archived brainwashed reviews
“Swifter Than the Moon’s Sphere – English Fairy Lore” (Folklore Tapes, 2021)
There are a number of fascinating small labels exploring unusual niches these days, which I suppose makes the current era something of a golden age for curious outsiders with deeply […]
Elena Setién, “Unfamiliar Minds” (Thrill Jockey, 2022)
Basque composer Elena Setién’s second album for Thrill Jockey is quite an unexpected leap forward from the more pop-minded Another Kind Of Revolution. While Setién’s love of strong melodies and […]
Meitei, “Kofū II” (Kitchen, 2022)
Meitei’s plunderphonic exploration of “lost Japanese moods” has been an intriguing and unusual project right from the start, but it started to blossom into something truly great with 2019’s Komachi […]
Big Blood, “Deep Maine” (Don’t Trust The Ruin, 2022)
I was starting to get a little worried about Big Blood, as they went almost all of 2019 without releasing any new music. Thankfully, however, they were just quietly amassing […]
Oval, “Ovidono” (Self-Released, 2021)
At this point, I consider myself quite well accustomed to Markus Popp’s penchant for bold stylistic reinventions, yet this latest album managed to completely blindside me nevertheless. To be fair, […]
Tasos Stamou, “Monoliths” (Moving Furniture, 2021)
Discovering this London-based composer’s adventurously psychedelic collages of traditional Greek music was one of 2021’s great musical pleasures for me, so I was very eager to hear this ambitious double […]
Mary Lattimore/Growing, “Gainer” (Self-Released, 2021)
This lovely and unexpected collaboration was quietly released digitally in November with no background information provided at all, but it is probably safe to say that it was recorded quite […]
Klara Lewis, “Live in Montreal 2018” (Editions Mego, 2022)
Klara Lewis has been a unique and consistently interesting artist ever since she first surfaced, but 2020’s Ingrid felt like a massive breakthrough and just about everything that she has […]