Seeking Darkness by Huremic, a separate alias designated for more experimental releases that don’t gel perfectly with the Parannoul brand, takes the most abstract, post-rock-influenced moments of a record like To See the Next Part of the Dream and expands them to the extreme.

However, today’s culture differs in several key ways from that of the last major recession, and the strange, hypnotic hip hop of Bridge of Sand. by Bridge of Sand. exaggerates these changes to the point of absurdity.

On The Snunchback of Notre Bung by Prosthetic Bung, rabid, riffy vocals and completely abstract guitar work unite with a relentless rhythm section and jazzy woodwinds to welcome us into this band’s enigmatic, haunting environment.

The playful, energetic, yet deeply contemplative Americana sound of Disaster Artist shines through on their new record Today, telling a coming-of-age story with a unique perspective.

The new dark ambient record Turnar by Hekla provides the resulting soundtrack, our mind’s attempt at filling the silence with an adequate representation of the vastness of the structure.

Combining free jazz experimentation with indie rock accessibility, Monde UFO’s unique psychedelic sound on Flamingo Tower introduces the absurd from within a trojan horse of aesthetic familiarity.

Continuing the development of their psychedelic, noisy, yet undeniably traditional country sound, Oldstar combines charming, approachable vocals with wildly dynamic instrumentals whose highs feature a massive distorted guitar sound.

Fusing traditional Iranian folk instrumentation with Finnish compositional techniques and aesthetics, experimental duo Gnäw capture the essence of the desert with the temperature of the boreal on Gnäw II.

These guitars enable that coveted soaring feeling, with warm chords and frantic, noisy delivery that flesh out the sound into something majestic, even otherworldly.

On All That Fall by Dick Texas on the other hand, grief manifests as a stagnant, arid August heat wave, gradually dialing up our discomfort without releasing all its energy in one cathartic blast.

Musical influences from post rock and skramz pull the record further into the darkness, with a highly percussive sound whose sparse and unconventional use of melody only intensifies the suffocating atmosphere of stagnant dread.

Chugging acoustic guitar and mumbling vocals get dipped (and sometimes soaked) in reverb to create the dusky, foggy atmosphere, a gothic tone which amplifies the record’s macabre lyrical storytelling.

These motifs, simple melodic lullabies played on pianos or other minimal synths, appear on each track, planting the seed of a mesmerizing memory.

Aesthetically, this record juggles an extreme diversity of styles, smoothing over its angular math rock riffs with traditional folk fiddle, then breaking into staccato post punk segments that devolve into aggressive, difficult post rock anti-harmonies.

We may see the body as existing entirely outside, or potentially in opposition to, spirituality, but for Maud the Moth on The Distaff, the body serves as the source, purpose, and pilot of spirituality.

Highlighting the queer struggle and those who paved the way for future liberation, the record honors these figures without sanitizing them, giving them a full-color afterlife to mirror their time on earth.

Assembling a historical narrative with modern sounds to address these emerging experiences, Welsh noise rock band This Is Wreckage presents Transaction/Service, a blisteringly heavy, cavernously dark musical experience.

Taking inspiration from skramz, math rock, and old-school hardcore, Foxglove rockets from end of end of the dynamic spectrum, with jazzy, twinkly, progressive guitar leads giving way to colossal waves of distorted chugging.

 Swelle’s folk rock sound on Gift Horse takes heavy inspiration from the noisier elements of shoegaze, utilizing a grungy songwriting style with choruses that soar on the wings of noisy guitars and melodic basslines.

Combining the filthiest possible tones with the tightest imaginable arrangements, Thoughteater by Delirant is masterfully orchestrated chaos that expands to fill every corner of our consciousness, sending our entire being down the funnel of its intensity.