Category: New Album Review

The newest albums, EPs and singles on the air at WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2

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New Album Review

New Album Review: “Death Is Little More” by Boundaries

"Death Is Little More" Album Cover
"Death Is Little More" Album Cover

“Death is Little More” by Boundaries, their third album, contains 33 straight minutes of pure insanity. With themes surrounding death, grief and rage, Boundaries delivered an unforgettable record.

Boundaries are a highly underrated band and I believe they will become big players in the scene. Frontman Matthew MacDougal’s harsh vocals will leave your skin crawling, yet constantly wanting more.If you want to hear some of the heaviest breakdowns of 2024, look into this 5-piece band from Connecticut. They are one to keep on your radar.

The album itself flows together smoothly from start to finish, adding to the experience of my first listen. Add unforgettable riffs, melodic elements, and a ferocious percussion, and you have “Death is Little More.” With featured vocals on the album from Marcus Vik (Invent Animate), Lochie Keogh (Alpha Wolf) and Matt Honeycutt (Kublai Khan TX), you know you are getting an AOTY contender.

My top-three tracks on the album are “Turning Hate Into Rage,” “Scars On A Soul” and “Blood Soaked Salvation (feat. Matt Honeycutt)”.

Upon first listen, the opening track, “Turning Hate Into Rage” immediately hooked me into the album. Opening with one of the heaviest tracks on the album was no mistake. It introduces the main theme that surrounds the album as a whole: rage.

The albums single, “Scars On A Soul” was top-tier. This song sounds like top-tier early 2000s metalcore with chaotic hardcore inspired breakdowns. Lyrically, it has to be my favorite. 

“Blood Soaked Salvation,” features the vocalist Matt Honeycutt of the metal-core/death-core band, Kublai Khan TX. I was thrilled to hear how MacDougal and Honeycutt sound together on a track, and they did not disappoint. You can clearly hear the Kublai Khan TX influences, and mix that with Boundaries, you have an instant hit. Oh, and have I mentioned heavy breakdowns? This song takes the crown for that.

This album was a chaotic experience from start to finish, in the best way. I personally thought it would be difficult for them to top their previous album, “Burying Brightness.” Even with a shorter run-time, Boundaries did not disappoint. I will for sure be seeing them on this album’s tour cycle. They will be performing at Local 506 in Chapel Hill on June 2. 

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New Album Review

Vorga’s “Beyond the Palest Star” Album Peek

Cover art of Vorga's "Beyond the Palest Star"
Album art of Vorga's Beyond the Palest Star". Artwork by Adam Burke (Imperialist)

Hello, all glorious death metalheads and sci-fi geeks. Today marks the advent of demise, loneliness and destruction in the outer spheres of the universe as I take a dive into Vorga’s “Beyond the Palest Star”. 

This album was released March 29, 2024 on ______. This album is Vorga’s second full length release. Their first, “Striving Towards Oblivion” was released two years ago to much acclaim, but the recent sound-byte reviews of “Beyond the Palest Star” puts it above their first release (as seen on their Bandcamp). 

Vorga hails from Germany, and the members include Atlas (Rhythm Guitar), Спейса (Lead Guitar, Bass + Vocals) and Hymir (Drums).

“Beyond the Palest Star”

In our trip to the outer edges, we find ourselves immediately lost in the beauty of cascading drums and guitars. They bleed into our ears and confuse the listener. The shock and bite of delirium is welcome. (When is it not?). 

“Voideath”, the first track on the album, is a long ambling journey itself. The track reaches and climbs through speakers to bring out the intense misery of loneliness in space. Again, it’s welcome, because that feeling is what we search for among the stars. Спейса’s vocals grind in their heavy, throaty way to wind through the stars searching, ever searching. 

In “The Sophist”, which is my favorite track on this release, the journey ambles onward. Through a maze of asteroids we are begged to think and think about impending doom. The song is a little bit slower as it undulates with time and rhythm. Metal is the only sound heard in the emptiness of space, as it should be. 

Vorga decimates all listeners with this niche and growing genre of space bending metal. Evil and doom protrude to the corners, edges of everything, so why not explore space with the knowing feeling of emptiness and be happy you expected it.

Deep fried space calamari is an everyday meal when you’re starving,

Ben

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New Album Review

LYSOL’s “Down the Street” EP

LYSOL's EP cover art.
LYSOL's EP cover art by band member, Chad Ringo Bucklew.

More epic garage punk descended from the heavens and blessed our ears with LYSOL’s newest release, “Down the Street”. LYSOL hails from the outer reaches of the United States in the infamous punk breeding ground of Seattle, WA. 

This short, four-track EP, was released on March 24, 2024 and has a total run time of about five minutes. LYSOL seems to be most known for their live performances as noted on the EP page on Bandcamp. The members include: Anthony Gaviria, Xtine Lundberg, Chad Ringo Bucklew, and Noah Earl Fowler. It’s a compact band playing short, heavy and fast. 

In “Down the Street”, I’ve found “Grease Paint” to be my favorite hitting track so far. With the off-beat rhymes and in-the-mud lyrics, the undeniable punk nature screams out for attention, but dashes from the limelight and will “put my grease paint on\ act like it’s all ok” (lyrics from “Grease Paint”).

In “15MG”, it’s way more rock based guitar like Wipers, but again in typical punk fashion the song is too damn short. I want more. More! 

Also, we can’t forget the epic drums and explosive introduction to tis EP from “Sonic Thrill”. The band knows want we want. Maybe they want it too, a sonic thrill. Something that will get them going. Some noise that will start up our blood. Activate our desire to rage and change and bump the body next to us a little too hard.

I cannot wait to see more from LYSOL. That’s how I feel about most young bands these days. I don’t ever want anyone to stop making music. I want to see the scenes grow and evolve. The next new hit genre is probably already here in our ears, but I cannot wait to be a part of the masses when it comes to fruition and the spotlight. LYSOL will be one of the bands up there or at least orchestrating the whole damn show. 

Lysol’s bad for your skin and your food, but good for your ears…

Ben

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New Album Review

Julia Holter’s “Something in the Room She Moves” Singles

Album art for Julia Holter's "Something in the Room She Moves"
Album art for Julia Holter's "Something in the Room She Moves".

Julia Holter’s new singles are part of her new release which came out March 22, 2024. The new tracks are part of a project Holter is working on about human bodies’ ability to transform and be corporeal (as mentioned on her Bandcamp page). 

This is Holter’s sixth full-length album. I began listening to her majestic sounds a little over a year ago looking for strange, ethereal compositions. I fell in love with her album “Tragedy” for the song “Goddess Eyes”. 

The singles released for “Something in the Room She Moves” have an aura of gold and beauty that have been slowly reaching a climax thanks to the direction of her career. The three songs include “Evening Mood”, “Spinning” and “Sun Girl”. 

In “Evening Mood”, we get to experience creeping beauty, skirting the shadows as the sun sets for the day. Moments of bliss and relaxation permeate the track, leaving the listener in a state of placid peace. 

“Spinning” is my favorite release from the singles. An electric little start to the song winds us up for an unveiling of magnetic and addicting grace. The world swirls around in confusing spirals as we get to experience Holter’s delicious composition. 

I’m not the biggest fan of “Sun Girl”. Specifically the first half of the song is a bit too long winded and doesn’t keep me engaged like the lengthy “Spinning” or “Evening Mood”. The second half, after the cacophonous odd noises, is enticing. It’s the strange addicting music that Holter is able to create so well (but only for half of the song). I’m sure many folks will love the whole track, but the first bit wasn’t for me. 

I am excited to listen to the full album when I get the chance. These tracks were awesome teasers and make me want to dive back into the rest of Julia Holter’s discography. 

Eat the abstract leaf (don’t poison yourself though),

Ben

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Local Music New Album Review

Moldy Pear Records’ Food Drive Compilation

Compilation cover art by Sickle Eater
Compilation cover art by Sickle Eater.

Welcome all ye foodies and music enjoyers. Today’s special presentation of things to feast on includes helping out folks that don’t have the capability to get the amount of food they need in their lives.

A fundraiser by Moldy Pear Records (located in Hickory, NC) is taking the initiative to raise money for Feeding America by donating ALL profits from their skramz, punk and indie compilation to this organization. 

Feeding America fights for more legislature and policies regarding food insecurity programs, adds to food banks and meal programs, and is trying to root out the cause for food insecurity in America. They are big proponents of stopping food waste in homes and the food industry by teaching and becoming a collector of food going uneaten and unsold. 

If you didn’t know already, food waste in America is an atrocious issue leading to large amounts of food in landfills (the US government estimates food as taking up 24% of landfill space in their Methane Emissions Reduction Program). Hopefully, programs like Feeding America or Food Not Bombs can help people begin to understand the issue with food consumption in the US (and in the world). 

Of course we’re here to review a little music, but the most important part of this article is to get some of this stuff into the light. I love food and there’s a lot that needs to be done in the world with the way we have decided to consume. 

“Creamy Peanut Butter” by Obscured Wingtip Memoir

This song is so damn painful to listen to. I love that it is the opening doom for this compilation album, and then everything else is much kinder and warmer afterwards. The head thumping chaos fuels me to smile as I get to enjoy this pain as loud as I can tolerate. 

“Table Salt” by Sickle Eater

This reminds me of My Bloody Valentine being mixed with a little post punk. It’s a nice shoegaze feel but still independent in its blood and sound. 

“Condensed Tomato Soup” by Girl Goes to Greenland

I love the slow build in this track. It’s a really calm and simple luxury that gets heavier and deeper as we approach the middle section of the song. The raspy crying vocals grasp for air. It’s a neat song with tons of heart in it. 

“Granulated Sugar” by Snail Trails

This feels like a classic mix of country and punk and the beat of pop-punk. It’s a great little track with the skramz screams and emotion just trying to escape the vocalist. Thank you Snail Trails for this beauty. 

Notable mention to “Hamburger Helper” by Sometimelastyear

Another painful track. It kills me a little more every time I listen to it. I can’t put the horror into words, but it’s definitely worth a listen. 

There’s tons of interesting music on this compilation. I find it very noble to try and raise money this way. If you’re inclined to help donate to Feeding America and potentially discover some new tracks and bands from Hickory, NC, then drop some money to donate for this album. 

Don’t you dare waste so much food,

Ben

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Music Education New Album Review

Faye Webster’s “Underdressed at the Symphony,” Is A Quintessential Breakup Album

Album cover for Faye Webster’s “Underdressed at the Symphony,”
Album cover for Faye Webster’s “Underdressed at the Symphony,”

Relationships are often marked by the music shared with people. There are songs I can’t listen to without remembering certain points in time, points in relationships, or points in states of mind, whether it brings pain or pleasure. 

The worst breakup of my life left me turning to the grounding capacity of music. Japanese Breakfast’s new album “Jubilee,” had just come out, and I spent all my free time wallowing and projecting onto the song “Kokomo, IN.” 

To this day, I can’t listen to that song, or a myriad of others without thinking about that specific person and stretch of time. I think of “Kokomo, IN,” as a capsule holding all of my emotions towards that relationship. They’re placed there for me to return to whenever I want, or to discard with appreciation for how it helped me process a difficult moment. 

It was empowering for me to mark the song as a memorial for my relationship. I never considered that it must be even more empowering to create your own album as a form of remembrance, and Faye Webster’s new album feels just like that. 

With her smooth voice and beautiful accompaniments, Atlanta based singer-songwriter Faye Webster quickly became a household name for indie music lovers. While I knew her new album would be good, I didn’t expect it to resonate so hard with my past experiences. 

Her highly anticipated new project “Underdressed at the Symphony,” is full of nostalgia and lost love. The album is lush and graceful, featuring Webster’s recognizable crooning and lengthy jam sequences. It is, unmistakably, a breakup album.

Continue reading “Faye Webster’s “Underdressed at the Symphony,” Is A Quintessential Breakup Album”
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New Album Review

A “Deadly Struggle” by Public Acid

Public Acid's cover art for "Deadly Struggle"
Public Acid's cover art for "Deadly Struggle" by Thomas Sara.

Public Acid’s newest contribution to NC’s hardcore music scene is “Deadly Struggle”. The album was released on February 23, 2024 and has a runtime of fourteen minutes. It has eight tracks; all of them leave you with a desire for a shower after listening. 

Public Acid has a few other releases. Most notably is “Condemnation”, an EP released about two years ago, which is just as harsh and thrash-y as “Deadly Struggle”. 

To find an album that still makes my skin crawl AND creates a putrid stench of hatred is no easy feat. The more I flounder around in the metal and hardcore scenes, the more unimpressed I become with guttural howls of pain and rage. Public Acid definitely doesn’t re-invent the metal scream or do anything too crazy and new, but “Deadly Struggle” is a pleasantly-sleek, head-whipping release. 

Beauty of Horror

My favorite three tracks, “Slow Bleed”, “Ignorance” and “Hang the Leaders” are like Death cradling the dying. They’re a beautiful look at the horrible pains of everyday life. Since beginning my hardcore music fascination, I’ve been able to unlock appreciation for nasty sounds and disgusting imagery. 

I can see the beauty that lies in more horrific actions and deeds. That’s because beauty isn’t the same kind of serene natural picture we are always told about. There’s beauty in fear, there’s beauty in blood, there’s beauty in death. 

“Deadly Struggle” isn’t glorifying violence (and neither am I, though it sure looks like it). Public Acid captures the nature of corrupt social practices and the fascination with a blood fueled world. They capture and make it beautiful through their destructive music. If you read my other blogs, you can see I’m pretty easily impressed by most musicians and bands I listen to. 

To some (and maybe even to me sometimes) Public Acid might be just another one of those hardcore punk bands that sound like every other one, but I get a sense that their ability to capture despair, disgust and destruction will help them prevail the onslaught of current day music industry practices.

Destroy, build, destroy!

Ben

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New Album Review

Creepy Clowns Crawl out of the Dark in “Spell Piercings”

Cover art for Gonemage's album, "Spell Piercings"
Cover art for Gonemage's album, "Spell Piercings".

Last year I wrote a short article about Gonemage, Garry Brents’ crypto-death and nu-metal project that he is lovingly devoted to. I absolutely love this person’s work, and thankfully he’s released a new album, “Spell Piercings”. 

“Spell Piercings” was released February 23, 2024, and has a total playtime of thirty-eight minutes and forty-eight seconds. It is the twelfth release by Brents under the Gonemage moniker. He has other projects like Memorrhage and Cara Neir. 

Onto the album… “Spell Piercings”

To start us off and put us in the optimal headspace for this strange album, we must acknowledge the story and theme set up by Gonemage on their Bandcamp page:

“It’s 1999. Somebody someone from nondescript suburbia opens a dusty, old toy box tucked away in a crawlspace underneath a bedroom closet. Out comes a purple clown doll, animated with clacking footsteps, smiling, and singing indecipherable words. Stone, ice, and chains suddenly emerge out of purple smoke emitting from the doll, warping all surroundings into a dungeon. All nearby inhabitants become subject to the clown’s morbid sense of amusement and games of magic and mischief”

From Gonemage’s Bandcamp

Brents must have a deep appreciation of the inner-machinations of creepy clown dolls. I don’t love clowns, but I’m also not terrified of them either. This, though, is horrific. I applaud Brents’ fun creepy theme as it definitely helped me assimilate parts of myself with the sound. 

“Crawlspace”

The first song on the album is a rollercoaster. It’s a long descending staircase into a musty basement that is just a portal to another equally horrific dimension of terror and surrounding fear. Claustrophobia sets in. The walls are touching you, scraping you and you’re stuck with nowhere to go but further down into this album’s abyss.

“Bouncing Scroll”

I really loved the first bits of this track up until the chorus. Then it kinda drags me along, unwillingly, into more drawn out mediocre vocals. The instruments are epic though. I do love the variation and complexity Brents continues to use in all of his projects. 

“Screambled”

Another track on this album I found to be close to perfect for my ears. The first and the last minute are amazing. Absolute terror and fear crawl through the closed pores on my skin. The goosebumps are spreading like a plague. But that minute in the middle of the track is numbing, and not the good numbing. The “boring, what am I doing here listening to this too many thoughts in my head” numbing. 

“Sliced in Chamber”

The main issue I keep finding with this release is the variability within the tracks themselves to keep me focused and loving the entirety of the song. I do like this track, but it gets old the more you listen to it. That might be my decreasing fascination with songs that tell stories or have a narrative. The tink tink tink sounds in the last twenty seconds are gold.

“C U”

As one of my favorite tracks on this release, there are still a few shortcomings. At first I didn’t love the movie sound byte used in this track, but the more I listen to it, the more it grows on me. Foreboding music throughout and an amazing set of lyrics represented as “(indecipherable words and sounds from the clown doll)” (From Bandcamp). This is a long heavy track which keeps me entertained. 

“Tattered Cloak”

Addicting guitar rhythms and interesting vocals still don’t help me adore this song. I cannot pinpoint the exact reasons “Tattered Cloak” doesn’t do it for me, but it doesn’t completely repulse me either. 

“Cave of Trials”

The introduction is full of whiny vocals and that just completely ruined my chances of loving this song. It does have fun, campy lyrics sung in a strange manner:

“Soda pop soda pop wonder drug

Soda pop soda pop fresh syrup

Soda pop soda pop wonder drug

Amoeba amoeba soup

Slime jelly”

From Gonemage’s Bandcamp
“Spell Piercings”

The longest track on this album would have had to a ton to make up for the shortcomings and perceived time wasted in some of the other tracks, and it absolutely does. I adore this song. It’s got the abominable clown doll creeping through my skull at this moment. At seven minutes long, I never expected to be sucked into a track like this, especially on the last song of the album. I find this track to be a step up from everything on “Celestial Innovation” too (which is easily my favorite release under the Gonemage projects).

Leaving the Clown’s Grip

Alright, this album has tons of good and beautiful innovations in it. Brents is a phenomenal collaborator with his fellow Texas musician community to create his work (you can see collaborators for “Spell Piercings” on the Bandcamp page). There are a few things I didn’t love in this album too, but I think this release shows how much fun Brents is having creating music. I can’t wait to see and hear more music that Garry Brents releases in the future, and while this album won’t be getting tons of replay ability for me, it still should be fun to revisit every now and again.

“soda pop soda pop fresh syrup”

Ben

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New Album Review

Album Review: “II” By Theatre’s Kiss

This week, I’ve been playing the role of “consumptive wretch” as my COVID-wrecked immune system struggles to prevail over a particularly virulent cold. I’d probably be doing better if I could remember to keep drinking water.

Somewhere between all the langushing malaise, pneumatic wheezing and bodily agony, I managed to catch the latest drop by post-punk artist Theatre’s Kiss — one of my top artists of 2023, I might add — and I’ve dragged myself from my sickbed to talk about it.

“II”

“II,” released March 1, is the long-awaited sequel to the 2022 album “Leidensmelodien” (which I reviewed last year).

The mind behind Theatre’s Kiss, a mysterious corpse-painted individual known as “Fassse Lua,” explained to Post-Punk.com back in 2023 that “II” is part of what will become the “Solitude Chapter” of Theatre’s Kiss.

Cover for “II” by Theatre’s Kiss

The artist’s prior releases, “Self-Titled” and “Leidensmelodien,” are two halves of the “Grief” chapter. Apparently, the “Solitude Chapter” will be centered around two albums and one EP.

If Fassse Lua’s plans remain the same, then “II” is the project’s EP.

Consisting of three short tracks, “II” explores themes of addiction and dependence through the artist’s characteristic black metal-esque take on post-punk.

The EP

The first track on the EP, “Marie,” seems to capture the crux of the “Solitude Chapter.”

Opening with a sample from a newscast about drug use, the song is surprisingly upbeat. By Theatre’s Kiss standards, that is.

Based on the lyrics, “Marie” is about a young girl’s struggle with drug addiction. What’s particularly interesting about the song is how it serves as an introduction for the “Solitude Chapter” as a whole, reading as an opening narration to an unraveling story.

Photo by Raluca Enea on Unsplash

Wrenching, plaintive vocals and cold arrangements of guitar, bass and drums transport the listener into an arctic landscape.

There’s subtle drama in the growling voice that drops in to state “haunted by demons she lost her way/ chasing a high to numb the pain” and in the delicate staccato of a string instrument that emerges like a floating blossom from a bleak, dense fog.

“drogomanicus” presents a narrative more abstract, with lyrics like:

Fragments of joy

Shattered on the floor

Enveloped by cravings relentless scream

“drogomanicus” by Theatre’s Kiss

While it’s clear that the song’s references to “cravings relentless” signal to the addiction of “Marie,” I’m not wholly sure what “drogomanicus” is meant to signify.

From some quick Googling, I’ve found that “Drogo” is a masculine name of German origin. (Which makes sense, since Theatre’s Kiss is based in Germany). The name means “To bear” or “To carry.”

Thus, one could speculate that “drogomanicus” is about bearing the burden of emotional turmoil wrought by addiction.

Thematic speculation aside, the song’s plain beautiful. The artist’s talent for instrumentation truly shines through in this ethereal, somber arrangement. I listen to this song and consider bittersweetness. I imagine fragments of sunlight punching through stormclouds.

Photo by Intricate Explorer on Unsplash

“Imprisoned,” the EP’s final track, is where things get dicey.

While “Marie” opens with clear references to a girl (presumably Marie) and “drogomanicus” is devoid of pronouns, “Imprisoned” refers directly to a male figure.

The song is harder-hitting than its two counterparts, with strong guitar and bass almost drowning out the vocalist. There’s clearly more emotional punch here, and the lyrical subtext has my queer English major brain on fire.

In “Imprisoned,” an unnamed male figure finds himself “bound by the grip of faith” and confined by “the fear of damnation,” leading him to “[suppress] his essence” and “[deny]” his gender.

Photo by Polina Kuzovkova on Unsplash

It doesn’t take a lot of hoop-jumping to piece together a queer narrative from that. But aside from the song’s lyrics and the very vague information provided by Post-Punk.com, there’s nothing yet available to contextualize that “Imprisoned” is meant to signify.

Is it a trans narrative? Are “Marie” and the unnamed man the same person? Will we ever find out?

Hopefully the continuation of the “Solitude Chapter” will shine some light upon this.

Final Thoughts

My only gripe with this release is how aggravatingly short it is.

I’m crossing my fingers that it won’t take another year for the chapter’s next two albums to come out. You can guarantee I’ll be hopping on here to wax poetic about them when they do.

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Local Music New Album Review

Fresh Cold Cream from Carrboro

Cold Cream's newest release featuring the band in a hazy pink cover.
Album art of "Cold Cream II" by Cold Cream

Surfacing form the deep depths of Carrboro, NC is Cold Cream with their newest addition to the music world, “Cold Cream II”. As a psych-punk band, these folks have all the sounds you could desire: catchy vocals and beats; screaming; grounded, realistic lyrics.

In terms of members, Cold Cream claims “exes of Pipe, Superchunk, Bat Fangs, Flesh Wounds, Spider Bags, and Entez Vous” to be a part of this band (as stated on their Bandcamp bio). The band has Clark Blomquist (drums, synth), Laura King (bass), Ron Liberti (guitar) and Mara Thomas (vocals).

“Cold Cream II“

Cold Cream released the album on February 1, 2024, and it features eight tracks with a run time of about thirteen minutes. FCC warning: there are curse words and foul language in a few of the tracks on this album.

“Cactus Wife“

Alrighty I picked three songs to dive into a little bit. “Cactus Wife” has the most classic punk and indie rock vibe to it. It’s a pleasant reminder of other NC bands like Archers of Loaf that have been ruling and inspiring artists for over thirty years. “Decorate the World” also a similar upbeat punk rhythm to it if you enjoyed this track.

“Fixedair“

Here, we are able to find the most psychedelic inspired track on this album. The wavy reverbed vocals sink in like teeth into an ice-cream bar. It’s not pleasant for some, but I love it. The heavy drums have a rainy pitter-patter meant to keep your feet movin’.

“Shitbird“

A lovely title has to have a lovely sound, right? This track slams and thrashes the most (in comparison to the other tunes on this album).

Last Bite

As I’ve been writing these articles and posts for the last few months about NC music, I keep finding more hope and new bands to latch onto. I grew up being jealous of other states with exemplary music scenes like Philly or Seattle. Now I am beginning to find bands and sounds that have existed for some time, but finally want to unearth themselves to my ears.

I’m excited for the young bands coming onto the scene too. A few that I’ve written about like Babe Haven and smattering of other hardcore bands, are slowly getting pushed into the limelight because of their amazing talents.

Cold Cream is a another one of these bands (comprised of music veterans) that should be able to foster the growth of more unique NC sounds to come.

Pitch a tent by a local dive bar and sleep all night to the sound of the beer plonking on the rain cover,

Ben