Slipped Discs

Discs You May Have Missed
by John Noyd

Reviews From: Year 2020
Jim Andralis &The Syntonics - My Beautiful Enemy

Jim Andralis &The Syntonics - My Beautiful Enemy

Jim Andralis &The Syntonics
My Beautiful Enemy
Label: self-release

Sly irony hides behind upfront hungers, exposing emotional strangleholds in well-composed odes as home-grown straight-shooters Andralis and company introduce natural narratives to casual analogies for root-cellar novellas ripe with redemption. Traveling country-folk balladry cast in novel plots exacting tragic costs, “Enemy,” cements spent identities to scrappy tabernacles and spirited fierceness for punches to the gut in the kindest way possible.

Jim Andralis &The Syntonics Website

Marie Miller - Little Dreams

Marie Miller - Little Dreams

Marie Miller
Little Dreams
Label: Tone Tree Music

Wise to the world, “Little,” kindles nimble Americana flickering in candle-lit arrangements for neighborly banquets where trusted country roots wear their Sunday best.  Galloping gracefully over tender reflections and unresolved promises, Miller evokes heartfelt folk buffed to a gentle, sophisticated luster; authentic sentiments wrapped in crackling tapestries weaving banjo, mandolin and guitar between velvet strings, desolate melodies and church-yard harmonies.

Marie Miller WebsiteMarie Miller FacebookMarie Miller Wiki

Moaning - Uneasy Laughter

Moaning - Uneasy Laughter

Moaning
Uneasy Laughter
Label: Sub Pop

Dark, manic phantoms dragged down dance-floor drainpipes, Moaning shapes delicate elegance over monumental New Wave anxiety; swirling, searching specters caught in restless dread’s headlights, resisting dismissive disappointments and withstanding abandoned grandeur. Daring escapes chased by runaway synths, “Uneasy,” seizes subdued confusion caught in calculated rhythms, subverted verse and mountain-king chords while polite moonlight shines on sleek beasts wrestling misdirected intentions.

Moaning WebsiteMoaning Facebook

U.S. Girls - Heavy Light

U.S. Girls - Heavy Light

U.S. Girls
Heavy Light
Label: 4AD

Tropical exotica transplanted into modern-diva chic, ‘Heavy,” levies midnight galas slithering between sassy and savvy; bold, mobilized street parades strutting among sound-collage conversations and socio-political glitter. Dazzling deviations circling worldly flirtations, U.S. Girls’ poly-rhythmic sizzle and feather-boa flow cavorts and exhorts. Designer cool oozing through gumbo jungle trysts, mastermind Meg Remy brings her vivacious vision to Madison’s Majestic April 6th.

U.S. Girls WebsiteU.S. Girls FacebookU.S. Girls Wiki

Activity - Unmask Whoever

Activity - Unmask Whoever

Activity
Unmask Whoever
Label: Western Vinyl

Schizophrenic alchemists blending unhinged inventions into mesmerizing tension, Activity’s dicey nightmare divinity spins agitated mind-games keen on twisted mysticism into heavenly ectoplasmic traps luring meaning from steamy post-punk riddles and Krautrock dream-journals. Tasked with passive catastrophes encroaching tantric mechanics, “Unmask,” wraps tight-rope soap-operas in shadow-world poetry, drenching deliberate suspicions in careening micro-industrial feedback nourished by brooding bass and underwater drums.

Activity WebsiteActivity Facebook

The Black Watch - Brilliant Failures

The Black Watch - Brilliant Failures

The Black Watch
Brilliant Failures
Label: A Turntable Friends Records

Combative ballads locked in flinty indie-rock battles, “Brilliant,” thrills in morose maelstroms and chill with jangle-cradled fables, a diligent intelligence distilling urgent evidence into existential tempests with guitar-centric tendencies. Discontented sentries railing against unlimited insignificance and metaphysical ennui, The Black Watch’s Trotsky moxie roars with authority, swiping decisively with furious swerves, cooked in psychedelic vibrato and hand-delivered with professorial calm.

The Black Watch WebsiteThe Black Watch Facebook

Hazel English - Wake UP!

Hazel English - Wake UP!

Hazel English
Wake UP!
Label: Polyvinyl

Traveling from Australia to San Francisco to L.A., English’s nomadic panache unpacked a hearty appetite for hip trips and swinging flings flung from wonderful wall-of-sound Rapunzels. Castanets, glockenspiels and tympanis mixed in driving beats, multi-layered jangle and heartbroken vocals evoke vintage late-sixties torch-song symphonies in the cool, moody, “Wake,” a swooning musical cocoon nestled in nostalgia and lifted in longing.

Hazel English WebsiteHazel English FacebookHazel English Wiki

Purity Ring - Womb

Purity Ring - Womb

Purity Ring
Womb
Label: 4AD

Infused in slippery grooves coveting uprooted muses and VR fantasies, “Womb,” wraps studio-flavored layers around cellophane sounds from enticing sequined sirens luring with glitch-inflicted purrs, space-age reverb and slow lubricated bass. Cotton-candy mantras from ocean ghosts patrolling distant discos, Purity Ring hints, winks and whispers inside hovering nightclubs, sub-orbital appointments prowling around holographic clouds cradling electro-pop angels and trip-hop rainbows.

Purity Ring WebsitePurity Ring FacebookPurity Ring Wiki

Sir Richard Bishop - Oneiric Formulary

Sir Richard Bishop - Oneiric Formulary

Sir Richard Bishop
Oneiric Formulary
Label: Drag City

A renaissance man on the guitar, the adventurous Bishop flits from continents to cultures with textbook dexterity imposed on a squirrelly curiosity whose wide reach encompasses ancient sanctuaries, midnight markets and alien landscapes. A roadmap for swirling dervishes sizzling in sinister sound-pictures and tipsy gypsies reenacting immaculate bacchanalia, “Oneiric,” honors, channeling agile talent alongside an encyclopedic appreciation for international passions.

Sir Richard Bishop WebsiteSir Richard Bishop FacebookSir Richard Bishop Wiki

Braids - Shadow Offering

Braids - Shadow Offering

Braids
Shadow Offering
Label: Secret City

Luscious skullduggery hugs, “Shadow,” with REM sleep temperament, unrequited insight and fevered inquiry controlling unfolding emotions in wild strides and lover’s leaps; sweetened secrets creeping among bruising truths torn and reborn in vivacious vocals, push-button percussion and majestic melodies. Self-examining Canadians, Braids’ determined urgency consolidates personal journeys into bewitched conflicts, stockpiling peak feelings from misty memories seeking an uneasy peace.

Braids WebsiteBraids FacebookBraids Wiki

Adult. - Perception is/as/of Deception

Adult. - Perception is/as/of Deception

Adult.
Perception is/as/of Deception
Label: Dais

New Wave roof-raisers and self-inflicted switch-flippers, ADULT. oscillate in primitive doomsday synths, bleak sequenced frequencies seizing ominous bounce-house romps for jet-propelled helter-skelter posing as stroboscopic pop. Baited, serrated and arpeggiated into diabolical molecules glued to dreary sneers, commanding stanzas and sadistic mystery, “Perception,” raves with infectious kinetics, unstoppable propaganda wearily delirious, propped up by low-cost robotics whirling at dangerous angles.

Adult. WebsiteAdult. FacebookAdult. Wiki

Anna Burch - If You’re Dreaming

Anna Burch - If You’re Dreaming

Anna Burch
If You’re Dreaming
Label: Polyvinyl

Sturdy songs melted over prolonged reconnaissance, “Dreaming,” tag-teams well-timed rhymes and fearless experience, saintly refrains atop tranquilized pain balancing subtle moods with catchy tunes, sly asides and sunny summaries. Lovely, lulling, logical, Burch works hard to sound easy, conjuring nurtured words with exacting facts and sage phrases detailing shiny lives swimming in simmered wisdom, folk-pop picking and sweet, recital-hall melancholy.

Anna Burch WebsiteAnna Burch FacebookAnna Burch Wiki

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