No Gods, No Time, All Being: Alexander Nym on Patrick Leagas’s “Godlesstate”

.:.NO GODS, NO TIME, ALL BEING.:. Patrick Leagas’s Recent Album Godlesstate Is an Exploration into the Dawn of Humankind and Realms Beyond Consciousness by Alexander Nym ___ Godlesstate carries a brief mission statement on its back sleeve, describing the disc’s contents as a, ‘personal attempt to codify audibly the somewhat unfathomable ritual religious practices of […]

Various Artists – All My Sins Remembered: The Sonic Worlds of John Murphy

One of the most iconic and important British figures of the 1600s was Samuel Pepys. A member of the royal society, member of Parliament, Chief Secretary to the Admiralty, business man, connoisseur of fine things, writer, and a bit of a Casanova, Pepys was a man about town; his influence was grand in scope and […]

Jarl Turns His Attention Deep Inside the Mind with ‘Amygdala Colours- Hemisphere Rotation’

Jarl’s Case 1959: Dyatlov was quite possibly my favourite release of 2015. It’s frightening and unsettling without being obvious (which is never scary), a sonic bay with a shocking undertow that drags you down into the mystery that inspired it. So when I saw the announcement of a new Jarl album, you can bet I […]

Satori’s Originator Emerges from the Shadows with ‘The Hanging’

Infect by Satori, released in 1993, is one of the best power electronics albums of that era, and criminally underappreciated. Even though it is not an “album” as such, but a compilation of tracks culled from their cassettes of the mid-to-late eighties, it flows like a malevolent river, pulling the listener along to a bleak […]

Totraum’s Debut Proves Even the Darkest Places Can Be Alluringly Familiar

When it comes to mystery, they don’t come more mysterious than Totraum. Despite their German name (that translates as “dead space”), the band hails from Hungary and We Still Remember the Night, a 4-song EP, is the début release for both them and their label, Tower of Silence. “Thomas A.D.” is listed as their “general […]

Occulte – Rock N’ Roll

On their debut EP, Rock N’ Roll, the French duo Occulte are clearly determined to channel the days of cold analog yore.  As part of the retro trend that continues to rear its head in current era’s underground culture (Cassette revival?  Who the hell saw that coming?), your reaction to an album like this may […]

Ô Paradis – Llega el amor, asoma la muerte

I have long had a fondness for Demian Recio’s Ô Paradis for his unique and seamless blending of a traditional Spanish format with contrasting modern elements—sometimes electronic, sometimes drifting close to industrial or vaguely “dark,” but never definitively falling into some “alternative” niche. But there is a much simpler reason as well: the abundance of […]

Bruta Non Calculant – Instinct

It can be both a blessing and a curse to have no deep familiarity with a particular genre of music. On one hand you are free to listen and observe without the burden of prior knowledge, free of the desire to compare to other acts. On the other hand, you lack the same experience to […]

Cisfinitum – Industriewerke 2002-2012

In the murky haze of post-industrial noise, Moscow’s Cisfinitum has blazed a singular trail away from its manifold competitors. Classically trained violinist and sole member Eugene Voronovsky achieves a cinematic level of artistry throughout much of his extensive discography, regularly hitting that sweet spot between soothing atmospheric beauty and a darker, noisier dissonance. So familiar […]

Current 93 – The Moons at Your Door

Reviewing a new Current 93 album entails a twofold task: on one hand, you can judge it as an autonomous body of work, and on the other as an integral part of the huge collective opus that is Current 93’s discography.  For The Moons at Your Door in particular, a third aspect needs to be […]