Album Reviews Michael Scharf Album Reviews Michael Scharf

Then & Now by The Goslings

For fans of early Animal Collective, Sleep, Olivia Tremor Control, noise pop, and the harrowing abyss at the center of the psychedelic experience, Then & Now by The Goslings entombs its psych pop sensibilities in dense layers of distorted chaos.

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Album Reviews Michael Scharf Album Reviews Michael Scharf

Aftermath by Twofold

For fans of LSDXOXO, Siu Mata, Lechuga Zafiro, industrial techno, and dance as a radical, subversive act, Aftermath by Twofold vocalizes our desire to escape this imperial machine through a lush, organic take on heavy electronica.

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Album Reviews Michael Scharf Album Reviews Michael Scharf

hay algo sobre el reflejo del cielo en el pavimento mojado que no me deja pensar en algo que no seas tú by Tori Inu

For fans of Brave Little Abacus, Algernon Cadwallader, Tiny Moving Parts, spiritually folksy math rock, and the melancholic pastime of staring into the daytime sky, hay algo sobre el reflejo del cielo en el pavimento mojado que no me deja pensar en algo que no seas tú by Tori Inu combines complex songwriting with a lo-fi aesthetic to craft a Midwest emo sound equal parts charming and intense.

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Album Reviews Michael Scharf Album Reviews Michael Scharf

About the Elephant by Firebug Invasion!

For fans of Elliot Smith, Pavement, Cindy Lee, internet bedroom rock (Asher White, Willy Rodriguez, Car Seat Headrest), and the fading allure of being an absolute hot mess, About the Elephant by Firebug Invasion! examines the character of a wild child through a charmingly homespun style.

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Album Reviews Michael Scharf Album Reviews Michael Scharf

INSTAR by Denis Conoscente

For fans of Roland Kayn, Vangas, Caroline, noise music, and the dark twists and turns of medieval fairy tales, INSTAR by Denis Conoscente inventories our subconscious in search for that dark spirit which haunted every premodern culture.

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Album Reviews Michael Scharf Album Reviews Michael Scharf

Extary II by Roland Kayn

For fans of Tim Hecker, Rafael Toral, Saba Alizadeh, Kubrick movies, and the quiet horror of a life spent scrolling social media, Extary II by Roland Kayn continues the work of archiving and exposing the brilliant work of this key member of the electroacoustic scene.

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Album Reviews Michael Scharf Album Reviews Michael Scharf

Before They Were Gone by netbooks.WRLD

For fans of Death’s Dynamic Shroud, Maria & The Mirrors, Lydia Roberts, the ascendent vapornoise scene, and whatever the opposite of a Marvel movie script would be, Before They Were Gone by netbooks.WRLD sets a soundtrack to the action in our lives devoid of the linear grandiosity which typically motivates us to call music “cinematic.”

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Album Reviews Michael Scharf Album Reviews Michael Scharf

sleep & glisten by Wino na

For fans of Duster, Helvetia, Slint, bedroom emo, and the peaceful melancholy of a gray winter day spent indoors, sleep & glisten by Wino na tells a humble, intimate emotional tale in understated tones of whispers and twinkly riffing.

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Album Reviews Michael Scharf Album Reviews Michael Scharf

Sugar & Plastic Plates by Tickles

For fans of Idles, Viagra Boys, Guck, sludge metal, and forgetting exactly how old you are when you’re asked because those birthdays stopped being exciting years ago, Sugar & Plastic Plates by Tickles bemoans the cruelty of the passage of time through their surprisingly accessible brand of noise rock.

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Album Reviews Michael Scharf Album Reviews Michael Scharf

Oszukać Listopad by Czernina

For fans of Chat Pile, Thantifaxath, Mamaleek, grindcore, and gargantuan catharsis to meet the task of expelling enormous emotional pain, Oszukać Listopad by Czernina takes a maximalist extreme metal approach to exorcise personal demons.

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Album Reviews Michael Scharf Album Reviews Michael Scharf

Entre Quatro Paredes by Nigeria Futebol Clube

For fans of Minutemen, The Strokes, Cime, proto punk, and that frantic dash to shake everyone around you awake, Entre Quatro Paredes by Nigeria Futebol Clube examines the dissociation which we feel as the pretences of meritocracy fall away and we see the true nature of the systems around us.

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Album Reviews Michael Scharf Album Reviews Michael Scharf

Anywhere by Yawning Portal

For fans of Underscores, Croatian Amor, Caroline, dystopian ambient music, and the Luddite impulse within us all, Anywhere by Yawning Portal lets hyperpop and other nostalgic, techno-optimistic aesthetics roam in the emotional desert of post-COVID austerity.

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Album Reviews Michael Scharf Album Reviews Michael Scharf

The Use by Nic T

For fans of Pavement, Elliott Smith, Cuneiform Tabs, psychedelic folk, and the warm appreciation of all facets of life, The Use by Nic T crafts a cozy, fuzzy, homespun sound to meditate on human fragility and all that we have to give thanks for in our continued existence.

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Album Reviews Michael Scharf Album Reviews Michael Scharf

L’Art du Paysage by Inturist and Vanya-Ivan Kazukov

For fans of Animal Collective, Faust, Sean McCann, minimal techno, and the dazed wonder of exploring an unfamiliar place with no guidance, L’Art du Paysage by Inturist and Vanya-Ivan Kazukov explores the process of  unexpectedly emigrating to a country without getting a chance to learn the language first, a dizzying affair which leaves the record in a constant surreal haze.

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Album Reviews Michael Scharf Album Reviews Michael Scharf

Valentine by Tongue Relaxer

For fans of Jane Remover, Blemishes, Willy Rodriguez, the current wave of alternative Americana, and the use of conventional aesthetics to shatter cultural conventions, Valentine by Tongue Relaxer presents internet noise with a country twang, bringing a sharp emotional punch to an aesthetic which we typically associate with escapism.

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Album Reviews Michael Scharf Album Reviews Michael Scharf

i expect the same of u by Some Images of Paradise

For fans of Febuary, Weatherday, Your Arms Are My Cocoon, slowcore, and that feeling of dazed surprise which accompanies all positivity in the wake of survivor’s guilt, i expect the same of u by Some Images of Paradise fuses the sprawling epic tales of internet noise rock with classic skramz aesthetics to create this dark, immersive, emotional space.

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