Experimental music often leaves plenty of room for listener interpretation, which allows for a more intuitive approach to challenging questions. And for a deeply conceptual record like RITUAL / HABIT / CEREMONY by John Dwyer of Osees, the felt presence of direct experience is highly encouraged.

Like a long-term nuclear waste warning message, Atrocity Machine uses sharp, evocative imagery to show that nothing good lies ahead on our current path.

Insistent 16th note bass lines with bright, washed-out guitars charge forward alongside indifferent vocals, Ragdoll Dance’s lyrics and old school punk attitudes retrofitted for a 2020s audience.

Somewhat operating within the vocal pop tradition of Weyes Blood, Morrison writes songs as extended poems with few choruses or hooks, assigning a set of unique musical motifs to each stanza to give her songs the feeling of slowly drifting from one thought to another.

Price of Progress by SMILE, a relatively straightforward post-punk record that substitutes the genre’s typical washed-out singing for spoken, socially conscious poetry.

Rage generally motivates the mic in hip hop, but a far more menacing, brooding, pure negativity permeates the sound of Cells Impact by Easymind and oddeen.

Originally written while the artist was living alone in a foreign city and revamped following the onset of the pandemic, this dark wave post punk release exemplifies melancholy both instrumentally and lyrically.

Unschooling is clearly confident enough to experiment, feverishly stitching together familiar influences with an energetic yet lofi sound that inspires repeated listening.

The sound of cosmic music is revived and redefined on The Ineffable Consequence of Dreaming, the latest release from UK spacegrind act Worm Hero.

Population II doesn’t solve the fundamental tension within the Quebecois spirit, but their meditation on the issue excites all of our longings to belong and exposes the way in which our Anglophone North American culture harms all of us, even if we grew up immersed in it.

Badway identifies vague threats to human wellbeing and responds with the equally scattered will to fight back, acknowledging the absurdly uphill battle that lies ahead to deal with issues of atomization, public health, and industry greed.

Like much of Porter’s work, this atmospheric composition takes inspiration from traditional witchcraft, although listeners need not be experienced hedge riders themselves to partake in this ritual.

Exploring boundaries and separation, vulnerability and permeability, Tender Membranes casts off barriers between natural and synthetic sound.

It’s hard to pin down a real definition of “internet music”. Is this a discrete movement, or more of an umbrella term to encompass hyperpop, chillwave, cloud rap, and other genres that seem to originate from online culture?

Once you reach the Lower Midnight zone, the water above crushes down with an unimaginable force of 11,000 PSI. This region is the inspiration for contemporary composer Ulrich Krieger’s new release Aphotic II — Abyssal.

Sitting with an album sometimes gives you a sense that you personally know the artist, and in no place is that more true than with God Is Luck by Bad History Month.

Discordant harmonies and full-bodied percussion deliver a fascinating sense of unease as pitches bend and the instrumentation becomes more intense, squirming synthesizers and train whistles interrupted by milliseconds of silence to keep you on your toes.

Wild, improvised instrumentals serve as a constant reminder of ensuing chaos, interrupting the speaker’s attempt to relive tranquil, safe moments from their past through their pristine classical vocal performance.

As the newest addition to the Salisman series, concept album Parched tells the story of the long-abandoned House of the Unwavering Circle. The listener is a fly on the wall as Salisman navigates a now desolate world once filled with character, reflecting on the evidence of calamity and failure surrounding him.

The project’s vintage charm is brought to life by Raquel’s velvety alto voice, which commands attention and holds its own above a 16-piece orchestra.