The Stargazer Lilies - Love Pedals (2025)

I know the American band thanks to the regretfully discontinued Spacefest that used to create unforgettable psychedelic Novembers back in the day. The rays of the hazey sun The Stargaze Lilies' music is so good at providing, can still make my autumns warmer thanks to another great album from the Pennsylvania-based band.

Their sixth album opens in the best possible way: with an intriguing and noisey riff that automatically glued my attention to the music. And since the rougher guitars are skillfully balanced with the airiest of vocals and tropical-ish background effects, the listening session create a safe space for half-dreaming with tears in your eyes. Something like listening to Still Corners but less dreamy and more noisy. Melancholic summer memories? Me like that.

But the Americans are not such one-dimensional artists, it's not all about dreamy melancholia. There are parts that literally drown in guitar noise (By Your Side) or are based on My Bloody Valentine-esque pedal weirdness (the beautiful Shining Yellow). Lilies can create both intimate atmosphere and grand, almost orchestral one to overwhelm the audience. And sometimes both of them in one song. To me the versatile and yet coherent approach to dreamy music means that the duo is now very, very experienced and really knows what they do. Is it their best time yet?

Love Pedals costs 9 USD.

Check: Ambient Light

Country: Pennsylvania, US

Genre: warm shoegaze

The Stargazer Lilies - Cosmic Tidal Wave (2022)

The Stargazer Lilies - Lost (2017)

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Hiroe - Wield (2025)

They may be seen as US new big post-rock group or maybe it's just a media stunt. Nevertheless, the truth is that the Pennsylvania band of Hiroe released their second album which is as good as the first one and includes the same heaviness of guitar music as the debut. So maybe it is true after all?

You can safely say that their music has a lot borrowed from heavier, metal music. The guitars feel overwhelming, sometimes there is some of the guitar riff racing (Collider!), but the thing that strikes me most is the pace the drums keep in some tracks. Makes you feel alive that one. That's why, if we play the genre game, I'd say Hiroe is the band right on the border of post-rock and post-metal, right in the crossfire if the front moves one day.

Being a thematic continuation of Wrought, Wield comes back to the thoughts on the "transformation stemming from personal loss within the context of a devolving world, against the backdrop of the global pandemic" and I don't know if it's just me, but the sound of the music makes it quite a bleak realization in the end. Still, with Mario Quintero as producer and Cult of Luna's Magnus Lindberg mastering, the album feels fantastic quality-wise.

Wield costs whatever you want to pay.

Check: Tides

Country: Pennsylvania, US

Genre: heavy post-rock

Label: Pelagic Records

Hiroe - Wrought (2022)

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SPANAWAY - Songs of Yesteryear (2024)

The Pennsylvania band's sophomore album is clearly more appreciate than the debut, and his to be said that their Nothing-like nugaze with more focus on melodies and less on the noise has everything to be one of the most important releases of the last quarter of 2024.

Nothing was the first thing that I came to my mind while listening to Songs of Yesteryear: there is something very familiar in the vocals and the high-quality guitar backgrounds. In fact, their PR company advertises the album talking about "alt-rock masterpiece" with "lush, heartbroken songs" and comparing it to Nothing among other artists. The only difference between the two bands is that SPANAWAY really focus on the melodies and catchiness of their song as well as the soft cushion of the vocals that accompanies the listener on every step while the noisy aspect of nugaze is less prominent (even if it appears from time to time like in Terrible).

But it's not a problem, especially that I like the sadder face of the album with songs like Twenty Seven or Born to Lose so I'm labeling them in my head as Sadder Nothing and I hope they'd like it.

Songs of Yesteryear costs 7 USD.

Check: Twenty Seven

Country: Pennsylvania, US

Genre: melancholic nugaze

Label: Burial Whisper

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Departing / Serein - Elegy (2022)

Some music is meant to convey certain feelings and messages. Like it is with this kind of dark drone soundscape from the split release by Departing and Serein. 

I can't say much about the two artists but this album was born out of death of someone they cared about so much that this sudden loss lead to the sonic way of mourning. The two tracks are filled with drone soundscapes that are as dark as the feeling of loss and so touching as well. The music here is static and cold, filled with sadness and regret. I can't think of a better way of expressing those.

Elegy costs 1 USD.

Check: The Emptiness in Loss

Country: Pennsylvania, US

Genre: dark drone

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Flatwaves - Numbra (2022)

Flatwaves are a 4-piece band from Pennsylvania who are really into creating "an atmospheric swirl of contemporary psychedelia and retro shoegaze". With no doubt, they are influenced by the shoegaze icons of the 90s., but apparently also by the more modern artists like A Place Bury Strangers and Nothing. And those inspirations are well-audible on the band's debut EP called Numbra.

I'm loving the sound made by the Americans: it has its weight, its texture, it really does feel shoegaze-like. But the way the songs are composed in shorter forms and the way the vocals often feel, I sense a lot of rock'n'roll or maybe even punk influences here: the music is fast and it doesn't shy away from mesmerizing the audience with its flow, only to end sooner than the listener would want it to. It is also reflected in the lyrics: short and poetic phrases, designed to attract attention. And although with time, the album gets moodier and the tracks are getting longer, the overall impression is that Flatwaves make fast and attractive shoegaze-like music and I really dig it.

Numbra costs 10 USD.

Check: Salad Season

Country: Pennsylvania, US

Genre: noise pop-rock

Label: Abandon Everything Records

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Hiroe - Wrought (2022)

One of the most impressive post-rock debuts of the last time. The Pennsylvania-based post-rockers of Hiroe released a short album called Wrought which is filled with the most monumental noise a guitar-focused collective could produce.

The album is yet another music work that is strongly affected by the times of the pandemics. The Americans decided to construct those uplifting and hopeful monumental compositions as an "ode to the resilience and power of the human individual, carrying over feelings of anger, anxiety, and loss" with a strong focus on overcoming those and getting on the other side where hope reigns. This is the kind of music that is centered around three guitars and the impressive wall of sound they are able to generate. And although in some places it feels like a hit in your jaw, overall they provide the very positive feelings: the energy boosts, the optimist hope, the massive awe. 

The grandeur of the sound and the way the compositions are skillfully structured make it clear that Hiroe is bound to be the next big thing on the atmospheric instrumental music scene alongside, among others, their compatriots from Coastlands - but unlike Coastlads' monumental gloom, Hiroe offers some of the much-needed consolation.

Wrought costs whatever you want to pay.

Check:  Doom Moon

Country: Pennsylvania, US

Genre: atmospheric post-rock

Label: Pelagic Records

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WatchCamp November-December '21 with Ai fen, Pierre Andersson Ek, Avalon Skies, Hiroe, Sweet Sore

Ai fen - Can You Believe?

The Polish-Chinese Czech Republic-based artist is already fairly known in the offstream environment here. This time, she comes back with a new single that showcases her airy but also very much experimental electronic pop with outstanding vocals. The single costs 1 EUR (20 CZK).

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Pierre Andersson Ek - Vår värld

The "artist and neighborhood rascal" from the southern part of Sweden creates nugaze music that can be carefully compared to the icons such as Nothing or The Pains of Being Pure at Heart; his music consists of loud and noisy guitars (with such a good quality to them!) and melodic, soft vocals; I love it. Two tracks cost 6 EUR (56 SEK).

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Avalon Skies - Wanderer's Dream

Antti Pihlajaniemi creates "electronic yet organic, earthly yet otherworldly music" which translates to a blend of electronica and minimal dark folk with very dark and airy atmosphere, sounding very Finnish-like really. The original version includes a metal-like voice in spoken word parts, but, to be honest, I prefer the second, instrumental version. The two versions cost 2 EUR.

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Hiroe - demos

The Philadelphia-based fresh post-rock band released their demos, and while I'm usually very hesitant towards demo material, this time it absolutely rocks. Two tracks present so much good quality guitar-based instrumental music that I can't wait to hear some more from the Americans. The album costs 7 USD.

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Sweet Sore - Resonance

The South African artist Justin Mitchell has been releasing singles and short albums for several years now. His new single presents a moody bedroom dream pop with barely audible vocals and a lot of background drones. The single with a short intro costs whatever you want to pay.

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Elusive Arizona - The Best of​.​.​. Crescendocore! (2021)

Elusive Arizona is a solo post-rock act, obviously, not from Arizona. The Pennsylvania-based musician created this short EP with two longer tracks filled with everything the post-rock genre has to offer and entitled this work, very fittingly, The Best of​.​.​. Crescendocore! 

The artist doesn't hide his intentions, quite straightforwardly introducing the short album by saying "let me introduce to you a two-piece representation of the whole genre". And indeed, anything you'd expect from a good post-rock can be found here. Perhaps there's a dose of irony in his work ("crescendocore" as a term sure sounds very ironic but also on point), but it doesn't change the fact that for a post-rock lover, the songs here are enjoyable to say the least. There is an intriguing introduction with some atmosphere-generating spoken word pieces, there's a real blizzard of guitar sounds gradually devouring it, there are bright keys illuminating the more peaceful moments in And Again and, finally, a crescendo that does justice to the album's title, one that feels to be endless and consuming everything that stands against it. Even if this is a joke, I love it.

The Best of​.​.​. Crescendocore! costs 2 USD.

Check: And Again

Country: Pennsylvania, US

Genre: guitar post-rock

Label: Definite Future

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Rodent Destroyer - Nespurrth (2021)

Even though this project may be considered a joke or even a mockery towards metal music, everybody should know about it. Rodent Destroyer is Human Slave a.k.a. Alister Reed from Pennsylvania, but it's not the end of the line-up as other band members include... Reed's cats. This makes the name of the project as well as all the album and tracks' names making sense and I love it, while, at the same time, Nespurrth is at the same time genuinely enjoyable. 

The cats are vocalists here. And I would have never said that cat meows fit metal music so well. They probably don't perform life but in the album versions, they do brilliantly. They add ferocity to the already utterly crazy and thrilling music here. And it's no exaggeration, the pace is extreme, the guitar sounds are crude and nerve-wrecking (in the lo-fi, very black metal manner) and the songs... very satisfying. Each is delivered with a pun in the title (my favourite being Enslaved by Pawpaganda which I'm not sure cats would actually sing, they would rather be the imposing part here) and with cat (and human) vocals all over the compositions. And an important notice here: even though the project was established only last year, they managed to release the third album already and even change the vocalist, as on Nespurrth it is Zelda not Lord Purr anymore who produces vocal samples.

Nespurrth costs 8 USD.

Check: Where the Sliamese Live

Country: Pennsylvania, US

Genre: feline black metal

Label: Above Ground Records

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Watchcamp January-February'21 with Infinite Third, Leon Ampersand, Pale Blue Eyes, That's Your Angel, TREASVRE

Infinite Third - Dissolve/Disperse

Florida's Billy Mays III with his newest tracks. The artist presents his way of blending very much guitar-oriented and quite progressive post-rock with electronic soundscapes and even ambient-like passages. The single tracks here are more towards the louder sounds, yest still mesmerizing. The two songs cost 3.33 USD.

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Leon Ampersand - Milquetoast Bleeder

A Jeremy Mendicino and Will Peters duo from Vermont makes some moody and cosy dream pop that reminds me of Fireflies so much but gets more pop-like energetic and melodic pretty fast and finishes with some pretty noisy tunes. The two songs cost 1 USD.

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That's Your Angel - Jokerman

Singer-songwriter from Pennsylvania, making some blues-slowcore, extremely atmospheric stuff with clear Nick Cave vibes in this cover of Bob Dylan's song. The debut EP is bound for August, worth waiting for. The single costs 1 USD.

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Pale Blue Eyes - Motionless / Chelsea

They call their music cream-pop and it makes so much sense. The English band present their debuting material and it's already so good, catchy melodies in hazy environment with subtle electronic kicks in Motionless and extremely moody reverbs in Chelsea. Two tracks cost 2 GBP.

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TREASVRE - Heavy Arms / Secrets

Indie rock with heavily atmospheric and noisy vibes. The way the California-based bands executes their catchy compositions is pretty impressive. The two songs cost whatever you want to pay.

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Vicious Blossom - You Breathe Inside of Me (2021)

Nate Zerbe's the leading force behind Vicious Blossom, a noisy and shoegazy project hailing from Pennsylvania. Its very coarse sound should appeal to any fan of the noisegaze as played by Ceremony among others. The band's second album, You Breathe Inside of Me, has just been released by Wind Crest Records.

The album has been created in cooperation with EJ Hagen, guitarist of Highspire, bit obscure from my perspective local shoegaze legends. It is opened by the exceptionally noisy Luminous. In this track it's easy to track inspirations not only to Ceremony but also to some shoegaze icons, including My Bloody Valentine. However, the noisy vibe is toned down already in the second track, very ethereal and dream pop-like May. This short album makes the best out of the two faces of the gaze,  Carrie is again the soft one and it's being followed by a very noisy Goth Girl. The album is set in a tone that's not super widely represented these days so it may just be what some listeners look for.

You Breathe Inside of Me costs 7 USD.

Check: Luminous

Country: Pennsylvania, US

Genre: noisy shoegaze

Label: Wind Crest Records

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Nothing - The Great Dismal (2020) EN

The Pennsylvanian Nothing obviously make a very well-known brand on the nugaze stage, their melodic compositions and on-purpose not really beautiful cover arts are known to any fan of the genre. This year the Americans released their fourth album and you can safely say that they only go up.

It's no surprise that The Great Dismal is another album recently that is inspired by the pandemics and explores "existentialist themes of isolation, extinction, and human behavior in the face of 2020’s vast wasteland". Just like the situation this year, the album starts peacefully though in a very moody way in A Fabricated Life only to get rapidly sped up. Already in Say Less we do heave loud guitars and distortions clearly put in the foreground. Not to mention how awesome this track is in general - everything fits perfectly here: melodies, vocals, guitar noise and samples.

Another tracks balance between indie rock notes with clear vocals and riffing guitars (as in Catch a Fade) and what we love the band for the most: dense, shoegazing backgrounds filling the space with the melodic loudness. Exactly this ability to merry the noisy with the pop-like melodies is fascinating in the Americans' works, and on this new album it's audible not only in Say Less but also in Bernie Sandersie, In Blueberry Memories or Blue Mecca. I love it.

The Great Dismal costs 9.99 USD.

Check: Say Less

Country: Pennsylvania, US

Genre: melodic nugaze

Label: Relapse Records

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Nothing - The Great Dismal (2020) PL

Pensylwańskie Nothing to naturalnie uznana marka na scenie nugaze'u, ich melodyjne kompozycje i celowo niepiękne okładki znane są każdemu fanowi gatunku na świecie. W tym roku Amerykanie wydali swój czwarty krążek i trzeba przyznać, że poziomem swojej muzyki idą tylko w górę.

Nie jest niespodzianką, że The Great Dismal to kolejna ostatnio płyta, która inspiruje się pandemią i eksploruje "egzystencjalistyczne tematy związane z izolacją, wymieraniem i ludzkim zachowaniem w obliczu pustkowia jakim jest rok 2020". Tak jak sytuacja w tym roku, płyta zaczyna się spokojnie chociaż bardzo nastrojowo w A Fabricated Life po to by wkrótce gwałtownie przyspieszyć. Tak, że już w Say Less mamy głośne gitary i rzucające się na pierwszy plan distorty. Nie mówiąc jak doskonały jest to utwór tak w ogóle - wszystko tu ze sobą gra: melodie, wokale, brud gitar i sample.

Kolejne kawałki balansują między indie rockowymi nutami z wyraźnym wokalem i riffującymi gitarami (jak w Catch a Fade) i tym co lubimy najbardziej: gęstym, shoegaze'owym tłem wypełniającym przestrzeń melodyjnym hałasem. Właśnie ta umiejętność godzenia noise'u z praktycznie popowymi melodiami jest u Amerykanów fascynująca, a na nowej płycie objawia się nie tylko w Say Less ale też między innymi w Bernie Sandersie, In Blueberry Memories czy Blue Mecca. Fantastyczne.

The Great Dismal kosztuje 38 złotych (9,99 USD).

Sprawdź: Say Less

Kraj: Pensylwania, US

Szufladka: melodic nugaze

Label: Relapse Records

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n-Sō - Out of the Valley (2020) PL

Kolejne odkrycie dzięki wspaniałemu labelowi Moderna Records. n-Sō to pseudonim sceniczny Nicka Angeloniego (tego, który nie jest zawodnikiem MMA) z Pensylwanii. Jego twórczość poznać można na płycie Out of the Valley.

Mimo, że album zaczyna AFM, kawałek na wskroś klawiszowy, całość już zdecydowanie nie jest tak jednoznaczna. Bo opiera się na pogodzeniu współczesnej elektroniki i ambientu z neoklasyką. Znakomicie widać to w finale tytułowego Into the Valley, gdzie na górach elektronicznych dźwięków wyrasta klawiszowy las - jednocześnie wyraźny i znakomicie wkomponowany w całość. I nie ma znaczenia czy elektronika staje się bardziej agresywna, jak w Drums and Drama czy mniej dostrzegalna jak w Mountain Song - balans jest kluczem do tej bardzo udanej płyty.

Out of the Valley kosztuje 30 złotych (10 CAD).

Sprawdź: Into the Valley

Kraj: Pensylwania, US

Szufladka: electronic neoclassical
Label: Moderna Records

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n-Sō - Out of the Valley (2020) EN

Yet another discovery thanks to the great Moderna Records label. n-Sō is a moniker of Nick Angeloni (the one who's not an MMA person) of Pennsylvania. His music can be appreciated on his album called Out of the Valley.

Although it is opened by AFM, a track thoroughly keys-based, the whole album is definitely not so straight forward. It is based on the cooperation between the modern electronics and ambient with neoclassicism. It's well audible in the title track Into the Valley in the electronic sound's mountains of which, woods of synth keys grow - and they're both clearly heard as well as integrated into the whole thing. And it doesn't matter if the electronics are getting more aggressive as in Drums and Drama or not so clear as in Mountain Song - the balance is the key to this wonderful album.

Out of the Valley costs 10 CAD.

Check: Into the Valley

Country: Pensylwania, US

Genre: electronic neoclassical
Label: Moderna Records

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WatchCamp January/February 2020 with Florence Elysée, fule, Scary Font, Southwest Hotel, Spirit Lapse EN

Florence Elysée - Now It's Been

Italian indie pop band with huge influences from dream pop/shoegaze, especially when it comes to the delicate vocals, and there's also a really melodic composition and striking image, the single costs 1 EUR.

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fule - 藍、梔子

Debut track from the Japanese band playing some very traditional shoegaze music, sounding practically as if taken from the 90s, delicate vocals, noise guitars and those lo-fi/garage vibes. The single costs 7 EUR (¥800), probably the price of the whole EP in the future.

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Scary Font - Shedding

Very little known and seemingly very DIY project from M. Primak of Philadelphia, solid dose of ambient soundscape with strong relaxing capabilities, the track costs 2 USD. Let's also add that the money is going to help organizations helping animals in Australia.

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Southwest Hotel - Gone

Bit post-punk, bit dream pop, bit indie rock, everybody should find something to their likes in the new single from the Exeter-based band. The song costs 1 GBP.

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Spirit Lapse - Ein Sof

Electronics slash trip-hop slash ambient with solid synths, but also some chaotic, psychedelic compositions and tribal vibes. California's Lee Beck's album is short but there's so much going on there. The two tracks cost whatever you wish to pay.

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WatchCamp January/February 2020 with Florence Elysée, fule, Scary Font, Southwest Hotel, Spirit Lapse PL

Florence Elysée - Now It's Been

Włoski zespół indie popowy ze sporymi naleciałościami z dream popu/shoegaze'u, zwłaszcza jeśli chodzi o delikatny wokal, a do tego melodyjna kompozycja i wyrazisty image, singiel kosztuje 5 złotych (1 EUR).

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fule - 藍、梔子

Debiutancki utwór japońskiego zespołu grającego bardzo tradycyjny shoegaze, brzmią oni praktycznie jak gdyby przywędrowali z lat 90-tych, delikatny wokal i noise'owe gitary, a do tego lo-fi'owa, garażowa otoczka. Singiel kosztuje 28 złotych (¥800), pewnie jest to cena za całą EP-kę w przyszłości.

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Scary Font - Shedding

Bardzo mało znany i na oko bardzo DIY projekt M. Primaka z Filadelfii, spora dawka ambientowego soundscape'u z bardzo silnymi uspokajającymi właściwościami, kawałek kosztuje 8 złotych (2 USD). Dodajmy, że zyski z tego wydawnictwa artysta przeznaczy na organizacje wspierające zwierzęta w Australii.

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Southwest Hotel - Gone

Trochę post-punku, trochę dream popu, trochę indie rocka, każdy znajdzie coś dla siebie w nowym singlu zespołu z Exeter. Utwór kosztuje 5 złotych (1 GBP).

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Spirit Lapse - Ein Sof

Elektronika slash trip-hop slash ambient z solidnymi synthami, ale też chaotyczną, mocno psychodeliczną kompozycją i tribalowym klimatem. Album Lee Becka z Kalifornii jest krótki, ale dzieje się na nim bardzo dużo. Dwa kawałki kosztują tyle, ile chcesz zapłacić.

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Unfurl - The Waking Void (2019) PL

Pochodzący z Pensylwanii Unfurl trzy lata temu debiutowało albumem Deathbed, teraz wydaje swój drugi, jakże inny, zatytułowany The Walking Void. Tak inny, że znalazł swoje miejsce na tym, nie do końca przecież metalowym blogu.

Chociaż Unfrul wyrasta z hardcore'owo-sludge'owego pnia, na nowej płycie zabawiło się nieco mieszaniem gatunków i stworzyło dzieło, które "czerpie porówno z ekstremum inspirowanego hardcorem grinding death metalu po jego przeciwieństwa, shoegaze, post-hardcore i progresywny rock psychodeliczny". I jakże frapująca jest to mieszanka! 

Z jednej strony gwałtowne i agresywne kompozycje i zdzierający głos wokalista, z drugiej, usytuowanie wokalu trochę w tle, wysunięcie ściany gitar naprzód, a to już pachnie blackgaze'owym post-metalem. Na dobre rozpoczyna się to w Post-Modern Prometheus. No i jest to nadzwyczaj trafny tytuł, biorąc pod uwagę ilość post- w opisach ich muzyki. W innych momentach, tak jak w Black Widow Hourglass, muzyka Amerykanów jest już niemal czystym, kojącym i ciągnącym się shoegaze'em spod znaku Alcest. Znakomite

The Waking Void kosztuje tyle, ile chcesz zapłacić.

Sprawdź: Black Widow Hourglass

Kraj: Pennsylvania, US

Szufladka: blackgaze metal

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Unfurl - The Waking Void (2019) EN

Hailing from z Pennsylvania is Unfurl who three years ago debuted with their Deathbed, now they give us their second, so much different album called The Walking Void. So different that it finds it place on this, not so metal after all, blog.

Although Unfrul root from the hardcore-sludge stem, on their new album, the artists played with genre-mixing and created a work that "pulls equally from the extremes of hardcore influenced grinding death metal, all to more constrained counterpoints of shoegaze, post-hardcore, and progressive psychedelic rock". And this blend is so inspiring!

On one hand, there's the rapid and aggressive compositions together with the throat-damaging vocals, on the other, the vocals are somewhat hidden, the wall of guitars before it, and it's already close to blackgaze post-metal. It's started for good in Post-Modern Prometheus. And this title is exceptionally fitting, as the number of post-'s in the genres they like is impressive. In other moments, just as in Black Widow Hourglass, the Americans' music is almost pure, soothing and long-spread shoegaze with Alcest's vibes. Impressive.

The Waking Void costs whatever you want to pay.

Check: Black Widow Hourglass

Country: Pennsylvania, US

Genre: blackgaze metal

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Derider - You Became the Ground (2019) EN

Derider, quartet based in Pittsburgh, create music from the borderland between post-punk and noise rock and this is always an interesting blend. Although they showed their first single four years ago already, they debut with the long play called You Became the Ground only now.

The album consists of easily digestive, catchy songs in which there's a lot of cold post-punk and indeed a bit of noise, but also some shoegaze influences and lo-fi aesthetics. Sure, the recording's quality could be better and the guitar noise clearer, but it also means that the whole thing has this nostalgically old-school vibe. Anyway, this i snot the end of the genre inspirations as we also have truer punk in Wrong Place / Worse Time, gothic Will, and finally the ballad Paper Doll. Very approachable mix of diverse guitar music.

You Became the Ground costs 7 USD.

Check: Will

Country: Pennsylvania, US

Genre: lo-fi post-punk

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