A Place to Bury Strangers–Kicking Out Jams
Genre: Noise Rock, Post Punk, Shoegazing
FFO: Ringo Deathstarr, Weekend, My Bloody Valentine
New York noise rock trio A Place to Bury Strangers follow up last year’s LP Transfixation with a tour-recorded live EP titled Kicking Out Jams. The songs are fun, loud, noisey and will tithe any fan over until their next release.
Cult of Luna/Julie Christmas–Mariner
Genre: Post Metal, Space Rock
FFO: The Ocean Collective, Cave In, ISIS, Neurosis, Pelican
Swedish post metal collective Cult of Luna partner up with Julie Christmas (ex Made Out of Babies, ex Battle of Mice) for the group’s seventh LP. Mariner switches the concept of a dystopian future to space travel and exploration.
Christmas’ passionate vocal performance blends smoothly with the spacey, post rock riffage along the lines of Neurosis, ISIS, and Pelican.
Culture Abuse–Peach
Genre: Indie Rock, Punk Rock, Noise Rock, Grunge
FFO: Rozwell Kid, Self Defense Family, Weezer, Angel Du$t
California noise rockers Culture Abuse just want to rock out and have a good time, and their debut LP Peach illustrates that mentality flawlessly. The six piece’s sound is foundationally built upon 80’s era west coast hardcore/punk rock (Black Flag, Dead Kennedys) while experimenting with melodic takes on grunge along the lines of Weezer.
Deakin–Sleep Cycle
Genre: Electronic, Future Folk
FFO: Animal Collective, Avey Tare, Panda Bear
Deakin proves how vital of a piece he was to the Animal Collective puzzle with his long-awaited debut LP Sleep Cycle.
While Painting With was a well-rounded, catchy offering of electronic pop, it undoubtedly lacked the heart and substance that made Animal Collective such a unique and captivating group.
Sleep Cycles is a breath of fresh air for fans of AnCo’s older works.
Deftones–Gore
Genre: Experimental Rock, Post Metal, Alternative Rock
FFO: Hum, Failure, Quicksand
Sacramento, California’s Deftones began their career in the mid 90’s storming headfirst into a saturated Nu Metal scene as another face in the crowd.
As their counterparts slowly deteriorated and became self parodies, Deftones seemed to be the only group in the shuffle to progress forward with each of their discography’s offerings.
Gore is no exception illustrating the maturity and brilliant songwriting the band has managed to use to their advange over the years.
The soundscapes are lush, the writing is layered and textured, and Chino’s vocal delivery is just as sharp and passionate as it ever was.
Palace of Worms–The Ladder
Genre: Experimental Black Metal, Funeral Doom, Shoegazing, Avante Garde
FFO: Tombs, Hooded Menace, Bell Witch, Deafheaven
It’s rare for a black metal group to stand out these days. The process of combining the genre’s traditional approach wuth the atmospheric ambience of post rock has been simply done to death.
Oakland, California’s Balan (the man behind the Palace of Worms curtain) seeks limitless genre influences for his take on black metal including avante garde jazz, post hardcore, goth rock, post punk, shoegazing, funeral doom, sludge, melodic death metal, and many more whilst managing to have his material flow cohesively avoiding nonsensical, scattered writing.
Check out the The Ladder for a breath of blackened fresh air out now on Broken Limb Recordings.
Snoh Aalegra–Don’t Explain
Genre: Pop, Soul, R&B, Jazz
FFO: Lana Del Rey, Amy Winehouse, Portishead, Sneaker Pimps
Swedish songstress Snoh Aalegra shows the world her impressive pipes with her nostalgic debut mini-album.
Don’t Explain makes superior usage of Aalegra’s vocal talents than her previous EP via experimentation of free jazz/triphop influenced production serving as a the ideal backdrop for her soulful, passion-based range.
Snoh’s debut puts Lana Del Rey in her place showing potential of becoming the next queen of nostalgic, soulful pop music.
Summer Flake–“Hello Friends”
Genre: Indie Rock, Pop
FFO: Petal, Adventures, Japanese Breakfast, Mazzy Star
Adelaide, Australia’s Stephanie Craze delivers yet another sweet, sugary guitar pop sensation with her sophomore effort.
Hello Friends distances itself from the bluesy, lofi sounds of her previous work in favor of a cleaner, brighter musical experience.
Craze‘s dreamy vocal performance and experimentation with 60’s era surf rock riffage brings Summer Flake‘s sound to new heights and helps craft a feel-good, summery album fit for anyone looking for new music to make them smile.
Troller–Graphic
Genre: Darkwave, Synthpop, Electronic, Goth Rock, Industrial
FFO: Cold Cave, Night Sins, Depeche Mode
Austin, Texas Trollers are back for a sophmore LP laced with sexual themes, dark imagery and synth-based ambiance guaranteed to send frightened shivers down your spine.