Venamoris–anchored by revered ex-Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo and his wife–formed in 2021 and have released a handful of releases since then. But none hold a candle to their latest, gripping foray, To Cross or to Burn, which drops today on Ipecac. Read my full review on Treble.
Tim Hecker’s ephemeral EP feels like a placid segue from 2023’s No Highs, even if it largely just serves to chronicle the ambient composer’s recent film and TV work. Go here to read my review for FLOOD.
Don’t miss my Treble take on Sanhedrin’s latest LP, Heat Lightning, which captures the band in all its trad-metal splendor.
Check out my review of the third record by electro-fied Liverpool trio courtesy of Treble.
The sludgy noise-punk trio brings equal levels of ferocity, fearlessness, and foolishness to their seventh albums as they did their first. Read my full review courtesy of FLOOD.
Every one of us has and/or will, often tragically, squander precious opportunities over the course of our life. The trio of Gastr del Sol and Squirrel Bait cofounder David Grubbs, multi-instrumentalist improviser Wendy Eisenberg and John Zorn collaborator Kramer refer to themselves as “Squanderers” on this rare get-together.
But the seven ad hoc compositions they conjure together without a predetermined game plan aren’t sullen or sulky dirges mired in past regrets. Nor do the gentle souls waste this rare meeting of three like minds by staring at their navels for catharsis, if not answers, over what went wrong in the past.
Rather, the Squanderers—each of them minimalism-obsessed experimentalists—explore how far three musicians can turn the volume knob in the opposite direction of 11 without dissolving into the ether. The results are spellbinding and politely request the same attention from the listener as Primer and Coherence require from movie watchers to fully appreciate, if not completely understand.
To be clear, Grubbs and Kramer—also the founder of Shimmy-Disc, which released this record—do have some history working together. They proverbially shook hands last year and dished up two songs under the tidy appellation of Kramer & Grubbs. But, upon welcoming guitar virtuoso Eisenberg into the fold, they decided to formalize their slightly larger endeavor, christen it with the Squanderers moniker, and make an album together.
Given the vast musical talents and multi-instrumental fluency that each group member possesses, it may seem, as discussed above, that Squanderers did a disservice to their new project and its debut album by not utilizing more of their talents. Some may even go so far as to cry blasphemy over their decision to relegate Grubbs and Eisenberg to just guitar, and Kramer to bass guitar only.
Take anther glance at that previous sentence, and the band’s decision-making should become apparent: Squanderers also decided against bringing a drummer or percussionist into the fold, reinforcing the theory that Grubbs, Eisenberg and Kramer sought to make the quietest jam session on record, so to speak, that will likely impress even their kindred spirits in Tortoise.
Here’s to the power of—and hopefully a more widespread return to—The Almighty Hush.
Is Franz Ferndinand’s first record in seven long years worth a spin? Yes—however, it’s far from their best work, as you’ll read in my debut album review for Treble.
Check out my first piece for esteemed, erudite independent-music manual Treble in the form of a retrospective review of a long-lost record by one of Sub Pop Record’s most underrated bands ever, the VSS-affiliated Pleasure Forever.
Experimental quartet Open Head piece together snippets of discordant, angular, and off-tune notes to create a tapestry paying tribute to NYC’s no wave and noise-rock scenes on their new record, What Is Success (Wharf Cat). Read my full review on FLOOD‘s website.
Mapped out in accordance with the five stages of grief, LA-based artist zzzahara’s third LP serves as an instruction manual on how to cope while also expanding their bedroom-pop palette. Read my full review on FLOOD‘s website.
The Bad Penny (beta) 