Another full circle around the sun and a new year commences full of hope and promise for the days ahead. With that comes new recorded music from both trusted and previously unheard sources. Equal emphasis on both noisy experimental rock and more traditional singer-songwriter contributions occupy this early
2025 DaveCromwellWrites Feature. Plunge forward into these audio creations and the words inspired by them.
The motivating force of
Philadelphia-based
Patetico Recordings chief
Tom Lugo offers a nearly endless stream of new music discovery. Having reviewed numerous releases of that labels various collaborations, prior full-length album by “
From the ashes”
Stellarscope stands out as a highlight. That pairing of Tom and drummer
Bob Forman are now back with a new EP “
All That Remains.” Written and performed entirely by the pair, Tom produced, mixed and mastered everything at their two studios in Middletown and Havertown, PA. The Cromwell force now digs into each track in search of it’s sonic core.
Opening track “
As I Lay Dying” is introduced by a harsh buzzing riff that sounds like a swarm of bees. It’s urgent pace is soon shattered by a lumbering drum pattern that commences at seemingly half speed. It’s a deep, hammering pulse that creates a solid foundation for the “
bees” swirling above. As drum fills intro an even deeper, slithering bass guitar line, Tom’s ethereal vocals begin and further amplify the mood. One minute in and a driving chorus is reached, combining walls of sheering guitars, voices and an overall sense of urgency. As the next verse progresses, those live-in-the-studio drums are a welcome change from much of the carefully digitize percussion heard lately. The bass guitar riffing is fast and furious, creating a subtle bouncing movement throughout. The pace quickens halfway through with a rising progression before reaching it’s crescendo and intro-mirroring fadeout.
Follow up cut “
All There Is” builds off of multi-layered, downward stroked distorted guitar chords in that revered
MBV style. Rough and tumble snare-roll heavy drumming also taps into the
Colm Ó Cíosóig bag of rhythm for a pleasantly noisy trip in to the void. Tom’s sneering vocals sound as if delivered through a tin can, but that’s ok (in fact – perfect). Soaring musical passages glide through the middle as drums bash away to 747 jet engine guitars. Third entry “
Some Other Day” keeps the buzzing guitar out front, with some unexpected chord selections in its progression. With the drumming still on the busier side, new elements such as clacking stick sounds enter the fray. Vocals are somewhat more intelligible, with references to “
voices in my head” and the songs title line clear enough. Warbling effect runs parallel through some of this, adding a subtle, unsettling element. Halfway through, things align a bit more as a traditional guitar melody emerges over top of downward driving chords. Quick cut stop-start rhythms feature in the final verse, while the sludge takes over to its conclusion.
Next track “
Devour all” captures
Kevin Shields pitch-bend guitar chord churn on it’s opening flurry before low booming drums rumble in underneath. A sheering swarm of quick-strum rising guitars soon give way to single note melody lines as Tom’s vocals appear in a whispered, floating style. The chorus is big and bold, resembling the heavier output of a band like
The Sisters Of Mercy. Headphone listening makes you aware of how well produced this wall of sound actually is. The separation of instruments is fully on display making for the perfect balance of controlled chaos.
A dramatic single pounding drum thump leads the way into final cut “
Consumed.” With alternating cymbal crashes for emphasis, center melody guitar-churn flows forward, as fluid bass throbs throughout it all. Vocals are softer and near buried at some points, while harmony-doubled in other places. There’s an almost orchestral feel to the rising guitars, soaring above the heavier clatter below. While momentary quieter plateaus set up subsequent verses, a full force sonic assault “consumes” the tracks final minute.
Check out this blistering new EP here:
Follow
Stellarscope and
Patetico Recordings on their
Website and Social Media
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Mutual friends and associated bands are the frequent pathway to discovering new music groups. Such is the case with
New York City based female rockers
Killdeer. Having grown up in musical families that stamped early influences on them, these four women write, record and perform live music combining punk, pop, and alternative into an appealing garage-rock sound. With three EP’s already under their belt, the band has now released a new single “
Generic Break Up Song.” The
DCW audio-scope turns it’s focus on sorting out this songs contribution to the rock music canon of anti-love songs.
Descending guitar note phrasing opens the track with alternating textures, before climbing back up the scale to start the downward spiral again. Cymbals woosh and bass guitar enters space before everything momentarily comes to a halt. That’s when the drums kick in and a chugging rock n’ roll progression takes off fully. The motion reverses to an upward rhythm, then another split-second halt before vocals commence with playful solo voice and harmony coated follow ups. As the song title implies, this isn’t a new story, but one of time honored tradition. “
Seemed so fine” starts thing off solo before “
boy I must have been blind” comes layered in harmonies, as trouble is revealed as “
a storm rolled in – grabbed a bottle of gin – where’d our love go?”
You can’t help but chuckle at the cheeky lyrics “
you walked away – saiiiiid you’d stay” (in full harmony) “
now I’m broken wing – busted feather – thought we were forever!” One can’t help recalling the similar romantic angst referenced in
Cameron Crowe’s feature directorial debut “
Say Anything” and the still hilarious song “
Joe Lies.”
However, Killdeer brings the guitar crunch, and drum pounding gets heavy on lines (thought we were) “
forever together!” Quick-turn drum breaks and single cymbal accents are impressively built into the songs structure as are those multi-voiced harmonies. An anticipated fuzzy guitar solo hits just after the midpoint, accompanied by a driving melody-echoing bass pattern. The band is now in full charge forward mode, with slashing guitar chords, fluid bass and pummeling drums. One more pass through the “
master of deception” and “
you’re nothing but trouble” lyrical put-down, because “
its plain to see, you were never meant for me.”
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Friend to this site
Phil Wilson has had a number of his brilliant
The Raft albums reviewed here with much deserved accolades. His ability to compose, produce and perform songs with such a beautiful quality has always been impressive. Much of that production also included the lush placement of dreamy female vocalist who’s contributions lifted the track to ethereal heights. Now Phil is back with a more stripped down project called
Indigo Twinn that is a duo partnership with vocalist
Claire O’Neill. The four song
EP “
Someone Else” (titled after it’s lead off track) features Ms O’Neill as equal contributor with songwriting and featured vocalist on all four cuts.
The record opens with the aforementioned O'Neill/Wilson dual penned title track “Someone Else.” Gentle three-quarter time guitar chords lead the way with a lovely jangle. Claire’s clear, straight-forward vocals commence with a gentle sincerity and we’re on our way. The first chord change soon hits as the lyrics implore you to “come down and wash by the water,” and to “wipe the tears from your eyes – and cry.” Comparisons to the legendary band The Sundays once again come to mind (having made mention of that in some of The Raft’s earlier work). Claire take the emotion further with hook lines “cry like a baby – wish you were someone else.” After a minute and half, drums and bass join in giving everything a fuller band feel. The production is impeccable as is everything else leading to the songs emotional denouement.
Follow up cut “
Supergirl” is the first of two solo written songs from
Ms O’Neill here. Against a four chord acoustic guitar progression, lyrics question “
why does it always seem to be that you’re on my right side, but not on my good side?” The bridge change comes on bolder with the lines “
but you get wiser, when I get nicer” ultimately leading to “
I’ll be eager to be your supergirl.” Fuller instruments once again enter the mix, with special mention to
J Pedro on bass (+ entire EP production) and
Paul Keelan on drums, playing brilliantly throughout. Along with
Phil’s nuanced guitar work, there’s a strings sound of sorts adding one more dreamy sonic element.
The second solo penned track by Claire “
Come Away” reduces the chord structure by half, with only two needed for it’s impact. Phil layers melodic electric guitar tones over top, while vocals implore you to “
leave all your monsters” and “
come away with me.” Vocals are doubled at key junctures, with harmonies placed for emphasis. “
So let’s review the situation” begins a dramatic midsection that comes with well-placed “
Ahh Ahh” backing vocals. It all builds to an emotional peak of voices and instrumental sections, until the final coda floats away on a cloud.
Final entry serves up the Phil written, sentimental and heart-tugging “
Sarah.” With deeper bass notes marking out a counter-melody pattern against jangly finger-picked guitar, Claire delivers the vocals with equal aplomb. “
Look behind our heel walking, didn’t mean that much to me back then” is how the innocent lines begin. The single word title is given it’s gravitas by repeating it with differing vocal emphasis and varying background enhancements. The story captures an innocence of place and time through everyday living, where the simplest things can become magical from a looking-back point of view.
Listen to this gorgeous recording here:
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It was exciting news to hear that frequent contributor to this site
Andres Alfonso Lugo
was back with a new 8 track album “
DRONINGUITARFEEDBACKS,” under his
Los Dientes Hundidos en la Garganta name (the teeth sunk in the throat). Recorded at his Where are we going studio lab in
Baltimore, MD, Andrés plays all the guitars, drums, programmed drums (with a little help from his AI friends), percussion, loops, and everything else. It is an experimental tour-de-force that garners an essential track-by-track reaction below.
The 54 second opening snippet sounds like a field recording of an outdoor jam percussionists often entertain themselves with. That launches into the 5 minute “
Cosmicomics” which emphasizes motorik drumming and unnatural sounding wind-wooshing seemingly pumped down echo-heavy tunnels. Expanding track lengths, the 9 minute “
Trantor Yuba” takes the initial drum-circle conga-fueled percussive elements and lays the groundwork for extended guitar drone over top. The patterns are consistent, yet move organically in subtle changing directions. A distant siren emerges as the piece slowly fades out.
Snare drum makes a prominent appearance on the six and a half minute dream-gazey meditation “
Onoe Matsusuke.” Low end textures (sounding like cello’s) share space with higher-pitched ambient explorations. Moody floating movements are held together by way of the simple drum beat that fades in and out of focus. Pushing the sonic lengths further, an over 10 minute “
Kebra Nagast” goes full-on slow, introspective dreamscape, emphasizing the twilight moments that exist somewhere between heaven and earth. A single drum thump appears at intervals throughout its continuous shimmering audio field.
Bandcamp featured track “Bene Gesserit” (the albums longest entry at over 11 minutes) emerges with full-throttle force. While the droning elements hover above everything, mad-crazy jazz-style drumming thunders, rolls and ride cymbals with frenetic energy. Droning elements slowly change patterns, marking out a recurring melody (of sorts). The combination of longer held ambient textures with the hold-on-for-your-life roller-coaster ride drumming creates a uniquely fascinating soundscape.
“
Bezdomni” features an electronic hand-clapping like percussion, ominous long-held ambient backdrop and wailing voices that sound like what you might hear in a jungle. A subtle melodic movement emerges, adding another element to lock on to, between those recurring vocal outbursts. Final entry “
Omni Poetics” leans into a rapid paced single snare drum shot, long held center drone and horror-style voices placed wide in the left and right channels (heard on headphones). It’s a fitting way to end this hallucinogenic album.
Check out this creative recording here:
Follow this artist on Social Media:
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