Ben Lukas Boysen – Gravity I greatly admire the work of Ben Lukas Boysen. I have followed his sound design output closely both under his own name and as his moniker Hecq. Gravity is truly a beautiful release that presents Boysen at the top of his game. This album reveals a deeply personal and mature … Read more
When musical worlds collide, here is my top 10 releases of the year. 10. ‘Corsicana Lemonade’ by White Denim White Denim released their 5th studio album this year, ‘Corsicana Lemonade.’ In keeping with tradition, the album has that original progressive/psychedelic/jam session feel throughout. It’s one of the reasons this album flowed into my top 10 … Read more
For 2013, I struggled to even come up with 5 impressive releases and the results are quite vanilla. I find as time goes on my interest in my own musical pursuits makes attention to the work of others continually shrink. I didn’t dig deep, but suggestions are always welcome. Contact blaerg@gmail.com 5. Machine Drum – … Read more
My top 10 albums of 2013, in no particular order. Black Sun Empire – Variations on Black I’m a sucker for a good remix album. Not only is it great to hear new takes on already solid material, some times the results are better. I don’t think I can say these remixes are necessarily better but … Read more
Its that time of year again! Here’s my short list of favorite albums from 2013. Should be noted that these are in no particular order, and it was difficult getting my list down to just ten. Also should be noted I included no Bottle Imp releases, though 2013 saw some really strong releases. Chelsea Wolfe, … Read more
“Obscura” is an original score composed by Adrian Aniol for a theatre production. This must have been a frightening production as the music is utterly dark, tense and horrifying. This music is scary in the same way the Penderecki compositions used in Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” is scary. Its completely suspenseful, and keeps you moving … Read more
The new album by Pinkish Black, “Razed To The Ground” is an epic work that could be the soundtrack to a bad ass, early 80’s Sword and Sorcery flick. This is heavy, drudge metal, layered with waves of vintage filter sweeps that evoke images of battles, journeys to the underworld and heroic deaths. Amazingly, this … Read more
Chelsea Wolfe’s album “Pain Is Beauty” is epic, bold, ethereal and beautiful. This is a full fledged, fully realized rock album, covering all the gothic torch-bearing attributes one could ever hope to find in one album. The instrument selection bounces around a fair bit song to song, but it does not distract from the cohesiveness … Read more
Lustmord’s “The Word as Power” is an appropriately potent album that departs musically from the drones that make up his previous albums. This album still has Lustmord’s signature drones and dark ambiance, but is accompanied by extremely rich vocal performances. The vocals are provided by an assortment of guest vocalists including Aina Skinnes Olsen, Jarboe … Read more
The legendary ethereal band Lycia returns with “Quiet Moments”, their first full length CD in over ten years. It is comforting to see the return of a band so close to my heart. Despite having been inactive so long, they seemed to pick up right where they left off, while pushing firmly into even quieter … Read more