The now-defunct purveyors of dark, lo-fi ambient soundscapes coated with relentless misery have unearthed yet another ugly gem from the past, namely the 19-minute opus titled Alsdybet II, which is essentially a composite suite incorporating old parts (and even older ideas) dating back to the early 2000s. With an emotional, evolving atmosphere, the track is…
RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://takahashilynch.bandcamp.com/album/resonant-duality What a magnificent gem this uniquely composed and highly atmospheric record is! Leave it to the ever-eclectic and positively weird Gymnocal Industries to uncover and unearth something as gripping and trance-inducing as this. Resonant Duality by Takahashi & Lynch falls somewhere between electronica, ambient soundscapes, and classical-inspired music in which the…
RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://glasblume.bandcamp.com/album/city-in-rain Oslo’s Glasblume is something quite out of the ordinary and a wonderful addition to the alternative music scene, which is evident in every nook and cranny of the eleven deftly executed compositions that their deeply atmospheric debut LP appropriately titled City in Rain is comprised of. Honestly, I could not think…
The now-defunct dungeon synth/lo-fi dark ambient project known as Vornoff recently went through the old archives and discovered a bunch of god-awful demo versions, rehearsal tracks, and sketches that had not been released previously, and due to a complete lack of self-respect, it was decided that they should be released digitally via Bandcamp and YouTube.…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://doublemute.bandcamp.com/album/corporate-culture-final-v2 One of the most unique entities out there today is undoubtedly the deeply intriguing Double Mute and their highly eclectic and delightfully twisted on all things progressive. Also, for the sake of clarity, let there be no doubt that main man Jake Rosenberg is a musical genius whose ideas and visions…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://antinoe.bandcamp.com/ Far removed from the world of metal music yet infinitely darker, more haunting, and relentlessly bleaker is this mesmerizing output titled The Fold by the Spanish artist known as Antinoë, which is the solo vehicle of the immensely talented neo-classical pianist and vocalist Teresa Marraco. Although she does have black metal…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://robec.bandcamp.com/album/the-forest-is-too-loud This one did not entirely come out of the blue as I was fortunate enough to get to listen to a few snippets and extracts from it when stopping by for coffee and a chat at Gymnocal Industries’ headquarters on two or three occasions, and I was immediately hooked and started…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://orcd.co/picture-ann-whispers The villainous purveyors of all things weirdly dark and strangely melancholy are at it again; their “The Law of Whispers and Low Voices” single was released on September 12 by the consistently brilliant Gymnocal Industries and is available in all the relevant digital music stores out there. In addition to the…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://floodgatemoodsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-dying-rooms-of-london The rather short and concise 3-track digital single intriguingly titled In the Dying Rooms of London sees the deviant post-rockers / lo-fi ambient explorers known as Picture Ann carve a musical love letter to the grandeur and squalor of the great city of London. As J.N. says, “In the Dying Rooms…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://whispersofgranite.bandcamp.com/album/liquid-stone What a marvelous musical treat Liquid Stone is. Whispers of Granite consists of two immensely skilled individuals, namely Norwegian vocalist and vocal composer Trude Eidtang and German keyboardist and composer Andreas Hack, and this debut offering of theirs is a superb example of how to weave art rock, prog, brooding folk…
Up from the ashes comes a most unwelcome specter of the past, namely a 10-track compilation containing re-mixed and re-mastered songs dating from 2008-2010 by the now-defunct ambient/post-rock entity known as Sagntid, which was released on June 26. Consisting of the entire debut album titled The Slipstream World of Sagntid and three additional compositions lifted from…
Inspired by a handful of trips to Newcastle upon Tyne and Tynemouth these past few years and more specifically the rich history surrounding those parts of England and the whole cultural landscape in the Northeast, a morose and reverb-drenched collection of tunes collectively known as From the Windswept Shore of Tynemouth has presented itself. In…
The 2-track EP titled Descending Upon Ruins Again by the musically deviant post-rockers/ambient experimentalists Picture Ann is out now via Floodgate Moods Productions and is guaranteed to leave you in either a foul or reflective mood. The overall theme revolves around the notion of failing in every sense of the cursed word, and whereas the…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://floodgatemoodsproductions.bandcamp.com/ To Leave One Living Thing, the latest 2-track EP by Danish/Norwegian post-rockers Picture Ann, is out now via all the usual digital shops and retailers including Bandcamp and Spotify. The two tracks that constitute this hypnotic gem explore the notion of legacy and what each one of us leaves behind, be…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://open.spotify.com/track/4yfVuKGz6GMOvt2mU4sEap?si=5cc3fbcbf3104db1 The droning 28-minute composition titled This Wretched Shore by experimentalists Picture Ann is out now. The bleak and windswept suite is essentially an exploration of what can only be termed permanent loneliness in various guises, and it can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be,…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://doublemute.bandcamp.com/album/corporate-culture I can honestly say that I have never come across anything that sounds quite like Double Mute does, and I am absolutely loving that! How to even explain or describe such a unique sound as that of this Norwegian-based entity whose sonic experiments take in noise rock, electronica, avantgarde music,…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://open.spotify.com/album/77WTLOCAmi8iysa1VuxNuX?si=FU3Huoz3TfaFebp8TSdHwA Udenfor, the latest 2-track EP by Danish/Norwegain post-rockers Picture Ann, is out December 18. The title track came about one late afternoon when walking through a wintry cityscape, pondering the impact of Don DeLillo’s The Body Artist on yours truly and how that overlooked literary gem eloquently and elegantly thematizes…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://floodgatemoodsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/disquiet-2024-remaster-2 Although laid to rest many years to go, the murky lo-fi ambient entity known as Vornoff has occasionally made its presence felt in the charcoal-stained underground by means of unearthing various previously songs and recordings from the vault – one of which is the bleak twelve-minute musical odyssey through a…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://open.spotify.com/album/0yLSPVbADe1jMVUWjebilM?si=1jfRgj-NROe6ddzsqJwGaw Unfortunately, there is just no stopping the annoyingly productive purveyors of all things dark and melancholy known as Picture Ann, i.e. the exponents of lo-fi post-rock and dark ambient drones of the rather dense variety. The latest output titled Promising Oddities is essentially an odds-and-sods collection of tracks and ideas…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://oleteigen.bandcamp.com/album/skjebnev-ven Leave it to Gymnocal Industries (Norway) to release hauntingly evocative records such as this one, which sees the skilled composer Ole Teigen (Superlynx, ex-Den Saakaldte, ex-Dødheimsgard) weaving gentle and reflective piano motifs together to great effect. As with his introspective and somber Aske and Jord LP from 2021, Skjebnevæven is…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://floodgatemoodsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/solemn-traits Late August sees the digital release of the full-length opus titled Solemn Traits, which is a brand-new sonic curse that is firmly rooted in dark ambient drone experiments and disquieting textures – the kind that require and reward patience on the part of the listener. Spawned by thoughts and notions…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://open.spotify.com/album/5MZaV1Opk9UlcmhFV83z3H?si=U7jKhEl9SVmQsxt_vwiGEg Somewhere between the strangely uplifting and the deeply morose is where you will find the latest musical endeavor by ambient drone rockers Picture Ann, namely the one-track digital single sporting the exquisitely brooding moniker that is A Dark Stretch Between There and Home. Inspired by the notion of searching for…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://shadowknell.bandcamp.com/album/shadow-knell They rarely make records like these anymore, i.e. dark medieval ambient-esque works that pay homage to dungeon synth linchpins such as Mortiis and Penitent while also weaving influences from Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze into their richly textured and evocative soundscapes in such a confident and pleasantly assured manner. Sure,…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://floodgatemoodsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/museum The sparkling new EP by dark drone rockers Picture Ann sporting the evocative title Museum is a musical exploration of the lives of peasants and fishermen between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries in Northern Jutland. In the words of J.N., “The two lengthy sequences that make up this release essentially…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/collections/frontpage/products/dream-machines-electronic-music-in-britain-from-doctor-who-to-acid-house Dream Machines by author Matthew Collin is quite literally a dream come true for anyone interested in the subject of British electronic music – regardless of whether one is merely curious about the phenomenon or harbor much more than just a passing interest in its gloriously labyrinthine history. Exhaustively researched,…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://lethemetal.bandcamp.com/album/alienation This is my first encounter with the splendid experimental outfit known as Lethe and judging by the quality and infinite depth of this, their third full-length album, I feel utterly compelled to check their previous two offerings out. Alienation is anything but predictable or mundane, and the very act of…
The brand-new output by the musically devious post-rockers Picture Ann has just arrived digitally and sees the Danish/Norwegian act conjuring up thick waves of dark ambient and drone music that explore the disruptive power of loss. Thematically speaking, the three compositions that constitute Blind Optimism – Bleak Prophecy all revolve around the postmodernist claim that…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://erlanddahlen.bandcamp.com/album/racoons Talk about being overwhelmingly surprised by something that turns out to be so much cooler and more captivating than anticipated – yes, that is exactly what this original and uniquely crafted LP by legendary drummer Erland Dahlen (Madrugada, Stian Westerhus, Nils Petter Molvær Group) is. How to describe this evocative…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://pixieninja.bandcamp.com/album/hypnagogia Fresh, clever, and inventive are words that immediately spring to mind when trying to sum up this highly engaging offering by instrumental prog rockers Pixie Ninja, and there can be no doubt that these Scandinavians are flying the flag of musical innovation high. Darkly atmospheric yet playful and eclectic, the…
A brand-new digital single sporting the evocative title Sea Journal has just been released and bears all the defining traits and characteristics of Picture Ann, i.e. a desolate atmosphere, melodies that speak of yearning, and a subtle hint of something slightly eerie. Directly inspired by Herman Melville’s Moby Dick (1851) and Edgar Allan Poe’s The…
Following the 32-minute ambient suite titled Night and Silence, the experimental and consistently unpredictable post-rockers Picture Ann have returned with a three-track EP that contains a sparkling tapestry of dark and depressing sounds with an emotional pull to them. Inspired by the idea that words often fail us when trying to contextualize our failings and…
A lengthy ambient-inspired piece titled Night and Silence has just been released digitally via all the usual music retailers out there. Directly inspired by long walks that took place late at night in October 2020 and 2021, the track is meant to conjure up the vibe and atmosphere of those melancholy excursions. Falling leaves, distant…
A rather mellow, introspective, and folk-inspired little thing of wicked beauty titled Those Abundant Ruins by the harbingers of bleak music known as Picture Ann is out now via all the usual digital music shops and retailers, and this particular release is meant to serve as a soundtrack and homage to the coming autumn and…
The 5-track EP entitled We Mourned You, which is the latest output by the weird post-rockers and formless noise-makers known as Picture Ann, is a musical exploration of disillusion consisting of thick and dense soundscapes that create an oppressive and claustrophobic feel. Inspired by the idea of the Byronic hero, the majority of compositions are…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/SleepyardOfficial/ The musically intriguing ensemble known as Sleepyard is something out of the ordinary as evidenced by this mesmerizing new output of theirs named “Head Values”. Solemn piano notes, ambient textures, field recordings, vintage-sounding synthesizers, ethereal vocals, flutes, pedal steel guitars, and percussion are some of the key ingredients here, and…
The ever-unreliable musical entity that is Picture Ann has unfortunately burdened us all with yet another output, namely the digital single entitled ‘A Lonely Moorland’, which was conceived and captured for posterity in early 2022. Inspired by the desolate and windswept moors of Jutland on a cold day in fall, the trance-inducing track is meant…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: Sonisk Blodbad – Startside | Facebook The Norwegian ensemble known as Sonisk Blodbad is an intriguing one and the richly textured new opus of theirs entitled “The Shores of Oblivion” is as dark, haunting, and delightfully experimental as one could have hoped for. Layers and waves of electronic sounds wash over…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://breidablik.bandcamp.com/album/alduorka I must admit that previous to getting my filthy paws on this deeply evocative 2022 opus by Breidablik titled “Alduorka”, I was only familiar with the album named “Nhoohr” (2019) by this excellent experimental synth/ambient/electronic music ensemble, but judging by the quality of these two LPs, I think it is…
A short and somewhat gloomy 4-track EP entitled A Brief Excursion Into Lo-Fi Melancholy by the Danish/Norwegian experimentalists Picture Ann is out now via Bandcamp and all the other digital retailers and outlets both known and unknown. Musically speaking, the four compositions arguably veer more toward minimalism and ambient music than previous outputs by the cursed outfit…
Yet another musically eclectic and delightfully lo-fi output by the experimental ambient/doom metal freaks Picture Ann has seen the light of day, more specifically the full-length album entitled (Missings and Captures) Retold, which was released upon an unsuspecting public on January 28 via all the usual streaming services and digital music stores out there. …
RELEASE YEAR: 2021 BAND URL: https://www.monoofjapan.com/ The experimental rockers Mono released this deeply atmospheric offering of theirs a few months ago, and if you have yet to pick up on this latest output by the Japanese ensemble, then now is the time to invest in this mesmerizing 57-minute journey through ethereal and otherworldly spheres…
