archived brainwashed reviews
Grouper, “Shade” (Kranky, 2021)
I suppose I have been a devoted Grouper fan since sometime around 2008’s Dragging A Dead Dear Up A Hill, but there was a long stretch during The Reverb Years […]
KILN, “Tungsten” (Ghostly International, 2021)
I have been vaguely aware of this unusual and beloved midwestern IDM/post-rock trio for years, but figured they were probably too conventionally likable for my taste. As it turns out, […]
Sarah Davachi, “Antiphonals” (Late Music, 2021)
In my review of Cantus Figures Laurus last month, I half-jokingly noted that Sarah Davachi’s creative arc seems unavoidably headed towards composing a full-on Mellotron-driven prog rock opus. While she […]
HTRK, “Rhinestones” (N&J Blueberries/Heavy Machinery, 2021)
This latest release from the long-running duo of Jonnine Standish and Nigel Yang is quite a bombshell, as Rhinestones was “inspired by a recent infatuation with ‘eerie and gothic country […]
Tomasz Sroczynski, “Symphony n°2 / Highlander” (Ici d’ailleurs/Mind Travels, 2021)
This album was my first exposure to this Polish composer, but this appears to be his sixth album if I include his improv trio and his collaborations. Also, it is […]
The Volume Settings Folder, “Pastorage Sights” (Self-Released, 2021)
This prolific ambient project from Italian guitarist M. Beckmann has been a fascination of mine for a couple of years now and I have been patiently waiting for an appropriately […]
Rdeča Raketa, “…and cannot reach the silence” (Ventil, 2021)
I believe this is the third album from this Vienna-based duo, but it has been a while (eight years) since they last released anything and they are entirely new to […]
Hugo Randulv, “Radio Arktis (samlade ljud från den norra polcirkeln)” (Discreet, 2021)
Bandcamp recently published a feature on one of my favorite subjects (the Gothenburg Underground) and it turned me onto this solo release from an artist they dubbed “the closest you’ll […]