Critical Analysis of Intriguing New Music Releases
Four exciting new releases serve as the comprehensive focus here in this late summer DaveCromwellWrites Feature. Along with trips to the pool (providing opportunity for a growing “pool cast” phenomena), time has been carved out to investigate and ruminate on some of the more thought-provoking new music releases. Old friends and new share space here, with descriptive representations fully accompanied by the music they choose to share with the world.
It’s inevitable that prolific artist Julian Shah-Tayler (a/k/a The Singularity Music) would have new music to experience. A creative who’s always working, his output has been featured here at this site numerous times. Along with his primary focus on a solo career that continues to grow, Julian engages with live audiences through his wildly popular Electric Duke Bowie Tribute show. This latest original music takes things in a darkwave direction, exploring subtle, mood-driven suspense and cinematic atmospheres.
Hard snare-shot drum beat and throbbing bass guitar kick off new song (and video) “Just You Wait ‘Til I Get You Home.” Unsettling melodic tones emerge as video images of a man in a dark coat (looking suspiciously like Julian) moves through film-noir lit rooms, some with tape recorders and cassettes scattered on desks. As vocals emerge with those familiar Bowie-esque tones, a story of laying “awake at night waiting patiently for my nightmares” is told. Shadowy rooms and unoccupied hallways are pulled into view, leading to a running reel-to-reel recorder and the Julian/Darkman holding a dated reel (March 17, 1992).
Midway through shows Dark Julian closing filing cabinets in a grimy, trash-strewn room, as vocals rise in pitch on lines “thinking of you.” With the ominous melody line returning, a chant of “I’m waiting, I’m waiting” arrives, first softly, then more prominent as the beat drops out. Pulsing bass and distant sirens are heard, leading up to a distorted instrumental solo and glitch-cut sonics. As the darkman hunches over his tape recorder, a single “interrogation” chair is again focused on, having appeared throughout the video. Vocals now float with dramatic emphasis on lines “Oh, the things I’ll do to you” and overall theme “Just you wait till I get you home.”
Check out this brilliant new track and suspenseful narrative video here:
Follow Julian all across his Social Media via his LinkTree here.
Previous Features of Julian can be found on This Site - here - here - here - and - here.
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Another musician who is always creating new works is the Baltimore-based recording artist Andres Alfonso Lugo Cruz. While simultaneously producing a number of poetry books, he composes and records music under the name Los Dientes Hundidos en la Garganta (The Teeth Sunk in the Throat). Having already reviewed a number of those works here on this site, a new entry “AL OTRO LADO DEL OCÉANO” (On The Other Side of the Ocean) is now featured. Once again playing all the drums, bass and guitars, ethereal voices are provided by Gene Santiago-Holt aka Moyogash. Inspired by Andres 2024 poetry collection Postropodicea, everything was recorded and mixed at his Where Are We Going studio lab.
Subtle waves of churning ambience rise up from misty depths, as asymmetrical percussion attempts to establish some kind of beat. Heavily submerged voices provided by Moyogash wash through underneath, adding an element of mystery and wonder. The percussion moves about in a natural sounding way, avoiding more rigid, mechanized rhythms. An angelic hue is cast as a wider net of spacious audio fills this sonic field. As this supernatural feel intensifies and expands, the beats (now enhanced by cymbal-like splashes) lay out fractured patterns of dynamics. Never static in their execution, these beats will drop out momentarily, allowing ambient space to command the listeners focus.
Voices float up again into the mix, as waves of flowing textures rise and then slowly recede. What sound like field recording sound bites momentarily join in. Or perhaps not, and instead your imagination is set loose to create these elements from your own internal audio channels. With those synapses now fired, the sensation of being led through a jungle or tropical forest serves as an inspired journey. Voices continue to float through the sonic spectrum as deep and powerful audio washes abound. The tracks final minutes find the percussion getting busier with multi-strike shots rumbling throughout. Wind rushes, distant whistles and throbbing string notes lead everything out to it’s conclusion.
Listen to and find out how to acquire this visionary audio journey here:
Previous DCW features on this artist can be found - here - here - here - and - here.
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One more ambient instrumental collective circling the DCW orbit is Peruvian label Chip Musik Records. They have focused on releasing emerging artists that specialize in experimental and avante-garde music since 2007. A new entry into their catalog is an over 20 minute sonic journey by local project ion axs. Titled “Ceremonia Disoluble Procesión para nevados” (Dissoluble Ceremony. Procession for Nevados), the piece draws it’s inspiration from the Huandoy Nevado mountain range of the Andes. Allowing for a slowly developing experience, words begin to flow from this transformative audio journey.
A deep bass note is the first thing you hear as the piece commences. Slow and deliberate, ominous overtones join in as the bass notes measure out a subtle progression. A steady drone rises and then fades back. Descriptive liner notes indicate a desire to create through sound the immensity of traveling through this stark, beautiful landscape. Combing field recordings with synths and studio manipulation creates a meditative mental state that fuses with natural surroundings. Anyone who has gone on a long journey through mountainous terrain can relate to the hyper-alert, sometimes hallucinogenic feeling you get.
This recording approximates that through its repeated “dissoluble” textures of disintegration. Midway through, the piece introduces additional instrumental elements, like ancient wind instrument know as pututos. These ceremonial trumpets pre-date Spanish culture, going back to the Inca empire.
Deep bellowing and higher-pitched flute-like textures float in and out, while rough-scratch abrasiveness shares space with a steady repeated drum strike. As the audio journey fades to it’s conclusion, the sense of oneness with this geography creates a portal to inner contemplation.
Check out this meticulous introspective adventure (including how to acquire it) here:
At the beginning of this year, DCW was introduced to Italian record label I Dischi del Minollo. Vowing to avoid a single style or genre of music, the company focuses on a wider variety of sounds. While progressive instrumental music served as the initial feature here, vocal rock music is now presented for review. Venice, Italy’s Mother put out a full-length album recently titled “The Stars Within” that draws inspiration from 90’s alt rock and more. Listening to what they’ve created now inspires thoughts on it all.
Leadoff cut “Magic Lungs” kicks things off in full thundering motion. Hyper-strum guitars and speed rolling drums power anxious lyrical emo aggression alternating with melodic interludes. The title comes early with a declaration that “there’s no more magic in my lungs.” Precision sharp turns come locked between bass, guitar and drums with head spinning frequency. Melody arrives more fully on a chorus that states “I'm gonna push, push up daisies, before u will get what I’m saying.”
Second entry “Blaue Reiter” takes a more angular approach, with quick start/stop rhythms between half sung/half shouted vocals. A dramatic pause is followed by tempo change under lyrics “I want to dance the night away, eatin’ sun ‘n’ drinkin’ rain.” It’s impressive how many subsequent hooks are packed within this 3 minute song.
“To You, Red Giant” manages to work in multiple movements in even less than 3 minutes. The initial burst of guitar-riff and drum driven propulsion is quickly paused for a near-acapella harmony vocal asking “how could you love safely. If you never loved your scars?” Once the full chorus is reached, it’s sing-along time on lines “I’m giving you my hand, it can be late to make amend.” Special mention to the momentary bass guitar outburst following the line “you’re cold as stone.” Another interlude soon follows, with one more tempo shift complete with sharp accents and soaring vocals around repeated lyric “is it just a loop?”
Check out the video for this blistering track here:
Other tracks like “Star Rover” also come with an illuminating video combining effective animation with band performance clips. Inspired by author Jack London’s 1915 novel of the same title, a parallel is made between the books story of triumph over physical abuse and their own aversion to meaningless pursuits. Multiple segments blend angsty emo-rock (“Forgotten – At office – In a coffin”) with calmer interludes (“Lay things low”). The songs final minute taps Beach Boys style harmonies and Beatle-esque/Sgt Peppers-like instrumentation for redemptive lines “there are no savings to save,
by now I’m dancing with days.”
Check it out here:
One more song benefitting from video treatment is deeper track “Chamomile,” presented visually as an interpretive performance in stark black and white. Lyrically it portrays the journey of a bands evolution from young dreamers to more experienced adults. “Do you recall listening in that tiny place,
how our lives could change” is the initial question asked. It’s a musical love-letter to their past and present, filled with melody-filled guitar riffs, fluid bass and throttling drums. “Feeling something,
missing something, yearning something, longing for things” leads to the universal query “how will I spend the rest of days?”
Enjoy this one here:
Listen to all the the album’s tracks here, and find out how to acquire it, as well as some cool merch from the band.
Dave Cromwell has been writing about music since the dawn of the internet age. In addition to the steady flow of features here on this site, he has been a regular contributor to The Deli Magazine (both Print and Web) since 2010. With numerous Print Issue cover features and weekly contributions on the Deli website, scores of artists have received the Cromwell point of view. Along with ongoing contributions to this site and The Deli Magazine, Dave has written for Dingus, My Social List, The Waster, Spin and Rolling Stone magazines.
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