Author: Justin Anastasio

EP by Must Go Faster

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Must Go Faster - EP

Dried sweat clings to your face as the surrounding crowd settles down, resting after the opening act has left the smoke-filled, beer-soaked room. Patrons head towards the bar to grab drink refills, but most inch forward to obtain that sought-after spot against the front of the stage. You’ve heard legends about this band’s energy, but have yet to experience their live performance. You stretch to prepare for the imminent movement, and the room goes dark . . .

Somewhere along the way, pop-punk artists lost their ability to communicate angst in a way that emphasizes instrumental quality to a similar degree as what’s contained in the lyrics. The words aren’t as sharp either, containing topical cliches without a trace of that sweet tongue-in-cheek charm we all know and love. However, this group is an outlier in these senses. EP is the newest release from Los Angeles-based band Must Go Faster.

Across four brief tracks, this foursome (two guitarists, a bassist, and one supremely talented drummer/lead singer) remind listeners how fun, and how clever pop-punk music can be when all the elements work together in tandem. These songs overflow with shout-along choruses, humorous turns of phrase, and lead melodies that embed themselves so deep into the listener’s mind they’ll be humming them for weeks.

Despite what many naysayers claim, this genre is far from dead, and we can thank groups like these for sticking to their guns and reinvigorating the style. The beauty of youth is the lifeblood of this music, and it’s when artists match that universal spirit with compelling musicianship and stellar songwriting that magic is created. Turn it up and lose yourself. If you’re seeking melodic, tongue-in-cheek pop-punk, this album is for you.

– stasi (@stasisphere)

EP by Must Go Faster

Empire Builder by Laura Gibson

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Laura Gibson - Empire Builder

You sweat profusely, jogging behind a moving train with luggage under both arms. You aren’t certain why the train merely slowed at your station without stopping, but you weren’t about to wait another week for the next one. You decide to ditch the bags, allowing you to barely hop aboard the caboose. You enter the car, and walk the narrow path between private compartments. A tender voice sings a melody that soars above the raucous rumbling . . .  

The most potent truths are contained in the stories we tell, and what better medium than music do we have to convey those stories? Films show too much to the viewer, literature too little to the reader, while songs communicate in just the right capacity to the listener, free and able to digest those truths in the perfect mixture of passive and active consumption. Empire Builder is the newest full-length from Laura Gibson.

Gibson surrounds herself with good company — Death Cab for Cutie guitarist Dave Depper, Neko Case drummer Dan Hunt, and violinist Peter Broderick — to create compelling backdrops for her poetic stories, sung in a featherlight voice that softly pierces the senses with words from a heavy heart. The result is one of the most captivating and sonically innovative folk rock releases to ever spring into the world.

The record’s title is an homage to Amtrak’s Empire Builder, a train that travels the nature-filled expanse between Portland, Oregon (Gibson’s home) and the East Coast. The spirit of the record was conceived on that train, after leaving much of her life behind to start anew in New York City, and you can hear its influence in these expansive compositions. If you’re seeking poetic, melancholic folk rock, this album is for you.

– stasi (@stasisphere)

Empire Builder by Laura Gibson

Silicon Tare by Com Truise

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Com Truise - Silicon Tare

A growing sliver of light slices through the hangar doors above that steadily slide open, cutting the darkness and illuminating a control panel laid out in front of you. Blinking colored lights canvas the panel, resembling the sky above, overflowing with stars, planets, and countless other galactic bodies. Your ship roars to life, just as you notice the individual sitting in the co-pilot’s seat next to you. Is his skin… shiny? The ship blasts through the massive doors . . .

Music doesn’t necessarily have to convey any kind of emotion. A song needs only to present a compelling sonic illustration, whether it be imagery or an implied narrative. Something needs to be happening, and if an artist can transport the listener into whatever that action may be, the battle is won. Silicon Tare is the newest release from NY-native, LA-transplanted producer Seth Haley, known fondly as Com Truise.

Haley crafts a distinct strain of electronic music, which he calls “mid-fi synth-wave, slow-motion funk.” This particular style invokes the spirit of the 80s without succumbing to pastiche, a tightrope walk that many fall victim to, yet Haley completely owns. He utilizes a multitude of glossy synthesizers to create everything, from acidic basslines to sunburnt lead melodies that frolic on top of his tastefully bombastic drums.

The quote “music is the sound of emotions” doesn’t really apply here, as the producer is entirely committed to an alternative narrative: a story about the first robotic astronaut and its travels through the boundless universe. Listening to this record, listeners can envision themselves sitting right next to the lead character, soaking in the action and the galactic sights. If you’re seeking glossy synthesizer funk, this album is for you.

– stasi (@stasisphere)

Silicon Tare by Com Truise

Potential by The Range

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The Range - Potential

A silhouette appears on the screen in front of you, framed in static. He speaks a word and walks offscreen, replaced by another silhouetted individual, a female this time. She states only a few words before the screen goes black, plunging you into darkness. After only a few moments, hundreds, thousands of screens light up, surrounding you with singing silhouettes of every shape and frequency. The voices grow in volume, and swirl together in unison . . .

YouTube is a miraculous thing, an ecosystem where individuals have the opportunity to share pieces of their souls with anyone willing to watch. Most of these creations are viewed only a couple of times, becoming lost in the virtual ether altogether, but what if these forgotten artists were granted a platform, an opportunity to be heard? Potential is the newest full-length from Brooklyn-based producer James Hinton as The Range.

Hinton scoured the nooks and crannies of YouTube, searching for the most unknown singers expressing themselves in the most powerfully emotive ways. He chops up these voices, alters them with a multitude of effects, and constructs songs around the performances, complimenting them as lead vocalists. The result is an astounding collection of glistening, uplifting electro-pop, hip-hop, and r&b-flavored concoctions.

What’s even more fascinating is the fact that Hinton hunted down every one of his vocal sources, and signed each of them for a portion of his publishing. This display of interconnected art is remarkable, and as we journey further into a world of creative collaboration, it forces each one of us to consider how we fit into the grand scheme of music. If you’re seeking twinkling, sample-based electronics, this album is for you.

– stasi (@stasisphere)

Potential by The Range

III by Moderat

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Moderat - III

Billows of dark clouds float through your translucent body, delicately kissing your insides with their coldness. The undulating masses clear from your vision, revealing a hooded figure standing at an altar of some sort. The shrine, adorned with countless bulbs, towers over you. One of the bulbs is slowly filled with indigo light, and another with aquamarine. Two more hooded figures step out from behind the altar, as the chamber steadily fills with light . . .

Collaborative projects tend to take their time arriving at an intended point of fruition, when the seams between the puzzle pieces are filled in, leaving an image that resembles a complete artistic work rather than a merging of talents. Sometimes those separate talents are more disparate than others, which results in more time being taken to achieve more rewarding results. III is the newest full-length from Berlin trio Moderat.

Consisting of Modeselektor’s Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary on instrumental duties and Sascha Ring (Apparat) on vocals, Moderat is a group that mixes their diverse strengths in stunning ways. Inhabiting the darker end of the sonic spectrum, these songs revel in atmospheric, subtly evolving, IDM-tinged electronic grooves, while Ring’s floaty, emotive singing soars over the compositions with melodic, hypnotic elegance.

Resembling a concoction of the graceful xx, the ethereally subterranean Burial, the soulful Jamie Woon, and the versatile Four Tet, III is the destination that these three artists have strived for; a fluid blend of late-night dance music and the sultry sounds of soul music. Moderat have long excelled in this endeavor, but never to this lofty extent. If you’re seeking IDM-tinged electronic soul, this album is for you.

– stasi (@stasisphere)

III by Moderat

Aviary by Slackk

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Slackk - Aviary

You step into a humongous room, filled with machinery with no discernible purpose. The ceiling, walls, and floor begin to hum, and the machines start to move in mystifying ways. You can’t help but stare at them, and steadily walk around the room to view each one. After some time, purple paint spews from one of the machines and forms a large blotch on the ground. Paint of every hue pours out of the frigid metal, creating an evolving canvas below you . . .

At its core, grime is a genre characterized by its sense of cavernous space, punctured by powerful, often mechanical impacts resembling monstrous machinery thrashing about in gigantic empty rooms. The melodies that do find their way into compositions tend to lean on the sparse side, and that’s precisely where this artist sets himself apart from the pack. Aviary is the newest release from London-based producer Paul Lynch as Slackk.

Lynch’s breed of grime music is startlingly unique, as it’s nimble and overflowing with fluid melodies. Present are traditional components of the genre — stomach-churning bass, fidgety rhythms accented with 808s — but they’re colored with charming palettes including flutes, horns, fluttery synths, and a fair amount of instrumentation from the Far East. It’s hard-hitting and tender in equal amounts, and captivating throughout.

In just six brief tracks Lynch disrupts the concept of grime, raising the bar to a whole new level when it comes to electronics-based songwriting. Aviary is the kind of record that perplexes, but does so in a way that keeps the listener hooked and in a constant state of awe. Initially it throws out heaps of fresh ideas, and many more are revealed with subsequent listens. If you’re seeking charming, melodic grime, this album is for you.

– stasi (@stasisphere)

Aviary by Slackk

Luneworks by MMOTHS

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MMOTHS - Luneworks

Your eyelids slowly shut, and everything is pitch black. The darkness is gradually filled with twinkling blue lights that steadily brighten, filling your vision with a field of cerulean fireflies across a black body of water. A voice, or what appears to be a voice fills your ears, along with the fluttering of thousands upon thousands of minuscule wings. You open your eyes and gaze upon the dark sky above, hanging over a vast, gentle ocean that rocks you back and forth . . .

Although seemingly disparate in style, shoegaze and ambient music go hand in hand. Both genres deal in washed out instrumentals that ache of raw emotion, often invoking the most potent of moods. They are canvassed with indiscernibly beautiful tones that swirl together like fever dreams, enticing listeners while perplexing them at the same time. Luneworks is the newest full-length from Irish producer Jack Colleran as MMOTHS.

Rather than a collection of separate songs, this record is a seamless journey through an ethereal dimension. The instrumentals consist of otherworldly electronics, IDM-tinged rhythms, and melancholic piano, topped with Colleran’s tender falsetto and distorted with a multitude of atmospheric effects. While some tracks drift within soft, gorgeous ambience, others contain irresistible grooves and evolve into heartrending giants.

Above all, Luneworks is the type of release that redefines songwriting itself. Instead of presenting listeners with distinct, clear-cut compositions that tell them how to feel, Colleran has concocted a mystifying environment that can be experienced differently depending on the particular individual experiencing it. It’s an elegant, bewildering dream. If you’re seeking ethereal, shoegazey electronics, this album is for you.

– stasi (@stasisphere)

Luneworks by MMOTHS

Basslines For Life by Buz Ludzha

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Buz Ludzha - Basslines For Life

You step into a small, dark enclosure and sit upon a chair bolted to the ground. The door behind you slams shut and is accompanied by a distinct locking sound, plunging you into blackness. It’s a long while before a solitary light above flickers on and steadily illuminates your surroundings. Canvassing the ceiling and walls on every side are stacks of speakers, caked with dust. A thumping beat shakes the chamber, accompanied by a bassline . . .

I enjoy house music as much as the next guy, but it can be difficult to find fresh innovations within the genre. Now more than ever it seems like many emerging producers simply subscribe to established styles in order to ride the coattails of their success, so it’s invigorating to stumble upon a twist to the genre. Basslines For Life is the newest release from Irish producer Andrew Morrison, AKA Buz Ludzha.

Morrison’s take on house music, which he calls “tape throb,” is a concoction of the most compelling elements of the genre — stimulating rhythms, warm synth melodies, soulful samples, and irresistible basslines (of course) — processed through filters until those components sound as if they’re red-lining with fuzz and distortion. The effect is remarkably charming, and it only enhances these four already-captivating songs.

The producer’s greatest advantage is his masterful ability to make so much out of so very little. He allows his best songwriting aspects, of which there are numerous, to linger in the sonic haze and rarely peak out. His control over the atmosphere in his compositions is most impressive, and it’s what truly sets his music far apart from contemporaries. If you’re seeking hazy, bass-driven house, this album is for you.

– stasi (@stasisphere)

Basslines For Life by Buz Ludzha

Loop The Loop by Bullion

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Bullion - Loop The Loop

You thrust your head upwards through the water’s surface with a *splash*, emerging into a blanket of sunlight. After wiping the liquid from your eyes, you look out at the river’s two shores, both canvassed with people in the act of celebration; families, elders, noble and poor alike, laughing joyously and frolicking together in the shallow water. It is the Festival of All, and so all are welcome, removed of titles. Music pours in from both sides, mixing together . . .

Blessed be the music that defies rigid categorization, the type that overflows with joyous qualities to the point where any descriptor falls flat on its face. Integral are the artists that continue to experiment after reveling in specific styles, the ones that refuse to construct barriers around their creations. Loop The Loop is the newest full-length from West Londoner Nathan Jenkins as Bullion, a producer of this distinguished merit.

Across thirteen flawlessly paced tracks, the producer/singer brings new meaning to the term ‘colorful.’ Glimmering guitar, squiggly synths, piano, sax, violin, and various mixtures of live percussion and bubbly electronics form the instrumentals, while Jenkins’ sun-drenched vocal harmonies guide the songs through loads of diverse structures. It’s both freshly innovative and pop-minded, captivating and relaxing, and it’s a ton of fun.

Loop The Loop is a firm testament to Jenkins’ vivid imagination, and his mastery in illustrating those imaginings without sacrificing anything in transition from conception to completion. These are the sounds of an artistic voice that’s spent a great deal of time exploring possibilities, one that’s refined every element discovered during those explorations. If you’re seeking fun, diverse, electronic pop, this album is for you.

– stasi (@stasisphere)

Loop The Loop by Bullion

At The Dam by Mary Lattimore

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Mary Lattimore - At The Dam

Your eyelids part and let light fill them. You stare up at a canopy, a woven roof of lush green splintered by sunlight above. When the sun begins to set, you climb down a vine ladder to the forest floor below, your feet plunging into the damp dirt with a delicate *squish*. You walk towards a nearby lake to watch the sun in the sky disappear behind inky blackness. Glowing insects emerge from the dark, dancing upon the branches and the water’s glassy surface . . .

Musicians hold a special kind of relationship with their instruments; a type of intimacy that surpasses the word “intimate” itself in the cases of many a seasoned performer, though perhaps none more so than the solitary harpist. The communion between a harp and her owner runs deeper than most, and thus allows the pair to radiate more beautifully than most. At The Dam is the newest full-length from harpist Mary Lattimore.

The five tracks that make up this record were concocted during Lattimore’s trip from the east to the west coast, and consist of solo harp performances altered by a plethora of audio effects. The result is a collection of patient, meditative pieces that overflow with emotive quality and glisten like tranquil lakes during sunset. The plucked melodies sparkle on their own, and they swirl mystically when treated by digital tricks.

Prior to collaborating with the likes of Arcade Fire, Kurt Vile and many others, Lattimore developed her skills as a solo performer by traveling with her instrument to countless weddings and odd gigs, seasoning her talents and proficiency with improvisation to a rare degree. At The Dam is a culmination of the time she has spent with her partner. If you’re seeking tranquil, emotive harp music, this album is for you.

– stasi (@stasisphere)

At The Dam by Mary Lattimore