archived brainwashed reviews
William Basinski and Janek Schaefer, “. . . on reflection” (Temporary Residence, 2022)
There are several William Basinski albums that I absolutely love, but his various collaborations are rarely as compelling as his solo work (the leftfield Sparkle Division being a notable exception, […]
The Soft Pink Truth, “Was It Ever Real?” (Thrill Jockey, 2022)
I had successfully deluded myself into thinking that I had spent my pandemic downtime wisely and constructively for the most part, but learning that Drew Daniel spent that same period […]
Earthen Sea, “Ghost Poems” (Kranky, 2022)
This latest release from the long-running ambient dub solo project of erstwhile Mi Ami/Black Eyes bassist Jacob Long is stirring up some feelings of regret about how I managed to […]
Insect Factory, “Celestial Cycles” (Already Dead, 2022)
Jeff Barsky has been quietly releasing alternately sublime and noise-ravaged guitar albums for years and this latest album finds him returning to LA’s oft ahead-of-the-curve Already Dead Tapes (where he […]
Ashley Paul, “I Am Fog” (Orange Milk, 2022)
Ten years after her first appearance on Keith Rankin and Seth Graham’s perennially bizarre and eclectic Orange Milk label , Paul returns to the fold with her new trio. Naturally, […]
Nonconnah, “Don’t Go Down To Lonesome Holler” (Ernest Jenning Record Co., 2022)
In general, releasing a three-hour album is a highly dubious endeavor, as such an extreme length usually turns even very good music into an endurance test and virtually guarantees that […]
Širom, “The Liquified Throne of Simplicity” (Tak:til/Glitterbeat, 2022)
I feel like I got into this Slovenian “imaginary folk” trio a bit late, as 2019’s A Universe That Roasts Blossoms For A Horse was the first Širom album that […]
Kali Malone, “Living Torch” (Portraits GRM, 2022)
This long-awaited follow up to Malone’s 2019 cult masterpiece The Sacrificial Code is an unexpected blend of the familiar and the unfamiliar, as the Stockholm-based composer trades in her now […]