One Louder Magazine… RESURRECTED!

One Louder Magazine… RESURRECTED

Introduction
Album of the Week
Honorable Mentions
Missed The Cut
Addendum
On The List
Looking Forward To
Fine Print
About One Louder Magazine

Hello, hola, bonjour, hallo, ciao, 你好, नमस्ते, مرحبًا, Привет, ہیلو!

I have a couple of cool, quick stories to share, then let’s get to the new music of the week.

Before getting into it, I wanted to let you know that I am taking several days off surrounding the Memorial Day holiday. “So what, desTROYer, what does that have to do with me?”, you might ask. Well, nothing, really… It’s just to let y’all know that next week’s blog may be a bit thin in the music listening department since I’ll be doing anything but listening to music.

I have plans for the time off, but don’t want to jinx them. You know the old saying, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” So, if my plans come to fruition, I’ll share them next week.

———————————————————————————————

A couple more rad shows have been announced. Add them to the concert calendar!

September 17th AND 18th – Spafford at Hidden Hall

September 23rd – Elder at Neptune Theatre

November 4th – King Buffalo at Neumos

November 6th – The Smashing Pumpkins at Climate Pledge Arena (30th Anniversary of ‘Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness’ – two sets!)

———————————————————————————————

As you know, I am already a sucker for music. I gobble up as much as humanely possible. Hence, the weekly blog. Throughout, you may have noticed that I’m also a sucker for rad album covers, and am always willing to point it out in my $0.02 reviews.

As luck would have it, there is another new book (limited to 500 total copies) titled, ‘…And Justice For Art: Stories About Heavy Metal Album Covers’. It contains nearly 400 pages of 700+ graphics, and a megaton of stories, interviews, and more… Of course, I ordered a copy. It should arrive next week, and I can’t wait to peruse it! More info about the book (and if you’d like to purchase a copy) may be found here:

https://andjusticeforart.bigcartel.com/product/pre-order-book-and-justice-for-art-ultimate-edition

———————————————————————————————

So Spotify (I know, boooooooo 👎🏼 🖕🏼) just celebrated its 20th anniversary, and they ran some numbers for me.

That translates to roughly ~45 songs per day since then… like seven days a week. And I don’t listen to music seven days a week, so that number is likely much higher. And that doesn’t include spinning actual records. Spotify spins only. Damn, I listen to a lot of music, haha!

^^^My review of that album, ‘Mela Ananda’ [Live]:

“Where have you been all my life MSK?! Apparently they have several releases, but this is the first I heard of them and I fuckin’ dig it! Super-trippy, yet totally rockin’ (all-instrumental) post-rock / post-metal album. Can not wait to dig into their past catalog, yes!!”

———————————————————————————————

I don’t know if it’ll be in contention for AOTY, but the AOTW is a brand-new trio based out of the City of Angels. Primitive Ring‘s self-titled debut hit me on impact… then stayed throughout the entirety of the album. Spun it a couple of times, and… F yeah, it’s pretty happenin’. Big things for these guys in the future.

I’d also like to give a shoutout to the almighty Slayer, who reissued, remixed, and remastered their 1985 classic, ‘Hell Awaits,’ for its 40th Anniversary. Man, I cannot tell you how much this album changed my life as a young, impressionable kid. There were a handful of albums as a (just barely) teenager that have been seared into my head. This is one of them. Heck, it’s not even their best album, but it’s the one that got me into them. Long live Slayer!

😁 BE THE REASON SOMEONE SMILES 😁

Be sure to let me know what you agree / disagree with, etc… always fun to hear your opinions, too. Happy listening… and see you next week!

Cheers,

Troy

———————————————————————————————

Album(s) of the Week** – May 15th to May 21st, 2026:

1,198 – Primitive Ring – Primitive Ring

What a rad “new” band! Sure, sure, they released four 7″s last year (totaling eight songs – none on this album), but for all intents and purposes, this is their self-titled debut full-length. They blend psychedelic rock with garage-punk… and it rules! Furthermore, that album cover artwork is pretty happenin’, too. Looking forward to spinning this one several times more and hearing what they come up with in the future.

From amazon: “PRIMITIVE RING consists of Bert Hoover (bass/vocals), Charles Moothart (guitar/vocals), and Jon Modaff (drums). The Los Angeles power trio formed in September 2024 when Hoover and Moothart came together seeking a new creative outlet. In 2025, the band released four 7″s on four different labels (Greenway, In the Red, Reverberation Appreciation Society, and Fuzz Club UK). They hauled amps and drums into bars to hone the sound of the newfound brotherhood that is Primitive Ring.

Rock and roll is, in its essence, a primal experience, and the name reflects that. Three individuals collide, and egos rattle, shedding layers and growing new limbs. Archetypes flash to the rhythm of a freight train, and the crown is passed hand to hand like a good luck charm, symbolic, and communal. Rock and roll is for the people, and Primitive Ring is for the taking. At least it will be when the band’s debut LP is hurled into the future via In the Red Recordings.

Primitive Ring is 11 tracks coming in just under 42 minutes. It was recorded by Mark Rains in December of 2025 at The Station House in Echo Park.

The album is the genesis story of a lightning bolt flashing in the eternal drama of creation and destruction. The album showcases the distinct writing styles of each member, but the overall aesthetic is a woven tapestry demarcating the timeless meridian. The record is the spawning of a collective vision. This is something we all share, and we must remind one another how electric humanity can be.”

Honorable Mentions (in order by “popularity”*):

4,530,813 – Slayer – Hell Awaits [40th Anniversary Reissue – 1985] (3 CDs)

Uh, yeah… ahem, I mean, uh, FUCK YEAH!! Slayer’s classic second album, ‘Hell Awaits’, has been reissued, remixed, and remastered from the original tapes by Patrick W. Engel at Temple of Disharmony. I was only 13 years old at the time when it was released, and this album changed my life. Ok, fine, I turned 14 a mere six days later, but holy shit, this album scared the crap out of me… yet I couldn’t stop listening to it over and over and over again. I was hooked!

Slayer, of course, is considered one of the Big Four (alongside Metallica, Megadeth, and Anthrax). These bands emerged out of the 1980s and were the first to truly inject thrash / speed metal into the mainstream. I have been lucky enough to catch these bastards several times throughout the years. I have no idea how they pulled off this shit night after night after night. Killer stuff! RIP guitarist Jeff Hanneman :-(

Fun fact: the intro to the opening tune (the title track, ‘Hell Awaits’) – to me – sounded like people dying and going to Hell; the guitars sounded like people screaming, and underneath it all, I could hear “Slay God, slay God, slay God, slay God”. Yeah, that’s not what they said. It’s actually the title track played backwards to say, “Join us”. But if you look at the album cover, it kinda sorta looks like people headed to Hell IMO <shrug>.

From Metal Blade Records: “SLAYER’s iconic second studio album, Hell Awaits, is set to receive a 40th anniversary edition reissue via Metal Blade Records next Spring!

Formed in 1981, SLAYER assaulted the world with a new hybrid of metal and punk – heavier, faster, and darker than the rest – and set a new standard, defining not only a genre, but an attitude. Throughout SLAYER’s history, the band never faltered in unleashing their extreme and focused aural assault, and repudiating temptations, SLAYER always chose to remain crushing and brutal, steadfastly refusing to cater to the mainstream.

“It’s the record where SLAYER became SLAYER.” That’s what Kerry King says about Hell Awaits. And he knows of what he speaks. As the band’s guitarist, co-songwriter, and co-lyricist, he was in the trenches with vocalist/bassist Tom Araya, guitarist Jeff Hanneman (R.I.P.), and drummer Dave Lombardo, creating what has become one of heavy metal’s greatest albums.

A significant departure from SLAYER’s 1983 debut, Show No Mercy – and every SLAYER album that came after it – Hell Awaits is both an outlier and a solidification of form. Show No Mercy was the mission statement, but Hell Awaits is a more developed and intricate execution of SLAYER’s speed, chops, and aggression.

Released in April of 1985 by Metal Blade Records, Hell Awaits was the pinnacle of an action-packed thrash year that saw debut albums from the likes of Megadeth, Exodus, Kreator, Possessed, Destruction, Hirax, and Overkill. Heavily influenced by Mercyful Fate, the longer, more progressive arrangements on Hell Awaits marked a new era for SLAYER. Whereas most of the songs on Show No Mercy were less than four minutes long, three of Hell Awaits’ seven tracks go beyond the six-minute mark. “Jeff and I were still trying to figure out who we were as musicians, and we were both infatuated with Mercyful Fate’s Melissa album during the writing process for Hell Awaits,” King says. “That’s why there’s so few songs and most of ’em are pretty long. That’s the only time anything like that ever happened with us.”

Tom Araya’s performance is similarly impressive. The vocalist spat lyrics a mile a minute on the likes of “Kill Again” and “Praise Of Death.” “I don’t recall the songs being hard to sing,” he says. “Singing fast and clearly has always been something that I strived for.””

4,200,976 – Jack Johnson – SURFILMUSIC: Soundtrack & 4 Tracks (2 CDs)

I’ve been listening to (and loving) JJ for (seemingly) forever and a day. He’s a folksy-ish singer-songwriter who has been releasing absolutely beautiful albums throughout the years. I dig his songwriting, guitar playing skillz, and vocals. I have yet to see the documentary, but I plan to. Great album, very nice!

From amazon: “SURFILMUSIC is an intimate look into Jack’s evolution from surfer to filmmaker to world-renowned musician. The documentary traces how his early years making surf films with close friends became a foundation for a much broader creative life, capturing moments in and out of the water that later surfaced in his songwriting. Blending rare footage from those formative surf films and Jack’s personal and family archives with present-day reflections, the film weaves together how lived experience, friendship, and exploration shaped the sound and stories behind the music.

Featuring Jack, Kelly Slater, Rob Machado, Gerry Lopez, Chris Malloy, G. Love, Ben Harper, John Florence, Tamayo Perry, Emmett Malloy, and Kim Johnson. Directed by Emmett Malloy. Score by Jack and Hermanos Gutierrez. The film will premiere at SXSW and be released wide on May 15, 2026, with an accompanying digital + physical release of the soundtrack on the same day.”

3,349,686 – The All-American Rejects – Sandbox

Oh hey, the boys in AAR are all growed up! This power pop meets emo pop punk band has released their fifth full-length, but their first in 14 years. And like I said, it sounds like they’ve grown up, but it is quite welcome. Great album! Fun fact: read ahead about their pop-up/surprise shows tour ahead – Mackie is sponsoring this “surprise tour”. More info about the collab here.

From amazon: “Sandbox” is the fifth studio album from the power pop pride and joy of Stillwater, Oklahoma: The All-American Rejects. Steeped heavily in accolades and accomplishments over the course of the past three decades (over 12,000,000 albums sold, collaborations with Danny Elfman and Tim Burton, performances at the Vancouver Olympic Games and Super Bowl XLIV, endless sold-out venues around the globe, and beyond), 2025 saw perhaps the most interesting wrinkle in the history of the band… and the world took notice.

Rather than skip down the well-worn, rote, and predictable path of re-entry back into the live concert industry, The All-American Rejects wanted to experience what it would feel like to go and play their music to people without the looming specter of monopolistic, oligarchic corporations hovering anywhere near their vision and execution. Networking exclusively with real fans, the band was able to turn a series of non-traditional music, independent venues (bowling alleys, giant backyards, skateparks, etc.) into a full-blown tour of pop-up/surprise shows, typically to the tune of several thousands of excited fans lining up mere minutes after announcements on social media.

Ironically enough, eschewing everything traditional and bringing music directly to people sparked a bigger rush of mainstream media outlets, late-night TV shows, and endless brands attempting to attach themselves to the phenomenon than if the band had plugged into just another open socket in a daisy-chain of endless power strips tethered to a wall outlet inside a boardroom of greedy, babbling suits. Due to the spiking popular demand, the band culminated the summer run of 2025 by headlining Warped Tour in Long Beach, California, to 90,000+ fans on site and capped off 2025 with an appearance on Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve.

“Sandbox” is a continuation of the DIY ethos. Tracked primarily at Wheelhouse Studios (guitarist Nick Wheeler’s gorgeous hand-built studio) and produced by Wheeler, vocalist Tyson Ritter, and keyboardist Scott Chesak, THE ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS are seamlessly fusing all of the knowledge and skills acquired across their many years making music with all of the undeniable talent and artistic sensibilities that put them on the map in the first place.”

1,389,722 – Peter Frampton – Carry The Light

Good ‘ol Petey returns with his first album of all-new material in 16 years, huzzah! Welcome back! I don’t think he’ll release anything that will ever top ‘Frampton Comes Alive’ (what an incredible album), but this is solid. He has IBM and wasn’t expected to record anymore, so this was a welcome surprise. Packed with killer rock songs top-to-bottom, and it features a ton of special guests (read ahead).

From amazon: “Peter Frampton is a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, a guitar god, hit songwriter, and a kind human being. In 2014, Frampton was diagnosed with Inclusion Body Myositis (IBM), a rare, degenerative muscle disease. He was ready to retire after a farewell tour in 2019. Then he realized he wants to keep going until he can’t.

At 75, 50 years removed from his #1 album Frampton Comes Alive, he delivers his first new album of original rock songs in 16 years. Carry The Light is co-written with his son Julian. The album is co-produced by Frampton, Julian Frampton, and Chuck Ainlay.

The 10-song journey captures the wisdom of life entertained with the youthful magic of rock n’ roll. Collaborators on the album include: H.E.R. jamming on guitar on “Islamorada”, Benmont Tench on keyboards for the lead single “Buried Treasure”, Sheryl Crow singing on the duet “Breaking The Mold”, Bill Evans playing saxophone on “Tinderbox” and “Can You Take Me There”, Tom Morello adds his distinctive sound to “Lions At The Gate” and Graham Nash provides harmonies on “I’m Sorry Elle”.”

626,081 – Ryan Bingham and The Texas Gentlemen – They Call Us The Lucky Ones

Enjoyable folksy Americana singer-songwriter album… dude writes great tunes, and I dig his voice, as well!

From amazon: “They Call Us The Lucky Ones is a road-worn portrait of modern Americana — songs about movement, memory, love, and survival, exploring the space between freedom and consequence where highways replace homes and connection becomes the true measure of success. The album tells stories of outsiders and drifters, chosen family and lost friends, broken systems and restless ambition — and the ghosts we carry no matter how far we run.

Yet for all its hard-earned perspective, the record carries an undeniable sense of hope: a clarity that comes from a life lived in motion, the humor found along the way, and the simple joy of playing music with people you trust. It’s a record that knows how to have a good time without losing its soul.

This collection of ten songs finds Ryan Bingham at his best — where life isn’t always about perfection or redemption, but about connection. Because no matter how far you go, how fast you run, or how loud the music gets, all that matters is the people and stories you carry with you along the way.”

324,583 – Kevin Morby – Little Wide Open

‘Little Wide Open’ is the third in a trilogy, starting with ‘Sundowner’ (2020), then ‘This Is A Photograph’ (2022). This trio of albums was written and recorded when Kevin lived in the Midwest; the music and lyrics reflect this. He is an indie singer-songwriter, and this album is packed with great, super mellow, folksy tunes that I enjoyed quite a bit. I will continue to keep my eyes and ears peeled for future releases. Gorgeous.

From amazon: “For Kevin Morby, the “little wide open” is the big sky, the small lives, it’s his origins in the Midwest, and every duty and modesty and familiarity and isolation: the land, the people, and the parts of that inside him. “There’s something unintentionally musical about the Midwest; cicadas chirping in the trees, a train passing, a tornado siren going off,” explains Morby. “If you listen, there are these almost ominous sounds taking place beneath the wide-open sky—its ugliness and its beauty and how the two are often working together simultaneously. And while the Midwest isn’t technically the badlands, it’s my badlands.”

Little Wide Open is the title of Kevin Morby’s eighth studio album, produced by Aaron Dessner. In the summer of 2024, Dessner had asked Morby to support The National at their London show in Crystal Palace Park. Shortly after, Dessner—who was on a hot streak, having produced albums for Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, and Gracie Abrams—reached out to Morby to say he’d love to produce his next album. They began recording at Aaron’s Long Pond Studio in Stuyvesant, NY, early in 2025 and finished in September of that year.

The album, which features a host of contributors such as Dessner—who plays multiple instruments across it—Amelia Meath, Andrew Barr, Justin Vernon, Katie Gavin, Lucinda Williams, Meg Duffy, and more, has been described by Morby as the third in a trilogy of releases, following 2020’s Sundowner and 2022’s This Is a Photograph, which catalogued his time in the Midwest after moving back to Kansas City. This time out, Dessner’s production elevates Morby’s recordings while never losing focus on the songs themselves. There’s a newfound confidence and clarity in both Morby’s writing and Dessner’s production that recalls Tom Petty’s 1994 classic Wildflowers.

Now primarily living in LA, the atmosphere that runs through Little Wide Open has changed somewhat from its predecessors. As Rachel Kushner writes of Morby in the album’s accompanying essay: “It’s about time, about feeling like he has shifted from nostalgia and the losing game, losing but beautiful, of holding onto the past. He has accepted that time is ceaselessly flowing, and you can’t stop it. Instead, he feels like he’s riding it. He’s riding passenger with time.””

257,896 – Bear McCreary – Outlander: Season 8 [Original Television Soundtrack]

This dude is an absolute stud in the world of composing movie and series soundtracks. He shits platinum. Additionally, he plays a wide range of instruments. He is obviously incredibly talented and gifted, and this soundtrack just confirms that. I have not seen the series ‘Outlander’, but may have to. Looks like it was nominated for and/or won a bunch of awards.

From Rough Trade Records: “Outlander: Season 8 (Original Television Soundtrack) features original music by Emmy®- and Bafta®-winning composer Bear McCreary for the final season of the critically acclaimed series. McCreary has shaped the emotional core of Outlander with his signature blend of Celtic instrumentation, sweeping orchestral themes, and inventive musical storytelling. Included within the series’ musical blueprint is its main title theme, “The Skye Boat Song,” which has evolved each season to reflect the show’s shifting time periods and geographical locations. This tradition now continues into Season 8, with McCreary enlisting the talents of Annie Lennox to capture the gravity and poignancy of the story’s final chapter.”

204,748 – Jim Gaffigan – Live From Old Forester – The Bourbon Set

Been following comedian Jim “Hot Pockets” Gaffigan for yeeeeeeears! Dude is hysterical, love his delivery! What I especially enjoyed about this set is that he concentrated solely on one subject: Whiskey… and more specifically, bourbon. Jim had been a long-time beer lover, but he “discovered” bourbon during the Covid lockdown. This set talks about everything bourbon, from how he got there, its origins/history, and more… but all in a hilarious way. You don’t even need to be a drinker to enjoy this set. I’m not. Plenty of hearty, gut-busting laughter. Funny guy that JG!

149,363 – Genesis Owusu – REDSTAR WU & THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE

Kofi Owusu-Ansah (bka Genesis Owusu) is a Ghanaian-Australian rapper and singer. I liked this album, but not nearly as much as his last release, 2023’s ‘Struggler’, in which I stated the following:

“This is the raddest, weirdest album I have maybe heard this year. Dude is known as an Australian rapper and hip-hopper, but there are elements of punk, funk, new wave, alternative rock, and more… and it f’n works! I’m not sure how this crossed my desk, but I’m glad it did. This is wild and great!”

Perhaps start with ‘Struggler’, then work your way here to the new one.

From Rough Trade Records: “Genesis Owusu is a talented Ghanaian-Australian singer and rapper, currently based in Canberra, Australia. With his unique blend of genres and captivating performances, he has quickly gained recognition in the music industry. Genesis’s powerful vocals and thought-provoking lyrics resonate with audiences worldwide. His music effortlessly combines elements of hip-hop, soul, funk, and alternative rock to create a sound that is truly his own. Whether he’s performing live or recording in the studio, Genesis Owusu continues to push boundaries and defy expectations.”

86,800 – Pro-Pain – Stone Cold Anger

A few freckles over half an hour of blistering, groovy AF hardcore. Pro-Pain got their start in NYC way, way back in 1991, releasing punishing album after punishing album. Thirty-five years of experience… this shit is fire!

From Napalm Records Handels: “Legendary New York hardcore juggernauts PRO-PAIN make their debut on Napalm Records with their sixteenth studio album, Stone Cold Anger, out on May 15, 2026. Their first release in eleven years showcases the band’s explosive energy in its purest form: Stone Cold Anger unfolds heavy, angry, and ready as ever—proving PRO-PAIN haven’t lost even an ounce of strength. An exceptionally catchy offering, the new album fortifies its groovy melodies and stirring guitar riffs with furious and inciting, anthemic vocals, turning the ten new songs into worthy follow-ups to their 3.5M-stream hit “Voice Of Rebellion” (2015).

The long-awaited album (which features the return of former guitarist Eric Klinger) opens up with the punishing “Oceans Of Blood”, an energetic and captivating track which confirms once again that the scene luminaries have not lost a step in their 35-year campaign of carnage. The title track abruptly commences with soaring melodic guitars acting as sirens around frontman and bassist Gary Meskil’s commanding barks. Aptly named “March Of The Giants” is just that, a show of brute force layered upon an ever-so-heavy groove-laden foundation. “Uncle Sam Wants You!” displays a more rock ’n’ roll attitude, complete with a driving bass line and distinct social commentary; the raw and honest vibe continues throughout “Demonic Intervention” and “Rinse & Repeat”. Meskil’s raspy shouts fill the melodies of “Hell Or High Water” before PRO-PAIN forge onward and into the anthemic “Scorched Earth”—fiercely belting “And so it begins…” The following track, “Jonestown Punch”, galvanizes with stirring, up-tempo two-steps before “Sky’s The Limit” rounds off the album with catchy sing-along choruses.

Stone Cold Anger is an enthralling, memorable, and triumphant milestone for PRO-PAIN, an impressive demonstration of power. See you in the pit!”

76,501 – Eluvium – Virga III

Matthew Robert Cooper [bka Eluvium] is hit-or-miss for me. Some of his releases are genius, and others are a waste of time. This was a beautiful album featuring all ambient/soundscape-y instrumental tunes. Great to have on in the background when working or just need to chill. I also enjoyed ‘Virga I’ (2020) and ‘Virga II’ (2021). Bonus points for being from the PNW (by way of Portland, OR).

From his bandcamp page: “Virga III is the third installment in Eluvium’s inspired experimental series – and the first in nearly five years. In unmistakable contrast to the dense, ominous sprawl of Virga II, the works that make up Virga III offer an almost divine reprieve. The nervous tension, loss of control, and patient recontextualization that inspires each volume of the Virga series manifests in unique ways. As composer and Eluvium architect, Matthew Robert Cooper describes, “While Virga I was brought to me by a temporarily evacuation from my house to my garage during a winter snowstorm – and Virga II by a phantasmal dream sequence during the height of a global pandemic – Virga III takes its inspiration from the worlds found in minor green spaces, culverts, and other miniature biological ecosystems operating within our daily deluge of cruel rhetoric, unspeakable violence, unending disruption and devastating disparity. A reflection on the micro and macro universes that surround us.”

The songs on Virga III are composed and performed by Cooper, as always, but in the Virga universe, he essentially feels a unique collaboration within himself. As Cooper explains, “The Virga series affords me an opportunity to return to an older version of myself, but with a new level of understanding. Practicing more patience, interacting with these built musical systems and recordings, I hesitantly duet with my past self in a new performance or manipulative layer, only after digesting the first for as long as possible, to a point of it conjuring new and uncharted feelings, in hopes of curating a sense of therapeutic self-awareness and discovery. A mixture of the exploratory mindset against a painterly emotional resonance, gradually unfurling itself unto itself.””

65,389 – Louis Dunford – Live In North London

I got into Louis Dunford last year with his full-length debut, ‘Be Lucky’, stating, “Excellent debut release from English singer-songwriter, Louis Dunford. The songs are great, and his voice is solid. Following!” This live follow-up just reaffirms my belief that dude is solid… and the crowd loves him!

From Rough Trade Records: “Special release of recordings taken from Louis’ headline sold-out show in North London, Summer 2025. Featuring singles from his debut Top 10 album, including Lucy and The Angel (North London Forever).”

54,557 – Crown Lands – Apocalypse

I was madly in love with 2023’s ‘Fearless’, have no idea what the hell they did on the follow-up, 2025’s ‘Ritual I + II’, and now they’re back to their old ways again, huzzah! What are the old ways? How about taking a look at my review of ‘Fearless’ since it (mostly) matches this one, as well (thank goodness!):

“Holy crap, this was really great! It’s a duo out of Canada that plays prog-rock… if RUSH had a baby, they’d name it Crown Lands. I mean, shit, close your eyes, and you hear Alex, Geddy, and Neil. Not unique, but if you want to hear RUSH outtakes, this is the place. Insane! It’s top-notch! Not only that, but Dream Theater vocalist, James Labrie, told Revolver in 2021: “Best New Band: Crown Lands… Crown Lands, a band from Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. It is a prog-rock band — huge Rush influences — with classic-rock overtones throughout. It only consists of two people. Kevin Comeau plays guitar, keys, and bass. Cody Bowles plays drums and is the vocalist — and what a voice Cody has, amazing. Check out the song White Buffalo.”

Coincidentally, Crown Lands is also Canadian (by way of Toronto… just like RUSH!). In addition to the music, that album cover is straight fire. Nice job all around, boys!

From their bandcamp page: “Conceptually, ´Apocalypse´ is designed as a complete, album sides narrative experience, crafted with the classic album format in mind and unfolding as a cohesive story set in the same universe as their 2023 album ´Fearless´.” Produced by Crown Lands, David Bottrill & Nick Raskulinecz.

33,227 – Super Sometimes – Show the World What’s Underneath

I don’t like all pop-punk, but I thought this quartet delivered a nice, tight, ~30-minute package of perfectly crafted tunes. Consider me a new fan!

rom amazon: “The World What’s Underneath is Super Sometimes staking their flag as a new torchbearer of modern pop-punk. Built with the same sharp instincts that fueled their viral breakout “Spork,” the album blends infectious melodies, emotional honesty, and a fresh perspective on a genre they grew up loving. There’s something here for longtime pop-punk fans and for listeners searching for a new entry point into the scene.

Produced by Zach Tuch, who became an essential creative force throughout the process, the record balances edge and experimentation while making every hook, lyric, and moment count. Written and recorded while still in their teens and early twenties, Show The World What’s Underneath is both a love letter to the bands that inspired them and a clear statement of where Super Sometimes is headed next.”

24,479 – Port Noir – The Dark We Keep

Excellent prog-rock / prog-metal meets alternative rock band / album. Really nice stuff on this release, excellent songwriting and delivery!

From their bandcamp page: “Port Noir blends alternative rock with contemporary pop / hip-hop in a creative fashion. Inspired by bands / artists like Death From Above 1979, One Day As A Lion, Kanye West, The Weeknd, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, this band makes for a fresh and interesting addition to the pop/rock scene. Port Noir’s heaviest album to date: 11 new tracks that delivers Port Noir’s signature blend of alternative metal & progressive influences pushed to new extremes.”

16,582 – Bruce Soord – Ghosts In The Park (3 CDs / Blu-ray)

Bruce is the founder and vocalist / guitarist of prog-rock band The Pineapple Thief, and his solo releases are really nice, dreamy, mellow prog-rock albums somewhat similar to early Pineapple Thief / Porcupine Tree releases. Beautiful tunes, nice voice, great album! Disc one is the album ‘Ghosts In The Park’, disc two is ‘Ghosts In The Park’ with acoustic re-imaginings, and disc three is the piano version of ‘Ghosts In The Park’. I only listened to the first disc.

From amazon: “Multi-Instrumentalist, Producer & The Pineapple Thief Frontman Bruce Soord Returns With Powerful New Solo Album. 3cd + Blu-ray Earbook Edition Featuring Renowned Pianist Gleb Kolyadin (Iamthemorning). Includes ‘Ghosts In The Park’ CD Album, CD With Acoustic Re-Imaginings, CD With Piano Versions & Blu-ray Disc With Hi-Res Mixes (Dolby Atmos, Dts-Hd Ma 5.1, & 24/48 Pcm Stereo).

As founding member & principal songwriter of The Pineapple Thief, Bruce Soord has spent the last decade steadily refining a voice that balances emotional directness with musical restraint. ‘Ghosts In The Park’, his latest solo album, is his most personal & unguarded work to date: a record shaped by loss, memory, & the quiet spaces that reveal themselves when life continues to move while everything else appears to stop.

This definitive Earbook edition of ‘Ghosts In The Park’ is made up of a 48-page hardback book full of reflections from Bruce, previously unseen photographs & insights into the creative process behind the album.”

15,107 – Red Desert – Red Desert

Stoner rock band / album that’s really good… but not great. There are moments of greatness – and there are a lot of them – but there are other bands that just seem to grab my attention more… and keep it. Will keep my eyes and ears peeled for future releases. Pretty cool album artwork, though! Good (not great) stuff!

14,582 – MIRADOR – The Gathering At Badon Hill EP

MIRADOR is a fantastic new band – their self-titled debut was released in 2025 – featuring guitarist Jake Kiszka (Greta Van Fleet) and vocalist/guitarist Chris Turpin (Ida Mae, Kill It Kid). It’s similar-ish to Greta Van Fleet (and, of course, the almighty Led Zeppelin), yet it’s also a bit of a departure. Whereas GVF were merely replicas – that’s not a slight, I LOVE the band, and listen to them as unreleased LZ tunes – Mirador’s tunes sound more like they wear the Zep influence on their sleeve. In particular, it reminds me of Led Zeppelin III, a fantastic album that’s all over the place, yet totally cohesive.

This follow-up EP does not include any new songs, but rather acoustic re-imaginings (or, in their words, “reborn”) of five tracks off of their debut. Fun fact: it was recorded in a 12th-century English stone barn. Welcome to the show, MIRADOR!

13,623 – The Moon City Masters – Plastic Palace

OMG, I LOVE these guys! Their 5-song, 18:16-minute debut EP – ‘The Adventures of the Moon City Masters’ – released in 2019, hooked me! It kinda has a classic rock sound, jam band sounds, a little disco, funk, and a lot of groove… cool shit, mang! I wrote about my excitement over the aforementioned debut EP and The Moon City Masters – twin brothers Jordan and Talor Steinberg – befriended me, we met at NAMM, and have been friends since. Really great dudes who are also great songwriters. Super-stoked for ’em!

From the band’s website: “Brooklyn-based Moon City Masters blend funk, prog-rock, and classic rock energy into a modern sound that’s both virtuosity and groove-driven. Fronted by twin brothers Jordan and Talor Steinberg, the band has built a strong and fast-growing following, with over 80K followers on TikTok, 20k on Instagram, and features in outlets including Billboard and Rolling Stone Brazil. The group has completed multiple U.S. and European tours and performed aboard The Rock Boat festival cruise.”

10,676 – Gozu – Gozu VI

The riffs on this release are straight-up dope! Interestingly, ‘Gozu VI’ is a bit of a departure from previous albums. Whereas previous albums leaned in on psychedelic stoner rock, this one was more straight-ahead rock ‘n roll. But make no mistake; the riffs are still beefy and huge! That album artwork is pretty happenin’, too.

From Blacklight Media: “Boston stoner/fuzz rock outfit GOZU will release their long-awaited new full-length, Gozu VI, on May 15th through Blacklight Media/Metal Blade Records.

“We wanted something that really moved and hit a nerve,” says GOZU singer/guitarist Marc Gaffney on composing the band’s sixth studio album. “I was pretty roughed up emotionally while writing. I played guitar more in the past two years than ever before. I would work, go to the gym, come home, eat, and then play guitar until I went to bed.”

The end result is eight action-packed tracks, produced and mixed by Benny Grotto at Boston’s Mad Oak Studios. Emotion is writ loud and large for the band that’s been praised for their “deep grooves, thick riff mechanics, soulful melodies,” and for creating a “musical stew that intoxicates the listener, sweeping them into another aural universe.”

Gaffney has spoken about the band’s “maturity mixed with a childlike enthusiasm to play music,” and Gozu VI’s songs are proof positive. “I think this is more of a soulful, straightforward, guitar-driven album. Lyrically, this took on a whole different feel, and it wrote itself.”

“[Lead guitarist] Doug [Sherman] and I are always sending each other phone recordings,” the singer furthers. “So, we had a bunch in the mix when we all got together. It’s usually Doug and I meeting, then [drummer] Seth [Botos] and [bassist] Joseph [Grotto] hop on board, and we all hammer it out. Lyrics for these tunes were written way ahead, as I was going through some shit. I would write at night in this crappy apartment I was living in so I would not be indulging in cocktails,” Gaffney says. “Sometimes you must have your own therapy sessions, and I had a fuck ton!”

The singular band’s last album, 2023’s Remedy, was reviewed as an “utter triumph” and praised for being “never too testosteroney, even when the songs are at their heaviest.” Of GOZU’s writing approach, The Obelisk wrote, “This has been GOZU’s method for seven years now, to take the tones, grooves and – particularly in the vocals of guitarist Marc ‘Gaff’ Gaffney, the soul of heavy rock – and recontextualize them with a force of impact born of heavy metal.”

With Gozu VI, the lineup’s melding of intense, fuzzy ’70s-inspired riffs, rich, catchy, grunge-esque vocal melodies, and a touch of old-school stoner psychedelia has reached a zenith. Categorize them how you will. “We don’t mind if people think we’re stoner, doom, heavy, easy listening with a touch of cayenne pepper. I feel we’re just a heavy soulful band,” Gaff says. “We play music that people can shake their ass to and lyrics that are honest and deal with human nature.”

In advance of the record’s release, today GOZU presents their first single, “Banacek.” Comments Gaffney, “Iron Maiden is a huge favorite for all of us, and we wanted a tune with that Steve Harris gallop. Jellyfish has always been a band that has crippled me with their amazing vocal harmonies so intrinsically that’s how the vocals arrived!””

8,387 – Jobi Riccio – Face the Feeling

Rad Americana album! Jobi is a fantastic singer-songwriter, and this is her sophomore album, yet it’s my introduction to her. Perhaps I’ll need to go back and check out her 2023 debut, ‘Whiplash’. Great music, great vocals!

From amazon: “Jobi Riccio is stepping into her next chapter with Face The Feeling, her forthcoming album on Yep Roc Records due May 15. An “Emerging Act of the Year” nominee from the Americana Music Association and a John Prine Songwriters Fellowship honoree, Riccio first broke through with her 2023 debut Whiplash, a coming-of-age record rooted in folk and country traditions.

On Face The Feeling, she pushes far beyond those foundations, embracing a bolder, electric, indie-rock-driven sound that mirrors the album’s emotional depth. Where Whiplash captured the restless search for escape, Face The Feeling finds Riccio choosing to stay, confronting grief, rage, self-doubt, desire, and devotion head-on.

Written between Colorado and Nashville and co-produced with longtime collaborators Isaiah Beard and Jesse Timm, the album balances light and dark, restraint and release, as Riccio leans into discomfort as a path toward growth. Songs like “Pilar, NM,” “Wildfire Season,” and “Doesn’t Matter” reveal an artist willing to sit inside complicated feelings rather than outrun them.

Having performed at the Grand Ole Opry, made her national television debut on CBS Saturday Morning, and toured with Lucius, Jason Isbell, and Iron & Wine, Riccio arrives at Face The Feeling with clarity and confidence. The result is her most expansive work yet: a fearless excavation of self and a declaration of artistic evolution.”

7,222 – The Karma Effect – Cruel Intentions

Hats off to my buddy Scott, who turned me onto these guys, sending me the single ‘Wrong Again’ (from their self-titled debut, 2022). Now the band is on their third full-length release, and yeah, this band f’n rules! If you dig bluesy roots rock a la The Black Crowes, then give this a spin! Tasty grooves! The one caveat: there were a couple of clunkers that really let the air out of the tires on an otherwise killer album – those songs sounded as if the band (understandably) was trying to reach for a wider audience.

From amazon: “As the follow-up to their show-stopping UK Top 20 album ‘Promised Land’, The Karma Effect arrive with their third record, ‘Cruel Intentions’ – and it’s the most complete, crystal-clear realisation of their ambitions yet: leaner, louder, heavier, and joyously larger-than-life.

Exploring love, lust, and danger with dark passion and flashes of sass, the songs deliver swagger and wit in abundance. The band’s modus operandi is “modern vintage”, a desire to Polish up the retro sounds they were raised on into a gleaming, modern bundle of groove and energy.”

“We’ve thrown everything at this album,” says singer Henry Gottelier. “We’ve worked with Producer, Michael Charman again, but also brought in Romesh Dodangoda to mix it; to make every note count, bringing a stadium sound to your ears.”

705 – New Idea Society – Fire On The Hill

This was literally the last album I listened to this week, and I’m so glad that it made the cut because it’s gorgeous! It’s basically a singer-songwriter album featuring Mike Law (Wild Arrows) and Stephen Brodsky (Cave In, Mutoid Man). Very well-written songs and delivery. This is the band’s first release in 16 years, and I hope they release more… but sooner than that!

From Relapse Records: “NEW IDEA SOCIETY signs to Relapse and offers their new album, Fire on the Hill. The band has taken on differing shapes and forms over the years, but at its heart is the duo of Mike Law (Wild Arrows) and Stephen Brodsky (Cave In, Mutoid Man), a pair enraptured and united by the alchemical power of songwriting. With a connection that can be traced back to their high school years, between them exists an intuitive understanding that informs exactly what NEW IDEA SOCIETY is at any given point.

Although the pair have come a long way since their earliest explorations in audio in the late 90s, the roots of their alliance were forged in those makeshift basement studios. For Fire On The Hill, Law and Brodsky took a more collaborative approach to songwriting than on previous releases. With Brodsky describing their process as “microscopic” and Law marveling at the particulars of the minutiae they pored over, the attention to detail and their meticulous approach to making adjustments in the service of the work shines through in the cohesiveness of this collection of songs. With demos passed back and forth over months – Brodsky sending them in the early morning, and Law taking the evening shift – the songs evolved naturally; refining a chord progression, adapting a lyrical perspective, or, in the case of the track Lantern, rewriting the words entirely.

Thematically, the album is about love, in its many forms. With each track detailing some element of navigating emotional relationships – the beauty, the pain, the loss, and the hope – the duo have captured the immediacy and urgency of such feelings, tempered by a sliver of yearning that stops short of tipping into nostalgia.

Now with years of experience to their names, alongside a developed vocabulary and extended sonic palette to draw from, they have created something specifically and idiosyncratically NEW IDEA SOCIETY. Fire On The Hill is them in full flight, at the height of their powers.”

Missed the Cut (in order by “popularity”*):

111,071,181 – Drake – HABIBTI

Aubrey Drake Graham (or simply, Drake) is an INSANELY popular hip-hop/R&B star, but other than the amazing production, I don’t get it. What’s he droppin’ that’s so happenin’? Apparently I’m not the only one, as all three albums got panned pretty hard. But mad props to him for releasing not one, not two, but THREE albums on a single day. Baller!

111,071,181 – Drake – MAID OF HONOUR

^^^See above.

111,071,181 – Drake – ICEMAN

^^^See above.

6,471,413 – The Smashing Pumpkins – Zodeon At Crystal Hall

William Corgan and The Smashing Pumpkins return with an old/new album. It was recorded during the pandemic (2020, old), yet released now (2026, new). The band was inspired by the psychedelic rock movement of the mid-’60s on this release. It’s a period that I love, but “being inspired by” and “sounding like” are two different things. This didn’t sound to me like mid-’60s psych rock, but rather straight-ahead rock. I still have (and prefer) their older shit – Gish, Siamese Dream, and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness – and will still jam that killer stuff, but probably not this.

From Rough Trade Records: “The official album release of The Smashing Pumpkins’ Zodeon At Crystal Hall is finally here! Recorded during the pandemic and inspired by ’65 and ’66 British psych influences. Tracks from Zodeon At Crystal Hall were originally available as 5 singles in the ATUM: A Rock Album in Three Acts boxset – this 12-track release includes 3 unreleased tracks and is sequenced the way it was always meant to be heard in stereo. With stunning art by Katelan Foisy and Chloé Mendel Corgan, this is a must-have for any SP fan.”

609,188 – Shakey Graves – Fondness, Etc.

Alejandro Rose-Garcia (bka Shakey Graves) is sort of an Americana / singer-songwriter meets psychedelic rock artist. It’s good, ya know, but I’ve heard better. This one just doesn’t speak to me… but he is wildly popular.

266,544 – Tank and the Bangas – The Last Balloon

‘The Last Balloon’ is a funky / soulful / R&B / hip-hop / spoken word album. This NOLA-based band won NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest in 2017 (and a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album in 2024’s ‘The Heart, The Mind, The Soul’), but, man, I am not into them. I can hear why people would dig them, but they’re not really my jam.

191,734 – 49 Winchester – Change Of Plans

New West Records label is home to some of the best singer-songwriter / alt-country / Americana / roots-rock / etc. bands… but they’re also home to straight-up country-western bands, like 49 Winchester. Their cover of Black Sabbath’s ‘Changes’ is pretty rad, but the rest of the album? Trash can.

88,980 – Rostam – American Stories

Rostam Batmanglij – رستم باتمانقلیج – is the former (2006-2016) multi-instrumentalist (keyboards, programming, guitars, percussion, lead/backing vocals), founding member, and producer of Vampire Weekend. Here he goes solo (again), and this album could not have ended soon enough. It’s crappy artsy-fartsy indie Americana pop. Not good.

23,422 – Midnight Odyssey – A Mass Of Fallen Stars (Live In Toulon)

Ah, drats, such a disappointing follow-up to 2025’s all-killer, no-filler ‘Master of the Nebulous Reach’. Here is what I said about that album: “Midnight Odyssey is an Australian one-man “band” [Dis Pater]. He writes all-instrumental black metal, neo-classical, ambient, doom-folk metal tunes. It is most excellent. Beautiful, ethereal, soundscape-y; great for background music or throwin’ on the headphones and letting the outside world disappear for a while.”

For this live album, though, he recruited band members to join him. No problem, I get it. Can’t reproduce everything all on your own. But I think the issue – or at least my issue – with this release is that they covered all eras of their catalog, including the earliest recordings when Dis Pater was more in the black metal realm. So, yeah… I love all the newer, more ambient / soudscape-y shit, but the BM/DM stuff has gotta go…

From their bandcamp page: “2023 marked a significant moment in MIDNIGHT ODYSSEY’s history, as for the first time in 16 years, Dis Pater welcomed new members to his project to perform live in Europe. A year later, the band returned to the Old Continent, and they will do so again in 2026. “A Mass Of Fallen Stars” wants to celebrate the event by offering fans the first live audiovisual document of MIDNIGHT ODYSSEY, recorded and filmed in 2024 in Toulon, France, inside a Protestant temple. An evocative and perfect place to welcome MIDNIGHT ODYSSEY’s atmospheric black metal, which thus takes on further mystical and spiritual accents.

Thanks to a setlist that draws on songs from all the band’s recordings (from the seminal 2009 demo “Firmament” to the majestic “Biolume” trilogy, passing through the acclaimed masterpieces of “Funerals From The Astral Sphere” and “Shards Of Silver Fade”), “A Mass Of Fallen Stars” offers a complete overview of the stylistic code of an artist that over time has synthesized a personal musical formula ranging from atmospheric black metal to ambient, from symphonic doom metal to dark wave.

The blue lights that envelop MIDNIGHT ODYSSEY during their performance convey the idea of ​​a great gig in the sky, a liturgical ceremony of cosmic proportions performed in front of a mesmerized and visibly moved audience, blissfully lost in splendid nocturnal melodies and dreamlike dimensions that transcend life and death.”

8,145 – Kreidler – Schemes

Kreidler is a German-based all-instrumental electronica trio – Thomas Klein (percussion, drums, found sounds), Alexander Paulick (fretless bass guitar), and Andreas Reihse (synthesisers, electronics, field recordings). This is their ninth full-length, yet my introduction to them. It was enjoyable (and I’ll continue to keep my eyes on them), but it didn’t fully hit me like other ambient-type electronic albums do. Like, don’t love.

6,863 – Acid Reign – Daze Of The Week

Thrash metal meets hardcore. Some decent riffage throughout, but overall it’s a miss. Not the worst thing I’ve ever heard, but not the best, either. What’s next?

4,203 – Wheelchair Sports Camp – oh imperfecta

I love the idea behind the album (read ahead), but good Lord, was it awful! Going in, I knew it would be a massive hit or a complete miss. I suppose it’s experimental hip-hop? Fuck if I know. Hot garbage. Terrible.

From Alternative Tentacles Records: “Hailing from Denver, CO, fronted by Kalyn Rose Heffernan – a wheelchair using, profanely queer and tiny rapper, with a very distinctly high-pitched sense of humor. Backed by her gimp Greggy on drums, the band combines fantastic beats with an absolutely face-shredding live show.

Playing shows everywhere they could, the band has expanded into performance art, museum takeovers, politics, prison tours, permanent installations, theatre, film, and now the release of their newest album, “oh imperfecta” on Alternative Tentacles Records.”

2,020 – Touch Girl Apple Blossom – Graceful

Yeah, this indie pop – or more explicitly, “twee pop” – album is packed with awful songs. Lucky me, it was only ~30-ish minutes long. This is their debut, and I hope no future releases end up on my desk.

From amazon: “Austin’s Touch Girl Apple Blossom are no strangers to wearing their hearts on their sleeve. And it may be something in the name we really feel they found their rightful place at K. 10 Tracks. 33RPM. With a March Tour with Good Flying Birds, they are setting this new wave of indie pop on fire!”

309 – My Heart, An Inverted Flame – My Death Is More Beautiful Than Your Life

This is a ‘tweener release leaning no. My Heart, An Inverted Flame is an atmospheric synth-doom duo – Andee Connors (Drums) + Marc Kate (Synths, FX) – or, as they call it (via their bandcamp page: “████████████ art-damaged, droning █████████ synth-doom ███ blurred █████ bleary, corrosive, caustic █████████ ██████ hypnotic, psychedelic █████ █████ lumbering, teutonic ████████████ blissed-out ███████ █████ sublime, cinematic ████████ annihilation.”

I’d also add that it’s a bit on the experimental / avant-garde side of things. There were some vocals (low in the mix), but for the most part, this ~1 hr, 18 minute album is mostly instrumental. I add “experimental / avant-garde” because there’s no groove to the album. I certainly couldn’t make out any structure as far as verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-etc. goes (and perhaps there is some formula), nonetheless I still (kind of enjoyed it – certainly enough to keep my eyes and ears peeled for future releases). Not for the faint of heart, and certainly not for anyone looking for any kind of structure in their songs.

From Earsplit PR: “Long-running exploratory label Crucial Blast announces the May 15th release of My Death Is More Beautiful Than Your Life, from atmospheric synth-doom duo MY HEART, AN INVERTED FLAME.

A wave of lunar heaviosity, My Death Is More Beautiful Than Your Life is the sophomore album from MY HEART, AN INVERTED FLAME – drummer Andee Connors (A Minor Forest, Common Eider, King Eider, Aquarius Records) and synth/electronics/vocalist Marc Kate (I Am Spoonbenderm P.E.E. and J-Church) – delivering another slab of their signature tectonic synth-doom. Despite what appears to be a spare sound palette and dispensing with the use of guitar and bass, the duo’s sound is utterly immense and wrought in dark emotional intensity, sprawling across nearly eighty minutes of morose slow-motion grandeur. The ten songs lumber through the duo’s signature haze of electronic luminescence and earth-shifting percussion, crafting each one into a massive slab of ultra-heavy glacial drift. It would be too simple to describe this as “drone metal” – MY HEART, AN INVERTED FLAME evokes a moonswept ambience that offers something lusher and radiant, lending moments of dreamlike beauty to the gravitational crush. Likewise, this transcends the banner of doom metal; while Connors flattens everything in sight with his colossal sledgehammer drumming, the blown-out electronic textures of Kate’s synthesizers and FX delirium pulls the sound into a kind of cosmos-devouring psychedelia, with swells of saturated cinematic majesty billowing across the rupturing percussive dirge.

The drums thunder in the deep, laying down monumental backbeat awash in swirling, squealing, searing electronic noise and howling Berlin School-esque melodic forms. But they also roll and stutter monstrously, Connors rending the blackness with sudden bursts of seemingly freeform power as often as he locks into a mesmeric slowcore groove or bone-shattering dirge. Between the active percussive blast and epic choral synth on tracks like “My Body, My Problem,” the evil distant screams that float through “You. Alone.,” and the stop-start caveman hammer of “Necrosomethingology,” the band evokes deep, dolorous depths of black drift, hyper-distorted drones, over-modulated glitch, and gut-rupturing earthquake reverberations. This stuff is heavy as hell but powered by an occasional Teutonic drive that immerses the lumbering weight in a hypnotic haze that emits its own unique effect. This is brought full force on the eighteen-minute saga “No And Never,” where MY HEART, AN INVERTED FLAME pushes into an agonizingly propulsive magma groove that brings all the album’s most hypnotic elements together in grandiose style. A steady, elephantine backbeat drives waves of feedback, distorted chordal crush, luscious electronic hum, pulsating bass lines, and glimmering keyboard melodies, into a kind of monstrous motorik hypno-sludge epic. Sweeping and sumptuous, and the centerpiece of the album. Almost like some stretched-out ‘80s-era post-punk slowed and transformed into something demolishing in its mesmeric intensity. The three songs that then round off “My Death” disgorge you back into the depths, drowning the listener in more grim and bleary distorted dirge, those vicious blown-out vocals howling in the deep, the sound balanced on the edge of utterly oppressive darkness and sky-climbing electronic textures. Harrowing, even hellish. Navigating purgatorial chasms and noise-damaged bliss. Ending the album in a depth charge blast of explosive percussion amid billowing shadows and restrained, expansive space. Closing with the equivalent of a sepulcher caving in on itself.

Often achingly beautiful, but relentlessly heavy, the duo seemingly channels the blissful filmic dream-drift of Tangerine Dream and Popol Vuh and the hypnotic throb of both modern minimalism and vintage psychedelia as easily as the corrosive, crustal crush of Corrupted, Khanate, and Black Boned Angel and the bleary dreariness of funeral doom icons like Thergothon and Skepticism. Leaning further into an experimental and adventurous pursuit of catastrophic sound. An almost ritualistic trance-state of stripped-down drumming and dense electronic layers.

My Death Is More Beautiful Than Your Life was recorded at The Lost Room, mixed at Crowbar Corner, mastered by James Plotkin (Khanate, Earth, Gnaw), and completed with art by Andrew McLeod.”

274 – Desiccation – Legatum Mortuorum

Ooph, we got a real stinker here. Desiccation is a death metal trio consisting of husband-wife duo – James (guitars, vocals, synths) and Soell Bratt (vocals) – plus Patrick Hills (drums, bass, synths, background vocals). It basically sounded like a sheet of pure white noise mixed with fingernails on a chalkboard. Don’t make the mistake I made. Avoid!

Addendum (in order by “popularity”*) – Albums that were released earlier in the year (or previous years) that I missed, but are worth mentioning, anyhow:

1,680,393 – Isaiah Rashad – It’s Been Awful – [May 1st, 2026]

Isaiah Rashad is a hip-hop artist, but here he adds in elements of cosmic jazz, psychedelic rock, and neo-soul to the mix. The production is pretty slick, but the tunes don’t do anything for me. The album came and went, leaving little to no impression (other than the aforementioned production).

From Townsend Music: “It’s Been Awful marks the moment Isaiah Rashad fully becomes his own genre. The Top Dawg Entertainment visionary returns with his third studio album, expanding his sonic world beyond hip-hop into cosmic jazz, psychedelic guitar rock, Soulquarian neo-soul, and flashes of genre-blurring experimentation. Featuring SZA, Dominic Fike, and Julian Sintonia, Rashad delivers his most vulnerable and fully-realized work yet after five transformative years, an unfiltered reflection on addiction, growth, self-confrontation, and redemption.”

384,927 – Teen Suicide – Nude descending staircase, headless – [April 17th, 2026]

The band describes their kind of music as “experimental rock / sludge / pop” and this album is a bit of a miss for me. How they’re as popular as they are I’ll never know… Ooph.

144,555 – LØLØ – god forbid a girl spits out her feelings! – [April 17th, 2026]

Well that’s a bummer. I was going to use ‘god forbid a girl spits out her feelings!’ as the title for my solo album. Guess I gotta choose a new one. Anyway, it’s an album I won’t listen to again, but I gotta give it props. It’s a pretty solid poppy singer-songwriter album. Fun fact: LØLØ is the stage name for Canadian Lauren Mandel, eh…

From amazon: “LØLØ’s `god forbids a girl spits out her feelings!’ is a stripped-back, diaristic new album that embraces the mess of being human. Just a girl, her pen, and her guitar, LØLØ chronicles learning, losing, falling in love and falling apart with radical honesty. Ultra-sensitive and emotionally fearless, she turns intrusive thoughts and moments of doubt into cathartic, intimate songs that own feeling “too much.””

94,093 – Fcukers – Ö – [March 27th, 2026]

Fcukers (not mispelled) is a NYC-based duo that plays a horrific mix of electronic / dance club music. Under half an hour long, but it felt like an eternity. PASS.

On the List (in order by “popularity”*) – Albums that I didn’t get to (yet) for one reason or another. Will (hopefully) get to them at a later date:

Only listing ones that made me take notice, not everything…

None!

Looking forward to (in order by “popularity”*) – These albums will be released this week and should be in next week’s AOTW blog:

962,031 – Bleachers – everyone for ten minutes

781,447 – Maisie Peters – Florescence

684,656 – Future Islands – From a Hole in the Floor to a Fountain of Youth

599,702 – Dimmu Borgir – Grand Serpent Rising

109,304 – Armored Saint – Emotion Factory Reset

59,887 – Erik Grönwall – Bad Bones

42,083 – The Deslondes – Don’t Let It Die: Vol. 1

24,366 – XCOMM – Time To Burn

7,507 – Ed O’Brien – Blue Morpho

2,942 – Bear – Anhedonia EP

2,465 – JPT Scare Band – Live At Crosstown Station

1,806 – Thomas Dollbaum – Birds of Paradise

702 – Burial Clouds – Burn Holy

168 – Suzette Charles – Suzette Charles

…and several others. Some that I am looking forward to and others not so much.

———————————————————————————————

Small print that’s normal size print:

*These albums are listed in order by “popularity”. Wait, what? How? By no means is it a measured calculation. They’re listed in order by number of ‘followers’ on Spotify. While it is listed by Spotify ‘followers’, the order would (most likely) be similar if looking at the number of ‘likes and/or followers’ on each band’s social media pages. Speaking of “popularity”, there is a bolded red number. This number (more or less) represents the number of Spotify ‘followers’ at the time of review.

**Album of the Week. No promises, but I will do my best to NOT include Greatest Hits, Best Of, Live releases, re-releases, etc. Even if these “new” releases include a ton of bonus goodies, multiple unreleased tracks, demo versions, etc, I’ll still (try to) hold off.

All albums are listened to IN FULL unless stated otherwise.

Some artists are quite controversial. My goal is to review the album on its own merits, not based on the history, beliefs (political or otherwise), police records, and/or anything else that could be considered “unsavory” of the artist(s).

(Almost) all albums are hyperlinked. I link in order by Bandcamp first, YouTube next, then Spotify last. This is so you can check out (AND PURCHASE) the album, if interested. I do and hope you do, as well!

Do you have any friends or family who might be interested in this weekly blog? If so, send ’em this way!

Until next week…

Cheers,

Troy