Another mini-list before we're wrapping music of the year season 2025 up with my favorite albums. While I'm still unfairly ignoring everything I don't own in a physical format, other than that this category includes everything which is not a studio or live album (except split releases) or not a reissue. I once again have been pretty focussed on all of these however and not so much singles, EPs, compilations... so a longer list just wouldn't make much sense. And while four isn't a high number this quartet is a really strong selection - pinky promise!
The crazy Japanese Psychedelic Prog Punk trio Green Milk From The Planet Orange are surely one of my most exciting new discoveries of 2025. From delicate songwriting with wonderful melodies to total power trio jam excess and pained panic this one track EP encapsulates everything which makes this group so spectacular. What a fun ride!
More increasingly insane Progressive Death Metal! More unhinged bonkers Jazz Fusion with trumpets, keytar and upright bass! Sarmat are back with the spiritial successor to the 2023 "Dubious Disk" EP and deliver one of the best bastards of Avantgarde Jazz and Extreme Metal ever. There's no doubt - we need more - and longer! - releases of this delightful madness.
Stephen O'Malley and Greg Anderson, the core duo of Sunn O))) released their latest EP on Sub Pop Records, old home of their greatest inspiration Earth. And just as that move feels like a throwback, you shouldn't expect these three tracks of the guitar-only essence of their Drone Metal to reinvent their sound. Instead this nicely packed record feels like a perfect rekindling of their initial spirit.
Fuck yeah, what a killer split release! On side A Whitehorse pummel you down with their misanthropic Sludge powered by awesome riffs and seemingly recorded in a giant dystopian dome of torture. And that was only the warm-up for the trip through psychological hell and back - with surprising moments of remembering the existence of sunlight - by Noise artist Uboa.
It's summer and I'm slow, falling behind with my to-review list again. But then it's also summer and page impressions are slow, too.
But anyway, I have to warm up again at some point, so instead of a proper insightful music review here's my "look what I've got!" from two weeks ago at Esbjerg Fuzztival in Denmark:
CAUSA SUI - In Flux (random colour ecomix vinyl 10" 2LP) (2025)
Ha, busted! You got me! I didn't even buy this in the merch room. In fact for some reason Causa Sui weren't able to bring stuff to sell there. So no, I already had their latest studio album before.
"In Flux" doesn't lay out a radically new path for the instrumental quartet, but pretty much continues right where last year's "From The Source" or the latest live release "Loppen 2024" left off. There's no twenty+ minutes multi-part Psych Prog epic on here (well, "Astral Shores" at least cracks the sixteen-minute mark), but all in all it's the same perfectly balanced mix of fuzz and wah-wah heavy Stoner Rock, Latin Fusion ease and cool Americana, which - performed by these players - at this point has become such a signature sound, that you could almost talk about Causa Sui by the numbers.
Of course that sounds unnecessarily disparaging. But you know that these numbers are super creative and high, right? So yeah, no doubt that "In Flux" is awesome. Presenting the album in agatefold cover as a double 10" record is the icing on the cake. The vinyl comes in random colours and I got green and teal tones which fit the artwork quite well. Beautiful!
I already lamented starting my merch spree a couple of minutes too late, so I missed the last vinyl copy, which Skyjoggers brought with them on their sixty-day tour. But hey, music's the same on the CD! So here comes a sweet thirty-six minutes injection of heavy, crunchy, fast and fuzzilicious Space Rock for fans of Karkara (who had sadly cancelled their Esbjerg show), Slift, "Nonagon" era King Gizzard and their likes.
While the studio recording in all its raw explosiveness cannot even convey the full extend of the Finnish trio's on-stage energy, "12021: Post-Electric Apocalypse" undeniably is a veritable Kraut banger. Hop onto the rumbling Psych'n'Roll express train now!
GREEN MILK FROM THE PLANET ORANGE / FUCKWOLF - Let's Split (裂けても) (LP) (2025)
Let's continue with the last vinyl copy which I could score: It's a colourful Psych Rock split featuring two bands from Tokyo and San Francisco.
Green Milk From The Planet Orange (the band which actually played in Esbjerg) occupies the first half of this LP with a nineteen minutes long live recording of just one track called "Concrete City Breakdown". Just like during the festival listening to this trio feels like a continuation of Skyjoggers, but even wilder, stylistically wider, more skilled and more emotional. And this is not a jab at the former at all; I saw their drummer watching his counterpart here laughing with a wide open mouth. No, Green Milk are just an unbelievably crazy force Psych Punk Prog'n'Roll with that special spark that feels distincitively Japanese and must have something to do with something in the volcanic water over there. And this recording is a nice raw document of what a show of them feels like.
Fuckwolf spread their creativity over more tracks, presenting six song between two and a half and slightly below seven minutes length. And each one of those shows a different side, from atmospheric analog synth moods to punkish noisy Kraut explosions, from desert hike soundtrack to journeys towards the event horizon and beautiful dreams of love and peace under the burning Frisco sun. Neat.
GREEN MILK FROM THE PLANET ORANGE - Tragedy Overground (CD) (2025)
The highlight of Green Milk From The Planet Orange's show was a new, over twenty-two minutes long Prog piece, and this is the single / EP, which contains it. After a slow pinkfloydishstart "Tragedy Overground" escalates through multiple wild crescendos of burning Prog Punk, Noise Rock (and even small bits with a jazzy vibes, which you might miss as you're hurrying along with this) before finally returing to the opening theme and - of course reprising all the madness that happened before once again in a wild synopsis. It's brilliant, for sure one of my my favorite tracks of 2025 so far!
WYATT E. - Mount Sinai / Aswan (3 colours striped vinyl LP) (2015/2025)
The Belgians for sure brought a lot of merch, including new pressings of some older albums which were missing in my collection. And who can say no to coloured vinyl releases by Heavy Psych Sounds? I know, normally I prefer my coloured vinyl to have some connection to the artwork, but come on, this pink/yellow/blue thing was just too tempting!
Musically the two instrumental longtracks "Mount Sinai" and "Aswan" already point to the direction the Psychedelic Doom trio would go later, yet they don't add as many electronic, vocal and percussive elements beyond the realm of hypnotic Drone and Doom Metal yet.
On the B side however a certain Near Eastern groove, bass pedal synths and bongos already come into play. And even though Wyatt E. later evolved beyond the sound we're hearing here, it doesn't diminish this earlier work in any way. The aesthetics were already set, this is just the first chapter in a (so far) front to back captivating discography.
Great album and reissue!
WYATT E. - Exile To Beyn Neharot (transparent black and orange splatter LP) (2017/2025)
Well, aren't they economic? Two years after "Mount Sinai / Aswan" Wyatt E. followed it up with another album of two epic tracks, which just reused the same cover, just horizontally flipped. As if the drawing on the inlet wouldn't have been a dope alternative. I guess there was some conceptual meaning behind this decision, making these two sister releases. The new splatter vinyl reissie definitely is nice to look at as well.
The deep Drone, the mystical sounds and Oriental elements, the Krautrock vibes and cosmic Berlin electronics, the undeniable Dead Can Dead influence, they have all entered the temple and are here to stay now. The drum performance gets more advanced, as well as the production of it all. Noone is singing yet, but this is just the step you'd retroactively expect between the debut and "Āl Bēlūti Dārû" in 2022. A flawlessy beautiful hypnotic Doom ceremony.
DAEVAR - Sub Rosa (CD) (2025)
Last but not least - following the Fuzztival running order - here's the latest album from the German trio Daevar. Call it Shoegrunge or call it Dream Doom! Whatever. Dont call it female-fronted, because despite being technically correct that term is somehow dumb and icky. Listen to it and enjoy great songs with catchy melodies and rumbling Stoner riffs!
Same rules as in previous years: Only releases I own in physical format. No re-issues, no studio or live albums. The only albums allowed in this category are split releases. Other than that singles, EPs and compilations were considered.
Then why such a short list? Well, of course I could have crammed more artists into this post, but I'm just trying to keep these rankings proportional. And I simply didn't buy very much music meeting the specific criteria in question. So with that in mind please be content with this small but exquisite selection of my...
What an awesome split! Heavy Desert Sludge duo Eagle Twin crunches your bones and scatters the remains in the sea of sand. From there the violins and voices of The Otolith pick them up and blow them through the spheres with arguably the strongest songs since they arose from the Doom of their former band SubRosa.
Only a guitar or piano and the magical lure of her voice. Anything from Chelsea Wolfe is strong, but in this constellation, reduced to the very essence, the Goth singer / songwriter is close to unbeatable. She also deserves credit for not just copying her album songs in acoustic form, but actually finding very distinct alternate arrangements which work just as great. Even though this beautiful EP is quite short it surprisingly contains two versions of "Whispers In The Echo Chambers"; the second one is just clad as a cover version with title and lyrics lent from Spiritbox.
Déjà vu! More raw recordings of eight very old Country songs, presented on two 7" records in a gatefold cover in an embossed box. It looks as great as the previous double release of this series and the songs are just as compelling, too. Strummed acoustic guitars, ghostly organs and electric sprinkles, the Dude's raspy sonorous, but occasionally also yodeling voice - that's all it takes to create a perfect example of imperfect perfection.
This split tape is a satisfyingly glitchy chaotic double assault of apocalyptic Avantgarde. Side A belongs to the brutish and relentless "Tour de Force" of exile Russian trio Teufelskeller. On the even crazier side B French Experimental Metal maniacs Toru are teaming up with Noise artist CR3C3II3. And no matter if "Rattles Are Out" or "Rattles Are Back", one thing is for sure: Rattles are indeed completely bonkers.
Of course attending and reviewing live shows is great and all, but damn, I'm falling behind with releases I want to write about! Yet again.
Well here's something I only very recently became aware of and had to order immediately. Because who doesn't love a great Doom Metal split LP?
EAGLE TWIN & THE OTOLITH - Legends of the Desert Vol. 4 (Copper Nugget vinyl LP) (2024)
Luckily I didn't have to order this fourth part of a split series from the New Mexican label Desert Records from overseas, because they offered a beautiful variant for Europe, too.
The two tracks on its A side belong to a group unfamiliar to me until now, the super sludgy amplifier worship Doom duo Eagle Twin. And yes, these two dudes look exactly as much as American truckers as the name suggests. Their extremely boosted brand of Blues with many other influences, while keeping an uncompromising focus on the power of the riff, exudes strong Yob vibes more than once. The raw vocal style, which sometimes almost slides off into throat singing territory, undoublty is a part of that. And I'm absolutely here for it!
The reason I even checked this record out however is of course The Otolith, the Doom Metal band with two violins and multiple vocalists from Salt Lake City, featuring four former members of the legendary SubRosa. Even though their 2022 debut album "Folium Limina" undoubtly is great, I had some issues with it, which were mainly routed in me just missing the contributions of Rebecca Vernon. By now however the desert dust has settled a bit. Vernon powerfully came back with the debut of her own new band The Keening and that also helped me to appreciate "Folium Limina" more for what it is than mourn what it was missing for me at first.
And what about the two tracks on this split? Both "Crossway" and "Phosphene Dream" are at least on par with the greatest songs from the album - maybe this even is the group's best material so far. Doom Metal just doesn't get more epic, crushingly heavy and emotional at the same time than this. It feels like The Otolith have stepped up in several aspects, with the most important one just being confidence. It shines through especially in the arrangements and the harmony vocals of Sarah Pendleton and Kim Cordray. And I'm sure it helped that live bassist Matt Brotherton is also a fully involved band member now.
Guys and girls, if you keep up this level for your next album, it will be spectacular! Just like this split actually already is, thanks to the awesome contributions of both bands and the consistent killer production, as all four tracks have been recorded and mixed by The The Otolith's drummer Andy Patterson in his studio.
The personell-wise extremely overlapping bands Lotus Thief and Forlesen have released a split CD with one eleven something minutes long song each. I guess the critic's challenge here is to determine what's the difference between the two groups in the first place. Which is a bit tricky, because they both don't stick to one specific style but still incorporate several similar influences. Hard to say where Lotus Thief ends and Forlesen begins.... I guess I'll simply listen to the music at hand and see if I can crack that enigma along the way.
The first track is Lotus Thief's "In Perdition". Their Scripture Metal has always been based on ancient texts. This time it is the novella "Il Decamerone", which Giovanno Boccaccio published in 1353, a tale in which people seek shelter during the Black Death. It's a majestic, partly Blackened Doom Metal epic, mostly carried by Bezaelith's beatiful, yet also grave and stern voice, whereas Ascalaphus' occasional harsh vocals serve a rather textural purpose. The historic air and solemn ceremonial tone of Lotus Thief sets them apart and makes this a great memorable song.
Forlesen then move away from expectations with their version of the American traditional "Black Is The Color", which joins interpretations from The Body & Big|Brave and Jazz singer Youn Sun Nah in my collection, proving that great source material can be translated into all kinds of different languages without loosing its power. This song sees Bezaelith as the dominant vocalist again, yet this time with Ascalaphus adding deep clean harmonies to this profoundly sad funeral dirge. Definitely a somehow easier to grasp track than what we're used to from this band (whose 2022 album "Black Terrain" is still among my very favorite Doom offerings of recent years), yet the interplay between singing, minimal drums, droning guitars and hopeful piano makes this amazing rendition work perfectly.
Unsurprisingly the résumé of this review can only be the desperate question: Why not more of this? It's fantastic.
So can you distinguish the bands based on this split alone? While the songs are indeed quite different, I'd still say: No, not really, I guess. But that also just plainly means they're both great. Anyway, the Albrecht Dürer cover artwork fits both groups, while the small black-on-red typography on a shiny digipak continues the I, Voidhanger Records tradition of horribly readable items. Maybe that's just a test to question whether we really love the music itself. And yes, we do love this!
(Still waiting for Roadburn Festival to book both of them as a package, honestly. Well, maybe next year!)
If you expect War from Leipzig to play some kind of uhm... War Metal, maybe because you have seen one of their very Black Metalish t-shirts, you'll be surprised that their actual sound not only is a mixture of Doom Metal, Stoner Rock and Grunge, but also includes shoegazy guitars and some delicate harmony vocals.
After seeing them live it took me a while to find the most proper comparisons in SubRosa and even much more so King Woman - both obviously aren't the first references you'd expect from a band of three dudes. Their five tracks (average length four minutes) are awesome and original, making War a great new surprise discovery both on stage and on vinyl for me.
One of those dudes in War plays in another duo called Deibel (which is just a regional German variant of "devil"), so it shouldn't be a surprise that the B-side doesn't sound completely different, but rather like a rawer, bleaker, more brutal version of War, which combines its heavily grooving Sludge sound with hoarse screaming and Black Metal attacks. This slaps your ugly face good!
While in hindsight I would have rather chosen another colour variant of this record (and it already took me so painfully long to decide, haha), I really dig the artwork of the gatefold with two equally great colourful covers. This crushing beauty is available here at Pink Tank Records.
Welcome to the time before the creation of time, long after the apocalypse and rebirth of our world! This is the cosmic temple of chaos in the center of being. And this is our jam here!
The easisest way to describe the music of the Belgian group Zaäar, who are intertwined with Neptunian Maximalism is a question: Have you ever imagined how Free Jazz would sound on Conan the Barbarian's homeworld Hyboria? Their twenty minute improvisation "Dance of Time" is a collective primal scream of percussions, sopranino saxophone, trumpet, flutes and throat singing over a foundation of droning bass and Ambient synth sounds. This music is at the same time spiritual as the ecstatic highs of Sanders and (both Alice and John) Coltrane, but it adds a menacing undertone, invoking a colourful darkness beyond the perception of good and evil. Zaäar reaches beyond the veil of human understanding and dips a fingertip into the eternal cycle of creation. Chaos and beauty. Or simply just a very daring fresh take on Free Jazz? Anyone who has been fortunate enough to see them live or already loved their 2021 debut album "Magická Džungl’a" will have an easy time enjoying this new release, which gives you a similar experience in a more compact format. But since "Genesis of Cyclopian Sorcerer" isn't just a Zaäar EP, but a split album compiled by WV Sorcerer Productions , the transcendental journey doesn't end here yet, but continues in fitting fashion on the B-side.
In the beginning of their mammoth track "Mesmerism" Drone Metal guitars, Dungeon Synth keyboards and drums clattering in the far distance seem to be the ingredients the Tennesseean trio Spintria is cooking with. Yet after a couple of minutes the spectrum widens, embracing elements of Prog and Metal, Grind Fusion and Jazzcore. It's heavy and explosively destructive, but it somehow remains a musical and through the indeed mesmerising keyboards often elevating listening experience. If Zaäar provided the soundtrack for the rituals in the temple's main hall, Spintria will ambush you if you dare to explore the catacombs beneath it too deep. So this is quite a different beast than the A-side, but its atmosphere somehow feels connected and it completes the split album perfectly.
Add the beautiful artwork and vinyl colour and you have everything you want from this kind of release, a split which is more than just a leftover dump for two Bands/artists, but something even a little more than the sum of its already amazing parts.
Drei Trios, zwei Scheiben - aktuelles Hörfutter von Sulatron Records.
Beginnen wir mit einer Split, die offizielle gerade gestern erschienen ist:
SPECK / INTERKOSMOS - Split (2023)
Meine Wahrnehmung der royalen Tratsch- und Literaturszene ist nur sehr peripher. Und so dachte ich ohne jede Vorkenntnis des Inhalts tatsächlich für einen Augenblick, Prinz Harry hätte gleich zwei Bücher veröffentlicht, als ich auf der amazon-Startseite "Spare" und "Reserve" sah. Natürlich ist eines der Originaltitel und das andere die deutsche Übersetzung. Man frage mich nur bloß nicht, welches welches ist... Wie komme ich darauf? Ganz einfach: Speck ist ja auch so ein denglisches Verwirrding. Putzt man es von der Brille oder verputzt man es aus der Pfanne? So von wegen Space Rock und Sternenstaub ist hier vermutlich englisch angedacht. Anderseits hat die österreichische Band ihre über zwanzigminütige Hälfte dieser Split-LP morgens in der Frühe eingejammt. Psych breakfast with bacon sozusagen.
Yupp, ich geb's zu: Das hier ist eigentlich mal wieder so ein Ding, zu dem ich gar nicht super viel zu sagen weiß. Eine lange Improvisation, sehr elektromondisch zu stabiler Basslinie und tight eingelocktem Schlagzeug auf und abschwellend, kontrollierte Eskalationen, die elegant wieder eingefangen werden. Bacon machen dieses Ding, mit dem Du natürlich weder reich und berühmt werden willst noch die Musik neu erfinden kannst. Aber wenn Du es gut machst, dann entstehen halt viele kleine groovende, entrückende, verzückende und magische Momentchen. Psych halt. Und Speck sind wirklich gut darin.
Da hat man sich das am Ende unmittelbar einsetzende stolze Studiogesabbel dann auch verdient.
Labelmeister Dave Schmidt aka Sula Bassana ist auf der zweiten Albumhälfte selbst als Bassist am Start, während die Drums von Bernhard Fasching aka Pablo Carneval (Electric Moon, Zone Six) beackert werden und der Spanier Sergio Ceballos von den grandiosen Mohama Saz Gitarre spielt. Zusammen ist man das intereuropäische Spacerockdreigestirn Interkosmos.
Dieser 2008 eingeträumte und letztes Jahr von Sula vollendete Jam namens "Beyond Hibernation" macht sehr schnell klar, dass das Versprechen der beteiligten Namen locker eingehalten werden kann. Federleicht bis schwerelos und doch sehr treibend groovebetont, hätte dieser Trip kaum kosmischer ausfallen können, woran nicht exklusiv, aber doch sehr deutlich die overgedubbten Synthies großen Anteil haben. Exzellente Begleitung zur lässigen Milchstraßenexploration.
Für einen kleinen Augenblick müssen wir nun aus dem Weltraum zurückkehren, während uns ein bereits letzten Monat erschienenes Debütalbum daran erinnert, dass ja Krieg ist. Und natürlich fragt man sich, ob die junge ukrainische Band, die hier ihr Debutalbum präsentiert, unter diesen Umständen überhaupt noch existiert.
REFLECTOR - Echo Colonnade(2023)
Die Grundlage des Albums ist ein Säulengang in der Stadt Bila Tservka nahe Kiev. Die Band hat den Hall dieser Kollonade als Inspiration genommen und darauf diese sechs instrumentalen Krautrocktracks aufgebaut. Volle organische Spacegitarren und Elektrosounds, Motorikbeats and ein sehr raumfüllend warm produzierter Bassbereich nehmen einen hier schnell willentlich gefangen. Musik wie eine herzliche, schnell fußwippende und kopfnickende Umarmung mit vertrauensvoll geschlossenen Augen. In Space. Und natürlich nur, bis man die Arme ausbreitet um in die Stratosphäre zu flattern.
Auch wenn der Bandname nicht der originelleste sein mag und ein bisschen zu sehr nach teutonischem Achtziger-Jahre-Thrashmetal klingt, haben Reflector doch eine ziemlich eigene Note entwickelt und hörbar viel Energie in die Perfektion dieses Albums gesteckt. "Echo Colonnade" klingt tatsächlich im besten Sinne genau so wie das Albumcover aussieht.
Fazit: Eine der konsequentesten und in sich stimmigsten Veröffentlichungen des Labels, und ein großartiger Einstand einer zum falschen Zeitpunkt geborenen Band.
Ja, jetzt ist es tatsächlich mal passiert! Eine Schallplattenlieferung ist auf dem Weg von Nordirland nach Norddeutschland irgendwo so lange (= ca. drei Monate) im Zoll oder im "Vergessen"-Lager hängengeblieben, dass ich den Glauben an die Ankunft verloren und das Ding anderswo ein zweites Mal bestellt habe.
Und was geschah dann nur wenige Tage später? Klar, beide Exemplare kommen am selben Tag an!
Falls also jemand eine noch versiegelte Mint-Copy dieser Split-LP mit Versand aus Deutschland sucht - schreib mir eine Mail an derohlsen@derohlsen.de oder schau auf meine Discogs-Seite!
Ok, ich sehe ein, dass Du erst wissen möchtest, was ich zu verkaufen habe. Aber vielleicht hast Du ja auch schon gehört, dass Split-LPs mit Beteiligung der Slomatics prinzipiell immer zu den Doom-Highlights des Veröffentlichungsjahres zu zählen sind.
Die A-Seite überlassen sie hier Ungraven, einer Gruppe, deren Sound nicht von ungefähr eng mit Conan verwandt scheint, steht doch auch hier Jon Davis die sechssaitig bespannte und zehnfach verzerrte Axt quälend hinterm Geschrei-Mikrofon. Welche seiner beiden Bands konsequent stumpfer ist? Da möchte ich mich gar nicht festlegen. Im Vergleich zum Höhlenmenschendoom von Conan scheint mir hier ein bisschen mehr Hardcore drinzustecken, und der drahtig aus dem tiefen Brutalgebrumme herausschnarrende Bass erinnert mich ein wenig an das älteste Old-School-Zeug von Godflesh. Sehr punishing ist das Ganze auf jeden Fall.
Nun ist es aus technischen Gründen wohl so, dass die Grundlautstärke der LP bei solch basslastiger Musik oft geringer ist, weshalb man das Volumen am besten gleich zwei Striche über elf hinaus aufdreht. Damit wummst die Ungraven-Seite dann auch schon richtig derbe rein.
Wechselt man darauf jedoch zu Slomatics... mmmmhhh... dann wird es erst so richtig zur perfekten Doom-Metal-Ganzkörpererfahrung. Ja, man muss die Jungs immer laut lautLAUT hören, aber dann haben sie auch einen der großartigst magenmassierndsten Gitarrensounds des Universums - and remember: die brauchen noch nicht einmal eine Bassgitarre dafür!
Musikalisch fühlen sich ihre drei Stücke auf dieser Split etwas weniger nach Space und Science Fiction an als ihr letzten Alben "Future Echo Returns" (2016) und "Canyons" (2019) oder auch ihre grandiose auf "Futurians" festgehaltene Roadburn-Liveperformance von 2017.
Da ich mich nicht mit den Texten auseinandergesetzt habe, kann ich hier natürlich auch irren, doch vom Gefühl her atmet diese B-Seite eher den Hauch episch emotionaler Fantasy. Klar, für diesen Eindruck könnte auch das ich-weiß-nicht-ob-schlimme-oder-geile Coverartwork verantwortlich sein. Oder die Tatsache, dass das Ganze insbesondere im unfassbar hymnisch grandiosen Abschlusstrack - was sich an sich schon als eine Art Slomatics-Tradition zu etablieren scheint - zuweilen ganz schön nach Khemmis klingt.
Auf jeden Fall ist dies Musik, zu der man wahlweise slow-motion-bangen oder mit ausgebreiteten Armen vom Berggipfel in die winzige Welt da unten hinunter urschreien möchte.
Dieses Hobby nimmt manchmal schon bekloppte Formen an. Ich komme zwar im Moment gar nicht hinterher, mir alles, was ich mir irgendwann an Ohrenfutter bestellt habe, nach Feierabend reinzupfeifen, und trotzdem musste ich an diesem ersten Freitag des Monats schon wieder pervers zu vieles einfach unbedingt haben. Dabei hätte es realistischvernünftigpragmatisch langweilig betrachtet wahrscheinlich schon genügt, mich auf meine morgentliche Album- und abendliche Single-Vorbestellung außerhalb von Bandcamp zu beschränken.
Gerüchte sagen, dies sei der letzte Der-komplette-Gewinn-geht-an-die-Künstler-Tag gewesen, andere Quellen sagen, es geht doch noch das ganze Jahr so weiter. Naja, für mich zählt erstmal das Jetzt. Und diesem habe ich über die Plattform diesmal zwei niederländische Kassetten geordert, die genau wie die auf einem peruanischen Label veröffentlichten, aus Polen gelieferten LPs zweier Bands aus Mexiko zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt von mir besprochen werden.
Aber nee, das war natürlich noch nicht alles:
BRUTUS - Burst ("Glow In The Dark" vinyl LP) (2017/2021)
Das belgische Trio Brutus um Drummerin/Sängerin Stefanie Manaerts steht schon eine ganze Weile auf meiner Merk-/Wunschliste, vor allem live, was ja nach wie vor... ihrwisstschon, aber auch auf Tonträger. Ist es Hardcore? Indie? Post Rock? Shoegaze auf Adrenalin? Wen kümmert es? Auf jeden Fall drückt Manaerts der Gruppe sowohl mit ihrem ungezügelt treibenden Schlagzeugspiel ihren Stempel auf, als auch mit ihren gleichzeitig punkig direkten wie beflügelt über allem schwebenden Gesang. Dass ich mich manchmal an die cleanen Vocals von Oathbreaker erinnert fühle, mag vielleicht am verwandten Akzent liegen - oder ich bilde es mir einfach ein.
Sicherer belegbar sind da wohl die stilistischen Parallelen der Band mit Esben And The Witch, von denen sie sich jedoch genügend unterscheiden, um eine eigene unverwechselbare Identität zu behaupten. Eigen, aber eingängig.
Vielleicht ist mir das aber auch alles Banane und ich möchte einfach nur wissen, ob diese aktuelle Vinylneuauflage des Debütalbums tatsächlich im Dunkeln leuchtet. Beweisbilder werden nach Eintreffen der Scheibe nachgereicht!
[EDIT: Hmmm... ok. Das Ding sieht super aus und glimmt tatsächlich, wenn es ringsherum komplett dunkel ist. Das ist nur schwer zu fotografieren, wenn man keine Lust hat, für eine Langzeitbelichtung ein Stativ am Plattenspieler aufzubauen, haha. Deswegen jetzt doch nur die normalen Fotos im Hellen.]
YAZZ AHMED - Solo 7"s Vol. 1 (violet vinyl 7") (2021)
Weiter geht es mit einer alten Bekannten dieser Rubrik, der kontemporären britisch-bahrainischen Jazz-Großmeisterin Yazz Ahmed - deren Schallplattenveröffentlichungen mir neu - und dann noch mit Inselporto obendrauf - eigentlich immer ein bisschen zu teuer sind, weshalb ich mich tendenziell eher mit Download oder CD begnüge. Dies trifft auch für diese 7" zu, für deren elf Minuten Musik ich - insbesondere am Ende eines eh schon verschwenderischen Tages - verhältnismäßig schon etwas zu tief in die Tasche gegriffen habe.
Mit dem scheiß Titel hat sie mich aber rumgekriegt. Wenn das Format schon im Namen steht, dann will man irgendwie doch, dass auch stimmig ist. Das Ding "Solo Downloads" zu nennen, wäre für mich also ganz klar sparsamer ausgegangen. Dabei werde ich mit Sicherheit noch einige Monate nur mit dem Download/Stream auskommen müssen, bis die Single tatsächlich gepresst werden kann.
Aber hey! Auch ohne etwas zum Anfassen ist die Musik ist auch richtig gut. Es handelt sich hier Soloaufnahmen an Trompete und Flügelhorn, allerdings unterstützt durch Elektronik bzw. über den Hintergrund eines "Polyhymnia" Remixes gespielt. Was mich darauf bringt, dass "Polyhymnia Remixed" ja auch schon seit Ewigkeiten in meiner Merkliste schlummert...
Aber was soll's, diese beiden Stücke, eines ein alternativer Teaser für Ahmeds nächstes Album, das andere ein neuer Take von "One Girl Among Many" glänzen wie gewohnt durch virtuoses ohrenstreichelndes und doch aufregend zwischen Orient, und nahem wie fernem Okzident gleitendem Spiel. Miles would smile.
SNEEZING PUS / VOMI NOIR - Putrid Necrotomy / Toutes les Couleurs de la Cacophonie Humorale (download) (2019)
Und zu guter widerlicher Letzt gibt es noch einen garstig eitrigen Download. Allerdings auch nur, weil mir der gute tote NeanderhalerRene Aquarius die auf individueller Zufallsfarbe gepresste 7" neulich schon als Goodie zur "Rat Licker" beilegte. Ich habe allerdings gerne von allen Tonträgern eine digitale Version und in diesem Fall noch keine Kopie erstellt. Also nichts wie her mit dem kranken Scheiß!
Beide Bands dieser extrakurzen Split-EP, sowohl Sneezing Pus, in denen Arbeitstier Aquarius die Drums blastet, als auch die Franzosen Vomi Noir spielen dreckigen Goregrind der ganz alten Carcass-Schule, und alles weitere, was ich über sie sagen könnte, bräuchte dreimal so lange niederzuschreiben wie die insgesamt sieben zwischen ein und zwei Minuten ähem... langen Tracks durch das Gedärm wüten. Spaßmusik, ganz klar. Und als superbes Gesamtpaket verpackt! Die 7" ist genauso großartig wie sick, oldschoolig und doch originell gestaltet. Kostet tut das Ding nur sechs Euro. Also nichts wie reingesprungen in den eklig splatternden Körpersubstanzenauswurfmix!
Ok, I recently grabbed this as a generous surprise download card donation on a certain facebook group. And now I feel obliged to give it at least a brief shout-out to spread the word.
It's a split album, physically available on LP or CD, consisting of two long tracks from two bands I admittedly have never heard of before.
PRANA CRAFTER & TAROTPLANE - Symbiose (2019)
First I have to say that if it wasn't denoted, I probably would have absolutely missed, that there are different artists at play. Because "Symbiose" is a very coherent release and my guess is that both bands strayed from their usual sound to meet on this album.
Of course it would take a minimal research to confirm or deny that, but I honestly don't feel like digging into the discographies of both Prana Crafterand Tarotplane - at least right now -, because I kind of just want to keep the mystery.
So, what's this thing about? Well, hypothetically, if I disliked this kind of music, I would just say this is almost forty minutes of pointless Pink Floyd "Echoes" mid-section noodling, which gets nowhere.
But as I very much love the ready-made for Autobahn night rides sound of both tracks, I'd rather say this isn't pointless at all, but takes you to every dot in the sky at once.
All in all this is a great pairing of cosmic ambient psych. Wide, relaxing and inspirational.
Fuck yeah, what a killer split release! On side A Whitehorse pummel you down with their misanthropic Sludge powered by awesome riffs and seemingly recorded in a giant dystopian dome of torture. And that was only the warm-up for the trip through psychological hell and back - with surprising moments of remembering the existence of sunlight - by Noise artist Uboa.
