Why Duster? Out of all the long-forgotten bands that have become casualties to the endless churning of time, why Duster? As old records go out of print and labels go into administration, why Duster? As band members find other occupations and equipment gets placed into storage or even sold, why Duster? All these years later, … Continue reading Duster – Stratosphere
Josh
Boris – Flood
Repetition is an odd thing. Often considered monotonous and lazy, it’s a very difficult concept to balance well, let alone create beauty through. At face value, repetition seems to offer comfort in the delivery of something we already know and enjoy, utilising familiarity to its advantage. While this is often the case, the best repetition … Continue reading Boris – Flood
CAN – Tago Mago
The Germans always seem to know how to do things right. From automobile engineering and financial banking right through to beer and festivals, the Germans have always been a step ahead. Looking from a musical angle, again it’s no different. Not only making landmarks with extreme precision in futuristic left-field techno and statements of grand … Continue reading CAN – Tago Mago
Earl Sweatshirt – Some Rap Songs
The concept of ‘being comfortable in your own skin’ seems to be one that Thebe Kogatstile (a.k.a. Earl Sweatshirt) is consistently working towards. Recently, the way he has tentatively answered interview questions with a kind of shy awkwardness and perceived the world with an acute, unabashed balance, has presented a man with wisdom beyond his … Continue reading Earl Sweatshirt – Some Rap Songs
Steve Reich – Different Trains // Electric Counterpoint
I’m not usually one for big statements in music. If albums try to do too much I find they get bogged down and lose sense of what should be their main purpose: musicality. So, Different Trains, which sees Steve Reich at his most ambitious, pulling out all stops to compose a complex exposition that details … Continue reading Steve Reich – Different Trains // Electric Counterpoint
Unwound – Leaves Turn Inside You
A monolithic statement of post-hardcore
The Brave Little Abacus – Masked Dancers: Concern in So Many Things You Forget Where You Are
I miss all the movement... Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh! Cries of discontent mixed with strands and strands of absolute, do-or-die clinching hope, The Brave Little Abacus throw it all in and then some on Masked Dancers: Concern in So Many Things You Forget Where You Are. A New England band originating in the late 2000s that more-or-less started … Continue reading The Brave Little Abacus – Masked Dancers: Concern in So Many Things You Forget Where You Are
Frank Ocean – Blond(e)
How far is a light year?
Cap’n Jazz – BIPFBSCITSABKKFTBPWSOESWTTO
Frenetic, Unabashed Youth. It’s often said that a musician or band is almost always at their peak creativity within the early days of their career, releasing a debut that will never be topped in terms of originality by their subsequent releases. With Cap’n Jazz (along with a whole lot of other emo bands to be … Continue reading Cap’n Jazz – BIPFBSCITSABKKFTBPWSOESWTTO
Earl Sweatshirt – I Don’t Like Shit I Don’t Go Outside
Criminally underrated and overlooked, Earl Sweatshirt's (AKA Thebe Kgositsile) 2015 LP, I Don’t Like Shit I Don’t Go Outside is an unflinchingly honest discussion of Earl’s personal struggle through drug addiction, depression and anxiety in a period where everything seemed to fall negatively into place for the rapper. Contextually, events surrounding the release of the … Continue reading Earl Sweatshirt – I Don’t Like Shit I Don’t Go Outside