The dynamic slowcore of I Will Turn, I Will, I Will by Sesame perfectly embodies depression as an endless cycle, a thought loop that delivers sustained, increasing pain that feels more similar to a tattoo gun than to an acute injury.

Corporations screech into our ears to turn to their products for help rather than turning to community, a request symbolized here by wailing, alien guitar sounds that loom over violent black metal riffing.

Utilizing tape effects, heavy signal processing, and post production chopping and screwing, the guitars flood the middle frequencies with a sloshing ocean of organic drone, a sea with emotional tides but an unforgiving, constant vastness that ultimately dwarfs all individual agency.

Intricately constructed riffs devolve into thunderous sludgy chugging as the band effortlessly weaves captivating tales tinged by local folklore. And for those who know that such stories were often thinly veiled warnings, Daniel Howard’s emotive growling vocals strike the listener with earth-shaking fear of bestial demise.

Within the walls of an old wooden church, the Western Canadian prairie collapses into a claustrophobic prison, an impenetrable fortress that strangles greatness, presenting self-destruction as the only means of escape.

However, closer examination yields over-the-top playing that screams tragically for our attention from behind a concrete wall, drawing a sharp connection between these alienated sounds and the speaker’s failed attempts at being emotionally understood.

Topping this off-kilter style with lyrics that strike aggressively at some of the most pathetically unempowering, genuinely dark human emotions fosters the creation of anti-anthems.

Using a hip hop songwriting style to deliver conversational lyrics from various perspectives, Yes Plant draws the main line between the decision-makers and the effect-takers as one of apathy, where nihilistic, misanthropic leaders create a desperate, hopeless population.

From this cracked clay earth arises Seeds from the Furthest Vine by Mordecai, an even lower fidelity spin on the experimental folk style of Lou Reed that expands western rock to western proportions.

As hip hop circles back to its golden age sounds, a new generation discovers the power within the smooth flows and snappy beats of boom bap, applying a wide range of new experiences to this time-tested sound.

We cling to this mechanical rhythm for support as sour harmonies pour over us, blocks of harsh electronic noise and unsettling field recordings whizzing past our heads as we hold on for dear life.

Some musicians now pull inspiration from more current aspects of our post-industrialized society, removed from the means of production but still affected by the pollution and waste that our lifestyles demand.

Observing this energetic swell in nature, Septendecim by Saccata Quartet crafts the human analogue to these outbursts, spinning up droney, noisy free jazz into an unstoppable cyclone.

On Lamentations by Sachi Kobayashi, tape manipulation and distortion mimics the corrupting effect of conflict, chewing up the spotless synth pads of hopes and dreams, spitting out an unsettling mass of crunchy noise.

Instead of highlighting wild woodwind solos or wonky guitar riffs, the krautrock of The Key (Became the Important Thing [and Then Just Faded Away]) by Chris Corsano focuses on an element that often gets taken for granted in the genre: the drums.

Throwing a harsh spotlight on this alienation, Allarme by Allarme puts this observer in front of a mirror, giving us a front-row seat to the slow realization of foiled hopes and defunct dreams.

On a personal level as well, White’s lyrics betray a rootlessness and unsteadiness that gets projected outward onto society, all of which gets imprinted onto the music through flowing, kinetic songwriting.

While the idol’s external world sings in pentatonic harmony, their internal reality crumbles into moody free jazz, industrial ambient, and haunting chopped vocals.

Kimj finds a new home for this explosive, experimental style on kimj in korea, a dj tape that infuses edm, hip hop, and pop with a hyperpop flair.

Impossibly wide landscapes inhabited by looping folk instruments and densely atmospheric drones tell us the story of a society of blind ambition, a continual urge towards expansion before unsustainability inevitably begets tragedy.