Raven Sings The Blues

Hungarian prog outpost Psychedelic Source Records debut a new collab with Kikagaku Moyo's Go Kurosawa. A session that burns through layers of the upper atmosphere to scrape the cosmic ceiling, a nocturnal vision that’s conjures something for longtime fans of the label & KM fans alike. bit.ly/3LeXfLG

Sachet digs into the frayed ends of the ‘90s, letting things smolder on their new EP, Taipei Learner. The band feels at home with a touch more menace to gnaw in their teeth and they fit perfectly into the smash n’ grab of gritty six pack tapes. bit.ly/433CnwX

“St Mary’s Pass,” jangles easy, stuck to a steady beat and buoyed by a subtle stab of horns. The song’s an ode to a particularly tricky stretch of Tasmanian road and a rental car with an insatiable need for gas, a scrape that songwriter Mark Monnone barely breezed out of at the time. bit.ly/4qIWbjt

Amazing show coming up for upstaters

Playing in Troy with J Mascis, November 15 at No Fun @jmascis.com www.eventbrite.com/e/j-mascis-w...

Painters Street takes things back to basics; 16 in tape, one room, and the sound of a band bubbling together into AM gold. The record captures a kind of rumpled comfort, scuffed but never threadbare, familiar as an old denim jacket that’s seen you through charmed and chipped times. bit.ly/47yn29a

Esoteric Records remasters and reissues the 2nd two Popol Vuh records, including the influential treasure Hosianna Mantra. The record glows with an inner warmth, an aura lodged between the conservatory and it’s more free-love counterparts in the psychedelic folk spectrum. bit.ly/3LbHMvO

The Goods offer a beacon of levity in dark times. With nods to The Blondes, Matthew Sweet, Teenage Fanclub, and Velocity-era Apples in Stereo, they give their Byrdsian strums a superheated saturation, hues so huge they’re impossible to ignore. bit.ly/430jElT

An official release of this excellent recording (by @kliked.bsky.social) from the Warm Up show to Deep in the Valley '24! A one time lineup that melted minds during stormy winds.

"Confusion," peers out of the haze more than Blue Zero's debut, thrusting mirrored shards of guitar into the squall & storm of amplifier mist with practiced precision. The song manages to be both bilious & barbed, a fogged torrent of thick atmospheres that hide rusted hooks within bit.ly/3Wus0hZ

There’s something disarming & delightful about “Secret Servers.” Slicing low over post-punk, but not without a kind of discordant funk, the cut cribs from both UK radio readies and an Aussie punk pantheon that tumbles down from Toy Love to Tall Dwarfs, & Eddy Current to Alien Nosejob. bit.ly/4nrThg2

A surprise tape this weekend from RSTB favorites Jantar leans into languid end of the spectrum. Wednesday Knudsen guests on some ethereal flute for “Strange Delights of Artificial Grief.” The song whispers between worlds, a portal between waking and sleep, seance and silence. bit.ly/47dzo7y

Echo in the Dust finds Julianna Riolino as assured as ever at the helm. It’s a record that wins by not playing safe, a studio wonder that only grows deeper with each listen. With her last Riolino stepped out from the shadow of others, but on Echo in the Dust, she aims to cast her own. bit.ly/4qsVRoP

Papir revel in the further reaches of the cosmic kingdom. “IX.I” might fit in with the post-rock roost the best, building to ecstatic heights over the thunder and rumble of drums. Sørensen’s guitars soar, a buoy for the spirit and a beacon in an age of darkness. bit.ly/47oVhQ7

Riding the band’s recent trend of keys-forward, smooth-runners, "Spooky" has an undeniable swagger to it. Laced in the band’s ‘60s pop aesthetics, the organ groove carries the track like a wave. It instantly sticks to the soul, a kindred spirit to The First Edition’s “Just Dropped In” bit.ly/4ob4yCL

Excellent fest coming up for north-easterners!

“Tidal Wave,” crashes in slow, despite its calamitous title. The song settles into familial connections and strained emotions over the gentle lope of piano, Kivel’s voice rings in the ears, a gentle urging among tense strings and tender notions. bit.ly/3WmtQ4o

A blend of spiritual jazz, modern composition, and sound bath serenity; the record wavers from hypnotic rhythms to still waters in a moment. Quite a few are still keeping the cosmic jazz jets going, but, as with their debut, the band’s stillness is often just as evocative. bit.ly/3KYFL6d

Vorhex Angel finds JEFF The Brotherhood members Jake and Jamin Orrall and longtime foil Kunal Prakash shifting towards something noisier, grittier, & more chaotic. “Spring” takes a page from Eastern psychedelics, feeling like a kindred spirit to High Rise, White Heaven, or Fushitsusha bit.ly/4o8UgTz

Embracing his UK roots and parentage, “Let Your Hands Go,” slips on the shaggy, ultra-suede glow of Manchester and Britpop. Over a ‘90s crisped n’ crinkled beat, GUV dips the guitars in glam and nestles the vocals in the dry ice of distanced cool. bit.ly/4hrj7zq

“The Heathen Heart” taps into Weeks’ penchant for overcast wonders, a track perfect for the gathering clouds and icy winds that blow through the Autumn months. Draped with smoke curled keys and damp strums, the song is a mossy hideaway from the crush of current concerns. bit.ly/4nm3lHo

NY soul-slingers The Sha La Das prep a new album, produced by Thomas Brenneck. “Stop Using My Love” offers a lived in aura, a cracked leather lacquer that feels like this song has been seeping out of the AM for years now. Bonus, there's a second single just out today as well! bit.ly/4netVC3

Smote continues his commune with nature, five more deep dirges that rumble under the bedrock of English apocalyptic folk. The record wields the ritualistic pound of drums and the scented curl of flutes, setting them among a nest of drones and howling guitar bit.ly/474yTN9

Formal Sppeedwear's latest single is torn between the twin poles of Talking Heads and Devo. There’s a neon saturation to “Hit ‘n’ Run,” a feeling soaked in ‘80s airwaves, but born from the catacombs of art school smart alecks, the kind of song that became a hit in spite of itself. bit.ly/43etJvN

Simmered in the psych scorch of Stoner signifiers, shrouded in Doom clouds, and embracing their Aussie and East Asian roots, “Ascension,” blends the growl of guitars with sitar stabs, theremin quiver, and the prog smoke of keys. bit.ly/3KTDSYr

Magic Fig let the Canterbury impulses creep a little closer to the forefront, opening up with a wave of keys and a crush of guitars. “Flammarion” surfs the Broadcast to Bundles-era Soft Machine pipeline, a kaleidoscope of colors that’s as supple as it is psychedelic. bit.ly/47Bgis4

Still rooted in the riotous joy of their three guitar onslaught, the new record bears the mark of being the first not to be solely driven by the songs of Wayne Rogers. The band doesn’t have a bad mark on their record, but the songwriting shakeup feels like a fresh vision of ebb & flow bit.ly/47emO6M

Following an LP with members of Rose City Band earlier in 2025, Barry Walker Jr Returns with a solo LP. “Leaving Lower Big Basin” finds Walker not only on the pedals, but also picking an acoustic, etching a wide open vista that’s comfortable alongside any in the cosmic country canon. bit.ly/4ni1yD4

Optic Sink offer up a synthpop whirlpool that drags the listener into the depths of ‘80s horror soundtracks and Mute Records minimal wave wonders. There’s a hypnotic pulse to “Construction” and the band pulls the listener deeper into their delirium as the song tightens its hold. bit.ly/47yLIzf

The record revels in the free range openness of the pre-major label scoop of the nineties and, in equal measure, the tape renaissance of the aughts. It’s an ADHD Zen Arcade, a Forever Again for the YouTube insomniacs. bit.ly/4nWm8tP