Music for 11/8/26!!! Queens of the Stone Age

@@@ Queens of the Stone Age: Perfecth (Matador, 2026) An essential release recommendation from bandcamp, shocking, shocking I say! I’ve always been way into the guitar tones on their records but have been frustrated that they have little if anything to say. Oh shit, we’re not gonna get the guitar tones on this record as this record was inspired by some Paris underground show it’s kinda a Nirvana unplugged clone record. It has drums and other industrial sounds in this opener but acoustic guitars and the singer. Oooh now strings. I kinda get the trains passing sound in the tune but it’s more abstraction than I’m accustomed to from a grunge act. The second tune opens with a full band but clean guitars, maybe we will get the crunch. This is like a late ’70s mellow rock record, and I have to give respect to the bass player here, whoever it is be catching my ears bigly. The second tune is almost 6 minutes long which is too long for what you get. The sounds are really really nice, the mixes are strong, the tunes are interesting but not quite what I need, I’ve heard enough rock music to last a lifetime so it’s gotta be pretty interesting rock music to make me jump and down. This is a B+ rock record and a B record in the whole universe of all styles, that’s my view. So if you’re a rock listener, there’s some interesting shit going on, I’m feeling this fifth tune Mono this is pretty good for a stoner rock band.

Music for 11/6/25!!! Saint Abdullah

@@@ Saint Abdullah and Eomac: When the Sandbox has No Edge (Planet Mu, 2026). A sort of bunch of somewhat known/underground musicians collaborating with a couple of UK producers that I got to via the essential release page of bandcamp for October 2026. Oh shit, it’s a Planet Mu banger I take their records somewhat seriously as my taste lines up more than a bit with their taste. Not a guarantee of success but a good sign. The opening track is called Willing in the Name of, a pretty obvious riff on Rage Against the Machine’s Killing in the Name of. The first tune is pretty in your face with a variety of samples and a very ramped feel. I’m on the third track, Eyes See what the Camera cannot see and the same confrontational and flavorful style is in full effect. It’s not openly political, but the sniff of it is there and I’m fine with that. Imho, a lot of electronic music can be overly manicured and groomed and this seems purposely designed to not be like that, it’s a bit angular and collage-y in a great way. That said it’s not half assed and the freshness of it is pretty apparent. The use of Middle Eastern instrumental samples are a welcome addition to my ears, they don’t dominate and they’re not sprinkled lightly they’re in there for sure. Armand Hammer makes an MC appearance on track 6, As we Are, and this very much hip hop tune slaps, oh shit I think Billy Woods is making an undocumented appearance on this track, all of this is very positive in my view. This record runs for 40 minutes with 17 tracks and I’m on track 7 and haven’t heard a clunker yet nor anything sonically that is cheesy or lazy or weirdly contradictory. This is going to make it onto my best of year list, don’t sleep on this record, outstanding sonics and arrangements, it’s a banger.

Music for 11/5/26!!! Eerie Enterprise

@@@ Eerie Enterprise: Places Remember Events (Dekmantel, 2026) This record is highlighted as a bandcamp essential release for October 2026, and also because upsammy is one of the produces and there is an upsammy release from earlier this year that I think is straight banging ring the bell business. This record is a collaboration with Piezo, I don’t know what flavor human Piezo is, I don’t care I’m gonna guess upsammy is the dude and Piezo is the woman in the picture of their bandcamp page. I seek clarity on everybody’s behalf. I like the first track, it’s a bit light, I think it could use some low end thickness but let’s peep more. The second tune, Decay and Collapse, is not as breezy as the opener while not being a super dark electro banger. There’s a lot of robot chatter up in this record, I’m not opposed to it, but a little more thickness would work a treat and I realize that’s the second time I’ve mentioned this point. Contrast, I beg musicians to put more contrast into their music. There’s some lovely business on this record, for the most part it’s laidback but there’s a ton going on within that framework. I’m not sure if it’s the headspace I’m in at this particular moment or if it’s the record, I really like it but I’m not jumping up and down, I might jump up and down at another point in time, I get that my headspace and your headspace and everybody’s headspace is a large part of the equation when we’re talking about music quality. I will at some point, probably when I start gathering the best of ’26 for The Magic Organ, my bespoke podcast, compare this upsammy collaboration with the upsammy record from earlier this year, that will make things clearer to me and my ears.

Music for 11/4/26!!! heavensouls

@@@ heavensouls: cantu of the sower EP (NTS, 2026) This experimental electronic record just got super high praise on this week’s Pitchfork’s 10 most reviewed albums of the week. Using words like dizzying and boundless, that’s some big ass words right there, let’s peep this 6 song bag of bangers and see what’s up. This is not really an EP if it’s 6 tracks totaling 42 minutes, not sure what’s up with that. I’m on the first tune and it’s pretty joyous video game electronic uplift but I’m not hearing what I know to be jazz and I’ve heard thousands of jazz records and I understand the definition of jazz is complex to say the least. There is a nice blenderized vibe to these proceedings but nowhere near what I thought there would be cuz I was promised dizzying and boundless and this is a little dizzying and not nearly as boundless as xaviersobased whose sonics are insanely boundless but his lyrics are kinda shit. I’m on the third tune, star balcony which I think will be the peak of the record as it’s really pumped up with a lot of chopped and processed elements but regular readers know that I listen to a lot of electronic music, a lot and what this record could really use is some swing to go with the high frequency high end chopped salad. One would think that if a record is described as dizzying that there would be moments of complete chaos and loss of control and that’s not the case here, there are moments where the energy goes way up but everything is still in its place and that is a problem for me as a listener. Hit me with some chaos not just supercharged tight order, you dig? I don’t hear much if any free jazz in effect here btw, that’s not the most important factor, the arrangements and what they do to your mind and ears, that’s the most important thing here. B, maybe B+ record.

Music for 11/3/26!!! Kali Malone

@@@ Kali Malone: Burning Song (Ideologic Organ, 2026). Yesterday I peeped a folk record that the Guardian gave 5 stars to and today I’m checking out Kali Malone’s new record which is also featured in the Guardian today and probably for a few more days. I don’t know if her previous records are slotted as Classical Crossover but this one is. Before I start listening I will say that I think that indie music is overly hyped in the marketplace relative to how good the music is, and Malone is a darling oh Lord she is a darling. This records consists of 7 pieces that span 39 minutes and it opens with a famous Bach organ, an organ that Bach himself played. She is in a trio here with a cello player and a guitar player and on the opening cut, Grieving Figure, they are basically making a live sonic drone with slow changes and a big fat chunk of harmony that furls, unrolls, morphs slowly pick your verbs. I like it, I’m not sure my mind is blown but I like it. I wish there was more going on tbh. The first time I was pulled out of my casual internet browsing with this record going in the background is the harmonic dissonance in the third tune Bells on a Branch, it’s pretty perfectly balanced between being in tune and beautiful and out of tune and beautiful though we all know that tons of folks equate dissonance with ugliness when as a friend of mine once asked ‘how can one sound be beautiful and another ugly’? Think about it kids, it’s not as crazy as you might think. I was hoping for something more disruptive and creative than this it’s really an ambient record with a Bach organ a cello and a guitar. The sound is high end, maybe the organ could be a bit huger, I would have dug some post recording sound processing but that’s just me.

Music for 11/2/26!!! Radie Peat

@@@ Radie Peat: No Human Tongue Can Tell (Rough Trade, 2026) This record got folk record of the year at The Guardian yesterday, so I must get a peep. There are three pre release tracks up on Apple Music and I listened to the first one, Hares on the Mountain, without jumping up and down. Usually the best folk record should kick the party off with the opener given the lack of attention all listeners have in the internet age, right? I like the use of a bass as an accompaniment for the singer who really can sing the shit out of a folk song, maybe it’s a keyboard part, but it’s low frequency. Okay I like it more than I did when I heard it yesterday but it does also have the feel of an old soft rock record with the keyboard part and the general vibe. The second tune, The Moon and Stars, brings on the kit drummer and does indeed make the record sound more like a rock record cuz it’s rock drumming, duh. This second tune feels kinda bogged down, it’s not really evolving very much as it goes through its six minutes, it is a little bit but it’s not elevating and taking off, it’s kinda claggy if this was the Great British Bake Off. A proggy keyboard arpeggiator hits at the tail end of this tune and it’s one of the few things that has grabbed my ear sonically since I started peeping this record. If you’re gonna get out there and trumpet that this is the best folk record of the year I’m gonna need to see some reasons why. It’s not a horrible record at all it’s kinda above average but it doesn’t have the spark of a super creative record that pulls you right in, it’s pretty staid and I feel that even if The Guardian doesn’t hear it.

Music for 10/30/26!!! Gilla Band

@@@ Gilla Band: Pugnello (Rough Trade, 2026) I saw this Irish band on a best of year list thus far and described as industrial/experimental something so I thought I would throw it a peep. The opening track does grab your attention with a rolling distorted guitar, some interesting small drum kit drumming and a singer that’s not fully off the chain but for a rock band he’s losing his shit pretty good. That’s an encouraging first track, it’s barely rock music and I’m fine with that. While I dig the energy of the vocalist but between the processing on his voice and all the other noise that’s in the tunes it’s very hard to know what he’s talking about so the tunes don’t hit you as hard as they might if you understood the words and liked them. On the third tune, Alogia, you can hear him more clearly but it’s still not clear to me what the message is when the noisy section hits and they fuck his voice up. It’s a pretty unique visceral listening experience as it’s not metal, and it’s not quite industrial music though it sports aspect of it, I’m not too sure what to think of this it’s got a lot going for it but I’m not super feeling much when I’m listening. Mixed bag, listen for yourself. I might like it more if it was even wilder, I love the fire music, I like it wild.

Music for 10/29/26!!! Shovel Dance Collective

@@@ Shovel Dance Collective: Everything in Readiness (tak:til, 2026). I got to this folk outfit’s latest effort via the weekly email from The Quietus, I’ve found a ton of great music off their best of 2026 list thus far. I’ve heard these folks before and there sure seems to be a whole bunch of ambient feels to their music which makes it feel pretty modern and interesting, to me at least. It’s a slow pace to be sure in some places but there are a lot of layers and a fair amount of interesting playing going on here. Oh shit, the break out into a free jazz folk throwdown chaotic sound-gasm which is very surprising but I give it respect, points for creativity. I’m on track 5 and these guys most definitely push on the boundaries of what a folk record can be with huge wheezing crescendos, train sounds and vocalizing that is more like a gospel revival than what you think a folk record singer would be like. My favorite tune is track 8, Who killed Cock Robin? and it sounds a more like an indie rock tune than a folk nugget so these guys are clearly accomplished musicians and traffic in all sorts of sounds and vibes. I respect it without totally feeling it, if it was mostly like this track 8 I would be on it like stink on a monkey. There some awfully beautiful horns on track 9 so there sure are some moments to be savored here, I leave it to folks to check it out on their own terms. Man I’m really enjoying the back end of this record whilst I didn’t fall right into it, why does this happen? I clearly am in the listening minority and the things I like aren’t put at the front of the record. Possibly.

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Music for 10/27/26!!! Fake Names, Josh Johnson

@@@ Fake Names: Punk Ruins (Epitaph, 2026) Off last week’s All Music notable release email. The way that a lot of metal bands will put in elements of hardcore punk cuz they like it etc, the same goes in the other direction punk bands will cop the metal bass drum sound cuz they like it. I don’t think that’s happening here, this is more in the pop punk I gotta pay the bills part of town. These guys are pretty melodic and they rock, I mean I wish it was a little rougher in the rocking area, it would balance out the melodic work of the singer more and I like contrast. These guys are a supergroup let’s peep which bands. I like some of the bands that contributed members of this supergroup but tbh I don’t love the singer he sounds much more like a wannabe rock star than a punk singer, or the ones I’m accustomed to. I’ll stick with my Bad Brains records, gimme some fire bitches.

@@@ Josh Johnson: Animative (International Anthem, 2026). Also off the All Music notable release email. I like this Chicago jazz label, not everything they’ve released but they’ve got some good shit going on. There are three tunes from this record up on Apple Music where the record consists of 10 tracks totalling 39 minutes. If you read this musician’s bio he’s been a masher of genres since the git go and I’m no jazz purist. The question for me is whether the improvisation you hear is creative, how creative is it, and do you like the tunes? I didn’t love the first available tune, Reece, but I’m digging this tune Jazz Chord Procession it’s more interesting harmonically and has more energy to it. I really like the bassline in the third available tune, It Can Be Everywhere, the horn playing not as much and there’s sort of a too chill New Age flow to the tune. So very much a mixed bag for me, listen for yourself. I dig his work in SML so peep them especially the debut record.

Music for 10/25/26!!! Alchemical Sisters

@@@ Alchemical Sisters: Alchemical Sisters (Interdimensional Transmissions, 2026). Some electronic music out of that hotbed of American dance music, New Hampshire, a state I fucking loathe because I went to high school there and I will drop it right there and not bore readers with why I hate the state of New Hampshire, it would take a while to get through it. It’s a bit of a ballsy move to name your opener This is How It Should be Done especially if you’re coming out of New Hampshire, a very backwards place where many of the citizenry engage in bestiality on a somewhat frequent basis. No not true, just joking the tune is all right but if I’m entertaining myself then they’re not entertaining me. There is a sort of floating guitar figure that really captures my ear so let there be hope. The second tune kicks out with a sample about straight white people and I think that’s cool but I think the beats could use some freakshow sauce cuz as they stand now it’s kinda frat house style. I like the chopping going on here and the harmonica loop but it needs more depth. The energy is very high but the originality could be higher and I would be more excited. Hmmm, I’m on track 3 and the formula of dropping an unexpected sample into a familiar rhythmic scenario has happened thrice so I will peep one more and let me reiterate that it’s fine to pay homage to the past but you gotta put a little cilantro or sauce of your own on there, please I’m begging you. This is white wedding material. I have to peep this track they have called ‘A Song for New Hampshire’ cuz well I hate New Hampshire. I’ve never thought about how I would sonically honor that state or its state of mind but it doesn’t ring of what I remember of it, it’s kinda Eastern/Asian and mystical and I think of it as more inbred. Let me wrap up and say I live NYC and there are so many douchebags there right now, mostly white collar shitbird white people so I’m down to raw dog almost all populations so don’t feel bad Manchester, Concord and Portsmouth!!!!