Another feature. Another pre-amble to try and find the right words. Which of course is very difficult with the events that have unfolded throughout the world recently.
Suffice to say, the things we do throughout these pages pale significantly and, actually, don’t even rate compared to the current plight many people are facing. Actually writing about music and finding positivity within what we hear almost feels disingenuous at a time when so many people have suffered from needless acts of violence.
As we’ve always maintained, we try to make Sun 13 a haven for escapism, and while music may not provide the full remedy to people’s struggles with the everyday, we do hope some of the music that we share here can at least be a flicker of light through the darkness that many are facing during these times, and we do hope that all of our readers are safe and able to find some peace.
Onto the website itself, and as of the past weekend, our readership numbers amassed the whole of 2022, and still with over a month remaining, we can safely say that it has been another year where growth in readership has remained strong. That’s down to you, as this site wouldn’t exist without your readership. It’s that simple, and we can’t put into words what this means.
As we gear up for a bumper December, which will include our Top 50 Albums of 2023, along with a new end of year feature that you’ll soon read about, here is our final Quarterly for the year.
While new releases from Crime & The City Solution, Bonnacons of Doom, ChiaraOscuro, Jayve Montgomery and All Structures Align have been among those that have been hard to shift from the turntable platter, so have these. Like always, we hope you find something new and enjoyable.
See you in December….
Free Spirit: In Conversation with Crime & The City Solution’s Simon Bonney
Actress: LXXXVIII
Ninja Tune
While London producer, Darren Cunningham, may not always win your heart, his releases are always welcoming news and worth your time.
His latest release and first full-length in three years, LXXXVIII, recaptures the magic Cunningham produced with one of the finest electronic records this century (R.I.P.). The London shapeshifter is to electronica what Sonic Youth was to no wave. A total crusader, blending beautiful minimalism with stark dread-scapes designed to clear dancefloors.
Once again, LXXXVIII sees Cummingham throwing sound templates against the wall, and with the broken fragments, he creates another sculpture that is one of a kind. It may take some time, but every second is worth it.
Autogramm: Music that Humans Can Play
Stomp Records
Dotted all around North America (namely, Vancouver, Seattle and Chicago), Autogramm are a group who make unapologetic power-pop.
Featuring ex-Black Mountain and Lightning Dust’s Josh Wells, on their debut album, Music that Humans Can Play, Autogramm mix Devo reverence with open road euphoria and ’80s A.M radio. Yes, it takes a bit to get your head around, but just think of Stranger Things and add a sonic backdrop to the grainy cinematography and you’ll feel right at home.
Anything Josh Wells touches is always something worthy of one’s time (remember those recent Destroyer records?), and Music that Humans Can Play is no different. Get amongst the nostalgia.
Årabrot: Of Darkness and Light
Pelagic Records
In this utterly dour economic climate for the arts, any band who has consistently made music for 20 years gets my utmost respect. Årabrot are no different, and spearheaded by chief architects Kjetil Nernes and Karin Park, the Norwegian band inject a bit of sleezy cabaret into the noise-rock broad church on their latest LP, Of Darkness and Light.
From the first note of opening track, Hangman’s House, Årabrot negotiate a series hairpin turns that echo the band’s early, unhinged years (think The Birthday Party and Bauhaus), while also showing their tender side (Horrors of the Past).
Årabrot are unconcerned with pleasing anyone but themselves, and on Of Darkness and Light, it results in some of their most potent work conceived from the studio vaults.
Beige Palace: Making Sounds for Andy
Human Worth
London label Human Worth round out their year with a release that is slightly away from their usual “abrasive noise” purview. Make no mistake, it shreds none the less.
Enter Leeds three-piece, Beige Palace, who release their latest cut, Making Sounds for Andy. Featuring Freddy Vinehill-Cliffe (Thank), Kelly Bishop (This Is How I Win) and Ant Bedford (Magnapinna), Beige Palace provide a sneering dose of post-hardcore with some noise-rock reverence thrown into the mixer for good measure. Think Fugazi playing at the K Records Christmas party at the backend of the ’80s. Yeah, not too shabby at all.
With tracks such as Not Waving and Useful Idiot, this is a band that doesn’t suffer fools, and with the kind of hooping maelstrom throughout Making Sounds for Andy, it reaffirms that DIY culture up here in the north is strong.
Mari Boine & Bugge Wesseltoft: Amame
Lean AS., Norse Music
On her latest release, the genre-straddling champion, Mari Boine, teams up with jazz pianist, Bugge Wesseltoft, in something that solidifies the dream state.
On Amame, the Sami-Norwegian assumes the role as elder, parting with the kind of wisdom that mirrors her 30 year reign as one of the leading voices out of Scandinavia. And alongside Wesseltoft, the pair create the kind of tender balladry that simply melts the heart.
For those new to the world of Mari Boine, oddly enough, Amame isn’t the worst place to start. And as far as her collaboration with Wesseltoft, well, here’s hoping there’s more of it in the future, for Amame is another important piece of work to the artist’s repertoire.
Burner Herzog: Random Person
Take A Turn Records
Described as “an androgynous medium priest character …sort of like Alice Cooper,” Jasper Leach’s Burner Herzog project fills a void you never knew you had.
Following his 2020 LP Big Love, on Random Person, Leach creates the kind of unapologetic roadhouse blues that are a worthy companion to dark rooms and whiskey. Just think of the lonely hiss of late-night A.M. radio and this is that.
It’s stuff only an outlier could make, and Leach is certainly that. Random Person by name, Random Person by nature, this is the in-between record everyone needs in their lives from time to time. I don’t know why, but it just works, and once you hold an ear to it, you’ll completely understand.
Drift.: 11 Points in Time
God Unknown Records
Over the past eight years, London-based artist, Nathalie Bruno, has been making music under the Drift. moniker, which, all told, has gone under the radar.
On her latest LP and first for God Unknown Records, 11 Points in Time, Bruno finally reaches the core of what she has set out to do since her debut EP, Black Devotion. A haunting representation of slow-motion synth punk and Bark Psychosis-era post-rock, 11 Points in Time sees Bruno making a record that is elusively hypnotic.
It’s a record that needs time, and in a world where most don’t have much of it, those devoted few drawn towards the more esoteric sound chambers will find a gem with Drift.’s 11 Points in Time.
Drop Nineteens: Hard Light
Wharf Cat Records
30 years ago, Boston’s Drop Nineteens made a shoegaze classic with Delaware, and after following it up 12 months later with National Coma, the band faded into obscurity for the next three decades.
I was only listening to Delaware the day before news came broke of the band’s return, and not only was the news of Hard Light a pleasant surprise, but also the results are very fine indeed. A reflective album where the band blends beautiful dreamscapes with their staple (yet subtle) brawn.
While their clever juxtapositions remain, in some ways Hard Light is a nostalgic album, a sugar rush in others. But make no mistake, those who fell in love with Drop Nineteens 30 years ago have the chance to do it all again with Hard Light, which marks a beautiful return.
Filth Is Eternal: Find Out
MNRK Heavy
Seattle’s Filth Is Eternal make the kind of guttural punk racket that turns bad days into good ones within seconds. A rainbow coalition of noise that makes you reach for the stars.
Essentially, it’s civic vitality expelled in very raucous ways, and on their latest record and first for MNRK Heavy, Find Out, Filth Is Eternal take the blood and thunder of post-hardcore and feed it through the gritty lens of punk. Think Turnstile with a smattering of Powertrip worship and you won’t be too far off the mark.
Yes, it has a bit of circle pit fury about it, but also for those who like their sounds in solitude, Find Out is one for the open roads, too. And the louder the volume the purer it is.
Fortunato Durutti Marinetti: Eight Waves in Search of an Ocean
Föllakzoid: V
Sacred Bones Records
Over the last 10 years, Föllakzoid have been one of the leading lights in the psych-infused krautrock game, and it’s because they choose to whip up something different every time. And their latest release, V, continues the wonderful odyssey.
On V, the Chilean noiseniks inch closer to the dancefloor with motorik IDM-inspired sounds that are like an incessant panic attack. Think Seefeel and Factory Floor trading barbs deep into the early hours in some godforsaken industrial estate.
V is the moment where riff worshipers salves to the beat merge in some kind of dead-eyed euphoric state. Parts primal, parts zonal, V sees Föllakzoid zeroing in for the kill.
Gaika: Drift
Big Dada
London’s Gaika has always approached his art from different angles, and it doesn’t stop on Drift; perhaps his most all-encompassing journey so far.
The sonic acrobats continues here in what is a record that richly permeates with that deep, narcotic effect. It’s dub-infused psychedelia for late nights and smoke-filled bars, and enlisting KIDA from beyond the studio glass has proved a masterstroke, with Drift resulting in Gaika never sounding more liberated.
Dovetailing nicely with Yves Tumor’s latest cut (another that KIDA has their fingerprints all over), Drift is a record from one of the most underrated shapeshifters in the U.K.
Ghost Woman: Hindsight 50/50
Full Time Hobby
Ghost Woman are a band that fill in the gaps, and with three albums under their belt in 18 months, the duo, consisting of Evan Uschenko and Ille van Dessel, produce their best songs yet with Hindsight 50/50.
Feeding into the droning ramble of neo-psych, with bands like The Kills and The Black Angels limping on and, let’s be honest, creating some lacklustre works over the past decade, Ghost Woman are the ticket for a fresh perspective in this space.
With songs that slowly seep into the pores, Hindsight 50/50 is a grower that deserves your time, and with a U.K. tour set for February, the Ghost Woman wildfire is spreading fast. Get amongst the flames.
Guentner + Spieth: Overlay
Affin Records
Having crossed paths at the turn of the century, Markus Guentner and Affin Records founder, Joachim Spieth, have remained close (the latter releasing the wonderful Onda via Affin earlier this year).
On their debut collaboration album, Overlay, the pair produce six compositions that are like one rolling dreamscape made for high altitudes. Those who revere early Kompakt records along with the early works of The Field will instantly fall in love with the Overlay – an album that captures a time and pulls you out of your present state, teleporting you out to far off places.
Overlay caps off another fine year for Guentner, and alongside Spieth, it perfectly showcases the underrated Affin Records. Let’s hope this is just the start of an already exciting collaboration.
Ivan the Tolerable: Under Magnetic Mountain
Library of the Occult
2023 has been another trip for Oli Heffernan. Following the brilliant Toft House Sessions under the Ivan the Tolerable Quartet banner, Heffernan also joined as bassist for the excellent All Structures Align.
Since adding the grooves to the Ineson brothers wonderful post-rock meanderings, Heffernan has resumed Ivan the Tolerable voyage with two records, firstly Ritual in Transfigured Time and most recently, Under Magnetic Mountain.
In truth you could listen to them back-to-back in what is the kind of woozy, psych-jazz trips for lazy Sunday afternoons. Heffernan has always used the Ivan the Tolerable vessel to find that space between chaos and chill, and with Under Magnetic Mountain, he’s struck the sweet spot.
Yuko Araki Interview: “I love death metal and dark fantasy manga!”
Mope City: Population 4
Tenth Court
Kicking up the dust around the inner-city Sydney suburb of Marrickville, Mope City continue their journey of couldn’t-give-a-fuck anthems with Population 4.
Born from the fertile punk scene up and down the eastern seaboard over the last 15 years, Mope City create a vibe where getting together and having a beer with your mates exceeds all. Nestled somewhere in the cracks of slowcore and post-hardcore, on Population 4, Mope City’s nonchalance and locality separates them from most others. Think Flipper or Meat Puppets at quarter-speed.
Population 4 is another solid record from a band that have produced many, and it’s one to add to an ever-growing list of fine Australian releases this year.
Nonconnah: Shadows from the Walls of Death
Cruel Nature Records
While Nonconnah’s previous album, Unicorn Family, featured in our last Quarterly, that’s basically what Zachary and Denny Corsa do: constantly create and get their material out there to receptive ears.
Shadows from the Walls of Death is the latest release from the Memphis noise merchants, and it arrives as a double-whammy under the Cruel Nature banner, with Zachary’s collaboration with David Colohan as Look To The North (review here) also dropping last week. Here we see Nonconnah give it to us straight, with multi-layered guitars and field recordings creating a wall of noise that is like a soundtrack to a Philip K. Dick novel.
For those unfamiliar with Nonconnah, Shadows from the Walls of Death is as good a place to start as any. It really does have it all in the pantheon of noise jams.
Listen / Purchase from Bandcamp
Nyxy Nyx: ☆
Sub-under
First coming to our attention last year via the great Philadelphia DIY label Strange Mono, Nyxy Nyx have had another strong year. With three records under their belt in 2023 (all of which were worthy inclusions here), let’s start with their latest release, ☆.
In many ways, ☆ sees the band taking their ideas of the preceding two records, (zxcv and anything) and condensing them into 19 minutes of shoegaze-inspired indie-rock designed for the car windows down and the volume at its ear-shredding maximum.
There’s plenty of lo-fi grittiness here, and along with the echoes of Big Star and heartland rock, Nyxy Nyx are a back-to-back proposition with fellow Philly natives, Sun Organ (more on them in a bit). ☆ rounds out another great year for the band.
Princess Goes: Come of Age
SO Indegoot
The beauty about new music is that, once in a while, something will come along and just scratch the itch you never knew you had. Enter Princess Goes, whose latest album, Come of Age, is one of those in-between records that every music lover needs.
Actors trying their hand at music seldom works (see Mr Depp), but that’s not the case here. Michael C. Hall brings the vibe from Broadway onto tape, and alongside bassist Matt Katz-Bohen and drummer Peter Yanowitz, the trio unearth a batch of synth-pop gems.
If you find a better song than Blur all year, then let me know. Meanwhile, the title track and closing cut, Floating are also among the band’s finest songs so far, and with that, Come of Age pretty much is what it says it is.
The Rural Alberta Advantage: The Rise & The Fall
Paper Bag Records
The Canadian veterans have spent an existence delivering urgent heartland rock to the devoted few, and they don’t stop with their latest, The Rise & The Fall.
Following their break-out 2009 releases, Hometowns, why the three-piece (Nils Edenloff, Marcy Donelson and Jason Birchmeier) haven’t reached a wider audience over the last two decades is one of those persistent mysteries across the indie-rock landscape. Their songs, growing stronger with each release and on The Rise & The Fall, the band produces some of their best work (see Don’t Wake Up).
The Rural Alberta Advantage are the kind of band that those who get it, really get it. As a band, perhaps this could be the greatest compliment? Either way, The Rise & The Fall is another defiant march, and the new music sphere is better for it.
Salisman & His Unwavering Circle: Parched
Cruel Nature Records
The Salisman circus is back in town, and this time under the moniker, Salisman & His Unwavering Circle, on their latest release, Parched, the band have delivered more of the precious fairy dust.
The four-piece of Chris Tate, Paul Foreman, Travis Salisbury and Jon Raedeke enlisted Carl Saff (Prison, Throat) to master Parched, and after their two sensational records from last year, Parched is equally just as good as either of them. This is skewed dream-pop born out of wide-spanning tastes and overflowing record collections.
On Parched, everything just lines up and while this collaboration is a back-and-forth concern across the Atlantic, I can’t think of a more consistent one. More people should know about the Salisman odyssey, and here’s hoping that happens on the back of Parched.
Adzes Interview “I was heavily influenced by early Mastodon and Kowloon Walled City”
She The Throne: Nuntis
Trepanation Recordings
On their latest LP, Nuntis, Manchester’s She The Throne barrel through the same esoteric sound world as Liverpool’s Bonnacons of Doom and the San Francisco one woman army that is ChiaraOscuro.
While the Bonnacons and Chiara travel through the more hypnotic passages of doom, She The Throne are the architects of grinding noise-scapes that are seemingly inspired a killing floor. Pure abrasive blocks of sound that stalks your dreams.
Nuntis isn’t something that you instantly reach for in your record collection; more of a gruelling encounter for a specific time, however when that time comes, She The Throne are worthy exponents of the relevant chaos that such moments command.
Sun Organ: Candlelight Showertime
Self-released
Philadelphia has been a hotbed for some absolutely shredding bands of late, and Sun Organ are perhaps the pick of the bunch.
Phily just seems to get grit and tone, and on their sixth long-player, Candlelight Showertime, Sun Organ make the kind of tunes that sit somewhere between the summer and the apocalypse. Sonically, it’s almost too good. A band of Neil Young-inspired slackers giving it the big time Duster treatment.
It’s an album that grows stronger with each listen, made all the better with appearances from Strange Mono alumni, Nyxy Nxy and Ruah. Essentially, this is music for lifers made by lifers.
Wilco: Cousin
dBpm Records
Whether Wilco’s inclusion to a page like this is of any value is perhaps debatable, but still, we’re talking about one of the vital references points to a certain sound portal many of the bands we’ve covered throughout the years have travelled through at some point. And besides, they aren’t U2 (yet).
The Chicago veteran’s form has been rather patchy since 2015’s Star Wars and, to be honest, the best moments have come via Jeff Tweedy’s recent solo output.
His songwriting purple patch continues with Cousin. A very ‘Wilco’ album, sure, but with a lot of the fat trimmed which has seen the band’s recent output caught in the mire somewhat, Cousin sees the band back to their reliable best. It’s their finest outing since Star Wars, and one that is, well… fun for all the family!
ZĀM: Waves of Seeing
Echodelick Records / Ramble Records
An album like ZĀM’s Waves of Seeing is tailor-made for our Weirdo Rippers feature, however with it currently taking a breather for rest of 2023, the Vienna, Virginia three-piece’s unruly racket can find a cosy home right here.
Waves of Seeing is the kind of jazz-inspired no-wave freakout that makes you feel alive. There’s basically everything here, and if the Wire magazine wanted to find a soundtrack to perfectly encapsulate their existence, then ZĀM’s Waves of Seeing is just that.
Either that or think The Necks at their most mind-bending jamming with Stephen O’Malley on a psychedelic trip. Music from the past for the present and into the future. Yup, this is out there.
Listen / Purchase from Bandcamp
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