Cruel Diagonals - Fractured Whole (2023)

Megan Mitchell makes music as Cruel Diagonals. Her new album is another example as of late of music created entirely with the artist's vocals (very recently I posted about Aphir's new album with similar theme), but Fractured Whole is as experimental as it's ethereal.

When you look at the titles of the tracks, you automatically think of Lingua Ignota and it's not my only connotation: there is something from Kristin Hayter in the vocals as well. But unlike her, Mitchell drowns the compositions in both extremely airy and very glitchy vibes. If you like sacral-like, ethereal vocals surrounding you from every direction but also being reshaped by experimental electronic music, this is definitely something for you. The compositions are rarely put within more formulated structures and often freely go wherever the artist wants them to.

Fractured Whole costs 8 USD.

Check: Penance

Country: California, US

Genre: vocal-only electronica

Label: Beacon Sound

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LOCKSTEP - Arrival (2023)

Tennessee

LOCKSTEP, the Tennessee-based project released already two fantastic EPs and so it's time for something a bit longer (but not LP-long) to arrive. Come Arrival, this year's (mini)album that's filled with heavy nugaze gold.

This doomgaze music is like a slower and heavier face of nugaze. It is very much focused on lead-heavy, crunchy, stoner-like guitar sounds that create a wall of sound with a super subtle, soothing vocals put on top. But the point is that the whole thing is extremely slow, as if an explosion was put in slow motion and served in perfect HD cause the quality of sound is fantastic. You can feel the weight of this sound on your shoulders and the slow pace only makes it weigh more and more. This album is filled with those heavy lullabies and the atmosphere of slow but steady sadness that crawls together with the notes is something difficult to shake off.

Arrival costs 5 USD.

Check: Hunger

Country: Tennessee

Genre: doomgaze

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Glazyhaze - Just Fade Away (2023)

Irene Moretuzzo and Lorenzo Dall’Armellina and two artists who together formed Glazyhaze, a debuting band with a taste for dreamy and ethereal pop rock music. Their first album is called Just Fade Away and is definitely something a fan of dream pop music should check out.

This is the core of good dream pop music: swift melodies, airy backing vocals and slightly noisy guitars in the backgrounds. This all, together with the fresh but also distracted vocals by Moretuzzo, are what make Glazyhaze's debut sound as if they've played for a long time. While the melodies can be often lively and designed to make the audience dance, there are parts where the music gets slower and moodier. And usually, it's something in between: an indie pop with heavy melancholic vibes and pretty hazy atmosphere. Certainly a good debut for the dreamy outfit.

Just Fade Away costs 7 EUR.

Check: The Shadow of Your Smile

Country: Italy 

Genre: melodic dream pop

Label: Slimer Records

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Sáasil - Ephemeral (2023)

Sáasil is a duo that comprises of artists the are already quite well-known for the readers of this blog: Carlos Herrera Quifes (Non Somnia) and Victoria Carmilla Hazemaze (aka Nox Victoria or Oculi Melancholiarum). Both appeared with their solo music on this blog and so their 2023 joint debut should really be inlcuded here as well.

The Mexican artists blend in what each of them has best to offer: the neoclassical, extremely  airy post-rock of Non Somnia and melancholic blackgaze of Oculi Melancholiarum. The results are as good as the could be. The black metal part of this music has this lo-fi atmosphere that makes the whole thing more honest and even more nostalgic. And the guitar-oriented music is not always too loud, there's more focus put on the subtle, softer sides of the compositions and this has to be the post-rock influences. This results in music that is both dark and airy, loud and atmospheric, filled with various emotions and properly distant.

Ephemeral costs whatever you want to pay.

Check: Narea

Country: Mexico

Genre: lo-fi blackgaze

Label: These Hands Melt

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Goofy Ginz - 'Twas Fun (2023)

An alt rock post-hardcore band is a rare thing on my blog, but the Polish band of Goofy Ginz draws from so many interesting music genres that I couldn't just miss on their debut album. 'Twas Fun surprised me with the amount of noisy and atmospheric moments that make the music here richer and deeper.

The vocals are very post-hardcore-like: sometimes cleanish, sometimes desperate-sounding in true screamo-like fashion. But unlike I'd presumed, the compositions are very interesting: they are long and attacking the audience with loud guitar passages that makes me think of many genre inspirations from psychedelic mesmerizing rock to atmospheric post-rock (Rav Muff) with great quality of guitar sound. But that's not all, there's also some more exotic, from my perspective, elements like some ska and hip-hop bits. A lot is going on from the beginning to the end of the album and it's one of those that make boredom out of the question.

'Twas Fun costs 3.5 EUR (15 PLN).

Check: Doomed

Country: Poland

Genre: post-hardcore noise rock

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Tombstones in Their Eyes - Sea of Sorrow (2023)

The California-based band Tombstones in Their Eyes is one of my favourite shoegazey bands that welcome tons of inspirations from other genres to their music. Led by John Treanor, the outfit release their albums quite frequently and it was time for the fourth one in their discography called Sea of Sorrow.

Following the two fantastic albums Maybe Someday and Looking for a Light, the new album builds on what the predecessors introduced: the dense, desert psychedelia wed with hazy noise and dreamy vocals. It is as mesmerizing as it is ethereal. This, plus the unbelievably catchy melodies (some instant hits here, like for example The Bitter Ones) result in something that is both quite unique and exciting. The album is long and but is designed to keep the listener's attention til the very end with the Americana elements (like the focus on the engaging plot of the lyrics) and the psychedelic whirlpool of hazy sounds in the title's sea of sorrow.

Sea of Sorrow costs 9 USD.

Tombstones in Their Eyes - Looking for a Light (2021)

Check: The Bitter Ones

Country: California, US

Genre: shoegazey psychedelic rock

Label: Kitten Robot Records

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Tjaktjadálvve - Echoes on a Windswept Plain (2023)

The Australian-born and Sweden-based artist known as Tjaktjadálvve is the new addition to the Italian post-metal-oriented label Flowing Downward. His new, and as it seems, debut LP called Echoes on a Windswept Plain is kept in the crushingly noisy but ethereally beautiful atmosphere.

It's fast, it's loud and it's airy: the music on the album check all the must-haves of a good blackgaze sound. The incredible flow of the tracks, heavy guitars and the black metal vocals go together splendidly, making one, coherent, brutally beautiful sound. The long composition don't waste too much time to peak and then, the deafening, synth-rich sound goes on and on, making the audience stun for long minutes. Those longer compositions are divided by shorter breaks to catch some breath and create even more atmosphere, only to go on again with the beautiful noise on the other side of the sonic valley.

Echoes on a Windswept Plain costs 4 EUR.

Check: Echoes on a Windswept Plain

Country: Australia/Sweden

Genre: blackgaze

Label: Flowing Downward

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Solenoide - Casa de Islandia (2023)

Inspired by the novel by the Romanian writer Mircea Cărtărescu, the Peruvian band Solenoide started their musical journey five years ago and this year was the highest time for them to release their debut EP. And they did so and called it Casa de Islandia.

Led by Laura Rosales and Oscar Contreras, the outfit embraced the very noisy, very ethereal genre of guitar music that is as close to shoegaze as it is to dream pop. The music feels psychedelic and chaotic, but it is very coherent with the overall hazy and dreamy vibe of the album. And so are the mixed, male and female, vocals that sing out very melodic and lively tunes. In fact, the tracks on the EP all are extremely catchy and in this aspect, they feel like (dream) pop music could be one of the inspirations. Even though sang in Spanish, the melodies stick to your head with ease. Especially when drowned in the uber-airy backing vocals.

According to their own words, the title's Iceland is a country that is close to their artistic hearts. And no wonder, the ethereal vibes of their music certainly would fit into the noisy scene of the country in the Far North. 

Casa de Islandia costs 4 USD.

Check: Casa de Islandia

Country: Peru

Genre: melodic noise pop

Label: Catenaria Discos

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Pascal Savy - Simulacra (2023)

Pascal Savy, a French artist based in London, is said to create "organic ambient and drone music as a way to reflect on erosion, transition and decay". This makes him a perfect match for the French label, Cyclic Law, which released his new album called Simulacra.

This album is the artist's answer to the nervous political situation around the world with the music here  that is filled with "feelings of alienation and powerlessness as well as convey(ing) ideas of anger and latent violence". The industrial, aggressive dark ambient is a perfect way to express this kind of atmosphere of constant danger and uncertainty. But there's another layer to his music: the always-changing, looping backgrounds create an otherworldly atmosphere that can feel airy and soothing as well as dangerous and poignant at the same time. A lot of approaches towards the same goal: unnerving space/dark ambient.

Simulacra costs 7 EUR.

Check: Hyperspace Without Atmosphere

Country: France/UK

Genre: industrial dark ambient

Label: Cyclic Law

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Nossiennes - Fresh Water Objects (2023)

The British band of Nossiennes appears on this blog quite reguralry. But there is a good reason for this: they release new stuff frequently and the new stuff is always a good stuff. It's no different with this year's Fresh Water Objects album.

Released, as always, by Shore Dive Records, the new album is long. This comes from the fact that for the band, a good composition needs time to properly develop and usually involves long, psychedelic and guitar-filled passages that aim to mesmerize the audience and swallow them completely. In this hazy and noisy environment, the vocals are only something that happens from time to tie: they are very much hidden in the backgrounds and dispersed so the music itself is put in the foreground. The peak of the airiness of this music is reached in the album's final track, Mell's Dream, that actually sounds as if it was not a noise rock song but a sacral event. 

Fresh Water Objects costs 5 USD.

Nossiennes - Liminal (2022)

Nossiennes - Vivere (2020)

Check: So That You Form a Hollow

Country: UK

Genre: noisy psychedelic rock

Label: Shore Dive Records

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Aphir - The Halo Is Shapeless (2023)

Becki Whitton aka Aphir is an Australian artist whom I remember from the brilliant 2020 album called Republic of Paradise. This year's The Halo Is Shapeless is already her 6th release and it is filled with super airy, vocal-centered dreamy compositions.

This is no exaggeration: there's barely any sound on the album that isn't Whitton's angelic voice. As the label states, there are two modes the artist works in: "intricate and often dark experimental pop, and lush choral works" and so the new album definitely represents the second one. While working on the album, Whitton contemplated cataclysm and devastating events that can happen in one's life, but the compositions on the album don't have anything from the hopeless nihilism, instead, "they’re kind of like a soothing voice leading you through a change of state": beautiful and giving hope.

The compositions can sometimes undergo some glitchy, nervous treatment, but it's very rare. This album was designed to calm your nerves and offer a soundtrack for the process of self-reflection.

The Halo Is Shapeless costs 7.5 EUR (12 AUD).

Check: A Grassy Road

Country: Australia

Genre: vocal-oriented dreamscape

Label: Art As Catharsis

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DIMWIND - The Futility of Breathing (2023)

Two Swedish artists, Andreas Hansen and Jonas Eriksson make music together as DIMWIND. The second album, The Futility of Breathing, follows the 2021 debut Slow Wave Violence with a heavy blast of instrumental guitar music.

They claim that their music "strive(s) to provoke both reflection and empowerment" while the album  is devoted to "exploring a state of grief after losing a loved one". And this is further fueled by a personal tragedy that hit one of the artists, making the whole music experience even more honest and poignant. They express the theme with a heavy take on post-rock music with a multitude of metal music references. The metal's traditional guitar work meets the post-rock-like compositions that emanate the might of the heavy music with a hint of melancholy all over the place.

The Futility of Breathing costs 5 EUR.

Check: Days Subside Ablaze

Country: Sweden

Genre: guitar post-rock

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Hope the Flowers - Sonorous Faith PT​.​2 (2023)

The first part of this album came out all the way in 2023 and I liked it so much that this year's second part had to appear here as well. Hailing from Thailand, Hope the Flowers is one of my favourite Asian post-rock outfits and the one that shows how to make a really orchestral sound within this music genre.

The new album is said to represent the "beautiful and gentle side" of the project that started as a one-man outfit by Narongrit Ittipolnavakul to evolve into the full-blown orchestral line-up we know at the moment. This multi-threaded music really can become something very powerful, even in this "gentler" form. So, even though it really is softer and more detail-oriented post-rock music, the overall structure of the tracks do remind me of MONO's music with the long developing compositions that can suddenly burst into loud, very emotional fragments. 

However, most of the album is kept in this key-like notes-filled, beautiful, neoclassical soundscape atmosphere that is both extremely attractive and very moody. This all is achieved with guitars that are accompanied by orchestra-like classical instruments, with the heavier sounds of trumpets and the softest ones of glockenspiel and, very occasionally, vocals. Good stuff from South-East Asia.

Sonorous Faith PT​.​2 costs 10 USD.

Hope the Flower - Sonorous Faith Pt. 1 (2020)

Check: Anahata

Country: Thailand

Genre: orchestral post-rock

Label: Newlights Production

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Ritual Cloak - Vanished in Transition (2023)

The Welsh project Ritual Cloak consists of Daniel Barnett, (known from the post-rock outfit Samoans) and producer Andrew Sanders. Together they released a new EP this year, which is said to be a change in their musical direction.

Vanished in Transition is filled with slow, introspective compositions that don't hurry anywhere and flow peacefully but also melancholically on and on. The post-rock origins of Barnett are pretty audible as the compositions are based on delicate guitar noise and slow, pulsating beats as well as some jazzy influences here and there. This corresponds brilliantly with the soft, sad vocals that feel like they were there but not really. Like a mist in the distance of this soundscape. It's no wonder that the album was born from the band's "fascination of disappearing", everything here is so airy that may as well suddenly disappear into thin air.

Vanished in Transition costs 9.5 EUR (8 GBP).    

Check: Left Behind

Country: Wales, UK

Genre: post-rock soundscape

Label: Bubblewrap Collective

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Wolfredt - IIII (2023)

Wolfredt was born as Margus Voolpriit's solo project, but eventually evolved to the full-fleshed post-rock/post-metal band. Voolpriit, also known as a drummer in the Estonian dream pop icons, Pia Fraus, with his mates released this year already the 5th album under this moniker (if I count it correctly, the title of this one suggests something else...).

In any case, IIII presents a healthy dose of heavy guitar music with inspirations taken from the best post-rock artists with some post-metal additions. It is kept in this powerful, very tangibly overwhelming way of expression, one that can easily erupt in the form of metal-like screaming, but can also calm down and, in very classic post-rock fashion, become a beautiful, soft and tear-jerking composition. Still, the loudness dominates the landscape here. This is the kind of music that is meant to overwhelm you and keep astonished til the very end of the album.

IIII costs 7 EUR.

Check: Under the Spell

Country: Estonia

Genre: heavy post-rock

Label: Moments of Collapse

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Strangers in My House - Leave It Undefined (2023)

Although on the local stage, they feel like they have been around forever, technically speaking, the Kraków-based Strangers in My House have only just released their debut LP. And with Leave It Undefined , the band proves that they are one of the best noisy bands in the country and perhaps one of the most underrated ones in general.

The band is known for their love for classic shoegaze music (RIDE for instance) and it's clearly felt in their songs. The hazy guitars backgrounds give away those inspirations pretty easily: while the songs in general are pretty much traditionally formalized, the chaos in the backgrounds can be pretty impressing. But this noise and this chaos are mostly kept in the backgrounds give way to the melodic vocals by Magdalena Radecka. Those are quite far from the distorted shoegaze standards and bring more of the fun, indie rock vibes. Indeed, the band admits that they wanted to keep the debut album in a more "energetic and groovy" atmosphere, compared to the previous releases (which is especially audible in the swift and surprisingly fast Destination Point).

The symbol of their musical road is Words, a song that featured on their very first single in 2019, now, in an improved form, is one of the highlights of the debut album. And to be honest, next to all of the tracks on this short album deserve to be called "highlights".

Leave It Undefined costs 7 EUR (30 PLN).

Strangers in My House - Strangers in My House (2020)

Check: Destination Point

Country: Poland

Genre: noise indie rock

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Draag - Dark Fire Heresy (2023)

The Californian band Draag debuted back in 2018 and it's finally time they released a follow-up album. They filled this year's Dark Fire Heresy with high-quality nugaze music so it has everything a fan of the genre could want.

Their Facebook account includes a super short but extremely accurate description of their music: "a storm in slow motion". The shoegaze guitar effects, together with the overall energy and might of the sound make incredible impression: the best artists of the genre would agree here I'm sure. Another thing is that the music doesn't feel repetitive in the modern shoegaze context. There are electronic elements that add up to the uniqueness of the music, but, mot importantly, the compositions feel very fresh. Maybe it's not Flaming Lips, but there's a good deal of psychedelic experimentation here as well.

It all results in exciting, lively but also very noisy compositions. The quality of the vocals, in my eyes (ears), qualifies the music more as nugaze than the modern take on the classic shoegaze music. It's more flow-rich and soothing than dispersed and hazy. But it doesn't really matter as the final result is the same: overwhelmed and blessed audience. 

Dark Fire Heresy costs 9 USD.

Check: Demonbird

Country: California, US

Genre: psychedelic nugaze

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Spotlights - Alchemy for the Dead (2023)

There is a visible and exciting wave of bands from the States, who combine nugaze and heavy rock/metal influences. One of them is the New York trio Spotlights, who debuted back in 2016 and this year released their perhaps best album to date, called Alchemy for the Dead.

Extremely heavy, crunchy guitars meet slowcore pace and blissfully soft vocals. This is Spotlights' path to the listeners' hearts. And it works like a charm. You can clearly feel on your shoulders the weight of this music: the metal-like riffs, the monumental cascades of guitar sounds, it all works great in the not-so-hasty or sometimes clearly as slow as possible pace. So the music is not far from bands like Cult of Luna, but the vocals are a perfect counter-weight here. In the Nothing, SOM or Holy Fawns' fashion, they are smoothed out to become a flow-rich, slow, but also super melodic addition to the heavy music.

To spice everything up, there are moments where the metal atmosphere take over and gives the blackened empowerment to the dreamy whole. Still, I don't think I'd call this music blackgaze, but heavy shoegaze makes sense to me. 

Alchemy for the Dead costs 9 USD.

Check: Sunset Burial

Country: New York, US

Genre: heavy nugaze

Label: Ipecac Recordings

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Wendy Rae Fowler - Flicker​+​Pulse (2023)

Wendy Rae Fowler, member of psychedelic rock outfits Earthlings? and We Fell to Earth is now more focused on her solo music and ambient electronica. Recently she has released a movie score to a documentary about the British nature called Flicker​+​Pulse.

And while it is opened with pulsating bass line, the whole album is more about delicate ambient meeting neoclassical, piano-based beauty that evolves towards more intense electronica. While the whole score is not very long, it does what they usually lack in: every track is unique and quite different while still revolving within the subtle electronica realm. It may sound even too subtle for a documentary, but maybe it means that I should watch it somewhere.

Flicker​+​Pulse costs 8 EUR (7 GBP).

 

Check: The Sound of My Heart

Country: UK

Genre: neoclassical soundscape

Label: Ghost Rhythm Records

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BrokenTeeth - 추​락​은 천​천​히 (How to Sink Slowly) (2023)

The lo-fi Korean noise pop/shoegaze music seems to be a genre on its own recently. With many artists and albums well-received by the worldwide deep alternative music society, it's a force to be aware of. One of its representatives is 김민하, better known as BrokenTeeth who comes back with his second album called 추​락​은 천​천​히 (How to Sink Slowly).

And BrokenTeeth offers something I appreciate more than the other artists like Parannoul: it's less noisy and nerve-wracking in the lo-fi way and more flawlessly melodic and melancholic. The flow of his compositions is unbelievable and so the not-so-short album feels like a short minute of pure ethereal beauty. The non-overwhelming music feels like an accompaniment to the extremely soft vocals in most places, but there is certain rock-like guitar-fueled energy within this sea of ethereal haze.

추​락​은 천​천​히 (How to Sink Slowly) costs whatever you want to pay.

Check: Sunset Strike

Country: South Korea

Genre: Korean dream pop

Label: POCLANOS

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