Band: Burnt Log | Album: Time Is a Heron Waiting for Prey | Genre: Progressive rock, Dream pop | Bandcamp

Burnt Log is a one-man project based out of Scotland. The songs skillfully combine intelligent, progressive song structures with floating, dreamy atmospheres. Melodies are smart but accessible, and there’s a vague sense of nostalgia to much of the music here. Touches of post-punk, new wave, and even post-rock crop up here and there. Some passages are perhaps a bit too dream-poppy for my taste, but this is still an overall solid and interesting release.

Score: 72/100

Band: FILESHAREMAIDEN | Album: Veuve | Genre: Progressive metal, Technical death metal | Bandcamp

The first full-length release from Quebecois death metallers File Share Maiden is a swirling, tangled thicket of finger-twisting riffs, guttural vocals, and even moments of surprising lightness. There are many exciting, fun passages that demonstrate both technical skills and songwriting smarts. However, this band also falls victim to the common excesses of other tech-death acts. Many songs are longer than they need to be, and a number of cuts border on purposelessness. That said, there’s still plenty of great material here.

Score: 70/100

Continue reading “Odds & Ends: September 2, 2024” →