Category: 21/30
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gaye su akyol – anadolu ejderi
On her maximalist fourth album, Gaye Su Akyol again makes expressive use of the burnt tremor in her voice, this time singing directly to Istanbul. Through its baroque psych-rock, the record blazes through its themes without deference to taste and/or accessibility. This is certainly Akyol’s most anti-pop album to date, as she takes the scenic […]
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drugdealer – hiding in plain sight
Drugdealer makes no secret of his musical influences, jokingly describing his brand as ‘Derivative Rock’. The multi-instrumentalist toes the line between tasteful pastiche and total plagiarism of 70s soft rock, but comes with enough charm to make ‘Hiding in Plain Sight’ a joy. His third record brings a funkier edge to his psychedelic sound and […]
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backxwash – HIS HAPPINESS SHALL COME FIRST EVEN THOUGH WE ARE SUFFERING
HHSCFETWAS is, in a word, busy. Ashanti Mutinta has now charged three records with her tectonic energy—here, we are pulled through to the trilogy’s cataclysmic end. For all that this record is, it is hip-hop first. It’s a shame that this album provides its least inspiring elements in that genre. The beats don’t offer enough […]
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hagop tchaparian – bolts
“Landing bolts” is a skating term that means executing a trick perfectly with both feet on the bolts of the board. Hagop Tchaparian uses the skate aesthetic, but his debut album is frayed, not clean. He is concerned with the gravity of thought before pumping blood; Bolts sets up its bold techno ambushes with considerable […]
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the beths – expert in a dying field
The singles from The Beths’ latest record feature rousing riffs lightly glazed with an optimistic grunge (it exists, by the way). The ocean into which those singles were flowing, Expert in a Dying Field, shouldn’t necessarily be better, but greater. It’s that memorable critique of indie albums, that I feel hesitant to write: a lot […]
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