Ben Lukas Boysen decided to change things up a bit on his new album, Alta Ripa. He wanted to reconnect with the countryside of his youth, but also embrace Berlin-inspired dance music. So, he combined ambient electro with EDM as well as jazz and classical sounds his father often played for him as a kid. He took those elements and grew an album more than he designed it.
“Ours” starts with soft synths that evoke images of birds gliding over meadows and then landing atop the Tyrell Corporation’s replicant factory as the electro-beats drop. The choppy synths of “Mass” remind me of a string quartet playing fast, low-end notes, and then the bass drop adds an interesting sense of danger to the whole thing.
“Quasar” builds to what you think is going to be a good-sized bass drop, but instead takes the mellow approach and keeps the song soothing. The title track is even more hypnotic and will be a great addition to your mediation playlist.
The bumping bass of “Nox” makes you want to put on dark sunglasses and matching trenchcoat and then find the nearest goth dance club. “Vineta” is synthwave bliss suitable for floating in a zero-gravity pool of saltwater. “Fama” pulses and snaps like a grumpy robot doing a spin bike workout. The album ends with “Mere” – which floats you along a slow river while android birds sing to you and warm winds drift through ancient ruins.
This album will take you to another place, possibly one you’ve been craving for a while.
Minimalist techno plus orchestral sounds to create atmospheric dance tracks? Yeah. That sounds good to me, and is what you get on Kiasmos‘ II.
“Grown” immediately levitates you from the floor and puts you in a better mood with its electro-percussion and happy krautrock beats. “Burst” bumps and thumps with little string quartet touches that are outstanding. “Sailed” percolates with energy but doesn’t boil over thanks to the subtle synths in it.
“Laced” sounds like something fellow Icelander Björk wished she had on her last album (happy synths and strings, little jazzy electric piano touches), and now I want a collaboration between her and Kiasmos. “Laced” nicely drifts into “Bound,” which has thicker bass and even more beats.
The mellow jazz piano on “Sworn” matches well with the swaying string quartet sounds that almost take it into New Age stylings. “Spun” keeps up the strings and bumps up the BPM. “Flown” drifts into “Told,” which keeps you moving and will be great for the second leg of your morning run. The lapping water sounds and soft synths on “Dazed” might leave you as such.
The album winds down with “Squared.” It lets the string quartet shine for almost the first minute before the synths build behind them to a slick beat that lasts the rest of the track and reminds you to keep dancing and / or meditating after it’s finished.
It’s a cool instrumental synthwave record that you’ll end up recommending to many.
Leathers, otherwise known as Canadian synth / dark wave artist Shannon Hemmett, has delivered Ultraviolet— another lush, excellent record that you’ll want on repeat for every late night drive or goth party you’re throwing.
The title track is full of beautiful synths and Leathers’ sexy / spooky vocals. “Highrise” would fit right in on the soundtrack to every late night sexy Cinemax thriller starring Shannon Tweed as Leathers sings “Isn’t it nice in your high rise? Like the page from a magazine that’s come to life…”
“Punish me for wanting more. I’m the one you can’t ignore,” Leathers sings on “Crash.” She’s right. You can’t ignore her, the thumping synth-bass, or the New Romantic-style guitar solo. “Fascination” isn’t a cover of the Human League tune (although that would be amazing), but it is a sultry song about being immediately intrigued with someone you see perhaps at a dark club or in a futuristic airport lounge. “Day for Night” is a lovely ballad and a nice mid-point to the album.
The breathy, sexy “Divine” follows it. It’s a bumping track that doesn’t go too heavy, but does get you in the mood (“I’ll give you a taste of the divine.”). “Phantom Heart” will get you both in the mood and to the dance floor. “Daydream Trash” could be a rediscovered New Wave track from 1986. Leathers nails the sound and feel of that era on it and on “Runaway,” which opens with her saying, “Let’s run away.” and you looking for airfare to Vancouver and tickets for two beyond that.
The album ends with the haunting “Mary,” which seems to be a song about a friend (?) of Leathers (“Mary was a girl I knew.”) who finds love despite not wanting it, and then running from it for fear it will hurt her again (“I got what I wanted. Now I’m running out.”).
This is the kind of record that will make you wonder why more people haven’t heard it, but it’s also nice to think of it as a sexy secret you have with some special people.
SPELLLING (aka Chrystia Cabral) announces her new album, Portrait of My Heart, out March 28th via Sacred Bones, and shares a video for the lead single, “Portrait of My Heart.” On Cabral’s fourth album as SPELLLING, the Bay Area artist transforms her acclaimed avant-pop project into a mirror, as her lyrics for Portrait of My Heart tackle love, intimacy, anxiety, and alienation, trading the allegorical approach of much of her previous work for something she says is “pointed into my human heart.” The result is the sharpest, most direct SPELLLING album to date, and its immediacy emphasizes the essential mutability of Cabral’s practice. From the dark minimalism of her earliest music to the lavishly orchestrated prog-pop of 2021’s The Turning Wheel to this newly energetic expression of her creative spirit, Cabral has proved again and again that SPELLLING can be whatever she needs it to be.
In what became the genesis for the rest of Portrait of My Heart, the title track, with its propulsive drum groove and anthemic chorus of “I don’t belong here,” is the most potent embodiment of the album’s turn toward emotional directness. Once Cabral came up with the main melody, she found herself using the song as a tool to work through the anxiety she sometimes struggles with as a performer: “If this is what I’m supposed to be doing, and that I’ve chosen this life path, why does it cause me so much discomfort all the time?”
“When the lyrics for the title track came together, it really started to morph everything in this more energetic direction, instead of this more whimsical landscape that I’ve worked with before. It started to become more driven, higher energy, more focused,” Cabral explains. “And I have a big affection for it because of that. I love that it feels like it withstood transformation, which is something I always want to aspire to with things that I make. I want them to have this sense of timelessness. It could exist like this, or like that, or like this, but this is the one for right now.”
The accompanying video directed by AmbarNavarro explores the obsession that comes with making art when you’re deep in the hole of creativity and it consumes you.
Before undertaking her tour for The Turning Wheel, Cabral assembled a band including core members Wyatt Overson (guitar), Patrick Shelley (drums), and Giulio Xavier Cetto (bass), and their ongoing collaboration has uncovered new contours of the SPELLLING sound. Cabral still writes and demos in isolation, but presenting the songs for Portrait of My Heart to her bandmates, named the Mystery School, helped her discover their eventual lively, organic forms. So did working with a trio of producers—The Turning Wheel mixing engineer Drew Vandenberg, SZA, collaborator Rob Bisel, and Yves Tumor producer Psymun.
However, Portrait of My Heart is also shaped significantly by its guest musicians. The original plan was to have a featured artist on every track; that idea was scrapped when Cabral realized some of the material was too personal to put in someone else’s mouth. But a few key features help shape the album. Chaz Bear (Toro y Moi) sings on “Mount Analogue,” the first true duet in the SPELLLING discography. Turnstile guitarist Pat McCrory turns Cabral’s original piano demo for “Alibi” into the crunchy, riff-y version that appears on the record, while Zulu’s Braxton Marcellous gives “Drain” its sludgy heft. These parts aren’t just incorporated seamlessly into the album; they feel like an integral part of its universe.
Ultimately, though, Portrait of My Heart is nobody’s record but Cabral’s. She fearlessly draws the curtain back on parts of herself that she’s never included in SPELLLING before—her feelings of being an outsider, her overly guarded nature, the way she can throw herself recklessly into intimate relationships and then cool on them just as quickly. “It’s very much an open diary of all those sensations,” she says. There’s a real generosity in that, as listeners may recognize themselves in Portrait of My Heart in a way they haven’t on past albums.
SPELLLING will be touring the US this coming spring, beginning with a special hometown headlining show at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, before making stops in Los Angeles, Chicago, Brooklyn, Austin, and more. Tickets are on sale now and are available here.
SPELLLING Tour Dates: Fri. April 4 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall Thu. April 24 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom Fri. April 25 – Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole Sat. April 26 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sister Bar Mon. April 28 – Austin, TX @ Parish Tue. April 29 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall Wed. April 30 – New Orleans, LA @ Santos Fri. May 2 – Atlanta, GA @ The EARL Sat. May 3 – Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle Sun. May 4 – Washington, DC @ Union Stage Tue. May 6 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts Fri. May 9 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg Sat. May 10 – Amherst, MA @ The Drake Mon. May 12 – Detroit, MI @ El Club Tue. May 13 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall Wed. May 14 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Thu. May 15 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room Sat. May 17 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater Mon. May 19 – Reno, NV @ The Holland Project
Youth Lagoon – the alias of Idaho-based producer and songwriter Trevor Powers – announces his new album, Rarely Do I Dream, out February 21st via Fat Possum, and presents the video for lead single “Speed Freak.” Additionally, Powers announces a 2025 North American tour. Rarely Do I Dream is Youth Lagoon’s most comprehensive and audacious album to date. It’s a treasure trove of home movies, twangy fuzz guitars, sun-bleached synths, classical pianos, blown-out drums, and Powers’ spellbinding melodies, all which feel like an old photograph that’s been reanimated in a strange and distant future.In the fall of 2023, Powers discovered a shoebox filled with home videos in his parents’ basement. “When I took the tapes home and popped in the first one, it was my brother Bobby and I at the state fair. I was 4 years old choking on a corn dog,” he laughs. “If anything’s a summary of life, that is.” Powers spent the following week recording his favorite moments off the TV — Easter egg hunts, backyard baseball, bloody noses, birthday parties, road trips, and all the life in-between. The vivid intimacies of life and boyhood depicted in Powers’ home movies began shaping and infusing with his songs. He started sampling the audio and manipulating it into a kind of musical cinematography, fusing past with future. “What I was really consumed with was how much I could zoom in on my actual history,” says Powers. “I wanted to really make someone feel like they were inside my living room in 1993, but rearrange the furniture a bit. Something about combining that level of hyperreality with fairytales of devils and detectives weirdly felt like the truest way to immortalize these pieces of my family.”
Rooted in love and childhood memoir, Rarely Do I Dream is a triumph of American gothic imagination — where storybook innocence dissolves into a radioactive billow of teenage drifters, drug-addled hustlers, and old-world folklore. Drifting between propulsive electronica and hallucinatory rock songs, Powers’ singular voice always glows front and center as the neon road sign pointing home.“The more I rewind the tapes of my life, the more I can hear the voice of my soul,” Powers says. “This isn’t nostalgia. Life’s much more messy than that. It’s a dedication to all the parts of who I was, who I am, and who I’m going to be.”With a bent toward rural noir, Powers has found a home in a world where his personal journals and poetic confessions are indistinguishable from the twisted mythologies of habitual sinners and devout barflies. Lead single “Speed Freak,” a dark joyride that showcases Youth Lagoon’s glaring metamorphosis, unleashes a grungy beat while synth bass struts and splinters into a technicolor post-punk spectacle. “This song came from a thought I had of giving the angel of death a hug,” Powers says. “We spend our whole lives running from this thing we can’t outrun. This body is temporary, but there is no death. Only transformation. A door opens when you learn to let go of the identity you’ve been building your whole life. Someone told me a couple years ago, ‘I have good news for you and I have bad news. The bad news is Trevor is doomed. There’s no hope for Trevor. The good news is — you’re not Trevor.’ When I heard that, it clicked.”
After taking an eight-year hiatus, Youth Lagoon returned with the acclaimed Heaven Is a Junkyard in early 2023, “a warped but ornate, experimental form of Americana” (The Ringer). “I had ended Youth Lagoon years ago because I lost who I was,” Powers says. “Then life jumped me in an alley and gave me a beating. That suffering changed my frequency. Now my ideas are a river. I can’t keep up.”
Powers’ ability to relentlessly push and evolve the project forward has taken Youth Lagoon into a territory both fiercely original and strikingly expansive. Recorded with co-producer and mixer/engineer Rodaidh McDonald, Rarely Do I Dream marks a seismic transformation, a mammoth leap forward, and an instant, indelible landmark in Youth Lagoon’s revered discography. With a profound love and dedication to family, along with his own brand of genre-bending noir rock, Powers’ has achieved what he set out to do.
“I wanted to make an album that feels like life itself . . . ”
Youth Lagoon tour dates Thu. Mar. 27 – Spokane, WA @ District Bar @ Knitting Factory Fri. Mar. 28 – Missoula, MT @ ZACC Sat. Mar. 29 – Boise, ID @ Treefort Fest Thu. Apr. 3 Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater Fri. Apr. 4 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret Sat. Apr. 5 – Victoria, BC @ Upstairs Sun. Apr. 6 – Seattle, WA @ Crocodile Tue. Apr. 8 – San Francisco, CA @ August Hall Wed. Apr. 9 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent Thu. Apr. 10 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah Fri. Apr. 11 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress Mon. Apr. 14 – San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger Tue. Apr. 15 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk Wed. Apr. 16 – Dallas, TX @ Deep Ellum Art Co Fri. Apr. 18 – Nashville, TN @ Exit/In Sat. Apr. 19 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade (Altar) Sun. Apr. 20 – Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506 Mon. Apr. 21 – Washington, DC @ The Atlantis Tue. Apr. 22 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry Thu. Apr. 24 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw Fri. Apr. 25 – Jersey City, NJ @ White Eagle Hall Sat. Apr. 26 – New Haven, CT @ Space Ballroom Sun. Apr. 27 – Boston, MA @ Middle East Downstairs Tue. Apr. 29 – Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rossa Thu. May 1 – Toronto, ON @ Axis Fri. May 2 – Detroit, MI @ El Club Sat. May 3 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop Sun. May 4 – Louisville, KY @ Whirling Tiger Mon. May 5 – Indianapolis, IN @ Hi-Fi Wed. May 7 – Chicago, IL @ Outset Thu. May 8 – Milwaukee, WI @ Vivarium Fri May 9 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon Sat. May 10 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club Mon. May 12 – St. Louis, MO @ Atomic Cowboy Tue. May 13 – Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck Thu. May 15 – Denver, CO @ Marquis Fri. May 16 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Block Party
Today, Eora/Sydney-based artist Skeleten (aka Russell Fitzgibbon) unveils his final single “Let It Grow” from his forthcoming second album, Mentalized, out in one month via 2MR / Astral People Recordings.
Amidst a record absorbed in the ways we’re disconnected from ourselves every day – “mentalized for better or worse” – “Let It Grow” immerses in a dissociative surrender. Over a sensual synth line, Skeleten breathes life into the inexplicable weight of intimate connection. It’s a submission to that feeling of an “it” that cannot be denied. The song hangs heavy in the air, unmoving like the heat of an overpacked club, and the only way out is up.
Skeleten concludes, “‘Let It Grow’ was so natural it just kinda started existing without me even realising it. Which I guess is the whole vibe of the song. Surrender and acceptance??”
“Let It Grow” completes a lineup of adored singles “Deep Scene“, “Love Enemy“, “Viagra” and “Bodys Chorus” alongside respective remixes by Axel Boman and Spray, in laying the foundations for Mentalized. The releases have earned tastemaker nods from Pitchfork, Stereogum, Paste, Brooklyn Vegan, KEXP, KCRW, BBC 6Music, FBi Radio, Apple Music’s ‘Best of 2024’ playlists and more.
This month Skeleten will complete a 3-month residency at Sydney’s Pleasure Club, spotlighting local talent across the city’s different scenes, alongside Skeleten and his full live band. Having already united acts like Hugh B and the Modern Pop Ensemble, Dylan Atlantis, Scruffs and Killian, stay tuned via Skeleten’s socials for the final surprise announcement. Skeleten will also perform at Golden Plains Festival in March, alongside esteemed artists PJ Harvey, Fontaines D.C, Kneecap and more.
Here they are: My top five concerts of 2024. They were doozies.
#5: Slift – Reggie’s Music Joint, Chicago, IL, October 18, 2024
This was the first time I saw Slift in 2024, and the second time I’d seen them in a small venue. It had been a while since I’d been to a show at Reggie’s, and I’d forgotten how small it is. I figured Slift were going to blow off the back wall with their cosmic rock, and I was right. I don’t know how the building didn’t collapse.
#4: Osees – Thalia Hall, Chicago, IL, October 19, 2024
Yes, I saw Slift one night and then Osees the next. This was the second of two shows at Thalia Hall for Osees (another yearly tradition for them), and seeing them on a bare stage with a fun crowd in one of my favorite venues was outstanding. It was, as always, a blast and the pit crowd is like a reunion of pals you haven’t seen in a year.
#3: LCD Soundsystem – Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, IL, May 26, 2024
It’s always good to see LCD Soundsystem, and this was night three of a four-night residency at the Aragon for them. It was also my girlfriend’s first time seeing them, and experiencing that with her was delightful. They had a nice tribute to Steve Albini during “Someone Great.”
#2: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Huntington Bank Pavilion, Chicago, IL, September 01, 2024
It had been a couple years since I’d been to a KGATLW show, and this was my first three-hour marathon set by them I was able to attend. Good grief, they slayed this stage, playing everything from Nonagon Infinity cuts to a short techno set. They even went longer than three hours by ending the show with a nearly twenty-minute version of “Head On / Pill.” The massive crowd was in heaven.
#1: Orbital – Radius, Chicago, IL, March 23, 2024
This show was like stepping into a time machine and emerging into a 1995 rave. I wasn’t sure I’d ever see Orbital, and they hadn’t been in Chicago in many years. This was also my girlfriend’s first “rave” of sorts, and the crowd was a mix of Gen Xers like us, new rave kids, goths, and even senior citizens. I hadn’t danced that much in a long while.
I’m looking forward to shows in 2025. I already have tickets to see Viagra Boys this year, and will soon have tickets for King Buffalo‘s current tour. Other bands I hope to catch this year are George Thorogood and The Destroyers, Mdou Moctar, Helmet, Kelly Lee Owens, Soft Play, Gang of Four, Amyl and The Sniffers, A Place to Bury Strangers (again), Diana Krall, Alison Krauss, King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard (again), and Osees (again).
We’ve reached the top of the peak. Who’s the grand champion? Read on to learn more.
#5: Fake Youth Cult – White Light / Black Noise
This stunning industrial / darkwave album is loud and heavy enough to cause the damage seen on this cover. This album came out of nowhere for me and about knocked me out of my chair.
#4: Maquina – Prata
Speaking of heavy damage, the cover to Maquina’s Prata album appears to feature a piece of steel that’s been shot, pried, scratched, and gouged. It’s a fitting image for a record full of wild noise punk, assaulting post-punk guitars, and grindhouse vocals.
#3: LAIR – Ngélar
This Indonesian funk / psych band was one of my top discoveries of 2024. They blend traditional Indonesian music with psych-rock, South Pacific juke, and other stuff you can’t quite define.
#2: GUM / Kenny Ambrose-Smith – Ill Times
Possibly the best collaboration of the year, this album combines the powers of two excellent Australians to create synth-psych that covers a lot of heavy topics with uplifting beats (i.e., the death of a parent – Kenny-Smith’s father, fear of the future and your place in it). I hope this isn’t just a one-time thing for them.
#1: A Place to Bury Strangers – Synthesizer
I mean, come on. One of my favorite bands creates an album that has a record sleeve that’s also a circuit board that you can turn into a real synthesizer that they also used to make the album. Only APTBS could pull off something like this and make an excellent record to go with it. It’s like a Moebius strip of post-punk psychedelic power that wallops you from the first note.
Onto 2025! Which albums are you anticipating the most?
We’ve reached David Letterman’s favorite spot – the top ten. Let’s see who made the cut this year.
#`10: Dummy – Free Energy
This blast of shoegaze rock is bright in all the right spots and massive in all the others. I hadn’t heard them until 2024 and they ended up being my favorite shoegaze discovery of the year.
#9: New Age Healers – The Spin Out
This is cool psychedelia from the northwest. The album’s cover is indicative of what you experience while listening to it: A swirling mind trip down into strange places, or a mystical wind lifting you up from the ground and into the night sky. It’s your choice.
#8: Aaron Frazer – Into the Blue
Made after he transferred from the east coast to the west coast, Frazer created a second album of great, soulful R&B that’s both honoring and elevating the genre.
#7: Operator Music Band – Four Singles EP
It’s amazing this album even exists when you consider one of the band members nearly died after falling through a skylight before they were ever in the studio. The fact that they made a solid electro post-punk EP afterward is a testament to their commitment to each other.
#6: Meatbodies – Flora Ocean Tiger Bloom
Meatbodies easily are one of the best bands I discovered in 2024. This album is a great mix of psychedelic and garage-punk that immediately left me wanting more from them. I was also lucky enough to see them live twice, and they crushed it each time.
Here we are at my top 20 albums of 2024. That was fast! Let’s get to it!
#20: Curses – Next Wave Acid Punx Deux – Secret Cuts
This collection by Curses is a great one of rare goth, darkwave, and synthwave cuts that makes you wonder where these bands have been all your life.
#19: Punchlove – Channels
The wall of sound on this shoegaze record from Punchlove is at times deafening and other times soothing. They’re one of my top picks to be one of the Next Big Things.
#18: Paperkraft – Not C but K
Here’s some groovy house music for you from Japan. This EP was a great debut.
#17: Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol – Big Dumb Riffs
“What if we made an album that was all big, dumb riffs?” Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol asked. Well, they did it, and it’s a lot of big, dumb, riffing fun.
#16: Dion Lunadon – Memory Burn
It’s another scorcher from Dion Lunadon as he packs more energy into this EP than many double albums you’ve heard.
