The Bandcamp Diaries Writes About The “Deeply Resonant” Jeffrey Runnings LP
“Piqued is a deeply resonant farewell from post‑punk great Jeffrey Runnings,” writes The Bandcamp Diaries about the new Independent Project Records set. The site says, “Released posthumously, the album distills his life’s work into haunting, minimalist soundscapes. The album works through themes of loss, memory, and liberation with sparse instrumentation. Voice and atmosphere carry more weight than anything flashy. There […]
Van Lupo Shares “Time And Tide” Video
Van Lupo has an animated video for “Time And Tide,” from the duo’s new album Devices For Profit and Escape. Stoic and meditative, the gorgeously contemplative track weaves together seemingly ambivalent feelings of acceptance and regret. “We had raised ourselves an altar; now we offer each other as sacrifice,” sings Dan Sheinman over the sound of a contorted, finger-picked guitar. Offir […]
The Big Takeover Features Jeffrey Runnings
The Big Takeover writes that Jeffrey Runnings‘ posthumous release Piqued “rolls out like a catalog of the Nebraskan’s influences: the Chameleons, Joy Division, Cocteau Twins, Gary Numan, Talk Talk, the Smiths, the Sound. That’s not to say Runnings simply displays his record collection in song, however – outside of his skill at writing beautifully melodic tunes and acerbically romantic lyrics, his […]
AllMusic Calls Mary Halvorson’s Ensemble “Among The Most Inventive” In Modern Jazz
Mary Halvorson is at radio now with About Ghosts, and AllMusic says the LP “offers more proof that Halvorson’s Amaryllis are among the most inventive, articulate, and creatively forward-thinking ensembles playing jazz right now.” Elsewhere, the review writes that Halvorson’s sextet Amaryllis conjures comparisons to the likes of Frank Zappa and Kenny Wheeler. Check out the full review here. Halvorson’s About Ghosts is at radio now via Nonesuch and […]
New Music From Van Lupo
Van Lupo is the collaborative project of Offir Benjaminov (TATRAN) and Dan Sheinman. In 2021, Sheinman – a vintner and winemaker – was living in Burgundy, France. The childhood friends collaborated remotely, trading tracks and lyrics between France and Tel Aviv. Van Lupo’s debut LP, Devices for Profit or Escape, is a synergetic creation yielding a dark, unpredictable, and at […]
Music Connection Checks Out The “Glorious” New Jeffrey Runnings LP
Music Connection has a review of the new release from Independent Project Records, Jeffrey Runnings’ posthumous album Piqued. The site writes, “This offering from Jeffrey Runnings, creative force with Nebraska post-punk band For Against, is glorious… There are two LPs, and both feature enough curveballs and off-the-wall surprises to ensure that the listener is never bored. Simultaneously bleak and cinematic, it really […]
Jazz Times Features Mary Halvorson
“I don’t do a record unless I feel really excited,” Mary Halvorson recently told Jazz Times, explaining that “the main thing that I do think about is never making the same record. That’s the challenge that I give myself. How will this most excite me in the moment and how can I make the most of everything that […]
KLOF Shares the “Touching, Relatable” New Fruit Bats Single
New Fruit Bats single “Creature From The Wild,” writes KLOF Mag, “is a touching, relatable homage to the profound impact a pet has on one’s life.” The song, which is at radio now, is in honor of a lost dog friend of Eric D. Johnson, “a wild animal and a true gentleman. A real swashbuckling spirit.” It will […]
The Post Punk Monk Notes The Analogue Warmth Of Jeffrey Runnings’ New Release
The Post Punk Monk has been getting into the recent string of releases by Independent Project Records, and has reviewed the new posthumous set Piqued from legendary For Against frontman Jeffrey Runnings. The set was recorded on an 8-track cassette machine, leading to a very specific warmth. The Monk writes, “The significant bleed between the instruments and tracks, all using a […]
Mary Halvorson – Number Two At NACC Jazz – Chats With the ABC and Hits The JazzTrail
Mary Halvorson went on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation‘s Music Show, where she spoke to Andrew Ford “about what adding more horns allows her music to do, how an increased focus on composition has changed the way she improvises, and about some of her more surprising musical influences (people like Elliott Smith and Robert Wyatt).” Here‘s the link. Halvorson’s newest album, About Ghosts, is at radio […]
Inward Garden Loves Kaela’s “Ethereal Vocals and Layers Of Synths”
Inward Garden likes Kaela and selected her album Supraliminal as one of the best albums for the week of May 16. The site writes, “Kaela, a musician that got her start as part of well-known indie act M83, releases her debut album. Her other work definitely can be felt as a reference here. This record leans into an ambient/electronica-infused indie pop […]
New Music From Fruit Bats
GRAMMY-nominated singer/songwriter Eric D. Johnson (aka Fruit Bats) beautifully honors the recent loss of a beloved dog with the heartfelt new song “Creature From The Wild.” The track serves as an homage that acknowledges the sorrow, but more so celebrates the immeasurable impact his life had on his owners’ lives with sincerity and gratitude. These feelings are all […]
Marlbank Calls Mary Halvorson “A Thelonius Monk Of The Guitar”
About acclaimed guitarist and composer Mary Halvorson, Marlbank writes, “there’s nothing heavy footed or formulaic about the rhythmic patterns she glides over and there’s lots of metrical shifting and a restlessness about the pieces. And yet there’s nothing obscurantist for the sake of it here. She is her own best navigator – a Thelonious Monk of the guitar for sheer […]
New Releases Now Touts The New Jeffrey Runnings Release
Piqued, the final release from For Against’s deceased frontman Jeffrey Runnings is, according to New Releases Now, “an unflinching, minimalist elegy that distills a lifetime of post-punk devotion into something raw, intimate, and quietly transcendent… Recorded alone at home on a trusty 8-track cassette machine, Piqued sounds like a late-‘80s mixtape made in solitude – equal parts diary and […]
SPIN Enjoys The New LP From Mary Halvorson, Who Was Recently Named Downbeat’s “Guitarist Of The Year” For The Third Consecutive Year
On About Ghosts, Spin writes, Mary Halvorson “dabbles in the unearthly while remaining fully, triumphantly grounded… Halvorson’s fondness for nested intricacies can act as a kind of subterfuge—all the activity in these songs disguises the small but crucial components that hold them together. But when she really lets loose… it’s like the arrival of some new species of X-ray, suddenly […]
Kaela Releases “Pool” Video
Fans of Kaela‘s new album Supraliminal, which is at radio now via Other Suns, have noticed the colorful and commanding artwork that adorns the LP. On her new “Pool” video, Kaela and the Ravie & Co team animate the shapes and images that make up the Supraliminal world. Get lost in the colors and flow here, and get the lush, synth-filled […]
Mike and Alex Discuss Melvins’ Sludge
Mike and Alex of the Every Album Ever Youtube channel say Thunderball, the new album from Melvins under their Melvins 1983 alter-ego, is “for you” if “you’re a fan of the early 90s sludge era of Melvins,” although the release is “a little more modern and weird” thanks to the electronic contributions of Void Manes and Ni Maitres. According to Mike and Alex, […]
New Music From Jeffrey Runnings (For Against)
Independent Project Records (IPR) has released the posthumous, final solo album from Jeffrey Runnings, Piqued, on vinyl, CD, and digital formats. All formats include four bonus tracks of rare recordings from the late 80s. Runnings was the creative force and guiding light behind Nebraska post-punk pioneers For Against. Runnings died on Monday, March 3 due to stage 4 […]
Fresh Air Appreciates Mary Halvorson’s Progress On About Ghosts
Mary Halvorson‘s About Ghosts was recently reviewed on NPR‘s Fresh Air. As the review notes, the album features Halvorson’s now-regular sextet Amarylls. However, for this release, “Halvorson expanded the group, inviting tenor saxophonist Brian Settles and alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins to play on several tracks. The expanded group, with its four horns, recalls Halvorson’s octet from about ten years ago, but her writing […]
Vinyl District Grades Springhouse On A Curve
“On From Now to OK,” writes the Vinyl District in a recent glowing review, Springhouse “realize a crisp, vibrant melodic sound that veers away from the shoegaze textures of their two prior albums… Springhouse’s approach on From Now to OK has been described as folk-rock, and there’s no need to quibble with that assessment, but it’s worth noting that a […]
