Heavy guitars, grinding synths, industrial textures, and captivating post-apopalyptic folk were the order of this month. Our favourite albums and music releases seemed to respond to some sort of ominous call. Maybe it’s Johny Brown ‘s poetic farewell to an imaginary Babylon or even the title of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s self-released album, but in any case we feel that there is something sinister in the air, something close to what this band describes through heavy psych rock music as a petrodragonic apocalypse.
If we had to pick some highlights from this month’s playlist, then we would definitely mention the surprising and welcome return, after 15 years, of Stratvm Terror with an incredibly atmospheric dark ambient album entitled ‘Love me tender or I will cause pain‘. A special mention is required for the new offering by SWANS entitled ‘The Beggar‘. With a stripped back, addictive ceremonial sound that harks back to the band’s beginning, this is an album worth remembering 2023 for!
The IDM part of this month’s playlist has been graciously represented by powerful and addictive sonic textures and rhythms from eva|3, EFF DST, gwenn tremoring & anatoly grinberg, genevieve pasquier, and TANZ OHNE MUSIK.
We saluted the return of Dark Door with a new album where poetry and nihilism have taken over the rather destructive atmosphere that characterised their earlier releases both in terms of visuals and sound. As far as the punk element of this playlist is concerned, the return of Protomartyr covers it well. Even though ‘Formal Growth In The Desert‘ does not benefit from the lyricism of the band’s previous albums, some of that earlier energy creeps back into the songs towards the end.
We were very pleased, for very different reasons, with the releases of Band of Holy Joy and Sukie Smith. ‘Fated Beautiful Mistakes‘ is filled with Johny Brown’s bone-cracking poetic verses surrounded by increasingly rich melodies and riffs. An obvious leap into conceptual surrealism and visual provocation, this rather personal album hits more nerves than the recent releases of the band. As before, they commissioned different directors for their video clips and the result is an eclectic mix of visual stories. A visit to their official youtube channel will convince you!
‘Honey‘, the new single by Sukie Smith, is a dreamy song accompanied by an equally evocative ethereal video that suspends the mind on the threshold of consciousness.
Finally, we did not expect to find such captivating folk songs during the first month of summer for some reason, but here they are: two songs with the lasting effect of whole albums, released by The Woodland Hunters and Vera Sola.
I think we’ve said enough. We hope you enjoy listening to this playlist as much as we did preparing it!
Blaue Rosen 