Some people collect old family photographs to preserve their childhood memories; since he was sixteen, Richard Hronský has been collecting little snippets of sound. These recordings are folded into Pohreb (A Funeral), recalling life in his grandparents’ house and now| a closer listen
On August 31, 2015, Glasgow’s Bricolage label introduced itself with Bricolage: VA Volume 1. Exactly ten years later, many of these same artists, along with new ones who arrived along the way, return to celebrate the imprint’s tenth anniversary. With every| a closer listen
Pink Floyd‘s official follow-up to Dark Side of the Moon was Wish You Were Here, but there was also an unofficial follow-up that was never released. The concept was to record an album using only ordinary household objects: bottles, rubber bands and the| a closer listen
With Polygon Reflections, Galya Bisengalieva has become the latest artist to release an entirely remixed and reimagined version of her latest album ~ virtually a new work ~ joining Glacier, The Cure and Hatis Noit, the later who also appears on this| a closer listen
Lullaby is a single, 25-minute piece written for French horn and subtle electronics. Jack Herscowitz is the composer, while Nick Ginsburg is the soloist. Multi-tracking makes the composition soar; layer upon layer are added until the very speakers seem to bloom. One must| a closer listen
The music is calm, the cover is calm, the effect is calm. After releasing four singles over the course of spring, Harbors (Hollie Kenniff & Goldmund) is releasing When We Are Free in the heart …| a closer listen
Changsha, China post-rockers Summer Fades Away released their first album in 2011 and their second in 2012, with an expansive sound that was often compared to that of MONO. But just as the quintet…| a closer listen
Nao Kuroda’s debut EP is a reminder of the soft spaces to which one might retreat to find restoration and rest. Stillness is a series of vignettes, separated by silent intervals, which allow…| a closer listen
The Erosion/Disappearance EP tells a true life tale in abbreviated form, tracing the slow disappearance of land in Atafona on the north coast of Rio de Janeiro. Over the last sixty years, 500 build…| a closer listen
Tament is a personal translation, an audio diary of sounds created and heard. Glinca calls it “the audio of the everyday.” The timbre is warm and welcoming: the tenderness of thumb pi…| a closer listen
Given the fact that Matteo Pagamici and Michael Künstle have already composed for TV and film, it’s no surprise that their debut album is cinematic. The bonus is a 92-piece orchestra, which …| a closer listen
Time is a Succession of Such Shapes, declares Loula Yorke. But what shapes? The answers can be found within this double disc, which includes a hard copy of June’s exquisite The Book of Comm…| a closer listen
One feels compelled to read the news in order to stay informed, but the news can be overwhelming. The North Yorkshire coast offers a different kind of news: time and tide, bird and brood, beach an…| a closer listen
Early summer is filled with anticipation, while late summer is graced by a sense of melancholy. We’re in mid-summer now, caught between the two extremes. These dog days are characterized by…| a closer listen
tedzi تدزي’s Mn Dehab may begin and end in drone, but there’s a lot of anger in-between. The Lebanese artist, now located in Berlin, uses the liner notes to express what is not explici…| a closer listen
Yoichi Kamimura must have had a sinking feeling when local elders informed him that despite all his hard work and years of field recording, he had failed to capture the true sound of Ryūhyō-Nari (d…| a closer listen
Start with mid-period Sigur Rós, blend it with early Morr Music and múm, add a touch of Where the Wild Things Are and you’ve got Disiniblud, the brand new duo of Rachika Nayar and Nina Keith.…| a closer listen
Imagine you are on an island: an imaginary island comprised of pieces of all the islands you’ve visited and dreamt of visiting. This is the vision created by Impressões de Várias Ilhas, the …| a closer listen
On a record-breaking 106F/41C afternoon this June, I walked by Carvel Ice Cream and saw something that looked like this album cover: a dairy product that had just given up. Fortunately, no real ic…| a closer listen
Those of us who are musically inclined find it hard to resist tapping on an empty pipe or an exposed bell, just to hear the sound. Matmos (Drew Daniel and M.C. Schmidt) have been doing such things…| a closer listen
Sometimes the meaning of an album title is hidden until we look it up, so we were delighted to discover that Päiväkahvit is the Finnish word for afternoon coffee. The LP is meant to accompany the …| a closer listen
LA cannot seem to catch a break this year: first wildfires, then deportations, then protests, then troops. Curated by Hollie Kenniff and mastered by Taylor Deupree, For LA, Vol. 4 continues to add…| a closer listen
In 2023, GoGo Penguin responded to an onslaught of losses with Everything’s Going to Be Okay, a sentiment extended on their seventh album and the trio’s second with drummer Jon Scott. …| a closer listen
How does one make music when the power keeps going out? This is the challenge felt by Ukrainian musicians, as well as all musicians in times of war. Blackout Tape is the first release from Kyiv…| a closer listen
In 2024, Andrey Kiritchenko’s Maria appeared on our lists of the Best Ukrainian Music, Best Album Covers and Best Music Videos (for “Tiger Laughs”). Rust Trust already has a fant…| a closer listen
While preparing to release her new album, Time is a Succession of Such Shapes (August 6), Loula Yorke has provided fans with a delicious first taste. The Book of Commonplace is as personal as they…| a closer listen
Ben Chatwin has taken a new approach in 2025, releasing a double-A side single followed by an EP, each boasting visuals from Morgan Beringer. These audio-visual works are meant to be experienced i…| a closer listen
With The Weiertal EP, Martina Lussi has performed the highly unlikely feat of extracting singles from a soundwalk. The Swiss artist, known for her music, field recordings and installations, has co…| a closer listen
Seeing the “devotional” tag sneak back to the top of Grails’ Bandcamp list, one knows to expect another shift. Since 2003, the chameleonic band has kept fans interested in their …| a closer listen
Warning: Contains minor spoilers! It’s been two weeks since I’ve seen the film, and one week since I’ve seen the film again, and I can’t get the music out of my head. Ludw…| a closer listen
If the album title looks slightly but not completely familiar, it’s because we reviewed Almost Home If I’m Still Alive last year. That LAAPS LP included Dalton Alexander’s entire…| a closer listen
Poet Wendell Berry writes of having “the wisdom to survive, to stand like slow-growing trees on a ruined place, renewing it, enriching it.” On his four-disc set The Pines, Joshua Bonne…| a closer listen
The delightfully different Staraya derevnya, now seven strong, returns this spring with another unusual album. The first sessions took place in London, later recordings were made in Bulgaria, Isra…| a closer listen
Some bands change intentionally, while others have change thrust upon them. Over the course of the past ten years, this Belgian band first changed its sound subtly, then dramatically. Witness the…| a closer listen
Four continents, seven tracks, eight guest stars, twenty-two minutes of music: Worlds: Collide is a crash course in ambience, the tonal opposite of the 1951 sci-fi film it references. The music sh…| a closer listen
All Mogwai albums are good albums, and some are great albums. Is The Bad Fire one of the greats? The answer may depend on how many of the eleven the listener has heard, as well as the age of the …| a closer listen
Subminiature gives us a new way to appreciate Hour. The live album collects performances from multiple locations in a spoke radiating around the ensemble’s Philadelphia home. Five tracks ar…| a closer listen
Are you ready for Carnaval? We know we are. When the landscape is barren and the air is bitter cold, we yearn for color and warmth. The sounds of last year’s Carnaval in Cajamarca, Peru ha…| a closer listen
We almost missed the announcement of this album, as the post-Christmas subject line “Hasco Enjoyments – Wow!” made it look like an ad for toys or chocolates or perhaps even chocol…| a closer listen
After the enchantment of 2023’s Sun Arcs, Blue Lake returns with the beguiling Weft. Gone is the blue lake of the earlier album’s cover; in its place is Maria Zahle’s woven ̶…| a closer listen
Sometimes after only a single play, we know that an album is destined for year-end status. Thank You is positive, upbeat, ebullient and joyful, and includes more instruments than ever before. Alu…| a closer listen
enmossed’s in essence combines the work of nearly two dozen artists; Split, also released today, focuses on two. Finnish artists Kati Roover and J. Koho unfurl their compositions on separate…| a closer listen
At what point does one become overwhelmed by widespread atrocity, and forced to turn away – or grow so desensitized that horror no longer has an impact? Faced with the ongoing genocide in Pa…| a closer listen
First Light is bright, beautiful and ebullient, and we almost missed it. Jónsi’s newest album is for those who miss the euphoric highs of Sigur Rós and have wondered if they would ever retur…| a closer listen
PALM WINE represents the transition of the artist from experimental poet to potential pop star. The transition takes place not only between albums, but within the current release. Sierra Leonean-A…| a closer listen
We love Clay Pipe Music’s Mini CD series, and the latest entry is a beautiful 20-minute piece by label founder Frances Castle, recording as The Hardy Tree. Castle is also responsible for the …| a closer listen
The Tinnitus Chorus is the second tinnitus-themed album we’ve reviewed this year, following Lola de la Mata’s Oceans on Azimuth. de la Mata had been advised to abandon her musical care…| a closer listen
Many people find solace in the sounds of nature; but what about the ordinary and maudlin sounds of turn signals, checkout counters, refrigerators and the like? Lia Kohl is attracted to such sounds,…| a closer listen
NINA EBA deserves to be an international superstar, and is poised to achieve this dream with her debut album. Talent, hard work and attention to detail have brought her to this point, the seeds of…| a closer listen
What’s the last physical release that you were excited about ~ not only because you enjoyed the music, but because you wanted to cherish the object and show it off to your friends? In a come…| a closer listen
Murmuration may be Calcou’s first album, but it’s not his first appearance. The Berlin-based artist has been releasing music for five years, beginning with three EPs followed by seven …| a closer listen
Only a few days ago we wrote, “more albums should be inspired by poems,” and already we’ve gotten our wish. Ten Poems by Birhan Keskin is an aural reaction to, and reflection upo…| a closer listen
Fragilty is one of the strongest musical statements to emerge from Ukraine this year; it is also surprisingly tender. Kyiv’s NFNR (Olesia Onykiienko) was tired of being dominated by the R…| a closer listen
WaqWaq Kingdom’s music sounds like it looks, and always looks fantastic. The EP cover art is once again phantasmagoric, filled with detail and allusion. This time we also get an appearance …| a closer listen
Which city is louder: Nairobi or Berlin? The answer, perhaps surprisingly, is Nairobi. A relocation from one city to the other inspired KMRU to start thinking about the differences in his environ…| a closer listen
After releasing a quartet of singles over the past year, Ross Tones returns as Throwing Snow with another exciting collection of beat-driven music. The flow of Isthmus is so smooth – imitati…| a closer listen
Plastic Mind is a “lost” work, unearthed and put on display by Already Dead Tapes & Records; any irony in the label’s name is unintended. But as more and more music looks to …| a closer listen
What is ambient music for? Some might say ambient music is meant to be played in the background. Others say it is meant to help listeners to relax. A third form of ambient music offers something …| a closer listen
Has it really been ten years since the last album? In the interim, Lilacs & Champagne has grown from being an offshoot of Grails (sharing two founding members) to a mysterious entity with an e…| a closer listen
After releasing three singles in the past three years, Toronto’s Estle is finally getting ready to release their debut album. It’s Always Been You starts in ambience and ends in beats,…| a closer listen