reviews of contemporary underground psych, drone, sound art, and electronic/experimental music from the fringes
Dumama, “Towards An Expanse” (Soundway, 2026)
This is the solo debut from Berlin-based poet/composer Gugulethu Duma, but she previously released an acclaimed collaboration (Buffering Juju) with Algerian-German producer Kerim Melik Becker on Johannesburg’s pirate radio show-turned-record […]
“XKatedral Anthology Series III” (XKatedral, 2026)
Stockholm’s impeccably curated and darkly drone-centric XKatedral label celebrates their ten-year anniversary with this third volume in their “series of archival releases dedicated to presenting music by composers working within […]
Croz Boyce, “Croz Boyce” (Domino, 2026)
The origin of this new project from the Animal Collective gang dates all the way back to the band’s appearance on 2022’s massive For The Birds: The Birdsong Project compilation. […]
Seefeel, “Sol.Hz” (Warp, 2026)
This new full-length from the latest resurrection of Seefeel seems to be the work of just the core duo of Mark Clifford and Sarah Peacock, which is something that would […]
Razen “Stained Glass Starling” (Viernulvier, 2026)
The latest album from this eclectic and eternally evolving Belgian collective is a collaboration with veteran Dutch composer/theater musician Dick van der Harst. This is not the first time that […]
Ak’chamel, The Givers of Illness, “Spiritually Unemployed” (Akuphone, 2026)
The latest release from these enigmatic Texas psych weirdos did not grab me quite as quickly as some of their previous releases, but I am now quite convinced that it’s […]
Meitei, “Agate” (Kitchen, 2026)
This latest stunner from Japanese artist Daisuke Fujita’s Meitei alias seemed almost impossibly great the first time that I heard it, but that made sense once I learned that it […]
France, “Good Thoughts, Bad Thoughts” (the state51 conspiracy, 2026)
This latest live album from this “legendary hurdy-gurdy-powered kraut/psych/folk/drone band” captures an impressively raw, fiery, and thoroughly trance-inducing performance at state51 Conspiracy’s East London headquarters. In fact, it is damn […]