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

Hey, Happy Birthday to the United States of America! Not just any birthday, but 250 years, woo-hoo 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸

I am actually not a fan of Independence Day, but it’s all because of the fireworks. I have to stuff my dogs with some Trazodone to help them relax… but even then, they still find dark, hidden corners of the house to hide in while the wife and I do our very best to comfort the kiddos, petting and loving them.

A friend is throwing a BBQ, and sure, I’ll go… in the early afternoon. For a little bit. Then I will leave long before the sun goes down and the explosions begin. I can’t even imagine what it’s like for critters out in the wild. At least we can try to comfort our kids, but wild animals have no idea WTH is going on! NYE/NYD are also notoriously bad.

Have fun, but be safe! Don’t blow any fingers off!

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We have Friday off (since the 4th of July falls on a Saturday), and I am also taking Monday off. One long, 4-day weekend bookended by two short(er) 4-day weeks. Therefore, next week’s blog may be a little light in the music listening department.

Album-wise, I was convinced that the latest offering from MUSE would be this past week’s AOTW, but you know what…? It isn’t. It tops the Honorable Mentions list – deservedly so! – but doesn’t take that next giant leap into the winner’s circle. The latest from Child is solid, too, but we’re going with “None” for this week’s AOTW, unfortunately.

Are you a casual fan who stumbled across this site? If so, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, as these are delivered every Thursday at 9 PM PT. With a subscription, you’ll be sure to never miss an issue!

😁 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

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Album(s) of the Week** – June 26th to July 2nd, 2026:

None.

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

8,708,125 – MUSE – The Wow! Signal

Man, I dig Muse, and it was just reaffirmed here. Such killer tunes, great delivery, songwriting, vocals, etc. Very epic and grandiose… That said, I don’t think the band will ever top 2004’s ‘Absolution’. Now THAT is a phenomenal album! I’ll listen to ‘The Wow! Signal’ again, but that’s because I’m a fan of their entire body of work, not just ‘Absolution’.

From amazon: “Muse are a culturally attuned, genre-defying band who channel the anxieties of each era—technology, power, rebellion, and identity—into maximalist, stadium-ready rock that evolves with the times while staying unmistakably Muse.

Kicking off with new single “Be With You,” this next era of Muse is rooted in electronic experimentation and an insatiable curiosity. ‘The WOW! Signal’ represents a world of cosmic mystery, existential hope, and the exhilarating possibility of contact with something far greater than ourselves.”

2,909,852 – Simply Red – Holding Back The Years: 40 Years of Simply Red, Live in Santiago (2 CDs)

Even though only lead singer Mick Hucknall remains from their origins, soft pop/rock band Simply Red celebrates 40 years as a band with nearly two hours of blissful songs. I gotta be honest – other than ‘Holding Back The Years’ (and the scattering of a few classic covers), I wasn’t familiar with any of the tunes. That said, I still thoroughly enjoyed it – Fantastic crowd!

From Townsend Music: “Last year, Simply Red celebrated four decades of classic hits and timeless music with a 40th anniversary world tour, performing to more than a million fans worldwide.

The setlist is a hit-packed crowd-pleaser, featuring ‘Stars’, ‘Holding Back the Years’, ‘If You Don’t Know Me By Now’, ‘Something Got Me Started’, ‘Fairground’, and many more.

The Santiago crowd lives up to its reputation, taking the atmosphere to fever pitch throughout, bringing electrifying energy to the uptempo numbers as well as almost hymnal singing to the ballads.”

1,675,725 – Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow – Live in Düsseldorf 1976 – Düsseldorf Philips-Halle 27.9.1976

I love Rainbow! Ritchie Blackmore on guitar and Ronnie James Dio on vox, Jimmy Bain (bass), Tony Carey (keys), and Cozy Powell (drums)…wow! I love how they stretch out the tunes and just go wild. Excellent release!

From amazon: “3LP (Black Vinyl) in wide-spine sleeve. First-time-ever vinyl release for this incredible live concert from Rainbow’s debut world tour and documenting one of the band’s first-ever shows in Europe, at Düsseldorf Philipshalle on 27th September 1976. Newly mastered by Andy Pearce & Matt Wortham and released on 26th June 2026.

When Rainbow finally landed in Europe for their debut live shows there, it was on the back of both the albums ‘Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow’ and ‘Rainbow Rising’ having charted, so the band were playing sold out venues, and what a band… with the line up consisting of Ritchie Blackmore, Ronnie James, Cozy Powell, Jimmy Bain, and Tony Carey As one of the cornerstones of British Rock, Rainbow, led by the neverpredictable but ever-astonishing guitarist, Ritchie Blackmore, became synonymous with some of the most well regarded and popular charting Rock songs of the seventies and eighties.

This show, recorded on the band’s Rainbow Rising tour in 1976 in Düsseldorf, Germany, features Rainbow and pure rock classics such as ‘Stargazer’ and ‘Man on the Silver Mountain’. This live album has only been available on CD pressings originally made 20 years ago, both as a single concert / as part of the Japan-only 6-CD Box Set Deutschland Tournee 1976. Now nearly 50 years on from the original concert, the recording makes its debut appearance on a vinyl format with the audio newly mastered by Andy Pearce & Matt Wortham.”

362,490 – Glen Hansard – Don+t Settle (Vol. 2 – Transmissions West)

Legendary folk singer-songwriter Glen Hansard used to busk on the streets of his hometown of Dublin, Ireland, but those days are long over. Dude just writes great, folksy singer-songwriter tunes filled with raw emotion and beauty. Wonderful stuff. All of his releases are gold. This (live for an intimate audience) album especially seems to get stronger as the album plays on…. and at over ~45 mins of playtime, I didn’t want it to end. So good! Check out the movie ‘Once’ [2007], which he stars/plays in… it is FANTASTIC!

From Rough Trade Records: “Following the success of Don+t Settle – Transmissions East, we now move onto the second part of this journey with Don+t Settle – Transmissions West.

Highlighting an incredibly prolific and diverse career, this isn’t just a ‘Best of’ – it’s a live studio album, it’s a no-second-takes, no autotune, no editing. Just live, raw, direct energy that captures the magic of Glen like nothing released before.

Recorded at the legendary Funkhaus in Berlin, a historical East German radio and recording studio, with a huge acoustically perfect orchestral live room – the album was captured in a controlled studio environment, yet recorded and filmed across two nights in the round, with 600 fans in the room each night.”

254,901 – Deacon Blue – The Great Western Road Trip: A Live Album (2 CDs)

Wow, another band I hadn’t heard until 2025’s ‘The Great Western Road’… but this band got their start in 1988, whoa! It’s “adult-oriented rock”. Typically too cheesy to put in my wheelhouse, but there are a few AOR bands out there that I like. Here’s another one that I can add to that list. This was fantastic, and the in-between song banter is fun/ny. Even at a nearly ~2-hour runtime, it never wore out its welcome. RIP James Miller Prime :-(

From Rough Trade Records: “On March 30th we gave the first performance of The Great Western Road Trip at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall. As if opening night anxiety was not enough, we were also playing nine new songs for the very first time with the added fear factor of a request by BBC Scotland to record the concert.

Somehow all of these factors combined to focus us into playing, what we now realise, was one of our best performances there or anywhere for some time. There was one unknown factor. That night was to be the last time we would play in Scotland with our friend and brother James Miller Prime.

So, this is a very special recording of six close friends and musicians making music, unaware they were on their last ever run of shows together. We hope the excitement we felt at creating the show comes over and you enjoy this unique recording of very special Edinburgh night.”

Dedicated to James Miller Prime (3 November 1960 – 19 June 2025)

235,350 – The Bouncing Souls – Born To Be

Ooooold-school [since 1989] high-energy pop punk band still releasing solid material after all this time… good for them!

From Rough Trade Records: “For nearly four decades, The Bouncing Souls have remained a cornerstone of punk rock, influencing generations while continuing to grow a loyal, cross-generational fanbase. Their new album Born To Be captures the band’s enduring spirit, exploring themes of connection, resilience, and community in the face of modern challenges.

Created collaboratively by all four members and produced by Will Yip, the record reflects a band still creatively energized and deeply invested in their craft. More than nostalgia, The Bouncing Souls continue to create music that brings people together and reinforces their lasting cultural impact.”

135,975 – Dan Deacon – Little Brother [Soundtrack From The Netflix Film]

I’ve been listening to musician / composer Dan Deacon for a few years and have always loved his stuff, solo or soundtrack. Talented composer!

This release is the soundtrack to the comedy film ‘Little Brother’ starring John Cena, Eric André, Michelle Monaghan, Christopher Meloni, and more. The movie got absolutely slaughtered in reviews, and I get it. It’s total low-brow potty-type humor… but fuck it, I can check my brain at the door for 90 minutes. Just don’t expect ‘The Godfather’, ya know?!

Fun fact: actor Eric André also plays upright bass on the album! Another fun fact: he also attended the quite prestigious Berklee College Of Music!

107,983 – Kamaal Williams – Last Night In Paris EP

I’m not a fan of (most) traditional jazz, but this release has a little stank on it, a little funk. I can dig this. Other than one track, this is all instrumental.

99,595 – Pat Travers Band – Bluesed Out In Houston – Live In Houston, TX – March 20, 2004

Blues, rock. From Cleopatra Records: “The biggest, baddest blues trio to ever hit the stage offers up a Texas-sized slab of electrified blues on this scintillating concert album recorded in 2004!

Features the leanest, meanest line-up of the Pat Travers Band in history with southern rock legend Greg T. Walker of Lynyrd Skynyrd/Blackfoot on bass and former AC/DC skin basher Simon Wright on drums!

Includes a colossal 13-minute version of “Born Under A Bad Sign” PLUS epic versions of fan favorites “Boom Boom Out Go The Lights,” “Snortin’ Whiskey,” and lots more!”

79,927 – American Aquarium – New Ways To Lose

AA is a fantastic alt-country band! They’ve been around for a while, but my first time hearing them was 2020’s ‘Lamentations,’ which is excellent… what a find! Enjoy!

From Rough Trade Records: “American Aquarium’s new record, New Ways To Lose, was brought to life at the historic Sunset Sound Recordings alongside the inimitable Shooter Jennings.

The project finds the band returning to a cornerstone of their sound, delivering a bold, rock ’n’ roll album that reminisces their critically acclaimed Burn.Flicker.Die. With New Ways To Lose, that same sense of urgency and evolution returns, sharper and more self-assured than ever.

Across its ten tracks, New Ways To Lose captures the peak of Barham’s songwriting: vivid storytelling, emotional precision, and a keen eye for the unfiltered experience of being human. The album balances the pulse of a live performance with tracks like “History Repeats Itself” and the intimate closeness of “Favorite Hello.” Few artists can move so seamlessly between those two sides of the coin. Enter BJ Barham.”

63,917 – Devon Gilfillian – Time Will Tell

Oh hellz yeah! It’s a soulful, gospel-y singer-songwriter album. This is his third full-length, yet my introduction to him. I shan’t miss any future releases. Baller!

From amazon: “To get to where we’re going, we’ve got to suffer a little. Devon Gilfillian’s fourth studio album, Time Will Tell, is the sound of doing exactly that but realizing what a blessing it is to be here at all. This album was recorded in Nashville’s legendary RCA Studio A, live to tape on varispeed with mostly single vocal takes and includes the singles, “IRL” and “Black Dog Rabbit Hole.””

33,879 – Abul Mogard and Rafael Anton Irisarri – Where Light Pauses In The Silence Of The Sun

As a fan of ambient, drone, electronic, soundscape, et al-type albums, this one does well! I love the minimalism; this kind of music is fantastic! I have listened to these two collaborate previously (studio and live), and it’s always wonderful.

From the bandcamp page: “In spring 2025, Abul Mogard and Rafael Anton Irisarri created the source material for their second album, Where Light Pauses in the Silence of the Sun, during a three-day residency at Morphine Raum in Berlin. Functioning as both a recording studio and a performance venue, the space has no stage, with the audience gathered around the performers. Working within an open framework, the duo reshaped the music each evening while recording the performances live to multitrack. Rotary speakers, modular synthesizers, and bowed guitar formed the core of their sonic language, captured through a 1970s mixing console and microphones placed around the room.

Back in Mogard’s studio in Rome, the material was further crafted as motifs were stretched, fragments isolated, and tempos dissolved. Irisarri recorded additional guitar textures and treatments in New York, while passages recorded by Martina Bertoni and Andrea Burelli in Berlin reinforced the harmonic centres and brought breath, refinement, and a new sensibility to their compositions. The process continued as Mogard’s layering and subtraction reassembled everyone’s parts into the final arrangement.

The album opens with “In the Eastern Wild,” building from a sparse outline into a monumental formation of low-frequency weight, its internal motion shaped by the rotating Leslie speaker. “Over the Domes” widens into a broader acoustic field, where sustained modular tones meet waves of softly plucked guitar. The music then turns inward with “A Blue Descent,” centred on Bertoni’s cello, whose growling timbre introduces a melancholic depth.

At the album’s centre, “In a Quiet Radiance” unfolds around a slow guitar ostinato, its luminous stillness opening into a more expansive and reflective state. Across its ten-minute span, Burelli’s violin lines and Bertoni’s lower cello phrases gradually surface, weaving through the harmonic field. Mogard brings Burelli’s processed voice to the fore, its emotive, operatic presence becoming one of the record’s pivotal moments. “Of Blessed Ages” suspends the sonic flow, shifting between parallel major and minor chords as lingering, slowly decaying melodies shape the music’s internal drift. The closing “Among Shadows” settles into a darker resonance as layered textures recede.

Mogard and Irisarri’s shared language balances restraint and maximalism. UK magazine Crack describes the music as “a tidal wave held in suspension,” while Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant writes, “What a colossal sound, and how this music strikes at the emotions.” Reflecting on the residency sessions, Irisarri recalls: “At moments I genuinely couldn’t tell if a sound was coming from me or from Abul. It stopped feeling like two people making decisions and began to feel like we were inside a system moving on its own.”

Marja de Sanctis’ cover artwork revisits the vessel sculpture from the duo’s first album, Impossibly Distant, Impossibly Close. There it appeared as raw, unfired clay. Here, it has been fired in the kiln and finished with a glaze. Light gathers on its polished surface and spills into the surrounding space. As she explains, “I wanted to convey the idea of continuity within the duo, and the vessel became a kind of container for that idea. However, their music felt different this time, and with the collaboration of Martina and Andrea, I felt it should have a sleeker, softer, more glamorous look, very distant from the first raw appearance.” The transformation of the vessel from raw clay to fired form suggests a passage from immediacy toward permanence, mirroring the music’s gradual expansion.”

25,564 – Junius – Sotera

Junius is a post-metal band that is hit-or-miss for me, but I dig this album. Plus, it’s a welcome return after a lengthy nine-year gap. Tons of ups, tons of downs, tons of attitude, beautiful vocals, music… I liked what I heard!

From Prosthetic Records: “Boston post-metal band, Junius, will release its new LP, ‘Sotera‘, on June 26 via Prosthetic Records. ‘Sotera’ is Junius’ first full-length LP in nearly a decade, following 2017’s Eternal Rituals for the Accretion of Light, a recording that Rolling Stone noted, “takes the band’s alternately soaring and crashing sound to even more diverse places.” Produced by Junius vocalist/guitarist, Joseph E. Martinez and Tom Syrowski (Blackberry Smoke, Mastodon), ‘Sotera’, in Martinez’s words, “feels like a rebirth for the band” and “is an act of devotion as much as it is a piece of music.”

Harmonizing bright transcendence, heightened consciousness, coiled ear-worming, and emotional swell in like degree, ‘Sotera’s’ ambient shoegaze metal is expansive and deep, best experienced unhurriedly. Call it sound as relief and release; intense undercurrents of magnetic volume attached to an almost symphonic use of motion. Fully realized music as exhilarating as it is ghostly. Whereas earlier Junius records wrestled with cataclysms, escaping Samsara and what might come after death, ‘Sotera’ shifts the focus toward something more immediate: restoring balance through the worship of the divine feminine.

“The word Sotera is the feminine form of savior or protector in Greek, and it perfectly captured what the album was circling around,” offers Martinez. “This album is a musical invocation that explores the divine feminine as a force of transformation and balance. Medea stands at the threshold. In Sotera, we’re calling upon Hekate, her mother, to guide us in her resurrection. The Oracle as a loving but ignored prophet. Lucifera appears as the punished light-bringer. The Initiatrix is the one who begins the rite.”

The first track released from ‘Sotera’ is the surging “Initiatrix”. Direct and succinct, “Initiatrix” explores the use of intentional gestures as boosters for cognitive and emotional change. “Initiatrix” distills the album into 3 minutes and 23 seconds, and it captures the heart of the record,” says Martinez. “It’s about willingly stepping into a ritualistic transformation, asking to be changed and accepting the consequences of that choice.””

23,241 – Dustbowl Revival – Change Your Mind

I dug this. They have that folksy / soulful alt-country sound with a horn section and all. I can get behind this! Fun fact: while previous albums were more “booty-shaking” releases with the horns direct and in your face, they were dialed back on this release. It was recorded in a secluded cabin in Wisconsin, leading towards a more intimate indie-folk release. The horns are still there, just more in the background.

From the band: “In so many ways, it represents an epic struggle between good and evil, love and loss, what’s right for ourselves but may be wrong for our fractious country. It is about why making music and finding peace and light in the darkness is needed now more than ever… the writing centers on facing relationships—and a country—that may have changed forever, picking up the pieces of wreckage to find rebirth, clarity, and new love.”

21,481 – Tasha – You Are Spring!

Tasha has an incredible voice, and she writes fantastic mellow, folksy, singer-songwriter songs. She is on my watch list now!

From her bandcamp page: “In You are Spring!, out on June 26 on Bayonet Records, Tasha spirits us away from dull, gray winter into a world replete with images and sensations of new life. Think: a riot of bell-shaped blooms; blush and citrine and butter yellow; the sky a clear, lungful of blue; warmth, everywhere, kissing skin overwintered and longing for touch; ease after suffering; a deep breath after suffocating.

Recorded and produced in L.A. with her frequent collaborator Gregory Uhlmann, You are Spring! follows All This and So Much More, an album written on the heels of Tasha’s involvement in Tony-nominated Broadway musical Illinoise. In her fourth album to date, Tasha continues her sonic progression, described by the Chicago Reader’s Leor Galil as “her indie-rock sensibilities [evolving] to accommodate wide-screen expression,” while keeping “her tenderhearted intimacy intact.”

That tender-heartedness is on display on her first track, Spring. Tasha’s voice layers in lush acapella harmony with Jamila Woods and Taja Cheek of L’Rain, singing “Don’t die now / There’s life to be found now.” Inspired by Gwendolyn Brooks’ poem To The Young Who Want To Die, Tasha enunciates the thesis of this album with exquisite precision. There are seasons of harshness, seasons of difficulty, yes. But here, in this album, we meditate on spring – on a season of celebration, made all the sweeter because we know what one must endure to get there. “Alive now / It’s spring now / Alive now / You’re spring now,” she closes, inviting us into the edenic jewel box that she’s created here.

The singular, straightforward beauty of this album was born from tussling with murky existential questions. Uprooting and finding new people and places to call hers, Tasha found herself asking, “What is it that I’m really doing? What is this really for?” Reflecting in the midst of so much personal and global tumult, she says she realized, “I want to make a life that is beautiful and full, but part of making a life that I’m proud of is to think about the rest of the world, and what I leave behind and who I’m leaving it for.” It was in reflecting on that ‘who’ that she began to think of future generations as a much-awaited spring.

When discussing what she hopes the album conveys, she further expounds on the meaning of spring, saying “it’s a way to say you are the thing that other people are looking forward to; you are the thing we’re waiting for; you are the beautiful thing.” If the previous album was about yearning, of stretching toward an abundance you know is coming, then You are Spring! is a chance to pause and take it all in once you have stepped into your fullness.

If arrivals are a theme, that might be because many of these songs were penned before, during, and in the wake of transit. Clarion, with its easy strum reminiscent of a droptop drive under an expansive sky, was inspired by the name of a Pennsylvanian town Tasha passed on multiple trips between Chicago and New York. Tasha sings “Always goodbye, always time to go / Clarion, I’m halfway home.” If you’re wondering how you could always be halfway home, that would be because Tasha recently traded in her hometown of Chicago for the expansive possibility that makes its home in New York City. Said a different way, Clarions’ soft-footed shuffle sonically tracks the kind of growth that accompanies leaving home and claiming a small corner of the world for yourself.

But this isn’t a simplistic, sanguine approach to joy. Ending, which marks the album’s halfway point, is Tasha stripped down, her voice unvarnished and raw, looking dead-on the dizzying anxiety and terror of living amidst climate collapse, fascist upswellings, the proliferation of militarized imperialism, to name a few. “This was written in 2024 right after I moved,” she explains, “It was a freaky warm day where it was like seventy degrees in November.” She recalls what it was like to receive the daily deluge of horrifying news from Palestine at the time, and how everything seemed like it was burning down around her. It was, she says, “one of the ‘regular’ days that we have” of receiving awful news.” Ending transposes the dread and helplessness of living in a constant state of pending apocalypse, stretching it over piano chords nearly hymn-like in their simplicity. Tasha sings: “All the things we love the most, all the worlds we’ve built / What if nothing else was left / but a hollow guilt / for not doing better/ Is this how I’ll be remembered?” By looking darkness in the face, Tasha contextualizes her emphatic euphoria. We must laud the beauty and abundance of Spring because winter will always have its turn, too.

Which is to say, You Are Spring! is as emphatic as its exclamation mark in its attention to bliss, but it is also clear-eyed about the world around it. In Lucky, Tasha lilts, ”Lucky me, I’m alive / Out my window I see sky.” The deadpan opening, the cataloging of seeing the sky as something to consider lucky – all have the feeling of someone trying to remind themselves just how good their life is, despite a possible looming heartbreak. The latter half of the album walks this line of awareness between delight and doom. See, for example, Actor and its examination of the gestures we make in a love that’s gone hollow, followed by Special and its lavishly arranged topiary of sound, complete with Tasha’s clarinet debut.

In its final track, Quick! Tasha’s voice climbs an almost Stephen Sondheim-esque run, urging us, singing, “Quick! See how this beauty rushes by?” There’s dissonance in the jangle of the chords, the wheeze of her fingers sliding against the guitar neck, a gritty, almost cassette-tape quality to the production. But we’re not being kicked out of the garden just yet; the song winds itself down, back in the blue-bell grove of Tasha’s softest register.

You Are Spring! challenges us to delight in our present, to see ourselves as the long-awaited season of new life and growth. And when winter comes again as it must always do, grief creeping in, heartbreak at the door, Tasha gives us something to hold on to. The surety that spring will come again, even then. That the beauty and fullness around us now will surround us again, once more.”

16,404 – Doomherre, Ordos, Hexjakt, Kaiser – Four Altars Of Sin (4-way split)

Dooooooom metal quadruple split! That’s right: Four songs by four different bands. I was unaware of the first three bands, but I am a fan of Kaiser already. In fact, I’d say that their 11:14 closing track, ‘Sonic Satan,’ is the best song on the split. That said, the other three tracks were also solid and enjoyable. What I found particularly satisfying about this split is how cohesive it sounded. It truly sounded like a single band rather than four completely different acts. Splits can occasionally be questionable, but this one hit right.

From Majestic Mountain Records: “From the frozen forests of Finland and the dark swamps of Sweden comes a crushing alliance of riff worship that will shake your soul and rattle your bones.

The Four Altars:

KAISER (Finland) – Fuzz-drenched stoner-sludge beasts. Think massive, hypnotic grooves soaked in thick, psychedelic smoke. Pure ear-bleeding heaviness from Helsinki’s finest fuzz warriors.

HEXJAKT (Sweden) – Monolithic doom/sludge with raw emotional weight. Slow, crushing, and merciless – the sound of ancient curses rising from the ground.

ORDOS (Sweden) – Bleak, evil-tinged stoner/doom that blends crushing riffs with psychedelic darkness. Masters of atmosphere and punishing grooves.

DOOMHERRE (Sweden) – Classic traditional doom in the vein of Candlemass, Trouble, and Saint Vitus. Epic, heavy-as-hell riffs with pure old-school spirit and thunderous power.

This is not just a split. It’s a ritual. Four bands, four altars, one blasphemous temple of doom and stoner metal!”

6,382 – Brass Camel – Brass Camel

This Canadian-based band has been labeled as the “Funky RUSH” since their tunes are in the funk-prog world. It was a fun listen, and I look forward to digging into their back catalog. They have a gig at The Funhouse (the small El Corazon room!) on August 20th, 2026, and only one other date (in their hometown of Vancouver, BC, Canada) coming up. I could easily be talked into going to this one… any takers, let’s do it?!

From the band’s website: “Vancouver’s Brass Camel is a rock band that defies labels, fusing deep-pocket funk, face-melting prog, and massive-harmony art rock. Since releasing their debut album Brass in 2022, they’ve played over 180 shows, including four national Canadian tours, major festivals (Between the Peaks, Starbelly Jam, Wapiti), and stages like Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom, Vogue Theatre, and a Toronto headliner at the historic Longboat Hall.

Their musicianship and work ethic have earned endorsements from Sabian, Rotosound UK, Pro Mark Drumsticks, and Evans Drumheads. In 2024, their cover of Sabrina Carpenter’s Please Please Please on Musora’s Covers Challenge took off on YouTube, drawing 750,000 views and counting. Their sophomore album Camel (spring 2025) brought international press, reaction videos, and steady LP sales. While touring in support of this album, the band recorded their third LP at Uxbridge’s pastoral Chalet Studio with Kevin Comeau of Crown Lands co-producing.

Mixed by the legendary Terry Brown (Rush, Hendrix, The Who, Blue Rodeo), the upcoming (April 2026) release marks a bold leap in songwriting, distilling Brass Camel’s road-forged sound into something entirely their own.”

4,544 – Child – Rebirth

These Aussies rule! I got into ’em from the ground floor with their 2014 self-titled debut, raving “Hella bad-ass Australian blues rock meets stoner rock band/album! This is quite reminiscent of Hendrix meets Trower… very nice!” Thirteen years later, and we get the same rad delivery. Somehow I missed out on 2018’s ‘Soul Murder’ and 2016’s ‘Blueside’… albums I’ll definitely need to check out!

From their bandcamp page: “With the release of their fourth full-length album, Rebirth, CHILD marks a definitive shift in their creative trajectory. Moving beyond their established sound, the band showcases a refined focus on songwriting—stripping back the noise to reveal the heart of their message. The record serves as an unfiltered dialogue with the self, confronting the obstacles that block our evolution and demanding the strength to overcome them. It is a gritty, honest document of survival and the messy beauty of becoming who you are meant to be.”

1,548 – Druidess – Trip Meadow

They pulled me in with the sweet album artwork, but called me a fan with the music. This UK-based fuzzy doom-stoner band released an EP in 2024 (‘Hermits & Mandrakes’), but this is their debut full-length. If this is any indication of what’s in store for the future, we’re in good hands!

439 – Shane Embury – Bridge To Resolution

Shane is best known as the bassist and background vocalist of U.K. grindcore pioneers Napalm Death from their humble beginnings in 1987 to the present, and this is his first solo album. Put away anything you know about Napalm Death. Shane’s solo project leans into the atmospheric goth meets post-punk realm… and it’s fucking legendary! I love how he’s able to do a complete 180 from his day job. Incredible work, Shane, please release more!

From Rough Trade Records: “Debut solo album from legendary Napalm Death bass player/songwriter Shane Embury.

Conceived during a period of intense personal crisis, the album tackles many topics from Embury’s 2023 autobiography Life?… And Napalm Death, including battles with addiction and mental health.

Joining Napalm Death in 1987, Embury is the longest-serving member, featuring on 15 of the band’s 16 albums. Despite initial bemusement from the media, Napalm Death enjoyed global success, propelled by the support of John Peel. They are credited with the invention of grindcore, an extreme metal sub-genre characterised by ultra-fast songs.

In 2017, Napalm Death became the first extreme metal act to play Glastonbury. They have also won Kerrang! and Metal Hammer awards.

Embury’s several projects include Lock Up, Brujeria, Dark Sky Burial, and collaborations include Buzz Osbourne (Melvins), Tim Owens (Judas Priest), Billy Gould (Faith No More), Jello Biafra, Cardiacs, and Yard Act. “

From Metal Injection: “Shane Embury is about to show a side of himself that sits far from the usual Napalm Death attack. His first solo album, Bridge To Resolution, is set for 06/05 through Dissonance Productions on CD and vinyl, and it comes out of a period when everything slowed down, and he had to look inward instead of staying on the road.

The angle of the record is rooted in “shadow integration,” and that gives you a pretty good idea of where this one is headed. Rather than another blast-driven project, Shane Embury is using the album to work through identity, family, creativity, and the darker corners that surfaced during the pandemic years. That makes Bridge To Resolution feel less like a side project and more like a personal document.

Musically, this is not Napalm Death with the edges sanded down. Embury is leaning into atmospheric goth and post-punk, with Cocteau Twins, Killing Joke, and The Mission cited among the touchstones. Synths, guitars, bass, and layered vocals are at the center of it, so anyone expecting pure extremity should be ready for something moodier and more reflective.

There is still a strong metal link in the people involved. Carl Stokes handles drums, while Simon Efemey is on production, bringing a résumé that includes Paradise Lost, Crowbar, and Amorphis. Shane Embury reportedly played all the guitar and bass parts himself, which makes the album feel even more like a one-man outlet than a casual detour from the day job.”

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

4,014,564 – Sting – The Night Watch Live At The Rijksmuseum

Sting? More like Stink. I’ve never cared much for his solo releases, but The Police were THE SHIT! Here he tackles both The Police and solo tracks and… at least it’s better than 2025’s ‘3.0 Live’ album, which was utter garbage. Perhaps he’s nice enough, but it seems like he’s an insufferable prick for some reason.

From Townsend Music: “Recorded at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, The Night Watch (Live at the Rijksmuseum) captures Sting in a breathtakingly intimate performance surrounded by works from Rembrandt, Johannes Vermeer, and Judith Leyster.

Joined by longtime guitarist Dominic Miller and playing a 17th-century guitar crafted for Louis XIV, he performs songs from The Last Ship alongside classics by The Police and his solo catalogue.”

1,616,534 – The Pretty Reckless – Dear God

Popular NYC-based hard rock band The Pretty Reckless are back with their fifth full-length album since their humble beginnings in 2009. The band rose to mass popularity, now selling out 15-20k arenas. Yet, I have always had difficulty getting into them. There are moments and albums here and there, but for the most part it sounds like paint-by-numbers cookie-cutter rock. But, hey, don’t listen to me. This album has been highly regarded by fans and critics alike …

800,626 – Switchfoot – Forever Now

I had read that this release was a return to their earlier, more guitar-driven albums, and… it started off that way! Then they fell into their usual trappings of yet another sugary, safe alternative pop-rock album. Ugh, an easy pass.

511,645 – Butthole Surfers – After The Astronaut

Butthole Surfers were a relatively “big” band back in the ’80s-’90s, then just kinda disappeared. While not a new album – it was originally recorded in 1998 – it was never released until now (after being remixed even!). Unfortunately, I was never much of a fan of this band. They’re a bit too out there for my taste with their brand of noisy, experimental art rock…

504,689 – Wyclef Jean – Clef Notes: Quantum Leap, Vol. 1

Wyclef Jean has that classic mash-up of hip hop, reggae fusion, R&B, and neo soul, and I like it… But I don’t love it. Some tunes are pretty amazing, and some are not great.

278,723 – Temples – Bliss

I’ve always been lukewarm with Temples’ releases (sans the last two, which were straight-up awful), but I think this is a return to form… and possibly my favorite release of theirs. They kind of get away from their neo-psychedelia sound and aim for a more European electronic/dance/trance release… and it low-key bangs!

From V2 Records: “Re-shaping their perception, Kettering 4-piece Temples today make their emphatic return with brand new studio album ‘BLISS’ – out now – and one that flies in new electronic directions, while staying true to their core DNA, making it their most adventurous and liberated record to date.

“This song blurs genres and the line between what’s a synth and what’s a guitar/bass, using homemade fuzz pedals and odd studio gear to create anything but conservative sounds. We’re always striving to make a bold sonic statement.

The album marks an exciting new chapter following 2023’s Exotico, and sees the band – James Bagshaw (vocals/guitar), Thomas Walmsley (bass), Adam Smith (keys/guitar) & Rens Ottink (drums) – reimagine their psych-rock roots through the prism of late ’90s and early 2000s dance music, drawing on the euphoric melancholy of the Ibiza scene and European electronica while staying true to the band’s core DNA.

Influenced by the emotional pull of artists like Faithless, Underworld, Massive Attack, and Portishead, BLISS taps into what Temples describe as “melancholic euphoria” – simple structures giving rise to complex feeling. Where on Exotico, the band worked with guest producer Sean Ono Lennon, this time it felt like BLISS could only be produced by Temples themselves, embracing a more instinctive, hands-on approach.

Working together in the same room, they leaned into improvisation and experimentation, using samplers not to rework other artists’ material, but to manipulate and reassemble their own songs into a shared sonic palette. The result is an album that feels collage-like and interconnected, with motifs and textures flowing across tracks.

Across BLISS, tracks explore themes of disconnection, frustration, surrender, and renewal. As well as ‘Jet Stream Heart’, there is the dazzling dart of ‘Vendetta’, which perfectly marries scuzzy riffs with lasering synths and a bubbling dance melody. ‘Blue Flame’ arrives slower, steadier and packed with a gently fizzing chorus that tackles disconnection at its core and the growing divide between each other. ‘Revelations’ nods to the Gregorian chant that was commonly deployed in late ‘90s and early ‘00s European dance music with its own take, and then there is the crunching stomp of ‘Megalith’, that deals with frustrations.

“It’s about finding your inner stillness, but then having found that stillness, maybe it’s not so pleasant,” says keyboardist & guitarist Adam Smith. “You can sometimes feel helpless and stuck when the world is moving around you, and you feel like a standing stone – like a megalith – and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

For Temples, BLISS is more than just a stylistic shift – it’s a statement of intent. A record made without compromise, driven by instinct, chemistry and the joy of making music together again. As the band put it, “it’s about permission: to let go, to move, and to become something unexpected.””

161,266 – Beth Orton – The Ground Above

Beth is a British singer-songwriter. I’ve been lukewarm with her releases in the past, but thought this one was kind of a dud. Don’t listen to me, though. The album has been highly regarded by both fans and critics alike. Go figure.

118,483 – Matt Berry Trio – Everything’s Peachy: The Jazz Sessions, Volume 2

Matthew Berry f’n RULES… as a comedic actor. He’s released nearly a dozen albums to date, but they are almost always misses for me. He typically goes for this artsy-fartsy, avant-garde psychedelic-folk sound… and it just does not work for me. Here he plays in a jazz trio with a hint of psychedelic folk. I enjoyed it more than previous releases, but it’s still a miss for me. Instead of listening to his music, check out his acting work as Steven Toast in ‘Toast of London’, as Laszlo in ‘What We Do In The Shadows’, or any other number of shows/movies he’s in. Also check out the inspiration for this album (read ahead – wild!).

From Acid Jazz: “Acid Jazz presents the second volume of the Jazz Sessions series with the first album from the Matt Berry Trio, with Matt Berry joined by long-time collaborators Phill Scragg and Graham Mann on ‘Everything’s Peachy’. This is an exciting leftward turn by Matt, taking a break from his songwriting, leading the trio to visit some of his jazz, modern classical, and electronic influences.

‘Everything Peachy’ is a 12-part instrumental suite, inspired by ‘the Sky King’ (American folk hero Richard “Beebo” Russell), who stole a large aircraft with no flight training, performing stunts and manoeuvres, before crashing to his own demise, and takes its name from his response to air traffic control.

Conveying the chaos, nostalgia, regret and acceptance of Russell’s maiden flight, it is an open, freeform and flowing composition, drawing influence from the electronic experiments of Miles Davis and the melancholy of Satie, to create another moment of musical beauty from Matt’s curious and ever-moving musical mind.”

109,880 – Rodney Crowell – Then Again

For the most part, Rodney Crowell is most comfortable within the country universe. But this album – written some 20 years ago, but never released – is more palatable, leaning in a more singer-songwriter, alt-country, and “shuffle-groove” direction. This may be my favorite release of his, yet likely one I won’t reach for again. I’m glad he released it, though!

From his bandcamp page: ““I guess you could call it a lost album,” says Rodney Crowell. “I stumbled upon it in my vault at home. I’d forgotten about it completely.” He’s referring to Then Again, which he recorded and shelved two decades ago before moving off into new directions. Since then, the album has been biding its time, waiting for the moment when its songs would hit hardest. And they hit incredibly hard now, largely because age and experience have granted Crowell a richer perspective. “I’m glad I put it on the shelf, because now is the time for it. It may not be the time for it for the rest of the world, but it’s time for it for me. That’s why I wanted to call it Then Again. I thought that was a clever way of saying that what was happening then is happening now.

Back in 2006, Crowell was in high cotton. He was coming off a trilogy of albums—The Houston Kid in 2001, Fate’s Right Hand in 2003, The Outsider in 2005—that re-established him as a fearless voice in Americana and attracted new generations of fans drawn to his compassionate storytelling, his detail-laden songwriting, and his eloquent outrage over political injustices. In 2005, he went into Treasure Isle Studios in Nashville to record what would become Then Again. But when he heard the masters, something didn’t feel quite right. The band was smokin’ hot, and the songs sounded good, but the album just didn’t move him, and he struggled to figure out exactly what was wrong or what was missing. Twenty years later, when he found the album in his vaults, he couldn’t remember exactly what tripped him up. He decided it was finally time, if only because “I heard a record I wasn’t sick of. I was no longer sick of myself. That’s what 20 years will do for you.”

Once lost and now found, Then Again is something the Rodney Crowell of the 2000s could never have predicted but something the Rodney Crowell of the 2020s recognizes instinctively: a work of nuance, insight, and sensitivity that considers death but celebrates life. “I’m trying to understand that this spirit of mine is going to leave this body and go off somewhere else. I’ve got a pretty good idea that it’s going to be someplace good, but I still need to perfect some part of my spiritual journey here before I check out. I can see that in these songs now.””

79,334 – Siamese – dissolution

Perhaps the best metalcore band I’ve heard in some time, but at the end of the day, it’s still metalcore, and that really ain’t in my wheelhouse. This release had a few pretty banger moments throughout, though.

75,907 – Amberian Dawn – Temptation’s Gates

This is the band’s eleventh album, but their first with new vocalist Nicole Willerton. Unfortunately, I am not a fan of (most) symphonic metal, so this album doesn’t do anything for me. In a positive light, symphonic metal albums tend to be epically long, but this was only a cool 36:43, so I didn’t suffer for too long… what’s next?

67,347 – Chanel Beads – Your Day Will Come

Chanel Beads is the stage name for Shane Lavers. The band plays experimental dream pop, a total miss for me… Chanel Beads released an album in 2024 with the same album title, but they are completely different albums. I never heard it, but if the 2026 version is any indication, then I didn’t miss anything.

51,581 – Mortiis – Ghosts Of Europa

Mortiis is the stage name for Håvard Ellefsen. It’s not a bad album, per se, but certainly nothing I’ll listen to again. There are vocals, yet musically it sounds like a movie soundtrack. It’s electronic music with flairs of industrial, goth rock, and darkwave.

10,873 – SML – Spontaneous Music Live

The album title explains it all – this is spontaneous live music! Nearly ~50 mins of all-instrumental jazz improv. I LOVE the idea on paper – and have tried to get the guys in my band to play some live improv shows. No set list, go up, plug in, and jam! So far, no bites. Spontaneous live music can be absolutely amazing or a complete trainwreck… which makes it kind of exciting! I’m sure this album is a winner for the jazz crowd, but it didn’t move the needle at all for me.

From amazon: “SML is a Los Angeles-based quintet featuring Anna Butterss, Jeremiah Chiu, Josh Johnson, Booker Stardrum, and Gregory Uhlmann. Spontaneous Music Live contains two side-length pieces of unedited improvisation, recorded live at Los Angeles venue Zebulon during SML’s December 2025 three-night residency, just weeks after the release of the band’s second album HOW YOU BEEN. It was recorded and mixed live to stereo tape by Bryce Gonzales (the same engineer/wizard known for his gorgeous live captures/mixes of Jeff Parker’s ETA IVtet).

Between HOW YOU BEEN and their 2024 debut SMALL MEDIUM LARGE (both of which were heavily edited, shaped, and post-produced), the band has developed a reputation for records that are heavily fused, polished, and punchy. The medium is on full post-modern display on those LPs, and the band’s post-production knife can be responsible for much of the perspective – the tastiest morsels collected, arranged, and rearranged just so.

Spontaneous Music Live removes the curatorial perspective and pulls the curtain back on that search-pluck-reconstruct editing process. What we’re left with is the psychedelic realism of the band in situ, in their hometown, collectively improvising, fully in the moment, mining for that moment of discovery. We hear, in macro, each nugget of sound which could be the basis for a future SML album track, spattered amongst the collective chaos-and-control like stars in the night sky.”

9,873 – Exploring Birdsong – Every House We Built

Well that was disappointing. They’re a prog-rock trio, but they very much live in the pop (and occasionally goth) universe. This is the band’s full-length debut. Pass.

5,455 – Harmony Tividad – Lifetime

Harmony is a singer-songwriter who lives in the sugary pop universe. Throw in a few ballads for good measure, auto-tune on (at least) a quarter of the songs, and a countrified pop song. This was a tough one to get through.

2,874 – Parallel Thought – The Third Allegory

Parallel Thought is an instrumental hip-hop duo featuring Jeff Blacker and Adam Calman. I tell ya, I have fully, fully dug previous releases from these guys, but found this one flat, uninteresting, and uninspired. Listen to previous releases instead. Blah.

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

None.

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…

34,223,664 – Metallica – ReLoad [Super Deluxe Edition – 1997] (15 CDs / 4 DVDs)

Heavy fucking metal. Disc one is the original album remastered, disc two contains early riffs, demos, and writing-session ideas (“Shadowcast Disc 1), disc three contains additional demos, vocal ideas, and early studio takes (“Shadowcast Disc 2”), disc four contains work-in-progress takes, rough mixes, and Marianne Faithfull outtakes (“Shadowcast Disc 3”), disc five contains additional rough mixes and instrumentals (“Shadowcast Disc 4”), discs 6-7 sees the band live at the Reading Festival in England on August 24th, 1997 (Escape From The Studio ’97), discs 8-9 sees the band live in Philadelphia, PA, on December 11th, 1997 (Poor ReTouring Me ’97), discs 10-11 sees the band live in Mountain View, CA, on June 28th, 1998 (Poor ReTouring Me ’98), discs 12-13 contain radio performances, acoustic sets, promotional appearances, alternate performances, and more, and lastly, discs 14-15 contains a collection of soundboard recordings from all over the world (Poor ReTouring Me ’97-’98: The Soundboard Tapes).

In all, there are over 240 previously unreleased tracks!

From amazon: “Metallica is continuing to release remasters of their catalog, with the latest being the 4x-platinum ReLoad, available everywhere on June 26th. Produced by Bob Rock, ReLoad is the follow-up to 5x-platinum Load. ReLoad contains fan favorites including “Fuel,” “The Memory Remains,” and “The Unforgiven II.” Remastered by Reuben Cohen at Lurssen Mastering and overseen by executive producer Greg Fidelman.”

3,873,939 – Pixies – Complete B-Sides: 1988-97 [Remaster – 2001] (2 CDs)

Alternative rock. From amazon: “Coming 25 years after its initial release and coinciding with the band’s 40th anniversary, Complete B Sides by Pixies has been remastered and is being reissued this June.

Collecting all the b-sides from the band’s classic 4AD-era, Complete B Sides contains some of the Pixies’ best ‘other’ tracks, including ‘Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf)’, ‘Into The White’ and ‘The Thing’, and until now, hasn’t been available on vinyl.

Originally released on CD in 2001, when the band were nearly a decade into a hiatus, Complete B Sides featured all 19 non-single tracks from the band’s unbelievable run of 1988-1991 singles – ‘Gigantic’, ‘Monkey Gone to Heaven’, ‘Here Comes Your Man’, ‘Velouria’, ‘Dig for Fire’, and ‘Planet of Sound’. To complete it, it concluded with the instrumental version of ‘Letter to Memphis’, the Trompe le Monde album track that appeared on the American release of ‘Alec Eiffel’.

For this updated edition, all the tracks have been remastered from their original analogue tapes by Kevin Vanbergen, sounding amazingly fresh, it also completes his extensive work across the band’s catalogue. This new vinyl edition works as a companion piece to the band’s recent Live at the BBC compilation, where designer Chris Bigg (v23) has created striking new art, taking photos from Simon Larbalestier’s archive that were originally slated for use by the Pixies but later shelved.

Both long-term collaborators with the band, they worked on both releases in tandem to remember and honour the band’s late visual director, Vaughan Oliver. This updated version sees six live tracks added, culled from latter Pixies releases, including 1997’s ‘Debaser’ re-release.”

21,972 – Dirty Shirt – Dirty Thirty [Best Of] (2 CDs)

Crossover Folkcore Metal. From Asher Media Relations: “To celebrate 30 years of activity, Romanian folkcore metal pioneers Dirty Shirt are releasing “Dirty Thirty (The Best Of)”, a career-spanning retrospective featuring 30 songs that trace the band’s journey from its earliest recordings to its latest releases.

The compilation brings together songs from every era of Dirty Shirt:

• Very Dirty (2000) – 1 song, represented by the new version released 25 years later on Pandemic Special
• Same Shirt Different Day (2010) – 2 songs
• Freak Show (2013) – 4 songs, plus the orchestral version of “Away” released on Pandemic Special
• Dirtylicious (2015) – 7 songs
• Letchology (2019) – 7 songs
• Get Your Dose Now & Pandemic Special (2022) – 7 songs
• Plus two recently released singles from the upcoming studio album: “FOMO” and “Büntető”

Several tracks from the band’s earlier catalogue have been newly remastered by Adrian “Bila” Urițescu, Dirty Shirt’s long-time sound engineer. The album artwork was created by internationally acclaimed artist Costin Chioreanu, extending a creative collaboration with the band that has now lasted more than 13 years.

The project was partially financed through a successful crowdfunding campaign in 2025.”

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

6,165,519 – Deep Purple – SPLAT!

1,824 – Gods & Punks – A Shrine By The Sea

1,626 – Fernando Perdomo – Clouds 7

579 – Troy The Band – (des)

…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