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: 2024BAND URL: https://xtxax.bandcamp.com/album/the-passion The musically compelling force of darkness known as Glacial Mass, which consists of members Themis and Manos, is a frighteningly heavy and claustrophobic proposition that promises a deep, introspective journey through the worst alleyways and oddest corners of the mind – a proper examination of one’s true self and an…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/dominion-of-suffering-phobonoid Fucking hell, this is some delightfully intense, unsettling, and interesting stuff courtesy of Dominion of Suffering (Slovakia) and Phobonoid (Italy). While the former serves up claustrophobic, fast-paced, and somewhat deranged black metal that recalls certain French Orthodox BM outfits, Phobonoid is a far trippier and more surreal listen and one…
The tail end of December saw the lo-fi ambient post-rockers known as Picture Ann grace a doomed planet with a full-length album comprised of six sprawling compositions that all revolve around the idea of losing one’s way in life, of being misled and losing oneself somewhere terrible only to find the way back home an…
The latest full-length offering by the demented peddlers of haunting dark ambient drones and lo-fi post-rock soundscapes is out now and contains three tracks with a rather loose concept and theme to them. From the industrial revolution in Britain to the strangely unsettling works of painter Walter Sickert and further on to the cinematic quality…
The latest slice of lo-fi post-rock and dark ambient drone experimentation from the odd corners of Picture Ann’s strange musical realm is out now and entitled The Gray. With the EP undoubtedly taking a rather dim view of human nature and delving into existential anguish and intense dread, the spirit of Gothic literature and how…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://meltmotif.bandcamp.com/album/particles-death-objective The brilliant Norwegian/Brazilian purveyors of melancholic textures and soundscapes known as Melt Motif impressed me greatly last year by means of their uniquely crafted A White Horse Will Take You Home. This latest slice of experimental excellence sounds like the logical next step, or the natural successor to the aforementioned…
The latest slice of lo-fi post-rock by the intriguing Picture Ann is out now. Entitled A Careless and Solitary Road and consisting of two darkly seductive and emotive compositions that came about thanks to a bout of insomnia in late March, these tracks revolve around the notion of actually being or simply feeling permanently alone.…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://witheredancient.bandcamp.com/album/ii I stumbled on this evocative and atmospheric black metal opus by the utterly obscure Bulgarian outfit named Withered Ancient while browsing Bandcamp at work the other day, and there was something about it that drew me in and kept me engaged throughout. The stark monochrome album cover and the idea…
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: 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…
