Written by: The Administrator
Welcome back to AMPWALL Roundup, our (unfortunately infrequent) column dedicated to shining a little light on the music we slumbering scribes find whilst trawling through the explore page over on Ampwall. It's been a little while since we checked in, but rest assured: Ampwall is still cool. They have also updated the embed display since the last Roundup, which is exciting and much appreciated. As far as introductory fluff goes, I've written myself into a bit of a corner here at this stage in the game, so let me quote the intro from Volume II: "If you don't know what this whole Ampwall thing is all about, please take a quick gander at Volume I, where we get a little more in-depth regarding the many virtues of the new platform/marketplace/community. We here at ye olde Sleeping Village are big advocates for the integration of additional resources into the independent artist's promo toolkit. To that end, having more music-purchasing people become aware of Ampwall's existence will only help it grow as a viable option moving forward." Let's get to the music, shall we? Below are 6 (more!) bands I recommend checking out!
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Written by: The Administrator
I grew up in a very rural area. Heavily forested and lushly dark, depressive, lonely. As such, I can assert that any creepy tale you've heard about stuff that happens in the woods at night is almost certainly true. There is something in the woods. There is always something in the woods. Indeed, to reiterate: ţ̸̧̨͈̤̞̦̻͛̋̀̀̎̐̃͜h̴̡̬̖̻̽̋̇͊̄͠ẻ̶̲̻̟̣̙̓͆̏͋̇͒͆̚r̴̪͛͆̓͂̀e̷͔͉̹̼̪͖̬̘̳̋̐͊ ̷̘͓̅̓̈̎̓̌̽̓ỉ̶̜̰̻̮͈͐͌̈̅͘̕ś̷̩̘̤̝̭͎̜͕̪̐̂ͅ ̷̟͔̞̊̀̓͜͝͝s̸̺̭̪͊̓͒̈̏̀͒̎ō̴̟̰̳̫̥͊̾̓̀̾͘͜m̷͕͖̜̥͙̮̟̮̥̩̱̐̒͂͠ĕ̵̹̍̎͊̀̍̕͠͝ẗ̶̢͕̠͎̥͕͈̲̝̓͒͜͜h̶͓̦̟̰͈̘̐̄̔͗̆̇̂̈͑͗͝ͅi̴̦͇͎͒̈́̋̿́̆͠ͅn̴̢͇͇̥̫͚̮͗͋͂̉͘̕͝g̷͍͑͗̈̓ ̶̬͚̪̗̺̽͊͂͠i̷̛͚̘͚͑͐̏̈́̑̕͠ņ̸̧̢̹̻̭̘̗̼̳̖̍̆̀̂̃́̿́̎̿̀ ̷̮̐͐̃̅̓̃̕̕͠ṱ̵͓̣͚͈͍̯̮̻̟̠̓̋́̍̀͌̓h̷͔̰̱̤̓̌ẻ̵̛̪͍̅͌̍͑ ̴̼̱̳̞͈̫̟͓̫̗͗͛͑w̶̯͌̈́̽̾͑̔̿̀̊̈̕ǒ̴͎͙̦̮̬̩̝̦͌́͛͋̈̇͊͜o̷͕̳̖͈̙̙̓̏d̶̢͙̹̝͍̜̜̃͒̔̾́s̴̫̘̻͈̹̤̼͕͖̋́͝ British Columbia's Megafauna understands this all too well, whether the woods are literal or figurative or combination of both. Megafauna's bandcamp page self-describes the project as "the soundtrack to your depressive episode." To get a little more specific, Venator was created "in various stages of exhaustion, mental illness, bursts of creativity, fear, anger, sadness, joy, nihilism and limited free time." It may not surprise you to learn, then, that Venator is not a light nor carefree listen. It is immersing and at times quite clever in its use of sound to convey emotion and command atmosphere. It captures some very particular feelings that are often very difficult--practically, emotionally--to illustrate. 
Written by: The Administrator
As a pseudo-mediaeval scribe raised off the grid, I wasn't exactly allowed video games at home as a child. However, if I saw Epilogue's artwork gracing a PlayStation disc at a friend's house, I would have, without a doubt, been suitably enraptured. Look at those colors! The implied sense of movement and perhaps, if you use your imagination, even a little chaotic violence! The allure is strong. Judging the book by its cover aside, I am familiar with 18 Slashes' game. 2023's excellent Jawnnobyl was a dark synthwave masterclass as far as I'm concerned, and ended up taking the crown as my favorite electronic album of the year. Created as the soundtrack for a game that does not exist, and admittedly operating at a much higher bitrate, every 18 Slashes release is nevertheless imbued with an endearing nostalgia. Stefan Schneider has found a delicate balance between explosively frenetic fun and a specific yearning for the irreplicable childlike glee associated with experiencing a new game for the very first time. Anyways, this was originally going to be published as a mini-review, but I have far too much to say. Let's blow away the word count parameters and just go for it, shall we? |
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