I like surprises. Today's surprise comes in the form of a lil' three track EP from a Swedish father-son duo who utilize emotion and interconnectedness as a catalyst for their composition. With vague genre markers and little more than a mission statement to guide my ears, I was utterly uncertain what Trumbiten had cooked up on the (appropriately entitled) Emotions. As luck would have it, hitting play was cause for celebration: Tommy Arngren (the father) and Adam (the son) certainly have the goods.
Existing in the nebulous zone between hard rock, prog rock, thrash, and traditional metal, these guys made the smart move of enlisting the aid of multiple session vocalists, utilizing a global community of musicians to create slightly outside the bounds of standard industry practice. Without further blathering, we slumbering scribes are pleased to present Emotions in its entirety below. As always, we'll see you on the other side. In the meantime: enjoy!
0 Comments
While we slumbering scribes do have a certain affection for bludgeoning our earholes, we also have a demonstrated affection for the ambient leanings of Texas' own Slow Draw. A side project of Stone Machine Electric's Mark Kitchens, Slow Draw has been consistently putting out music that encourages a moment of respite--much like, it should be noted, our premiere earlier this week. We ran a double review of the excellent Gallo last year, as well as a brief writeup of the 4-track Quiet Joy, which may have claimed the throne as my favorite Slow Draw release...upon until this particular moment, that is. The fantastic Yellow & Gold is out today, and is very much worth checking out, in this humble scribes opinion. We'll point you in the right direction soon enough, but in the meantime, we're honored to present the music video for "The Project," one of my favorite tracks on the, erm, project. As always, we'll catch you on the other side!
And now for something completely different! Given a certain proclivity on the part of our promo pit to offer up the most chaotic and tortured exemplars of extreme metal, a little relaxation and recuperation goes a long way 'round these parts. Enter Chalk Portraits, the one-man ambient project of one Greg Kennelty.
Most ambient music carries the burden of assumption that it is primarily background music, designed specifically to fade out of the foreground. Chalk Portraits, in contrast, has served me quite well over the past year or so when it comes to focusing on the task at hand. This expansive and otherwise open-ended ambient approach provides the optimal soundtrack for the organization of hectic thoughts. As such, I'm quite pleased to present, in its entirety, the forthcoming Chalk Portraits EP. Entitled Memory, this latest effort is most certainly worth checking out if you're in need of a little calm--and, frankly, I dunno who isn't. Check it out below, and, as always, we'll see you on the other side! "Composed by human, played by physical robots." Frankly, Electromancy's is one of the more intriguing elevator pitches that has slid across my desk here at Ye Olde Sleeping Village Industries. Besides piquing curiosity in regards to the actual sound of the purported experimental black/death metal, the notion of robots playing music raises a lot of questions on a practical level. As it turns out, this is no mere gimmick: composer Satyra was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2018, which made playing instruments an impossibility. As such, they spent two years designing robots specifically for the task at hand: playing the music. Given the potential complexity in ability, Electromancy is able to do things that human instrumentalists are not. That alone presents a very existing avenue for exploration, and on "The Spark," the track (and accompanying video) that we are pleased to present here today, a taste of that potential experimentation and oddity is on full display. However, before we scare you away with our ramblings, we recommend giving "The Spark" a watch and listen below. See those robots in action! HOT RAM. If you know 'em, you undoubtedly love 'em...'cuz frankly, what's not to love? This crew from Atlanta exists in an arena where big riffs, big fuzz, big groove, and a hard rocking attitude are pretty much par for the course. Back in 2019 we reviewed their killer album Where Light Goes To Die--an album that (prophetically) remains in constant rotation to this day, due to a strong tendency to provide intriguing songwriting in a genre that is regrettably bogged down by repetition. Indeed, as I stated back then: "As much as I love the genre, we all know the truth of the matter: in the hazy confines of stoner rock, sophistication and brevity aren't always the qualities most sought. HOT RAM throw that stereotype in the woodchipper, delivering six massive (yet varied) bangers." Needless to say, this particular slumbering scribe is very pleased to present the first single from HOT RAM's forthcoming follow-up. The album in question, Electric Medicine, will undoubtedly receive a little more attention around these parts upon its release on May 21st, but for the meantime, we highly recommend checking out the excellent "Grave of Arch Stanton" below! As always, we'll see you on the other side! As a highfalutin scribe here at this well-respected establishment, I am typically loathe to pilfer turns of phrase directly from press kits. However, in the case of LEACH, I can hardly resist: "If it’s burly, melodic, and fits together perfectly, it’s probably from Sweden. LEACH certainly fall into the above categories, and their warts-and-all style of thrash 'n' roll is just begging for a throwdown." I couldn't, quite frankly, say it any better myself. Today, we're pleased and honored to present the music video for LEACH's "D.O.D," a bonus track from their upcoming full length entitled Lovely Light of Life. This hefty track features none other than Björn “Speed” Strid of Soilwork vox fame. Needless to say, it's worth checking out....which, incidentally, you can do below. As always, we'll meet ye on the flip side! If you aren't familiar with a certain tendency of Zimbabwean one-man outfit Nuclear Winter to drop unexpected cover tracks, now is an excellent time to familiarize yerself. Last year, we were pleased to premiere two such covers--first, a rendition of Haddaway's immortal "What Is Love," and second, a bombastic ode to Toto's beyond-immortal "Africa." While obviously a little goofy given the implicit nature of a metal band covering beloved/hated 80's tunes, we nonetheless found these singles quite refreshing and entertaining. As such, we slumbering peasantry jumped at the chance to premiere a third Nuclear Winter cover. This time around, things get a little grimy: Mötley Crüe are the topic o' conversation. The World's (self-reported) Most Notorious Rock Band aren't in the house per se, but Nuclear Winter do a fine job at depicting their outrageous general persona. Without further ado: welcome, dear readers, to the, erm, wild side. Check out "Wild Side" below!
As a haggard ink-splattered scribe here at ye olde Sleeping Village, it is an expectation, of sorts, that I possess the vocabulary to describe the music I am discussing. Punchy adjectives can go a long way in describing the aural form in written form, and, as such, I always try to deliver in that department. However, in the case of today's subject, more specific descriptors aren't the first to spring to mind. I'm left with monolithic terms instead--words, for example, like "big" and "sad" and "dark." That, in and of itself, should provide some indication as to the character of the track in question. The music speaks for itself.
But! Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, check out below "Thread of Hope" by New York-based one-man band Drift Into Black. As always, we'll meet ye on the other side! Always desperate for some entertainment of the visual persuasion, we here at the Sleeping Village constructed ourselves, a few years back, a venue of sorts--a public performance space designed to house the raunchiest productions around. As with most venues, our humble playhouse has seen very little traffic as of late, and so when our friends at the venerable Metal Assault Records offered the opportunity to feature something new and entertaining, our slumbering populace practically leapt at the chance. Push aside the cobwebs and vines, dear reader. Kick away the decaying ravens and piles of loam; the show is about to begin. Today, for your viewing pleasure, the Sleeping Village is pleased to present the (deeply avant-garde) music video for "Narci," the title track from (deep breath) anonymous international synth doom collective Circle of Sigh's forthcoming second full-length album. It is a weird and wonderful track, and an impressive video to boot. However, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, I wholeheartedly recommend you watch for yourself. As always, we'll meet ye on the other side! Here's a rare occurrence 'round these parts: a music video premiere. And a 22 minute video at that! We don't just clean the cobwebs out of our decrepit theatre for anyone, however, so rest assured knowing that the spectacle before ye is well worth your while. The track and video in question forms the entirety of Side B of Live Improvisations Vol. 1, the forthcoming, well, improvisational release from French anonymous genre-bending and convention-eschewing collective Non Serviam, out May 1st on the (always stellar) Trepanation Recordings. If you're already familiar with Non Serviam's prior work, "Improvisation 2. Take 1. Ce Qui Dure" doesn't stray too far from what you may be expecting. The whole affair is wrapped up in a distantly baroque swaddle, but the telltale hints of post-metal by way of doom by way of industrial by way of avant-garde are as present and impactful as always. The video itself features a series of seemingly disassociated locations and events--not a narrative per se, so much as juxtapositions that mirror the overall spirit and emotion of the particular moment. But! Before I scare you away with my ramblings, we slumbering scribes highly recommend that you fire up "Improvisation 2. Take 1. Ce Qui Dure" post-haste. As always, we'll meet you on the other side. |
Welcome!We provide thoughtful reviews of music that is heavy, gloomy...and loud enough to wake us from slumber. Written by a highfalutin peasantry. What are ye
|