Favorites this week:
Cloudburst Cloudburst (Samstrong Records)
When I see the word “metalcore" on the tin, I don’t expect to find anything I like inside, but this bonkers Indonesian chaos machine was a pleasant surprise. While they suffer from an overabundance of samples (it’s a genre sickness), the sheer amount of mind-boggling shit going on in these tracks is generally pretty thrilling. This band is playing with a full bag of tricks; such a wide variety of vocal textures, weird tempo changes, pummeling dynamic shifts, and yes, a ton of samples (mostly compelling or at least contextually interesting, but occasionally too predictable: Jonestown, pro wrestling spiels). When they hit it, they hit it, though: “Personal Golgotha” is ruthless.
https://burstingcloud.bandcamp.com/
Mark Deutrom The Bluebird (Season of Mist)
I don’t know what I expected from the bassist of the Melvins, but it wasn’t Lynchian, atmospheric California jazz with vibraphone and hazy, reverb-drenched nods to Neil Young and Pink Floyd. I don’t know, maybe it should have been. This, juxtaposed with the (more expected) off-kilter, blistering noise rock and heavy, psych-y stoner shit, amounts to an album whose connecting thread is its own atmosphere. One of those albums that is a world unto itself. Into it!!
https://markdeutrom.bandcamp.com/album/the-blue-bird
Other new stuff this week:
Yatra Death Ritual (Grimoire Records)
This is solid tone-and-riff-obsessed doom with the interesting twist of an unexpected, straight-out-of-black-metal vocal style; the result is like nightmare Sleep. I find myself wanting to hear what this band would sound like unchained, reveling in the truly expansive rather than bowing to the more paint-by-numbers doom tropes ("Sacred Flower" actually starts with the sound of someone hitting a bong — come on, y’all). "Snakes in the Temple" is rich and dynamic, giving us a hint of what this band would sound like set free.
https://yatradoom.bandcamp.com/album/death-ritual-2
John Garcia and the Band of Gold John Garcia and the Band of Gold (Napalm Records)
This record, very possibly John Garcia’s last, isn’t really my bag (the vocals exhaust me). Nonetheless, it’s a solid desert rock album with some killer riffs. If you’re into this kind of stuff, or are a Kyuss completist, it’s a must.
https://johngarcia.bandcamp.com/album/john-garcia-and-the-band-of-gold
Festerday Iihtallan (Season of Mist)
If you like what I think of as Decibel metal (extremely tight and slickly produced death grind), I’d check this out. They sound great, but I found myself wishing for something different after multiple extremely similar-sounding tracks (and had to stop listening altogether when the isolated bass with phaser came on. Careful what you wish for).
https://festerday.bandcamp.com/album/lihtallan