading
Sometimes, having nothing to lose offers the biggest gains. This sentiment is true for Liverpudlian guitarist Matthew McPartlan, whose debut album of wandering solo acoustic guitar work, Summer Nights and Still Water, manifested after an 18-month hiatus from music. According to the artist, this resulted from “a number of failedContinue Reading
A raw intensity permeates DIOMEDES, the sophomore album from London-based three-piece ectropunk outfit The Diomedes. This intensity manifests in high-octane drum patterns, expansive guitars, wide-ranging synths, and soaring vocal performances, demonstrating the band’s celestial ambitions. Comprised of members Mark Champion on vocals, guitars, and synths; David Myers on drums; andContinue Reading
What makes the human spirit so indomitable? Despite social injustices and economic disparities, people continue to wake up and live their lives every day, clutching onto shards of hope. This question lies at the heart of Dreams! The Dead! Ghost! Future, the third album from Californian folk duo The SingerContinue Reading
What is America? This question has been posed by sociologists and comedians with varying degrees of seriousness and sarcasm for decades. With such a large, diverse population, it can be hard to see a unifying concept beyond the English language. However, music and culture often bridge these gaps. South CarolinaContinue Reading
Australian artist Bradley Murray has been releasing sprawling instrumental music under the moniker The Finch Cycle since 2020. Having released two EPs, Murray has taken the leap to a full-length debut, collaborating with drummer Michael Evans-Barker and trombonist Brendan Bartlett on Mt. Pilot. The album leans into a shady, atmosphericContinue Reading