Goldmine Finds Fruit Bats Compelling
According to Goldmine, Fruit Bats “sounds fresh and vital at every turn… after more than 25 years of making exceptional albums and mining a style that finds a divide between accessible power pop and intelligent indie rock.” New LP The Landfill, out now via Merge Records, is “a compelling collection from beginning to end, and indeed, a fine reflection of […]
Voxwave Enjoys Dren McDonald’s Meditative New LP
Dren McDonald, Voxwave notes, “is regarded as one of the most versatile and nuanced composers working in today’s interactive media space.” The site has a review of McDonald’s new LP Vox Pterous, a musical reflection on grief that breathes “human life into the impressionistic sonic fabric of [Pterous, his] previous [instrumental guitar] album… Returning to the past with […]
New Music From Charm School, With A Track Mixed By Steve Albini
Charm School is the latest project from Louisville, KY born and LA-based multi-hyphenate artist Andrew Sellers and his longtime collaborators Matt Filip, Drew English & Brian Vega. Sellers grew up immersed in Louisville’s underground music scene, soaking up local legends like Slint, Crain, & Rodan, as well as the catalogs of Chicago’s famed indie labels Touch & Go and […]
Loudness Blog Endorses Dren McDonald, Comparing Vox Pterous To Hieronymus Bosch
Loudness Blog has an in-depth review of Dren McDonald‘s new Vox Pterous LP, which the author compares to work by none other than Hieronymus Bosch. The site writes, “What I particularly value in art is not merely a fresh or interesting perspective — it’s a vision that penetrates beyond the threshold. Not only beyond the ordinary, finding something new in […]
Start Track Champions Azalia Snail’s “Legend”
Start Track writes, “Los Angeles’ resident psychedelic singer-songwriter Azalia Snail has been making music since the 90s with her ever-morphing brand of psychedelic music and has been a staple of the DIY/indie scene for years. She has even earned the name “queen of lo-fi” during that time. She started off making psychedelic rock and soon slid into making […]
Fruit Bats’ Eric D Johnson Goes On The Air With Bay FM
Eric D. Johnson recently did a string of dates “down under” in Australia to promote his new album under the Fruit Bats moniker, The Landfill. While he was in the Brisbane area, he went on Bay FM‘s Soft Serve show, where he spoke to host Aoife Dunne “about the surprisingly lush cover for his latest album The Landfill, stumbling on band names, and audience/performer dynamics […]
Inara George Jams In The Van
Inara George and her band recently performed a Jam in the Van session, and now the full set is available online. As JITV explains, in this exclusive live session, Inara George showcases her talent and emotional depth with a couple of tracks from her new project Songs of Douglass & Littell, in which she offers fresh interpretations of incredible classic […]
Obscure Sound Embraces Dren McDonald’s “Fantastic” New LP
“Dren McDonald‘s Vox Pterous,” writes Obscure Sound, “is a deeply emotive exploration of grief, memory, and transformation, inviting a remarkable ensemble of singers into richly layered sonic worlds. Blending contemporary classical composition with songwriting and the warmth of the human voice, the record delivers a stunningly immersive experience. Vox Pterous captures the lingering echoes of loss while embracing connection, […]
Soundcheck Dances To foamboy
Soundcheck Mag has a long and thoughtful review of STUPID HOT, which is at radio now from Portland electronic duo foamboy. The album, they write, is for anyone attempting to improve themselves while privately wondering whether all that effort is working. The album is funny without being flippant, vulnerable without becoming overly sentimental, especially at a time when we are all experiencing […]
Azalia Snail Issues More Gentle Mental Clips
Azalia Snail continues to issue music videos for songs on her new LP, Gentle Mental. “Up The Junction,” here, plays like a psychedelic trip to the zoo, while “Spin Off Sinner” is a psychedelic trip up a mountain on a slow motion tram, and “Stay Blue” is a psychedelic nightmare with a guy wearing a cat mask. It’s all […]
Aquarium Drunkard Features Fruit Bats
Fruit Bats’ Eric D. Johnson recently submitted to an interview with Aquarium Drunkard. The site writes that new LP “The Landfill sonically demonstrates Eric D. Johnson’s strength as a leader and commanding presence, accompanied by a full band for the first time in a few Fruit Bats’ records. In the days following the album’s release, during the early days […]
Dren McDonald’s New LP Is “Touching And Worthwhile,” Writes Buffablog
Dren McDonald‘s new album Vox Pterous, writes Buffablog, “features minimalist, morphing arrangements. Dedicated to lost friends, McDonald succeeds in creating something from nothing, with the result being an exemplary effort that sits at the intersection of contemporary classical and mood music… for fans of Steve Reich, Ed O’Brien, and Meredith Monk. McDonald’s lyrical and instrumental messages are touching and […]
The Arts STL Supports foamboy’s Warm Disco
According to The Arts STL, foamboy‘s STUPID HOT is a hit. Katy Ohsiek “has a winning, warm voice,” and Wil Bakula‘s production has “sunny Seventies synth vibes that are a little Daft Punk, a little Giorgio Moroder, and a little Everything But The Girl.” The review contends that “there’s nary a weak track to be found, but the best tracks to these ears […]
Spectrum Culture Praises The Refinement Of Fruit Bats’ New LP
With the singer’s vocals to the fore and a breeziness to the tunes,” Spectrum Culture writes about the new Fruit Bats album, “The Landfill takes captures the personal and immediate nature of the work. Even so, it never sounds tossed-off; the sort of refinement fans would expect from Eric D. Johnson persists… The Landfill feels like the marker of a new era. […]
The Pitch KC Features Independent Project Records
The Pitch KC writes, “California record label Independent Project Records has been quietly releasing some of the best records in alternative music for nearly five decades. Founded in 1980 by Bruce Licher, the albums IPR puts out are known just as much for their distinctive letterpress jackets and sleeves as they are for the iconic music pressed to the […]
Plastic Mag Breaks Down Dren McDonald’s New Album
According to Plastic Mag, Dren McDonald‘s “patient, intricate approach now reaches an exciting new chapter with his brand new record titled Vox Pterous, released through the Appearing Records imprint. With this new release, Dren revisits the instrumental origins of his acclaimed 2023 album Pterous, opening those carefully layered compositions to an exceptional group of vocalists. In doing so, he transforms music […]
Beats Per Minute Finds Plenty To Enjoy On foamboy’s New LP
foamboy‘s STUPID HOT, writes Beats Per Minute, has “plenty to enjoy, either as angsty pop jams or background beats for a pool party… Even if you’re feeling downtrodden like [singer Katy] Ohsiek, we’re all in this together, so you may as well dance along with foamboy to the slow heath death of the Earth.” The album – an “club-ready, […]
Fruit Bats Play WNRN
Fruit Bats recently performed live live at In Your Ear Studios in Richmond, VA for WNRN 88.5 Richmond. The band played several songs from new LP The Landfill, which is at radio now from Merge Records. They sound so fresh on the title track, here, alongside the full archive of live Fruit Bats performances on NPR. Those can keep you […]
KEXP Gets STUPID HOT With foamboy
Seattle’s KEXP writes, “The third full-length from Portland duo foamboy is an infectious set of shimmering indie pop inflected with doses of jungle, jazz, and R&B. Featuring bright synths, bouncy basslines, Katy Ohsiek’s transfixing vocals, and Wil Bakula’s playful production, STUPID HOT is the perfect soundtrack to get folks moving and grooving through the summer.” Read more here, and get the album […]
Fruit Bats Take The Line of Best Fit To “The Landfill”
Earlier this year, The Line of Best Fit shared Fruit Bats‘ video for “The Landfill,” the title track of the band’s new LP that’s at radio now via Merge Records. He says, “This is my sixth video with the great Adam Willis, AKA Brother Willis. Another in our long line of collabs which are often funny with cold opens and strange […]
