Browsing Tag

Glenn Branca

Slip into a chorally Lynchian delirium with Milk Bar Gang’s latest orchestration, The Accident

Posted on 31 December 2023

Hitting play on the latest single, The Accident, from Milk Bar Gang, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’ve slipped into a chorally Lynchian delirium as you allow the cultivated hazy dream pop tones to wash over you, submerging you in ethereal Avant-Garde surrealism.

The song’s sonic landscape is a complex tapestry, weaving together elements of Shoegaze’s choral dreaminess and the experimental edge reminiscent of Glenn Branca while the incorporation of jazzy rhythms and darkwave elements contribute to its rich and diverse texture.

Lyrically and thematically, The Accident delves into profound concepts. It reflects on the uncontrollable circumstances of birth and the ensuing struggle against oppression, as well as the emergence of resistance. This philosophical depth is matched by the music’s atmospheric synths and sharp guitar riffs, underlined by a rhythm section that couldn’t be further from archetypal. The unsettling melodies and chord progressions further enhance its impact, creating a sound that is simultaneously bleak and beautiful.

Recorded at home and refined by professionals in Melbourne, the single is a testament to Milk Bar Gang’s commitment to their craft. The band, formed in 2021 by Felix Chapple and Bianca Cao, brings a diverse range of influences and experiences. Chapple’s history with various Melbourne bands and musicians, combined with Cao’s background in dance and visual art from Beijing, contribute to the unique identity of Milk Bar Gang. If this is how they chose to end 2023, we’re aching to hear the artfully cohesive orchestrations that are lurking in the pipelines.

The Accident will debut on New Year’s Eve; hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Liya Shapiro delivered darkwave decadence in her debut single, The Thing

Posted on 25 December 2023

Fuse the dark decadence of Lydia Lunch, PJ Harvey, and Siouxsie Sioux with the electronic southern gothic beguile of Chelsea Wolfe, Interpol-esque guitar lines and the trip-hop aesthetic of Massive Attack, and you’ll alchemise a sound as scintillating as the atmosphere within Liya Shapiro’s debut single, The Thing, which officially released on December 15.

After a sequence of stabbing synths that could have been torn from a John Carpenter score, post-punk synthetics start to bleed into the hypnotism of the production which leaves discordant effects to linger in the shadows, harbingering a forboding energy, as striking as the avant-garde tones within Glenn Branca’s The Ascension.

Once you’ve torn yourself away from the grip of the instrumental magnetism, you’ll lock into the lyrical poetry as it elucidates the intangible nature of love. By using dark, almost nihilistically macabre, imagery between the sweetly abstract sentiments, dualism drives through the debut from the London-based singer-songwriter, whose lyrical ambiguity opens a labyrinth of corridors in the mind as you attempt to extrapolate meaning.

The abstractions within the poetry also serve to prevent the single from becoming a derivatively paradoxical debut. To speak of the unspeakable and pretend to possess a firm grip of an incomprehensible emotional and spiritual phenomenon would only cheapen the track which pays a true ode to the ephemeral and constantly in flux constructs of love.

We can’t wait to hear what Liya Shapiro has in the pipeline for her sophomore release.

Stream The Thing on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Bear witness to the Avant-Garde finesse in Sairen’s Branca-esque post-rock instrumental score, Délivrance

Posted on 5 December 2023

The post-rock artist and composer, Sairen, created the embodiment of cinematic tension in his seminal instrumental score, Délivrance. This seven-minute piece flourishes distinctive avant-garde flair, marking it as a standout creation in the realm of modern instrumental music.

The track’s progression is a journey through the artist’s intricate vision, characterised by eloquently moody tones and a sophisticated use of musical elements. Sairen’s expertise in blending diverse musical influences is evident here. From the harbingering guitars that siren through the track to the tenaciously placed cymbal crashes, each element is carefully crafted to contribute to the overall narrative of the piece.

One of the most striking features of “Délivrance” is the introduction of chamber strings, which seamlessly complement the sonic spectacle of the crescendos. This inclusion not only enhances the track’s emotional depth but also showcases Sairen’s ability to fuse classical sensibilities with modern post-rock aesthetics.

The middle-eight of the track is particularly noteworthy. Centred around the motif of a ticking clock, it builds a palpable sense of drama, leading to a break into an arcanely all-consuming sequence that can only be described as filmic ingenuity. This segment demonstrates a touch of Glenn Branca in its composition, highlighting Sairen’s skill in creating complex, layered soundscapes.

Sairen’s background, with his early introduction to music and his affinity for baroque, romantic, dark metal, and post-rock, shines through in this creation. He bridges these seemingly opposite genres, crafting a unique sound that is both haunting and enchanting.

Délivrance was officially released on November 7^th; stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Liverpool’s most Machiavellian post-punk jazz outfit, Laz Berelow, did Friedrich Nietzsche proud in God is Dead

Posted on 15 May 2023

Dives by Laz Berelow

Laz Berelow’s latest single may decree that God is Dead, but Glenn Branca lives and breathes through the histrionically cold feat of post-punk capable of giving your speakers frostbite.

The complex time signatures of the guitars with the obscure jazz nuances and polyphonic chaos is a pairing that ensures God is Dead is a sonic deliverance of comfort to the disturbed. If you’re pious to the Machiavellian experimentalism of Mike Patton, you’re sure to get your kicks from God is Dead. Friedrich Nietzsche would be proud.

When GetIntoThis were tastemakers on the scene before Peter Guy shamed himself during my tenure as an editor, Laz Berelow was dubbed one of the best acts of 2020; they easily lived up to that accolade with God is Dead.

Stream and purchase God is Dead via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Velvet Lune spares us of our ‘Gloom’ in their riotously explosive alt jazz infusion

Posted on 1 March 2022

Southern California’s most explosive jazz fusion outfit, Velvet Lune, has released their sultriest Avant-Garde single to date with Gloom. With jazz-punk sax riffs that would give Pete Wareham (Nadine Shah, Acoustic Ladyland, Melt Yourself Down) a run for his money and the cinematically debonair crooned vocal lines wrestling for dominance in the jazz fusion track that is just as volatile as anything off Glenn Branca’s the Ascension, Gloom is anything but what it says on the tin. Any fans of Mr Bungle will undoubtedly want to pay attention.

The official music video, which premiered on February 14th, has already racked up over 28k streams. You can check out the video for yourselves via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

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

Posted on 19 July 2021

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