Browsing Tag

Avant Garde

Area 51 has nothing on Koosha Azim’s psychedelically sensory experience, ALIEN

Posted on 24 June 2022

Haunting and transcending are two rarely joined adjectives; the Iranian American contemporary artist, Koosha Azim, pushed them into a tight-knit while exploring alt-hip hop and psychedelia in his sensory soundscape, ALIEN.

The bleeding vocals, cinematically ethereal layers, and playfully unpretentious creativity are a stellular pleasure which scarcely resembles any Avant-Garde score that experimentalists have left behind before.

If he keeps pushing in this gratifyingly trippy and obscure direction, the San Francisco Bay Area artist will have the airwaves at his feet in no time. Naturally, we can’t wait to hear the transcendence that follows.

Koosha Azim’s latest single, ALIEN is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Canadian originator, Ethan Mark opened his jazzy neo-soul in his album ‘The Concept of You’

Posted on 23 June 2022

After teasing us title single from his 2022 album, The Concept of You, we eagerly awaited the full length of Ethan Mark’s sophisticated psychedelic-soul experimentalism.

With the opening single, The Unravelling of Every Day, equally as sublime as the openers on your favourite 90s Shoegaze albums (surely, everyone has some of those!), it is instantly affirmed what kind of production the Canadian artist constructed. One that is defined by its quiescence and the ability to hold your attention through the jazzy indie-soul juxtapositions.

Track 3, Gunslinger, is a trippy ethereal masterpiece, colourful enough to rival the fantasy-like escapism in tracks from Cosmo Sheldrake. Reminiscences fall by the wayside in the boundlessly experimental world music title single which breaks the monocultural mould with the percussion and throws in some flamenco guitars around the RnB grooves.

Not that The Concept of You has any skippable tracks, but special attention should be paid to Weight of it All. The lofty intricate work is a sublime pool of lyrical vulnerability, Avant-Garde ambience, and quintessential folk escapism. It is gravitas sonically personified.

Here is what Ethan Mark had to say on his album

“The Concept of You, and the upcoming album, came about from a challenge from my partner. She, a listener of neo-soul and jazz, challenged me to pare my usually elaborate and busy musical style down to something more organic, soulful, and pretty.

The result was a series of love songs encompassing many facets of love. The title single refers to her, the sepia-toned memories of summers, the roots we have put down together, and the love for home.

These themes felt especially important after a long period punctuated by isolation, introversion, and cabin fever. It’s accentuated by nylon guitar strings, cascading violins, gentle pianos, and the frailties of harmonised vocals.”

Concept of You is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Liberace of punk, Cinemartyr, are back in proggy Avant-Garde form in ‘No Legacy’

Posted on 30 May 2022

Baroque folk meets prog rock in the latest single, No Legacy, from the NYC-residing Avant-Garde outfit, Cinemartyr who have lasciviously been stealing the crown of the boldest aural architects since their original formation in 2008.

The doomy, heavy guitars follow the ultimate head-banging formula as the riffs keep on getting brought back slower for the aphrodisiacal angsty effect. While Irish folk nuances, from founding member, Shane Harrington’s geographical ghetto past, sporadically eke in through the pull of classical strings and the tonal shifts in Amber Moon’s vocal eccentricity. The era-hopping vocal lines are enough to put Kate Bush and Dua Lipa in the same league.

Keep them on your radar for the release of their forthcoming album, OPT OUT, which will be available to to stream and purchase from June 17th.

The official music video premiered on March 3rd; you can stream it for yourselves via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Cucurbitophobia carefully slices our imagination awake on the horror-like, ‘The Harbinger’

Posted on 22 May 2022
The Harbinger by Cucurbitophobia

With a spooky experience that will shock you and possibly shake your whole core into a place you least expected, Cucurbitophobia returns with the moody piano-packed and cinematically infused new instrumental single, ‘The Harbinger‘.

Robert Benaquista (Rob Benny) aka Cucurbitophobia is an Avant-Garde/Horror/Dark Neoclassical/Atmospheric Metal/Post-Industrial-fused multi-instrumentalist and composer.

”It portrays a return of an ominous figure who has disappeared after a long absence. The Harbinger bears knowledge, wonder, and dread, as it can shapeshift into the absolutely desirable or the utmost undesirable in the eye of the beholder. Able to predict and summon future events, The Harbinger has left everyone frozen in fear, knowing the inevitable yet not knowing when it will happen.” ~ Cucurbitophobia

With an expert performance that will cause hearts to flutter unexpectedly and mouths to tighten, Cucurbitophobia rampages through our lounge with a skilled display that will please all those who love a bit of mystery and risk-taking in their lives.

‘The Harbinger‘ from the Avant-Garde/Horror/Dark Neoclassical/Atmospheric Metal/Post-Industrial-fused multi-instrumentalist Cucurbitophobia is such an explosive experience that shall take you into the dark alleys that certainly intrigues your whole soul. Causing hearts to skip and emotions to heighten, this is the kind of song that you will find in a scary movie that has just introduced a masked character who has come back from the dead.

With intricate details that will have you completely enthralled, this is a track that might have you covering those eyes and closing the curtains a bit quicker than usual.

Listen up to this new single on Bandcamp and see more via the IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Marcus Koncar takes us through the doom-filled cards he has been dealt on his ‘Fate’

Posted on 27 April 2022
Pretty Things Seldom Do by Marcus Koncar

Taken from his recently-released 12-track project called ‘Pretty Things Seldom Do‘, Marcus Koncar wonders if all those tarot cards and bad energy from his childhood will ultimately sink him down forever on, ‘Fate‘.

Marcus Koncar (formerly known as Candall Lark) is a Salt Lake City, Utah-based Avant-Garde Americana solo singer-songwriter who keeps things honest throughout his creations.

”I just like to make music about things stuck in my mind.” ~ Marcus Koncar

With a raw tone that shows you the mindset of someone who has dealt with the scary trauma of doom since a very young age due to the wild world of Astrology, Marcus Koncar guides us to a place that shall scare many who have locked the door of what was supposed to happened already.

‘Fate‘ from Salt Lake City, Utah-based Avant-Garde Americana solo singer-songwriter Marcus Koncar, is a sombre story about how you can really sense that the world is against you when you are told from a young age that you aren’t going to have a good life. Featuring deep vocals and a storytelling mentality that leads us into the true feelings he has had to endure, this is a track that will cause many to look back at their own life.

Sometimes, you just need to vent out your frustrations before realizing, that fate is actually in your own hands.

Listen to this tale about swimming against the flow on Bandcamp.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Meet the Tom Waits of this Generation in Vince Chinaski’s Debut Album, Never Painted Black.

Posted on 26 November 2021
Vince Chinaski

Copenhagen’s most prodigal up and coming singer-songwriter, Vince Chinaski, has released his debut album, Never Painted Black, which opens on the title single and instantly arrests you in the Avant-Garde neo-classically inclined feat of psych, jazz and folk.

Without any hint of hyperbole, Vince Chinaski deserves to be just as revered as Tom Waits for the way he pulls new sonic intrigue from a timeless sound. With Louis Armstrong reminiscences in the cinematic jazzy score that flows at a teasingly mellow pace that leaves you desperately eager for the next note, Never Painted Black is beyond absorbing.

Its mind-meltingly artful gravitas becomes even more visceral towards the outro as the Chinaski’s crooning timbre starts turning dark and scuzzy vintage rock guitars feed kaleidoscopic discord into the release.

Chinaski’s debut album will be available to stream on all major platforms from November 26th, 2021.

Check out Vince Chinaski on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Soundcloud. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

8udDha bl0od – 8888: Avant-Garde Glitch Wave Psych Rock

Posted on 5 August 2021

Glitchy electronica meets psych-rock in Brighton-based artist 8udDha bl0od’s latest instrumental single 8888; the avant-garde production allows the static electronic effect to bite into the old school rock n roll guitars which drive you through the indulgent chaos of the soundscape.

As 8888 gears toward the outro, tribal energy starts to tear its way into the release before a sharp and sudden close affirms just how immersive the single was, once your rhythmic pulses are at a loss with the silence.

Even with the artist’s ever-evolving sound, you can appreciate the signature style of 8udDha bl0od that ensures each of his releases come with a psychedelic kick and dirty rock tones that bring familiarity to his otherwise eclectically obscure releases.

Listen to 8888 for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Western Bloc – Monkey Christ: Darkwave Avant-Garde Post-Punk

Posted on 19 July 2021
Western Bloc

I never thought Glenn Branca would have competition, but Western Bloc’s darkwave avant-garde post-punk composition, ‘Monkey Christ’, parallels the ethereally phantasmic effect in The Ascension. It’s got the class, nihilism and theatrical flair but through the consistently evolving progressions, you’ll pick up on contemporary post-punk styles through the reminiscence to the Editor’s impassioned sound that tends to air on the melancholy despite the bursts of energetic angsty euphoria.

Any fans of SWANS, Magazine and Echo and the Bunnymen definitely won’t want to miss out on the official launch of the Calgary-based artist’s forthcoming album, which is due for release in August 2021.

Check out Western Bloc for yourselves by heading over to the band’s official website and SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

PleasePrettyLea has released her dark theatre-pop ballad, ‘Ohheycide’

Posted on 14 July 2021

The darkly delectable princess of ethereal RnB pop PleasePrettyLea has returned with her latest single, ‘Ohheycide’; she’s lost none the arcane air that left us hooked on her preceding singles.

This time, she was daring enough to explore the complexities of suicidal ideation in her deeply conceptual music video. Starting with the lyrics ‘I wish you’d save me but you’re the one that breaks me’ captures the desperation that surfaces when someone tears you apart while you’re internally screaming for them to fix you. As the single moves through its stormy and shadowed progressions, there’s a visceral upsurge of the adrenaline that kicks in when rage starts to join apathy and debasing self-scrutiny.

Ohheycide is a stunning avant-garde vignette of the avenues our minds can take us down as we spiral down a depressive hole. It is the antithesis to plastic pop that always feels the need to follow a redemption story. Ohheycide compassionately tells you that on some days there’s scarcely anything but darkness, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t deserve a tomorrow.

The official music video is due for release on July 14th. You can check it out for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Start your infatuation with Cherry Makes Waves’ latest avant-garde cine-pop single, Bisket Full.

Posted on 1 July 2021

Amsterdam’s Avant-Garde cine-pop artist Cherry Makes Waves has released her latest artfully sultry earworm, Bisket Full. With her ability to hit high notes with ethereal ease, your infatuation with her authenticity will ensue before the first verse runs through.

Any Kate Bush comparisons that you are tempted to make will quickly slip away while the down-tuned guitars and snappy electronic percussion remind you of the time when Skinny Puppy reigned supreme in the electronica scene.

The playful pop track explores our proclivity to make ridiculous decisions when we are hyped up on lust; considering that you’ll start to feel your inhibitions slip away while embracing the daringly single, Cherry Makes Waves makes a compelling case.

Bisket Full is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast