reviews of contemporary underground psych, drone, sound art, and electronic/experimental music from the fringes
Mike Majkowski, “Invisible” (Hands in the Dark, 2025)
This Australian double bassist has quietly become one of my favorite minimalists over the last few years, as he has perfected a signature strain of austere, slow-burning soundscapes that occupy […]
Rat Heart, “Dancin’ in the Streets” (Modern Love, 2025)
I don’t know a hell of a lot about the inscrutable Tom Boogizm other than the fact that he is based in Manchester and runs the Shotta Tapes label, but […]
The Inward Circles, “Shadow Reflex” (Corbel Stone Press, 2026)
This latest full-length from the darkest and most intense of Richard Skelton’s many guises is quite accurately billed as the project’s most hostile and percussive release to date. That is […]
“Creek Drift Mosaic: A Field Guide to Southern Cosmic” (Hooker Vision, 2025)
This landmark collection from Rachel & Grant Evans’ long-running DIY imprint documents and celebrates the diverse community of psych-minded experimentalists from the American South that continued to expand and thrive […]
Esplendor Geométrico, “El Pulso Del Acero: Shinkansen” (Geometrik, 2025)
This latest album from the long-running duo of Arturo Lanz and Saverio Evangelista is pretty lean on background information, which is both very much in character and makes perfect sense: […]
Shackleton, “Euphoria Bound” (AD 93, 2026)
Berlin-based producer Sam Shackleton has been on a white-hot run with his collaborations in recent years (particularly the Six Organs of Admittance and Holy Tongue ones), but his solo releases […]
Old Saw, “The Wringing Cloth” (Lobby Art, 2025)
Now with a second pressing due to drop in March, this sprawling double LP is lamentably the final release from this beloved rustic Americana collective from New England. The decision […]
Surface of the Earth, “In Color” (Knotwilg, 2025)
Inspired by the shambolic rock deconstructionism of their countrymen The Dead C, this Wellington-based trio of guitar noise enthusiasts quietly released their self-titled debut on cassette back in 1995. While […]