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Relatively Recent Release Roundup: March 31st 2023

1/4th of the year down already, that's wild. A lot of sites will be taking this opportunity to talk about the best music so far this year, but I'm really not in much of a position to do that this time. Look at this.



Normally, a significant majority of my listening is with contemporary music, stuff released in the current year. But for 2023, the story so far has mostly been music I've already heard, and I'm also spending a lot more time checking out what I still haven't heard from the prior years.

This means that there are a lot of 2023 albums that I still need to check out or spend more time with. I can at least confirm that all the stuff I've mentioned on this page before is all incredible and you should absolutely go listen to those. And also, check out these ones, they're very cool as well!


March 7th, 2023

Oblomovka - Oblomovka (ТОПОТ)

It's really a shame that the word 'dank' has been so thoroughly claimed by the stoners and meme-addled children of yesteryear, because it would be helpful to be able to use it here. But I'm not sure if it would give the right idea anymore. Though it may not even be the right word, since this music may not have the kind of dampness that would be expected. But just listen to the first track, there's all sorts of damaged noises swirling around a low-resolution oscillator flicker, with echoes piling up like the collisions in this Simpsons clip mixed with the isolated reverb tail of some ghostly vocals. I think you could understand why I would want to call it dank. It's so cool, I love it.


March 24th, 2023

Andy Loebs - Hyperlink Anamorphosis (JOLT MUSIC)

I've mentioned on this site before that I see the hyperplastic collage-infused color explosion stuff that you can find on labels like Orange Milk as being part of a lineage with computer art like PaintFX.biz, or Paper Rad type of stuff. I have the best time getting headspins with this stuff, but it rarely ever grooves. I can't engage it with my body the way that can only be done with music, it feels more like I'm just looking with my ears. If it tried to go for the body, it runs the risk of sacrificing all the explosive potential that comes from the abrupt left turn. It's some kind of catch-22 trying to make that happen while also giving a sure place in time for your next step. But Loebs is finding a good way to keep a flame alive for both possibilities, with moments that function as art objects to be witnessed, and then moving right into something that's genuinely danceable. In the more abstract moments, there will be these threads that are suggested between sounds of similar timbres, a line will become visible, electrified by the differences you had to allow to be able to see it, and that same process illuminates the dance tracks, keeping that excitement running. Works wonderfully as a complete package!

Oishi - once upon a time there was a mountain (Bezirk Tapes)

You're going to need to come in close for this one, this is some tiny musique concrete, easily obscured by a modest noise floor. Although the sounds lack any typical signifiers of cuteness, there's still something I find to be kind of adorable and sweet about the combination of the small scale with the playful approach to sound manipulation and collaboration. The group is a duo that alternates between digital and analog tools on each track, and this sort of real-time approach with complementary tool kits leads to moments with these collaborative folds, where one person initiates something into the sound world, and then the other presses down with response gesture, the ask and the answer. There's a quality to them that I don't feel like I see much in the solo musique concrete spaces, though I'm not sure exactly how to describe it. But even without the full understanding there, it's easy enough to see that this is some lovely stuff!




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