A Shoreline Dream: Waitout EP

Latenight Weeknight Records has released Waitout EP, a foreshadow of things to come from Colorado-based trio A Shoreline Dream, who expect to be announcing their debut vinyl release shortly.  The original drummer recently reconnected with the duo, and a volcanic wall of sound has burst forth as the result.  Full of hypnotic energy and imagination, this progressive shoegaze album functions like a dream sequence with saturated, reverberating vocals and lead guitar washing over the listener.  The fourth and final song on this EP gives a little contrast and context to the rest of the album, leaving listeners looking forward to their next release.  Stream and buy Waitout EP at the link below.

Dear Youth: You Could Wish Me The Best

Canadian band Dear Youth are back with a new EP, You Could Wish Me The Best on Anchor Eighty Four Records. The five tracks are formula altrock, with all the best bits up loud and driving. Think the best of the EMO bands like Panic At The Disco and My Chemical Romance, and that's exactly what you have here. Perfectly executed radio rock, with flawless precision and production. Every track a teenage angst, heart throbbing, A side killer. Stream and buy You Could Wish Me The Best at the link below.

Bijou Noir: We Are Alone Together

GIVE/TAKE Records has released We Are Alone Together - the debut album that Minneapolis-based Bijou Noir, aka Augustus Watkins, spent ten years recording, perfecting, and producing all across the world.  He calls it a breakup album - breaking up with an entire state of being.  While largely energetic and upbeat instrumentally, the vocal delivery traverses lands playful, sultry, suspicious, accusatory, and dismal; which gives an interesting juxtaposition until the accompaniment temporarily takes a dark turn about halfway through the album.  Crafty melodies and mysterious hooklines and lyrics characterize his sound.  Just when you start to think you can anticipate his next move, he throws a curve-ball that draws you back in.  Stream and buy We Are Alone Together at the link below.

Steve Hewitt: Steve Hewitt Live @ Magpie Studios EP

UK-born and based artist Steve Hewitt releases his sophomore EP in anticipation of releasing his debut LP later this year.  This EP showcases Steve's percussive guitar playing and emotionally-charged lyrics and vocal delivery, to the point you might even forget that there's no other instrumentation present - just a man, his guitar, and something important to say.  He exhibits warm, expressive vocals and energetic guitar lines accompanied by excellent use of dynamics and song form.  Some artifacts of post-production are a little distracting at times, but it's possible to get past that and enjoy a delivery that is, overall, exciting, raw, and endearing.

Rainbloom: Thought Streams

Rainbloom, a Japan-based duo signed to Step Pepper Records, recently released their debut album Thought Streams, an electronic fusion of jazz and hip hop with lots of spinning sounds and glitchy beats. The first half of this album features pretty groovy beats and hooks, but the hooks aren't repeated enough to really get stuck in anyone's head; maybe that's the point, reflecting back to the album title's implications.  That may also explain the largely indecipherable lyrics floating around in the songs, similar in style to Melody's Echo Chamber.  Seemingly randomized sounds characterize the second half of the album.  Rainbloom have left themselves some room to develop musically as they show potential with creative ideas in blending styles, however this first album feels a bit caricatured and cliche.  Stream and buy Thought Streams at the link below.

Cult Fantastic: I Love My Selfie

LA artist Cult Fantastic has released his debut EP, I Love My Selfie. The four tracks are an interesting mix of styles, think Parliament/Funkadelic meets The B-52s. The EP is fun, funky and a bit lofi, with tongue in cheek lyrics and enough energy to power your house. The arrangements are a bit on the simplistic side and the whole thing comes off as a novelty record, but maybe that's the point. Fun for a spin, but not something that will likely be on repeat. Watch the video for EP track Screens, then stream and buy I Love My Selfie at the link below.

Small Life Form: Fragments

Another release from our friends at Silber Records is Fragments, by Small Life Form. The album is a collection of studio works recorded from 2012 to 2014 in a live rig environment, supplemented by sound sculptures, to yield an album of foreboding, sci fi soundscapes. With over an hour of dark and  dense sonic enigmas, the music plays out like the background for a stranded astronaut suspended between the reality of his predicament and the solitude of the experience. A truly experimental work that will satisfy the most intense ambient scrutineer. Stream and buy Fragments at the link below.

P.D Wilder: Remember To Remind Me

North Carolina's Silber Records brings us Remember To Remind Me, the new album from ambient auteur P.D.Wilder. Armed with a guitar and a suitcase full of effects pedals, Wilder delivers five tracks, totalling over an hour of music. Dark, ethereal and noisey, the pieces drone through ebb and flow of dense melodic sounds, that permeate the sonic space. In many ways we find ambient music the purest of aural art forms, free of formula and cliche, structurally diverse and experimental by definition, the sounds created take on an individual life with each listener, free of any preconcieved notions of mental imagery. Stream and buy Remember To Remind Me at the link below.

Fred Abong: Homeless

Homeless is the debut solo EP from Fred Abong, bass player for influential indie band Throwing Muses and Grammy nominated alt-rock band Belly. Abong also has a PhD in Humanities, so one would expect something special from a solo release and something special is what one gets. With lyrical depth, imaginative musical arrangements and Abong's raw, stylish vocals. The album is beautifully produced with every nuanced aspect clearly present, enhancing the range of musical phrases and subtleties. One has to look at debut albums from Leonard Cohen and Connor Oberst to find the kind of lyrical accomplishment and vocal edge present on this release. Stream and buy this absolute must have at the link below.

Moon: Extinction

Extinction is the third album release for Chicago's Moon. The eight tracks conjure visions of Sunny Day Real Estate, Circa Survive, Mogwai and given the vocal range the inescapable comparison to Rush's Geddy Lee. This is a band that melds post-punk rawness and edge, with math and prog rock precision. The songs are compelling, their musical chops are enormous and the stylistic depth is impressive. This is a band at the height of their powers and maturity, delivering a confident and accomplished record that demands attention. An absolute must have. Stream and buy Extinction at the link below.