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Mute Duo Dazzle with the Ambient, Country-Tinged 'Lapse in Passage'
Mute Duo's second full-length album, Lapse in Passage, is dark, multilayered, and uncommonly beautiful. It's like David Lynch baked in the Texas heat. It's the soundtrack to a Cormac McCarthy-inspired fever dream.
20 Mar 2020
Music
Quarterly's 'Pomegranate' is a Small Treasure of Charm and Warmth
Brooklyn-based duo Quarterly combine elements of folk and classical on the intimate, calm, and unique Pomegranate.
20 Mar 2020
Music
Horse Lords Create a Loud, Disciplined Roar on 'The Common Task'
Experimental rock's Horse Lords release their first album in four years, and it's meticulous and complex, but also undeniably joyous and celebratory.
11 Mar 2020
Music
Unconditional Arms Fuse Post-Punk and Post-Rock on "You're Just As Desperate" (premiere)
Featuring members of Wavves and the American Scene, Oakland's Unconditional Arms deliver an inspired instrumental that bodes well for a bright musical future.
13 Feb 2020
Music
Jacoti Sommes Gets Spacey and Soulful with the Irresistible 'Travel Time'
Ohio-based producer Jacoti Sommes creates a warm sonic world where trippy vibes coexist with funky jams on his typically strange, lovable new album, Travel Time.
13 Feb 2020
Music
Elkhorn Improvise the Hypnotic 'Storm Sessions'
Instrumental guitar duo Elkhorn tweak the formula with a third musician on their latest album, The Storm Sessions. Rarely has a blizzard sounded this good.
06 Feb 2020
Music
Ross Goldstein's 'Timoka' Is an Ominous Collection of Dark Instrumental Beauty
Composer Ross Goldstein forges a challenging musical path on his latest album, Timoka, a wondrous collection of dark, often bleak instrumental compositions.
27 Jan 2020
Music
Colin Stetson Goes to the Movies with Loud, Garish 'Color Out of Space'
Adventurous multi-instrumentalist Colin Stetson scores the new horror film from director Richard Stanley, Color Out of Space, and it's a noisy, deeply enjoyable headphone trip.
24 Jan 2020
Music
Frank Lenz Creates a Playful, Mad Scientist Vibe with the Wonderful 'Pyramid'
The latest album from accomplished composer and session drummer, Frank Lenz, is equal parts experimental, amusing, and oddly funky.
23 Jan 2020
Music
Pan American Expresse Powerful Emotions Through Guitar Instrumentals on 'A Son'
As Pan American, Mark Nelson sings for the first time since his magnum opus Quiet City, but his emotions are most powerfully expressed through his instrumental guitar compositions.
05 Dec 2019
Music
'Little Common Twist' Is an Odd Thing of Pastoral Beauty from Charles Rumback and Ryley Walker
On their first collaboration since 2016, a meeting of experimental musical minds has produced an album full of quiet, off-kilter introspection.
08 Nov 2019
Music
The Pirate Ship Quintet Reconcile the Gloom and Hope of Post-Rock
On Emitter, UK instrumental ensemble the Pirate Ship Quintet dive deeper into the textures and sensibilities that define their beautifully melancholy sound.
04 Jun 2019
Music
William Tyler 'Goes West'
Think of William Tyler's fingers as the wind rattling the leaves on the trees. There is no storm coming, but the gusts have their own power and cannot be ignored. They make a statement.
22 Jan 2019
Music
Lubomyr Melnyk's 'Fallen Trees' Is a Thing of Uncommon Beauty
The latest album from the Ukranian-born pianist Lubomyr Melnyk combines lush melodies with stunning instrumental technique.
07 Dec 2018
Music
The Trouble Notes Shine in the Regal Poignance of Their "Grand Masquerade" (premiere)
Berlin-based "indie-world fusion" trio the Trouble Notes blend violin, guitar, and percussion into a whirlwind of contemporary and classic sounds on this instrumental track, "Grand Masquerade".
05 Oct 2018
Music
10 Acts to Watch at Sziget Festival
With another grandiose edition of the legendary Sziget festival about to begin, we draw your attention to the acts you shouldn't miss this year, here or anywhere else globally.
08 Aug 2018
Music
Brits in Hot Weather #1: Tirzah, Immersion, Sorry, Thyla, and Barbudo
Today begins our new regular guide to the best new music coming out of the UK. The first edition features Tirzah, Immersion, Sorry, Thyla, and Barbudo.
06 Jun 2018
Music
Two Bands From Washington State Offer Unique Takes on Jazz Classic "St. James Infirmary" (premiere)
In this double premiere, Birch Pereira & the Gin Joints and Hot Club Sandwich both take on the jazz standard.
13 Feb 2018
Music
The Fretless Meld Traditional Irish Tunes With "Jenny Bear" (premiere)
Arranging two Irish string tunes into a set, Juno-winning quartet the Fretless pay homage to their traditional roots.
13 Feb 2018
Music
The Best Ambient/Instrumental Music of 2017
In a year when the daily damning headlines make us all want to retreat into ourselves, the ambient/instrumental crowd aren't being idle by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, this roundup of brilliant new voices proves that ambient artists are taking more risks and breaking more ground than we ever thought possible.
Evan Sawdey
29 Nov 2017
Music
Sannhet: So Numb
Without changing their identity, Sannhet travels deep within their core to further progress their unclassifiable sound on So Numb.
22 Aug 2017
Music
Frank Zappa: Jazz From Hell (Yesterday's Jukebox)
Frank Zappa's complex, electronic masterpiece showed what the late, great maestro could achieve by removing the human element and harnessing the power of a machine.
07 Aug 2017
Music
Com Truise: Iteration
On his first full-length album in five years, Seth Haley, a.k.a. Com Truise, unleashes his usual battery of vivid retro-synth anthems.
21 Jun 2017
Music
Ryuichi Sakamoto: async
The celebrated composer is back from a recent health scare with his first solo album in eight years, and it's a dark, eerie, ethereal beauty.
28 Apr 2017
Music
Forma: Physicalist
Brooklyn's instrumental trio are back in rare form with a new label, a new band member, and an expanded sonic palette.
22 Sep 2016
Music
Battle Trance: Blade of Love
Experimental saxophone quartet Battle Trance pushes the capabilities of both the tenor saxophone and the human breath on Blade of Love.
Brice Ezell
25 Aug 2016
Music
DJ Shadow: The Mountain Will Fall
The Mountain Will Fall, despite being released nearly 20 years after Shadow's debut masterpiece Endtroducing....., is still less innovative at release than the original is decades after coming out.
08 Aug 2016
Music
Mary Lattimore and Jeff Zeigler: Music Inspired by Philippe Garrel's 'Le Révélateur'
The duo's new album, originally performed live with screenings of Philippe Garrel's 1968 silent French film, is a subtly complex composition that works very well on its own.
08 Aug 2016
Music
British Sea Power: Sea of Brass
British Sea Power finds a way forward while pining for the past.
26 Oct 2015
Music
Michael Chapman: Fish
The Chapman that emerges from the cadences, the pressure on the strings, the rhythms, drones, and repetitions is a warm and friendly fellow.
26 Oct 2015
Music
God Is an Astronaut: Helios | Erebus
While Helios | Erebus may not be the best the group has to offer, it’s still a gorgeous yet heartrending opus as only they could provide.
02 Aug 2015
Music
Sal Mosca: The Talk of the Town
An upstanding piece of jazz music, The Talk of the Town comes as a strong recommendation to those who can appreciate the simplicity in the adeptness of this pianist at work in his prime.
19 Jun 2015
Music
Art Pepper: Neon Art Volume One
Art Pepper reignites his stake on the jazz industry in this modernized re-issuing of the first in his Neon Art series, originally pressed onto vinyl in 2012.
30 Mar 2015
Music
Erik Deutsch: Outlaw Jazz
The New York keyboard extraordinaire reasserts himself to the top of the heap with the uncanny fusion of country and jazz.
12 Mar 2015
Music
Dosh: Milk Money
Milk Money is a pleasant work of songcraft, but one wonders if it might have been a touch stronger by just including the album closer and nearly 25-minute epic “Legos (for Terry)”.
01 Dec 2013
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