Band: Besna | Album: Krásno | Genre: Post-metal | Bandcamp
Slovakian quartet Besna’s newest album is a powerful record full of searing, anguished post-black metal. The band expertly blends haunting and disorienting atmospheres with raw emotionality and clever and unexpected song structures. There are moments of stark beauty woven into the piercing guitar lines. The closing track is an especially strong encapsulation of this band’s best tendencies.
Score: 82/100
Artist: Marton Juhasz | Album: Metropolis | Genre: Jazz, Jazz-fusion | Apple Music
This is certainly at the jazzier end of things I cover, but it isn’t out of place here. Juhasz’s latest album sees him toy around with complex meters and rhythms, and the drumming is especially impressive. Warm saxophones and glimmering electric piano lead the way on most songs. He also draws from a fairly diverse set of influences. “Sao Paulo” has fitting Brazilian flavors; the guitar on “Helio” would be right at home in a post-rock song; and “Radar” features the structured chaos of an avant-leaning math rock band.
Score: 81/100
Band: Louison | Album: Le Livre des Portes | Genre: Progressive rock, Jazz-fusion | Bandcamp
The new EP from Louison is about a journey through the Ancient Egyptian underworld. “Les Livres des Portes” is a somewhat lurching, staccato release. Negative space is deployed effectively, and the cybertronic instrumental tones add an interesting modern sheen. Things build and resolve several times over the span of this cut, with each successive plateau being a bit richer and more powerful than the last.
Score: 81/100
Band: Ocelot Omelet | Album: Stereotypical Loser Trip | Genre: Experimental rock | Bandcamp
This Seattle-based duo plays an odd and engaging variety of rock. Their music is full of looping drums and guitars, with a tumbling and irrepressible forward momentum. They channel some influences from their hometown’s ‘90s grunge scene, but it’s mixed in with doom metal, post-rock, and krautrock ideas. Stereotypical Loser Trip is a trip of an album, but it defies stereotypes and is far from a loser. The blend of psychedelia, prog, metal, and experimental elements make for a unique listening experience.
Score: 80/100
Band: Thus Live Humans | Album: Art Déco I | Genre: Progressive rock | Bandcamp
Thus Live Humans takes many of the usual trappings of progressive rock–long and complex song structures, flashy instrumentalism, lofty lyrics–and blends those with grittier and earthier tones than are common in this genre. Elements of blues rock and classic hard rock are integrated naturally, and I really appreciate the coarse textures deployed here. TLH evokes many of the past greats without simply aping them, and their creativity really shines through. The 15-minute epic “Postmodern Deconstruction” is an especially great example of what this band can do.
Score: 78/100
Band: were-jaguars | Album: The Eternal Shadow | Genre: Progressive metal | Bandcamp
The latest album from Eugene-based were-jaguars sees them continue in their usual hazy, psychedelic blend of doom metal, progressive rock, and avant-garde influences. This is a band I’ve followed for a while, and a lot of their past work has shown strong potential. However, the execution of previous work came off as somewhat sloppy at points. The Eternal Shadow sees them tighten up their sound, and it’s a noticeably more professional-sounding record. Acidic guitar leads bite through the haze of distortion. There’s still a bit of a loose, shambolic quality to parts of this, especially in the vocals. But now it serves the hypnotic feel of the music, rather than being a distraction.
Score: 78/100
The Elite Extremophile 