Best of the Week
Dead Soul - The Sheltering Sky
2015 10 tracks (47:38)
They describe themselves as a dark electronic industrial doom blues band from Sweden. For the most part, it has good solid moments where some of the soul shines through the moody contemplative band work. “Shattered Dreams” is a crushing cut, filled with strong moments. The doom part comes through with the cut “Abyss”, as one would expect. The more balanced “Until the Last Breath” will send chills down your spine with each mounting crescendo. The lead singer’s voice takes a little getting used to with the heavy vibrato but it is a surprisingly fulfilling work. A-
Interesting Finds
SONOIO - Fine
2018 9 tracks (36:01)
Spacey electronic music with solid vocals and tuneful songs. Some are a touch haunting (“Vitamin D”), or stark (“Under the Sea”) or blistering (“Thanks for Calling”) or a combination of all three. The tron-like electronic keyboards get a little repetitive, but the remaining production masks the plain nature. B-
Neil Young - Toast
2022 7 tracks (52:03)
Surprisingly, Neil Young has continued to be productive over the years with some 45 albums to his credit just as an individual. This was recorded in 2001 but not released until 2022. Backed by Crazy Horse, it reminds us of the stellar artisan he is. A lot of rockers as you would expect, but songs like “How Ya Doin?”, a slow tempo ballad, and the mid-tempo “Goin’ Home” demonstrates the raw emotion he can bring. The brooding sound may have something to do with the difficulty he was going through at the time. Some excellent cuts, one or two substandard ones makes this a solid listen. B
Owel - Dear Me
2016 12 tracks (1:05:28)
There is some lovely songwriting in this release by this post-rock indie pop band. Theme-wise, this would fit well with a band like Death Cab For Cutie with the structured four to five minute pop tune. “Ocean Legs” is the perfect example of how they make a light-hearted tune without sounding syrupy. An album like this could grow tired, but they have a knack for making each song a good listen. B-
Black Light Burns - Cruel Melody
2006 13 tracks (1:02:38)
The album starts off with “Mesopotamia”, using the barest of melodies but still invoking a fun vibe to listen to. Wes Borland is the mastermind of this project group and closely aligns with his individual work. Songs like “I Have a Need” with its high energy fast beat action is guaranteed to get you moving. The other end of the spectrum is “Iodine Sky”, a moody long slow tune with no vocals. So, you never get to know what Wes is going to throw at you. If you are dexterous enough, you’ll still get a kick out of it. B
Forgettable
Big Dumb Face - Where is Duke Lion? He’s Dead…
2017 14 tracks (1:02:34)
Manic disturbing rock, and using the term rock loosely. Rap metal? This is miles away from Wes Borland’s individual work. “Whipping The Hodeus” is 18 minutes of tortured vocals electronically altered to sound like a dream from under water and other sound artifacts that don’t sound like music. Finally, 12 minutes into the song, a hard death metal “song” appears. Pink Floyd’s “Alan’s Psychedelic Breakfast” at least had a song structure. I mean, who would want to buy this shit? Then comes “My Girl Daisy” as some kind of faux island music madness. It was as if any random style of music was selected to be tortured, and us through the process. F
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