The end of the year is rushing towards us at a shocking rate, but on TWOE, we’re wrapping the duvet around us, dreaming of being able to afford to turn the heating on and diving into more great music. We are featuring some albums from September here as well, as I missed them last month.
I’m now using Songwhip for my streaming links. Unfortunately it doesn’t embed very well but if you click the link, it will give you the option of the song featured on almost all streaming platforms. Which makes me feel better, I’ve never liked the fact I was using Spotify links. They are bad, bad people and you shouldn’t give them money.
Anyway, let’s get going.
Volkor X
The Loop
Synthwave – Post rock
Volkor X is an intergalactic alien and to quote his bandcamp page, he does not come in peace. On his first album, he declared war on Earth, however, The Loop is a prequel to that story. So right from the get go, you know you’re in for something different here.
The Loop the story of an Astronaut, Syd and her ship’s A.I, J.O.S.S who are being sent out into space to investigate something strange further out in the galaxy. The album comes across as a unusual mix of audio book and its own soundtrack, with the album working (mostly) by having a track with dialogue to move the plot forward, followed by the soundtrack to that action.
For example, the track – Cryosleep – is followed by Float which lives up to its name, with a rich, warm bath of synths. Whereas tracks like Gateway and Expanse literally reach for the stars. Surprisingly, the guitarist for Soilwork turns up on the last track for a truly over the top solo that is just the cherry on top of a wonderfully melodramatic album.
This is a truly epic record, a towering blast of Synthwave meets Post Rock that puts you beside Syd as she braves the unknown, and sits the listener in a new way of storytelling.
The Loop clocks in at a massive 75 minutes so there is a lot to dig into here. It can be a bit much in a single sitting, but it really rewards your attention.
Although this is a great album, I’m not sure if the narration will get tired over repeated listens (it is easily skipped if you want) but when an artist shoots for the stars like this, you have to cheer them on. Even if they are an intergalactic despot, planning on wiping out all life on Earth.
https://songwhip.com/volkor-x/expanse2023
Dawnwalker
Human Ruins
Blackened post metal
Back in the simpler times of 2018, Dawnwalker released an album that should have launched them on the world stage. It was a brilliant blackened post metal album, ( We’ll be coming back to that genre description) that opened my ears to the whole blackened metal genre, but unfortunately didn’t launch the band the way it should
Band leader Mark Norgate has taken the album back into the studio, re-recorded parts and remixed the album with the producer of Dawnwalker’s last two releases.
Human Ruins is one of my favorite albums of the last few years so I was a little nervous on first listen. It’s rare that the artist reworking an old album is a good idea, but here it is. It really, really is.
The first thing that hits you on this version is that it sounds huge. The drums hit the way they never did before, the guitars soar and the vocals are stronger than on the original. That goes for both the clean and harsh vocals, I don’t know what’s changed, re-recorded or multi tracked but they sound so much better for it. The track Horus always made me wince a bit as the harsh vocal didn’t really work, here, it’s the perfect start to the song.
I should start explaining to the people who don’t know the album why they should listen to it. Although the genre tags are blackened post metal, that really doesn’t cover Dawnwalker very well. If you say post metal it conjures up bands like Cult of Luna and that’s not what you get here. You get very good, and a lot of the time, very pretty metal, with clean vocals. There are harsh songs, Fallow and White Winds lean into black metal but that’s more an accent to the album than its cornerstone.
If you’re looking to dip your toe into the more extreme parts of metal, this album is a perfect gateway, it was for me and now it sounds better than ever. If you like the heavier side of metal, then get stuck in, this is one of the best metal albums of the last few years.
This re-release gives me the chance to make amends for not making Human Ruins my album of the year 2018, cause it’s my re-release of 2023. Now, Dawnwalker, if you can work the same magic with the In Rooms albums, I’ll be delighted.
Just to note, this album isn’t released until 03/11.
Halina Rice
New Basics
Techno
Halina follows up her last album with what seems like a statement of intent if this ep’s title, New Basics is to be believed.
Building from the more upbeat side of her sound palette, this ep lives in the same space as the music of Jon Hopkins or Max Cooper. Rich, textured electronica that draws the listener in and carries you along for the whole ep, leaving you a bit surprised at how quickly New Basics passes.
That’s the most surprising thing here, this ep is 11 minutes long. The longest song is 03:11 but all the songs are fully formed and fleshed out. There is no fat, nothing outstays its welcome. Just perfectly crafted music.
This is a remarkable release and I can’t wait to hear more from her.
https://songwhip.com/halinarice/reciprocity
Novere
Nothing Stays Hidden In Daylight
Post metal
I was lucky enough to catch Novere’s first gig. (Supporting Dawnwalker, with whom they share a guitarist) and I was really impressed by them. They had a great sound and were surprisingly good live for a band that had mostly been together during lockdown.
They’ve released one single and one EP in that time, showing a strong growth in their music, so I was really looking forward to their debut. But I wasn’t expecting this.
The jump in songwriting is incredible. Over 4 songs in 35 minutes the band show a grasp of pace, flow and song writing that would embarrass a lot of post metal elder statesmen.
While the album starts with the usual post metal assault of huge riffs and bellowing vocals it quickly develops into far more. The quiet sections aren’t just a bridge to the riffs, they’re the foundation the album is built on. This is also helped by how good the singer’s clean vocals are. (He’s also the drummer, something that never fails to impress me)
Although you can hear Novere’s influences, it feels far more like standing on the shoulders of giants than copying the past. Let’s see just how far they can reach because from their debut, it looks like it could be the stars.
https://songwhip.com/novere/danse-macabre
Teeth of the Sea
Hive
Experimental / Electronica
It’s been ten years since I took a punt, one cold winter’s night to check out TotS, an odd post rock band and having my mind blown by one of the best shows I’ve seen. In the decade since, the band has continued to grow and change, never making the same album twice and always evolving their sound.
Artemis opens the album with a beautiful spaghetti western soundtrack piece, with the guitar and trumpet giving a forlorn feel. It’s a gentle intro to an album that is much more electronic than their previous releases. Track two, Get with the Program, is a propulsive dance banger has the band’s first clean vocal.
It’s followed by Butterfly Effect, featuring Kath Gifford, is a disco / house track, which was more than a bit of a shock to this listener when I heard it first, it’s a huge change from the band’s normal sound.
Megafragma gets us back to the more moody TotS sound, a pulsing minimal techno number, with a relentless driving bass. At almost 10 minutes, it should be too much but its constantly mutating sound keeps the listener caught up with the ongoing dread. It really needs to be played very loudly for the best effect.
Unfortunately, the track ordering on Hive really lets the album down. On their own, the last two songs on the album are good. Powerhorse is a great synth noir track and Apollo is a beautiful song with an Ennio Morricone feel to the guitars and trumpet but they don’t work as the last songs on the album. As it is, the album just fades out with a whimper, it drifts into the background and just peters out. It’s a pet hate of mine, just moving one of the more upbeat tracks to the end of the album would elevate Hive from a good album to a great one.
All of this may sound damning but it’s my problem and it may not bother you at all. This is a great album and even with my track listing issues, is still on my potential albums of the year list.
https://songwhip.com/teethofthesea/get-with-the-program
Grails
Anches En Maat
Post Rock – Soundtrack
I had no idea what to expect coming to this album. I’ve known the band by name for a long time but I never really got what they were doing. They were labelled as post rock while sounding nothing like the post rock I was listening to. In my defense, I was young.
What I wasn’t expecting was this warm album that plays like a soundtrack to a 70’s European film. You can almost hear the desaturated images of white walled buildings, swimming pools and golden hour photography. It was only after reading up on the album that I discovered that it’s a tribute to 70’s soft porn soundtracks.
It appears I lead a sheltered life.
There is a feeling of light hearted fun here, which readers will have noticed doesn’t turn up much in the music I review, so this is a nice change. There’s rich orchestration and some blissfully chilled wah pedal guitar lines as the album glides along, going down like a iced cocktail by the water’s edge on a warm summer’s evening.
But it isn’t all homage and twinkling eyes though, Black Rain’s burbbling electronics create a slightly more anxious feel, but as the album slowly glides into its title track, with its breezy horns and chilled jazz vibes, we’re back in the album’s warm embrace, gently bringing us to a satisfied finish.
So the weather may not be right for this album, it’s sun soaked into its core, but close the curtains, turn up the heating and make yourself a cocktail. Grails will transport you away from the Autumn blues.
https://songwhip.com/grails/sadandillegal
First Came the Shadow
First Came the Shadow
Post rock
I’m just going to stop saying I’m not into post rock anymore. Seems like every time I manage to pull myself clear of the genre, another band just makes my head spin with yet another great album.
First Came the Shadow’s concept for this album is Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave”, which is just the most post rock thing ever, and to be honest, I love this kind of stuff.
Musically, their sound is in the vein of bands like Explosions in the Sky with a psych rock flavour, but when they go heavy, they really bring it. What sets FCtS apart from their contemporaries is that even at their heaviest, they keep their ear for melody. The album is heavy as hell in places but it’s never less than tuneful.
I do love a shouty bit of post rock though, and the band deliver with the closer, Fragments, with some post hardcore shouting down in the mix amongst the psych tinged guitar goodness. It’s a fantastic closer.
First Came the Shadow isn’t going to win many points in originality but that was never the be all, end all of music, this is an amazing album, and that’s all that matters.
https://songwhip.com/firstcametheshadow/fragments
Movement81
Gift
Techno
Movement81 play 90’s tinged electronica, which is a good way of softening me up before they even start. Gift is a light, breezy, dash of melodic techno, with a synth line that has a Smokebelch II feel to it. It’s a perfect track for warming dark evenings. They seem to only be getting started with a few releases so far, so I’ve stuck them all on a playlist and have been enjoying what’s become a great ep. You should really give it a listen. I’m going to be keeping an eye on this lot, hopefully, they’re going places.
https://songwhip.com/movement81/gift
Heretior
Nightsphere
Atmospheric black metal
It’s been six years since Heretoir released The Circle and it, with Dawnwalker’s Pagan Plains, brought me into the blackened side of metal.
I find it really difficult to write about black metal bands, I feel that I don’t know enough about the genre, so forgive me if I upset any Cvlt readers, as I lurch my way around this review, trying to explain just how good this album is. But that’s the important thing here, this is a great album.
Nightsphere is five tracks over forty two minutes, so straight away, you know that you’re in for some long songs. I’ve reached the point that I’m pretty done with long songs, so it takes a lot for me to dig in but I never noticed the durations here. The songs flow, there is no grinding repetition, the songs carry the listener, the slow pretty parts merge into the blast beats and come back out without ever jarring you.
The center track, Pneuma, is an ambient piano number, creating an unhurried space that really builds mood. That’s something that really stands out with this album, the band are willing to take their time to build the atmosphere they want. And most importantly, have the ability to make it work without boring the listener. Because most bands who try this, can’t.
As I say, this genre isn’t my strong point but this is a fantastic band who are helping me push my tastes further with this amazing album.
https://songwhip.com/heretoir/sanctum-nightsphere-part-i
End
The Sin of Human Frailty
Metalcore
End play some of the most filthy Metalcore out there. This new album has 10 songs, is 30 minutes long and in no way fucks about.
It runs at pretty much two speeds, blisteringly fast or a filthy, slow, crushing crawl, with the odd breakdown thrown in for good measure. None of this gives the listener much respite. but that’s not what we’re here for. This is bad day music, this is teeth gritted, snarling, you against the world music, and it. Is. Raging.
I mean, you’re in or you’re out at this point, but if you want something jaw dropping and vicious, then welcome, you’ve come to the right place.
https://songwhip.com/end-2/leper
The Lovecraft Sextet
The Horror Cosmic
Doom jazz
I’ve never gotten along with Jazz, it was just never my speed, although I’ve always had a soft spot for a few cinematic jazzy soundtracks. Doom Jazz though? Now that is some fantastically moody, spooky music I can get behind.
The Horror Cosmic is a great dose of macabre vibes, but is far more suited to sinister cabaret than soundtracking your occult rituals; more illicit thrills than blood soaked altars.
To set their stage, the band wield operatic vocals, clarinets and there’s more than a hint of the Twin Peaks soundtrack in places, which is never a bad thing around these parts.
Find yourself a moodily lit table in a sketchy basement club, buy yourself a glass of something strong and ease into the vibes. The Crawling Chaos never felt so good.
https://songwhip.com/thelovecraftsextet/event-horizon
And because I built this before I discovered Songwhip, here’s a Spotify playlist of all the songs I’ve recommended this month.
The ways of exile 