40 Watt Sun
Wider than the Sky
Radiance Records (2016)
40 Watt Sun hold a special place in the hearts of those who have heard their music and been affected by the honesty within. 2011s The Inside Room was a stunning debut that still garners regular plays from this writer and Wider than the Sky will do the same in the years to come. Having been many years in the making, Wider than the Sky comprises of six beautiful songs that speak to the very essence of humanity and delves below the surface of relationships and sadness and loss. Despite the long gestation period for this album, the songs have been played live in various incarnations in the intervening years and for some, these songs will be familiar - yet none of them lose their emotional resonance because of this. Frontman Patrick Walker is notoriously private, and in an interview we’ve conducted with him in the past, he was reluctant to really talk about his songs and their deeper meanings. He’d rather allow the music to speak for itself and in Wider than the Sky we are invited to listen to the stark realities of life. “Stages” doesn’t ease us in easily, with its sixteen minutes spread over gorgeous guitar … Read more
Courteeners
Mapping the Rendezvous
Ignition Records (2016)
Written in Paris while the city was still reeling in the aftermath of the November 2015 attacks, Mapping the Rendezvous … Read more
Dean Ween Group
The Deaner Record
ATO (2016)
I’ve never met Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo, the two-headed songwriting duo of Ween, but I have my own speculation … Read more
Street Sects
End Position
Flenser (2016)
Austin, Texas duo achieve an unholy alliance of industrial music and punk rock in their debut album, End Position. In … Read more
Jenny Hval
Blood Bitch
Sacred Bones (2016)
Jenny Hval has soared into the experimental scene since the release of Viscera, the first album under her own name. … Read more
