A round-up of quality new submissions. I'll be playing some of these on the
CNQ hour on KPISS.FM, Saturday at 5pm Eastern, so please feel free to tune in for that! Here we go:
Rat Motel are two brothers, Seth and Clayton Peacock, from Columbus, Ohio, and I've been jazzed about them since last year's The Regal Sum. Their new album The Rat Motel is due out 6/3, and I've been enjoying the singles "Tutankhamen" and "Owe" and playing them on the KPISS show. Both are super-solid alt-rock tracks; if Seth and Clayton had been around in the 90s, they would've been on Sub Pop or Matador and had videos for these in rotation on MTV, I'm certain of it.
While they definitely draw from the 90s alt-rock well, they don't sound like they're apeing anything. The music and the lead singer's voice (I'm not sure which one is the baritone lead singer) are unique while still sounding like something I've always enjoyed. I guess eggheads call that "hauntological," but it's not like the Peacock bros are making mash-ups of Beach Boys, psych and AM radio singles with the singer going "ooo ooo ooo" in the hallway. It's well-produced, mid-fi, loud, buzzy, thoughtful rock'n'roll.
On this Saturday's show I'll be playing a third single, "Shotgun." Here's the first single, "Tutankhamen":
The debut self-titled EP from Charlotte, NC metal/post-hardcore/prog trio Mindvac is out tomorrow on streaming platforms. The single, "Pastime," is an interesting mix of, as mentioned, post-hardcore and technical prog, I like it:
Paris-based experimental composer/sound artist DAFAKE has two new releases out, Les Miniscules and Live aux Instants Chavirés. For fans of "electro-acoustic mininimalism," DAFAKE works with "a range of experimental recording techniques, DIY instruments and unseen sound sources such as feedback loops, corrupted data and electromagnetic fields processed and recomposed through a modular system." It all makes for interesting soundscapes:
False Walls is releasing a CD of London-based artist Kevin Daniel Cahill's new album Impossible Worlds. Per the press release: "Consisting of two long tracks, the album traces a steady progression as it moves through different environments — initially ambient and isolationist in tone, the work ultimately reaches a form of transcendence. Rooted in Kevin’s guitar-playing, though not immediately identifiable as such due to the deployment of tape loops and effects, the album foregrounds feeling and atmosphere, and its duration and gradual development benefits close listening."
Vessels to Motherland is an electro-acoustic duo based out of NYC. Their new electronic single "Process and Product" is great - atmospheric and dark, with a groovy beat:
Speaking of atmospheric and dark, Eretia is from Spain and their new 7 song release Quietud is both atmospheric and dark -- a fan comment on Bandcamp called it a mix of post-hardcore and post-metal. I'm into it:
Boys Age's new album "Ring World" is out on Bandcamp. "The Ninth Melody" is a great single and I'm excited to listen to the rest of the album. I gush about Boys Age, from Japan, all the time:
The Bordellos have an 11 song sampler new on Metal Postcard Records, Star Crossed Radio. I love the Bordellos, y'all know that:
"Pale New World" is the second single by Brooklyn's Dystopiarch. They say all proceeds will go to benefit the people of war-torn Ukraine, which is nice:
Torquay, England's The Legendary Ten Seconds has a new album out, Astounding Songs, an album of English folk rock songs. The Legendary Ten Seconds is solo artist Ian Churchward and friends. I'm really impressed with his output. After Astounding Sounds he's released Mer De Mort, "recorded to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Mortimer History Society," and I'm not sure what that is, but congratulations to ten years of it, and another full length, History Book Part One. Great stuff, absolutely unique rock'n'roll:
