power pop, alternative, indie rock

Red Cavalry will induce waves of nostalgia in folks of a certain generation. Comparing themselves to The Smiths and REM among others, they have a shimmery and unpretentious vibe, keeping the melody upfront and the vocal delivery earnest and sincere.

They are out on streaming today with their full length album Alas, So Long - an 11 song love story that feels like watching an opium-ravaged Romantic poet ranting through a cloud of smoke at a Barmaid who has stopped listening.

If that sounds dubious, just give it a shot. We are particularly fond of “Unread Books” and “Last Wish” at the moment.

Rock, hard rock, grunge, alternative rock, funk rock

Bay Area multi-instrumentalist Jackson Allen is a phenomenal drummer, guitarist, vocalist, lyricist, composer, arranger, and producer. The wealth of talent and experience brought to bear on this, the third studio album under the name Captain Monk, is staggering.

From the gritty, impossibly heavy swagger-rock of the first few tracks, to the rootsy and soaring beauty of “Nickel”, to the funk groove in “Feds” that takes you by surprise just when you think you’ve figured out what Captain Monk is all about, this record will be an instant favorite of anyone who’s been missing original rock music with a unique perspective and a healthy dose of attitude.

Prog rock, heavy, instrumental, experimental

New York guitarist and mad scientist Dan Walsh is involved in a staggering number of projects - the most fascinating is his experimental, instrumental, prog / metal project under the name Donner & The Devil.

There exists no box you could stuff Donner into, no borders Walsh doesn’t trample on as soon as they’re demarcated, no begging for your approval, no sparing your feelings or your right brain.

cinematic, post-rock, experimental, instrumental

Dim Dead Boy makes (usually) long-form, cinematic instrumental music that lets its ideas marinate, stretch, build, and find their resolution.

The ambition involved in a 6-song album with a run time of nearly 75 minutes, and “conceptualized as the ethereal dreams of a cosmonaut in suspended animation while he traverses interstellar space”, is a rare thing to find in the indie space. 

Post-rock, instrumental

So much of what The Sleeping Cliffs does serves as a meditation on the act of composition itself, the lack of lyrics diverting your attention more carefully to the decisions Glidewell is making, the roads not taken, the art of arrangement, the rise and fall of various elements in the mix.

You’ll hear this sort of game throughout the EP, in various iterations. To my mind, at least, this is the real Decomposition at play.

pop rock, indie rock, post grunge, alt rock

From the fuzzy opening riff of “Crash Out”, the new EP from NC (or is it Mars?) based Letters From Mars is addictive, smile-inducing, groovy, fun, and powerful. 

This EP is remarkable for how efficiently it displays a range of stylistic sandboxes in which LFM is comfortable playing. And through it all, an undeniable personality and simplicity that ties this project together beautifully.