INDISPENSABLE NEW MUSIC PICKS
March 2023
Kristine England
Mar 31, 2023
Altin Gün
Ask
Altin Gün specializes in Anatolian Rock, a fusion of rock and traditional folk music from Turkey. Though based in the Netherlands, the band members come from a variety of backgrounds. As they reinterpret Turkish folk songs, disparate elements come together in a fascinating amalgam of fresh, modern sounds coupled with retro grooves.
FEATURED TRACK: "Rakıya Su Katamam”
Emiliana Torrini & The Colorist Orchestra
Racing The Storm
Emiliana Torrini’s haunting voice will be familiar to Lord of the Rings’ fans as the singer of the poignant “Gollum’s Song.” The Icelandic singer started early, joining a choir at seven and attending an opera school at just 15. She’s written for and collaborated with a dizzying variety of artists, from Kylie Minogue, Kid Koala, and Spoon to Thievery Corporation. Her latest venture with the Colorist Orchestra comprises live versions of songs new and old, with “colourful classical and contemporary collisions.” (The Guardian)
FEATURED TRACK: "Mikos"
Acid King
Beyond Vision
Members of the stoner doom metal aristocracy, Acid King is back with its latest record in eight, long years. The San Francisco-based group offers up a spacey, dreamy, and heavy trip that was born out of a collaboration between singer/guitarist Lori S. and guitarist Jason Landrian of Black Cobra. Adding in the rhythm section of Bryce Shelton and drummer Jason Willer, the result is Beyond Vision, with “blistering guitars and swirling power dirges aplenty.” (Forced Exposure)
FEATURED TRACK: “Destination Psych/Beyond Vision”
Matt Corby
Everything’s Fine
Matt Corby’s third album is his first in three years. The Australian singer/songwriter is in the mood to celebrate the good things in his life after experiencing a near-tragedy when his partner (pregnant at the time) and his young son were caught in one of the country’s catastrophic floods last year as well as a cancer scare two years earlier. Rolling Stone calls his return, “triumphant….Corby’s soulful vocals bring everything together with finesse. The auditory equivalent to hot cocoa: satisfying and sweet.”
FEATURED TRACK: “Problems”
IST IST
Protagonists
Channeling their Manchester forebears, post-punk band Ist Ist’s latest gives off a Joy Division/New Order vibe. Back with their third record, replete with “tales of love, relationships and the feeling of being trapped by the past…a solid album which will only improve on repeat listens.” (Louder Than War)
“Nothing More Nothing Less”
FEATURED TRACK: “Nothing More Nothing Less”
Animal Liberation Orchestra
Silver Saturdays
Formed by boyhood friends in California, jam-band Animal Liberation Orchestra has been making music for many decades and occasionally recording some of it along the way. Eight years after its last record, ALO is back with its ninth album. “The sounds captured on Silver Saturdays are fresh and mercurial, but they are also fun, thoughtful, dreamy and articulate.” (Tinnitist)
FEATURED TRACK: "Hot Damn"
Fake Names
Expendables
Fake Names is something of a punk rock supergroup. Oxymoronic as that sounds, this collective is made of up musicians with serious cred, from bands like Bad Religion, Fugazi, Minor Threat, and Girls Against Boys. Expendables is the band’s second outing, and feels as fresh as a “new rose.”
FEATURED TRACK: "Delete Myself"
Moderat
Even More D4t4
Moderat invited several artists to recreate some of the tracks from last year’s More D4TA. The result is a collection of intriguing remixes from Marie Davidson, Batu, The Bug, Sylvere, DJ Lag and others.
FEATURED TRACK: "Fast Land" (Marie Davidson Remix)