Alan Sparhawk – “With Trampled by Turtles” review

Duluth, Minnesota singer/songwriter Alan Sparhawk recruiting local band Trampled by Turtles to produce his sophomore effort. One of whom was the lead singer of the slowcore band Low breaking up in 2022 & the other is a bluegrass folk sextet with 9 full-lengths under their belt already. Alan signed to Sub Pop Records for his solo effort White Roses, My God met with mixed reception due to its leanings towards alt-pop, indietronica, alternative R&B, trap, minimal wave & cloud rap compared to the ambient inspired Solo Guitar turning 20 next summer. With Trampled by Turtles based on the singles had me thinking it could outdo both of them & that’s why I dove right into it.

The lead single “Stranger” was a great Americana/indie folk intro further pulling from progressive bluegrass singing about having to go through some dangerous things than you thought you’d have to whereas “Too High” addressed a part of this person that nobody knows other than Alan acknowledging their blindness instead of imbecility. “Heaven” sings of the pearly gates being a lonely place if you’re alone prior to the alt-country/chamber folk hybrid “Not Broken”eventually learning something I’ve potentially heard.

“Screaming Song” works in some prominent acoustics feeling like he’d never stop screaming this individual’s name when they flew out the window & into the sunset but after a remixed version of “Get Still” from Alan’s debut, “Princess Road Surgery” asks what this girl see in adversity stripping back the sound further. “Don’t Take Your Light” tells God he can be patient & hopeful with an alt-country flare until “Torn & in Ashes” wants to know when the last word will be as the first because of getting the same answer repeatedly.

When you think of the fact Low had mentored Trampled by Turtles & had performed with each other several times, there’s no doubt in my mind Alan’s follow-up to his debut last fall feels like a more collective, communal, fraternal & empathetic entry in his catalog than it’s predecessor. His friends & loved ones who’ve always been beside him make his sentiments drenched in Americana, indie folk, progressive bluegrass, alt-country & chamber folk seem as if they aren’t his alone regardless of Alan being the primary vocalist.

Score: 4.5/5

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Vader – “Humanihility” review

Vader is a death metal band from Olszytn, Poland consisting of original rhythm guitarist Mauser, backup rhythm guitarist Spider, bassist Hal, drummer Michał Andrzejczyk & frontman Peter. Beginning as a more traditional heavy metal group until moving on to thrash as well as speed & finally the death metal style they’ve become known for today, their first couple albums The Ultimate Incantation & De Profundis would become the most beloved entries in their discography. MNRK Music Group signed them for Black to the Blind & joined Metal Blade Records in a 3-album deal: Litany, Revelations & The Beast. Since 2009 however, they’ve been making theirselves at home with Nuclear Blast Records by putting out their last 5 LPs Necropolis, Welcome to the Morbid Reich, Tibi et Igni, The Empire & Solitude in Madness in addition to their last 3 EPs Go to Hell!!!, Iron Times & Thy Messenger on the label. Almost 5 years since Solitude in Madness, they’re reuniting for their 9th EP & the 9th project overall since the Nuclear Blast deal.

“Genocide Designed” was a tight deathened thrash metal intro singing about being a parasitic humanoid & rotten thoughts born in the deepest pits of Hell whereas “Rampage” works in more blistering tempos, technically palm-muted riffs & rapidly shredding solos describing an eternal war. “Unbending” sends off the EP with a death metal single calling to be respected for the soul he’s become even if it’s a surrealistic plea from his perspective

For only being 3 songs & 9 minutes at length, Humanihility’s viciously old school thrash metal direction contains enough ferocity to match the traditionally neck-breaking tempos Vader has become known for in the last 4 decades. It has a more personal style to it than Solitude of Madness, fusing the death metal sound they’ve become known for in over 3 decades & mixing elements of thrash along the way to hold off fans whenever their 13th album comes.

Score: 3.5/5

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Rivers of Nihil – Self-Titled review

Reading, Pennsylvania progressive tech-death metal band Rivers of Nihil consisting of lead guitarist/keyboardist/programmer Brody Uttley, drummer/backing vocalist Jared Klein, rhythm guitarist/backing vocalist Andy Thomas & bassist/frontman Adam Biggs returning after 4 years with an eponymous 5th LP. Signing to Metal Blade Records on my 16th birthday in 2012, their full-length debut the next fall The Conscious Seed of Light & their sophomore effort Monarchy broke their ground as a progressive tech-death outfit until Where Owls Know My Name became notable for it’s secondary djent & jazz fusion influences. The Work toned it down on the death metal elements in favor of standard prog metal & had a feeling this self-titled body of work would delve further down that rabbit hole.

“The Sub-Orbital Blues” was a tolerable progressive death metal single singing about the dichotomy of living in a 21st century society rife with scientific & technological advancements whereas “Dustman” asks if you believe what you see & being nothing but dust. “Criminals” had to be my least favorite single due to it’s meat & potatoes take on death metal, melodic metalcore & deathcore preying on innocent men while “Despair Church” promises to take the whole world away.

To end the first half, “Water & Time” encourages to let those 2 things disintegrate it leaves you alone lost in space going for a progressively melodic death metal direction just before “House of Light” ditching the melodic elements of the previously mentioned single asking for a sign to be set free told no lies. “Evidence” turns up the hostility talking about dangerous games being played with a cage, waiting at the end, but then “American Death” refuses to believe a word said & calls themselves the American Dream itself.

“The Logical End” keeps the progressive death metal hybrids going singing about building another empire right where they’re standing due to them never having to see a logical end for as long as they live the rest of their days & not fading away while the title track appropriately finishes the album asking not to breathe in a disease born from the flowers of despair, encouraging to wake up or you’ll bе swept away because of another day being lost wasted.

Setting out to bring the sounds of their previous material with all the fat cut away, Rivers of Nihil complete their mission successfully with a body of work reminiscent of The Conscious Seed of Light & Monarchy in terms of technicality with the only exception being these guys having a mature understanding of pacing or bringing a more refreshed perspective of the experimentation throughout Where Owls Know My Name & The Work respectively.

Score: 4.5/5

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Swans – “Birthing” review

Swans are a highly regarded New York experimental post-rock outfit masterminded by Young God Records founder Michael Gira. Their lengthy discography includes essentials in the band’s respective styles like Filth, Children of God, White Light From the Mouth of Infinity, The Great Annihilator, my favorite of theirs Soundtracks for the Blind, my 3rd favorite The Seer, my 2nd favorite To Be Kind & The Beggar. The latter will be celebrating its 2-year anniversary next month & Birthing’s getting us ready for another summer.

“The Healers” was a magnificently ambitious evolving intro embarking on a 21 minute journey through slick textures on an ocean of sounds singing about the heavens raining down knives of silver to kiss our bodies in the river whereas “I’m a Tower” sticks out as a Single of the Year contender bringing together post-rock, experimental rock, drone, krautrock, totalism, poetry, art rock, post-punk, goth rock & noise rock fluidly for 19 minutes.

Getting to the title track, it evolved into a lengthy sonic beast full of colorful grooves & rich soundscapes because of of multiple portions of it improving progressively during the band’s last tour advising all these motherfuckers to pay attention to him prior to the shortest track here “Red Yellow” fuses their experimental post-rock sound with goth rock with a hook that’s powerfully sung enough to send goosebumps down your arms.

“Guardian Spirit” starts the 2nd half of Birthing emphasizing a darker atmosphere compositionally talking about Michael’s life being your death while “The Merge” feels reminiscent to the handful of musical experimentations Swans has been known for since the early portion of their career trying out sound collage & harsh noise. “Rope / Away” ends with a 2-part closer making the first leg of it entirely instrumental remembering his mother, Bill Rieflin, Catherine Ceresole & Simon Henwood the other

Finishing the trilogy that leaving meaning. started & The Beggar bridged, allegedly the last album in their discography to focus on all-consuming sound worlds to take on a significantly pared down form for the foreseeable future adds to their legacy with their 3rd generational masterpiece behind Soundtracks for the Blind & To Be Kind. Michael’s production expands the experimentally droney post-rock style Swans have made a name of themselves off of & blending it with krautrock, totalism, poetry, art rock, post-punk, goth rock, noise rock, sound collage & harsh noise.

Score: 5/5

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Bruiser Wolf – “Potluck” review

This is the 3rd full-length studio album from Detroit, Michigan emcee Bruiser Wolf. A member of the Bruiser Brigade collective, his 2021 solo debut Dope Game Stupid would become an experimentally gangsta & comedic gem although the sophomore effort My Story Got Stories was more moderately received 16 months ago. “Rope Chain” last summer is already one of my favorite songs in Bruiser’s whole discography & even if it’s not on Potluck, some of the teasers from it held their own weight.

“Say No More” produced by Knxwledge was a groovy opener that sets the tone of what’s to come talking about this being the reason he’s hated & giving the audience what they’ve been waiting for whereas “Write or Wrong” turns up the funkiness thanking God for the microphone in his hand. “Air Fryer” takes a cloudier, sample-based trap approach thanks to Harry Fraud talking about using that very object to cook up dope while “Beat the Charge” brings a soulful flare to the table courtesy of Nicholas Craven likening his life to a movie.

Jake One hooks up a cloudy trap instrumental during “Lock In” so Bruiser can talk about having to focus leading into “Pee-wee Herman” featuring Chilly Gonzales bringing the 2 together over a quirkier beat flexing that both of them are always grindin’ & servin’. “Offer I Couldn’t Refuse” was a great cloudy trap single that F1LTHY of Working on Dying laced explaining that the street made him a deal so good to the point where he couldn’t turn it down prior to the soulful “Trust Issues” talking about trusting someone who eventually snitched.

“Baby You” shows off his equity & discusses a woman who desires to fuck with a real one over a bare chipmunk soul instrumental from both Harry Fraud & Danny G while “Guns & Squares” featuring Sir Michael Rocks finds the pair talking about fuckin’ with those 2 things in the past until ditching ‘em in favor of boom bap on top of prominent bass-licks. “Fancy” featuring Fat Ray crosses over synth-funk & hip hop referencing The Walt Disney Company-owned FX series Snowfall while “Whippin’” featuring Nebr, The Tiger jazzily talks about the drug game.

The song “Confusing” begins the final moments of Potluck stripping the drums once again venting over the perplexing nature of bitches that’re usually around him & lastly, “Over Looks” luxuriously finishes up the LP telling this women that she’s so much more than looks on top of pointing out the shallow nature of society these days & hoping the message he’s trying to convey doesn’t get disregarded.

Potluck exemplifies of how nobody in the game cooks like Bruiser Wolf as he invites us to a world where truth, absurdity & wisdom are doled out in even portions. Known for his signature voice along with vivid street narratives & off-kilter humor, Bruiser carves out his own space & singular voice further than before with the most expansive album in his discography taking on the sounds of drumless, jazz rap, Detroit trap & chipmunk soul telling the gangsta life.

Score: 4/5

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Daniel Son – “Baggage Claims” review

Toronto, Ontario, Canada emcee Daniel Son with his 9th proper full-length album. A member of the Brown Bag Money collective, his profile began to rapidly increase in the underground off projects like the Giallo Point-produced debut mixtape The Gunners or the Futurewave-produced sophomore album Yenaldooshi. He just teamed up with Raz Fresco this spring for the spectacular collab album Northside paying homage to the roots of the Toronto hip hop scene & a few months after reuniting with Futurewave for the first time since Son Tzu & the Wav.God on Bushman Bodega last summer & the Finn-produced Hare Brained Schemes a few months later. He & Futurewave however are looking to make some Baggage Claims almost 3 weeks after Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling (MLP) founder Scott D’Amore crowned the longest reigning 2-time TNA World Champion, TNA X Division Champion, 2-time TNA World Tag Team Champion & former PWG World Tag Team Champion Josh Alexander the inaugural MLP Canadian Champion and former 2-time RPW British Women’s Champion Gisele Shaw the inaugural MLP Women’s Canadian Champion.

The title track is this grisly boom bap intro assuring shit ain’t always glamorous on his end & showing everyone the progression whereas “Sweet Peppers” soulfully wastes no time whatsoever to reach the penthouse views he desires. “French River” keeps it in the basement instrumentally venting over the visions he’s had ingrained in his mind as of late just before “Euthanize” featuring al.divino refuses to stop the bread income all because of hits getting put out.

“How It Goes” suggests over a flute-tinged boom bap beat to go the way it already is nowadays cheffing up the product & serving it leading into “1973” featuring Raspy teaming up for a lullaby dedicated to everyone laying their heads in the street. “Bleed the Shark” ruggedly explains that he can catch a rat from him being all the way in the field refining his chef skills at night, but then “The Fume” featuring Bito Slime cloudily yet rawly talks about moving in rare fashion.

Meanwhile on “Cold Chicken”, we have Daniel over a drumless instrumental talking about dying for what’s his & acknowledging the old fashioned tendencies he shares while “Need More Paper” returns to the boom bap expresses the necessity of making his bread stack up continuously higher. “Baylor” kicks the horns out trying to make it known to this girl he’s seeing that all he knows is the filth while “Fly the Pigeon” featuring King Bliss gives the finger to the entire world.

al.divino comes back for the dusty “Sun Lo” talking about never peaking & making sure their competition never eats again while “Crushed Stones” hooks up a vocal flip experiencing the same shit others warned him he’d experience in the rap game. “Sweet & Sour Duck” strips the drums learning to keep his mouth closed at an early age while “Run the Shop” featuring Recognize Ali finds the duo wanting to be loved for their ambition.

The jazzy “Pin Stripe” featuring Asun Eastwood feels reminiscent of the previous collaborative efforts Psychics of Filth & Bite the Bullet promises that everything they’re saying shouldn’t be taken in a metaphorical sense by any means while “Villains” talks about pushing coke. “Regular” concludes Baggage Claims on a rawly vintage note teasing more music with Futurewave to come since they’ve been cooking normally as of late.

Commemorating the 7-year anniversary of Pressure Cooker earlier this month, the Brown Bag Money standout & his go-to producer unearth 18 outtakes that were made during those sessions & compile them into a sequel of it’s own sounding like they recorded it recently. I can very much tell that Futurewave’s boom bap production was recorded during that era, except that & Daniel Son’s pen make an exciting throwback to their dual breakthrough.

Score: 4/5

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Crossworm – “Shelter Skelter” review

Grand Rapids, Michigan rapper, singer/songwriter, producer & Dirtcore Music founder Crossworm quickly following up Dirtwave with his 5th EP. Starting as 1/2 of 2Korpse before branching out on his own for the full-length solo debut Phoenix, this was followed up by a sophomore LP Ready to Burn alongside 2 EPs Mouth Full of Dirt & jaws: Deciduous respectively. Taking a few years off after the latter, he returned in the summer of 2014 by dropping 4 more albums: Parasite Avenue, Drowning in Restricting Thought, Finding X & Eat the Weak. I’ve covered the Gōst EP along with the synthpop inspired ANTI & of course the eponymous Bodies Below Sea Level debut, coming off an EP couple weeks ago by making another stylistic departure on Shelter Skelter.

The title track starts with a witch house intro that sounds like it could be played at the end of an episode during the upcoming 5th & final season of the Netflix hit series Stranger Things whereas “Condemned” takes a prominently industrial direction instrumentally kinda like the Bodies Below Sea Level album without the hip hop fusion. “Oubliette” dabbles with the darksynth subgenre of synthwave additionally using a drum machine prior to “Bones in the Cellar” finishing the way he started in the form of another witch house cut.

When you look at the Depeche Mode influence on ANTI almost 2 years ago & the industrial horrorcore concept of Bodies Below Sea Level’s wider introduction to the underground as a team, Shelter Skelter gives a shot at making industrial & witch house music taking a break from rapping or singing to cook a few beats catered around the experimental style of music emerging out of 70s punk & sprinkling in hints of crunk shoegaze occasionally for a little over 10 minutes.

Score: 3.5/5

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Jay NiCE & Tha God Fahim – “Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 12” review

This is the 2nd collaborative EP between Atlanta, Georgia emcee Jay NiCE alongside local Dump Gawd himself Tha God Fahim. Both of whom have worked with each other countless times in the past several years, teaming up for the collab album Strictly 4 My D.U.M.P.E.R.Z. during the spring of 2018 & the Bloodspiller EP around Halloween time 2 & a half years ago. Jay was on half of Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 11 last month hours prior of the WME Group-owned TKO Group Holdings division WWE acquiring Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) from the Peña–Roldán family at the start of WrestleMania XLI weekend in response their Tony Khan-owned competitors All Elite Wrestling (AEW) & Ring of Honor Wrestling (ROH) both being involved with this year’s annual Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), 新日本プロレス (NJPW) & Revolution Pro Wrestling (RPW) co-promoted event Fantastica Mania on June 20 held at La Catedral de la Lucha Libre Arena México. Little did we know they would make the 12th entry of the saga a full collaborative effort between the pair with Nicholas Craven on production.

“Ultimate Spider” was a drumless 3-minute hardcore intro referencing Dr. Octopus from The Walt Disney Company subsidiary Marvel-owned Spider-Man franchise whereas “Tha Uppercut” continues the strip the drums even more including a line referring to the Discovery Global subsidiary Cartoon Network-owned PowerPuff Girls franchise.

The only Fahim solo cut “Nickleplated Temptations” doesn’t miss by any means soulfully showing off his quintessential pen while “Tha Company” dustily mentions Eric Cartman from the timeless Paramount Skydance Corporation-owned Comedy Central series South Park ahead of the upcoming 27th season finally premiering in July.

“Black Mamba” if you couldn’t tell by the name homages the late Los Angeles Lakers icon & my 2nd favorite basketball player of all-time Kobe Bryant behind Michael Jordan while maintaining a boom bap vibe leading into the darker “Embers” makes the world burn with their respective outlooks on rap & lastly “Alarm” finishing by hopping over horns taking more jabs at their opposition.

Strictly 4 My D.U.M.P.E.R.Z. & Bloodspiller both have their individual standouts such as “B2G$” & “Rock Lava” respectively, but Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 12 leans heavier between Jay & Fahim’s chemistry as the predecessor last month teased that ends with what’s my new favorite collaborative effort of the 3 they’ve done. Craven’s production draws from drumless, boom bap & chipmunk soul for both Atlanta spotters to lay out hardcore lyricism for approximately 14 minutes.

Score: 4/5

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PlaqueBoyMax – “Atlanta” review

This is the 4th EP from West Orange, New Jersey recording artist, producer, audio engineer, media personality & streamer PlaqueBoyMax. Catching on to him at the beginning of the year after calling out DJ Akademiks for being a child groomer, he has since stayed busy by churning out 3 EPs in the quick amount of time he’s been in the spotlight. In light of signing with Field Trip Recordings & Capitol Records recently, he’s embarking on a trip to Atlanta taking on a DJ Khaled role curating the whole thing.

“nun” by Quavo decently starts with a horn-inflicted trap instrumental talking about running around the condo geeked whereas “Party” by ApolloRed1, tana & 1300SAINT unites the trio so they can open up more regarding on the way they’ve been living since their respective label deals. “oncam” by Flo Milli cloudily gets seductive for 105 seconds just before “meanstreet” by PlaqueBoyMax himself was a 5 Forever prelude that I find myself torn with.

Lazer Dim 700 gets his own track with “nodrank” talking about having his squad by his side in the booth holding a joint & some drank over a regalia beat while “007” by Hardrock produced by Internet Money Records in-house producer Synthetic talks about the racks continuously coming as well as going on a shopping spree as a result of that. “Glacier” by Quavo ends the Atlanta journey with a bubbly trap instrumental going beast as if he came from a zoo & telling the truth when he records.

Wasn’t too show how I was gonna come away feeling towards this EP since all 3 of the ones that came beforehand were welcome to mixed reception aside from the “meanstreet” track, it’s a pretty solid compilation EP giving a look at what Max has capable of doing as a curator. In terms of production, it’s prominently in the trap flywheel further pulling from cloud rap & rage tapping in with local artists who’re either already established or have been gaining traction recently.

Score: 3.5/5

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Diorvsyou – “Paussus.99” review

Another month & we got the 5th EP from Atlanta, Georgia recording artist Diorvsyou. Coming up in 2021 off his debut EP Scoreboard, it wasn’t until I saw him open up for southsidesilhouette in Brooklyn the following November where I was personally introduced to his music & I was actually impressed with his set. The next EP w.t.f.i.dvy? (who the fuck is diorvsyou?) marked a bigger breakthrough for him artistically & returned up from the Ashes almost a year since Diorvsrxlvnd’s eponymous debut. The last couple EPs Untitled EP.9 & So Cunt. have both been received well enough to the point where Paussus.99 could elevate himself & the guests on the 1st leg.

“Pierce My Lungs” featuring ApolloRed1 was an exciting collab to open things up talking about being rockstars whereas “West” featuring untiljapan shows off a back-&-forth chemistry from the 2 that impressed me. “OnTheWay” featuring Sk8star has a tropical approach thanks to Taurus finds them having cash coming in their direction while “FountaineeBleu” cloudily pauses for the pictures only.

A reversed sample of “Olympian” by Playboi Cartipops up during “In Loading…” assuring nothing will stop him until “Flat Shoals Road” featuring Sk8star & southsidesilhoutte produced by Pi’erre Bourne finishes the EP with a sequel to “sex” off of Sk8’s most recent EP Rebelution only a few months ago carrying the energy they had on that standout over once again.

Both predecessor EPs we’ve gotten from Dior this year so far have been increasing his popularity due to his personal & artistic growth, but Paussus.99 could be my new favorite of the trilogy. He gets some of the biggest names in the underground trap scene within these past few years on a vast majority of it showcasing their styles complimenting his on top of elevated production catering to everybody’s own individual strengths.

Score: 4/5

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