Blah, blah, blah… rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb… and so on and so forth, etc. (No one reads this, you know…)
Leaving aside the parlous state of the world and its escalating hatreds – and the consequent impact on my and your mental health and/or general levels of joie de vivre – here are a selection of the sounds that have most lifted my spirits throughout this anus(sic) horribilis…
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Valentina Magaletti & YPY
“Kansai Bruises”
(AD 93)
Valentina Magaletti’s pointillistic mastery combines perfectly with YPY (aka Koshiro Hino of goat(JP) and Kakuhan) and his percussion-inspired electronics. Nothing touches the ground on this one…
우륵과 풍각쟁이들
“풍류”
(self-released)
Self-translated as Ureuk and the Gypsies, this is improvised music based on Korean folk music using traditional Korean instruments. Think jazz, think prog, think woozy lurching beauty. Not weird just way out there.
Drazek Fuscaldo with Jörg A. Schneider
Attachments
(Feeding Tube Records & Cardinal Fuzz)
Not the only Drazek Fuscaldo & Schneider collaboration of 2025 – they also put out a delirious and psychedelically-infused album in March with Glimmen. However, this one just about pulls ahead for me. The two side-long tracks have a ritual grandeur and intensity that draw upon ‘spiritual jazz’s 60s roots while remaining purely NOW.
500 Goats
“Getting Along”
(NEUS-318)
Madrid duo Juan Cepas and José Mª Pérez-Flor combine field recordings, kalimba and unnamed electronic devices to agitated effect. Soundtrack to an overclocked mind with no ‘off’ switch. Intricately fascinating in an Alice in Wonderland way… (Also worth checking out Juan Cepas’ solo project, Autodetuned!)
QLH
“Sledgehammered”
(self-released)
Excuse my Medieval language, but this is fucking nuts – and I LOVE it. Possibly the freakiest Han-earl Park album so far (and the competition is fierce!). Here he joins up with Quentin Tolimieri on synths and Luca Marini on drums. The result is a bizaree*, 80s-inflected, weirdo stew that absolutely grooves. Possibly my most-played album this year.
*(typo spotted but preserved due to artist endorsement)
Verjault
“UR”
(brava.etc)
Verjault takes the usual (?!) recipe and adds piano that is somehow both strident and playfully meandering at the same time. Kind of Julius Eastman’s N series combined with rumbling fuzzed bass and electronics – rooted in hell and reaching towards heaven.
L. Don Okami
“Banjo Machine Music”
(IKUISUUS)
Despite the clear inspirations in title and cover, I find this more approachable than Lou Reed’s famous middle finger album – and that’s an excellent thing. Banjo loops and feedback surge and sway over a harmonium hum. The title track offers a new perspective on drone music and the accompanying remixes earn their inclusion as absolutely fresh takes and alternative directions.
Mellowdeath
“Mellowdeath”
(Cruel Nature Recordings)
Isabel Merten and Sara Neidorf’s bass and drums lay down some addictively twangy nightmare western (as in cowboy) jazz. Cinematic as hell. And disturbingly catchy. Supported here by a range of guest musicians, a ‘bare bones’ duo version is promised soon…
Espen Lund
“Vitnesbyrd“
(Bloxham Tapes)
A touch less aurally overwhelming than 2021’s “ÆTONAL” (but only a touch) this is Lund’s amplified-to-the-point-of-destruction trumpet in full monolithic mode. Supported here and there with a little cello, some drums, and even saxophone, this is full-on metal drone music. If you like SUNN O))), you’ll love this.
GORZ
“my tongue on your cheek”
(Numeral)
Lara Alarcon and Cyrill Ferrari go further into black metal heaviness and screamed vocals while retaining their poppy melodic flashes – it’s a weird, almost repellent, ice-cream-and-razor-blades combination that quickly becomes habit-forming.
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